simmering tensions as the uk considers sending more troops to eastern europe amid rising russian hostility, quote, unquote, towards ukraine. also, questions are swirling after reports of one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, tom brady, plans to hang up his cleats after 22 seasons. >> live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom" with michael holmes. we begin with a historic winter storm pummeling the northeastern u.s. this weekend, unleashing blinding snow and fierce winds across much of the region. have a listen. crews had already started digging out on saturday, but officials say lingering snow and freezing conditions could slow those efforts. more than 2 feet of snow fell on parts of massachusetts, new york, and rhode island, shattering records in some areas. many officials urging residents to hunker down and stay off the roads. though some people were still out and about. >> it absolutely is dangerous. because people out on the road, they can't see, they lose visibility, they could swerve off the road and get stuck. >> i was just dropping my sister off around the corner. i came to look at the water. it's all frozen over. then i got stuck. >> and it's not just the snow people need to worry about. strong winds, some hurricane-force gusts, are also making conditions dangerous. cnn's alison kosik reports from long island, new york. >> reporter: a storm to remember on new york's long island. not just because of the snow totals, but because of the winds. q gusts up to 60 miles per hour became an issue throughout this storm as it moved snow onto the roadways, making it not only hard to see but hard to plow because the snow kept being pushed onto the roadways. new york governor kathy hochul was the epicenter of the storm was long island. it was declared a blizzard moved through here on long island with 35-mile-per-hour winds and visibility of less than one-quarter of a mile. all that going on for at least three hours. this was a storm that also impacted transportation, major airports, laguardia, jfk, newark said major airlines canceled a majority of their flights. as for snow accumulations, we're hearing the estimates are 18 inches on the western portion of long island to more than 2 feet, possibly, on the eastern end of long island. the big worry, the next couple of days temperatures are expected to plunge, causing freezing snow and ice on the roadways. officials are urging people to take it slow and take it very careful as they get out and drive their cars. >> joining me is meteorologist derek van dam. i guess everyone wants to know, did boston break the snowfall record? >> they tied it, actually. and michael, i've been to boston, rode out nor'easters there, they are hardy people. i've seen them out jogging during the middle of a winter storm. even strapping skis onto their feet and going to and from the local shops. this is what they deal with. but when you start talking about 2 feet of snow plus, well, it's tough to get around for anybody. they only tied the single-day snowfall total of 23.6 inches. so just shy of that record. and just shy of 2 feet of snow. the snow has exited boston. it's really located across northern new england into the state of maine. low pressure located across nova scotia at the moment. we have under 1 million people impacted by this storm in terms of weather alerts because the entire eastern seaboard this time yesterday was blanketed with shades of red, pink, and blue. now we only have to worry about the cold. windchill alerts, advisories, and warnings in place across much of new england. this is what it feels like as you step outside, negative 4. that's what it feels like on exposed skin. factor in temperatures and wind, you get windchill. heavy snow heading to maine. blizzard warnings in effect until 7:00 a.m. we've got deep freeze this morning with only a bit of respite this afternoon with a bit of sunshine. not much additional snowfall for this area, but when we talk about snowfall totals, we did break records in many locations. over 2 feet. sharon, massachusetts, 30 inches. atlantic city, 14 inches. these are single detail records. philadelphia, laguardia, providence. it's not just the snow, it was the wind. hurricane-force gusts across much of massachusetts, especially over the eastern sections of the state. temperatures are cold. we're talking single digits for all locations at the moment. that cold doesn't stop across new england or the east coast, it has moved its way all the way to southern florida. the florida peninsula could see 14 record low temperatures this morning. so therefore why am i showing a picture of an iguana on the ground? there's an iguana watch, these are cold-blooded animals and they go into hibernation with temps like this, they fall from the trees. >> i've heard that. don't go up to them, they'll warm up and move along. thanks very much, derek van dam. the u.n. security council is set to meet monday to discuss the looming threat of a possible russian invasion into ukraine. the diplomats are hoping russia will explain why it has amassed the biggest military buildup since the cold war. the uk will press for answers when british prime minister boris johnson speaks with the russian leader, vladimir putin. the uk saturday announcing it is considering offering a major military deployment to nato in eastern europe. saturday did produce one modest diplomatic success. the russian navy announcing it would relocate planned naval exercises in the north atlantic after irish fishermen complained the warships and munitions would disrupt their fishing. cnn's melissa bell is standing by in kyiv. nathan hodge joins us from moscow. nathan, bring us up to date on the situation in russia. >> reporter: michael, the russian ambassador to ireland announced that the russian navy would be relocating those naval drills off the coast of ireland as a gesture of goodwill. that's been a rare moment in this rolling diplomatic crisis of levity, because the u.s., washington, and moscow have been so far apart on this. earlier this week, the u.s. and nato sent their written responses to russia's security demands and the kremlin is currently mulling that over. it's clear that the ball is now in russian president vladimir putin's court. on friday, he had a phone conversation with french president emmanuel macron that was one of the earliest signals of the russian receptiveness or lack of receptiveness. it's clear their positions are still quite far apart, although putin has yet to fully respond to that letter. but his foreign minister, sergey lavrov, said while there are secondary issues where the u.s. and russia and nato may find some common ground, on the big picture issue, whether ukraine has a path to join nato, the west and russia are still very, very far apart. >> nathan, thanks for that. melissa in kyiv, tell us the mood there, and also how big the disconnect with the u.s. when it comes to messaging? >> reporter: well, we've been hearing that disconnect grow more and more openly, having rumbled along behind the scenes for weeks now. it's a difference in messaging, it's a difference in appreciation of the threat that you can understand when you listen to the words of president zelensky explain the threat of war and a front line is something that ukrainians have been living with for much of the last eight years. there's a difference of perspective, the assessment is that the threat is not as imminent, as grave, as the americans have been painting it to be, for strategic reasons we can understand. the need to bring allies together in order to present a united and strong front against vladimir putin. a difference of assessment that's come out much more forcefully over the course of the last few days. it isn't just those in charge in ukraine, but when you are out in the streets here in ukrainian capital, very much a sense of life going on as usual for all the rhetoric, for all the tensions around the country. when you speak to people here, there is a sort of sense that they're used to this kind of thing, that no one's particularly panicking, that life continues much as it did. and that's because also, they've been living with the threat for that long. so the problem for the americans is that that disconnect threatens to really divide that united front they've been wanting to present. we heard that in the words of one official speaking to cnn on the american side and saying, look, here is president zelensky, and we understand the pressure he's under at home. after all, it's about keeping the economy going, relatively buoyant, trying to protect it from the fears of war. but look, here is a president who is on one hand dismissing or at least minimizing the threat of war even as he asks the united states for hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of weapons in order to prevent against that very threat. so different words, different rhe rhetoric, and of course the longer this goes on, the more difficult it will be. next week we expect a visit of the british prime minister. as you mentioned, with that promise of help and deployments to the eastern flank of nato. and no doubt we'll look to see how long we will have to wait as those differences emerge between ukraine and the united states, or at least become more obvious. how long it's going to take for vladimir putin to come back with an official answer, we've heard words, we've heard an idea of their disappointment with the nato and american proposals. but the idea that they will come back officially with a response, that is really what everyone's looking to. the longer that takes, the more starkly these divisions are likely to be exposed. >> melissa bell in kyiv. nathan hodge in moscow. thanks to you both. the u.s. is calling on china to use its influence with russia to urge a peaceful end to the standoff. >> we are calling on beijing to use its influence with moscow to urge diplomacy. because if there is a conflict in ukraine, it is not going to be good for china either. there will be a significant impact on the global economy. there will be a significant impact in the energy sphere. and it will be all the harder for all of us to get back to what we should be doing. >> but experts say beijing is unlikely to back washington on this issue. earlier i spoke with daniel russell, the vice president of security and diplomacy for the aegis society policy institute, and asked him about the reasoning behind china's position. >> i don't think there is any upside from china's point of view in putting pressure on putin on behalf of the united states. what putin and xi jinping have in common here is actually the desire to undercut u.s. credibility, to drive a wedge between washington and its allies. whether they're in europe or in asia. i think xi jinping likes the idea that nato would be weakened and that there would be doubts about america's ability to defend other democracies. >> if an invasion does happen, or partial invasion, or whatever, and the west does apply the serious sanctions it threatens, how might china perhaps move to mitigate those sanctions, help russia out? >> well, there's a lot that china can do sort of behind the scenes in backfilling. in other words, in providing some of the forbidden goods that russia can no longer get overtly from the west and providing financial, other forms of support. but there are real risks for beijing in that. i think that china clearly wants to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. they don't want to be lumped together with russia as a target for u.s. or european sanctions. they don't want to alienate the europeans so much that it hurts china's economic interests and other strategic interests. reports suggest u.s. football star tom brady is set to retire. however, the legendary quarterback himself has not released a statement. and people close to him insist a final decision has not been conveyed to them. brady is a seven-time super bowl champion, arguably the greatest quarterback ever in the national football league. the 44-year-old just finished his 22nd season, remarkable. one of his former teammates spoke to cnn about what set brady apart. >> brady just had this chip on his shoulder. that he was able to go out and not only exceed his talented hero in joe montana, but to push the barriers so far that i believe it's unparalleled. no one will be able to match what he's done. >> brady's agent said only the superstar knows his full plans for the future. the quarterback said a week ago he's taking it day by day. north korea ups the ante in a series of its back-to-back missile tests. up next, kim jong-un makes a new move that experts say he hasn't done in years. one of the most advanced u.s. fighter jets crashes into the south china sea. now a race on to recover the wreckage before it falls into the wrong hands. she took new mucinex instasoothe sore throat lozenges. show your sore throat who's boss. new mucinex instasoothe. works in seconds, lasts for hours. wondering what actually goes into your multi-vitamin? 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[girls laugh] -nice smile, brad. -nice! thanks? crest 3d white. 100% stain removal. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. ♪ welcome back. north korea is raising the stakes with its suspected seventh missile test this month. pyongyang apparently launching an intermediate-range ballistic missile on sunday which would be the first such test in nearly five years. and south korea now says is move could indicate a big shift in pyongyang's missile policy. will ripley is in taipei for us. joins me now live. good to see you. will, what is the significance? it's a lot of tests for a start, but what's the significance of this type of missile? >> reporter: it's the longest-range missile that they've tested since 2017. that was the same year, by the way, that they tested several intercontinental ballistic missiles as well. there were several launches. twice in july, once in november. after that, north korea had a self-imposed moratorium on this kind of longer-range missile launch, along with nuclear tests, to coincide with the korean detente, that period of dipl diplomacy. that's over and here we are back to this same pattern we saw in 2017. this is coming from south korean president moon jae-in, who has been working for much of his presidency to try to bring about some sort of a peace deal on the korean peninsula. now as he nears the end of his presidential term, he is concerned that north korea is on the verge of walking away completely from its own self-imposed suspension of activities, like nuclear tests and long-range intercontinental ballistic missile tests. this missile, this is the seventh weapons test this month. this is busiest january on record. we've never seen this from north korea, this many launches in the month of january. this missile in particular, according to the japanese government, traveled to an altitude of 2,000 kilometers, more than 1,200 miles. it was in the air for 30 minutes and splashed down in the waters in between korea and japan. an icbm would have gone up about twice as high, so this was not an icbm, an intercontinental ballistic missile launch. the concern is north korea is headed in that direction. they've signaled they're headed in that direction, that they're evaluating suspending entirely their self-imposed moratorium. the timing is days away from the opening ceremony of the beijing 2022 winter games. could north korea, which is not participating, citing the coronavirus pandemic, also crucially u.s. hostility, could they be trying to insert themselves into the olympic narrative with a highly provocative major test? either an intercontinental ballistic missile launch or a nuclear test the likes of which we haven't seen in five years. we'll have to watch very closely in the coming days and weeks to see what kim jong-un has planned but all signs is this is not headed in a good direction right now. >> and so often the launches are as much about political signaling as they are about actual testing. is that your sense, that this is a timing of messaging more than anything? >> reporter: these launches are always about propaganda. when you look at the spectrum of missiles that have been launched by north korea this month, they began the month with two tests of what they claim are hypersonic weapons. these are not only ballistic missiles that can travel ten times or more the speed of sound, but they contain hypersonic live vehicles which would allow the warhead, either a conventional or nuclear warhead, to make an unexpected turn midflight, making them extraordinarily difficult if not impossible to shoot down. not only did they test those hypersonic weapons, which experts say likely did have great scientific value, they also tested missiles we've seen north korea launch in recent years. short range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles. they launched a ballistic missile from a train. all of these things we've seen north korea do, but this month what they appear to be doing is demonstrating the full range of their military capability at a time the eyes of the world are going to be on this region. their neighbor, their benefactor, their patron, is china. why would they be doing this so close to the most important international sporting event that china is hosting, an event that's supposed to symbolize peace? the winter olympics. from the north korean perspective, this may be the only way, in their view, to get the leverage that they want to get at the negotiating table, to get sanctions lifted. they say as the united states continues to impose more sanctions on them, they've promised their response will only be even more firm. >> he certainly likes to get attention. will ripley in taipei, appreciate it. near the fill liens, the u.s. military is scrambling to recover this f-35 stealth fighter which crashed into the ocean on monday. this version is the most sophisticated war plane the u.s. has, and the u.s. fears china might try to reach the wreckage first. cnn's ivan watson with the latest. >> reporter: the final approach of an f-35c stealth fighter jet seconds before it crash lands into the flight deck of a u.s. aircraft carrier. images circulated on social media confirmed by the u.s. navy show the plane moments later in the ocean, canopy open after its pilot escaped. the cause of the crash, which injured the pilot and six sailors, still under investigation. the navy now has the difficult task of recovering the wreckage of a $100 million jet from the bottom of the ocean. to make sure, defense experts say, that its classified technology doesn't fall into the wrong hands. >> the chinese have a long history of being able to borrow something from overseas and reverse engineer it. so that this would certainly be a gold mine as far as this goes. >> the crash occurred here in the south china sea, a heavily trafficked body of water that beijing claims almost all for itself. and this is where two american aircraft carriers are currently operating. accompanied by more than 100 war planes and at least 10 other warships. an unmistakable demonstration of u.s. naval power to both allies and rivals in asia. >> these are powerful reminders that the indo-pacific is of central strategic importance to the biden administration. it's about signaling to other competitors in the region, most notably china that united states' credibility should not be taken lightly. >> reporter: the chinese foreign ministry says it's not interested in the crashed plane. a spokesman urged the u.s. to contribute more to regional peace, rather than flexing force at every turn. but chinese state media did some gloating, saying the crash exposed u.s. exhaustion at containing china. it's not the first time the u.s. navy has had an accident while asserting what washington says is its right to conduct freedom of navigation operations in these contested waters. last october, a u.s. navy attack submarine crashed into an undersea mountain in the south china sea, prompting the firing of its commanding officers. meanwhile, the versatile f-35 war plane, developed years behind schedule and way over budget, has had its own setbacks of late. a british f-35 crashed into the mediterranean sea in november. in 2019, a japanese f-35 crashed into the pacific ocean, killing the pilot. the jet impacted at such high-speed that salvage teams never recovered most of the aircraft. >> flying into air kraft carriers is a dangerous bus and occasionally mishaps happen. >> reporter: experts predict it will take several weeks for the u.s. navy to recover this expensive wreck from the bottom of the sea. still to come, austria says it will soon ease covid-19 restrictions for the unvaccinated, even as infections there remain high. serious cases on the rise in israel. one covid expert says the country has passed its omicron peak. you don't know how much pressure you put on your septic system. but rid-x does. in a 21 month study, scientists proved that rid- x reduces up to 20% of waste build up 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though infection numbers there are still high. with drums beating, thousands of people again marched through vienna to protest the country's strict covid-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates. but at a news conference saturday, austrian chancellor karl nihammer announced some of those coronavirus measures will ease up soon, especially those targeting the unvaccinated. he said, as of february 12 people who are not vaccinated will no longer be barred from nonessential shops, and the following week will be able to go to restaurants and other tourist attractions if they have proof of recovery or a negative coronavirus test. last week the government said it was lifting the lockdown restrictions on the unvaccinated on monday. since november, they have only been able to leave their homes for essential reasons like work or buying food. officials say even though infections remain high, the number of people hospitalized has dropped which has allowed them to relax some of the rules. one thing that isn't changing, the country's vaccine mandate for all austrians over 18 except those with a medical waiver or proof of recent recovery. that still takes effect tuesday. >> translator: we will see the peak of omicron the next 14 days. but we need other midterm measures to fight the pandemic and mandatory vaccination is a means to raise overall immunity across the population. >> reporter: meanwhile, it was a noisy day in the canadian capital, ottawa, over a vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers. with horns blaring, the so-called freedom convoy rolled into town, joined by other protesters angry with what they say is government overreach during the pandemic. >> this convoy is all about freedom. it's not only with the truck drivers. it's actually for every single american person. you, me, buddy down the road, it doesn't matter. it's all about your free choice. >> reporter: crowded scenes in beijing not for any protest, but to board trains and buses ahead of china's lunar new year, which begins on monday. the chinese capital and many other big cities advise residents not to go home for the holiday, but the national transportation authority says travel in the first ten days of the holiday season has increased 46% from the same period last year, though it's still lower than prepandemic levels. >> translator: because of covid, i haven't been home for two years. i decided this year to go through a lot of difficulty and do five covid tests to be able to go home, because the rules are very strict at my workplace. >> reporter: one person who's staying put the next few days, new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern, self-isolating after a close contact tested positive for covid-19. now to israel where the number of serious covid infections has reached 1,000 for the first time in nearly a year. but even so, one coronavirus expert claims the country has passed the peak of its omicron wave. he says by the time this wave is over, more than half of israel's population will have been infected with the variant. cnn's had disgold joins me live from jerusalem. hadas, explain what this expert means about the peak passing and how it might relate to the rollout of the fourth vaccine dose? >> reporter: first the bad news. for the first time in a year, the serious hospitalized cases have passed 1,000 people. i think the latest numbers i saw this morning were about 1,010. they are expected to go up. it's very likely israel could break its own record for people who are hospitalized in serious condition. that record was set almost exactly a year ago, january of last year, when more than 1,175 people were hospitalized in serious condition. so those numbers are expected to go up. but there is potentially good news. a professor, one of the top government covid advisers, says he does bleach that israel has passed the peak of this omicron wave. likely that peak was last week when in one day over 76,000 cases were notched. keep in mind, that doesn't include all of the home tests that more and more people are starting to do. so he does believe that the infection rate is starting to go down and the peak has passed in israel for the omicron wave. professor siegel estimates at the end of this wave, 1 in 2 israelis, pretty much 50% of israelis, will have been infected with omicron. it goes to show how infectious this variant is. israel is pushing ahead with the fourth vaccine dose. late last week they greatly expanded the eligibility of who can get the fourth vaccine. as it stands now, anyone in israel who is over the age of 18 with an underlying medical condition, anybody who cares for somebody with an underlying medical condition, anyone whose job puts them at great exposure risk for getting infected. somebody works at a grocery store, a school, anybody who's around the a lot of people. you can self-define for any of these issues, and that would allow you to get the fourth vaccine dose. israel says they decided to do this after they looked at data of more than 400 thousand people who got the fourth vaccine dose since january. those are mainly people over the age of 60. and they showed it provided them great protection against infection, even greater protection against serious illness. >> hadas gold there in jerusalem for us, thank you. some parents in india say online learning is doing more harm than good for their children. we'll talk to one parent about the ways her child has been affected by being away from the classroom for 600 days. 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can't top this skin shop now at olay.com any parent will tell you the second you have a kid, it's like your heart is living outside of your body, which means you never, ever stop worrying. that's why we got health insurance and for way less than we thought was possible. the kids' doctor and dental check-ups are free, and i get screenings for my cholesterol and my blood pressure. don't get me wrong, i still worry. just a little less. covered california. this way to health insurance. enrollment ends january 31st at coveredca.com some parents in india say enough is enough, and it's time for their kids to be back in class despite the pandemic. that is happening in delhi where children have been out of school for more than 600 days. but parents say pandemic school closures are taking a toll on children's education and mental health. for more i'm joined by darlini matur whose son is more than 4 million children affected by school closures. your son just turned 4 when he started preschool. it's now 600 days later and he's not been to class in person. just using you as an example, how has that been for you? >> thank you for having me. it's actually been really hard to see. he struggled to connect with teachers and peers on a zoom phone call. he has had to learn how to write, how to grip a pencil, online. and it has been really hard to see. i think that the hardest thing for children that age is actually learning to navigate being a human being. a social person. the give and take that comes with being on a school playground or a classroom where he learns how to interact with other people his own age. that has actually been completely absent and it's impossible to replicate on a zoom screen. but this goes beyond my own child. it goes to millions of other chi children. a world group reported recently that learning poverty has increased to 70% in this country for children under 10. that is two-thirds of children in this country, an enormous number that can't be taught. >> the other aspect, in the west, most, not all, but most kids have squaels to things like laptops and internet. that's not the case for the huge number of indians who live in poverty, they don't have access to those things if not in school, right? >> absolutely. and there was another study that found that 70%, a report that came out for india, that 70% of children in there don't have access to the internet. and between 30% and 40% don't have access to a device. to believe that it works is delusional. we really do need to get our kids back in school. >> i think you and a lot of parents, particularly in delhi, feel that while kids are at the least risk of poor covid outcomes, they're the ones facing the maximum restrictions in delhi, tighter restrictions than other areas of life and society. why do you think delhi has persisted with that policy? >> it actually boggles the mind, to be honest. but this really comes down to a risk assessment. i think two years ago when schools first shut down in march 2020, nobody knew much about this new virus, and it made sense from a public health perspective. and i honestly believe that our policymakers, our people who govern us, the authorities, have the best interests of our children in mind. but the assessment has moved everywhere. global experience has shown that schools can be safely reopened, that schools are not super spreaders. and children really do need to be in school. when it comes to risk assessment between children who are at the least risk from severe covid, and the risk to children from the extensive losses they've suffered through two years of being out of school, it's a risk assessment that has changed, i believe. i do hope that the authorities will relook at the science, will relook at expert advice, and also change their policies following global experience. >> it's a very serious issue for you and literally millions of kids. i appreciate your time, thanks so much. beijing winter olympics less than a week away. while 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you nerd, cough if you're in here! shh! i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. what about rob's dry cough? works on that too, and lasts 12 hours. 12 hours?! who studies that long? mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs. are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! ♪ welcome back. the men's final of the australian open tennis tournament has just gottenened way in melbourne. the spanish superstar, rafael nadal, hoping to make history with a record 21st grand slam title. remember, novak djokovic isn't there to stop him. nadal faces the reigning u.s. open champ denil nedved. stay tuned next hour, we'll have a live update for you from melbourne. yesterday the women's final, hometown hero ash barty gave the boisterous crowd at the sold-out rod laver arena lots to cheer about. she became the first australian woman in 44 years to win the women's tennis title on home soil. and the second first nation australian. we're getting closer and closer to the start on friday of beijing's winter olympics, trying to promote the games as the greenest ever. but many experts dispute that claim, saying the cost to the natural environment has been enormous. cnn's david culver explains. >> reporter: less than a week to go before the olympic flame once again burns in beijing. but for these, the second games hosted by china, a big commitment to the environment. beijing touting this as the first olympics fueled 100% by renewable energy. cnn visiting one of the mountain ski venues during construction. we could see dozens of wind turbines in the distance. and beyond that solar fields. validation, so it seems, of a greener games blanketed by a white layer of snow. while china wants the world's attention to be on the competition, some are raising concerns with what was lost to make these games possible. the games are happening in three main zones. one within the capital city, beijing. the other two on the outskirts, a bit farther north. both giving a more mountainous backdrop. you have beijing's first national nature reserve and the second-highest mountain. at the border of beijing and hubei, it's home to hundreds of types of animals and plants, even some endangered species. perhaps not what you'd expect when you think of china's smoggy capital city. >> these areas of protection of wilderness, of nature, are really important. not just for nature itself, but also it's really important for people. >> reporter: cnn obtained this 2007 tourism planning policy for the national reserve. it explicitly stated that any development in this part, the core zone, is forbidden. china's law recognizing the value of its biodiversity and protecting it from disturbance. it did not last long. >> beijing. >> reporter: when beijing won its bid for the 2022 winter games, some environmentalists highlighted an immediate worry. compare this map detailing the rich nature reserve with this, the proposed location for the alpine ski center. as environmentalists warned at the time, the planned construction site was right in the core of the nature reserve. in 2017, they released an updated mapping of the nature reserve boundary. while it showed an even larger reserve area than previously designated, the original core zone, including the highest peak experts say that has the most significance to biodiversity, was no longer part of the protected lands. >> because if you are destroying the upper high-altitude mountain parts, it's no use to try and cure in the lower parts. >> reporter: in april 2017, construction began. the once-lush forest torn down. trees shipped out. in less than three years you could see the ski runs carved into the mountains. when president xi jinping visited the ski center a year ago, he emphasized beijing's promise of a green olympics and its commitment to the ecology. beijing did not explain why the alpine ski center had to be built in the nature reserve. but one expert on ecology inside china told us, economic considerations might be at play. for safety reasons, we're not identifying him. >> if it's just for holding the olympics, ski resorts in hubei are good enough. there's no reason to touch the nature reserve at all. but beijing doesn't want the winter sports to be diverted to hubei. >> in response the international olympics committee said the development of the zone is transforming the region, a rural suburb of beijing, into a major four-season tourism destination, improving lives and boosting the local economy. in 2017, an environmental activist even sued the government over the nature reserve boundary change according to a court notice. but a source with direct knowledge of the case tells cnn the case did not proceed. china has never commented on it. the activist declined our request for an interview. keeping with the eco-friendly narrative, state media broadcasted images of the uprooted trees being replanted elsewhere. >> all else has failed to pry to protect that area, whatever, then okay, you can save the trees. but it doesn't really do that much. >> reporter: adding to the loss of ecosystems, water worries. how do you turn an already dry climate, suffering from years of drought, into an olympic-worthy ski venue? cue the snowmaking machines. >> i think it's completely unsustainable. if there's none or too little snow, all of the snow has to be produced artificially. and that requires huge amounts of water. >> reporter: conservationists stress china is not the only offender. they fear the international olympic committee's constant rotation of olympic venues and host countries almost encourages rapid, unsustainable development and stretches natural resources, all for just a few weeks of elite competition. the international olympics committee told cnn that sustainability is central to the ioc's work and vision of building a better world through sport, and all upcoming olympic games of that committed to carbon neutrality. the beijing olympics committee did not respond to our request for comment. china has stood by its green games narrative throughout its walk-up to the games. state tv touting the beijing olympics going green in all sectors. perhaps hoping the world looks only at their renewable efforts, rather than remembering what was. david culver, cnn, beijing. a family of seven was saved from a devastating house fire by a toddler. two texas parents say they were asleep when the blaze started earlier this month. they were recovering from covid and had lost their sense of smell. that's when they young son saved them with the words "mama, hot." >> to think that a 2-year-old wakes up at 4:30 in the morning and comes in and wakes us up, i mean -- it's nothing short of a miracle, in my opinion. >> he saved our entire family. i mean, he is our little mini hero. >> the family did lose their home and two cars in the fire and are currently staying with loved ones. in the meantime, the couple says they're planning a small party to thank their heroic 2-year-old. thanks for watching "cnn newsroom," spending part of your day with me. i'm michael holmes. follow me on instagram and twitter @holmescnn. kim brunhuber back with more in just a moment. blendjet's new year's sale is on now! make your resolutions come true with this incredible deal on blendjejet 2. it packs the power of a big b blender on the go, and it crushes right through ice. just drop in youour favorite ingredients, even frorozen fruit, and make a smomoothie any time, anywherere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and kick off the new year right! [♪] cooking and eating at home more often means food odors get trapped in your home's fabrics and released back into the air so you smell last night's dinner the next morning. for an easy way to keep your whole home smelling fresh try febreze fabric refresher. febreze's water-based formula deeply penetrates fabrics to eliminate trapped food odors as it dries. spray febreze fabric refresher when you clean up after meals to ensure your entire home smells fresh and clean. try febreze fabric refresher. brand power. helping you buy better. welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. ahead on "cnn newsroom," record levels of snow are falling over the u.s. east coast. we're tracking the zpstorm and we'll bring you the latest. another nato member says it will move more troops to ukraine's border. and the winter olympics are coming, and with it, concerns of chinese censorship and monitoring. we'll examine th