contained in a draft executive order which was obtained by "politico" and appears to be part of the massive batch of documents now in the hands of the house select committee on january 6th. the committee says it now has all the white house records that the former president tried in court to keep secret. according to court filing by the national archives, which handed them over last evening, they also include, among other items, working papers from then chief of staff mark meadows, who the press secretary as well, and a white house lawyer who had notes and memos about the former president's everyday to undermine the election. but it is that draft executive order which "politico" published which is so potentially telling in part because the day, which was december 16th, fits pretty neatly into a series of related events that we watched play out at the time. and in addition, it meshes neatly into other reporting about testimony -- other testimony as well about what was happening behind the scenes at the time, and it fits into the larger scheme to overturn the election which as you know began with false predictions of fraud before the election and false allegations of fraud starting election night. >> this is fra fraud on the american public. this is an embarrassment to our country. we were getting ready to win this election. frankly, we did win this election. [ cheers and applause ] >> so, our goal now is to ensure the integrity for the good of this nation. this is a very big moment. this is a major fraud on our nation. >> and so, it began. just a few days later, november 9th, we saw him put his words into action. the headline, barr clears justice department to investigate alleged voting irregularities as trump makes unfounded fraud cams. claims. now, one court challenge after another, all but one on a minor procedural matter, the former president lost. further describing the former president's case, on december 1st, attorney general barr told "the associated press," quote, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome of the election. now, on december 14th, barr resigns to be replaced by enacting a attorney general who the former president ended up scheming to replace because he, too, would not cooperate with plans to use the justice department to question election results. now, the draft just obtained by "politico" is dated december 16th. the title "presidential findings to preserve, collect, and analyze national security information." the document begins by citing, and i quote, evidence of international and foreign interference in the november 4, 2020, election. dominion voting systems and related companies are owned or heavily controlled and influenced by foreign agents, countries, and interests. now, that sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? that's because it echoes the false allegations being made by his motley team of election lawyers, including this one, sidney powell. >> so, we have mathematical evidence in a number of states of massive quantities of trump votes being trashed. just simply, put in the trash like you would on your computer with any file. and biden votes, being injected. that's addition to the flipping. president trump won by a landslide. we are going to prove it, and we are gonna reclaim the united states of america for the people who vote for freedom. >> she said there was the trashing and then there was the injections and then there was the flipping. none of that was true when she said it on november 19th. it almost -- i mean, it seems ridiculous now. but people still believe it. nor was it true when this draft order was dated december 16th. but the conspiracy theory at the heart of it became the basis for the order that we are seeing for the first time tonight, which concluded with seven directives. the first, quote, effective immediately, secretary of defense shall seize, collect, retain, and analyze all machines, equipment, electronically-stored information, and material records required for retention under united states code title 42 sections 1t 74, 1 t 74 e. item five says quote the secretary of defense may select by name or unit federalization of appropriate national guard support. now, again, if the language -- this time calling for the military seizure of voting machines -- ripgs a bell, well listen to this from december 17th. >> he could immediately, on his order, seize every single one of these machines around the country on his order. he could also order -- he could order the -- the -- um, within the swing states, if he wanted to, he could take military capabilities and he could place them in those states and basically rerun an election in each of those states. >> he was once a respected general. like, actually respected. a day later, he met with the former president reportedly to discuss this, which happens to be the guts of the draft order. now, with him, sidney powell and a businessman named patrick burn, who blogged about the meeting, quoting him now, i spoke up again, mr. president. i think you should appoint sidney powell your special counsel on these election matters and make general flynn your field marshal over the whole effort. can i imagine that? sidney powell, special counsel. general fynn, field marshal. he would probably get to wear a uniform he could design himself or maybe his son. back to the draft order. item seven calls for appointment of quote a special counsel to oversee this operation, institute all criminal and civil proceedings as appropriate, based on the evidence collected and provided all resources necessary to carry out her duties, consistent with federal laws and the constitution. they use legalese language but this is just -- it's just bat shit. excuse me. i actually didn't mean to say that. it is insane. so is that a reference to sidney powell? we don't know. nor with do do with he know who wrote the unsigned draft or why it was never formally issued. what we dough no is the former president's efforts to overturn the election, using the justice department, continued. and then, when that failed, to enlist republican lawmakers and try to get his vice president onboard potentially using the riot to force his hand. which would be for the select committee, of course, to determine. they will now have all the documents including the draft of "politico" obtained. they already subpoenaed powell, flynn, and giuliani. they are also seeking to speak to ivanka trump. in what has been a very consequential week. joining us now, member of the select committee, florida democratic congresswoman, stephanie murphy. congresswoman, thanks for join us. >> on this document that has been released by mitt koe, i know you can't confirm or deny whether it is a real document. how concerned should americans be by the idea that something like this could ever even make it into a draft form in a white house in the united states? >> well, it is great to be with you, anderson. i think that the american people should take heart in the fact that despite the fact that if this document did exist, um, that, you know, our institutions worked as they should have. and despite the fact that there might have been, um, violence and an effort to overturn the outcome of an election, we returned that evening on january 6th and certified the election as the voters intended us to do so. but what it does underscore is that, you know, now that the supreme court has decided that we can have access to this information, we are going to have access to more than 70 pa700 pages of records from the national archives the former president tried to keep hidden. it helps us advance our inquiry and helps us to determine, you know, what were places where we should bolster them to make it more, um, immune to the type of fraud and, um, that -- that we saw in this last election. so, you know, we made it through this last one okay. but we have more work to do, and a lot of what the committee is doing is to identify the places where we need to reinforce our constitution, and reinforce the way that our democracy works to ensure that nobody, no matter what their political leanings are, can change the will of the people. >> you -- you previously worked at the pentagon. i mean, if a president -- any president -- signed an executive order that said the u.s. marshals or the national guard or any part of the federal law enforcement system had to go in and seize voting machines or seize ballots, i mean, would that order be carried out? how -- what would happen in the chain of command? or would the chain of command have authority to say no? >> when i worked at the department of defense, we made a very deliberate effort to keep politics out of the very important work of national security. you know, for us, national security issues, you know, politics ended at the water's edge. and we were also very, very careful about dod involvement in anything at the domestic level. it manifested itself in somewhat of a slow response to hurricane katrina because we have to clear so many hurdles, and get the right authorities for dod to, um, engage domestically. and so, this -- if, you know, if this order were to have been given to the department of defense, i think that we have civil servants who understand their constitutional responsibility and understand that they are not required to execute on an illegal order no matter who it comes from. and so, i have great faith in our institutions but i think it's important that we understand exactly the amount of pressure that was put on these institutions, and how we can better defend against somebody in the future who tries to do the same. >> we know that the committee has heard testimony from people who were inside the white house on january 6th. and chair bennie thompson has asked ivanka trump to speak to the committee. can you say what led to -- to the decision to ask her to testify? and -- and are you optimistic at all that she actually would agree and be forgthcoming? >> well, i always hope that any, um, patriot, any american who loves this country will cooperate with our committee because what we are doing is trying to bolster our democracy, and do what's right for our country. and so, i think any patriot should participate with us. you know, we request -- requested ivanka trump to appear before our committee because based on other interviews and other information that we have received, it's clear that she had a role, if not before january 6th, certainly on the day of january 6th as there were multiple people who reached out to her. pleading and asking her to engage and to -- with her father. so, there is not only just the personal relationship of father-daughter. but there is also the government relationship. she was a sworn-government official on january 6th. >> yeah. >> so we are just looking to see what her perspective on that day was. >> um, congresswoman murphy, appreciate your time tonight. thank you so much. >> great to be with you. i want to get perspective now from constitutional attorney, george conway. george, i -- um -- i -- out an expletive which i didn't mean to do because i am really -- i don't know why this particular memo, this particular draft so stuns me after all the mish gas we have seen. i read your reaction on twitter which was quote, i can't even. um, i am going to try to -- to ask you to -- >> words can't. >> so, i mean, what does it say that the idea that the military seizing voting machines was actually being discussed and put into this memo as if it was a real thing? i mean, it's like the crazies are inside the wire. >> i have been struggling all day to think of the words that can convey exactly how -- you use the word -- i won't repeat it -- how bananas this was and how crazy it was. how insane it was. how lune -- lune -- what lunacy it was. and you have to kind of square all those words or cube them and ald them all together and you still don't get quite enough. this was absolute banana republic stuff. it was absolutely -- no one while writing this document or taking this document seriously in my view could have been of sound mind. i mean, the document is just -- i mean, the -- the notion that you could do this in the united states of america, for one thing, is just insane. but when you actually take the document apart into its constituent pieces, it's even more insane. i mean, they -- they cite these federal statutes that just have nothing to do with -- nothing to do with -- with -- with seizing voting machines. i mean, don't remotely allow that. and then, they say that the military can do that which would be a complete violation of the -- the -- the -- of federal law to use the -- the military for civilian and law enforcement purposes. it is just crazy all around. >> and the idea of -- of, you know, poor general flynn. you know, salivating at the idea of becoming a field marshal. and getting, you know, to walk around in a uniform. and -- and sidney powell as special counsel in -- i -- in this imaginary universe. >> right. and the notion that these people were i think in the oval office. >> so crazy. >> in t"the new york times," thy were in the oval office having these screaming matches with lawyers who were just having probably the same reaction we're having. except, like, they're actually having to deal with donald trump. the notion that someone -- that -- that anybody could take this seriously would raise real questions about their own state of mind. i mean, i think one of the -- one of the hidden things and i think i am going to write a column about it next week -- about what the january 6th committee is doing or has to do is to start talking about, you know, the need to reform the 25th amendment. which deals, in part, with presidential -- which deals in part with presidential disability, including mental disability. the notion that donald trump was listening to these people and taking them seriously, and notion that these people got even within a mile of the west wing is completely bananas and one of the things that they ask about in all these -- a lot of these document requests is about the 25th amendment and the mental state of the president. and i think this -- this -- this all raises those questions. >> you know, what -- >> seriously? >> -- what's interesting is, you know, you can imagine him in this meeting just kind of watching it all play out. and with the idea of, you know, maybe he thinks these people are nuts but he also thinks, you know what? maybe, let's just see how it all plays out. you know, just as he watched the capitol being attacked, and didn't do anything for so long. probably, thinking let's just see what happens. let's just watch where this might actually go. >> and he is still out there today saying that the real insurrection was on november 3rd. i mean, that's just crazy stuff that he says, day in and day out to this day. it's just -- it's just bananas. he was pathologically lying about the election before the election was even conducted. >> yeah. you wrote an op-ed for "the washington post" today about the supreme court ruling on executive privilege and the implication for the former president. you don't think his lawyers did him any favors? >> no, i mean, look. i mean, you -- you represent a bad client who does bad things. you end up making bad arguments and that's what happened here. i mean, essentially, they made this argument, um, you know, essentially, they -- they lost in record time because there was no basis at all for the -- the exercise of executive privilege when the president of the united states wasn't really doing anything for the country, but was doing something to undermine the constitution. and they lost, big time, in the district court and in the court of appeals. but one of the things the court of appeals relied on was the fact that, hey, the current president -- president biden -- is the president and he sort of has control over this now. and he said -- reviewed president trump's claims of privilege and -- and thought they were, you know, inadequate. well, the court -- the supreme court actually, um, cut back on that piece because trump's people made the argument, well, what if he had some president who was, you know -- who refused to take a prior presidential privilege claim seriously because he wanted to be vindictive politically? and you know what he did there was actually raising the specter of their own guy, their own client, trump. and i think that's what the supreme court was sort of warning about. well, what if somebody like trump comes back and, you know, starts just -- starts -- starts -- startings releasing national security documents to hurt a political rival. and so the supreme court basically cut back on the ruling and said, look, essentially what it was saying is, you know, there was no claim here even if trump had been president, which is remarkably broad ruling. >> yeah, george conway, good to have you on. thank you. >> thank you. coming up next. live report from ukraine after russia's foreign minister and secretary of state blinken met with at least one side trying to head off a possible russian invasion. later, there is breaking news. the fbi issuing new information on the sad and tragic saga of gabby petito and the boyfriend who murdered her. step up. prep up. to help keep you free from the risk of hiv. descovy for prep. a once-daily prescription medicine... ...that helps lower the chances of getting hiv through sex. it's not for everyone. descovy for prep has not been studied in people assigned female at birth. talk to your doctor to find out if it's right for you. descovy is another way to prep. descovy does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections, so it's important to use safer sex practices and get tested regularly. you must be hiv-negative to take descovy for prep. so, you need to get tested for hiv immediately before and at least every 3 months while taking it. if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms, tell your doctor right away. they may check to confirm you are still hiv-negative. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. the most common side effect was diarrhea. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking descovy without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about your risk of hiv... ...and if descovy for prep is right for you. get help paying for descovy for prep. learn more at stepupprepup.com. if you have this... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesn't... and let you see any doctor. any specialist. anywhere in the u.s. who accepts medicare patients. so if you have this... consider adding this. call unitedhealthcare today for your free decision guide. ♪ welcome to the next level. what's the plan? save the moon. save earth. when the world is counting on you. i'm going to put this baby into warp speed. buckle up. everybody hang on! and enjoy the ride. wooo! yes! in the all-new lexus nx. this is a whole other level of insane. see moonfall, in theaters february 4th. and experience amazing. ♪ ♪ some of my best memories growing up were cooking with mom. so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com we have to be able to repair the enamel on a daily basis. with pronamel repair toothpaste, we can help actively repair enamel in its weakened state. it's innovative. my go to toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. with everything else happening this week, europe came close to the brink of a major land war and still not out of danger with russian troops poised on ukraine's border and funneling aid to military kyiv. after a meeting between blinken and russian foreign minister sergey lavrov it appears rug russia has backed away from the brink of action but only for now and not very reassuringly. >> is an invasion likely? >> clarissa ward joins us now from ukraine's capital. obviously, no major breakthroughs between u.s. and russia. do we know where things stand tonight? >> reporter: no major breakthroughs, anderson, but there is ep a sense that at least for now, diplomacy is not dead. and that is some form of progress. many in europe, particularly, breathing a sigh of relief. though, it's definitely too early to get too excited because there is a lot of work to be done. the next thing that we will see, apparently, is for the u.s. to supply a written response to russia's demands. this is something russia as been quite adamant about from the beginning. blinken did not provide those written statements today but they will be over the course of the next week. then, there will be some kind of a ministerial meeting potentially again between lavrov and blinken. and then, even the possibility that blinken mentioned of he a poe potential meeting between president biden and putin. not clear if that would be in person or virtual and of course, all of this is predicated on the fact that there will not be any kind of a military incursion or invasion or any real aggression coming from the russian side. and -- and that is still a question mark at this stage. how sincere is russia about this diplomatic process? a lot of people are not so sure. >> is ukraine's leadership saying anything? >> so, it's interesting. there's been a variety of reaction so far. we did hear one ukrainian official telling cnn that potentially, dragging out this sort of diplomatic process could be a delay tactic that vladimir putin is using while he continues to make military preparations. but then, we also heard from the foreign ministry that they viewed the talks as a positive step. that the foreign minister had a conversation with secretary of state blinken after the talks. really, trying to underscore the idea that the u.s. and ukraine are in lockstep as they respond to this crisis. we also saw a tweet from ukrainian president vladimir zelensky where he said a huge thanks to the u.s. and president biden for being ukraine's steadfast ally. of course, that was really a marked shift in tone from 24 hours ago where essentially the ukrainian president had admonished president biden saying there is no such thing as minor incursions. so, we are definitely seeing a little bit of an about face as ukraine tries to project an image of being very much at one with the u.s. on this. >> and what sort of anti- -- i mean, has -- the u.s. has sent anti-aircraft missiles to ukrainian forces. does it change the calculations at all for russia over -- over, you know, in the next steps? >> so, what the u.s. has done is basically allowed for the baltic states to provide ukraine with u.s. stinger missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and this is a big deal. it's significant. it's something the ukrainians have wanted for some time. but whether it will be a d deal breaker is another question, altogether. and again, one ukrainian official said to cnn that they would actually like to see even more sophisticated heavy weaponry. that they would like to see patriot missile defense systems, for example. that is pretty much a nonstarter, one would assume. and certainly, you are talking about a battle between the ukrainian military and one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world. so, it's unclear what real difference these would make in terms of the outcome if there was to be a full-scale invasion. but it's important symbolically, as well, for the u.s. to show that it's willing to put its money where its mouth is and that it takes its obligations and nato takes its obligations to ukraine very seriously indeed. >> clarissa ward, appreciate it. thank you. up next, the extremists with ties to those in the orbit of the former president. get decision tech. for insights on when to buy and sell. and proactive alerts on market events. that's decision tech. only from fidelity. growing up, bilal was obsessed, obsessed with superman! not because he could fly, but because superman stood up for people. maybe it's because of our family's own immigrant story, or he's just that nerdy. throughout his career in the obama administration and the private sector, bilal has never stopped helping others. we don't need a superhero to solve san francisco's biggest problems like crime and homelessness, just the innovation and courage to lead. join me. the justice department's arguing in a court filing that oath keepers' leader stuart rhodes should remain in jail as he awaits trial for seditious con conspiracy related to the january 6th capitol attack. as he awaits his day in court, there are questions about whether rhodes talked to any lawmakers or those with ties to the former president. happened with other oath keepers but doesn't stop there. here is cnn's randi kaye. >> we did a meetings couple years ago where our representative from washington, paul gosar came out and we asked him flat out at that time, do you think we are heading into a civil war? and his response to the group was just flat out, we're in it. we just haven't started shooting at each other, yet. >> reporter: that's gym royo, a member of the oath keepers in arizona talking about meeting with congressman paul gosar. it is a relationship gosar has never publicly disavowed. his office never responded to cnn about this issue. and he is not the only trump booster connected to the group. roger stone was accompanied by members of the group on his trip to washington, d.c., on january 6th. stone says he was not at the capitol for the attack, and has not been charged with any crimes connected to january 6th. but his ties to another fringe group called the proud boys were previously looked into by federal prosecutors on ofunrelad investigation. it's no surprise, the proud boys were part of the insurrection since they have only been encouraged by what trump has said publicly about them. during a debate in 2020, trump was asked if he would condemn white supremacists and militia groups. this is how he answered -- >> stand back and stand by. >> reporter: this wasn't the first time trump publicly embraced a fringe group. the conspiracy movement known as qanon see trump as their savior. and believe he will rescue the world from a so-called cabal of democrats and celebrities who harvest the blood of children in order to extend their lives. >> i am here because q sent me. know who that is. >> stop the steal! >> reporter: when asked about the qanon movement, trump only had this to say. >> i have heard these are people that love our country. so, i don't know really anything about it, other than they do supposedly like me. >> reporter: two other staunch trump supporters in congress have also expressed public support for qanon. representative marjorie taylor greene from georgia. >> now, q is a patriot. he is someone that is very much loves this country. and he is on the same page as us, and he is very pro-trump. >> reporter: and representative lauren boebert from colorado. >> everything i have heard of q, i hope that i -- i hope that this is real. >> both since disavowed the group. lauren boebert has also been tied to the 3%, an anti-government militia group. at least six members of this group have been charged in the january 6th attack. she has said she condemns all forms of political violence. trump has said the same but that hasn't stopped dangerous-fringe groups from taking action in his name. >> took over the capitol. overran the capitol. >> we're in the capitol. >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, palm beach county, florida. >> taking selfies. joining now is cnn senior law enforcement analyst and former fbi deputy director andrew mccabe. andrew, have you ever seen anything like this where members of congress and a former president have if not direct ties to these groups, you know, sends them messages which are sometimes -- i mean, ambivalent at -- at worst. or at best, you know, saying that they like him. at one point, trump said about qanon, you know, they really care about kids. have you ever seen anything like this at this point? >> no. no. anderson, we have never seen anything like this. people who have worked domestic extremist groups for 50 years have never seen anything like this. we've never been in a period where, um, where prominent politicians -- of either party -- are like openly embracing members of extremist groups. and -- and there is a good reason for that, right? when they do this -- you know, when -- when paul gosar goes and meets with the oath keepers, apparently. or -- or the president refuses to call out the proud boys and -- and other groups in the way that he should have. they give them implicit authorization. it's a validation that those groups have never had, and it's intoxicating. it gives them the -- the energy and the wherewithal to continue recruiting and conducting their activities and it is just making an already-tough situation, a lot worse. >> if you were investigating an insurrection that involved a group like the proud boys, obviously, we hear the former president message them at the debate. you know, stand down and stand by. um, would you want to talk to him? i mean, can investigation move forward without hearing from the central figure in it? >> you know, i mean, it can move forward without talking to him. they are obviously moving forward pretty aggressively now, particularly with respect to the oath keepers' indictment we saw come down last week. and when you look at the communications of those people, it's clear that to some degree, they are talking about taking direction. if not directly from the president, they're following the things that he says very quirk -- very closely. they are waiting for him to declare the great insurrection that's gonna allow them to go in and slaughter all their enemies or something. so, there -- there's clearly a connection there that you want to get to the bottom of. this prompts a very relevant questions for the former president like did you actually talk to these people? were emissaries of yours interacting with them? it's not going to stop you from investigating the oath keepers if you can't do that. but boy, it would certainly help to shed some light on what happened if we could. >> andrew mccabe, appreciate it. thanks so much. >> up next, why getting a booster shot seems to be the best protection against covid nuchlt information on that and when this ow micron surge ends, could it also be the end of the epidemic -- excuse me, i should say the end of the pandemic? what a data cruncher thinks, ahead. of two immunotherapies that works differently. it could mean a chance to live longer. opdivo plus yervoy is for adults newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread, tests positive for pd-l1, and does not have an abnormal egfr or alk gene. together, opdivo plus yervoy helps your immune system launch a response that fights cancer in two different ways. opdivo plus yervoy equals a chance for more time together. more family time. more time to remember. opdivo and yervoy can cause your immune system to harm healthy parts of your body during and after treatment. these problems can be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have a cough; chest pain; shortness of breath; irregular heartbeat; diarrhea; constipation; severe stomach pain, nausea or vomiting; dizziness; fainting; eye problems; extreme tiredness; changes in appetite, thirst or urine; rash; itching; confusion; memory problems; muscle pain or weakness; joint pain; flushing; or fever. these are not all the possible side effects. problems can occur together and more often when opdivo is used with yervoy. tell your doctor about all medical conditions including immune or nervous system problems, if you've had or plan to have an organ or stem cell transplant, or received chest radiation. here's to a chance to live longer. ask your doctor about the combination of two immunotherapies, opdivo plus yervoy. thank you to all those in our clinical trials. ♪ i'm getting vaccinated with prevnar 20. so am i. because i'm at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. i'm asking about prevnar 20. because there's a chance pneumococcal pneumonia could put me in the hospital. if you're 65 or older you may be at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. prevnar 20 is approved in adults to help prevent infections from 20 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. in just one dose. even if you've already been vaccinated with another pneumonia vaccine, ask your doctor if prevnar 20 could help provide additional protection. don't get prevnar 20 if you've had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. adults with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were pain and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, and joint pain. i want to be able to keep my plans. that's why i chose to get vaccinated with prevnar 20. because just one dose can help protect me from pneumococcal pneumonia. ask your doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated with prevnar 20 today. it has been two years and a day since the first covid case was identified in this country, which is remarkable to think about and on this day, there was very welcome news today on a battle against the virus. the cdc released three studies looking at millions of cases and among the findings, a booster shot is 90% effective at preventing an omicron-related hospitalization. but that goes down to 57% with no booster. and at least six months since the second shot. now, also getting boosted was 82% effective at preventing visits to the er or urgent care center. in comparison, two shots were only 38% effective at preventing those visits if it's been at least six months since the second shot. and no surprise here, all three studies found unvaccinated people faced the highest risk of getting covid. so with all that, as well as indications that the omicron surge could have peaked at least in the hard-hit northeast, we wanted to know about how much closer are we to finally getting control of the virus, once and for all? joining us now for his take is thomas who is by his own admission, not a epidemiologist but he is a data cruncher who analyzes data and covid online posts have had millions of views and have prompted serious discussions over the course of the entire pandemic. his latest blog posting is titled "coronavirus game over it's time to start living again." thomas, you write that after the omicron surge, it will be quote game over because, quote, after the omicron wave, we will be in a world where most people will have some sort of immunity, either through natural infections, vaccines, or both. we now know how -- how to get vaccines fast. we should approve them faster for new variants and we have treatments, too. the value of time for learning has dropped. we know most of what we need to know about it. so the benefits of social measures to stop covid are much lower. so, how are you so sure? i mean, one thing we have learned throughout the past two years is, you know, the virus changes. it can mutate. and there is a lot we may not know. >> we can not know for sure. what we need to do is incorporate new data and when it changes probabilities, adapt. and this is what is happening, right? you have four factors that each one of them alone is a game changer, right? after the omicron wave, 90 to 95% of people are going to have some level of immunity. we also have vaccines. right? they reduce deaths by 90%. we have the fact that omicron today kills between 50 and 90% fewer people and we also have treatments, like paxlovid, which might reduce deaths by 90 to 100%. each one of these is a game changer but, altogether, they are like the four horsemen of salvation. and so, you would need all four of those to not be true for -- for the end of the pandemic to not be something that we can foresee in the next couple of months. >> so, you really believe the end of the pandemic -- i mean, is it accurate to say you believe the end of the pandemic is in the next couple of months? >> i think it's possible. right? the -- if you go back to two years ago, march 2020 when everything was -- was exploding. imagine that somebody told you, 90 to 95% of people are going to have some level of immunity. that reduces the fatality rate to close to what the flu would have been. imagine that, instead of that, you said, hey, there is a treatment for this that's going to reduce this by 90 to 100%. i mean, that would have prevented the -- the pandemic a year, two years ago. and so, if it were prevented -- the pandemic measures -- then, it should revert them now. and so, one thing we are not really sure about is what is going to happen with the new variants. but i believe a lot of the data that we have suggests that if -- of the next ones that appear are not going to be as virulent as, for example, delta. >> you write about post-covid stress disorder. on an individual level, how do you suggest people start trying to return to a more normal life? because i mean, the idea of, you know, for me, even sitting in -- you know, in new york, i walk by restaurants that are packed at night with people not wearing masks. the idea of going to a party with a lot of people indoors. i mean, i -- it's not something i would choose to do. how do you -- was -- how does one get over that? >> so, that's what happens with humans, right? when we're used to a lifestyle, changing it is very hard. two years ago, we were used to norma normal life and then we needed to react very, very quickly to make people understand how everything was gonna change overnight. and it took some time for people to realize this. now, we need to do the exact opposite. it is very likely that the -- the next two months are going to -- what happens in two months is going to be -- to what happens in a couple years. so, we need to start making people realize this. so, for example, if you watch a movie and you see a bunch of people in a restaurant, like you were saying, without a mask and you think ew. well, that is a sign that you probably have ptsd. you need to think, okay, all of these things that i have learned to be, uh, scared of, now i shouldn't be scared anymore because covid is not as much of a risk. that is not today. right? it has to be after the omicron wave and we need to be cautious because there might be things that happen. but all the data we have suggests that what happens in two months is probably going to be -- and that lifestyle is going to be the same as couple years. >> you also say it is much harder to stop covid right now than two years ago. given that, did you do you think people who test positive should still be quarantining? do you think those people who are quarantining are making a difference in stopping the spread? because obviously, there are a lot of staffing shortages. >> yeah. think there's a few -- a few things that are -- matter here. one of the things during the wave, again, we need to be cautious here. and a second one is more our habits from now on. two years ago, if you were -- if you had the flu and you stayed at home because of it, people would look at you like you are lazy. right? now, we know, no, please, if you have the flu, don't come. if you are coughing, please don't come. we wear your mask. so, there's changes in behavior that we need to have just because we are more intelligent about respiratory viruses. but aside from that, we shouldn't assume that tools the government has developed for a pandemic are for an endemic, right? valid when preventing a wave but if you have a treatment that can reduce death by 90%, do you really need them? i don't think so. and so, governments have learned over the last two years to use the tools for a pandemic and they need to learn to give them away once the pandemic is done. and if that's true in a couple of months, they need to get prepared to stop using those tools in a couple months. >> thomas, it's fascinating. i hope you are right. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. up next. the investigation to the tragic death of gabby petito is soon coming to a close as the fbi reveals new details on her death. the breaking news, next. realtor.com's draw a map feature helped us find what we wanted, where we wanted. so we could finally buy our first "big boi house." big boi house. big boi foyer! big boi marble. big boi quartz. word? realtor.com to each their home. we have to be able to repair the enamel on a daily basis. with pronamel repair toothpaste, we can help actively repair enamel in its weakened state. it's innovative. my go to toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. what if you could have the perspective to see more? 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(burke) seventeen-car garage you got there? ♪we are farmers♪ ♪bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum♪ san francisco was a beacon of hope for my family to reach the middle class, and i've been helping others ever since. when the pandemic hit bilal was right there, helping restaurant workers make ends meet. in the obama administration, bilal worked tirelessly on innovative policies. the status quo isn't working. bilal is the best shot we have for meaningful change. i'm bilal mahmood, and i know our city can become a beacon of hope once again. the fbi has announced the homicide investigation into gabby petito's death will close in the near future. a reminder, gabby petito died on a road trip with her fiance brian laundrie. her body was found in wyoming last september, a few weeks after her family last heard from her. and after laundrie returned to florida alone driving her van. then he also went missing. his body was found in late october in a reserve. tonight randi kaye is learning more about the case and she joins me now from florida. so what did the -- what did we learn from the fbi today? >> reporter: anderson, the fbi had a big announcement today saying that before brian laundrie took his life he admitted that he was responsible for gabby petito's death. he apparently admitted this in a notebook that was found nearby his remains. the fbi denver releasing a statement today saying "a review of the notebook revealed written statements by mr. laundrie claiming responsibility for ms. petito's death." the fbi also announcing some new information, anderson, saying that a revolver was found near laundrie's remains. we knew that he had taken his life, that he had shot himself, but this is also new information. but regarding that notebook, we did know that it was in decent condition. of course the family was hoping that it would provide some answers. the petito family of course wanting to know if brian laundrie had said anything in that notebook about what happened to their daughter. but the question is what are those details? we still don't know. did he say that it was an accident or that it was intentional? did he say why or where this happened? we still don't know. and anderson, you may recall that last fall when the teton county coroner investigated her death he ruled it a homicide. he said that it was manual strangulation. so he also said that it was likely that somebody used their hands to kill gabby petito, anderson. >> where is the notebook now? who has possession of it? >> reporter: well, steve bertolino, the attorney for the laundrie family, told me today that both families, the petitos and the laundries have reached an agreement about the possessions that belonged to gabby petito and brian laundrie including the notebook. now, he would not say which family, though, anderson, was taking that notebook. but he did say that there was some sort of agreement. we know the petitos met with the tampa fbi yesterday and they did come to an agreement on those possessions, anderson. >> and have both families made public reactions? >> they have. gabby petito's family released a statement today through their attorney thanking the fbi but also saying this, some pretty strong words, saying "the quality and quantity and facts of information collected by the fbi leave no doubt brian laundrie murdered gabby." steve bertolino also releasing a statement today, late today, to me saying that "this tragedy has caused enormous emotional pain and suffering to all who loved either or both of them. we can only hope that with today's closure of the case each family can begin to heal and move forward and find peace in and with the memories of their children. may gabby and brian both rest in peace," anderson. >> was brian laundrie ever officially charged with killing gabby petito? >> reporter: no. and that's what's interesting here. is that he died. he was on the run for all those weeks and he disappeared and died before they could ever charge him. but while he was i afugitive he was certainly facing charges for allegedly using gabby petito's debit card without her authorization. but he was never charged in the end with her homicide, anderson. >> randi, thanks very much. we'll be right back. because every great play starts the night before. my sleep number 360 smart bed tracks my circadian rhythm, average heart rate, and breathing rate so i know how well i'm sleeping. it's also temperature balancing so i stay cool. and it senses my movement and automatically adjusts to help keep me comfortable all night. sleep number takes care of the science so i can focus on other things. the sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now. only from sleep number. ♪ ♪ ♪ "how bizarre" by omc ♪ no annual fee on any discover card. ♪ ♪ inner voice (sneaker shop owner): i'm surprising my team with a preview of the latest sneaker drop. because i can answer any question about any shoe. but i'm stumped when it comes to payroll. intuit quickbooks helps you easily run payroll in less than 5 minutes... ...so you can stay... one step ahead. well, would you look at that? 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"preservision is backed by 20 years of clinical studies" "and its from the eye experts at bausch and lomb" so, ask your doctor about adding preservision. and fill in a missing piece of your plan. like i did with preservision" the news continues here on cnn with brianna keilar and "democracy in peril." brianna? >> anderson, thank you so much. this is "democracy in peril," our series on the ongoing threats to american democracy. and tonight we take you to key battleground states where republican and democratic election officials who ensured a fair and secure election in 2020 are quitting left and right and where others are going to extraordinary measures to protect themselves. they have to. not only are some officials facing the possibility of felony convictions for honest administrative errors or for helping voters who run into problems with their ballot applications.