Extremists are choosing these maxalist fights to change the landscape in schools and social media and more. They are losing most of these fights. It s kind of counterintuitive when so many of us feel so freaked out and even frightened by what s happening in this country but in small but really important ways, the culture wars that were won by those who want a multiracial pluralistic society in this country are holding. This morning, we witnessed the statue of robert e. Lee being hoisted up from its pedestal and doner tone down from good if richmond, virginia. The former capital of the confederacy. Where it had loomed as a physical testament to white power for more than 130 years. It was a defence of statues just like that one, that brought a hoard of torchwielding white nationalists to charlottesville to defend those symbols of white supremacy four years ago. And to fight the violence these meted out. In the end they lost. The statue came down today. Many of the leaders behind that fas
pamela brown tonight in washington, you re in the cnn newsroom. we begin this hour with a sobering reality on the covid pandemic. that viral blizzard the u.s. was warned about, it s here. the swift spread of the highly contagious omicron variant has pushed hospitalizations close to the record set almost a year ago, and the number of american children hospitalized with covid has soared to the highest level of the entire pandemic. helping drive that number, children under 5 who are too young to be vaccinated. many hospitals are facing a staffing crisis because covid is infecting their personnel. some states have deployed national guard troops seen here in the protective gear to help fill that void. new york is now the latest state to mandate booster shots for health care workers. a former member of president biden s covid-19 advisory board says the nation needs better long-term planning. unfortunately, if you vaccinate today the people who are unvaccinated who account for abo
to. phil? a legend in every sense of the word. thanks so much. the omicron wave is rising. testing shortages with hospitals and schools struggling to stay open. plus an unvaccinated tennis star now held inside a detention hotel. novack djokovic, his freedom depends on an australian courtroom, and we re learning new details about the weeks leading up to his trip down under. and a dangerous and deadly flooding in the pacific northwest. some frightened people near seattle forced to wait on top of their cars for help. i m phil mattingly in washington in for pamela brown tonight. you re in the cnn newsroom. now, across the country this weekend hospitals are scrambling to deal with waves of people newly infected with the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus. an alarming spike in patients being admitted. hospitalizations now inching closer to the record set almost a year ago. and now adding to the alarm, the soaring number of american children hospitalized wi
poitier gone at the age of 94. a blazing star in the firmament of artistic excellence. his legacy in hollywood and beyond. i m phil mattingly in washington in for pamly brown tonight, and you are in the cnn newsroom. we begin this hour with a sobering reality on the covid pandemic. that viral blizzard u.s. was warned about, it s here very clearly. the swift spread of the highly contagious omicron variant has pushed hospitalizations close to the records set almost a year ago. and the number of american children hospitalized with covid has soared to the highest level of the entire pandemic. helping to drive that number, children under a who at this point are still too young to be vaccinated. many hospitals are facing a staffing crisis because covid is infecting their personnel. some states have deployed national guard troops, seen here on your screen in protective gear, to help fill the void. new york is now the latest state to mandate booster shots for health care work
over this next half hour special we will take a closer look at the mounting challenges facing students and teachers as they head back. and france s education minister announced the country will ban schoolchildren from wearing the abaya a loose fitting, full length robe worn by some muslim women, in state run schools when classes begin this month. my colleague sumi somaskanda spoke with us education secretary miguel cardona to discuss his thoughts on the challenges facing students and teachers heading back to school. secretary, thank you very much forjoining us again on bbc news. i want to start with affirmative action because the supreme court s ruling effectively ended race conscious admissions in colleges and universities and if you look at the state of california, the uc system hasn t actually been able to meet its racial diversity goals, despite having ended race based admissions more than two decades ago. so how do you make sure that schools and universities are divers