this is the biden administration's most significant intervention, to try to get the pandemic under control. and it could affect as many as 100 million workers across the country. and the biden administration says it could, if this rule is imposed, it could prevent as many as 250,000 hospitalizations. and they say that they have a duty to do this, and they have the authority to do it under the law. now, the folks suing include a cross-section of states, religious groups, small business lobbying organizations, and businesses themselves. and they argue that this is an overreach by the federal government and they say there would be practical consequences, and they may have to fire as many as a third of their workforce in the midst of labor shortages and supply chain shortages. we spoke to brandon trosclaire, a small business owner who owns a chain of grocery stores in louisiana, and he says for him, it's not really about the vaccine, it's about the mandate. take a listen. >> i don't oppose the vaccine at all. that's not what this is about. i strictly oppose the mandate itself. it's not my business to get involved in that and force my employees to take that shot. it's none of my business. i care about the health of my employees and customers and i respect them enough that they can make the best decision in their lives, not me. >> and jose, of course, the biden administration counters that this is about health of the public at large. and that's why this measure is important. >> thanks again. now, neal, take us inside the arguments that both sides will be making to the justices this morning. >> sure. first, i think the most important thing is just the way in which this argument is happening. i've had the privilege now of arguing several cases at the supreme court during the covid epidemic. and it's a very different thing, jose. and indeed, the way the court has reacted to covid almost proves the biden administration's point. so the biden administration's lawyer today, the solicitor general, is going to say the statutes allow the government to regular utility workplaces when there's a, quote, grave danger, from a pollutant or a disease or something like that. and the very way in which the court has reacted to covid really underscores that. so these arguments are taking place in a closed chamber. no outsiders, no guests, nothing like that. you had to test negative -- every time i've argued in the covid court, you've got to test negative the day before. the podium has been moved back 15 feet from where it was before, because the justices want to reduce the spread of disease in the courtroom and the like. and so all of this really underscores that workplaces themselves are places in which covid spreads, and there's a grave danger from it. and the justices, of course, have the luxury of controlling their own environment in the way that ordinary workers don't. so the biden administration is saying, look, we're just trying to empower other folks the very same way. now, the challengers, the small business owners are going to say exactly what you just heard in that great video a moment ago. look, we don't have any problem with vaccines, we just don't think the federal government can mandate it. the problem with that argument is that congress and the osha rules has basically said, if there's a grave threat to -- at a workplace, regulate. and that's why the sixth circuit court of appeals, where this decision is being reviewed from has upheld the biden administration's mandate. >> so neal, what are you going to be paying close attention to during today's arguments? >> i'll be watching three justices in particular. particularly the chief justice, a so-called swing justice at this point, he's quite conservative, but because the court is far more conservative than american society, he winds up being in the middle of the court. he's someone who's very deferential when claims like presidents say public safety and the like, he led five justices to rule against us saying president trump said there was a threat from muslim nations, so therefore he will defer to it and allow that travel ban over muslim nations. he said, you know, courts don't have expertise in this area. so by that reasoning, the same thing should obviously be true here, that the court don't have epidemiology and, you know, expertise or anything like that. and when the president says, hey, i need to do this, you know, you would think roberts would defer. the question is, is that enough? there are only three justices appointed by democratic presidents, all of them have signaled that they would uphold a mandate like this, but that only leads to four votes. and you need five at the supreme court. so then folks will be watching justices kavanaugh and barrett in particular, who have been, i think, somewhat more deferential when it comes to claims of public safety. so we'll watch them closely to see whether there are five justices to uphold president biden's mandate. >> and neal, just -- i want to kind of take you back inside the courtroom, because you've been there, right? i mean, it's far different -- and you did kind of list some of the things that are different, but it's a far different environment post-covid than it was before. even as you were saying, there's nobody in there. normally, how many people are allowed in there? >> 400 and now there's like 20. i argued a case just a couple of weeks ago, i was allowed to bring one person in, one of my co-counsel lawyers, but that's it. the client couldn't even come, even though he had flown from another state to try to be here. so they have really controlled the environment in a massive way, and i suspect that the solicitor general, biden's solicitor general will be making that point in a number of different ways, that we all know workplaces are places of public grave danger right now, because of the covid epidemic. and it's the first responsibility of government to try to protect folks in the workplace. >> and ken, i mean, the supreme court put these cases on its docket just before christmas. does this likely mean the high court will issue a decision fairly soon? >> reporter: it does, jose. normally these things take months, this could happen in a matter of weeks. and just to add on what you were saying about the special covid precautions, justice sotomayor, we are told, has chosen to participate remotely in her chambers rather than in the courtroom today. that just underscores how unusual the circumstances are here today, jose. >> ken dilanian, thank you so much. neal, you'll be back with me later this hour, with an update. but i'm joined now by michael osterholm, director of the center for infectious disease research and policy at the university of minnesota. it's great to see you this morning. let me start off by asking, what's your stand on the mandates? >> well, i very strongly support them. i think they are a very important public health tool and they're an equalizer. remember right now, there are many white-collar workers, including justices, that can do the things that will protect them from getting infected, such as limiting the number of people that are in the courtroom or having people tested. if you're on the front lines working in a grocery store, if you are, in fact, in a very critical position where you have to have lots of public contact, you don't have that same protection. and we need these people. and so one of the ways to make sure that happens is to afford them the protection. and i think it's important to also note, while we're talking about the vaccine mandates with, we're saying for those who refuse, they at least have to be masked and tested. so it's not as if you're automatically fired up-front for not getting vaccinated, you have to comply with these other issues. i think this is a very important move forward and strongly support it. and if we want to get our people back to work, we've got to protect them. >> you're among six prominent health experts who advised president biden's transition team and you're now calling for an entirely new domestic coronavirus strategy. talk to us about what that difference is. >> our group actually published a series of three articles yesterday in the journal of medical association, and i think they've been mischaracterized in the media as somehow suggesting that what's being done right now in the united states is not the approach that we should be using. what we were saying is, we're going to have to learn to live with covid. this is not going to be over with tomorrow or the next day. so what should the future look like? this is not at all a rebuke of what's happening now, it's more, where do we go? where are we at in six months, in 12 months. and we're trying to lay out basically the kinds of things that we need to do in order to live with this virus, to move us forward. right now, there are many people in the public who believe that this will never end. it's going to. we just have to figure out how we're going to do it. >> -- but it isn't a rebuke, okay, i'll accept that. but are you in support of the policy and the way things have been going recently? i mean, the cdc's messaging, it's a contradiction of terms almost. there is no clear messaging. we're not getting clear indications of what to do, what not to do. wait five days, wait seven days, get boosted at six months or five months. what's with messaging? >> well, let's just break this down a little bit. first of all, we're going into the third year of this situation. i've heard people say to me, this wasn't like that during ebola. this wasn't like that during the influenza pandemic of 2009. both just lasted a few months. surely, one of the challenges we have is you just have more opportunities, as evolving science continues to occur, to have challenges. we must do a better job in communicating to the public. but we also have to be able to communicate that uncertainty. you know, every country in the world right now is in the soup. when i hear people say how bad testing is in the united states, we can do better. but you know what the two countries of the world that were heralded as having the best testing programs, the united kingdom and israel are in the soup right now with testing. they're having terrible problems. this virus is a formidable foe. so let's do a better job of communicating. let's think forward about what we want to do three from five months from now. but also, i think, we're going to go back and ultimately judge the fact that this was a 210-mile curveball disease, they continued to throw at us, and we just in the public have to promise them, we'll always tell them the truth, but we're also going to have have a great deal of humility and they will them that there are times that we just don't have all the answers. >> and as you look forward to things, one of the things that many people are asking is, what about testing? in other words, wasn't that part of a protocol, as you look forward to this pandemic possibly being a situation of years, to maintain or open up that pipeline, to testing. >> again, a very important point. i agree with your point 100%. the problem is, you know, we even under our best conditions, could prepare for, you know, a category 4 or 5 viral hurricane. we've got a category 7 thrown at us with omicron. we're watching literally 20 to 30% of people being infected in just days to a week or two. so when you look at the issue of the amount of testing, i wish we had total capacity to test everybody, every hour of every day. but we don't. and we're not going to in the next two to three weeks. so we have to understand, we have to get through this knowing that just like every other country in the world, we're not going to have enough testing. but that doesn't mean that we can't do a lot. and that's the message we have to get out right now. what are we going to do to get through. how are we going to keep health care moving when it was already hanging on by the skin of our teeth with the number of employees and now we may be losing 20 to 30% by being infected ourselves. this is the challenge we have, and we've got to do better, but we have to understand, show me anywhere in the world that has done really, really well the day after a category 5 hurricane. it's a challenge and that's what we're in right now. >> the ceo, by the way, of moderna said yesterday that people will likely need a fourth booster this fall. is that surprising to you, or do you see this as something that people will have to get every year or every six months? >> well, this is part of that evolving science. we don't know. and we have to say that. i think that if it comes to the point where we'll need a booster every six months, it isn't going to happen. the world is not going to be capable of providing boosters, even in the high-income countries. and we'll be looking at what are the alternatives? one of the things i'm very excited about is the issue of the therapeutic drugs. while vaccination will still be the foundation offer public health approach, think about hiv/aids. if we were having this interview back in 1982, hiv/aids was a death sentence. with therapeutic drugs, we've turned it into a chronic disease. imagine within the next six to 12 months, we could provide these new therapeutic drugs, that if given in the very first days of the infection, could do a great deal to reduce serious illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. i think we have tools coming down the pike. it won't be the same as we've had already, and at this point, we just have to also promise, we will continue to study this virus, this evolving science, and tell the public what we know and what we don't know and how we're going to use these tools. >> michael osterholm, i thank you very much for being with me. >> thank you. >> it's great to clear things up and a privilege to speak with you. thanks. >> thank you very much. thank you. >> take care. right now in a georgia courtroom, a sentencing hearing is about to begin for the three men convicted of murdering ahmaud arbery. while they all face life sentences, the judge will have to decide whether any of the three men could ever be released on parole. joining me now is nbc news correspondent, catie beck and katie fang, an attorney and co-host of "money court" on cnbc, also an msnbc legal contributor. both great to see you this morning. catie beck, all three men face mandatory life sentences. walk us through what else we can expect today? >> reporter: well, the judge is going to be hearing from character witnesses likely on both sides. we know for a fact that ahmaud arbery's mother and father will both be delivering a statement to the court. we don't know exactly who will be speaking on behalf of the defendants, if anyone. but we also know that these three defendants will have an opportunity to address the judge directly before they are sentenced. and as you said, jose, this is a life sentence. what the judge is determining here is whether or not any of these three defendants should be eligible for parole after 30 years. so they have to serve 30 years before that eligibility would happen, if they are determined to be eligible. so that is what he'll be deciding today. on the way into the courtroom this morning, arbery's mother did stop and make a statement, saying that she will be asking for the steepest sentence for the men convicted of her son's murder. >> ahmaud didn't get a chance to live, so with that being said, travis should not get a chance to live as a free man. travis should go to prison for life without parole. that being said, he should remain in prison forever. >> again, we are seeing crowds gathering here as we have throughout this trial. many of the same faces coming back to this courtroom here in brunswick, georgia, to see sort of what is going to be the final chapter on this particular case and what these three defendants will face, ultimately. jose? >> katie fang, explain how these sentences work. what's the possibility that any of these men will actually get a chance at parole? >> probably not likely, jose. the reason why is paced upon the findings of the evidence, it would militate towards the idea that all of these convicted defendants, that went to trial with a jury of their peers, that jury found them guilty. for the reality, as we know, for people like travis mcmichael, greg mcmichael and roddie brian, travis is 35 years old, but greg is 66. william is 52. so jose, 30 years even with parole is going to be effectively a life sentence for those older gentlemen. but it's not just closure today in the state case, though. there's a federal hate crimes trial that's coming up in just a few weeks on february 7th, 2022. 1,000 perspective jurors have received a 14-page jury questionnaire. as we know, it took two and a half weeks to seat a jury for the state charge, but now we actually have federal hate crimes, as well as attempted kidnapping charges, and that could be an additional sentence of life in prison for these three defendants if they're found guilty. >> so, it would, katie fang, add to whatever happens today? in other words, it would not be, oh, we'll add it into the 30 years, for example? >> you are correct. so for the state charges, there's the likelihood that they are going to be sentenced on the murder charges and they be sentenced concurrently, meaning for the same time of sentencing for those other charges for which they were convicted. but a federal trial is an entirely different beast and that means that they're looking at additional exposure during that -- as a result of those charges for that federal trial. >> katie fang and catie beck, thank you both for being with me this morning. i so appreciate your time. you know, the latest jobs report just in. the good news and there's some very good news, overall employment is down. the not-so-good news, the jump jobs add was far below expectations. we'll break down the numbers for you, next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." re watchin diaz-balart reports. ♪3, 4♪ ♪ ♪hey♪ ♪ ♪are you ready for me♪ ♪are you ready♪ ♪are you ready♪ 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 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jumped off the screen, opposite rod steiger in "the heat of the night." >> now, where did you earn it? >> i'm police officer. ♪ amen ♪ >> reporter: and in "the lilies of the field" as handy man homer smith. >> lots of luck, mother. i ain't building no. >> yeah, you. >> reporter: the role that won him the first-ever lead actor oscar for an african-american. >> it is a long journey to this moment. >> reporter: raised in the bahamas, he had moved to harlem as a teenager and endured the usual hard-scrabble climb to an actor's life. then came "no way out," the groundbreaking 1959 joseph mankiewicz film about racism. >> you watch yourself, black boy. watch how you talk to me. >> just shut up! >> reporter: poitier played a doctor in a performance so powerful the film was credited with ending the british colonial rule in the bahamas and in the intense 22-year-old perform, hollywood had its first african-american screen star. >> why you black -- >> go ahead and say it. >> reporter: a first he would later point out that was too long in coming. >> if we are 40 million americans, we certainly ought to have more than one movie star. >> maybe i'll get down on my black knees. >> reporter: but he wasn't just a movie star, he was the embodiment of a proud and dignified black point of view in the american conversation about race that accelerated along with the civil rights movement. in '67, he reached hollywood's mountaintop, its top-earning leading man as virginia tibs, righteous enough to slap in return the white politician who had slapped him. >> there was a time when i could have had you shot. >> reporter: and in "guess who's coming to dinner" as half of an interracial couple telling his disapproving father, times have changed. >> i'm your son. i love you. but you think of yourself as a colored man. i think of myself as a man. >> reporter: in the '70s, he moved from acting to directing, some critics said he played the same role too many times. >> let's get out of here! >> reporter: and as a director, he was a money maker with hits like "stir-crazy" and his buddy movies with bill cosby. >> our whole nation is on the brink of disaster. >> reporter: but his enduring image is as a man and actor of principle, no surprise he would play mandela. a man whose existence among us made racism less palatable, as he noted after receiving a lifetime achievement oscar. >> not because i brought so much, but because the time was right, circumstances were right. ♪ the time has come ♪ >> reporter: sidney poitier, the right man for his time. joe fryer, nbc news. ♪ with love ♪ >> and just a few weeks ago, "variety" reported that poitier's life story will soon be coming to broadway. we're keeping an eye on the white house this morning, where president biden is scheduled to speak later this hour on the state of the economy. we'll bring you those remarks when they begin. this comes after the labor department reported that employers added 199,000 new jobs last month. that's far below economist's expectations of roughly 400,000. the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%. the black unemployment rate actually rose to 7.1% from 6.5% in november while the hispanic unemployment rate fell to 5.9% in december. with me to talk about this is ron insana, cnbc senior analyst and commentary and an adviser to reuters, and yamiche alcindor, contributor for the pbs "newshour" as well as "washington week" on pbs and an msnbc contributor. thank you both for being with me. ron, break this all down for us, what does this mean? >> we had this problem last month. there are two surveys that the labor department employs to determine the unemployment rate and the number of jobs created. what we've seen lately is that the number of corporations participating in the survey has fallen off dramatically and those who did participate more than half don't turn in their numbers on time. so this payroll number that you're looking at is becoming less reliable. when they survey households, it was shown that over 600,000 jobs were added, resulting in that big drop in the unemployment rate. and we've also seen wages tick higher by .6% last month. on its face, the report looks weaker than anticipated, but in reality, it's probably stronger than anyone realizes at the moment. >> alarming that the black unemployment rate would go up to 1.7%. >> don't have an explanation for that and there's a lot of noise in the data. so it's hard on a month-to-month basis to look at, you know, hispanic and white unemployment dropping and african-american employment going higher. so i don't have an explanation for that. and again, there could be a lot of seasonal, statistical quirks in this. we don't know whether or not the omicron variant affected the numbers in any way, shape, or form. we're still waiting to figure that out. >> it's a relatively big jump from 6.1 to 7%. >> yamiche, this has no doubt to be of concern from the white house as it struggles to deal with this wave of covid infections, inflation, and so many other issues. >> that's right. and president biden is expected to come out today and really vow to continue to work on trying to make sure that this economy is robust and that people can find a job. the president has also been very clear that he really wants to try to make sure that he keeps inflation down, that he tries to figure out ways to impact the economy. problem is that historically, presidents, while they can have some impact on jobs number, inflation and other things that impact people's economic reality is historically not something that presidents can deal with. and specifically, i want to talk about african-american unemployment. that is a number that sometimes, even with his predecessors, has been a number of that has continued to be high, and higher, rather, than the overall unemployment number. and when you talk to civil rights activists, when you talk to people who study sort of the economic realities of black people, they point to this idea that there need to be strategies directly specifically to african-americans, because they face not only the economic problems, but issues with racism and hiring. so when we talk to people and they talk about the idea that there are all of these open jobs open, and when i looked at one statistic, it was something like 1.5 jobs for every person that's unemployed right now, there are a lot of hoops to go through. a lot of stereotypes about african-americans that they have to deal with. that is really the reality that a lot of people are dealing with. >> these numbers, it's always so important. that's why i think that we're always conscious of breaking these numbers down. because when you look at the big picture, you know, 3.7. ron, i mean 3.7 is essentially full unemployment, right? i think 4.1% is what's considered full unemployment. but 7.1% isn't full employment. >> and as yamiche just said, this has been a problem that's gone on for really for generations and through other administrations. and in addition to the factors she mentioned, omicron and all of the coronavirus variants have it people of color significantly harder than the rest of the population. so that could be figuring into it, as well. at least to a certain extent. the 3.9% unemployment rate is very, very close to full employment. there are 12 million open jobs, and as yamiche said, 1.5 jobs for every person out there. we're seeing a lot of start-ups, jose, among individuals who are launching their own businesses and so we're seeing a huge divergence between what we see in the household survey and what we see companies telling us. and neither one of those two factors will address the ethnic component of this. the federal reserve is trying to work on ways to create a more evenly distributed jobs picture, if you will. but they don't necessarily have the tools to do it, even though they're quite conscience of it. >> and yamiche, before i let you go, i want to kind of touch base with you on haiti, real quickly. over the holiday, haiti's prime minister survived an apparent assassination attempt, coming just months after the country's president was assassinated. why are we seeing all of this turmoil right now in haiti and it's so, so sad. >> it's so sad. and why we're seeing so much turmoil is such an historic question. there are so many layers to the problems that people are facing in haiti. but right now, when you talk to people on the ground as i have in haiti, who are trying to do this work and get this government stable and trying to help people that are trying to survive in their everyday lives, they say that these are the institutions in the country failing. this is really a sort of confluence of failures that have affected not only the political system in that, of course, the prime minister is having his life threatened, but also, there's this idea that the assassination of the president, the people who are responsible for that, it's unclear whether they'll ever be brought to justice. and of course, you have this gang problem that is continuing to be something that is threatening people's lives. i have so many people that i know who can't even go to the grocery store, who don't want to leave their homes or send their kids to school, because they may not kidnapped by all of these gangs. we, of course, saw the christian missionaies released, but that is just one group. there are so many other people that are living with the threat of kidnapping every day. if you think ain't, in some people's minds, if you can't keep the president of the united states or the president of haiti safe and you can't keep the prime minister safe, that, of course, hurts the population of people who are supposed to be driving the economy, who are supposed to be sending their kids to school. it is a confluence of problems and the failures go back so many generations. but really, in this particular moment, the feeling really is that the current government has just simply -- it's simply not able to deal with the realities of peoples lives, they're not able to provide services that people desperately need. and as a result, the civil society is really looking for a transitional government and looking for other influences to help haiti at this moment. but it's an incredibly sad situation. >> and you know, such an extraordinary people that have such a rich history, yayamiche, the first independent country from former slaves in the americas. you know, people that are extraordinary, and yet they're not able to have just the right to live in peace within their own boundaries. >> it's completely this case of people who have this national pride. of course, as you know, my family is haitian, and you grow up understanding the story that you were enslaved people that fought off your white appearmas who took over and claimed the country for your own. they don't want to see sort of a mass invasion. they don't want to see a bunch of people come and build up a sort of government that isn't made for the people of haiti, where the people of haiti are dictating their future. they definitely want to be involved in that. but we're also seeing a case where gangs are ruling the streets of haiti in a way that i have never seen, that people have never seen, with kidnappings up 200%. it's just hard to live. >> i haven't seen that other. and you know, there have been so many difficult moments in that country's history. and i'm talking about the terrible influence of invasions and forced government changes there by outsiders. but, anyway, this is a great conversation, yamiche alcindor. always a pleasure to see you. ron insana, thank you, as always, for your clarity. still ahead, a powerful winter storm is hitting the east coast and thousands of flights are canceled around the country. we'll get an update next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." u're watin diaz-balart reports. into your multivitamin? at new chapter, its' innovation, organic ingredients, and fermentation. fermentation? yes. formulated to help you body really truly absorb the natural goodness. new chapter. wellness, well done. 37 past the hour, this morning, millions of americans across the country are waking up to a winter storm that brought heavy snow and is now impacting the morning commute. so far, more than 2,300 flights have been canceled around the country. more than 800 canceled in new york city's major airports alone. joining me now is nbc news meteorologist bill karins. great to see you. what's the latest on the track of this storm. how much snow is expected? >> this storm has left its mark. nationaled a 6 inches yesterday. which is the most that i have had in three years. this storm, although it's moving quickly, has been impressive. there are some areas of connecticut that have now reported up to 13 inches of snow overnight. that much was not expected. this is what we call an overachiever storm. it's light and fluffy, but that adds up in a hurry. here's our snow total so far. this was not a big deal in the d.c./baltimore area. roads will be just fine the rest of today. same with philadelphia. about 5.5 inches in central park. but the roads and sun is out now, it's quickly improving. and the snow is still improving in areas from new haven to providence to boston. those are the areas that will have the most problems on the roads. this is not like the last storm where roads were crippled and people were stranded. this is a more typical northeast storm. it is in, it is out. you notice that the storm is over in hartford, over in new london. soon, it will be over in providence. boston, you only have an hour or two more and you can begin your cleanup. additional snowfall, not a lot left with this storm. mostly just our friends in extreme coastal locations of new england and all the way up through maine. it will be a pretty good storm in down east maine, where they're under blizzard warnings. so what's next? jose, you're down in the south, it's warm, it's lovely. the opposite of that is up in minneapolis. negative 16 degrees right now. there's not a lot of wind, so that makes it a little more bearable, but all of this cold air is heading to the east coast and the south. look at northern mississippi right now. tupelo has a windchill of 14. we'll call this one winter's 1-2 punch. first we're dealing with today's nor'easter and then we see that cold air starting to filter down. canada's opening up the door and that arctic air will head into the northeast. just wait until you see how cold it's going to get next week. people are going to be very unhappy. >> i'm fearing that maybe south florida can get down to like the upper 60s or something. we could just be really cold. >> you may have to break out a pair of pants if you can find one. >> it's going to be tough. bill karins, always good to see you. from the east coast, let's head over to the west coast, take a look at the headlines out west, as teachers and staff in some oakland schools are planning to stage a sick-out today, demanding an increase in safety protocols due to the most recent covid surge. nbc's gadi schwartz joins us now from los angeles with the latest. great seeing you, my friend. what are the teachers asking for today? >> reporter: hey, good morning, jose. yeah, the teachers participating in this sick-out are saying this is about their safety, the safety of their students, their families, and they have a list of specific safety measures they have in place. first, they want to go back to remote learning for two weeks while this omicron surge passes, they want mandatory weekly covid testing, they want tables and tents outside so students can eat. they want increased ventilation in large spaces like cafeterias, auditoriums, and they want those k-95 masks or n-95 masks for every single student and staff member, as well as extended covid sick leave with up to ten additional days. they're also taking a huge issue with plans to cut school funding by $40 million. and they're planning to drive a caravan to the district offices today. already, at least one principal at a high school says -- is telling parents that they may not want to send their kids to class today because of this sick-out. meanwhile, the district has said that the schools are among the safest places for schools to be right now, because most of the district is vaccinated and that classrooms already have powerful air filters and testing is already available to students and staff. but jose, the latest numbers show that 920 students and staff tested positive before returning to school on monday and 269 teachers were absent at the beginning of this week. >> gadi schwartz in los angeles, thank you, my friend. up next, the legal fight between the biden administration and migrant families separated under trump. we'll talk to a reporter who has been covering it all, next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." diaz-balart reports. exploring the heart of historic europe with viking, 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migrant families, whose children were separated from them by the trump administration. let's talk to someone who has been covering this story closely. maria skety, an immigration reporter for "the washington post." the president biden attempted to end the remain in mexico policy before the federal court ordered the white house to restart it. but now the biden administration who has reinstituted it is expanding it? >> right. i mean, they were ordered by a judge to do that. so they are returning to remain in mexico. so they're opening to get rid of it, but that's something that has resumed. >> according to an attorney who's been tracking this, and we're talking about, for example, haiti, more than 15,000 haitians have been expelled from the united states. it comes as the state department's website warns americans not to travel to haiti. what is the policy as far as this administration for people who are coming and trying to ask for asylum from haiti? >> well, i mean, people who are in danger are supposed to be able to make that case, to some degree. but, you know, they have been expelling people to country the united states government considers dangerous. so that has been continuing to occur. >> yeah, and the fact is that they've been deporting them or sending them back to haiti, they're sending them back to cuba. these are places where it's not an easy life for a number of things, not just the economy, but politically. and yet, is there any clarity on what the position is, for example, with haitians? >> well, i mean, this is something that the biden administration has been continuing -- has been evolving under the biden administration, but people have been continuing to, as i mentioned, expel people to haiti, expel people to other countries. the biden administration has also taken some steps or urged mexico to take some steps to limit migration from other parts of the world. you've seen visa restrictions put into place, and that has led to the decline of people coming to the border. so -- >> yeah, and maria -- >> -- and this is continuing to happen. >> very quickly, the situation with families separated by the trump administration, there's been some lawsuit. what's the status on that? >> well, those cases are beginning to resume this week. i mean, and, you know, have been, not just this week, but in the past -- in the late -- last year. and this is going to be a big legal fight. this is going to put the spotlight back on the migrants in those days in 2018, particularly, when thousands of children were taken from their parents, ostensibly to prosecute the parents for the crime of crossing the border illegally, but many of these parents were never actually prosecuted and the u.s. government took their children anyway. so the government has said this week in court that they felt negotiations reached an impasse. and that they would still like to continue talking, but that's not possible right now. so both sides are -- across the country, these lawsuits are heading back to court. >> marissa, thank you so much for being with me. appreciate your time. now back to the u.s. supreme court where the justices continue to hear oral arguments in the biden administration's challenging the vaccine requirements. back with us now is neal katyal who's been monitoring it all. >> reporter: we've only heard so far jose from one challenger, scott keller, who's representing the independent businesses. right now the ohio solicitor general, ben flowers is up and starting his argument. and i would say that the challengers had a lot of hostility. basically with the judges, what at least four of them were saying was, look, covid is an unprecedented threat. why can't the government do this? we heard this from the chief justice, from breyer, justice sotomayor, and from justice kagan. that's only four. the question is, are there five votes, which is what biden needs to uphold the vaccine mandate. at this point in the argument, it's not clear one way or the other. several justice have said quiet or asking questions that don't really reveal their thinking. but i would say the one sign right now that i would point to, shay, is that normally when a challenger to a rule is kind of floundering a bit in court, when this rule was, he was an excellent lawyer, just doesn't have a particularly strong case, normally you have justices come to his defense or her defense. and we didn't have much. we only have justice barrett so far with a half-throated defense of the challenger's position. and really strong opposition from justices kagan and the chief justice, basically saying, who are we as courts to decide this massive thing? so at this point in the argument, i would say the biden focus should folks should feel pretty good, but the biden lawyer hasn't stood up and argued yet. that will start in about ten minutes. >> thank you for keeping us informed on that. appreciate it. we'll take a short break and be right back. you're watching "jose 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they were serious. he was a serious actor. i used to tell him, he was our hero. the roles he played, i grew up in the 60s and 70s. you must remember, he was playing roles that blacks were not playing at that time. detective and standing up against sub ro grags. "guess who's coming to dinner", the first, if not the first movie about interracial marriage. "mr. tibbs". he was to hollywood what jackie robinson was to baseball. the first black to win an oscar for acting. i think that this country, this world, and certainly the world of cinema could never pay the debt that is owed to sydney poitier. those who grew up in his shadow aspired to be more because he set an example that made us straighten our backs and walk more erect because we saw ourselves in him, a reflection of what excellence could look like and be like. >> you know, i'm glad you point this out. you know, with time one, i guess, could forget just how many barriers he broke. >> very easy to forget what you see all kinds of black artists today. but when sydney poitier did it, we had just come out of the world of black face, and of slap happy kind of acting. and sydney poitier was one of the first one that blacks were being projected seriously on a broad level. they did it on the big stage with big cinema companies, and broadened it so no one could miss it. and then at the same time, stayed committed to the cause. sydney poitier was at the march of washington. he would support causes, but he was very serious. and the times that i would meet him and engage in some kind of conversation, he would always lead with the oppressive -- impression this was a very pensive, thought-out man that took himself seriously and took what he did seriously. but he changed his nation. he literally changed the culture of what we looked at blacks in cinema to be. >> reverend, thank you for being with me this morning. really important. appreciate it. >> thank you. that wraps up this hour for me. i'll see you tomorrow night on nbc news saturday. thank you for the privilege of your time. craig melvin picks up with more news after a quick break. bloating, gas or abdominal discomfort? 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. switching wireless carriers is easy with xfinity. just lean on our helpful switch squad to help you save with xfinity mobile. they can help break up with your current carrier for you and transfer your info to your new phone. giving you a fast and easy experience that can save you hundreds a year on your wireless bill. visit your nearest xfinity store and see how the switch squad can help you switch and save. get $200 off a new eligible 5g phone when you switch to xfinity mobile. talk with our helpful switch squad at your local xfinity store today. at fidelity, your dedicated advisor will work with you on a comprehensive wealth plan across your full financial picture. a plan with tax-smart investing strategies designed to help you keep more of what you earn. this is the planning effect. hi susan! honey? designed yeah?lp you keep more of what you earn. i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad... try this robitussin honey. the real honey you love... plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? now get powerful relief with robitussin elderberry. a good friday morning to you. craig melvin here. we're closing on a busy week. the word of the hour is jobs. the december jobs report is out. it is once again lower than experts predicted. the united states adding some 190,000 jobs last night. economists were expecting closer to 422,000. however, unemployment