this is cnn breaking news. good afternoon, everyone. top of the hour. i m ryan nobles and we have sad breaking news, and this is betty white has died and this is according to her agent and people magazine. and we don t know the cause of the death, but more to talk about the legacy of betty white actually, we will go to stephanie elam who has more. in 1949, betty white played a sidekick on a live afternoon show in los angeles, and it ran five hours a day at five hours a week. at that point, television was starting and we had no idea it would change the world. she went on the appear on sit-coms and game shows with her sharp with it, and she was one of the earliest comedienne and also played rose on the golden girls. i did not care about chickens, rose, she called me a peacock. well, you look more like a chicken with the way your neck sticks out. reporter: she won a sag award and won a screen actor gild award. i nearly fell off of the couch. i could not bel
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
I need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire roll tide. the lead starts right now. medical experts are encouraging americans to stay home tonight, hospitals are slammed and schools aren t sure how to reopen safely. is the new year looking too much like the last one? 100-mile-per-hour winds spread flames across neighborhoods burning hundreds of homes in the blink of an eye. now we may know what started the sudden fires in colorado. if you threw a party thank you for being a friend. beloved actress and american icon betty white has passed away, just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday.