very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. wshg welcome, everyone to alex witt reports. we begin with breaking news and the surging number of omicron cases across this country. u.s. reporting almost 120,000 new cases yesterday. just in the past few minutes, the white house saying the president will deliver a speech about this. we have nbc's josh letterman with the president in wilmington, delaware and scott cohen at a testing site in san jose, california, and dr. azure joining us to answer critical questions. josh, start with you. when did the president decide to address the nation and any specific moment relating to omicron prompt that in what we might hear new about it? >> reporter: without officials very closely tracking the rise in cases of omicron as dr. fauci and others just in the last 48 hours have been saying it is only a matter of time before it is the dominant variant in the united states. that's certainly fed into the white house's thinking about having this speech on tuesday, which nbc news was first to report. white house official telling our senior white house correspondent kelly o'donnell that the president wants to give an update to the american people where he will also announce new steps that the biden administration plans to take to help communities that are struggling with the covid-19 pandemic. biden also expected in that speech on tuesday to issue what the white house is describing as a stark warning about what lies ahead for america this winter, and particularly for americans who are unvaccinated heading into the winter months. now, president biden had already laid out a winter strategy for fights covid-19, but given the developments with omicron and concerns so many americans have, the white house felt they wanted to go beyond that. have the president speak directly to the american people, and, of course, alex, this comes just as so many americans are trying to figure out how to proceed with their plans for the hom days. whether it's safe to travel, safe to be indoors, masked or unmasked with family members, and, of course, that is a concern that doctors have been evaluating on a minute-to-minute basis. white house officials tell us biden wanted to be absolutely clear with the american people about where the science stands right now, what doctors do and don't know, and what the best advice is to people about how to approach this next season as well as what the administration will try to do to really up the response to covid-19. >> okay. josh, thank you so much for that. all tuning in on tuesday presumably in primetime for that. go to the situation now out west and nbc's scott cohen at a vaccination site in san jose, california. scott, what are you seeing there and what are the experts saying about booster shots specifically? >> reporter: yeah. here's the problem, alex. even in a place that's done things largely by the book, like santa clara county where i am, they are struggling to stay ahead of the kurn or get ahead of the curve i should say on the issue of booster shots. vaccination sites like this one are plenty busy, but have catching up to do. yes, 80% of this county's residents are fully vaccinated. impressive. only about a third of them have gotten booster shoots. >> a little deceiving, because some people only recently became eligible. some aren't eligible, but nationwide, the number is fewer than 20%, and, again, we know now, at least from the preliminary data, how much more effective the booster shots are against omicron than just the one or two doses, and so the message from officials here is clear. get those booster shots. >> we've seen, already, when they put up the antibodies produced for somebody that's only had two shots. especially looking at pfizer, effectiveness against omicron at about 30%. boosted that person, the effectiveness went up 75% at least. that's preliminary data. very clear data that, again, the vaccines work. it's just that we need to boost them so that we have more of it onboard to protect ourselves. >> reporter: hospitalizations are going up across the country. across the state of california. they're up in the neighborhood of 16%, but in some parts of the state doubled in the last month. reminder, byes way. if you get boosted now you are not fully protected in time for christmas saying it take as couple weeks. at the very least, practice all of those other safety measures. masking, social distancing and maybe rethink some of those holiday gatherings. alex? >> i got to tell you, though, masks are so important right now. thank you so much, scott cohn for that. joining me, dr. natalie azar. i'm sure you have the same sentiments. daily hospitalizations a and deaths ticking up over a two-week period. omicron is spreading across this country. how do you measure how we're doing with covid at this stage in the game? >> oh, wow. i know. the metrics don't look that good. you know, in terms of numbers and cases and hospitalizations. i will say, though, alex, that not surprisingly, you know, it's really a very heterogeneous picture in this country and still a big patchwork when it comes to areas that are hit hard and who's making up majority of the hospitalizations? unvaccinated folks. new york city, for example, cases have risen dramatically in the last week, but hospitalizations haven't necessarily. why? because new york city has a really, really good rate of vaccination and boosting. which i think is driving home the point that compared to where we were a year ago that if you are vaccinated and boosted, you're still very, very well protected against infection and against severe disease. so it's hard. right? because we're sort of analyzing where we are now and the numbers don't necessarily look good, but i will still say that you're still better off, we are still better off than we a year ago. number one. because of vaccination. number two, because we know so much better how to treat covid-19. if you get covid now compared to a year ago you're much more likely to survive even though case numbers of startling even transmissibility of delta and now omicron. >> startaling also, the new study showing omicron infects 70 times faster than previous covid strains. i mean, can you even put that in perspective for us? how quickly does it move and likely we are going to come in contact with someone with omicron? >> well, to the second part, very, very likely, but we've been saying for a long time most of us are at some point going to come into contact with someone who's infected and either unvaccinated or vaccinated when that time comes. a really interesting article. just looking at lung tissue. wasn't actually in a real person. in a petri dish. they found in the lung tissue the airways, there was, you said, 70 times higher replication. which could give some explanation how transmissible it is between people, but replicated more slowly in the actual lung tissue itself. might be a clue as to potentially not being as serious. you know we have not concluded definitively it's not as serious as delta. this is preliminary but interesting. we still don't know what is driving this surge. is it -- we do know. a combination of the fact it's more transmissible and evading immunity with vaccinations. some combo of those. >> what are we learning from brit jn they've seen quite the surge? >> i think what we're learning is that the reality of this new variant is that we are going to see an exponential rise in cases here in the u.s., and that within a matter of weeks omicron is going to become the predominant variant. we are going to, because of that, just by sheer absolute number, we're going to see a significant rise in hospitalizations. again, not necessarily because it's more severe, but because there are more people who are infected. we have a crisis in terms of staffing shortages in hospitals around the country, and we're also seeing a deluge of people not taking care of chronic ills ins flout the pandemic and now seeking care with more advanced stages of numerous different diseases. you know me, alex. i try to see the cup half full. you know, if you're doing your part and vaccinating and boosting and masking, you're going to be okay. but it's the rest of the country, and all the folks that, you know, who aren't vaccinated, et cetera. there are really, really worried about, we're really, really worried about in the next couple months. >> rightly so. a british study suggesting omicron symptoms close to the common cold. runny nose, headache, sneezing persistent cough, sore throat. top five symptoms at this point, rather. why is it important to not dismiss om kropp as being mild? >> because it's still covid-19. you know? if it got to the point where this truly was it for all of us, that would be a home run. then we've accomplished what we set out to accomplish with vaccination, that the primary goal of vaccination is to prevent severe disease and hospitalization. but clearly, that's not a universal outcome for folks even who are infected with omicron. all i have to tell you is that the common cold does not kill 800,000 people over two years. right? i mean, just in 2018, 2019, close to 30,000 deaths from flu. medium range. this is far deadlier than the common cold and other coronavirus viruses that cause the common cold. never, ever, ever underestimate covid-19 even if it doesn't land you in the hospital with lung covid, et cetera. again, it became such a thing that most of us experienced only those symptoms we've accomplished what we set out to and can claim victory, but not yet. >> yeah. question about booster shots, because breakthrough infections are certainly on the rise. a study by oregon research that finds people fully vaccinated catch covid, they end up with what the authors call super immunity. if that's the case, clarify whether or not the important to get a booster after an infection? i've heard a lot of people puck back on that saying, oh, i've not got all the antibodies. really? >> wait. i want to understand your people. people fully vaccinated. >> and you catch covid. should you still get a booster? >> yes. because there is this concept of what's called hybrid immunity. which means that, sequence is important here. if you are -- you've been vaccinated. you have some immunity. then get an infection. that sequence meaning that first and then infection. infection doesn't enhance the immunity all that much, but the sequence of infection and then vaccination, and in this case a booster really, really does. it's one of those quirky things of the immune system. short answer is, yes, 100%. even if you've had a breakthrough infection we still recommend a booster ten days after symptom onset or a positive test which is longer, for mild disease, 20 days, more disease, we still recommend the booster. >> one last question. can someone transfer the omicron variant without testing positive for it? >> yes. yes, yes, yes. absolutely. you know, generally, testing positives, rapids pick up. rapids pick up infectious virus even if asymptomatic. right? we know that. we know people can do that. i will say we don't have a lot of data yet on the amount of virus in boosted nays nays oh f but we do from israel. a lot more less virus in their nose, less virus. another reason to get vaccinated but absolutely can have the virus and be asymptomatic. >> thank you, dr. azar. stay healthy. russia made a new demand building up troops al the ukraine borders. a big question. if that demand is not met how close to the bring of war is this world? i'm going to ask that to one person i trust to give me a very straight and reliable answer, next. . right into your heart. -i'm sorry. can we stop? i know that we're selling car insurance here, but, you know, all the cute little animals, it's too much. define "too much." what's wrong with cute animals? -so are we doing this or what? -nah, it's over. 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[ mittens squeaking ] ♪ [text alert] ♪ son of a— —beth? if it's “i thought we said no gifts” season, it's walgreens season. o man, that's a whole lot of wrinkly at least my shoes look good! if it's “i thought we said no gifts” season, looking good start with bounce wrinkleguard, (vo)e megasheet designed to subaru and our retailers believe in giving back. that's why, in difficult times, we provided one hundred and fifty million meals to feeding america. and now through the subaru share the love event, we're helping even more. by the end of this year, subaru will have donated over two hundred and twenty five million dollars to charity. this is what it means to be more than a car company. this is what it means to be subaru. we are back with major stories developing for you this hour. early theirs morning the senate adjourned for the year and as they head home for the holidays, is there any hope of passing the build back better before 2022? earlier on msnbc, caucus chair voicing displeasure with the decision to head home. >> the senate should have stayed in session and gotten the work done, tiffany. there's no reason they couldn't do that. i don't understand why they didn't do that, and i'm urging the president to immediately have those discussions with senator manchin so we can at least get an agreement on the legislation. it's not that complicated. >> as senator joe manchin's objections prompted the senate to shelf not just the build back better but also voting rights legislation, vice president kamala harris was faced with a question how the party is grappling with confronting it. >> the president of this country? joe biden or joe manchin, vice president harris? >> come on, charmaine. no, no, it's joe biden and don't start talking like a republican about asking whether or not he's president. >> do you think joe manchin is a problem. >> and it's -- and it's joe biden and i'm vice president and my name is kamala harris. i hear the frustration, but let's not deny the impa ct that we've had and agree also that there is a whole lot more work to be done and that it is not easy to do, but we will not give up. >> democratic congressman ruben gallego told me what he thought about that exchange. >> i think she feels people aren't giving enough credit to this administration and she is correct. they've done great things but i will tell you charlamagne is right. one senator is holding up this agenda that this president and vice president ran on. >> the january 6th committee wrapping up a busy and revealing week of its probe into the capitol riot sitting down with one of donald trump's most prominent allies roger stone. stone remaining tight lipped pleating the fifth. reaction as the probe infence ties. >> just donald trump's cronies stonewalling. i can tell you as someone up in the gallery during january 6th we as americans deserve to have a full accounting what happened january 6th to make sure that insurrection, that type of insurrection, over our government can never happen again. >> the committee rescheduled its deposition set for today with conservative talk show host alex jones. also new toes, russia demanding halt all military activity. friday russia released its sphere of influence doctrine calling on nato to deny membership to ukraine and submit written guarantees it would not move further. nato rejected that request. joining me, former u.s. ambassador to russia michael mcfaul good to have you on the broadcast. list of demands, sir, comes as moscow continues to amass troops on border of ukraine. bottom line, is russia not taking the u.s. warning seriously? >> well, i don't know the answer to that question. i want to be clear and i don't know anybody who really does know the answer to that question. that's the point. putin likes ambiguity, keep options open. i don't think he himself decided whether he plans to escalate the war. notice i says escalate the war. because there's already a war in eastern ukraine right now. but these treaty released yesterday make me nervous. for a couple reasons. number one, i worked in the obama administration five years at the white house then in moscow and negotiated with russians on many treaties and many important treaties including the new s.t.a.r.t. crety, russia's succession to the world trade organization. never in negotiations good the russians public a dream list ahead of time. hats not a serious negotiation that's an ultimatum. makes me nervous. second, look at the treaties proposed was with the united states and with nato, who does that leave out? ukraine. in other words, putin wants to negotiate directly with us about the fate of ukraine. that's also a non-starter. >> okay. so you say you're a little nervous. pick up on one point brought to the forefront by the "washington post." senior biden administration officials describe russia's demand unacceptable to washington saying moscow knows that. is russia making deand in it knows the u.s. will not agree to and, therefore, potentially justify an attack on ukraine? >> well, again, i don't know, but i fear that exactly. which is to say, if it was a real negotiation, they wouldn't have published it. right? they would ask to sit down with the right european leader, not leave out ukrainians. if it was a real negotiation, behind closed doors. treaties are not done over twitter and websites. second, in those treaties that they put out, these draft treaties, there's a lot of things, of course, vladimir putin knows is unacceptable. and the third thing, the main thick about no more nato expansion, it's not a real issue. putin knows that, too. there's no threats next week or next year that ukraine's going to join nato. that makes me fearful this is more of an ultimatum and a pretext for war and tragically in history, including sometimes by american leaders, we've seen this before. when unobtainable ultimatums are put out the next step is war, and i think people in brussels and washington and kiev should be concerned about that right now. >> a new op-ed, posted on msnbc.com. columnist noah rothman says, biden's russia dealings may be the death nail of american credibility. how tough is the biden administration being on putin and what are the risks of not being tough enough with a strong man like putin? >> well, generally speaking, i think what the biden administration has been doing in the last several weeks has been right. it was right for president biden to talk to putin directly. it was right for him to put out threats of sanctions that will happen should there be military intervention. i would have liked them to be pu public, but all good. off to a slow start, however. initially they wanted a stable and predictable relationship with russia, because they wanted to focus on china. i think that was a strategic mistake. the united states has to have a foreign policy for all countries, and all adversaries and all great powers. can't focus on one and not the other. i think now they've corrected that course. just hope it's not too late. >> said this isn't going to happen next year, even in a couple years, but what happens if the u.s. ultimately concedes said, okay. ukraine's not a nato long term. first of all is that even something the u.s. can unilaterally say and guarantee? >> no. no. president biden doesn't have the authority to do that. it is a multilateral organization. we're a strong leader of it. be clear about that, but, no. of course he doesn't. but the point i really want to stress is that it's not a serious issue. this, putin is fabricating this threat as a pretext for war. by the way, internally in russia, look at opinion polls, having success. people believe in russia, a new threat of ukraine joining nato. it's completely fabricated. nato hasn't changed its policy. vis-a-vis ukraine. the biden administration hasn't changed its policy, it's putin concocting this as a pretext for war. putting in place an argument and soldiers, we know, to make that move, should he choose to do so. >> can i ask you quickly strategically, how important is ukraine to the united states? >> it's not just about ukraine. that's a great question. it's about european security. remember, we went to war, the worst war in the history of our country, in world war ii over leaders threatening to annex territory of their neighbors. that's how world war ii started. that's what we're seeing a replay today, and that's why the stakes are not just about ukraine but about european security more broadly and we're a member of nato. we are obligated to protect our -- because of article v of the nato treaty, to protect our allies there. that's why this is such a big ominous moment in terms of european security today. >> former ambassador michael mcfaul. your insights always appreciated. thank you. criminal statute that could add up to a lot of legal trouble for the former president. we'll talk about it next. nice! if it's got to be clean, it's got to be tide. ♪♪ this flag isn't backwards. it's facing this way because it's moving forward. ♪♪ just like the men and women who wear it on their uniforms and the country it represents. they're all only meant to move one direction which is why we fly it this way on the flanks of the all-new grand wagoneer. moving boldly and unstoppably forward. age before beauty? 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>> reporter: alex, roger stone showed up for his 90-minute deposition yesterday here on capitol hill and invoked the fifth amendment to every single question asked of him. the fifth amendment is a constitutional right of every citizen in the united states, and that is invoked when somebody wants to avoid answering a question that may self-incriminate them. stone maintained he didn't invoke the fifth amendment because he's guilty. instead's listen to what he told reporters right after the deposition. >> i did invoke my fifth amendment rights to every question, not because i have done anything wrong, but because i am fully aware of the house democrats long history of fabricating perjury charges on the basis of comments that are innocuous, immaterial or irrelevant. >> reporter: now, stone went on to say any implication he was involved on january 6th is categorically false." the committee left town for the holidays. so has the house and senate. before they did, they issued a subpoena to phil waldrin, an ex-army colonel involved in the election fraud circles involved testifying before the arizona senate during that audit and reportedly involved in sending a 38-page power point to mark meadows turned over in the documents and a statement released said waldrin provided to members of congress an alarming blueprint for turning over a nationwide election. when we asked thompson about this, said the committee will not hesitate to subpoena lawmakers members of congress allegedly exchanged texts with mark meadows on january 6th saying it's something they will look at in the coming weeks and be months when they return in january. alex? >> okay. thank you so much for that from capitol hill. revealing moments from the house january 6th committee this week as lawmakers read aloud a flurry of sex messages sent to trump's former chief of staff from fox news hosts from republican lawmakers and well as from donald trump's oh son calling to end the siege on the capitol. before holding mark meadows in contempt, liz cheney floated another potential charge this time for former donald trump and repeated it again -- and again. take a look. >> mr. meadows testimony will bear on another key question before this committee. did donald trump through action or inaction corruptly seek to obstruct or impede congress' foishl proceedings to county electoral votes? >> we know that for 187 minutes president trump refused to act, and he refused to act when his action was required, it was essential, and it was compelled by his duty, compelled by his oath of office. >> joined by former u.s. attorney and msnbc legal analyst. always welcome here. good to see you, joyce. pretty precise language, the congresswoman used there. how significant are her suggestions that the committee may suggest criminal charges against donald trump? >> it's tough to read her repeated comments in an innocuous way, alex. congresswoman cheney seems to be suggested the committee is headed into territory they expect they will elicit evidence that will warrant obstruction charges against the president and if that's the case refer it to the justice department and ask doj to consider prosecution. >> so the statute that representative cheney appears to be referencing in her comments this week. how it reads. whoever corruptly obstructs, influences or impedes any official proceeding or attempts to do so shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years or both. a federal judge upheld the doj's use of this sage statute against two rioters last week. based on that, joyce, could the statute be successfully used to charge the former president? >> like always, alex, depends on the evidence. but it's good news that there's precedent in the lower courts suggesting that some of the january 6th defendants ar properly being charged with this sort of obstruction. the reason is, it would mean if the former president were to be charged, it would be possible to do so without directly linking had imto the violence. of course, there's been a lot of speculation about charges involving a seditious conspiracy which has an element of violence, but this 1215 obstruction charge is more focused and interfering with congress' function in certifying the election and certainly an additional charge doj could consider. the big wild card here is, we don't know exactly what's going on inside of the justice department. there is more than sufficient reason at this point for an investigation to be opened. i would never prejudge whether criminal charges are appropriate until the evidence is all in, but we don't know if doj is focused on this mission, if they intend to be, if they're perhaps waiting for the committee to refer its work over. that, so far, sort of a black box. >> what you're saying, they would have to prove in part, at least, that donald trump's action of inciting a riot or inaction failing to call off rioters when storming the capitol, that it amounts to corruption. in your opinion is this worth the effort or another avenue more likely result in former president being charged with some sort of a crime? >> you know, something i was always very appreciative of is a prosecutor, having a lot of different tools in my tool kit. having a lot of statutes used to meet the moment. so one of the statutes that immediately comes to mind in this is the cons spear cons con spearsy charge. two or more interfere with the government performing essential functions. there are a number of different statutes that could potentially apply in these situations. what prosecutors do, assemble their evidence, look at the statutes and have to make sure they can prove every element of a statute beyond a reasonable doubt. for instance, with the 1215 charge, there's this notion of willfulness, having a corrupt purpose, and intending to violate rights. each statute has its own particular specifics. that's one of the key jobs prosecutors do before they bring an indictment, because doj rules obligate prosecutors to have sufficient evidence to obtain the conviction, prove the crime beyond a reasonable doubt and sustain it on appeal. meaning ensure there are no issues with vagueness in a statute or other legal problems that would lead to the conviction being overturned. >> trying to make it rock solid before we pursue it, sounds like. what about this week? dustin stockton and jennifer lynn lawrence, dubbed the maga bonnie and clyde testified and part of the team that organized that nationwide bus tour that ended as the white house on january 6th. will their cooperation, joyce, will it protect them from charges in the long run and why what do you think they could reveal? >> hard to say, because congress isn't in the business of handing out immunity to witnesses. that's problematic. the lesson of the oly north prosecution during iran/contra, if congress provides immunity to witnesses it can't insulate them on conviction on criminal charges down the road. they have to take their chances with doj if there's a decision down the road to prosecute them, but i think their testimony is very important for a number of reasons, and chief among them, they have said publicly that they became concerned about the risk of violence following the rally that they were involved in organizing on the ellipse, and reached out to the white house to express those concerns. so i suspect the committee is very interested in learning how they spoke with, what kind of concerns they expressed and perhaps most importantly, what was the reaction? did the white house act as though it knew and anticipated violence on january 6th? was it really in for a wild time? or was there some concern expressed there? >> i want to thank you for this. i feel i have to thank you, professor joyce vance. great and i learned a lot. and how residents are coping in mayfield, kentucky after those devastating tornados. 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it's time to ask your doctor about kesimpta. as a professional bull-rider i'm used to taking chances. but when it comes to my insurance i don't. i use liberty mutual, they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. wooo, yeaa, woooooo and, by switching you could even save 665 dollars. hey tex, can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. yeah. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ the death toll is now more than 90 from that devastating series of tornadoes that hit six states one week ago. most of those deaths come from kentucky alone. now, rain is hampering efforts to dig out from all of the destruction. join us from mayfield, kentucky, wendy, my hat's off to you. a tough week. covering really emotional stories for the last eight, nine days, but as you talked to residents there what are they telling you today? >> reporter: alex, good afternoon to you, again. i'm struck by their resilience and resolve. it has been raining here the last several days and now the temperature's gone down, and it's quite miserable out here, to be frank with you. there are not nearly as many people out here in the parking lot like they were last weekend. pulling away debris and getting rid of things out here. we did earlier this morning see off-loaders heavy moving equipment starting to get through some of the piles, but right now you just kind of see cars mowing through, but not a lot else going on out here. compared to last weekend, though. a lot of things to be thankful here. a couple of people i spoke to at a restaurant north of here, now that the power's back on, we're going to accept our baby steps and move on. take a listen to what they had to say. >> it looked like a couple of bombs went off in this area. that's how devastating it is. mayfield will survive. mayfield may have to take a down sizing to start building again first, because i just talked to a friend of mine. he's going to rebuild. they got most of the streets pretty clear. but i mean, you've got -- you've got rubbage everywhere piled up. i am trying to run around and help people. that's it. whatever i can do. >> reporter: there you have it. a lifelong resident of mayfield just says he's thankful to be alive. you can replace property but you cannot replace people. at this point we do have some semi good news. no more people missing right now, alex, according to governor andy beshear. many still are hospitalized. one person, he did say, confirmed, that died in recovery. so given where we were talking about last week, as you well remember, this time last week we were talking about the possibility at the candle factory alone there could be somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 people who perished, and then north of here, untold numbers of people missing. given what we compared to a week ago, doing pretty well. we cannot forget, emotional stories and people we've talked to over the week. you can't begin to forget the 91, or plus, families, in all of these states that are starting to go into christmas holiday without those people, and thousands of other people without homes as we head into the christmas holiday. so still a lot needs to be done out here and we need to not forget those people. >> absolutely. heartbreaking, wendy. thank you so much. it is not a first but a second comeback for an iconic american figure. can he overcome new challenges? we'll discuss that, next. xt. feel the difference with downy. to be a thriver with metastatic breast cancer means asking for what we want. and need. and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. women are living longer than ever before with kisqali when taken with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant alone. kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. - [narrator] every three minutes, a child is born with a cleft condition. about living longer in the us, children are healed at birth. but in parts of the world where the right medical care doesn't exist, children like lexi struggle to speak or eat. without surgery, some will die. those who do survive face extreme challenges. together, we can change this. operation smile works to heal children born with cleft conditions. with volunteer medical teams in more than 30 countries worldwide, we need you. there are still millions in dire need of healing. go to operationsmile.org today and become a monthly supporter. help create new smiles and new futures. but act now. children are waiting. go online to operationsmile.org to give monthly or call. (upbeat music) firefighter maggie gronewald knows how to handle dry weather... ...and dry, cracked skin. new gold bond advanced healing ointment. restore healthy skin, with no sticky feeling. gold bond. champion your skin. this weekend, tiger woods is making his return to get tiff golf for the first time in about a year. right now, woods and his 12-year-old son charlie are competing in the pnc championship in florida. and this comes ten months after that traumatic crash that severely fractured his leg, while he was still recovering from yet another back injury. on friday, woods could talked about his comeback. >> a little more sore now. it's good. good to be out here playing now with my son like this. it's the best. the people have been so receptive and so warm and so caring. just -- it -- i didn't expect it to be like this. but it's been so positive. and just so thankful. >> and joining me now is sean gregory, senior sports correspondent or "time" magazine. welcome. this is such a great story. how significant is it that tiger woods is back on the links today. >> it's usually significant, especially for golf. you know, ratings tend to go down, interest tends to wane in golf, although there are several champion golfers on the way up. but tiger woods is trying to write another comeback story. when he came back from injury and won the masters, people are calling that the greatest sports in history. this might top it. >> how are charlie and tiger playing? and how is tiger playing compared to the tiger of old, if you can put some perspective on that? >> yeah, this is his first time back. what you're seeing is shots shorter. his short game yesterday was pretty good. he's kind of been up and down today. and yeah, he's been pretty honest about endurance being the biggest challenge. in this tournament, he's playing to ride a golf cart. pga tour events masters and majors, he's not able to do that. so, his ability to walk the course and sustain the pressure on his leg is going to be hugely important if he wants to get back to where he was. >> to that point, just last month, woods said that the unfortunate reality is that he's never going to play full time ever again from that car crash. it's a car crash that could have killed him. how will his absence affect the sport? >> yeah, i mean, it's going to -- it's challenging for golf when he's not around. but what's hopeful for golf and tiger woods fans. even with the limited schedule, sounds like, knowing the competitor he is as well. he's going to play the big events. he's going to play the majors. and those are the events that tend to draw in casual fans as well. so, you know, it's early here with this tournament but he looks okay. he's getting a little tired a little bit. but we're seeing signs that there's still some life left. and don't ever, ever count this guy out. he's prove than time and time again. >> and charlie's got his dad swings. he's got his mannerisms, he may have a future, yeah? >> it's been fun to watch. and golf is an ageless game, there's shots charlie and tiger's shot, charlie's shot was a lot better. so a 12-year-old kid could be better than the greatest golfer, but at the same time, golfers, they're older, we saw phil mikkelson win a major at 50. there's home as well. his son's future is bright. >> charlie's got a great teacher. sean gregory, thanks a lot. our friend yasmin vossoughian is standing right by. and she'll continue our coverage in just a moment. ...demands a lotion this pure. new gold bond pure moisture lotion. 24-hour hydration. no parabens, dyes, or fragrances. gold bond. champion your skin. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... no parabens, dyes, or fragrances. ...with rybelsus®. 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