winter storm. nend down to georgia. more than a foot of snow in some places. 500 accidents in virginia alone. tonight, more than 3,000 flights canceled. even issues with air force one. the images coming in tonight as they were trying to get off the plane. and now what's right behind all this sweeping into new york city and the northeast ginger zee timing it all out. tonight, the news involving the january 6th investigation. the january 6th committee says it has evidence of what former president trum p was doing. jon karl with us. tonight, after the ghislaine maxwell verdict, now eyes on prince andrew amid the fallout over jeffrey epstein. this evening, the half million dollar settlement made public that the prince believes will help protect him. but will it? dan abrams weighing in tonight. there is also breaking news coming in in the elizabeth holmes trial at this hour. what the jury just asked. the nfl star off the team. after antonio brown stripped out of his uniform and walked out of that game. the buccaneers head coach on brown and what unfolded. powerball dreams growing tonight, worth more than $540 million. and there's also news coming in tonight on betty white. they have now said how she died. and tonight, what so many of her supporters have already done. good evening and it's great to be back with all of you at home as we start a new week and a new year together here. and we do begin this new year facing some new challenges in this pandemic. i know it's exhausting. but tonight here, some important news to help fight our way through this. with the omicron variant racing across the country and new covid cases at a record high now. the debate over whether schools should remain open or go to remote learning, at least just temporarily. the nation averaging 400,000 new cases of covid a day. that's up 200% in just the past two weeks. tonight, as i mentioned, the fda now authorizing a booster for teens 12 to 15 years old. and for everyone 12 and older, teens and adults who got the pfizer vaccine, the fda is saying no longer wait six months, get the booster after five months. tonight, covid staff shortages contributing to the cancellation of more than 3,000 flights. just as many now return home from the holidays. washington, d.c.'s reagan national airport hit especially hard by covid. the tsa reporting more than 2,600 of its employees have active covid infections and they got that storm today, too. and long lines for testing across the country. this is florida you're looking at. and in new york's times square, the demand causing longer and longer waiting for results. cleveland and atlanta starting the new year with remote learning. chicago and boston staying with in-person learning, with massachusetts distributing more than 227,000 rapid tests to staff. and here in new york city tonight, the largest school system in the country, they were open today, handing out masks and ramping up testing. dr. ashish jha standing by to answer your questions. but we're going to begin tonight with abc's trevor ault, leading us off right here in new york. >> reporter tonight, millions of students starting the new year back in the classroom with covid cases exploding. today, the fda authorizing pfizer booster shots for 12 to 15-year-olds. and regulators now recommending everybody 12 and up originally vaccinated with pfizer get their booster after five months instead of six. >> it's more important now than ever for all teens to go out there and get all three of their vaccinations. >> reporter: america's now averaging 400,000 cases a day, up a staggering 200% in the past two weeks. school districts like atlanta, cleveland, and milwaukee switching to remote learning for the time being. diri, new yorn's biggest new york city's new mayor vows to keep kids in the classroom. >> we are going to keep our schools open. >> reporter: but many parents don't agree. some refusing to send their kids to school. others anxious dropping them off this morning. >> i'm just, like, worried. really worried for my kid. because he has asthma and i have cancer. so, you know, it's like a double whammy. >> reporter: how do you feel coming back to school today? >> well, ill don't think it's the right decision on the part of the administration. >> reporter: in chicago, fedex drop boxes overflowing with returned test kits that some parents say couldn't be processed in time for the start of school. >> how can i allow my children to come back and they don't even have a negative or, say, positive result? >> reporter: testing giant quest diagnostics tells abc recent demand has stretched their average processing time to two or three days. and the testing crunch may only be growing. this line today in worcester, massachusetts. crowds including parents and their children braving bitter cold. and tonight, after backlash over the new cdc recommendations cutting isolation time in half to five days with no negative test needed, dr. anthony fauci now signaling the guylined are under review yet again. >> there has been some concern about why we don't ask people at that five-day period to get tested. that is something that is now under consideration. the cdc is very well aware that there has been some pushback about that. >> reporter: once again, more than 100,000 americans are now in the hospital with covid. a number expected to climb. and while some are learning they are positive at the hospital, the vast majority are being treated for the virus, and nearly all in the icu at new orleans children's hospital are too young to be vaccinated. >> sadly, some of them are going to die. and the tragedy of this is that almost all of those cases that result in hospitalization and death are preventable with vaccination. >> reporter: at texas children's, a third of patients are under 5, including several babies with covid. in south carolina, tyler jones and his wife are boosted but their 3-month-old addison, who is too young to get the vaccine, got sick with covid new year's eve. >> he woke up in the middle of night crying and having trouble breathing and he had a fever. we feel helpless, because, you know, your 3-month-old can't communicate what hurts. there's nothing scarer are as a parent. >> thinking about the families going through all this. trevor ault with us tonight. and trevor, the fda authorizing those booster shots now for 12 to 15-year-olds. the cdc meets next on this. so, walk us through the timeline, how soon could we see these teens get the shots? >> reporter: well, david, the cdc panel is going to be meeting on wednesday. they're going to make a recommendation then and once the director signs off on it, things are going to move very quickly. we could see the first boosters given out as early as thursday. david? >> and trevor ault in front of one of those very long testing lines in new york city tonight. trevor, thank you. we know you have questions at home. let's bring in dr. ashish jha. happy new year, great to have you with us, as always. unfortunate we still talk about the challenges of this pandemic, but we will get there. i want to get to what we heard from dr. fauci a moment ago. this isolation, five days if you've tested positive for covid, but with no test showing that you're negative to then re-enter sort of the work force and to be out in public. does that make sense or do you think it's a good idea that they're revisiting this? >> yeah, david, first of all, thanks for having me back and happy new year. i'm happy to see the cdc revisiting this. i've been a vocal advocate of asking people to get a test after five days. if it's negative, i do think it's very good information that you're not contagious. if it is positive, you should probably continue isolating. so, i'm happy to see that the cdc's really looking at this again. >> we'll be on the watch for that. i want to get to the news from the fda. pfizer's booster approved for 12 to 15. that should move quickly. but also saying everyone 12 and older, adults included, who got the pfizer vaccine should get that booster after five months instead of waiting six months. given what you've seen with omicron so far, how important is the booster, getting that as soon as you can to keep the symptoms mild? >> yeah, i think this is essential. we know that boosters do a tremendous job at preventing infection and if you have unfortunately a breakthrough infection with a booster, it's a much, much milder form of the disease. so, making more people eligible, 12 to 15-year-olds and asking people, allowing people to get that after five months, both of those, i think, will be really helpful in the middle of this wave. >> dr. jha, i always try to stay hopeful here. is there anything good we can take, perhaps, from this quickly spreading omicron variant, is there any chance, when we see the numbers and they are overwhelming and we're going to get through it, but does that help to provide some immunity in people across this country that maybe we'll be able to knock this down? >> yeah, i am very hopeful we're going to see a spike that comes down very soon. unfortunately, a loath of americans are going to get infected. it does seem like a milder variant. i absolute ly think this is goig to build population immunity, going to help us with future waves if they arrive. >> let's hope that the symptoms remain mild, but perhaps that will be a silver lining for it all. dr. jha, thank you very much. we're going to move onto the other news here tonight and we turn now to the next story, the dangerous winter storm barrelling up the east coast, aefding to the travel chaos. snow in the deep south knocking big truck here right off trenton, georgia, the road there. vehicles piling up in heavy, wet snow on i-95. this is stafford, virginia. in fact, 500 accidents in virginia alone. washington, d.c. today brought to a standstill. president biden and air force one right here returning from delaware in the minding snow. more than a quarter million customers in six states without power tonight, with temperatures now plunging right behind all this. here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: tonight, that monster winter storm slamming the east coast, just as the omicron variant causes a slew of airline staffing issues. creating the perfect storm for a travel nightmare, in the air and on the roads. in virginia alone, more than 500 crashes. heavy, wet snow falling throughout the washington, d.c. metro area. >> the visibility is extremely bad and the road is absolutely snow-covered. >> reporter: across the country, more than 3,000 flights canceled today. even air force one wasn't spared. workers struggling to free one of the stairways to get passengers off the plane. president biden on board, returning to joint base andrews in the middle of the storm. at reagan national airport outside d.c., cancellations piling up. our kenneth moton is there. >> been a day of de-icing planes and snowplows on the runways. more than 300 cancellations here at reagan airport, the most in the country. >> reporter: more than 8,000 flights canceled in the u.s. since new year's day. >> we just need to get home, so we got in a rental car and started driving. >> reporter: ian and alexa harrison, visiting new orleans for the holiday, driving more than 1,000 miles back to their michigan home after their flight was canceled saturday. and david, with the omicron variant raging and flight crews testing positive, the airlines are warning, this issue may not be resolved any time soon. david? >> yeah, a real challenge and really tough timing with so many people traveling. gio, thank you. let's get right to ginger zee, timing this out, and of course, what's right behind it, that frigid air. >> oh, my goodness, is it ever frigid. uncomfortable and january. and that's the unfortunate part, coming on and after record highs. but of course, we had more than 15 inches of snow in parts of maryland, huntingtown coming away with one of those high totals. we're talking cold all the way down to the gulf coast. look at the numbers. feeling like sub-freezing in mobile or lubbock, all the way back to the west. almost no one getting away, except for florida, from this chill. now, there is a new storm coming from the west, david, and that one has, you know, the atmospheric rivers have helped out drought, but going to bring two to three feet to the cascades. i don't know if we can handle a lot out here tonight. we just have to get acclimated, i guess. >> ginger, thank you. and in colorado tonight, we cannot forget that two people remain missing after the worst wildfire in that state's history, right over the holiday. nearly 1,000 homes destroyed in the suburbs between denver and boulder, fueled by extremely dry conditions there. and wind gusts more than 100 miles an hour. snow blanketing it all, complicating families' efforts now to recover what they can and slowing the search for a cause. investigators have ruled out downed power lines. from washington tonight, the news involving the january 6th investigation. the house committee now says it has first-hand accounts of what then president trump was doing as his supporters attacked the capitol. where was he and for how long was he watching it all? here's jon karl. >> reporter: the january 6th committee has now spoken to people who were at the white house with donald trump the day his supporters attacked the capitol. and the top republican on the committee says they now know what the former president was up to as the chaos unfolded. >> the committee has first-hand testimony now that he was sitting in the dining room next to the oval office watching the attack on television as the assault on the capitol occurred. >> reporter: citing that first-hand testimony, cheney says trump made no effort to stop the violence. the white house briefing room was right down the hall. but he made no statement condemning the riot. that morning, before the riot, ivanka trump was backstage at the rally where her father made his now infamous speech. >> if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. >> reporter: witnesses have told the committee ivanka trump would later plead with her father to do something to call off the rioters. >> we have first-hand testimony that his daughter ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence. >> reporter: the committee previously revealed donald trump jr. texted chief of staff mark meadows again and again that day to urge his father to act. "he's got to condemn this expletive asap," he texted. "we need an oval office address. he has to lead now. it has gone too far and gotten out of hand." democrats plan a variety of activities to commemorate the anniversary of the riot later this week, including a speech by president biden. as for republican congressional leaders, they say they won't take part in those activities and plan no commemoration of january 6th, in fact, david, for the most part, they will not be >> all right, jon karl live at the capitol. jon, thank you. and with the january 6th anniversary on thursday, my interview with the officers who defended the capitol that day, one year later. what they're asking of their leaders, the one word that came up repeatedly. that interview wednesday night right here on "world news tonight" and then later on on "nightline." next tonight, after the ghislaine maxwell verdict, all eyes on prince andrew amid the fallout over jeffrey epstein. we are now learning about a newly unsealed $50,000 settlement from the 2009 sex trafficking lawsuit filed by virginia roberts giuffre. she's now suing prince andrew for alleged sex assault. prince andrew denies the allegations. the two sides scheduled to meet in court tomorrow. when we come back here tonight, there is late word coming in right now on the elizabeth holmes trial. what the jury has just asked. and news tonight on that nfl star, antonio brown, after pulling off his uniform and walking out on the team right in the middle of the game. tching... the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. 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ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. finally tonight here, we couldn't believe it on new year's eve, betty white. but we did learn late today that she died peacefully in her sleep at home. and many supporters helping betty's favorite cause already. it was the news on new year's eve. we couldn't believe. that we had lost someone truly golden. >> the older you get, the better you get. unless you're a banana. >> it seemed betty white, for so many decades, was someone we could all root for. that famous super bowl commercial. >> mike! what is your deal, man? >> come on, len, you've been riding me all day. >> "the mary tyler moore show" -- >> i don't know -- i can't help. why -- >> her character accepting an award. her humor, her humility, and her grace, a lesson for us all. in new generation getting her on "snl." >> when i first heard about the campaign to get me to host "saturday night live," i didn't know what facebook was. and now that i do know what it is, i have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time. >> she said through the years, she did what she loved on camera to do what she loved offcamera. her work with animals. and this is how she wanted to be remembered. >> that i made people laugh and i made them think a little bit. and the two parts of my life. the animal part and the television part. and i work them together as much as i can. that's what i'd like to be remembered as. >> and tonight, american humane, an animal welfare nonprofit betty white worked with for years, telling us -- since her passing, their "internet traffic has more than doubled and we have seen a significant increase in donations." "we are so grateful for betty's longtime support and she will be dearly missed." so many helping american humane and we hope betty is smiling. great to be back with you, i'll see you tomorrow. good night. >> now, from abc 7, live, breaking news. >> the breaking news is in the elizabeth holmes' trial. earlier today, the judge told the jury, continue deliberating but a short time ago, the jersey told the judge that they cannot agree on a verdict on three of the counts. the judge sent the jurors back to the deliberation room. it is possible there could be a partial verdict. elizabeth holmes is the ceo of the failed blood testing company, theranos. abc 7 news reporter will have the verdict for us as soon it is read. dion: you are watching abc 7 news at 4:00 live on abc 7. >> let's begin with the latest on covid headlines. more than 100 thousand americans hospitalized, the most since the delta surge last summer. dion: the fda expanded emergency use authorization for the pfizer booster to include children ages 12 through 15. >> as kids returning to school, districts nationwide are tightening covid safety measures. atlanta and milwaukee are returning to remote learning at least temporarily. dion: school districts in the bay area are becoming overwhelmed with a number of families wanting testing as dunes returned to school. our senior education reporter joins us live in the newsroom with what schools are doing to prepare. reporter: public school districts had recommended that students get tested right before coming back to school. part of the strategy to avoid closing schools is testing. many school districts were a bit surprised to see parents take that recommendation ve