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
We rethe u.s. racing to kee with hospitalizations in the omicron surge, including child hospitalizations, with the pressure now on skochools on whether to switch to virtual learning. i want a deal done this weekend. our kids need to be back to in school. the house select committee investigating the january 6th insurrection now looking to hear from former vice president mike pence. this is one more public service that needs to be performed by the former vice president. and a legendary life remembered. they call me mr. tibbs. actor and activist si sidney poitier done. his legacy and hollywood and beyond. i m phil mattingly in for