news on the record shattering onslaught of the omicron variant. more children are being hospitalized with covid-19 than at any time during the pandemic. let s go to cnn s tom foreman. the covid cases are skyrocketing, but the fda is scrambling to get 12 to 15-year-olds greater protection. that s a very important development. they re trying to pull out all of the stops and they re saying that something has to slow this onslaught and even though hospitalizations as a percentage have not shot up as much as they might have, they re saying that s because people have been vaccinated and if we can get more in the same state and boosted, the better off we ll be. reporter: with the pandemic clocking unprecedented numbers of infections, the fda is expected to approve the booster shots for 12 to 15-year-olds. and health officials are advising caution on shore too. i would not eat in a restaurant now without a mask. i would absolutely not go into a bar. if you go into the bar now,
ukrainian border and a very real threat of invasion on the horizon. u.s. officials don t know exactly why putin asked for the call but a senior administration official said the president saw no reason to snub putin, believing there is no substitute for direct leader-to-leader dialogue and engagement i think it follows a pattern that putin has used in the past of ratcheting up pressure when he is trying to get his way. now he is trying to go directly to president biden to try to get him to, i m sure, agree to this security deal, which i do not think president biden can agree to. meeting with putin i was very straight forward. there were no minced words. it was polite but i made it very clear. if, in fact, he invades ukraine, there will be severe consequences. reporter: the president was set to reiterate that message today threatening stepped up military support for u.s. allies at russia s door step and economic sanctions more severe than those imposed after russia s 2014
Happening now, breaking news. the u.s. just set another alarming pandemic record with hospital admissions for children soaring to a new high, as the cases explode nationwide. the fda is expected to green light covid boosters for 12 to 15-year-olds soon. also breaking, we re now getting the first word from the white house about president biden s high stakes call with vladimir putin. did it ease or escalate tensions over ukraine? as the u.s. nears one year since the capitol attack, the january 6th committee is asking the supreme court to not thwart the investigation. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m jim acosta and you re in the situation room. this is cnn breaking news. and we do begin with breaking
Highs, doctors worry the new year s eve celebrations and returns to offices and schools after the holidays could make the situation even worse. this is probably not the time to have big new year s celebrations. really dial things back. reporter: a new year bringing in new covid records. i would absolutely not go into a bar. if you go into a bar now you are very likely to get covid whether you re vaccinated or not. if you re unvaccinated and you go into a bar you will come out infected. reporter: as for the big party in new york s times square we are in the public health crisis of our life times. frankly it should have been canceled. reporter: but this ball will drop despite the highest numbers of new daily cases the city has ever seen and without ll cool jay who called off his performance after testing positive for covid. this event is vaccination only. everyone is going to be outdoors, vaccination only. masks required. socially distanced. but we want to show that we re