stunned the entire room. welcome to the lead. i m kaitlan collins in for jake tapper. and we begin this hour in louisiana where president biden is expected to speak any moment after touring communities ravaged by hurricane ida and meeting with state and local leaders. those hardest hit towns including laplace where many neighborhoods are still swamped with water. more than 800,000 hopes and businesses across the state still have no power five days after the storm. as victims deal with their destroyed homes, temperatures continue to swelter. right now in baton rouge, for example, the heat index is 105 degrees. we re covering the aftermath of ida all over the country. miguel marquez in new jersey, ed lavandera in louisiana, and arlette saenz is live at the white house. arlette, i want to start with you. what has been president biden s message while he s been on the ground today for several hours? reporter: president biden has had a message of support, both when it comes
flooded parts of the northeast. the death toll climbing to 50 as the damage from the multiple tornados is revealed. and america s jobs recovery hits a road block. the president says the delta variant is to blame for the very disappointing numbers. i ll ask the labor secretary marty walsh how the administration hopes to turn things around. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. this is cnn breaking news. first let s get the latest on president biden s tour of hurricane-ravaged louisiana. our senior white house correspondent phil mattingly is joining us. phil, with ejust heard from the president just a few moments ago. he was very specific in what he says the federal government can do to help. i think when you talk to white house officials they acknowledge that in moments like this in the wake of a disaster, it is the federal government that has the resources, the capability, the
plus wearing masks in schools. if i get to see my friend, i ll just wear a mask. politics are standing in the way. we want to protect our children, keep them in school. parents understand what s best for their kids. and pfizer vaccine is poised for full approval. will that win over any skeptics? the biggest stories sourced by the best reporters, now. welcome to inside politics sunday. i m kaitlan collins in for abby philip. henri is expected to make landfall later today. sustained winds of 70 miles an hour just a little bit below from becoming a category 1 hurricane. hurricane-like conditions, dangerous storm surge and flooding are all expected before the day is out. we ll have more on that in a bit. we start with a desperate situation in afghanistan. the state department is warning americans not to travel to the airport unless they are individually told to do so after some were beaten by the taliban. threats of poe tngs isis attacks at the kabul airport are f
good morning to our viewers in the united states and around the world. it is friday, december 31st. i m kaitlan collins in with john avlon. happy new year s eve. happy new year s eve to you. let s make it a great one. it is going to be a great one. new zealand already ringings in the new year, leading the world in welcoming 2022 with a light show. you notice there are no fireworks this year. we are approaching a new year b but still dealing with the same pandemic. a spike in coronavirus cases fueled bit omicron variant. doctors describing pabgtd emergency rooms, john. dr. fauci is predicting it could peak by the end of january. the u.s. is hitting a seven-day average of 355,000 new cases with record cases in new york, arkansas, chicago. pediatric hospital admissions are soaring to a record high with on average 378 children being admitted daily with covid-19. when it comes to ralph, the cdc is warning vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers alike to stay away from cruise s
welcome to this special edition of the lead. i m kaitlan collins in for jake tapper. we start today with our health lead. a new year and new records as the omicron variant explodes across the united states. but there is some encouraging news today out of south africa where the omicron variant was first detected. south africa now relaxing some of its covid restrictions as cases and hospitalizations have sharply fallen off leading experts to believe that south africa has already passed its peak of this horrible wave. after seeing that data, dr. anthony fauci now thinks cases in the united states could peak by the end of january. tom foreman starts us off with a look at how states across the united states are calling out for help. reporter: the federal government is deploying disaster assistance teams and ambulances to new york. new year s eve crowd in times square will be held to about a quarter of the usual. masks and proof of vaccination required. all this as the city is