asks for anything special. i was calling to find out, hey, when are you going to reopen interstate 95, so i spoke to the secretary of transportation in virginia, who s a long time friend about when different sections will reopen. i also, first thing i asked is what s the emergency number that people should call to get help because, again, i had gas in my car. i was able to make one stop on the way in fredericksburg, there was a period of about 5 or 10 miles where the traffic opened up and it was moving, i could get off at an exit, get gas and get back on, but a lot of people were really in trouble, and needed help. and so i wanted to get the information about the best number to call out to as many people as i can, so that was the first conversation i had with them this morning. we put it up on social media so people who need help could get it. understood and that s really wonderful but when you talked to the secretary of transportation, did you say, how did this happen?
of emergency. this was a disaster in fast motion. all over the course of a half day. nearly all the damage. many families having minutes, minutes to get whatever they could, their pets, their kids into the car and leave. this is our community, and to watch it burn so quickly, so unexpectedly, it s something that i think we re all just struggling to believe and understand. among the communities dealing with the most devastation from the fire is the town of lewisville which was evacuated entirely. i m now joined by the mayor of lewisville. mayor, thank you for being with us and our condolences to you and your community. thank you for helping us get the word out. what does the town look like right now? well, the good news is i m looking outside, and it s snowing. and so that s really welcome to see to help put out the remaining fires. there are sections of town that just it s undescribable. it s unimaginable, the devastation and tragedy that we re seeing. how much
our head, the white house covid response team to set to give an update on how they re supporting overwhelmed hospitals as the surging omicron variant marches across the country. a disturbing up tick in children hospitalized with the virus. we ll take you to the covid briefing when it starts. we re on verdict watch in elizabeth holmes trial, and the closely watched sex trafficking trial of ghislaine maxwell. we ll bring you the latest as we wait for any signs of a verdict from both juries. plus the political world saying farewell to a giant of the senate. harry reid of nevada died. how people are paying their respects including the touching letter from former president obama who worked closely with reid in sheparding the affordable care act through congress. we will start this hour with the latest on the omicron variant. nbc white house correspondent mike memoli, shaquille brewster, dr. ebony hilton are with us. mike, we re going to hear from the white house covid respo
they get that address ready. we ll bring that to you live as soon as it happens. we re beginning with new covid cases racing toward a record high in the u.s. and the fast spreading omicron variant. the u.s. is averaging more than 182,000 new cases a day. that is a 48% jump from last week. also, covid deaths are up more than 30% from a week ago but are still far from where they were at the peak of the pandemic. we re heading to the white house and president biden there with first lady jill biden getting ready to virtually meet with service members from around the world to give them a christmas message. let s listen in. it is my distinct honor and privilege to introduce the president of the united states and first lady of the united states. ma am? hi, merry christmas. how are you? qatar, romania, everywhere but home. sorry. we are sorry. one of the things we know, because we are military family, we know what it s like to have you, our loved ones serving and being away
moments. if you are feeling a sense of pandemic deja vu, you re not alone. in the words of dr. fauci, covid cases are raging around the world. massive lines for testing are back. more and more pro sports and entertainment events are getting cancelled. but we did get a glimmer of hope this morning. moderna just announcing that its booster shot appears to provide protection against omicron. we ll have more on that in a few moments. also this morning, where do they go from here? democrats and the white house plotting next steps after senator joe manchin dealt a massive blow to the build back better plan. we ll break down the different paths being floated to try to salvage at least parts of it. also, what the west virginia senator just said about his decision and the last few minutes to a radio station in west virginia. we ll go there as well in a few moments. we re going to start in minneapolis. the closing arguments now underway in kim potter s trial. nbc s shaquille brewst