that party is heading. and, of course, we're following new concerning developments with this pandemic. we've already blown past last winter's hospitalization peak. the federal government is deploying military personnel to help strained hospitals. how much worse can it get? we'll break it down. i'll ask one michigan's doctor whose hospital is getting help from the military why he says right now is the worst point in the pandemic he has seen. we're going to start this morning there. antonia hilton and gabe gutierrez and jake ward and dr. ungerlighter. an internal medicine physician in california pacific medical center. doctor, we'll come to you in a moment. antonia, let me start with you. you're at a coney island hospital in brooklyn. it's a hospital getting help from the military. we're talking doctors, nurses, more. how are they going to use those things to help the patients? >> well, craig, they are all part of a surge team from the military. and like you said they are essentially going to be joining the staff of this hospital and five others in various states. and as they are fighting the omicron surge -- and straining their er system, but also looking at staff who have been getting sick themselves or who have other pandemic-related stresses at home and are unable to come to work. these teams are coming in and going to be filling very critical gaps. >> all right. it sounds like we're having a technical issue this on cony island with antonia. the map, you can see federal medical teams that are going to be sent to overwhelmed hospitals around the country. doctor, how can it be two years in the pandemic, the administration having to send medical personnel to hospitals across six states now? >> craig, hospitals in new york and many other places are seeing hospitalizations at levels last seen in the early really dark days of this pandemic. so many hospitals are experiencing now i think what was predicted when omicron took off in december, and that's massive numbers of patients needing care and severe staffing shortages. you know, when you show up to the e rrks with a heart attack, a car accident, you can only receive high quality medical care if there's enough hands to go around. i know more help will come fast enough to make a difference. with new cases and positivity rates dropping slightly and the rate of growth and hospitalizations slowing down in places like new york city and boston, i'm actually cautiously optimistic that we could be turning the corner on the omicron surge. but it's too early to say for sure. >> the supreme court on thursday blocked the biden administration's sweeping vaccine mandate for larger businesses. but it did keep the administration's mandate for health care workers to get the shot. help us understand what that decision all means. >> well, as you know, this really has become a flash point in the country. the battle over vaccine mandates and the testing requirements. the u.s. supreme court weighing in and blocking the biden administration's vaccine mandate and testing requirements for companies over 100 workers. and that is key. i spoke to one of them yesterday. they got some initial reaction to this. and you said he was glad to do it, this business owner in florida. he expected about a third of his work force would have resigned if they were required to get the vaccine. he said, and he called the biden administration's push, government overreach, essentially. but yes, as you mentioned, craig, the health care mandate or the mandate for health care workers from medical facilities that take medicare and medicaid payments, that was left intact and will continue to be enforced. this morning the u.s. labor secretary was here on msnbc with his reaction to the supreme court blocking that vaccine mandate. take a listen. >> you know, certainly, it's disappointing what the supreme court did yesterday. we put a lot of effort into this. we had medical experts who agreed with us. we have legal experts who agree with us, and so it is disappointing that the court chose not to defend or support people from covid-19. what's next is we're going to work with businesses and encourage businesses to continue down this path. >> and that is a key point. the administration is now shifting its push to really working with businesses, and that's a key point. what this really means is not that larger businesses can't impose their own vaccine mandates. only that the federal government can force them to do it. and already there has been high profile pushback from several large businesses including nike and tyson foods say they're going to keep moving forward with their vaccine mandate. same thing with jpmorganchase for employees returning to the office, and also united airlines said it will also move forward with the vaccine mandate that it imposed. and it says, united says since it imposed the vaccine mandate, rather before it, they were hearing that staff members were at least one staff member per week was dying of covid. since the vaccine mandate went into effect, the company says the number has dropped to zero. >> all right. jake, you are in richmond, california, as i understand it, outside the head quarters of mountain hardware. one of the many businesses trying to make sense of these vaccine rules and changes. how is this affecting them? how is this affecting other businesses there? >> well, craig, this place kpemly if is the extraordinary complications businesses across the country now face in the absence of a vaccine mandate. this building has both a corporate head quarters for mountain hardware and outdoor outfitter as well as retail operations. the corporate employees have to be vaccinated under the rules established by their employer, but the retail associates do not. although they are encouraged and paid for the time it takes them to get vaccinated, all of that is there. but just in this one building you have this mismash of regulations and expectations. and when you talk to the ceo of colombia sportswear which owns this company about how incredibly complicated it is to navigate the local and state regulations plus some companies are enforcing a mandate and some are not, you can hear the frustration. typically he said he'd want the federal government out of his business, but in this case he would have welcomed it. have a listen. >> we are big proponents of the federal government giving a stand and making a level field so all companies can provide the level of security and safety to their employees and their customers that the cdc suggestions is the right approach. >> and craig, it might have been the case that if the weight of covid fell on all employees and all businesses equally, that might be one thing. but experts we've been speaking with point out that people herbing less than $25,000 a year at a company are fou timesore likely to get covid, and four times more likely to be out of work for at least a week. and typically unpaid during this time if they are sick as compared to someone making over $100,000. a vaccine mandate is hugely helpful, they say on a federal level to try and level that playing field, make it a much less dangerous environment for all people, and this is an important one, craig. it turns out when people have -- feel a social pressure not to get vaccinated for some reason within their social group, a vaccine mandate is very often the excuse they need to do it. the social cover they need to do it. all of that was part of the vaccine mandate, and that is why experts are worried now about the mismash of regulations that are now going to complicate things for businesses across america. >> all right. jake ward there in richmond, california. doctor, the supreme court did allow a mandate for health care workers to get the vaccine to remain in place. how do you think this is going to impact the hospitals, health care workers, especially as, again, we see the record numbers of covid hospitalizations right now? >> well, i first have to say to this ruling, it's devastating. i think we'll prove it to be catastrophic for america. we know the vaccines are safe and effective. and requiring vaccination not just for health care workers but in all places of work is essential to lowering the risk to workers, to keeping them safe and reducing the risk of illness for all of us. i think this country has been plagued with disinformation and this is killing people. vaccine mandates work. and this supreme court ruling will come lead to more overwhelmed health care systems. more suffering. and sadly, more loss of life. >> doctor, i talked to the vice president about the administration's response to this most recent surge, the difficulty in finding a test, the confusing isolation and mask guidance from the cdc and more. they're going to be sending tests to americans by the end of the month, and they're going to announce a plan for free masks for every american soon. i want to play something that the senior adviser for covid response said and get your take on the other side. >> i think they're being more aggressive and more communicative. but it's never going to be enough when you're in the middle of a crisis to get everything done. it's a matter of shoving the sandbags by the side of the river until you stopped it. >> i mean, doctor, there is a huge swath of americans still who have in the gotten the shot and aren't going to get the shot. where does that leave us? >> gosh, where to start. over the last month i can speak to the fact that the testing shortage has been a huge problem. certainly our continued push for vaccines is a huge problem. it's clear that we were caught on our heels as a country not ready for a newly infectious variant to emerge. i think if this pandemic has taught us anything, it's that we need to be prepared for curveballs to be thrown at us, and i know that we're all so tired of yet. and yet, we do have so many tools now. we know so much more about this virus than we did in 2020. we need to be prepared, be able to deploy resources quickly, and make essential public health tools like n95 tests and testing free and available to everyone, and not just for people who can afford it. >> doctor, a big thanks to you. gabe and jake for us in california. big thanks to you as well. enjoy your weekends if you can. meanwhile, we are following some breaking news out of ukraine. ukrainian officials are saying that the country's government has been hit by a massive cyber attack. that attack struck around 17 government websites. they displayed a message that said in part, quote, be afraid and expect the worst. ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson says it's too early to say who could be behind the attack, but at this point all eyes are on russia. as diplomatic talks between russia, ukraine, the united states and nato wrapped up thursday with no concrete resolution. a few hours ago it was announced that nato and ukraine will sign an agreement on enhanced cyber cooperation in the wake of this attack. so again, some breaking news out of ukraine on this friday. back here, some of president biden's biggest priorities are going nowhere in the senate. so what kind of action could he take on his own? we've got a look at his new plan on police reform. plus a presidential election without any debates? why the 2024 race could look a lot different. in the last few hours the founder of the far right militia group, the oath keepers is going to be in federal court. the new details about his messages that talked about a civil war before the attack on the capitol. attack on attack on the capitol. yes to clean and fresh ingredients! and yes to living life to the flavor-fullest. panera. live your yes. now $1 delivery. people everywhere living h type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to the possibility of lower a1c with rybelsus®. you may pay as little as $10 for up to a 3-month prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ real cowboys get customized car insurance with liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. -hey tex, -wooo. can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ this morning nbc news has learned president biden is taking new steps to revive the stalled issue of police reform. three people familiar with the president's plans tell nbc news he's going to sign new executive actions and that it could happen as early as this month. nbc's josh letterman is covering the white house on this friday. josh, talks to pass the george floyd justice and policing act stopped in september. what do we know about the new executive actions the president is going to sign? >> they could come this month. possibly time to coincide with the start of black history month next month in february. and while we don't know exactly what president biden is considering that would go beyond some of the administrative actions, he's already taken on show colds, for example, on no knock warrants. we know that the biden administration is really looking for places that they can notch wins on things that have been central to president biden's agenda. and what he campaigned on. because so many of the big legislative pushes, build back better, voting rights, are stalled in congress along as you pointed out with the policing reform bill that last year lost momentum. now, there's some talk on the hill about trying to bring that back as well. in the meantime, as we get into this election year, the biden administration wants to show that wherever they can take action on their own to move these issues forward, they are going to do so. congress be darned. and that's why you see president biden seeking now to figure out what he can do at the last minute to try to put wins on the board when it comes to issues that are black voters who were critical to his election and have been frustrated by the lack of action on voting rights. >> all of this happen agent the white house as the timeline for the senate showdown over voting rights appears to be changing as well. >> reporter: that's right. yeah. absolutely. well, and we know that senator manchin and sinema were at the white house for a short meeting yesterday in the wake of the -- both of them really making clear that they have not changed their position on getting rid of the filibuster when it km comes to changing the rules to actually pass voting rights legislation. so they were at the white house for a little more than an hour. the white house calling that a respectful and candid exchange of views. but not one that from any outside appearance resulted in any change or position from any of them. we heard today from vice president kamala harris about the latest on the voting rights push. here's what she had to say. >> well, we keep fighting. we are committed to seeing this through. however long it takes and whatever it takes. and so today, for example, i will be continuing with extensive meetings and discussions about how we can see this through. >> so we're going to keep fighting. we're going to keep trying on this. that's the consistent message that we're hearing from officials within the white house about their approach going forward. they're not at this point able to articulate what the path forward is for this or how they are going to change the minds of these two senators who for right now are still standing inbetween getting that voting rights legislation passed. >> i want to bring in leigh ann caldwell for a moment here, josh. leigh ann, of course, covers capitol hill for us. leigh ann, senate majority leader chuck schumer was expected to hold this vote on voting rights and the filibuster rule. he was expected to hold it on or before monday. that timing has changed as we understand it. why? >> it has changed, craig. democrats just can't catch a break at this point. the reason is because they need every single democratic senator here and present in order to even have any sort of chance at even debating this voting rights legislation. and one of their senators, senator brian shots of hawaii has come down with covid. he is asymptomatic, but he can't be here until monday. and so this has pushed the timeline for senator schumer. they were supposed to be -- have a recess next week. the senate was supposed to be out of session. senator schumer cancelled that recess. they will be here voting on voting rights legislation and once republicans block it, they could very well take up an attempt to change the senate rules, but we know how that's going to end since senator sinema and manchin have said they won't play. >> and to that point, josh, we know that the senators met with the president at the white house. what more do we know about what came out of that meeting? >> not a lot, really. we know that they were at the white house shortly after the president had a chance to actually meet with the democratic senators. and we saw just before that those comments from sinema making clear that she is still opposed to changing the senate rules. and so this meeting between the senators and the president last night assign they are still talking. they are not walking away from the effort entirely. there's a degree of good faith between the white house and the democratic senators. but at this point in time, we are not seeing any signs of movement or any signs there could be a resolution that could actually change the situation and where this could pass. >> roughly an hour from now as we understand it, president biden is going to be making an announcement about a new bridge funding program as part of the infrastructure law. what do we expect to hear from the president? >> well, this is part of the biden administration's efforts to really tout the wins they got from that bipartisan infrastructure law. and to show americans exactly where that money is going to be going. and so the administration today will be talking about $27 billion from that infrastructure law that will go to fix the crumbling bridges across the country in all 50 states as well as in puerto rico. tribal governments also getting that money. we've seen the white house previously highlighting some of the ways this bipartisan infrastructure law is going to help put those electric vehicle charging stations on the road. a deal with upgrading crumbling water infrastructure and led pipes. today the focus on bread and butter infrastructure, bridges, the white house trying to show that even though they are stalled in some of the other key priorities like voting rights and build back better, that they have gotten major wins that they can run on and present to the american people as we get closer to the midterms in november. >> josh at the white house and leigh ann caldwell on capitol hill. enjoy the weekend. this weekend jonathan capehart is hosting a special edition of the sunday show. he has special guests. a former adviser to martin luther king junior. that's only on msnbc. could presidential debates like this one, could those be a thing of the past? why the republican party is threatening to block candidates from participating in the official debates. and what it would mean for future campaigns. first, though, this weekend a major winter storm is poised to dump heavy snow and rain stretching southeast to the upper midwest. crews in north carolina not wasting any time. they've been preparing for the snow for days. parts of that state could also see freezing rain. but as you can see in this video on thursday from winston salem, it's already started in some spots. 51 million people are under either a winter storm warning, watch, or advisory this weekend. this morning on "today," al roker warned the system could drop as much as a foot of snow from the dakotas to missouri. o i so if there's a better treatment than warfarin i'll go after that. eliquis. eliquis reduces stroke risk better than warfarin and has less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis has both. don't stop taking eliquis without talking to your doctor as this may increase your risk of stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking, you may bruise more easily or take longer for bleeding to stop. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, or unusual bruising. it may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor about eliquis. subway® has so much new it didn't fit in our last ad. like the new app with customization, curbside pickup and delivery. there's so much new, we don't even have time to show you who's holding this phone. bet you don't treat brady this way. come on, man! you clearly haven't seen the other ads. it's the eat fresh refresh™ at subway®. as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. you clearly haven't seen the other ads. 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 ♪ i had no idea how much i wamy case was worth. c call the barnes firm to find out what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ when a truck hit my car, ♪the insurance companyed, wasn't fair. eight million ♪ i didid't t kn whahatmy c caswa, so i called the barnes firm. i'm rich barnes. it's hard for people to k how much their accident case is worth.h barnes. t ouour juryry aorneneys hehelpou the commission on presidential debates is now defending the role in presidential elections after the republican national committee threatened to bar candidates from future debates. the commission said in a statement that its 2024 plans, quote, will be based on fairness, neutrality, and a firm commitment to help the american public learn about the candidates and the issues. that statement came after the rnc sent a letter informing the commission of its proposed rule change. i'm joined by rick tyler, political analyst, republican strategist, co-founder of foundry strategy. in the letter the rnc is making demands of the commission. they want the commission to hold he's one debate before early voting starts. create term limits for board members. ban partisan activity by officials and make the moderator selection process transparent. what does the rnc have to gain by going after the debates? why focus on these specific reforms? >> i think it's specifically a backstop for not participating in the debates. an interesting fact is the first presidential debate was not between richard nixon and john f. kennedy in 1960 as most people think. the most televised presidential debate was in 1956. it was between a senator of maine and eleanor roosevelt representing a governor. there's a little party fact you can take. by the way, margaret must have won that debate was president eisenhower went onto serve four more years. and eleanor roosevelt refused to shake her hand at the end of the debate. contention has been going on for a long time. the debate commission is a thoughtful process. what you do is work with them. and in particular, in a time when republicans seem to be thwarting people's effort to exercise their free right to vote, now they want to take away the principal format in which most americans, most eyeballs will get to see unfiltered by the media, the actual candidates who are running for office. and on stage with their own words. and while i might agree some of the issues as i hear them as asked of candidates tend or the left leaning, i have no doubt in my mind that democrats feel as i do, except for the opposite reason. and by the way, frank who has been on the committee for a long time was the rnc chairman during the reagan administration. and kenneth wallah, he represents the left leaning. his work in democracy has been unparalleled. he has down outstanding work in former soviet countries. they gave him the highest award, the medal of honor for working on democracy. this is serious commission. and the rnc is not serious and want to play games, but in the end, it won't matter. because debate commission doesn't deal with parties. it deals with individual candidates. and they will negotiate "candidates, and i suspect because the greatest advantage of any presidential candidate is to do a debate against your opponent, in front of nationwide tv. they will both agree to do the debates. >> while i have you, i want to ask you about another issue that your party seems to be dealing with, an issue that you'll probably likely have to deal with at least through 2024. this was senator lindsey graham talking about senator minority leader mitch mcconnell on another network. here's what he said. >> if you want to be a republican leader in the house or the senate, you have to have a working relationship with president donald trump. i'm not going to vote for anybody for leader of the senate as a republican unless they can prove to me that they can advocate an american first agenda and have a working relationship with president trump. >> there you have it, rick. the former president, he's made husband thoughts about mcconnell clear in the past. he's called him a, quote, loser, a broken old crow. that's a direct quote from the former president. what do you make of lindsey graham's comments there? >> that was lindsey graham yesterday, in january of 2022. look what he said on january 6th of 2021. he said, red faced, but today all i can say is count me out. enough is enough. he was talking about the president at the time. which lindsey graham are we talking to? i don't put a lot of stock in what lindsey graham says because it will change tomorrow. >> let's talk about perhaps this stain, this riff between the two of them. could this mcconnell versus trump tiff put a strain on gop candidates in the midterms? are candidates going to have to walk a bit of a tight rope? >> it is. and it has. we'll see who plays it right. glen i don't thinken ran for governor in virginia and seemed to walk the tight rope very well. i was heartened to see senator ron's recently reassert his assertion that donald trump lost the election in 2020. and hopefully the senators and members of the republican party will see sense and see that donald trump who is by the way criticizing the leading candidate right now who would be running in the next -- in 2024 which is the governor from florida, governor desantis. he's criticizing him because the narcissist couldn't believe someone besides him might be the potential head of the party. he'll wreck the party in order to make that happen. >> let me ask you about kevin mccarthy refusing to cooperate with the january 6th committee. he previously said he would be willing to talk about a phone conversation that he had with president trump while the capitol was under attack. what sort of calculation is mccarthy making here to not participate? >> well, look, i agree with some of what kevin says. i think this committee -- there's no question this committee has an inherent conflict of interest. there's power at stake. but this is of his own making. he had an opportunity, a moment shortly after january 6th, to create an independent commission that would look at the january 6th investigation. he refused to cooperate with that. and then speaker pelosi put together this current commission, and he put up frankly clown members. and so now there's only two representatives, to republicans on it. and it is a partisan -- it is a partisan commission, and it does have political objectives. i have no question about that. but it is really mccarthy's own making why we have this commission at all. >> rick tyler, we'll leave it there. enjoy your weekend, sir. >> thank you. >> thank you for your time on this friday. quote, we are not getting through this without a civil war. prosecutors say this man, the leader of the far right militia group the oath keepers sent that message just days after the 2020 election. now, well, now that guy faces charges over planning the january 6th attack. what to expect when he's in court later today. plus this michigan hospital to be so overwhelmed by covid cases it had to bring on a team of military personnel to help them out. i'll talk to one doctor there about why they have gotten to a breaking point. n to a n to a breaking pointve a wealth plan that covers everything that's important to you. this is what it's like to have a dedicated fidelity advisor looking at your full financial picture. making sure you have the right balance of risk and reward. and helping you plan for future generations. this is "the planning effect" from fidelity. ♪ ♪making your way in the world today♪ ♪takes everything you've got♪ ♪ ♪taking a break from all your worries ♪ ♪sure would help a lot ♪ ♪wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go ♪ ♪where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ ♪and they're always glad you came ♪ narrator: on a faraway beach, the generation called "our greatest" saved the world from tyranny. in an office we know as "oval," a new-generation president faced down an imminent threat of nuclear war. on a bridge in selma, alabama, the preacher of his time marched us straight to passing voting rights for every american. at a gate in west berlin, a late-generation american president demanded an enemy superpower tear down a wall and liberate a continent. american generations answering the call of their time with american ideals. freedom. liberty. justice. for today's generation of leaders, the call has come again to protect our freedom to vote, to fortify our democracy by passing the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights act because america - john lewis: we are not going back, we are going forward. this afternoon the leader of the far right militia group, the oath keepers, will appear in court to face the most serious charges stemming from the january 6th insurrection. seditious conspiracy. according to the department of justice, stewart rhodes and two other defendants are accused of conspireing in a number of way, including yrks quote, organizing into teams that were prepared and willing to use force and to transport firearms and ammunition into washington d.c. on wednesday rhodes told a digital radio host that he did nothing wrong. >> i don't do illegal activities. i always stay on this side of the line. i know where the lines are. and it drives them crazy. >> our justice correspondent pete williams has been following this one. rhodes' attorney said they were discussing an appearance before the january 6th committee before his arrest on thursday. what do the charges signal about the doj's investigation? >> well, i think they signal two things. the main thing that we learn in these new indictments comes from encrypted text messages he was sending to his followers. before the government that has quoted from them. they've quoted from things he's made publicly or postings he made on publicly visible websites. but not encrypted to his followers. that's the backbone to indictment. it means the government is able to use more court process to get them and it's possible we don't know for sure that the fact that two oath keepers who were charged in an early conspiracy case have since pleaded guilty. that may be another door the government has been able to walk through to get more information about it. but the other thing it signals is the government to continuing to look at everybody who had any role in the january 6th capitol riot. it still doesn't answer the question, craig, of whether there was an overarching plan to attack the capitol what was well thought out before january 6th. for the purposes of this indictment, the government is merely saying that the oath keepers conspired to come to washington and carry out violence in order to try to stop joe biden from being elected. that's what the four corners of this indictment say. i should add that stewart rhodes' lawyer is saying he thinks the facts in the indictment don't back up the charge. >> pete williams for us on this friday. enjoy your weekend, pete. thank you, sir. >> you too. thank you. >> have you ever wondered how fbi agents handle explosive threats? well, nbc news has new exclusive access, and an up close look at the bureau's explosives training. the training range, specifically, at quantico. it comes at a critical moment where officials are facing a new threat. a skyrocketing rise in homemade bombs. nbc has more from the fbi's training range. >> reporter: this is what a homemade bomb can do. the device that destroyed parts of downtown nashville during christmas of 2020 was built using materials purchased at retail authorities. authorities acknowledged they missed warning signs that could have stopped the bomber. the fbi and the department of homeland security are teaming up, asking for help to prevent the next one. operation flash point is helping merchants flag purchases of fertilizer and drain cleaner. officials say the threat from homemade bombs is skyrocketing. there were more than 400 bombing incidents in 2020. up 71% from the year before. >> certainly in my professional career, i think this is the highest it's been. >> reporter: extremists sharing bomb-making instructions online. here at the explosive training range, law enforcement works to stay ahead of the growing threat from homemade bombs. they're simple to make but can be just as destructive as military weapons. >> a bomb threat is there. it's not going away. it's big. >> reporter: this agent works for the fbi's weapons of mass instruction direction. >> every one of these bombings, there were traces and ways they went about to get the materials. they have to get the materials in order to make a bomb. >> reporter: authorities say retailers have the best opportunity to spot potential bombers? >> we want to pay attention to people buying the fertilizer. >> reporter: right now we have about 250,000 stores nationwide that sell products containing these explosive precursor chemicals, and we need them to report when they see suspicious behaviors around this. >> reporter: authorities are worried they won't always be so lucky that nobody is killed in a bombing. >> that was troubling. the california governor has denied parole for the man who killed robert f. kennedy. it's the 16th team that the man has sought parole for the 1968 assassination. a two-person panel found him suitable for parole back in august. the governor explaining his decision in an l.a. times op ed saying in part, he remains a potent symbol of political violence. he maintains he does not remember shooting kennedy in l.a.'s ambassador hotel as he celebrated his victory in the california presidential primary. it's milder than earlier strains. people don't get as sick as they did with delta. so what's the big deal? we've been hearing a lot of those arguments about the omicron variant, but the number of cases are pushing hospitals to the absolute brink. i'm going to talk to a michigan doctor who says things are the worst they have ever been, next. r t the bouquet, so he's checking in on that ring fund. that photographer? 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capsule pharmacy can hand deliver your medications - today - for free. go to capsule.com. we handle your insurance. all you have to do is schedule delivery. go to capsule.com to get started in 15 seconds today. we have seen over the last six weeks a dramatic uptick in the number of patients with covid i objectfection. six weeks ago i had about 20 patients in the hospital with covid. today i have 180. >> wow. >> this is resulted in a dramatic challenge for us. and our staff are getting sick. 5% of our staff are out. about 300 staff members who have some kind of an illness, often covid or covid-like illness. so it's put enormous stress on the organization. >> what we just heard there from that doctor in rhode island is not just happening in rhode island. so many states are feeling the strain of this omicron surge. right now, health officials in michigan are warning when had it comes to this wave of omicron infections, the worst is yet to come. covid cases in michigan is jumped by 108% in 14 days and that's sparking a crisis in hospitals all over michigan. bah mont health system warns health care is at the a breaking point. dr. jeffrey who are works there, put it pretty plainly. we are really at a point where it's the worst it's ever been. that doctor, chief of critical services a at bah beaumont health system joins me. doctor, let's start there. you call this the worst it's ever been when w this pandemic for you. hue bad is that? and what makes this moment so different of? >> thank you for having me it's hard to believe this is our third january with covid. and the difference this time is we have about 800 patients in our health system with covid, which is less than we had in april of 2020. but the issue now is with so many of our employees out, over 600 employees out, we have trouble caring for the community like we normally do. we just can't provide the care for the entire community as we are expected to. >> so how are you doing it? what are the work arounds that you have had to employ? >> first of all, we have been lucky that the department of defense hasiven u a team of 20 health care providers that have helped us. but really the difficult decisions are there are some things we can't do anymore. there's some elective surgeries we can't do. some testing and imaging, but the hardest part we can't do is when a small community hospital has a major trauma or critically ill patient, we can't accept that patient. so we have to focus on how do we take care of the covid patients in the hospital and all the patients that come into our emergency rooms. >> we have heard this new strain of omicron. it's not as bad as delta was. in terms of hospitalizations and death, is that what you're seeing? >> it's not as bad if you're vaccinated and boosted. if you're not vaccinate asked you get omicron, you could still die. and i think people have to realize that. this is still covid. this is not just like the flu we see every year. if anyone took a walk through our hospital you'd see what it's doing to our health system. >> mont health system has seen hundreds of employees call out because of the virus. and youe streeting unvaccinated folk who is have could have gotten the dose of protection. what have coworkers told you about the internal struggle and the emotional toll from all of this? >> well, it's not just my coworkers. it's everybody that works in the hospital and the community. we feel a little get feeted sometimes because when with we opened up our vaccine clinic a year ago and the lines were out the door, we thought we had had this licked. but then when we saw the third wave in april, the forty wave now and omicron on top of it, it's depressing, but at the end of the day, we have a job to do. we know what we need to do and we do it well. it gets depressing. i think that's one of the messages we send out to our employees. we proactively stopped a lot of elective procedures about ten days ago because we saw this coming. we knew what happened in south africa and the northeast. so we cut back on electives so we can show our staff we know we're in something bad, but let's hold off on what we can to concentrate on the really sick patients. >> dr. jeffrey, we appreciate you. we appreciate all those health care workers not just in michigan, bull all over the country who continue to bear the brunt of this in so many ways. thank you. try to enjoy the weekend if you can, sir. that's going to do it for me this hour. stay positive. test negative. have a great weekend. ann tree ya mitchell reports starts next. reports 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. moving is a handful. no kidding! fortunately, xfinity makes moving easy. easy? 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