under alerts for brutal cold and lake effect snow. in new york city and boston and several cities in the northeast, oin chiou wake up. and they could last well into the day. ginger zee timing this out. there is also news tonight about the sudden death of actor and comedian bob saget. how he was found in his hotel room. who alerted authorities? the tributes pouring in tonight, as we now hear from his wife and what authorities are now saying, how long before the results of the autopsy? the high tastakes talks between the u.s. and russia, and what the u.s. told russia. tonight, russia responding. the major medical breakthrough tonight. the first of its kind heart transplant for a man desperately waiting, from a genetically edited biedit ed pig. and what doctors are saying about this. there is also breaking news coming in this hour from north korea. they call it black monday, the nfl coaches fired today. and bob saget in his own words, the lessons from his father. good evening and it's great to start another week with all of you at home tonight. we'll get to the major headline on covid and children just in. also, the brutal cold moving in. and that news on actor bob saget, how he was found. but we do begin with that horrific apartment fire here in new york city. the deadliest fire in 30 years. at least 17 people were killed, including eight children. at least 15 people are in critical condition tonight. officials linking the fire to a malfunctioning space heater. and they're also now talking about the roles that open doors played that were supposed to automatically swing shut. part of that apartment building incinerated. aim js from inside the apartment tonight. the daily mail.com with images today of all that's left. smoke spreading throughout the building quickly. so many still fighting for their lives tonight. firefighters rescuing many who lived in the building. the neighborhood grieving the staggering loss. so many of the victims children. abc's janai norman leading us off from the bronx here in new york city tonight. >> reporter: tonight, as more than a dozen people fight for their lives, we're getting a first look inside the torch apartment where that horrific fire started, killing 17 people, including these images taken by dailymail.com showing the destruction. twisted metal, incinerated twisted metal, incinerated furniture, ash, and debris covering everything. >> my kids scream, say, "a fire, fire." >> reporter: mamadue wague lived inside with his wife and eight children. he says his kids woke up him, saying their apartment was on fire. he ran through flames to save one of his daughters. >> it was a lot of smoke, you can't see nothing. everywhere, big smoke, dark, couldn't see nothing. >> reporter: the fire erupting around 11:00 sunday morning. more than 200 firefighters racing to the scene, arriving in minutes. >> fire's on the third floor of a one-nine story occupied md. >> reporter: officials tonight believe a space heater ignited the inferno, and they're also looking at two open doors, including one in that apartment where you see the charring around the window, that's where the fire started. now the center of this investigation. >> this is an unspeakable tragedy. >> reporter: by law, all city apartment buildings are required to have self-closing doors. the mayor saying the doors to the apartment where the fire started may have had a maintenance issue, failing to close on its own when the family fled, allowing thick, black smoke to rapidly spread throughout this 19-story building. >> i dropped on my knees, i started praying to god. it was too much. >> reporter: firefighters rescuing residents, even young babies on ladders, searching for survivors in the choking smoke, even after many of their oxygen tanks ran out. a woman named renee on the 19th floor put a white towel out her window, alerting firefighters. >> i heard a banging on the door and it was a firefighter. it was just like an angel knocking on my door. >> reporter: and tonight, some families still searching for loved ones. >> i got my cousin, i heard that his three children passed away, but we don't know where the wife is. i don't know where's my cousin and his wife. and now i'm trying try to go to the hospitals and look for them. >> reporter: and some terrified residents tried to make it out of the building but were overwhelmed by smoke. firefighters finding people in stairwells on every floor. and we've learned those eight children who died ranged in age from 12 to just 4 years old, but david, a little bit of good news, we just learned authorities saying those who lived on the upper floors will be able to return to their homes as early as tonight. david? >> the loss just staggering. janai, appreciate it. as by mentioned off the top tonight, we're tracking alarming new numbers in the pandemic tonight. the number of hospitalizations in this country now setting an all-time record since this pandemic started. more than 141,000 americans are now in the hospital. so many hospitals barely keeping up because so many of their own staff have covid, too. tonight, the controversy in california. allowing front-line workers to return to the hospital even if they have covid, as long as they're asymptomatic. many are questioning this. and the new numbers just in on children, as well, tonight. the number of cases up 78% in just a week. abc's stephanie ramos tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the number of covid-positive americans in hospitals now reaching a new pandemic record, more than 141,000 patients, pushing hospitals to the brink of collapse. >> this surge that we're experiencing now is the largest volume of patients that have been the sickest. so, in many ways, this has been the worst. >> reporter: in new jersey, the number of patients in the icu and needing ventilators doubling since christmas, to levels not seen since may of 2020. >> we're in the thick of this latest fight against the omicron tsunami washing across the state. >> reporter: and now deaths are climbing, too. 1,500 americans are dying of covid every day, a 34% increase in the last week. and even with a less severe omicron variant, the sheer number of infections is overwhelming hospitals. >> our health systems were just never designed for an epidemic of this magnitude. and so unfortunately, we will bring our health systems to collapse if we don't figure out a way to keep transmission down in the community. >> reporter: but with infections spiking, at least 1 in 4 hospitals across the country report they're facing a critical staffing shortage. it's why california is changing its rules to allow asymptomatic health care workers who test positive to return to work without isolating or testing negative. but the nurse's union and other workers are calling that move dangerous. >> we are in this industry to care for others, you know, that's the root word right there, and yet we are asking to put others at potential harm. >> reporter: and in los angeles, there is worry of staffing shortages as schools reopen tomorrow. students and staff have to test negative, but 62,000 tests have already come back positive. >> people are having a hard time. people are afraid. this is a tough situation to be in. >> reporter: tonight, new covid cases among children spiking to 580,000 cases, up 78% in the last week. in chicago, classes canceled for a fourth day, after a stalemate between the city and teachers. the union accusing the mayor of refusing to compromise on expanded testing and remote learning. >> the mayor is being relentless, but she's being relentlessly stupid. she's being relentlessly stubborn. >> reporter: as schools and workplaces push for higher quality masks, the latest research done before omicron shows the dramatic difference an upgraded mask can make. studied estimated for two people wearing cloth masks, it can take about a half hour to spread the virus from one infected person to an uninfected person in the same room. if they are both wearing surgical masks, it can take about an hour. and if they're both wearing n95 masks, it can take about 25 hours to cause an infection. >> higher grade masks are really going to protect people, because they not only hav a moree a bet but they also have a better filtration device. and they have an electrostatic potential to actually repel away the virus. >> super important there. stephanie back with us. i know the white house promised to send out a half billion rapid test kits to homes across the country starting in january. we keep tracking this. it's now january 10th and we're learning this is still weeks away? >> reporter: yes, david. the first tests will be sent out at the end of january, but by the time all 500 million tests are sent out, the omicron peak could be on the decline. in the meantime, starting this saturday, americans can buy up to eight at-home rapid tests per month and get reimbursed by insurance. just make sure to keep that receipt. david? >> that's right. insurance has to cover eight kilts kits a month. stephanie, thank you. ten states under alerts right now. the coldest air of the season. in some places, it could be the coldest in years. temperatures moving into the northeast tonight. in new york city and boston, wind chills well below zero by morning. western new york getting 24 inches of lake effect snow in 24 hours. north of syracuse, covered in snow tonight. whiteout conditions on i-81. dangerous driving, dangerous cold. but again, by tomorrow morning, the wind chill below zero in new york city, it will feel like 14 below in boston. chief meteorologist ginger zee, and ginger, in some places like boston, you were saying, this is going to continue right into the day? >> reporter: and that's what makes it so significant, david. boston will not see a wind chill the entire day without a minus in front of their number. so, they will be sub-zero wind chills throughout the day. a lot of us are going to feel like this is a pretty dreadful cold, especially because the united states had its warmest december on record. you can see the wind chill alerts from wisconsin to maine. a lot of folks getting into this remember tomorrow morning, it will feel like 5 below. so, there are advisories out, especially anybody that works outdoors. feels like only 2 in pittsburgh and 2 below in detroit. but keep your eye on boston. what we do here is time it through the day. you can see you stay sub-zero in the feels likes. philadelphia tops out at feeling like 9. david? >> take this seriously. ginger, thank you. we're also learning more tonight about the sudden death of beloved actor and comedian bob saget tonight. how he was found in that hotel room. his family alerting the hotel. a security guard was called in to make a wellness check, and what he found. and tonight here, for the first time, we're hearing from bob saget's wife. here's our chief national correspondent matt gutman. >> reporter: tonight, new details on the death of bob saget. authorities revealing it was his family who called police in florida after they couldn't reach the actor sunday morning, following a standup performance a security guard knocking on his door and calling police. >> a security officer found the guest not breathing. >> reporter: a police report saying he was found lying on his back on the bed. his left arm was across his chest while his right arm was resting on the bed. there was no sign of foul play, trauma or drugs. his wife tonight saying, "bob was my absolute everything. i'm so completely shattered and in disbelief." with his trademark grin and those goofy jokes, bob saget became america's dad as danny tanner, the widowed father of three daughters on the abc sitcom, "full house." >> it is now 0700 and it's time to attack the enemy. grease, grime, slime, sludge -- and that's just joey's room. >> reporter: and he kept the latches coming on "america's %-pe headache you had this morning? well, it will be home in an hour. >> reporter: costars and fellow comedians paying tribute. >> you don't have to go through this alone. >> reporter: john stamos tweeting, "i am broken. i am gutted. i'm in complete and utter shock. i will never ever have another friend like him. i love you so much, bobby." mary kate and ashley olsen saying, "bob was the most loving, compassionate and generous man." >> bob saget, how about it, lrgt, bobby, here we are now. >> reporter: saget got his start in standup comedy where he was hardly the squeaky clean dad. his jokes often raunchy. >> i'm not funny, but i am quick. >> i was surprised that he could talk dirty or sick or anything and people knew him weren't at all surprised by this. >> reporter: after that performance on saturday, which would be his last, he seemed energized, tweeting, "i had no idea i did a two-hour set tonight. i'm happily addicted again to this." humor was his life blood, as were his real and tv families. >> i love you, angel. >> reporter: jody sweeten adding, "he never missed a chance to tell each other i love you. i would always say, you're the best tv dad ever. and he was. i'll miss you, bob." the medical examiner saying it conducted an autopsy on saget today, but said it wouldn't reveal the results or the manner of death until after the investigation is completed in about 10 to 12 weeks. as with the police, the medical examiner saying at this time, there is no evidence of drug use or foul play. david? >> we can see that tribute right over your shoulder there, matt. matt, thank you tonight. we turn now to the high stakes talks between the u.s. and russia today. tonight, the u.s. now calling the immediating grabbing and forthright, blut the russians saying there was no progress. here's our senior foreign correspondent ian pannell tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the first round of crisis talks between russia and america over ukraine and nato expansion ended with little progress. the u.s. side saying the meeting was frank and forthright but that real negotiations haven't even begun. the russian side more belligerent, saying "no progress" was made and demanding guarantees that ukraine will never join nato, something america calls a "non-starter." >> we need ironclad, waterproof, bulletproof, legally binding guarantees never, ever becoming member of nato. >> reporter: russia massing 100,000 troops on ukraine's borders and backing rebels in the east. as we saw first-hand, the conflict very much alive. you hear the sound of rapid, automatic gunfire there, they're telling us to go. and unless these talks succeed, there are real fears it will escalate further, with russian troops invading. david, more meetings are scheduled, but there's now a dangerous gulf between the two sides. russia insists it has no plans to invade, but for the american delegation, the jury is still out. david? >> all right, ian pannell in london tonight. ian, thank you. in australia tonight, a judge now siding with tennis star novak djokovic in his battle to play in the australian open, despite his vaccination status. he had asked for an exemption. tonight, why the judge might not get the last word. here's james longman. >> reporter: tonight, a victory for novak djokovic, even as officials weigh a judge's decision to overturn the australian government's cancellation of his visa over vaccine requirements. telling his fans on social media, "thank you all for standing with me through all of this and encouraging me to stay strong." supporters swarming this car believed to be carrying djokovic shortly after he was released from an immigration detention hotel where he has been held for days after arriving in melbourne. it's still unclear whether the top-ranked tennis star will be able to defend his australian open title for a record 21 grand slams, because tonight, an immigration minister is considering whether to block him again. in court documents, his lawyers arguing that he'd tested positive in december, and after two weeks, "had not had a fever or respiratory symptoms of covid-19 in the last 72 hours," which they say met the entry criteria for australia's department of home affairs. but video of djokovic maskless at a public event after that positive test is now raising questions. whether he knew of his covid status at the time is not known. some in melbourne, which has faced strict covid protocols, are not sympathetic for djokovic, a vocal vaccine critic. >> he should abide by the rules and i think these demonstrations are ludicrous. >> reporter: and david, that immigration minister says it is within his discretion whether or not to recancel djokovic's visa, but it's unclear if he'll do that. if he does, djokovic will be banned from re-entering australia for three years. >> good to have you on this side of the pond. thank you, james. there is late word this evening of a possible new missile test by north korea tonight. south korea's now reporting that north korea has fired an unidentified projectile into the sea of japan. if confirmed, it would be the second weapons launch in a week. no word on what type of missile or how far it went. when we come back here on a monday night, convicted killer robert durst has died. also, that historic human heart transplant from a genetically edited pig. genetically edited pig. we'll be back. if you can help healin your skin from within? 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reporter: case in point, craigslist. the cheapest one you will find is $80 to $100 for one covid diagnostic test. >> price gouging is illegal. reporter: the executive order prohibits anyone from marking up the cost more than 10% and for those new to the market, selling for the first time. >> they can sell no more than 150% of cost. reporter: the attorney general says there will be consequences. >> this is a crime.