it's "way too early" for this. ♪♪ good morning and welcome to "way too early," the show that believes that 2022 has to be better than the last two years, right? i'm jonathan lemire on this monday, january 3rd. the highly contagious omicron variant continues to fuel an unprecedented surge in this pandemic. according to data from "the new york times", the average number of daily infections across the united states has doubled since christmas day. we're now at 400,000 new cases. hospitalizations are also rising, and while not at the same pace, the sheer number is enough to strain hospitals across the country, however, there's encouraging news out of south africa where this strain originated. the governments there said the surge in cases has peeked without a significant increase in deaths. there are also new developments in the controversial cdc guidelines that cut the isolation time in half for those who test positive but weren't showing any symptoms. there are questions over why the agency does not recommend getting tested before returning to normal activity after now five days. yesterday dr. anthony fauci says he supports testing after isolation and expects the cdc to clarify its new guidelines soon. >> you're right there has been some concern about why we don't ask people at that five-day period to get tested. that is something that is now under consideration. the cdc is very well aware that there has been some pushback about that. looking at it again, there may be an option in that, that testing could be a part of that. i think we're going to be hearing more about that in the next day or so from the cdc. >> it's a big picture of trying to do it in a way that is scientifically sound but that also gets people back to work. the cdc is doing their very best in trying to get the right balance to getting people back, but doing it on a solid scientific basis. this year marks one year since the attack on the u.s. capitol. president biden is expected to may a public statement on that thursday anniversary. there's a question of what president trump was doing during the insurrection on the capitol and how a family member asked him to intervene. >> the committee has firsthand testimony that the president was sitting in the dining room watching the attack on washington as the attack on the capitol occurred. he could have walked a few steps and told them live on tv to stop. we know as he was sitting in the dining room next to the oval office, members of his staff were pleading with him to go on television and tell them to stop. we know kevin mccarthy, his daughter -- we have firsthand knowledge that his daughter ivanka went in at least twice and asked him to please stop this violence. any man who would watch television as police officers were being beaten, as his supporters were invading the capitol of the united states is clearly unfit for office, clearly can never be anywhere near the oval office again. >> hillary clinton said if he runs and wins again, it would be the end of democracy. do you think that's true? >> i do. i think it's important to know the lines he was willing to cross. you know, we entrust the survival of our republic into the hands of the chief executive, and when a president refuses to tell the mob to stop, when he refuses to defend any of the coordinate branches of government, he cannot be trusted. >> according to new reporting from "politico," bernie kerik, the former city police commissioner and supporter of donald trump had a trove of documents he produced under a subpoena. there was a group of privileged documents he declined to provide. there was a document on a ten-day pressure campaign dom cotton vince lawmakers not to confirm the 2020 election results. amog the withheld documents is one titled draft letter from potus to seize evidence for the national security elections. the privilege log shows it was delivered on january 17th, a day trump huddled in the office with supporters. they discussed the option of seizing election equipment in states trump was electing to overturn, a plan that was ultimately rejected. joining us now, one of the reporters joining us, kyle cheney. thank you so much for being here. bernie kerik who also has deep ties to rudy giuliani is only one of a handful to produce documents. what's your thought here? do you think it's now forcing some, like kerik, to cooperate? >> i think that's right. you're starting to see a divide among those who, you know, despite -- look, bernie kerik is not at least expressing his support. letters have been pretty hostile and aggressive, but indeed as opposed to word,'re seeing that. that may be the case. i think the committee believes it is, and they're hopeful that this is one result of that. >> so bernie kerik mentioned this privilege log. i was hoping you could tell us a little more about that means. but does the fact that he was only willing to turn over certain documents and not those, does that have the potential for criminal activity? >> it seems unlikely. they didn't expect 100% cooperation from everybody, but anyone they subpoenaed, they said, if you're not going to give us something, your duty is to tell us what it is you're not turning over, describe it, and that way we can litigate whether it should be turned over. bernie kerik agreed with that. they can fight over that because bernie kerik told them it existed in the first place, and that's not the case with all these other witnesses. so i think it will probably help him avoid things like criminal contempt, but also further negotiations with the committee. >> kyle, quickly, what should we expect from the committee as the anniversary of january 6th approaches? >> i think for the most part it's going to be a week of reflections. you heard liz cheney talk about what's at stake. i think we'll get back to the meet of the investigation beyond the 6th once they finish commemoraing it. >> "politico's" kyle cheney. thank you so much. coming up, a look at the growing devastation caused by a massive wildfire burning across colorado. more than a thousand homes and businesses have been destroyed and at least two people are missing. plus president biden speaks with president ukraine amid ongoing tensions with russia, what we know about that phone call. those stories and a check on the weather when we come right back. . ♪3, 4♪ ♪ ♪hey♪ ♪ ♪are you ready for me♪ ♪are you ready♪ ♪are you ready♪ (judith) in this market, you'll find fisher investments is different than other money managers. 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destructive wildfire ever. more than a thousand homes were destroyed and two people unaccounted for. nbc's emily i key da has more. >> reporter: they're trudging through snow to face what's left, which for nearly 1,000 families means nothing. >> you can count items on one hand you can salvage. >> if that, if that. >> wow. >> i mean, it's just gone. >> reporter: the view from above capturing the historic blaze's wrath, but to see it in person is heartbreaking, bringing his family to tears. >> at what point did you realize you were going to lose your home? >> basically when we were leaving and the smoke was so thick and the winds were so hot and fierce, i knew it wasn't going to be able to survive. >> reporter: authorities released a preliminary list of addresses that runs 20 pages long. >> i had no idea till i got there. i was working and had no idea. >> reporter: on that list, his street. >> it's tough. you spend 30-plus years of your life there and it's all gone. it's ashes. >> reporter: 8 inches of snow may have helped hell freeze over, but it's complicated the aftermath for both residents and investigators still trying to find any sign of two missing people. >> we're actively working the scenes with dogs. the scenes are still hot. they're still, you know, deep in debris, hot debris, covered with snow. so it's a very difficult task. >> reporter: the most destruction active fire in state history still feared to be deadly. >> our thanks to emily i key da for that report. all 21 people stuck in a tram car overnight have been rescued. crews used helicopters to bring everyone to safety. it occurred on new year's eve as ploys at a mountaintop restaurant were going home after their shift. it stopped midway as there was a fast accumulation of ice on one of the cables. we'll hear more from one of the rescued employees coming up later on "morning joe." a massive sewage spill in southern california forced essentially beach closures over the holiday weekend. officials say more than 8 million gallons of sewage spilled in the neighborhood of carson, south of los angeles, friday night, where it flowed into a storm drain and into channels leading to the ocean. officials say deteriorating concrete and rainstorms in the area caused a pipe to collapse. this comes after an estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the pacific ocean back in october, forcing some of the same beach closures. meanwhile, new york city mayor air adams is taking the promise to crack down on crime into his own hands. just hours into his first day, adams called 911 after witnessing an assault in progress. >> yes, i'm at broadway and i have an assault in progress, a female. >> springing into action. two squad cars arrived to the scene minutes later but the two men involved were getting into third own vehicles. police left without speaking to anyone involved. >> adams, a police officer for more than 20 years, made safety central in his campaign. he was sworn at midnight on new year's day in times square and he will also be a guest a little later on "morning joe." still ahead, a midgame meltdown on one of the top receivers. where antonio brown and his team and the league stand this morning. next. team and the league stand this morning. next but i'm stumped when it comes to payroll. intuit quickbooks helps you easily run payroll in less than 5 minutes... ...so you can stay... one step ahead. my plaque psoriasis... ......the itching.... the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an 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clinches a top in the nfc and the first round of the playoffs. the vikings have been knocked out of the playoff race and it clinched a spot for the philadelphia eagles who beat the washington football team, 20-16. more playoff implications in nashville where the tennessee titans earned a second straight afc south title with yesterday's 34-3 blow on the dolphins. miami also out of the playoff picture. that helps your new england patriots who clinched a playoff spot after dominating the jaguars. they head to playoffs for the first time since the tom brady era. they need a loss from the buffalo bills. the bills punch their own ticket to the playoffs after a 29-15 win over the atlanta falcons, and a little bit of snow yesterday in buffalo. they also got help from the los angeles rams' one-point win over the baltimore ravens. in cincinnati, joe burrow outdueled kansas city chiefs patrick mahomes. three of the scores were to rookie ja'marr chase who racked up 266 receiving yards in the 34-31 win. you're seeing it there. good-bye, touchdown. the chiefs fall out of the top spot behind tennessee because of that loss. the los angeles chargers 34-13 win over the broncos eliminated denver, miami, cleveland browns. out. no playoffs for you. that sets up a clinch in las vegas. the winner of that afc west matchup will earn a wild-card spot. there's a story of the day in the nfl. antonio brown is no longer a buck. that's according to head coach bruce arians after his bizarre exit yesterday from the jets. with his team falling behind, he stripped off his equipment, throwing his gloves into the stands, and walking shirtless on the end zone while the players were on the field. security thought it was a fan. he waved to the fans before existing. after his exit tom brady rallied the bucs to a win over the jets with a touchdown and a few seconds left. that's not what people were talking about after the game. afterward when asked about the wide receiver, brady said i think everyone should be empathetic and compassionate for difficult things that are happening. he has a history of personal conduct issues and personal behavior. he was also suspended last month, sidelined for three games after he produced a fake vaccination card. it's hard to see him get another shot in the nfl, but talent gets more opportunities. we can never say never. let's hope he gets the help he needs. time for weather. let's go to meteorologist bill karins. bill, there's talk of maybe, just maybe, a little snow on the east coast. what have you got. >> yeah. maybe a little more than just a little. d.c. schools are already canceled. everyone is being told to stay home and off the roads because the snow is moving in. we've had a couple of lackluster winters in a row in the mid-atlantic. this will be the biggest storm in three years for the region. get ready. you look out the window. the snow has begun. philadelphia, wilmington, delaware, d.c., overnight, it snowed overnight. atlanta, you're all clear. most of the snow was just to your north. right now it's snowing pretty good around asheville up toward roanoke. as far as watches and warnings go, we have warnings from d.c. to richmond, roanoke, western virginia, in the mountains of north carolina, and a little bit around tennessee. also the southern half of new jersey is under a winter storm warning. that's really the key area. from philadelphia to new york city to harford, providence, boston, it's a little snow. heavy snow from d.c. to richmond. it's called thundersnow. the cut-off is philadelphia north ward for snow. you have to be southward. here we are at 11:00 a.m. this morning, the snow will be ending. high impact and then it's completely gone by 6:00 p.m. the exception cape cod and the island. how much snow are we talking? we could get 3 to 6 inches of snow from harrisburg to washington, d.c. new york city, little to no snow for you. jonathan, for our snow lovers in the mid-atlantic, this is your day. who knows what we'll get the rest of the day. but i can guarantee kids will be playing outside in our nation's capital. washington, d.c., they're not used to handling that much snow. bill karins, thank you very much. still ahead, last month joe manchin said he would not vote for build back better. now he's prepared to start renegotiating. and whether the president's economic agenda could be back on track. but before we go, we want to know, why are you awake. i'm your answers to waytooearly@msnbc.com or tweet me #jonlemire. be sure to use the hashtag. we'll read some of our favorite answers later in the show. e of answers later in the show. th. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. 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 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[daughter] slurping don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide. ♪♪ welcome back to "way too early." it's just before 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. i'm jonathan lemire. president biden spoke to president zelensky assuring him u.s. will respond decisively if russia invades ukraine. this is the second call between the two leaders in the past duo weeks and both spoke of diplomatic efforts to de-escalation the situation with moscow. the white house made clear the that president biden made clear that the u.s. -- he warned moscow that the u.s. will impose new sanctions if there's a military invasion of ukraine. tensions have escalated in the last few weeks as moscow has moved 1,000 troops near the border. meanwhile west virginia senator joe manchin may reopen restarting negotiations on the build back better plan. axios reported last night the swing vote senator is willing to discuss two major points of contention, the climate change and child care provisions, but only if the white house lowers the income eligibility for the child tax credit or completely removes it from the package. the senator's engagement on specifics indicates negotiations could potentially get back on track after he affirmed he was a no on the package back on december 19th. despite the back and forth-on both sides, reports say the senator spoke with the president and kept in touch with administration officials over the holiday break. manchin wants that child tax credit passed separately with a bipartisan vote. some republicans including senator mitt romney from utah support it, but it's unclear whether they will meet the 60-vote threshold to make it become law. joining us, josh wingrove, a canadian, who probably feels right at home with snow falling in d.c. this morning. josh, we're always grateful for you to be there. let's start with senator manchin. he went two weeks without his name in the headlines. couldn't have that. here we are potentially signaling a restart to the negotiations. where you do think things stand? >> good morning and happy new year. new year, new beginnings. remember, the counteroffer he'd made a few days before pulling the plug was to do a sort of swap on the child care provisions, in other words, take the tax credit out, remember that, and pivot instead to universal pre-kindergarten as sort of an alternative. we're sort of back to the drawing board. where that leaves us is potentially doing a smaller version of this bill. i think there is potential there. the biden people have been open to that. remember what they talked about at the time was manchin's discussions and counteroffer were a starting point to a deal as opposed to something they could accept right off the bat. i talked to one biden ally over the break where everything seemed to take a pause, and they thought that the path forward for senate democrats would be a slimmed down version rather than, you know, tucking and picking little parts out to get it across the line with manchin. we'll see. >> let's switch gears and go back to the situation at the russian-ukraine border. we know biden spoke to president zelensky over the weekend, putin a few days prior to that. but what are biden's real options here? if the troops don't withdraw, what can president biden do to push moscow? >> if the troops don't withdraw but don't invade, we're in a bit of a holding pattern because remember what putin is telling his people and anyone that will listen is that the americans are the aggressors, which, of course, is not really the case. and we're going to see what happened here because i think that they will take steps they didn't take in 2014 when, of course, crimea and the donbas were invaded. the one question is what happens if nothing happens, but if something in between happens? we asked jen psaki this in the past, what happens if putin stops short of an invasion but messes around, will the u.s. respond? we don't know. you know, that is a big question. what happens if putin does nothing, and what happens if putin does a little bit of something? if he goes in full bore, will biden issue harsh sanctions? president biden returns to the white house this morning after his holiday break in delaware. the white house looks a little different. they announced they will be scaling back in the briefing room because of the surge in omicron, the rise in positive cases in washington, d.c., one of the hot spots in the country in recent weeks. what should we expect to hear from the president this week on the virus as omicron just surges, 400,000 new cases a day. >> yeah, i mean, he's going to be under pressure to announce increased testing. they're making available 500 million tests available this month to be ordered for free and get shipped to their homes. as everyone knows, it's hard to get tests, especially parents who need tests to get their kids back in school. he'll talk about that. he has a briefing on that for tomorrow. they really have no pivot. they're still sort of tweaking with isolation periods. they're still tweaking that. they may further tweak that. they can pivot from a strategy of trying to limit the cases. they appear to acknowledge the horse is out of the barn at this point, and instead they're focusing on treatment and vaccine availability. they're begging people to get a booster six months since their last shot, and they're hoping to increase the availability of testing. >> we'll certainly be following that closely as the week goes on. still ahead, we'll go live to cnbc for an early look at what's driving the new year on wall street. "way too early" is coming back with that next. that next how bout sushi? i just had sushi for lunch yesterday. indian? ehh, maybe... how bout seafood? you know i don't like seafood. 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on that the company offered a fairly pessimistic outlook. it does not anticipate a break in the foreseeable future and expects disruptions far into 2022. that is what we're hearing from companies around the world. the hope is, though, by the end of the year, some of these pressures will begin to ease. >> the pandemic truth is whatever happens in europe will happen in the u.s. you've been provided updates from london for the last few months. the uk is preparing for what it's calling wofrlts case scenarios with records over the holidays. fill us in, what's the latest there? >> in terms of the scale of absences we can expect over the coming weeks, the government is warning we could see up to a quarter of staff absent in the coming weeks. so ministers, as you said, are now asking companies and public sector organizations to prepare for these absences. one of the measures that the government has implemented is cutting down the isolation period to try to ease the disruption caused by the omicron variant, cutting it down from ten days to five days provided you test negative two days in a row starting on the 6th. two measures are imposed around the world. the government is closely watching hospitalizations to see if further measures are needed. >> huge numbers of virus cases. cnbc's julianna tatelbaum, stay safe. twitter has permanently suspended the personal account of georgia republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene, for, quote, repeated violations of its covid misinformation policy. the company said in a statement yesterday, five or more strikes results in permanent suspension according to the company's website, and greene was suspended multiple times last year. still ahead, as schools wage how to handle the surge in covid cases after returning from the holiday break, we'll see remote learning in some cases. 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we're hearing reports that child covid hospitalizations are at an all-time high, but parents and educators alike agree that in-person learning is best for children's mental health as well as their ability to learn. what's the best way to keep children safe at school at this point during the pandemic? >> i would say bravo. you are doing the best possible thing for children's learning, but also as you said, for their social and emotional health. kids need school like fish need water. there's really abundant evidence run out of places like danny benjamin's work -- a pediatrician out of duke -- has shown repeatedly schools are safer for kids than kids being in the general community where the risks of transmission of covid are enormous. so, you know, kids need to be in school for their overall health and well being. >> dr. mcbride, what do you make of the rise in covid hospitalizations among children? how serious of a threat is this? >> well, we absolutely need to be concerned about coronavirus in kids, but let's also make sure we're understanding that the risk to children from coronavirus is relatively small. most healthy kids do beautifully with coronavirus should they be infected. and we also have to realize that as parents -- i'm a parent -- and as physicians and public health leaders, risks are everywhere for kids. there's a harm of not being at school. there are potential harms from the virus, but also harms from not being at school from kids on emotional health, safety. some kids need to be at school to be fed. we are always balancing risk as parents, educators, and certainly as doctors. >> and certainly they say they want school to be open. i would say as a parent of two teenaged boys, i think so too. earlier in the show we asked all of you this question, why are you awake? joanie sends us a picture of what's become a familiar sight for many americans, an at-home covid test. stay healthy, joanie, and all of you, i hope you can get your hands on tests and they all come back negative. dan, whattest. stay safe. >> dan, what have you got there? >> steve says there is a 50 miles per hour wind. >> winter weather finally has arrived. linda chimes in and writes this. my husband gets up at 4:30 to take four afghan men to work at his company in tampa, florida, the first company in the area to employ these new arrivals in the u.s. that's a great story to hear. up next, a look at axios' one big thing. coming up on "morning joe," more on what we are learning of the events grounding of the january 6th capitol as we approach anniversary of the insurrection. plus, mayor eric adams, "morning joe" is a few minutes away. joe" is a few minutes away i've lost count of how many asthma attacks i've had. but my nunormal with nucala? fewer asthma attacks. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. 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. this is a hero, walking his youngest down the aisle, which to his bladder, feels like a mile. yet he stands strong, dry, keeping the leaks only to his eyes. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. i'm greg, i'm 68 years old. i do motivational speaking keeping the leaks only to his eyes. in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did. i've been taking prevagen for about three years now. people say to me periodically, "man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. inner voice (kombucha brewer): i'm dramatically holding this bottle, so the light hits it just right, and people think... wow... ...he knows what he's doing... ...when i'm actually pretty lost with my payroll taxes. intuit quickbooks helps you manage your payroll taxes. cheers. 100% accurate payroll tax calculations guaranteed. what happens when you block heartburn with one prilosec otc in the morning? heartburn doesn't stand a chance - day... or night. excess stomach acid can cause heartburn. prilosec otc works differently by preventing excess acid production. so don't fight heartburn, block it. prilosec otc. one pill in the morning blocks heartburn, all day and all night. more than 100 americans were affected to travels over the christmas and the new year holidays. thousands of flights cancelled over the last few days. morgan chesky has the details. >> reporter: the travel rush from coast to coast, long lines and cleveland and denver. >> i had a couple of flights cancelled yesterday. more than 4,000 other flights have been delayed. airlines crippled among their crews. >> i don't think we are prepared to drive home. >> reporter: even finding a rental car took hours. >> i kind of feel helpless, i have three children and my husband, you want to be able to get everyone home safely and there is no answer. >> reporter: in chicago, snowy condition prompted southwest airlines to cancel all flights and around saturday. >> reporter: aaa called sunday the end of holiday traveling season. >> the wild card we have been warning has been covid. we want to remind folks if you are booking, don't skip that box for flight insurance. >> reporter: even more people will be driving home. those on the roads facing the wrong issues and in arkansas of an icy build up. in kentucky the governor declaring a state of emergency after heavy rain and thunderstorms and more tornados pummelled the states. >> our thanks to morgan chesky for that report. ♪♪ joining us now to look at axios' am, what's our one big thing today? >> looks like nick has frozen or he's giving us a heck of a dead pan to start his segment here. >> i am here. >> oh, there he is. >> if it was a staring contest, you had me beat. what's axios' one big thing today? no, he's still beaten us there we are going to talk a little bit more about the week ahead that we hope to get nick's connection back here. president biden returns to the white house from his holiday break in delaware, we'll hear from him today a little bit more about supply chain and economic issues and tomorrow we'll hear from him about covid. he's meeting with his team and you suspect as dr. fauci mentions some changes to the cdc's guidelines which drawn a lot of scrutiny. speaking of covid, we got larry hogan is preparing to see a huge rise in covid cases in the coming months. he was asked if the state was doing enough to combat the surge? >> we have been talking about this problem for nearly a month and preparing for it but you can't manufacture doctors and nurses that don't exist and frankly these heroes on the front line that have been working for so long for two years, there is fatigue and people who are working in hospitals and coming down being infected and so we are taking all kinds of actions. >> his comment came after the republican governor tested positive despite having both shots of the vaccine and a booster. he was openly critical from the white house saying he was not doing enough. he helped secure tests from his own in the state and south korea. he's rumored potentially as a gop challenger for 2024 even if trump runs. not clear the field entirely. two people are missing and fear dead after a devastating wildfire in colorado last week. close to 1,000 homes were destroyed when the fire broke out on thursday. local authorities provided few details of the cost but did confirm of the executed search warrant over the weekend. the area was blanketed over a foot of snow on saturday complicated effects to determine the cause. >> for many it seems like a real experience as you are celebrating christmas at home and hanging your stockings and now your home is destroyed and the reality has not set in for some of the folks who lost everything and still are not able to return to their homes. i want the community to know you are not alone. the full force of the united states of america is here. >> we are still very much doing the show during the pandemic and a lot of our guests are joining us remotely. apologies for our technical issues there. most importantly everyone stay safe. thanks to all of you for getting up way too early with us on this monday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. don't go anywhere. >> welcome to the working week, mr. mayor. >> that's how eric adams started his new year just hours in his first day. adams called 911 after witnessing a fight in progress. the newly sworn in mayor will join us this morning. happy new year and good morning and welcome to "morning joe," it's monday, january 3rd, 2022. >> 2022, come on, i don't remember it. it seems like it was 2020 forever and 2021 wu just another old script of 2020. that seems pretty symbolic for eric adams to start.