for hundreds of records from the trump administration? "way too early" for this. good morning. and welcome to "way too early." i'm jonathan lemire on this wednesday, december 29th. we'll start with the news. longtime senate majority leader harry reid has died. his wife of 62 years announced in a statement last night that he passed away peacefully, while surrounded by friends following a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. reid was elected in the senate in 1987 after serving two terms in the house of representatives. he held the role of senate majority leader from 2007 to 2015 and was a pivotal figure on capitol hill with president bush and barack obama. paying tribute to a dear american and dear friend. in a statement, he wrote, if harry said he would do something, he did it. if he gave you his word, you could bank on it. that's how he got things done for the good of the country for decades. biden cited a number of reid's accomplishments including passing the affordable care act in the wake of the legislation. and nbc's chris clackum has more on his legislation. >> but the highlight at least for me. >> reporter: harry reid was known as a tenacious fighter even before becoming a senator. growing up in poverty, his toughness shined as a scrappy boxer. and later, a u.s. capitol police officer. he got his political strife in nevada politics, serving on the state's gaming commission in the late '70s and early '80s. then climbed on to the national political stage in 1983, serving two terms in the house and for the next 30 years, as u.s. senator from nevada. even becoming senate majority leader in 2007. >> i do hope they will do their constitutional -- >> reporter: during his leadership tenure, reid was a sharp critic of president george w. bush but instrumental in the obama years, passing major legislation like the affordable care act. throughout his career, reid also championed a cause dear to him. land conservation until nevada. it was a severe injury suffered on exercise equipment in january 2015 that eventually led to the fierce fighter losing some punch. although reid refused to admit it at the time. >> and is there any situation related to this that would cause you not to seek re-election? >> not at this stage, i fully intend to run. >> reporter: two months later, though, reid announced his retirement. he and his wife landra, both converted mormons were married more than 60 year, they have five children and a dozen grandchildren. in 2018, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, reid underwent surgery to remove a tumor and spent the last fight of his life with family back home in nevada. reid also instrumental in the presidential campaign and the campaign of barack obama we'll have more legacy on that in the show. turning now to the coronavirus pandemic. the united states has set a new record for daily covid infections. data from "the new york times" said the number of cases top 267,000 yesterday. the previous record more than 251,000 cases set almost a year ago. the cdc has almost dramatically slashed its estimate of omicron cases in the united states. the agency originally said the new variant represented 73% of cases for the week that ended december 18th. that number has since been revised to just 22.5%. we're told the omicron variant accounted for nearly 59% of u.s. cases for the week ended on christmas day. and while research continues to show the omicron variant is less severe in those who are boosted, the data is not as clear, concerning boosted individuals who are older, or who have underlying health conditions. joining us now, we look at how covid cases are straining the nation's health care system. nbc correspondent liz mclaughlin, liz, thank you for being here, between covid staffing situations and burnout, we're seeing hospitals strained perhaps to the breaking point. how are they managing? >> absolutely. some of the folks that we've spoken with say that they're just frustrated, tired and they can't believe we're going into a third year of this. we're seeing record cases, obviously, we just saw the 267,000 daily. that's a new high for the u.s. and here in d.c., one of the nation's hardest hit areas, those staffing shortages caused by the virus 0 could get some new relief from cdc guidelines those who test positive and asymptomatic can go back to work after five days, instead of ten. that can help some nurses get back to work. but some have quit the industry altogether. so that's a big challenge. even though the new guidelines could help. and it's not just omicron. delta may also be to blame. you saw those numbers, those estimates were down. it just shows how challenging it is to really track this fast spreading variant and how dangerous delta still is. a lot of the health officials we spoke with say that's the majority of the hospitalizations they're seeing, people with the delta variant and the majority are unvaccinated. still nearly 40% of americans not fully vaccinated. >> liz, is there any explanation as to why the cdc so dramatically changed their estimation of how many cases were due to the omicron variant? i mean, that's a huge change which we just saw. i know among some, it raised some doubt as to just how, on top of this, the government is? >> and maybe how transparent they are about the uncertainty there. there are a lot of question marks in the data. a lot of analysis does take time. and so when those numbers are presented as hard numbers when in fact is in uncertainty there, it does have doubt in how accurate we are in tracking this. it's such a fast spreading virus in the first place. now, we're hearing from the fda, they just announced that rapid tests may be less sensitive at detecting omicron. even though false negatives aren't as likely, they aren't suggesting that folks stop taking aeg tests. >> some people are taking at-home tests and not reporting results. nbc's liz mclaughlin, thank you for being here. still ahead, longtime political strategist david axelrod offered president biden advice for getting build back better across the finish line. and former president trump is endorsing alaska governor for re-election. but there's a catch. those stories and more and a check of the weather, when we come right back. ack. before nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a comfortable night's sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. now, that dream... . ...is her reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? 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[music: sung by craig robinson] cheers. ♪ i'm a ganiac, ganiac, check my drawers ♪ [sfx: sniffs] ♪ and my clothes smell so much fresher than before ♪ try gain flings and you'll be a gainiac too! the only detergent with oxiboost and febreze. before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn... claire could only imagine enjoying chocolate cake. now, she can have her cake and eat it too. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? when you have xfinity xfi, you have peace of mind built in at no extra cost. advanced security helps keep your family protected online. pause wifi whenever for ultimate control with the xfinity app. and family-safe browsing gives parents one less thing to worry about. security, control and peace of mind. with xfinity xfi, it's all built in at no extra cost. longtime political strategist and former senior adviser to former president barack obama david axelrod is out in a new piece in "the new york times" titled "it's not over for joe biden." he writes, no historical parallel is perfect, but the near-death and revival of the affordable care act is a pairable that does offer a path forward. in his first year in office, mr. biden passed the rescue act which jump-started the vital distribution of vaccines and helped families and businesses and the nation navigate the virus. he defied the skeptics and passed a bipartisan plan to rebuild the country's fraying infrastructure. that alone is perfect work. if he can retool the build back better act to make it permit m permanent, as the affordable care act is, rather than piecing together a hodgepodge of temporary programs it, too, may be able to stand the test of time in a decade may be even more popular than today. joining us white house reporter darlene summerville. darlene, good to see you, we saw that things broke down not too long in fashion, when senator joe manchin announced that he was going to be opposed. since then he and the president spoke and there is renewed optimism that a deal could be reached. what are you hearing from people you talk to in the white house? what's the timetable that we're looking at here for build back better act, perhaps, to come back from the dead? >> happy holidays, jon. well, the new year will bring a sense of optimism to the white house, that they can get build back better over the line in some fashion. i think the timetable the white house will be looking at will be asap. because they need to get something done before midterm election politics start to infect everything the white house wants to get done, legislatively in congress. so, we're looking at more negotiations, more talks with senator manchin and the white house, president biden's aides, to see how they can retool build back better to make that to senator manchin and get that vote that they need. >> darlene, you're in rehoboth beach, delaware, covering the president's winter break. even yesterday as he took his new dog commander for a walk on the beach, he addressed questions from reporters about the new surge we're seeing from omicron. give us a sense of what he has said -- what the administration is saying right now, the cdc just tweaked its guidelines. some criticism as to how they did. and, of course, we're just seeing cases surge throughout the country. what's the strategy going forward? >> right. one of the things going forward that we'll see from the white house is this promise from the president to buy 500 million at-home rapid covid-19 test kits and distribute them to people across the country. that's supposed to happen in january, when the tests -- when the first batch of tests are delivered. there's still a lot of questions about how that process is going to work, though. they're supposed to be building a website for people to go and request kits and have one mailed to them. but it's unclear whether people, for example, will be limited to one kit. or can they order two or multiple kits. it's unclear exactly when the website will go up and be functional. so that's one way the white house is trying to address the testing shortage. the other way, of course, is just working with companies and getting them to ramp-up production. the president is already using something called the defense production act to try to increase production of these tests. because as we've seen, there is a shortage and it's very critical for people to get tests and to test themselves and know their covid-19 status. >> and darlene, one more for you, there's been a lot of discussion in the last couple of days about the idea about the idea of vaccination requirement for domestic travel. dr. anthony fauci the president's top health adviser suggested in an interview on "morning joe" this week that might be something that might be useful. give us an update, with the president, of course, from his call the other day, where does he stand on that? >> right. well, he was asked about that while he was on the beach walking commander. and he said he's going to wait for a recommendation from his health and medical team. so, a decision on that seems to be a little bit in the future. >> all right. the white house reporter for the ap darlene superville, happy holidays to you. enjoy your time at the beach even if it's not warm sunny skies there. still ahead, remembering hall of fame turned broadcaster john madden. a look at the tributes pouring in for him. next, in sports. rts. 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(burke) seventeen-car garage you got there? ♪we are farmers♪ ♪bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum♪ first psoriasis, then psoriatic arthritis. even walking was tough. i had to do something. i started cosentyx®. cosentyx can help you move, look, and feel better... by treating the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting...get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections some serious... and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms... or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms... develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. watch me. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. legendary nfl broadcaster and super bowl winning cope john madden has died. the league said the 85-year-old passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning but did not give a cause. nbc news reporter dan scheneman has more on that, his life and legacy. >> it's just super football, i love these kinds of games. >> reporter: although he never played a season of pro football, john madden was inanonymous with nfl. he began to coach and eventually named head coach of the raiders at the age of just 33. he was young and he was a winner. his teams claimed seven division titles and appeared in the playoffs eight times. in 1976, his raiders won super bowl xi. madden was at the pinnacle of the nfl but the stress of coaching caught up to him. two years after winning the super bowl, his raiders failed to make the playoffs. he left oakland as the youngest coach to win 100 games. when madden stepped away from the sideline, he stepped into the broadcast booth. >> and emotion is very much part of this broadcast. >> reporter: he was teamed with pat summerall on cbs and later fox. his voice was the voice of nfl sunday. >> you can't make yourself one dimensional. >> reporter: behind the mic, madden could connect with fans. >> he had that great ability to make you want to come in your home and sit on the couch with you. >> reporter: when summerall retired madden moved on to "monday night football" and then "sunday night football" where he was teamed with al michaels. madden who never liked to fly traveled the country by bus. and when his bus arrived in town it was an event. >> welcome back, everybody, here. >> reporter: in 2006, after years of service to the game, john madden was inducted into the pro football hall of fame for his record as a coach. >> you can't appreciate this any more than i do. >> reporter: after three decades behind the microphone, madden announced his retirement. he said it's time. >> i strongly believe that this is the right time, this is the right thing. and you just do it. >> reporter: to a generation of fans madden was not known as a coach or a broadcaster, but rather, a video game. >> bam! >> reporter: starting in 1988, madden led his voice to ea sports it won a new generation of fans. john madden, a football life well lived. >> it would be hard to overstate madden's impact on the game. when you heard his voice come on in an nfl on a sunday, you knew it was a big game that was important, it mattered, this was one to watch. and certainly, the video game was for generations of fans brought them into the game, taught them the sport, certainly. and have a lot of fun while doing it. his enthusiasm or the game, he'd teach you it, you really learned it but also had fun doing it. john madden. our thanks to nbc's dan scheneman for that report. meanwhile, on the heels of new cdc guidance that's cutting covid quarantine in half, the nfl has followed suit. it's reducing isolation time for players who test positive that are asymptomatic, moving that from ten days to five, regardless of their vaccination status. the changes could allow colts quarterback carson wentz who is unvaccinated to return for sunday's game against the raiders after being placed on the covid list. another college football game has been cancelucla was forced to pull of the holiday bowl hours before broadcast. hawaii, military, and arizona bowls have been cancelled because of virus outbreaks. but the nhl has resumed its regular season after a six of it day holiday break after a surge in covid cases in players. now the league is dealing with strict pandemic regulations north of the border that forced another nine games to be postponed yesterday. all of them in canada. a total of 80 nhl games have been called off this season but it was nice to see an actual return to the ice last night. time for the weather, let's go to meteorologist michelle grossman. michelle, how is it looking out there? >> good morning, we're looking for western snow and potential for severe weather so that's where we start into the evening hours. the storm prediction center has issued an enhanced risk of threats, 3 out of 5 on the scale. keen million on at risk. eastern arkansas to northern mississippi, northern alabama into tennessee, damaging winds, and we could even see a few tornadoes. that's what we're going to be watching closely as we head throughout the afternoon and evening hours. also excessive rain, localized flooding, up to three inches in spots. we saw that tornado outbreak early in december. stormy end to december, today, we have the fuel of those really warm temperatures in the south. and the trigger that is sort of like the cold that's going to spark the chance for these storms. and the threat is going to move off to the east tomorrow, but still we could see thunderstorms in the southeast. otherwise, on the cold side of the storm, we'll see wintry rain. 81 in galveston, 80 degrees in monroe. that's going to stay in place tomorrow where it's going to feel like october once again where we could break some records. and even nashville, 69 degrees. honestly, the temperatures will stay in place throughout the weekend. it's going to be a warm holiday weekend. we're looking at winter alerts as well. more heavy snow in the west, lots of advisers, watches, warnings and we could see another two feet of snow in the mountaintops in the west. >> heavy snow in the west. michelle grossman, thank you so very much. still ahead, the house select committee investigating the january 6th capitol attack reaches a deal with the white house to stand down on a request for hundreds of records from the trump administration. we'll explain that as we look into the latest of that advancing probe. but before we go to break, we want to know why are you awake? email your reasons to waytooearly@msnbc.com or tweet me at jon lemire. don't put an "h" in my name but use the #waytooearly. we'll read some of the answers later in the show. ter in the sh. without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle. my nunormal? fewer asthma attacks with nucala. a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala reduces eosinophils, a key cause of severe asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala. find your nunormal with nucala. 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[cheering] that was awesome. and, the hits won't quit, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. all that entertainment built in. xfinity. a way better way to watch. ♪♪ welcome back to "way too early." it's just a smidge before 5:30 on the east coast. i'm jon than lemire. president joe biden previously opted not to invoke executive privilege on behalf of former president donald trump. for many documents the committee sought. but there are some records that he's not willing to turn over. nbc news reports the agreement mostly shows records that do not involve the events of january 6th. meanwhile, former president donald trump is endorsing republican alaska governor mike dunleavy for re-election in 2022. but there's a catch, trump is inexisting that dunleavy not endorse senator murkowski. alaska needs mike dunleavy as governor now more than ever. he has my complete and total endorsement, but this endorsement is subject to his nonendorsement of senator lisa murkowski that has been very bad for alaska. and if mike endorses her, which is his progressive, then my endorsement is null and void. murkowski, of course, running for re-election next year is one of the seven republican senators who voted to convict trump following his impeachment connected to the capitol insurrection. trump has made her a top target in next year's upcoming midterms. joining us to help us make sense of all of this nonsense is the co-founder of punchbowl news, jake sherman, he's a regular on the show and we're glad to see him. jake, let's start with the withdrawal of the white house request for certain documents from the trump administration. explain to us the biden administration reasoning here for not supplying them. and does this in any way affect the core mission of the january 6th investigation? >> not really, jon. i mean, the big thing here is that the white house is trying to withhold documents that are tangentially or not all the time related to the january 6th attack, things like intelligence assessments, briefings that were given to principals that day. things of that nature. so i wouldn't read too much into this. there is a fine line the white house has to walk, even in these kind of extraordinary circumstances between providing information and also preserving the integrity of the presidency, in the sense there's just some documents that institutionally, the white house doesn't want to let out because it's set to bad precedent. so, i think that's what you're seeing here, i would say, obviously, the big thing to watch is whether the supreme court or whether other courts allow document production from the white house. and obviously, donald trump is in court and has appealed to the premium court. and also, remember, there are a lot of people participating in this probe who have not become public yet because they've not been summed. so i'd say that's where we should spend a lot of time looking at. >> yeah. and those documents for the national archives, we should know their fate in the next couple of months as to if the committee gets their hands on. obviously, the midterms are approaching, the democrats believe they need to get this done before republicans, potentially, take back the house. and speaking of midterms we just had trump's endorsement, sort of, of alaska's governor. give us a sense of what the asterisk that trump supplied for that race means, but also the bigger picture and what does this show for the role that trump plays for the republican party? >> who knows, jon. this is such a bizarre endorsement or not endorsement. i guess trump is probably popular in alaska. lisa murkowski won a write-in campaign in alaska so to say she does not somehow fit the state of alaska would be a far cry from what we've seen, at least, based on evidence in reality. furthermore, murkowski's father was a governor and senator for alaska. i don't know how much trump's endorsement means here, doesn't mean here. obviously, he wants to take murkowski out. i don't know what to make of it, otherwise, to be honest, it's too bizarre to be quite frank. >> jake, i appreciate your candor there. lastly, in the show, we're talking about harry reid, we're going to talk more about his legacy coming up on "morning joe" in a little bit. jake, you obviously covered him, he's on capitol hill a long time. give us your memories, your sense of him, the man, the politician, how he'll be remembered for his work in the home state and capitol hill? >> the most consequential politician in nevada's history, obviously. somebody, when i think of harry reid, i kind of grew up covering harry reid's democratic senator, along with john boehner's republican house. harry reid was a knife fighter. he was a ruthless politician that understood what needed to be done to get things done. he martialed through the most aggressive legislative agenda in recent memory. he is somebody who managed the senate with an iron fist, so to speak. that ruthlessness -- a lot of people are saying this today -- but some important democrats are drawing parallels to today. i don't think that's necessarily fair. harry reid had a long senate majority, much larger than chuck schumer has today. but a brutally honest politician i would say, and i got into legendary battles with john boehner, mitch mcconnell and worked with nancy pelosi to pass the most transformative legislation, obama, dodd-frank, things of that nature. >> jake, you have my endorsement. >> thank you. still ahead with thousands of flights crowded by weather and pandemic staffing shortages, we'll show you the latest in a string of violent incidents involving airline passengers causing a different kind of turbulence in the skies. 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[microwave beeps] [ahh] ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm so defensive, i got bongos thumping in my chest ♪ ♪ and something tells me they don't beat for me ♪ ♪ i love romance, but i got eggshells around me ♪ ♪ don't step on 'em, don't step on 'em ♪ ♪ don't step on 'em, don't step on me ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ he'd better not take the ring from me ♪ liz, you nerd, cough if you're in here! shh! i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. ♪ ♪ what about rob's dry cough? works on that too, and lasts 12 hours. 12 hours?! who studies that long? mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs. facing leaks takes strength. so here's to the strong, who trust in our performance and comfortable long-lasting protection. because your strength is supported by ours. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. 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. the coronavirus and the weather are still taking a toll on america as americans crisscross the country. more than 7,000 flights were delayed and 1300 cancelled into out of and around the united states yesterday. more than 300 delays and 7 cancellations have been reported so far today. mind you, it's 5:39 a.m. meanwhile, a woman is facing assault charge after allegedly hitting and spitting on another passenger on a delta flight from tampa to atlanta. a woman named patricia cornwell was returning from the rest room. a flight attendant asked her to find a different seat. she responded what am i, rosa parks. another passenger took issue with that remark. an argument ensued and that's where it shows a woman hitting him. and she can be heard complaining about masks. >> [ bleep ] [ bleep ]. >> put your mask on. put your [ bleep ] on. >> first, that's a lot of bleeps, first, don't ever compare yourself to rosa parks. third, she's complaining about masks but not wearing one herself. that's a hat trick. the incident is just the latest in a string of violent clashes on airplanes since the start of the pandemic. stop doing this, people. still ahead as the nation hits a new high for new covid infections there's a new concern about a spike in cases with children. i'll talk to a health expert on that. as we go to break, we want to look back at this date in history, 15 years ago, word reached the united states of the execution of former iraqi leader saddam hussein. in a statement, president bush called the execution as an important milestone. >> president said the execution does not mean it's an end to violence in iraq. he praise the iraqi people for staking the steps to have a new government, a judicial system and to mark that as a sign of progress in iraq. aq taking align can help. align contains a quality probiotic to naturally help soothe digestive upsets 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health. and join the align healthy gut team up and learn what millions of align users already know. how great a healthy gut can feel. sign up at alignprobiotics.com also try align dualbiotics gummies to help support digestive health. inner voice (kombucha brewer): as a new small business owner, i find it useful to dramatically stare out of the window... ...so that no one knows i'm secretly terrified inside. inner voice (sneaker shop owner): i'm using hand gestures and pointing... ...so no one can tell i'm unsure about my business finances. inner voice (furniture maker): i'm constantly nodding... ...because i know everything about furniture... ...but with the business side... ...i'm feeling a little lost. quickbooks can help. an easy way to get paid, pay your staff and know where your business stands. new business? no problem. yeah. success starts with intuit quickbooks. when you have xfinity xfi, you have peace of mind yeah. built in at no extra cost. advanced security helps keep your family protected online. pause wifi whenever for ultimate control with the xfinity app. and family-safe browsing gives parents one less thing to worry about. security, control and peace of mind. with xfinity xfi, it's all built in at no extra cost. now, to a troubling trend. a spike in covid-19 cases among children before they return to the classroom following the holiday break. nbc news correspondent sam brock has the very latest on this. >> reporter: with the christmas holiday pouring kerosene on a covid fire already blazing some of the nation's biggest school districts are getting aggressive about protecting students starting in the new year. with new york city leading the charge, adding full classroom quarantines january 3rd and ramping up at-home testing. >> two messages we're saying loud and clear, your children are safer in school. the numbers speak for themselves. >> reporter: the plan in new york city includes funneling some 2 million testing kits to schools. two per student when a classmate is infected. school districts from chicago to san diego, also passing out those hard-to-find tests in hopes of keeping more kids in the classroom. testing a critical point has more than 80% of 5 to 11 year olds have yet to get vaccinated. >> i believe kids need to develop immunities to the flu and covid, different variants. i'm vaccinated but i'm not comfortable vaccinating my child. >> reporter: childhood infections soaring up 50% with a spike in december. officials adjusting guidelines for those infected. the cdc says if no symptoms persist five days after testing positive the person no longer needs to quarantine but should still wear a mask for five days in public spaces. >> as you have more symptoms you actually shed less and less. if you're asymptomatic, you're probably shedding a trivial amount of virus at that point. >> reporter: despite omicron symptoms with the beleaguered front line of health care workers still getting in particularly hard. do you have the staff to handle the surge? >> not at this time, because i'm liking looking for is that our staff was not as easily infected like now. we have more now that are being infected. >> reporter: alex is the nurse manager at jackson memorial's medical icu where the health care system has witnessed a massive jump in cases. in one week are you have seen 150% increase in covid patients. >> that's true. >> reporter: does that make you nervous? >> that is correct because of exponential increase. >> reporter: that infection spreading in ways affecting all aspects of life including on sports' biggest stages. one day, the nfl recording 106 covid infections now adding boosters for the media ahead of the super bowl. this week's bowl games jeopardized on a daily basis. the ucla bruins pulling out of the holiday bowl just hours before kickoff. joining us is say family physician in lansing and michigan state lead for the committee to protect health care. doctor, good morning, thank you so much for being here. let's start in your home state. the rising number of confirmed cases in michigan. it seems that cases may top 1.5 million by the end of the week. give us a lay of the land there. what's the situation on the ground? how are you handling this surge? >> well, good morning, good to be with you. hospitals in my state can't take much more. hospitals are above 80% capacity. and some major hospitals are completely full. we've already cancelled elective surgery. so we are leery, and health care workers are tired and we're nervous. because we don't have the capacity to handle much more than we already have here in michigan. >> just to a quick follow to that, what's the severity of illness you're seeing is it delta, omicron, how sick are people? >> it's a mixture of both. even though we know omicron on the whole causes symptoms less severe than delta, there are still plenty of team in the hospital who are unvaccinated who got sick with omicron. you can still be hospitalized even after getting omicron. >> it's that the key, omicron seems milder but perhaps for those not vaccinated. also now, as we talked about earlier in the show, children are hospitalized with the variant twice the rate of adults in the past four weeks. what's your take on that? how would you recommend parents protect children, especially as they prepare to head back to school next week after the new year? >> well, so this one's tough because school districts across america are instituting varying degrees of protection. some school districts have mask mandates, some don't. at the very least, i would recommend to parents that their child wear a mask in school. and do their best to adhere to social distancing, but that's easier said than done, depending on what school district your child attends. >> dr. battie, there's been fierce debate in recent days about the adjustment of the cdc guidelines. i want to get your take, a couple pieces of it. first of all, does the reduction from ten days to five, does that make sense to you? but a part two to show a negative test first? currently that's not required. >> second question the easiest one, there ought to be mandatory testing to go back to work. vaccinated people five to seven days after being asymptomatic are likely not contagious but ocould be based on your immune system and unvaccinated people more likely to be contagious because they start out with a higher viral load, there's more virus in their system to begin with. the biden administration is in a tough spot because they're trying to balance public health and the limited amount of hospital resources against the fact that people need to be back to work. let's face t the majority of businesses aren't paying their employees when they're in quarantine and people have to put food on the table, people have to pay their bills and that's something we have to consider, too. i feel empathy for the workers with the new guidelines feel more pressure to go back to work when they're not ready or perhaps risk losing their jobs. if there was ever a time for congress to pass paid medical leave, now would be that time. >> as a final quick question, the difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated people but in terms of staffing shortages, are you seeing that at the medical facilities in your state, people unable to go to work because they tested positive? >> we are seeing health care workers test positive at higher rates than before, even vaccinated individuals can test positive. the difference is the individuals aren't getting sick but they can test positive and shed the virus and spread it to other people. we're seeing that in health care, aviation and food industries as well which is why big businesses are pushing so hard for guidelines like this that encourage people to go back to work sooner but the cases unfortunately are going to go up as a result of these new guide lines and that's why we really need action in the federal government to help workers. >> dr. bhatti, we appreciate your perspective. earlier in the show, why are you awake? deb is up getting breakfast ready for these sleepy guys. that's one of the cutest photos we've seen, sneaking in just under the wire in the last couple days here of 2021. karen tweets this, heading your way from chicago to see "to kill a mockingbird" with jeffdaniels. he's a friend of the show, he's terrific in this performance. we hope it happens. there's been a wave of actors sidelined for a few days because of positive tests. big moment for understudies and natalie writes i'm awake because my internal clock doesn't care that i'm on winter break. similar thing for me on the weekends, i'm still waking up around the time i have to get up for the show. that's about a 3:15, thankfully more days than not i can fall back to sleep. i hope you can, too. up next a look at the new york prosecutor's decision not to charge former governor andrew cuomo with a crime despite the allegations against him called credible and coming up on "morning joe" remembering john madden and more on the legacy of former senate majority leader harry reid. plus rochelle walensky, we'll ask her about the controversial new covid guidelines. first psoriasis, then psoriatic arthritis. even walking was tough. i had to do something. i started cosentyx®. cosentyx can help you move, look, and feel better... by treating the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting...get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections some serious... and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms... or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms... develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. watch me. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. before nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a comfortable night's sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. now, that dream... . ...is her reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? 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[ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: heartbroken parents mourning her loss. the los angeles police department releasing body cam and store security video revealing the tense moments before the shooting. >> he's breaking things. >> reporter: the suspect with a bike and heavyduty cable lock seen acting strangely inside a burlington store last week before attacking several women. a frantic evacuation. >> evacuate the building. >> reporter: 11 calls capturing the chaos and conflicting reports what weapon the man was carrying. one victim brutally beaten, a trail of blood leading police officers to her. as they moved in repeated calls among the force to slow down. >> slow down, slow down. >> reporter: and then three shots. >> shots fired, shots fired. >> reporter: an officer striking the suspect, 24-year-old daniel lopez. one of the bullets ricochetted off the ground and pierced a wall. >> unbeknownst to the officers a 14-year-old girl was in the changing room behind a wall. >> reporter: the tragedy calling police tactics into question. >> these officers that went inside the burlington coat factory were faced with what we call some of the characteristics of a crisis which were uncertainty, making decisions based on confusing, ambiguous and sometimes conflicting information. >> our thanks to emilie ikeda for that report. former governor andrew cuomo will not face charges. the district attorney said while there was credible evidence the incidents occurred, she could not pursue criminal charges because of new york state's statutory requirements. in a statement, she wrote in part this, "in both instances, my office has determined that, although the allegations and witnesses were credible, and the conduct concerning, we cannot pursue criminal charges due to the statutory requirements of the criminal laws of new york." cuomo is accused of asking a trooper assigned to his security quote if he could kiss her. concern about the ramifications if she denied him, she reluctantly said sure and the former governor allegedly grabbed a woman by her arm and kissed her on the cheek. former governor cuomo has denied all allegations. thanks to all of you for getting up way too early for you on this wednesday morning. joining us on "morning joe" talking about joe madden and the surging omicron variant starts now. ♪♪ welcome to "morning joe" wednesday december 29th, a busy morning of news on this week, a couple of days before a new year with us we have msnbc contributor best selling author cattie kay, the host of "way too early" and jonathan he will mere and former u.s. senator now nbc news and msnbc political analyst claire mccaskill. we're so glad claire could jump on

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