a mask for five days. that goes for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. anthony fauci saying this about the shift. >> if you look at the chance of getting a transmission in the second half of that ten-day period, it's considerably less than in those first few days, so on balance, if you look at the safety of the public and the need to have society not disrupted, this was a good choice. in the medical community are concerns about mask wearing compliance, just as experts urge a shift toward better quality masks. a doctor joins me with what you should know in a moment. questions are also being asked about hospitalizatios for children. hospitals are seeing new admissions rising fast. reported covid cases of all ages in nyc. a staggering ten times higher than just a month ago and reaching a 7-day case average is higher than any other point in the pandemic. the 7-case average tops 231,000. we haven't seen it that high since january. here to start us off is ellison barber, covering those rising hospitalizations among kids. and gary robach in washington, d.c. where record cases are urging health care workers to stay home. cnn correspondent dr. john torres is also joining us. ellison, we'll go ahead and start with you. you've been talking with doctors about in child hospitalization number. what are they learning about whether kids seem to be more susceptible to omicron? >> on that, doctors we've spoken to in new york city, they say pretty much time will tell. it could be that simply because there is a higher percent, a larger community spread, that naturally that means it will spread to other groups, and children would be among those groups, and that ultimately it could just be more numbers amongst this group because there are more numbers, higher numbers, in new york city amongst the general population. again, it's sort of, they say, something that time will tell whether or not there is something specific in this variant that affects children in a different way, but for now they think this is just the numbers. at least those who we've spoken to, the numbers rising because community spread is very significant in new york city right now. in new york city there's been a five-fold increase in pediatric covid-19 cases. hospitalizations specifically since the beginning of this month, half of those pediatric patients are under the age of five. that means that they are not eligible just yet to be vaccinated. at the same time, doctors are saying when you look at the pediatric patients that are hospitalized, there is a commonality among those who are eligible to be vaccinated. the majority of them are not vaccinated. none of the patients ages 5 to 11 were fully vaccinated, and only a fraction, 23% of patients ages 12 to 17, were fully vaccinated. here's more of what we heard from one pediatric doctor in new york city. >> 97% of the hospitalizations are in children that are not vaccinated with acute covid. so if a parent wants to do right by their child and prevent their child from getting very sick from covid, they need to vaccinate their child. and they need to vaccinate everyone in the home, because most transmissions happen in the home. >> when we're looking at the pediatric covid hospitalizations, we have to remember there are some nuances here. children admitted to the hospital solely because of covid-19, acute covid-19, and you could potentially have children admitted as part of a procedure where they were admitted for something else like a broken bone, and through a routine test at the hospital found out they were positive for covid-19. then, of course, you could have children who have a second covid issue like mic cases. this breaks down specifically what we're seeing in new york city from december 19 to december 23rd. new york city reported 109 children hospitalized with covid-19 during that time frame. according to the new york department of health, 68 of those children were admitted to the children because of covid-19, acute covid. 41 children were admitted for another reason but had a covid-positive case. so this tells us the uptick is not just children who had a broken bone but covid symptoms. the majority of children hospitalized for covid in new york city were admitted because of covid-19, not other stuff, and doctors tell us that is what they're worried about, not just here, but that they could see that happen in other states as well. lindsey? >> sometimes what we see here in new york city does go elsewhere. gary, bring us up to speed about what you're learning about the covid in washington, d.c. and how it could impact services. this is what we've been worried about the last several days. >> reporter: washington, d.c. has seen 100% uptick in covid cases in the last few weeks. that's hard to visualize. this right here behind me is not hard to visualize. this is hundreds of people coming through throughout the day in line for covid testing in southeast washington, d.c. people of all ages, people from all walks of life. we've got teachers we spoke to, hospitality workers, mailmen and even emergency services. that's what we're focused on here. 670 members of the annapolis police department are not working because of covid. that does not mean fires won't be attended to and policemen won't be dispatched. it just means that these officers will have to work more shifts, sometimes double shits, and they won't be able to take the holidays they were planning on because of these workers. georgetown university and howard university have pushed back the in-person learning start date to later in january. it was supposed to be the beginning of january. they'll start virtually then and again in person hopefully toward the end of the month. there is a lot of frustration from folks we talked to today in terms of testing. people think there should be more rapid testing available. for her part, mayor maria bowser said she ordered 1 million rapid tests, but they won't be here until january. >> dr. torres, let's talk about this new guideline from the cdc, recommending people who test positive isolate for five days. if they're asymptomatic during that time, they can stop isolating but continue to mask for five days. what's the science behind this, and will it hopefully keep disasters from happening, like what gary is talking about not only in terms of the health care system but the economy coming to a screeching halt? >> lindsey, that's what dr. fauci was talking about earlier on the sound clip when he said, essentially, they want to make sure businesses stay up and running and at the same time protecting american health. knowing at five days and even seven days, the risk is going to go up, even incrementally, at spreading it to others. at the same time it's not that much of a risk and wearing a mask can mitigate that getting people back into the force. vaccinated or not, you can test positive for covid, five days at home. if you have no symptoms at that point, you can go out and about wearing that mask, but make sure you wear that mask. that's going to be the hard part of this thing, making sure you wear a mask. and the quarantine, it's going to depend if you're vaccinated, boosted or unvaccinated. if you're unvaccinated and still within that six-month period for mrna vaccines or the two-month period for johnson & johnson vaccines, or if you're boosted, you don't have to quarantine. they want you to go ahead and wear a mask and get tested on day five. however, if you're fully vaccinated and have not gotten the booster shot yet, or if you're unvaccinated, they want you to go ahead and quarantine for five days, then go around with a mask for five days after that, assuming you don't have any symptoms. it can be very confusing. last week they went from ten to seven days, this week seven to five days. i think what they're trying to do is walk that tightrope of saying, we want to get people back to work, especially like you saw there, ems, police, fire, to get them to be able to do the jobs they need to do, at the same time protecting the public, lindsey. >> do you think that hopefully this would encourage people to stay home if they're testing positive and they're sick? that ten days, that's a long time to be out of work. that's a big inconvenience for a lot of people. >> it is a long time and this all relies on the honor system. in the u.k., they went from ten to seven days. you have to test on day 6 or 7 with home tests. we haven't put testing in the guidelines, and if we do that, it would give us more confidence and possibly reduce the numbers spreading to others. at the same time, we are relying on the honor system and hopefully people will honor that if they're inside the quarantine period and will wear masks out and about. if they're outside the quarantine period, the angle is to get people back to work and keep people safe. >> doctor, on that mask point, the n-95, is that what people need to be looking for now? >> that's what they're looking for right now. they're saying the cloth masks are not as effective with omicron, but if you put another mask underneath it, that can help, and also those n-95 masks as well. >> thank you very much. ahead, a new year, a new phase into the investigation on capitol hill. house select committees plan to hold public hearings in 2022. amid escalating tensions over ukraine, the u.s. and russia will sit down for security talks. what we can expect in that high stakes meeting set to take place in a matter of weeks. first, body cam video reveals the chaotic moments setting up a 14-year-old fatal girl's shooting by the lapd. la. with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to the possibility of lower a1c with rybelsus®. you may pay as little as $10 for up to a 3-month prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. johnson & johnson is the world's largest healthcare company. building a future where cancers can be cured. strokes can be reversed. joints can be 3-d printed. and there isn't one definition of what well feels like. there are millions. we're using our world to make your world a world of well. ♪♪ ♪♪ it feels like my soul has been ripped out of my body. the pain of the christmas presents for her that had been delivered for christmas day cannot be articulated. my daughter was special. she had dreams. and tragically those dreams have been overshadowed by this nightmare. >> that was attorney benjamin crump, translating for the family of 14-year-old valentina peralta, as police said they accidentally shot in a burlington coat factory as they were searching for a suspect. there was an armed attack in a burlington store last thursday. the police inspected the changing rooms where they encountered a woman with a heavy bike lock. the bullet pierced valentina as it pierced her in the changing room. nbc's priscilla thompson has more on this story. priscilla, what do we know? >> we're learning more about what happened. we heard valentina's mother talking about how she and her daughter were holding each other, and they both fell to the ground when the bullet went through the wall, and she realized her daughter had been hit. so it was very harrowing to hear those details. but we're also hearing the attorney saying valentina should not have been, quote, collateral damage in all of this. they're saying they believe there is more video that the lapd needs to release. of course, this is coming after the lapd did release more than 30 minutes' worth of video yesterday, 911 calls, body camera video and surveillance footage that shed light on what exactly happened in those moments leading up to the teen's death. the death of a 14-year-old girl shot and killed by los angeles police has been ruled a homicide. >> the fitting room to the right. fitting room. fitting room. >> reporter: the video shows moments before the police said they accidentally shot the teen. the lapd released the body camera footage, surveillance video and 911 calls just days after the deadly shooting at a burlington store in north hollywood. police say they were responding to an assault with a deadly weapon and possible shooting. the victim, identified as valentina ariana peralta was reportedly trying on dresses for a quinceanera. at the same time police said they were shooting at an earlier suspect as he stood on a wall. valentina and her mother were behind that wall, unknown to officers. >> we were able to locate a 14-year-old female getting dressed in that changing room. preliminarily we believe that round was an officer's round. >> reporter: the suspect in the officer's shot that prompted the shooting, 24-year-old daniel lopez, was also killed. chief michael moore saying in a statement that he is profoundly sorry and said, quote, this chaotic incident resulting in the death of an innocent child is devastating for everyone involved. this comes as the department faces scrutiny for firing multiple rounds in a crowded store. experts say it's too early to know exactly what went wrong. >> what is the protocol for police who are pursuing a suspect who may be armed in a crowded place like a store? >> the official has the responsibility to make sure you keep everyone safe. you want to be able to place your shot in the right place. unfortunately, that may not always happen. and that's what makes this very sad and tragic. >> reporter: the deadly incident is currently under investigation by both the los angeles police and the california department of justice. an important note, a determination of homicide by the medical examiner does not mean that someone is going to be charged or go to jail. these investigations are still ongoing, and after which those findings are going to be turned over to a special prosecutor in california. lindsey? >> priscilla thompson, thank you. we are on verdict watch in the trial of ghislaine maxwell. the jury is on its fourth full day of deliberations. the judge said they can stay as late as 6:00 p.m. they might even skip their upcoming scheduled day off to try to get to a verdict. the wife of jeffrey epstein could go to jail if she is accused. former state prosecutor and msnbc analyst linda murphy. ron, this could be a long day for jurors. what's with the change in the schedule? >> reporter: in a word, the judge is concerned about the covid cases in this city, and she is essentially trying to prod the jury to take as much time while they're in the deliberation room to try and come to a verdict. it's an extra hour, perhaps. we don't know. this idea was floated with the jury late yesterday. it's unclear whether they have agreed to do that or not. there's a question of thursday, whether they'll deliberate then, but we have a long way to go between now and then. we're already past some 30 hours of deliberations, and while it may sound like a long time, remember there was a four-day interruption over the christmas holiday where they did not deliberate. when they came back, they've asked a lot of questions, for a lot of material and testimony to review. at this point it's been a very quiet day here. we've not heard from the judge or the jury. it's anyone's guess as to where they are in all this. lindsey? >> wendy, if you're a prosecutor in this case, and here we are on the fourth full day here, what goes through your mind that we don't have a verdict? >> i think foolish to say this is certainly a win or loss for either side, but i think it's probably fair to say that this is not going to be a straight-out acquittal. i think that would have happened sooner than four days. having said that, it's possible that they will come up with a mixed verdict where -- remember, their primary evidence is the testimony of three victims, and there is no doubt in my mind that they could find one or two credible enough for a conviction, but not the third, or, you know, one but not the other two. and that could be where they are. because there are several charges, but each of the three conspiracy charges is tied to a primary charge involving one, two or three of the victims. so they really have to scrutinize each of the victims' testimonies carefully and then decide whether, in addition to believing that victim, that that victim, in fact, describes evidence that jibes with the rest of the testimony about whether there was a conspiracy. so they've got a lot of work to do. conspiracy charges can be complicated. but i don't think we're going to see a full-out acquittal at the end of the day. >> what makes conspiracy charges so complicated? >> well, among other things, you have to prove both that there was an agreement, in this case, between maxwell and epstein, to commit certain crimes. and you have to prove that there was an overact that was committed in furtherance of that crime. so you have to connect those dots. you have to not only believe the victims when they say they were transported across state lines for the purpose of having sexual contact or sexual activity, but also that that was part of a conspiracy, an agreement, if you will, between maxwell and epstein to commit the underlying offense. and juries sometimes have trouble putting those things together, because they might believe, you know, that there was an underlying crime, but it's not part of the conspiracy. it's a harder question for jurors to answer. >> thanks for diving into that for us. wendy murphy and ron allen, appreciate it. the high stakes diplomatic talks the u.s. is set to hold with russia next month. and the question about the future of afghanistan as the taliban begins an all-out assault on women's rights. wome. . you can now choose from thousands of live virtual classes every week. get moving wherever you have an internet connection. and when you're ready, enjoy access to thousands of locations nationwide. with silversneakers, you're free to move. enroll today at no additional cost by visiting getsilversneakers dot com. such tree-mendous views. i'm at a moss for words. when a cough tries to steal dad's punchlines, he takes robitussin naturals powered by 100% drug-free ingredients. are you gonna leaf me hanging? soothe your cough naturally. u.s. and russia officials have set a date to talk about ukraine. the white house announced that the two countries will meet january 10 to discuss security issues. top of mind, that buildup of around 100,000 russian troops on the border with ukraine. president biden and russian president putin met virtually earlier this month with both leaders standing firm on the issue. i'm with mike memoli and associate editor david ignatius. mike, are these talks a continuation of the virtual conversation, or is the white house coming down harder? >> reporter: it's been about three weeks since the president sat down, at least virtually, with his russian counterpart. there were two takeaways from that discussion. one on the part of president biden was, according to the white house, a very clear warning to president putin that any further escalation of the situation with ukraine would lead to quick and severe sanctions on his country. on the russian side, there were some demands made, including putin's request for a legal commitment on the part of the united states that ukraine would never gain admittance into the nato alliance, something the u.s. said was a non-starter. in the weeks that have passed since then, we have seen some one-on-one engagement among high-en officials and russian counterparts. we've also seen officials travel to moscow to meet with russian officials as well. but we've also seen some engagements with european allies as well. as was put in a statement to the european council today saying, we are unified as an alliance on the consequences russia would face if it moves to ukraine, but we are also unified in our willingness to engage in principled diplomacy with russia. as long as russia is at the table, as long as their ongoing discussions, and since there are real questions about what president putin's intentions are, talks will continue. the russians will also be sitting down with a nato group leadership as well, so these are sort of meant to at least keep this situation from further escalation, but the u.s. does continue to insist that there will be consequences should putin go any further. >> david, russia said on christmas that about 10,000 troops would leave the border with ukraine. new photos show about a thousand troops there. does this bolster talk that this was all just a training exercise? >> it's a modern step by russia, i think, to underline to their own people and to the world that they're prepared to engage in diplomacy, talk to the u.s. and its nato allies, but still concerned about the issues that led them to put troops on the ukranian border. the number they would need to invade ukraine is substantially more. they would need 175,000. they're probably now at 75,000, would be my guess, so it would be a very dramatic addition. i think russia, like the united states, is pursuing a two-track strategy here. the united states has made clear it is prepared to put sanctions on russia. at the same time it's leaving the door open to diplomacy. it's ready to engage in principled diplomacy on russia if they don't try to defuse this confrontation. i've heard warnings about economic sanctions that are serious, as detailed as the ones we've been getting from nfc officials, intending to inflict a level of pain on russia if it does invade but is unprecedented behind any sanctions we've ever imposed. so both countries, i think, are walking along this narrow ledge trying to get it right. i don't think anybody at this point could predict what they could decide to do as we roll through the talks, we go through the process of diplomacy, whether they would be satisfied. unlikely they would get anything remotely like what they were seeking. would he choose to use force to actually invade a european country for the first time in decades? that would be extraordinary, but we're all left guessing, i think, for a while. >> mike memoli, thank you. david ignatius, you're staying with us. this year marks the end of the 20-year war in afghanistan, the longest war in history. probably as significant as the war itself was the chaotic withdrawal that left allies vulnerable. it was tough even before boots left the ground in kabul, and now we're seeing extremes of policies and sharia law. >> reporter: 20 years. 2,641 soldiers killed. thousands of afghans killed. $2 trillion spent. so much blood and treasure only for it all to end in ignominy. on august 15, as u.s. troops were pulling out, the afghan military which washington spent $88 billion to train and equip, collapsed. the u.s.-backed president fled the country. and the taliban swept into kabul. afghans rushed to the airport. escape seemed like the safest option. the withdrawal only got more chaotic and violent. isis decided to take a parting shot, dispatching a suicide bomber who killed some 200 afghans and 13 american rvicemembers. >> these american servicemembers who gave their lives, not to overuse the word, but it's terribly appropriate to say they were heroes. >> the signs going down were impossible to miss but yet were seemingly ignored. in may, months before the withdrawal, the taliban went on the offensive. they faced little resistance from the afghan army and rapidly advanced across the country. still, the u.s. seemed unfazed. in july the united states pulled out of the bagram air base, the biggest base in the country. leaving bagram pulled the rug out from under the afghan army and helped guarantee a taliban victory. >> the americans say they handed over this base to the afghans in an orderly way so they could continue the fight against extremists. they left them a base that the americans, it looks like they looted themselves. >> reporter: how do you feel about the way the americans left this base? >> translator: i don't want to talk about it, he says. >> reporter: after the united states abandoned bagram, the afghan army further splintered, and the taliban had an open door to enter kabul. now the taliban are the government. >> it is still absolutely shocking and mind-boggling. a few months ago, only, it would have been absolutely impossible for me to ride in a car with these men that are still part of an organization that are internationally designated as a terrorist group. now there is not even hostility and they are glad to show me around, glad to show that they are in charge. >> reporter: and afghans, especially women, must accept whatever rights the islamists give them. even though the u.s. effectively handed afghanistan over to the taliban, the united states government has sanctioned the group and refuses to release about $10 billion in government funds, further aiding afghanistan's economic collapse. the united nations warns afghanistan's economic meltdown could become the worst humanitarian crisis it's ever seen. ending the war may or may not have been the right decision, but the way it was done seems to have set the country up for failure and may embolden our enemies and adversaries, showing when pushed, the united states doesn't always stick with its allies. and whatever happens to their people will likely be their problem. >> that was richard engel reporting. back with me is david ignatius, associate columnist and associate editor and msnbc contributor. that last line, the u.s. does not always stick to their allies and whatever happens to their people will likely be their problem. harsh but true? >> i'm afraid so. that was superb reporting by richard engel, as always, and it leads us to look backwards at this 20-year story of american involvement that produced so little, but also to look forward. what's going to happen to this country ravaged by us, the taliban, the russians before? they're heading into -- in every report i see is described as a period of food shortage approaching famine across the country. and as near as i can tell, the united states simply doesn't have a plan for what to do. you could argue that this isn't our problem anymore, let somebody else worry about it, but that's just not really in our character as we go through this winter and the images will get more and more painful to see. we're going to want some action from our government to provide a humanitarian response and some policy, hands off, distanced conduct with the taliban, something that allows us to be involved in trying to get food, money, the essentials of life to the people in this country who suffered so much. i'm just not hearing much from the administration that faces up to that problem, which is staring us right in the face at the end of this difficult year. >> i have to be curt with you, david. in one of your post pieces you called the withdrawal president biden's biggest blunder. he keeps saying he did it. does that get lost in how it was handled? >> i think his decision to go and do what previous presidents, barack obama, president trump certainly wanted to do, which was to end this war, you could argue the time had come. but it needed to be done carefully. we had to be as careful about how we got out as you could argue we were kind of hazard as to how we got in. and plan for that, plan for all the contingencies. we knew about the thousands and thousands of afghans who depended on us. that shouldn't have seemed like a surprise. the chaos at the very end, even given the shocking departure of the afghan president, president biden said america is back. that showed an america in a october retreat, and i think unfortunately that will stay with him and with all of us. >> david iignatius, we'll have o leave it there. thank you. why shoppers are still packing the stores despite inflation and an ongoing pandemic. but first, they've interviewed more than 300 witnesses and subpoenaed more than 50 people. what's next for the committee investigating january 6? 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>> reporter: you look at the reaction to their requests, it becomes pretty quickly that they're not ready to comply. then it comes to the january 6 committee, do they move to subpoena their own colleagues, and can they even do that? it sort of brings us into the next chapter of this in 2022 and the work of the committee. we know they need the information that these lawmakers, for example, can provide to them, the other side of those text messages, for example, that mark meadows gave to the committee. we know, for example, that jim jordan was one of those people who was actually texting with mark meadows on january 6th. at the same time it's also a reminder of just how deep the partisan divides here are in congress stemming from january 6th. the bad will between both parties, also because there are so many republicans who whitewashed january 6 and continued to spread or in some ways lend credence to donald trump's big lie about the 2020 election. all of that is part and parcel to the committee's work, but as we zoom out here and just look at what they've done behind the scenes before they take this more publicly, you look at the stats. more than 300 witnesses interviewed, more than 35,000 pages of documents, more than 200 tips, two and a half criminal referrals, because we know the committee voted to hold jeffrey clark in contempt but then kind of paused that because it seemed like he was going to be complying with them. then you have more than 50 subpoenas and more than $400,000 spent, both in terms of paying staff and traveling staff to do the actual investigative work here. so a lot of that has happened behind the scenes as we head into 2022. the clock is definitely ticking but we're actually going to start to see the substance of what the committee has been working on, both in terms of that report you mentioned and also those public hearings. >> mike, about that, you said the committee is shifting to more public hearings. what do they gain by laying their cards out on the table? >> you're right, it was reported yesterday this pivot was going to happen. more public hearings to try and tell a story, create a narrative of not only what happened on january 6 but the weeks that led up to that between the election and january 6, the planning that was done, the people that were involved, who they were talking to among each other, you know, who was doing the planning, what ideas were being brought into this sort of informal planning process that ultimately resulted in president trump basically summoning his supporters to washington for this, you know, what heretofore is going to certify the election and turn it into a crucible moment for democracy. i think they're really going to try to explain how that happened and who is responsible for it. >> what's the strategy here? is there a potential risk that they run that if it enters a more public phase here, that could deter more people from cooperating? >> well, i think people have made their decisions, by and large, on whether they're going to be cooperating. you know, i think it remains to be seen whether these contempt citations, the threats of contempt citations, are going to make a difference. clearly the department of justice has shown they're willing to enforce these contempt citations. i think that's a big unanswered question for the months ahead, is will this committee have success in compelling people who really would prefer not to cooperate and having them come in. i think some people will fight for the last. steve bannon, for instance, has said he's going to take this appeal as far as it goes. but there are other people who are in different positions, perhaps, you know, might be, at the end of the day, not willing to fight to the end and might strike deal or otherwise cooperate in certain ways and that remains to be seen. >> we'll have to leave it there. thank you. up next, inside this season's holiday shopping boom. johnson & johnson is the world's largest healthcare company. building a future where cancers can be cured. strokes can be reversed. joints can be 3-d printed. and there isn't one definition of what well feels like. there are millions. we're using our world to make your world a world of well. find your rhythm. your happy place. find your breaking point. then break it. every emergen-c gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergen-c. inflation and the coronavirus haven't stopped shoppers from hitting the stores this holiday season. retail sales are smashes records across the country marking their biggest single-year increase in nearly two decades. for more on this holiday shopping boom, here's joe fryer. >> reporter: as the 2021 holiday season comes to a close, retailers are seeing green. sales rising 8.5% this year, the biggest jump in 17 years. that's despite economic uncertainty as shoppers dealt with higher prices, product shortages and in the final days leading up to christmas, the surge of the omicron variant. >> so they're out buying and this is at the high end of the market as well as the lower end of the market. all the consumers are feeling they had enough, they want to spend and they want to experience life again. >> reporter: the items driving this year's surge, clothing and jewelry. mastercard spending pulse which compiled the data found consumers started before black friday with more in-person shopping this year and an unexpected return to department stores. still more than ever, people are buying online with e-commerce sales up 61% from prepandemic levels and accounting for a fifth of all of this year's sales. >> retailers really need to be everywhere to everyone all the time. you have to have a store for pick up or dropoff or returns, but you also have to have a website that operates seamlessly with those stores. >> experts say with record spending we'll also see record returns as we head into 2022. the forecast is as high as $20 billion in return goods between thanksgiving and the end of january. >> returns are part of the business of retail. if you have an increase in sales of 8.5%, then you're likely going to have more returns. >> thanks to joe fryer for that report. right after this break, amid a covid surge in hospitalizations, the u.s. navy deployed to indiana's largest hospital. we're going to go there live where medical staff is finally getting some help. plus a look at how a national shortage in pharmacy technicians is stifling the u.s. response to the pandemic. e u.s. response to the pandemic s up? 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