John but first, President Bidens sweeping vaccine and mask mandates and the mounting legal challenges against them. Im john roberts in washington. Sandra, good to be spending a friday afternoon with you. Sandra we made it, happy friday to you, john. Sandra smith in new york. Supreme Court Hearing a twofold argument. At issue, whether the federal government can force Large Private Companies to either fully vaccinate their workers or subject their staff to weekly tests and mask wearing on the job. Justices will look at whether Healthcare Workers at federally funded facilities must be vaccinated. A decision could come in days and could effect nearly 100 million americans. John more on that. Owner of a louisiana Grocery Store chain part of the coalition challenging the private business mandate, sandra. Sandra first to david is outside the Supreme Court to begin the hour. How are the justices leaning . At this point it appears to be a mixed bag. A little bit too early to tell, though, there
We begin this hour with the growing concern over the rapid spread of the Omicron Variant in the United States. Its driving daily covid infections to highs not seen since last january. And as cases spread, so does the demand for tests. Americans are facing a shortage of athome kits. And this is the scene at Testing Sites across the country. Long lines with people often having to wait hours to get tested. The white house is facing increased criticism over its handling of covid testing. Heres what Top Health Expert dr. Anthony fauci had to say. We should be using testing much more extensively than we have, even in a situation where you have people who are vaccinated or boosted. But the situation where you have such a high demand, a conflation of events, Omicron Stirring people to get appropriately concerned and wanting to get tested as well as the fact of the run on tests during the holiday season. Weve obviously got to do better. I think things will improve greatly as we get into january
Remained relatively lower than previous peaks. Some good news there. Still, this new surge is causing major disruptions to daily life. Thousands more flights cancelled today. Airlines seeing critical Staffing Shortages brought on by covid, and the surge is also impacting sports. Several College Football bowl games cancelled. Others now seeking Replacement Teams as the virus sweeps through the nation. The nhl, the nba and the nfl all forced to postpone some games, and this morning President Joe Biden joining his Pandemic Response teams meeting with the National Governors association. While he says the u. S. Has made great progress, biden at mitts there are still some gaps in our response. This is not like march of 2020, the beginning of the pandemic. Were prepared and we know what it takes to save lives, protect people and keep schools and businesses open. We just have to stay focused and continue to work together. We went from no overthecounter tests in january to 46 million in october
Move. We have the most talented workforce in the world, what are we doing . What in gods name are we doing . By the way, you hear these numbers, 3. 5 trillion or 1. 75 trillion, we pay for it all. It doesnt increase the deficit one single cent. Dana with a backdrop of americans facing product shortages, bidens approval knob wow numbers losing more ground from the start of his term than any other president. Affording the high prices are here to stay. When do you expect the inflation to get back to the 2 range which is considered normal . 2022, 2023, when . I expect that to happen next year. We are going through a period of inflation that is higher than americans have seen in a long time, but we havent lost control. Dana some of the media telling americans to stop complaining. Worried about the supply chain . Stop buying so much stuff which is not the most american of attitudes. Jesse no, it is not. And we get these types of things when democrats are in office. All of a sudden, the media
Rust faced previous complaints about safety and his behavior on two previous movie productions. We have an industrywide safety committee. Its bulletin number one. Firearm safety. Actor alec baldwin saying his heart is broken after meeting with Halyna Hutchins grieving husband and son. Deal or no deal . As we enter a crucial week in washington, President Biden hosting Senators Manchin and schumer at his delaware home in a push to finalize his Spending Bill. We have 90 of the bill agreed to and written, we just have some of the last decisions to be made. But its still bigger than anything we have ever done. These are big bags of discarded medical gloves. Many, filthy dirty. They are part of a Global Supply chain aimed at Countries Worldwide. We dont know what they were, where they came from. Some of them had blood stains. I am pamela brown in washington. You are live in the cnn newsroom. In mexico, tonight, police are still sifting through haunting questions and disturbing new details fr