ohio's governor has issued this warning. >> today we have more in hospitals throughout the state than at any other time during this pandemic. i think it's important to emphasize something. what we're seeing in our hospitals, our hospitals filling up, our emergency rooms, is being driven by people in ohio who are not vaccinated. >> at princeton university in new jersey, students won't be allowed to venture out beyond the county when they return in mid-january after winter break until at least the middle of february. the restriction does not apply to its sports teams. all students are also required by the way to be vaccinated. all of this is happening as the biden administration announces the fda has authorized two new over-the-counter at-home covid tests set to bring tens of millions of new tests per month to the u.s. some other good news, a clinical trial released from south africa shows a booster shot of the johnson & johnson vaccine provides strong protection against severe disease from omicron, and greatly reduces the risk of hospitalization. another silver lining, dr. fauci saying wednesday that many people with the omicron variant get asymptomatic infections, and while cases shot up 60% in the past week, hospitalizations rose just 14%. the average number of daily deaths actually dropped by 7%. we've got a stellar team following the latest developments. sam brock live in florida, antonia hilton in connecticut, steve patterson in california and dr. william schaffner, prover in of internal medicine at vanderbilt medical center and also an adviser to the cdc. great to have all of you here. dr. schaffner, you've got all of these headlines but there's also still confusion about the cdc guidance cutting the isolation period to five days for asymptomatic people. here is the cdc director from two different interviews yesterday. some say she's telling different stories. take a listen. >> it really had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate. the fact we were going to have so many more cases, many of those would be asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. people would feel well enough to be at work, they would not necessarily tolerate being home and that they may not comply with being home. this was the moment that we needed to make that decision and those changes. these updates to our recommendations were made to reflect what we currently know about covid-19 infection. let me make clear that we are standing on the shoulders of two years of science, two years of understanding transmissibility. >> one hand she seems to suggest the science and the other what people will tolerate. what's your take on this? >> chris, i'm in favor of what the cdc is trying to do and i empathize. dr. walensky is saying two things, which are not incompatible. first of all, in order to have good public policy, you need science, and she said we have over two years' worth of science supporting this, and then when you translate the science into public policy, you have a number of options, but believe me, the policy must be acceptable. it's got to work, and that's what the cdc is trying to do. they're basing it on the science and saying this is what we think will work most efficiently, will be most accepted by the people of the united states, and while we protect our public health, we also have to protect our society, our economy, our religious worship capacity, and the like. so they're trying to walk this tight rope between the two. we should not let perfection be the enemy of what's good and what works, and that's what they're trying to give us here. >> in the meantime, we are seeing that this record-breaking wave, doctor, is having real impacts on everything from stores and restaurants closing. i walk through broadway every day, shows closing, opening, closing. police departments canceling days off for healthy officers, concerns with there not enough emts. how bad could this get? >> well, it's pretty bad already, chris. the omicron variant is so contagious that it's spreading widely and what it's able to do, among those of us who are vaccinated and boosted, it can give us a mild illness, and that's what we're seeing. that's what all those cases represent, milder illness that does not require hospitalization. the hospitalizations, as we heard from ohio, continue to be in unvaccinated people. so we're still getting our friends and neighbors to be vaccinated if they haven't gotten dose one. everybody else, if you're eligible for that booster, please get it. that provides the best protection, and moms and dads, bring in those children aged 5 and older. it will make schools and communities safer if they're vaccinated, too. >> and nobody's arguing with that. obviously that push has been going on for a year, more than a year since vaccines became available. there are so many breakthrough cases, so many people who think they're doing the right thing now having to sit at home for five days even if they're asymptomatic. i against the real point of my question is, if you already have all these flights being canceled, if you have hospitals, emergency rooms all overworked, if you have, you know, fire departments, where they say don't call 911 unless it's super serious, how far are we from getting even worse? how far are we from the peak of this? >> i think we've all been out celebrating holidays, right? thanksgiving, christmas, now we're going to celebrate new year's and we can and that as a consequence of all that cheerful getting together, there will be more cases in january and in order to make your face get even more glum, i'm going to have to remind everybody that there's another respiratory virus called influenza that's just gathering steam. if you haven't had your flu vaccine, please get it, because we could have a twindemic, flu and covid striking at the same time. talk about stretching our health care system. >> there are a lot of health officials who are very concerned about that. let's go into all across america, i guess we could say, antonia, start in connecticut. the governor announced they're distributing millions of free at-home tests and masks to residents. it's logistically challenging. how is it going to work? >> reporter: that whole effort was supposed to launch today and now been delayed due to supply chain and shipping issues. the ambitious goal to have 3 million at home testing kits to give out to residents and million n95 masks to give out. to pick up the supplies and bring them back to communities, hold drives and give them to residents around connecticut for free. the hope is that that effort is going to launch tomorrow now, but early this morning, i had a conversation with an official in stamford who told me that as of now, they don't have any idea when the plane that has their supplies is actually going to take off and arrive here. so you can see that as testing is so critical as we head toward new year's right now especially there's still a lot to work out here in terms of infrastructure. i've been talking to folks at the hospital behind me here, greenwich hospital, part of the yale new haven health system and they are asking people to be careful right now not just because of health and safety issues but the jumpout. listen to my conversation with their chief nursing officer. >> our numbers remain manageable. we're seeing the workforce getting burned out. i'm trying to ensure the nurses are supported and continue to be resilient. we want to make sure because they remain dedicated and compassionate in extraordinary patient care. >> reporter: testing is a critical part of understanding of what's going on at the hospital, testing upwards of 600 people a day and as people wait to get their hands on the free kits, they're asking people to do what they can to get tests before people go to holiday celebrations. >> they don't know whether the plane will take off to get them the test. steve you're at lax where weary travelers are dealing with another day of delays and cancellations due to omicron impacting staffing there. this started before christmas. what are you hearing from the airlines in particular about getting operations back to normal? >> reporter: more than 1,000 cancellations yesterday, the day is young today, so far more than 1,000 cancellations as we speak. along with omicron, the weather is not helping. more snow? saturday. . sea-tac the worst airport in the world for air travel just that little bit worse as more snow moved in. this leads to the headlines. alaska airlines service delays up to 20 hours. they're thinning out their flights by about 20% in the next few days, just because they have to deice the planes and of course the varpt, hearing from united and delta cutting back flights announcing vouchers. jetblue announcing the cancellation of 1,280 flights from now until mid-january because so many staff members have gotten the variant and they expect many more over the next few weeks. we spoke to a travel expert about how long all of this to last and i think the answer will not surprise you. >> we can expect this to continue through the holiday season and new year and probably will not let up until the actual travel rush lets up, which we can expect not until january 3rd, 4th or 5th. >> reporter: meanwhile, there is a rainstorm in los angeles, not a huge deal, althoughage leeknows don't like it. it's a ticking time bomb. this turns into a snowstorm for denver all the way to detroit further complicating the effort in the air. chris? >> all of us have been frustrated trying to call customer service somewhere and not being able to get somebody for half an hour or an hour but 20 hours? wow. sam, you're in florida. we've seen massively long lines over the past week. a lot of people want to see if they can take that trip for christmas, maybe things would calm down. how has the scene changed there with you are? >> there's no doubt, chris, driving some of that demand was family members who wanted to be safe if they get together with loved ones for the holidays, certainly to take a trip. if you can get on the plane and it's not canceled. we spoke with the folks from nombi health doing the testing in miami-dade kounlty. 12 thourvegs 500 tests a day over the weekend, the baseline before this rush was about 4,000 a day. you've seen a three-fold increase in the last couple of weeks. december 10th the number of average daily cases in florida was 1,700. a couple weeks now it's 30,000 plus. 16 times greater than what it was a few weeks ago. cases have exploded here in florida. the time lapse video over the weekend is coming into tropical park. the line in the street was extending two to three miles down. i stopped for a second because of the traffic. keep going. i didn't make it to the end of this line three miles later, all of those folks were waiting not with the promise they were going to be able to get tested because police have had to shut down the entrance at a certain point. they had to close early for christmas eve and the holiday weekend. it's 24/7. what we're seeing in miami-dade they had to expand the hours for a lot of testing sites. all day and all night here because there were so many people who want to get tested for covid-19 at this moment. >> we're out of time but how long are you waiting if you're in a three-mile long line, sam? >> reporter: it was about five or six hours minimum over the weekend. now i would say it's two to three hours. you talk to so many people here, they just want to get tested to find out if they can interact with their family or not and i mean now, when they're all living under the same house and can't take their entire day or half of a day to sit in the car and wait. we'll ask folks what are you doing to address the demand and are you worried about running out of tests with so many people continuing to come day after day. >> sam brock, antonia hilton, steve patterson thanks for stellar reporting. dr. william schaffner, always good to see you as well, thank you. we'll stay on the story with the surge in cases wreaking havoc in cities across the country. cincinnati has declared a state of emergency because so many firefighters are out sick. we'll talk to that city's mayor later this hour. plus ghislaine maxwell guilty and faces decades behind bars. what might that mean for the others who were part of jeffrey epstein's sphere? 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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. ooooh, that's really cool. check that out. bespoke post sends you awesome boxes every month for a great price and i love it. the variety's great, i love how easy and flexible it is. head to bespokepost.com and get a free gift with your first box when you enter code free. this morning ghislaine maxwell wakes up facing decades in prison, found guilty of five counts. joining me kathy park and joyce advance, former u.s. attorney and msnbc legal analyst. good morning to you both. kathy, so what happens next with sentencing? >> reporter: hey, chris, good morning to you. so we are still waiting for a sentencing date from the judge, but based on yesterday's verdict, five guilty counts among the six federal charges against her, looking at decades behind bars, up to 65 years in prison, and chris, keep in mind, she turned 60 on christmas day, so essentially she'll be likely spending her entire life in prison and that's where she woke up this morning. now yesterday maxwell's family issued a statement saying that her legal team is already starting the appeal process, and chris, her legal battle, believe it or not, isn't over just yet. she's still facing two perjury counts, which was severed from the sex trafficking trial. so she could see another day in court, chris. >> so joyce, we don't know exactly when, but what will the judge consider when deciding sentencing and what do you expect the arguments to be from lawyers on both sides? >> this will be a complicated sentencing, in large part because she won't be sentenced under existing law. she'll be sentenced based on the laws that were existent at the point and time when she committed these crimes and that means her sentence, her range, what lawyers call the range will be lower than it would be if she were sentenced for the same crimes today. the 65 maximum number is a statutory maximum but maximum is under federal guidelines and the actual sentence will be lower, based on her prior criminal history, she has none, so that will be in her favor but also the offense conduct will be looked at and because this case involved vulnerable victims and complex planning and schemes, it's very likely she could end up on the high end of the guidelines especially after being convicted at trial. prosecutors will be entitled to use relevant conduct. they'll be able to talk about the large number of victims, and the way that she groomed these young girls and preyed upon their vulnerabilities, so she could very likely end up with a lengthy sense tantamount to life in prison at her age. >> barbara mcquaid wrote this was a case similar to sex trafficking trials when maxwell's lawyers tried strategies against victims, "this time the re-victimization gambit failed. perhaps ordinary people who end up on youries are finally getting wise to the ways of abusers." i wonder, do you think this jury's decision implies anything about a potential change in the way this country handles sex crimes and could it signal anything for epstein's other associates? >> i think barb makes an incredibly wise point in this piece. as a society, we've had real change in attitudes. it used to be that women who were trafficked were actually labeled as prostitutes and prosecuted. now we increasingly see them as victims, treat them as victims and prosecute sex trafficking. the outstanding question here, though, is whether any of the other men who were involved, this wasn't just epstein. he made these women available, these young girls available, trafficked them to some of his friends, and the pending question is whether maxwell will engage in some form of cooperation, provide information and evidence that can be corroborated. we don't know the answer to that. it seems likely that if she was going to cooperate, she would have done it before trial. some defendants will have a change of heart once they're convicted and they're looking at hard numbers in a sentence, but this is the southern district of new york, and for cooperation to take place there, they will require her to reveal all of the information she has. she won't be able to protect some individuals. she won't be able to hold anything back. it would be a long, hard path to cooperation for maxwell in this situation. >> when you're facing life in prison, one never knows, right? joyce vance, kathy park, thanks so both of you. coming up, joe biden and vladimir putin set to speak on the phone today, amid tensions between russia and ukraine. we've got the latest on that highly anticipated call next. now, she uses a capful of therabreath healthy smile oral rinse to give her the healthy, sparkly smile she always wanted. (crowd cheering) therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. at walmart, target and other fine stores. pack now breaking economic news. weekly jobless claims just hit their lowest level in more than 50 years at 198,000. that's less than what a lot of folks were expecting. the u.s. recovery has come a long way since january, when those claims were nearly five times as high as they are now. we'll bring you more on this as we get it. later today, president biden will make another effort to ease the rising tensions between russia and ukraine, when he talks with russian president vladimir putin. here's why the stakes are so high. check out the satellite images that show tens of thousands of russian troops mass a massed along the border with ukraine. president biden said earlier this month russia would face severe consequences if it invaded ukraine. >> i made it absolutely clear to president putin, it's the last thing i'll say, that if he moves on ukraine, the economic consequences for his economy are going to be devastating. >> joining us is mim memoli with the president in delaware, foreign correspondent richard engel and joel ruben, deputy assistant secretary of state during the obama administration. mike, what message does president biden intend to send vladimir putin when they talk later this afternoon and do we know why he wanted the conversation in the first place? >> well, chris, when white house officials were briefing reporters yesterday about this planned phone call scheduled for 3:30 eastern time this afternoon, they were blunt about the fact that they couldn't speak to why president putin wanted this call and that really speaks to the larger uncertainty about what precisely the russian president has in mind here, was he ever prepared to move ahead with a full-blown military invasion of ukraine? was he being provocative to be provocative or something in between. is he just testing the west, is he seeking to continue to destabilize ukraine's government in the white house calculates the longer putin is willing to engage in diplomatic negotiations the better, that's why the president agreed to have this conversation today where you can expect at a minimum he'll reiterate some of what you just heard from earlier this month. the clear threat from the u.s., from our western allies to impose severe economic pain on the russian president on russia itself, should he invade ukraine. he'll reiterate that while they retain that right to impose those sanctions, their preferred outcome is diplomacy. you heard earlier this week the announcement of a range of talks in january that the white house wants to see to be successful, those talks were not expected to include president biden or president putin and putin has been clear. he wants to engage only with the u.s. as much as possible, only with president biden as much as possible. we've also seen the u.s. engaging with the high level with allies, antony blinken speaking with ukraine's president. they will not speak without ukraine being part of the conversations, the white house official saying we should expect president biden to follow up with president zelensky of ukraine in the coming days as well. >> the military response is off the table, there will be severe economic ko consequences if rus invades ukraine. is there anything the european allies can say to get him to back down? >> reporter: he is sensitive to the sanctions if the united states is describing them as destructive as president biden outlined. he said they would devastate the economy. there are levers to be pulled. russia is in the midst or the very, very final stages of putting together a pipeline going to germany, it wants that pipeline finished. that is in the background of these talks. so there is leverage there. a lot of russians keep their money abroad including many reports say vladimir putin himself. so they are sensitive to sanctions. russia has been under some sanctions and some russian individuals have been under sanctions for many years now, but u.s. officials keep stressing and european officials singing from the same song sheet that if this were to happen and there would be a massive escalation from russia into ukraine that it would be a whole different kind of sanction, a different level than even we saw after russia took over crimea. so i think that's certainly got the russian's attention, and i think that's one of the reasons that you see vladimir putin wanting this call. there were a series, there are a series of negotiations taking place on january 10th, 12th and 13th, much of those talks happening in geneva, focusing on ukraine and focusing on u.s./russia denuclearization programs, and vladimir putin according to his main spokesman wants to set the agenda before those talks take place, wants to have one more conversation, detailed conversation, remember the last one took about two hours with president biden, so that those talks in early january, mid-january, will go according to putin's plan. he wants to set the agenda for those talks. he wants to make sure that u.s. state department and russian foreign ministry officials don't agree to anything that he hasn't already laid out with president biden directly. so that according to the kremlin is why he wants this call. he wants to set the agenda for those talks, but to answer your initial question, is russia sensitive to sanctions? it certainly is, and putin and his inner circle certainly are. >> joe, help us understand what informs the way this administration might approach, this not obviously just the call but the bigger issue. obviously there's a difference between this administration and the last. joe biden has a more professional, more robust state department. he actually listens to intelligence officials. but talk about the dynamics of this relationship and how these decisions get made. >> chris, this is what the restoration of american global leadership through diplomacy looks like opinion countries call the president of the united states to try to influence him. vladimir putin in this case is calling joe biden because joe biden is latched up with our allies in europe, latched up with nato, with ukraine, we have a unified message, and as richard mentioned, putin is trying to break that apart, trying to create discord because it's concerned about what this means going forward. this is a stark contrast from a year ago from the previous administration, which essentially created confusion, which when donald trump spoke to vladimir putin it was an obsequious conversation. donald trump asked vladimir putin what he wanted, and that goes into the frame of how this administration approaches these talk. we are in sync, the administration wants to be in sync with our europe lean allies and says to putin we have positions you need to adhere to. it's not the other way around. >> coming up, cincinnati's mayor declares a state of emergency as covid continues to wreak havoc on the city's fire department. and what the nurses think about the cdc guidelines, they're not happy. 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. 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(carolers) ♪better♪ (kate) this year, holiday better, with verizon. because everyone deserves better. the covid omicron variant spreading like wildfire and this morning causing big problems for cities across the country. more people going to the hospital as cases surge especially among the unvaccinated. in ohio, hospitalizations just hit the highest level we've seen since the pandemic started pushing governor mike dewine to plead with his residents, go get vaccinated. >> it is your choice, but the evidence is abundantly clear, this is the best way, the best way to stay out of the hospitals. >> the situation is so bad that cincinnati's mayor had to declare a state of emergency over staffing at the fire department. joining me john cranley, also a democratic candidate for ohio governor. mr. mayor, good to see you. i don't know if misery loves company, seeing a lot of the same things that other cities, and as of yesterday, 26 of your city's firefighters had to quarantine. how is it looking this morning and how thinly staffed is the fire department right now? >> well, i think we're going to be okay. that's part of why i declared an emergency, to give our fire chief the authority that he needs to do some unpopular things, like cancel vacations and extend mandatory overtime, because we've got to put the citizens' safety first through this new year's eve weekend. at a bigger picture level it's because of covid. this would be a normal time some people get vacation, some don't. because of so many on covid and on top of it, a number of people that have to quarantine if they had exposure to somebody with covid, it's incredibly disruptive and i think if you look at what's happened around the world with omicron, it's likely to be a very rough january. >> yeah, you talk about people being unhappy and obviously it's a different situation than it would have been a couple years ago because their front line workers have had to totally reassess the way they do their job, certainly all of this puts a big strain on the firefighters who are healthy enough to go to work. is there anything you can help them to do? are you worried about more burnout? >> yes. when i became mayor, we had a shortage of firefighters, we added significantly more. we've done dramatic pay raises which i'm very proud to stand behind for our firefighters, but our citizens come first. we are going to do the things to make sure we have appropriate response time for fire truck or ambulance throughout this weekend and the coming weeks. these are tough calls and there is a risk of burnout. we do believe that it's manageable risk at the moment, but if the cases continue to spike, obviously we have to follow the evidence. this is also used as an opportunity to warn citizens to manage their own personal health risk especially if you have comorbidities, if you're a senior citizen think carefully. this wave is going to be big. luckily people who are vaccinated have more mild cases, 99% of the time, but it's coming, and this is also a public health reminder by putting out this declaration of emergency that citizens should thank first responders proudly giving up a vacation or doing mandatory overtime if you need their services and i hope that everyone will appreciate what our first responders do every day. >> we only have a minute left. the cdc shortened the isolation period for people without symptoms. i know it's to solve problems like the one in your city but do you have any concern it could backfire and cause actually more worker shortages? >> listen, i think we need to follow their advice. we do have to live with this virus, and the best way to live with this virus is to get vaccinated, to get boosted, and you know, we're coming in on the third year now, and so this has to, we have to continue to provide basic services, and vaccination and booster is the best way to do that, and you know, none of this is an ideal situation, but we have to get on with our lives and people who are vaccinated and boosted are likely to have mild cases, and we have to keep living and providing the basic services that citizens pay us tax dollars to provide. >> mayor john cranley, good luck, especially as we continue with this omicron surge. thank you so much for being with us today. speaking of that new cdc guidance, a lot of health care workers are not on board with it. joining me is the american nurses association president, dr. ernest grant. thank you for being with us, doctor. what worries you about the shorter isolation guidelines? >> first of all, thank you for having me. what worries us is we believe the guidelines are premature, given what is known about omicron. it seems to tip more towards economic needs as opposed to taking into consideration the health needs of nurses, and other members of the health care team. we believe that -- keep in mind, there are two sets of guidelines, december 23rd the cdc issud guidelines for health care workers and december 28th issued guidelines for the general public, but for health care workers, we believe that there needs to be more accessibility to testing, as well as employers continuing to provide the protected ppes that need to be provided. we're hearing in some cases that still is not the case. so this is especially problematic when reliable testing is not available particularly in some places that may be experiencing a surge, and currently health care workers, they either have to go to a local site in order to get clearance as opposed to maybe going to their employee health, because in some cases, employee health personnel, they're still working remote or if they are working, they're working 8:00 to 5:00 so for someone who may be working the 11:00 to 7:00, 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift, they would have to make a special trip to get tested, to have that assurance that they are testing negative before they can return to work. >> you represent 4 million registered nurses, health care workers were already burnt out. now we're in this winter surge. we talked to a doctor last hour who said it will be a long, hard january. what is the impact already on your members? >> well, the impact is that as we've been saying since march of last year, actually, that nurses and other members of the health care team are experiencing extreme mental fatigue. we hear from nurses on a regular basis, i'm supposed to be working a 12-hour shift but it turns into 14 or 16 hours. i'm only getting one day a week off, because my employer is calling asking if i can work overtime or there's mandatory overtime, and with this new guideline that the cdc has put out, one of the things that we are encouraging is there should be testing before they go back to work, otherwise you have people who are returning to work who may have a cloud over their head asking themselves am i still infectious or if i am a nurse and take public transportation, you're reexposing yourself to someone you don't know that may or may not be positive so that creates a conundrum as well. for the most part, this is just continuing to the extreme mental and physical fatigue that nurses are experiencing. >> our hats off to them. dr. ernest grant, thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. coming up, a direct challenge to roe v. wade and a major battle over the right to openly carry a gun. some of the biggest decisions to watch out for in the new year. ♪♪ ♪♪ super emma just about sleeps in her cape. but when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, ♪♪ we switched to tide hygienic clean free. it's gentle on her skin, and out cleans our old free detergent. tide hygienic clean free. hypoallergenic and safe for sensitive skin. every year we try to exercise more, to be more social, to just relax. and eating healthy every single meal? if only it was this easy for us. mission control, we are go for launch. um, she's eating the rocket. ♪♪ lunchables! built to be eaten. next year the supreme court is expected to make a decision on one of the most significant cases in decades concerning abortion. pete williams has more on what we can expect from the court in 2022. >> reporter: in early september, the justices allowed texas to continue enforcing sb-8 while a battle over the constitutionality raged on. the law bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and allows anybody anywhere to sue anyone who violates it. a bitterly divided supreme court ended up ruling that abortion providers can continue fighting the law in court, but made it nearly impossible for a successful court challenge to shut the law down. >> the supreme court said we can't sue judges. we can't sue clerks this. we can't see the attorney general. we can't get the lawsuits blocked and the lawsuits are what are making it impossible for the clinics to open, because this law allows anybody to sue anywhere in the world against the clinics in texas. >> reporter: a ruling in a more consequential cases is coming by late june on mississippi's law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks. a victory for mississippi could undercut nearly five decades of rulings starting with roe v. wade. when that case was argued, a majority of the court seemed willing to uphold the law and undercut roe if not overturn it. the court's liberals warned such an outcome would seem like a decision based on politics. >> will this institution survive the stench that this creates in public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? >> reporter: the court will also decide the fate of a new york law that bans carrying a handgun in public. residents can get a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but only if they can show some special need beyond the general desire for self-defense. gun rights advocates say that violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. >> it's contrary to the second amendment. i mean, does your right to self-protection stop when you leave your home? >> a majority on the supreme court seem to agree the new york law is unconstitutional. such a decision would be a boost to second amendment rights. the court this term will also decide whether to loosen restrictions on using public money to pay for religious education. whether boston marathon bomber joseph tsarnaev is entitled to a new sentencing hearing and whether to take up affirmative action in college admissions. the supreme court ended the work with no recommendations. it was divided on adding more justices to the current nine member court. though more receptive to the idea of term limits. and we may learn whether justice steven briar intends to retire at the end of the current term while democrats still control the white house and the senate. he's now the court's senior liberal. he will turn 84 in august. and says the timing of his retirement will depend on his health. pete williams, nbc news at the supreme court. coming up, a tiger shot and killed at a florida zoo after biting a worker. we'll go live to florida for the latest, next. next people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... 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. 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. throughout history i've observed markets shaped by the intentional and unforeseeable. for investors who can navigate this landscape, leveraging gold, a strategic and sustainable asset... the path is gilded with the potential for rich returns. this morning an investigation is underway at a florida zoo after a man was hospitalized from a tiger attack. authorities say the man worked for a third party cleaning service contracted by the zoo. he was flown to a local hospital where he got treatment for serious injuries. joining me now from fort lauderdale, florida is kerry sanders. kerry, what happened here? >> reporter: this happened after hours at the naples zoo, and the maintenance worker, the person who was hired with this outside contractor to do some janitorial service in terms of cleaning the gift shops and the bathrooms, apparently decided he would violate the rules and the procedures and bypass the security area, multiple fences to get to an area where a 300 pound tiger was. and he apparently according to investigators, reached in and either tried to pet the tiger or tried to feed it. but whatever happened there, the tiger then latched on and would not release, and so when the deputy came, they tried to scare the tiger away. that didn't work. and so the only option was for the officer to pull his weapon and shoot the tiger. unfortunately, the tiger whose name was echo, the tiger not only was shot but died which means that the worker here is not only in the hospital in the icu, but that he may ultimately face charges for having put the officer in a position where he had to discharge his weapon because clearly he should have never been in this area to begin with. >> what an unnecessary story. kerry sanders, thank you for your reporting. that's going to wrap up a busy two hours. i'm chris jansing. alison morris picks up the coverage right now. a good thursday morning to you. i'll alison morris in for craig melvin. the u.s. shattered another pandemic record. the day before new year's eve, the country has blown past 400,000 new daily cases. three days in a row. and recorded more than 2 million new cases since this time last week. and while we've been paying attention to the spikes in the northeast, the south is now seeing the quickest case growth since the start of december. doctors sounding this alarm. >> we are probably in store for at least four weeks, maybe even longer of a significant surge in cases here in the united states. >> johnson & johnson out with positive news about the vaccine's effectiveness against the highly transmissible omicron

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