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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 everyone to alex witt reports. developing news. the president preparing for a phone call with the president of ukraine amid rising russia tensions. let's go rice to msnbc's mike memoli joining us from wilmington, delaware where the president is spending the weekend. today's call with zelensky comes just days after the president spoke with president putin. what is the timing of the two calls. where does the situation stand? >> reporter: the timing of this call so quickly after president biden spoke with president putin is significant because as we've seen in the eight years now since russia annexed the crimean peninsula part of ukraine's territory there's been only a continued build up of pressure by russia on ukraine trying to undermine the government there. so that is why at every turn you see president biden, other administration officials doing everything they can to underscore the u.s. commitment to ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. there is this principle president biden has articulated especially since his earlier call with president putin in december which is no conversations about ukraine without ukraine. that is why he wanted to follow up as quickly as possible with president zelensky about just what he and president putin talked about a few days ago. he is obviously going to reiterate what we know which is the very real threat of sanctions on russia should they invade, debilitating sanctions potentially as well as potential further troop deployments through nato in some of the member states that border both ukraine and russia. what we don't know of course is just what is putin's end game here? he really willing to go through with an invasion even withhat threat of sanctions? let's listen to what one top democrat house intelligence charm adam schiff said his view of the situation was. >> i fear that putin is very likely to invade. i still frankly don't understand the full motivation for why now he is doing this. but he certainly appears intent on it unless we can persuade him otherwise. and i think nothing other than a level of sanctions that russia has never seen will deter him and that is exactly what we need to do with our allies. >> secretary of state tony blinken spoke with president zelensky of ukraine before biden and putin spoke, biden now speaking with zelensky today. they want to plan out what the game plan is for another big round of diplomatic discussions that start next sunday in geneva. first it's the u.s. and russia sitting down, a delegation led primarily by the state department on the u.s. side. they'll include our nato allies for a conversation that is expected to mostly focus just on ukraine. then there will be a larger discussion that will include what is called the organization for security cooperation in europe. ukraine is a member of that. what white house officials are saying is they want to use the diplomatic discussions to try to find ways to de-escalate the situation. top administration officials said a few days ago that ukraine may have something to offer here, some confidence building measures, that might try to defuse the situation. but really the pressure is on russia and president putin hoping the threat of sanctions will keep him off the brink here. >> okay, mike memoli, thank you so much for that. we'll have more conversation coming up. the biggest question that remains at this hour is whether or not vladimir putin will invade ukraine and the person who might have the very best read on that question, former u.s. ambassador to russia michael mcfaul who will join me in our next hour. as we turn to our other top story this afternoon the holiday season coming to a close with millions of americans just trying to get home. but for many that trip back is full of headaches and delays. joining us now nbc's morgan chesky on the travel nightmares and meteorologist michelle grossman. welcome both. we'll start with you, morgan. >> greetings from dallas. taking drastic change in weather conditions combined with the new variant and you have the travel nightmare currently playing out. >> what they said is they didn't have enough people to run the crew. >> reporter: airlines crippled by cancellations due to crew shortages from covid-19. on saturday alone more than 4,000 flights canceled and more than 11,000 delayed. >> canceled pretty late, about an hour before the flight. >> reporter: severe weather making matters even worse. residents in kentucky ringing in the new year with heavy rain, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. in southern kentucky, hit particularly hard with roads turning to rivers stranding some motorists. kentucky governor andy beshear declaring a state of emergency. in new mexico, 21 people trapped on a tram car for more than 12 hours due to icy conditions. rescue crews eventually using helicopters to reach the passengers. meanwhile, covid cases continue to explode across the country. the u.s. averaging more than 300,000 cases a day. numbers higher than ever. but amid the surge, a silver lining. early research showing the risk of hospitalization and death dropping by more than half for the new omicron strain. >> good job. >> reporter: all this as kids head back to school with a growing number of districts opting for remote learning at least for the first few weeks. >> i want to go back to school. >> reporter: among them new jersey's largest school district newark which will be completely virtual until january 18th. colleges, too, taking a cautious approach to the new year. more than 70 schools going remote for the first few weeks. university of chicago delaying the beginning of its new term. a slow start to a new year packed with uncertainty. we're also hearing from some of the nation's largest school districts on how they plan to handle omicron. new york city will have in school testing. d.c. students will be required to have a negative test before returning. in atlanta, it will be virtual for the start of school. in january. alex? >> okay. morgan chesky in dallas, thank you for that. parts of chicago are digging out after an overnight snowfall there. 2 to 6 inches fell in the windy city. only flurries are expected for the rest of today. other parts of the country can expect more snow as well as frigid temperatures so we'll go to nbc meteorologist michelle grossman for the very latest. who exactly should start preparing for more wintry weather today? >> hi, alex. actually the mid-atlantic. the forecast has changed drastically from 12 hours ago. we have a developing area of low pressure that could bring some messy weather for a monday morning commute to places like virginia, d.c., even up through southern new jersey, southern maryland. let's take a look at what's happening right now. we still have the storm system we were tracking yesterday. it brought tornado reports. it brought wind, damaging wind reports. we're still seeing the warm side and the cold side. where you see the warm side, the greens, the yellows, the plain rain, even some thunderstorms we'll watch that throughout the afternoon hours. then on the back side you see blue. that's where the cold air is coming through and bringing wintry weather. kind of sandwiched in the middle is pink where you see sleet and freezing rain. as we go throughout time we'll see this area of low pressure, the cold front moves to the east and then another area of low pressure developing on it. almost like a train track with wheels going over it. we'll see an area of low pressure kind of deepen, wrapping in some cold air, that's why we expect some snow tonight into tomorrow morning in the mid-atlantic. first we have snow in parts of new england even the northeast part, the northern parts of new england. maine, we'll see some snow. also vermont, new hampshire. that is going to last through the middle of the day. looks like some of the snow showers could hang on in northern parts of maine. then we have showers stretching from the gulf coast to the carolinas. this is our immediate threat in terms of any severe weather today and something we'll be watching very closely. then tomorrow is where we have the potential for accumulating snow in the mid-atlantic. high pressure moves in after that. that is just going to reinforce cold air so really cold air to start out the work week. today we're mild in part of the mid-atlantic to the northeast. we'll see a 30-degree temperature drop in places like philadelphia and new york city tonight. here is your severe threat for today where you see the green kind of from north carolina into the gulf coast. we're looking at parts of florida, too. but the yellow is where we expect the potential for severe storms from wilmington to columbia to mason, excuse me, albany. also savannah where we could see damaging winds, gusting over 65 miles per hour. could possibly see a few tornadoes and also the threat for some hail. on top of that we'll see some very heavy rain so watch out for some flooding concerns as well. this is what the temperature profiles look like on the map. you can clearly see what is happening here. to the east we have summer-like weather. 81 degrees in savannah, 20 degrees above normal this time of the year. 71 mobile. 48 degrees in houston. the 17 degrees below normal. it is so much colder than yesterday. dallas just 37 with winds gusting to 30 miles per hour will feel more like the teens. it was 50 degrees warmer yesterday. so that is going to move off to the east and affect parts of the mid-atlantic, the northeast. so d.c. just 39 degrees tomorrow. that will set the stage along with the area of low pressure for the potential for some snow. so on monday, tonight into the early parts of monday morning we're looking for a messy monday with heavy snow falling at some points in southern new jersey, parts of maryland, delaware, also parts of virginia. we will see the snow ending by the afternoon and then after that it's just going to be cold. we have another pacific northwest storm coming so we could be measuring feet of snow once again in the pacific northwest. >> my goodness. what a difference a day makes. thank you so much. new today dr. anthony fauci is responding to backlash surrounding the new shortened quarantine guidelines. this week the cdc reduced the recommended isolation period for asymptomatic cases to five days down from ten. the move drew swift criticism from many experts who question the motivation behind the decision. >> what the cdc is trying to do is trying to get a position where, in fact, when people are without symptoms who are infected that you can get them back to work a little bit earlier than the ten day. perhaps at five days if they remain without symptoms that can go back into society. the cdc is doing their very best in trying to get the right balance of getting people back but doing it on a solid scientific basis. >> let's bring in dr. patel msnbc medical contributor and physician and fellow at the brookings institution. welcome, my friend. i want to get your reaction to the cdc new, relaxed guidelines. do you think it was the right decision as long as it stays specific to those who are asymptomatic? >> yes, happy new year, alex. i do think it was the right decision. the problem is how it's being interpreted. so if you literally kind of follow it to your point, asymptomatic, and, you know, consciously wearing a mask this kind of gets dropped off. it is not like five days and done. it specifically states to wear a proper fitting mask for the rest of the five days or however long you need to. that is where everything is coming apart. i have patients saying well i'm better now. not sure if they actually are better but then probably not masking properly. most don't even have high quality masks. so i am just concerned that we're seeing more and more people out there that are infectious and unintentionally, potentially infecting other people. >> okay. just a few months ago people were calling this the pandemic of the unvaccinated but now even vaccinated even boosted people are testing positive. so how critical is it for everyone to not just get tested but also have access to, for example, at home tests? >> yes, look. this at home test, you had susan on earlier. i couldn't agree more when we take a pause, look back on this historically even years from now this will still register as one of our failures, not being able to get adequate testing. i want to say something. we know we have tools, to your point. this still is being driven by unvaccinated individuals specifically in hospitalizations and deaths. what i will say is that we can't lose sight, alex, boosters and vaccines do work. you pointed that out. i want to say it again because unfortunately we still have 70% of people who got their first shots have not gotten boosters and they are eligible now. >> according to the "new york times" scientists are predicting as you know that omicron will peak in the u.s. in mid january but still may overwhelm hospitals. cases are climbing faster than ever. do you think that timeline is accurate? >> yes, look. i hope so. they're basing that on other countries' experiences. what is different about the united states from other countries is we still see all of these surges playing out in regions. so we have seen it for example in new york city hit the hardest first. then we're seeing it sweep down the mid-atlantic corridor, midwest, and remember, alex, parts of the country are still kind of dealing with the delta surge. for example minnesota where they have the mix of cases. i don't know if it will be as clean as peak and then a rapid decline and it's over. i would just be prepared for january to be a turbulent month. >> give me some sense of what it is going to look like. if you're not real sure about some specific peak are you saying this is going to be the way it is for the next four plus weeks? >> no. we will peak of course but the peak -- there are peaks that look like little sharp points and then long, mountain flat tops. i think that is what we'll see. it will stretch out because we are seeing it play out regionally. the good news is cases should decline quickly. when we see most of the entire country infected which is what we'll see, hopefully quickly, but not, unfortunately, quickly enough, we're almost at -- we're in january. two weeks is pretty soon. so i think we will see a peak. then a decline. hopefully that decline is rapid. then unfortunately hospitalizations and deaths as we know lag weeks after that. >> let me ask you about boosters specifically relative to israel which has now approved a fourth shot, a second booster. so shot number four here. if that becomes available and approved for the u.s., is there ever a disadvantage to becoming over immunized and thereby becoming somewhat resistant to the medication? >> yeah. a good point you bring up. it is not necessarily resistant so to speak but what you want to do with boosters in general is just train your natural immunity and kind of get it ready again to be prepared for that virus to come into your body. if you do it too soon, then the antibodies that you've just created from your previous shot get a message that says, hey, you antibodies, we don't need you as much anymore because we have a whole new set of antibodies we want to prime and get ready. so there is a kind of danger of immunizing too soon. it is that goldilocks issue. we need to find just the right interval. it feels like a fourth shot is in our future. it might be time to think about the fourth shot being an updated shot that takes into account some of the newer strains. that is not out of the norm. we're basing all our current vaccines on the original wuhan strain. we've gone generations from that. it's like considering the apple 1.0 versus 5.0. we might want to think about the 5.0 version of the vaccine. >> point well taken. we are learning as we go on this one. thank you so much. much appreciated. america prepares to mark one year since the january 6th attack. new polls look at what the american public thinks about that day. congressman ted lieu joins me next with his reaction. lieu joi next with his reaction ' high ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪ (coughing) ♪ breeze driftin' on by ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪ copd may have gotten you here, but you decide what's next. start a new day with trelegy. ♪ ...feelin' good ♪ no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do 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into the attack on the capitol as we near one year since the deadly riot. earlier today congressman bennie thompson told chuck todd members of congress communicated with rioters. >> clearly, we have uncovered some things that cause us real concern. what people saw on january 6th with their own eyes was not just something created at one moment. it was clearly what we believe based on the information we've been able to gather coordinated activity on a part of a lot of people. >> vice chair of the committee congresswoman liz chny also revealing details of what donald trump was doing as the attack was unfolding. >> the committee has first-hand testimony now that he was sitting in the dining room next to the oval office, watching the attack on television as the assault on the capitol occurred. we know as he was sitting there in the dining room next to the oval office members of his staff were pleading with him to go on television, to tell people to stop. we know leader mccarthy was pleading with him to do that. we know members of his family, we know his daughter, we have first-hand testimony his daughter ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence. >> today we're getting a new look at where americans stand on january 6th nearly a year later. a "the washington post"/umd poll shows 60% of americans feel donald trump bears a great deal or good amount of responsibility for the attack on the capitol. that same poll also shows 1 in 3 americans say violence against the government can be justified. meanwhile as alarm grows over a russian military build up president biden will be speaking this afternoon with the president of ukraine. today's phone call coming just days after president biden issued a strong warning to vladimir putin who keeps on amassing troops at the border between russia and ukraine. republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene has been permanently suspended from twitter saying it suspended her account for repeated violations of the covid-19 misinformation policy. the congresswoman responded in a statement through our office saying twitter is an enemy to america among other things but again i remind all of you she was on twitter. president biden's build back better agenda has entered the new year with an uncertain future. earlier today on msnbc progressive caucus chair jayapal urged action from the president as congress scrambles to try and revive the key social spending package. >> because we don't know how long that piece is going to take there are executive actions the president can take today to actually make life better for people and let's say up the ante a little bit to make sure we do get legislation done. >> joining me now is my friend and california congressman ted lieu a democratic member of the house judiciary and foreign affairs committees. welcome, congressman. happy new year to you. we'll start this chat with the january 6th committee's investigation. the chair as well as the vice chair today both addressing the questions of whether there should be criminal referrals in particular for donald trump. let's listen to that. >> we are not looking for it but if we find it we'll absolutely make the referral. >> there are a number of as the chairman said potential criminal statutes at issue here. i think there is absolutely no question it was a dereliction of duty and i think one of the things the committee needs to look at as we we look at legislative purpose is whether we need enhanced penalties for that kind of dereliction of duty. >> some experts have warned a criminal referral could be counterproductive to the investigation. is there an argument for not pursuing criminal charges? >> thank you, alex, for your question. first of all, happy new year to you and your viewers. with regard to your question, no one is above the law including the president of the united states. as impeachment manager it was clear to me january 6th was an attack on our nation's capitol by supporters of the former president to keep him in power. they didn't show up january 6 to protest tax rates. they were there to stop the certification of the election and there are numerous federal statutes that criminalize interfering with an election as well as inciting insurrection. the president of the united states at that time also engaged in a massive dereliction of duty. and based on liz cheney's testimony and what she said i believe the president of the united states wanted his supporters to succeed that day because it would keep him in power. >> yes. the new "the washington post" umd poll shows 1 in 3 americans think violent ashun against the government is sometimes justified. when you break down by party 23% of democrats, 41% independents, 40% republicans. they think it's justified to take violent action against the government i guess under certain circumstances. what is your reaction to that? >> i think that is horrendous because the only reason we're a democracy is we don't settle disputes with violence. we settle political disputes at the ballot box. we settle it through votes. if people want to settle through violence we won't have a democracy anymore. >> we are prepared to mark one year now since the deadly capitol insurrection and doing so i want to play for you an exchange from msnbc a bit earlier today on how our democracy is at stake. take a listen to this. >> i am fearful that if we don't get to the bottom of it, we don't get to the truth, we are at risk for having this happen again. my greatest fear is for the future. sadly, i am worried for my children and my grandchildren. >> i'm trying to hold it together right now. because this conversation -- >> i think that's all of us, all of america is trying to hold it together. >> congresswoman dean, you have been a voice of clarity through all of this. i hope the fear that you express and that i share ends up being unwarranted. what makes me so upset is i don't think it is. >> i echo jonathan's sentiments about congresswoman dean and they extend to you as well. i'm curious how you reflect on that terrifying day and your concerns for our future? >> people should understand january 6 was not a one day event. there were months of build up leading up to january 6 with the former president and his supporters saying the big lie that somehow the election was stolen and that big lie is being perpetrated even now by members of the republican party and republican leadership. if we want to reduce the risk of further political violence all republican leadership needs to do is simply say one truthful sentence that the election was not stolen. it is that big lie animating violence and risk of future political violence. >> taking a look outside the country there appears to be a strengthening of ties between russia and china with moscow winning chinese support for a demand of new security guarantees from the u.s. how does this complicate matters big picture? how much of a threat this is partnership to the u.s.? >> russia and china are clearly countries that have the capability to do a lot of bad things around the world and the united states has to push back when they try that whether in ukraine or other places. and i commend the biden administration and president biden for standing firm against vladimir putin with his troop build up along the ukrainian border. russia must not attack ukraine, an independent country, and russia is going to suffer secure consequences if that were to happen. >> there is growing pressure for congress to take action on voting rights especially with the critical midterm in november. is there a path in your mind getting meaningful legislation on the president's desk and if so how? >> there absolutely is a path. we pass in the house, the u.s. senate, there is now the freedom of vote act every democratic senator supports. we need an exception to a filibuster to pass the freedom to vote act. we know there's already like 37,000 exceptions to the filibuster. if you just look at the number of exceptions that democratic u.s. senators have already voted for there is no reason they can't have a voting rights exception because voting rights are fundamental to our democracy. >> let me rewind the hands of time right now back to july of 2020. that is when you and your democratic colleague jeffries coauthored a letter to doj inspector general michael horowitz requesting an investigation into the doj's imprisonment of michael cohen after he expressed a desire to exercise his first amendment rights to publish a book. i am curious, congressman, whatever came of this and should or could michael horowitz or even the head of the doj at that point attorney general bill bar, could they still be held accountable? should they be? >> is possible. the department of justice is one of those agencies that doesn't often tell you if they are conducting an investigation and you really won't know what is happening until something happens. we will however follow up on a letter. it is a new administration, new department of justice. hopefully they can look at this situation with fresh eyes. this is very alarming. you had the former department of justice essentially put someone in prisonery specific who will be very interested to hear what you just said that being michael cohen. i know he is tuned in right now listening and i thank you, my friend. for all of you on the heels of that interview michael cohen will join me to discuss that letter to the doj and whether the departure of new york da cy vance from office helps or hurts the investigation into donald trump and his company. igation i trump and his company. that was in these clothes... ugh. but the clothes washed in tide- so much cleaner. if it's got to be clean it's got to be tide hygienic clean. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune 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(vo) subaru and our retailers believe in giving back. that's why, in difficult times, we provided one hundred and fifty million meals to feeding america. and now through the subaru share the love event, we're helping even more. by the end of this year, subaru will have donated over two hundred and twenty five million dollars to charity. this is what it means to be more than a car company. this is what it means to be subaru. after years of drama michael cohen is skooug donald trump, former attorney general bill barr and the bureau of patriot ons in a civil suit claiming trump retaliated for writing a tell all memoir and cohen says it endangered his life when he was abruptly returned to federal prison. michael cohen argues it was a violation of his first amendment rights adding he was punished for criticizing the president. joining me is trump's personal former personal attorney michael cohen hoets of the podcast mea culpa. welcome. happy new year. we had congressman ted lieu. you heard me ask him about the letter he co-wrote in july, 2020 asking the doj inspector general horowitz to investigate the fact that you were remanded to prison during the pandemic. so you heard what he had to say. what was your reaction? >> first of all let me start by saying i am extremely grateful to congressmen ted lieu and hakeem jeffries for penning this july 2020 letter requesting michael horowitz open an investigation into the un-constitutional and retaliatory remand of me back to prison based upon my refusal to waive my first amendment constitutional right and publish the book "disloyal." i want to correct you on something. i am not the one who is saying it. it was actually said by the judge when he stated he has never seen anything like this before. this is nothing but retaliatory and it is un-constitutional. but, alex, let me say this as well. 18 months have now transpired and absolutely nothing. there's no investigation. there's not even a reply. all right? the request appears to have gone completely ignored by horowitz and so i'm asking the question, not only why but who is hiding what? >> okay. now you heard ted lieu say the doj operates in its investigations sometimes behind a veil. he didn't use that word but he said you often don't know when they are investigating something. do you think it is at all possible? are there any bread crumbs, any trail for you to follow that suggests anything is going on? no? think it's cold? >> no. no. i don't. i think it is absolutely cold. i think that because of captain chaos, that there was so much craziness going on that i don't believe anybody followed up. you know, alex, this illegal act, it is not a democratic issue. it is not a republican issue. it is an american issue that goes to the very foundation of our democracy and our sacred constitution. i truly believe that somebody dropped the ball here and so now thanks to you, all right, let's see what congressman lieu and congressman jeffries end up doing because we're entitled to an answer. because, alex, one last thing. the first thing that a dictator does is curb your free speech. now, that is what occurred here in order to prevent me, you know, really to prevent the next wanna-be dictator authoritarian from destroying our democracy and it is to hold the first one meaning i'm referring of course to donald trump, we need to hold him accountable. him, bill barr, and anyone else that had their hands in this. >> well, we heard representative lieu say it was time to put this issue back on the front burner. he has every intention of doing so. we'll see what happens. your lawsuit against the trump, inc, have you heard anything in response, the lawsuit i was citing earlier? there's a bunch of people in that lawsuit. >> well, are you referring to the one where i'm suing for my legal fees? >> yes. >> or the one that i'm suing against the united states government for exactly this point? >> okay. you know what? give me the answer to the united states government one first. >> so far, no. you may have seen that our process servers managed to get bill barr in his shorts with some flip-flops in mclean, virginia where he was vacationing. >> missed that. >> came out to get mail. we personally served him. i believe that this is just the beginning. will it be more difficult to get the president? of course it will. he is surrounded by secret service. not to mention he is hunkered down at mar-a-lago. that's okay. we'll go to the court now and ask for what is called substituted service and then we'll serve him that way. rest assured, he, bill barr, michael horowitz maybe here, every single person named in that suit is going to get deposed and the american people have a right to know exactly what these people were doing under an authoritarian's ruling, meaning donald again, in order to destroy our democracy. i truly believe that this case goes so far beyond michael cohen. this is, again, the way that authoritarians and dictators take control. >> okay. legal fees? where is that lawsuit? >> so it is on appeal right now. i believe in all fairness that the, not just because it is against me, where we had lost, but it is also against public policy. basically the judge's ruling was that because i was doing it for donald trump and not the trump organization which was my employer that i should not be protected by the immunity clause under the trump organization. it just doesn't make any sense. obviously donald trump was my boss. he is the boss of everyone at the trump organization. when he tells you to do something, whether you are doing it specifically for his own personal benefit or for the benefit of the trump organization, it is one and the same. >> what are your predictions for 2022 relative to the trump probe? the fact that cy vance has now left office, do you think you'll be contacted by the new manhattan da? >> yeah, i absolutely do. i think we're going to start to see a lot of movement now. there's a lot of momentum going on both at the da's office as well as the attorney general. this case is not over simply because cy vance is now out of office. to the contrary, i believe things are going to start ramping up. i think they'll start moving quickly. i do believe that 2022 especially the early part going to see some indictments and some very exciting ones for those of us that want to see justice. >> we'll keep our eyes peeled. what about donald trump and the headlines he has been making recently, michael, forgetting his booster shot -- for getting his booster shot, he got booed when he said that. he has been publicly praising the covid-19 efficacy and the safety of the vaccines pushing back against one skeptic over the vaccine and how effective it is but it is putting him at odds with a large portion of his base, those folks opposed to vaccines partly and in no large, rather small part, because he consistently downplayed them while he was president. i mean, he later said i don't think a booster is for me then he ends up getting one. why is he so wishy washy lately? >> first of all, he is a liar. all right? you may remember when he went ahead and not only did he not tell them not to get the boosters he actually put on all of the superspreader events that many of his supporters, his foolishly loyal supporters ended up getting sick some of whom became hospitalized and passed away. the reason he is doing this is because somehow, somebody has told him, and again, it is the last person in donald trump's ear that matters. someone told him that this could be good for you. now how is it good for him? i don't exactly know. it is very hard to figure this part out with donald simply because he is ignorant and worse than that he is arrogant. and so he thinks that any time he opens his mouth that we the american people who have listened to this fool for god knows how long now five, six years, you know, dispelg all of these myths and this misinformation and disinformation that we're going to forget, what it was that he had been saying, we don't. hey, donald, it's recorded. it is written. it's on videos everywhere. is it going to benefit him? no. you know what it does? it helps the democrats when it comes to at least the general election in 2024 because this base now despises him for basically lying to them for the last two and a half years. >> how do you really feel my friend? just kidding. michael cohen, always good to have you on. i know i'll talk with you again soon. thank you, michael. coming up next back to school in the omicron surge. how teachers and parent are feeling about the post holiday restart. also coming up for you today on "politics nation" with reverend al sharpton civil rights attorney benjamin crump, and other guests all for you today at 5:00 eastern here on msnbc. msnbc. with downy infusions, let the scent set the mood. ♪ feel the difference with downy. as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ students are set to return to the classroom tomorrow after the long holiday break but parents and school districts are bracing for what is to come as communities across the country see a surge in covid cases. nbc's liz mclaughlin is joining us from raleigh, north carolina. what kind of guidance are parents getting as they prepare to send their kids back to class? >> reporter: alex, the protocols vary widely at schools from coast to coast. in washington, d.c. they are asking for a negative covid test for all students before they return from winter break. a lot of schools relying on testing or leaning on it to keep kids safe. new york city if a child tests positive they'll send them home with a week's work the of at home tests -- week's worth of at home tests. in wake county the school system including the capital city of raleigh they are providing weekly tests on campus for staff and students. and a lot of places, health officials say testing can be really important but those tests can be hard to get your hands on. but many schools also encouraging masks. doctors and health officials saying that cloth mask though you may have used last year won't hold up as well against this highly contagious variant really wanting kids to go to school with an n95 or 3 ply surgical mask. there are fun unicorn designs and things that kids might want to wear a little more. but we're really hearing from most school districts a commitment to in-person learning despite this surge. we heard from the education secretary today. let's listen. >> i know we've had an omicron surge but i still believe very firmly and passionately not only as an educator but a parent that our students belong in the classroom and we can do it safely. we have better tools than we ha the past to get it done. we know what works. and i believe even with omicron, our default should be in-person learning for all students across the country. >> and i was just speaking to some parents of an 8-year-old here on this playground behind me. they echoed that saying that their 8-year-old was so happy to return to classes one year ago. i even asked that child what are you looking forward to? seeing her teachers, playing with her friends. so they want to focus on mental health but keep kids safe in this new year. >> 100%. okay. liz mclaughlin, thank you so much. next, animal rights and cocktails to go? it's always surprising to see all the new state laws that are now in effect across america as 2022 begins. nbc's pete williams brings us his annual report. s annual repo. r when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! 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(excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. now that the new year has arrived, so have the new laws. nbc's pete williams takes a look at some of the new measures. >> reporter: students entering high school in ohio in the new year won't be allowed to graduate until they complete a course in financial literacy. about such issues as taxes and interest rates. many students say it's what they need to know. >> i would say, yeah, undoubtedly the most important. it helps you manage your money. >> reporter: today it's illegal to chain up your dog in texas. any outdoor restraint must be lighter and more flexible and dogs must have adequate shelter, shade and water. >> texas wants to lead the way when it comes to animal abuse. and with this new tethering bill, i think we'll be able to do that. >> reporter: governor greg abbott at first vetoed the law and then signed a new version after he was hit by a flood of tweets with the hash tag #abbotthatesdogs. in washington state, home to tech giants, a new law requires anyone selling a house to disclose whether the property has internet service. florida will now require child care providers to install alarms in any car, bus or van that will alert drivers to make sure everyone is out before locking up to reduce deaths from children stuck in hot cars. >> it's going to be maybe a financial burden. we don't really know yet. but if it's going to keep the children save and safe lives, we'll do it. >> reporter: oregon says cheers by allowing the sale of cocktails to go, even after the pandemic ends. >> we do need to improve upon that portion of our business and certainly we'll be doing so in the future. >> reporter: drinks must be sold in a sealed container to be opened at home where they can help toast the new year. pete williams, nbc news, washington. >> all right. cheers to that. at the top of the hour, omicron and winter weather causing a holiday travel mess for you. what you need to know before you try to head home. ♪♪ still fresh ♪♪ fressshhhhhh in wash-scent booster ♪♪ downy unstopables as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ ♪ heartburn, ingestion, upset stomach... ♪ ♪ diarrheaaaa.♪ try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome to "alex witt reports." breaking news on a story getting worse as this day goes on. new flight disruptions as americans are just trying to head home after