i'm john avlon in with kaitlan collins. kaitlan, happy new year's eve. >> happy new year's eve. i can't wait to hear your resolution later in the show >> as we approach a new year, we are still dealing with the same pandemic. unprecedented spike in covid cases fueled by the omicron variant. enjoy new year's at home. doctors describing packed emergency rooms. dr. anthony fauci predicting omicron could peak by the end of january. meanwhile, the u.s. is hitting a seven-day average of more than 355,000 new cases. with record case counts in new jersey, new york, arkansas and chicago. pediatric hospital admissions soar to go a record high with on average 378 children being admitted daily to hospital with covid. >> when it comes to travel, the cdc is warning vaccinated people and unvaccinated people stay away from cruise ships. the agency elevated cruise ship travel risk to its highest level amid a growing number of outbreaks in recent weeks causing some ports to turn them away. >>> this morning, airline disruptions are surging with more than 3,000 flight delays and 2,300 cancellations

>> definitely, kaitlan. thanks for having me. so we are seeing here even in new jersey, four -fold increase in pediatric hospitalizations. i can tell you there is demand on the ground for rapid at-home tests as well as pcr testing across our health care settings. we are looking to do partnerships at the city, county and state level to make sure we can meet the demand collectively because of had surge of the omicron variant and the concern it's causing throughout the public. >> dr. purnell, great to see you again. we are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of case, but much smaller increase in hospitalizations. so what does that tell you about the nature of these variants, combined with the inability that the cdc just slashed it in the united states. >> i think it is fascinating with the cdc revised percentage of cases due to omicron, are we seeing lower vaccination rates or lower hospitalization rates because we do have a considerable amount of the population that is vaccinated? whether it's one dose, whether it's full two-s

>> kaitlan, i'm glad you brought that up. it is not all or nothing. first of all, we know invasion is an option. vladimir putin already invaded ukraine. that is very important. there's been this ongoing conflict in eastern ukraine, with the illegal annexation of cry mian peninsula. it is plausible. it could be short of a full-scale invasion from vladimir putin. sit not just russian troops roll all the way to kiev or else nothing happens. you could see a more significant and more overt russian military presence in eastern eye drain where that fighting has been ongoing in an effort to change the calculus on the ground in the conflict which had been more or less frozen in recent years. so that's a possibility. and vladimir putin has arguably already won in some significant way. he demanded and received the attention and focus of joe biden, who came to office -- on pivoting to china and asia instead. he is focusing for more than xi jin jinping. it commands the world's attention. he is distracting our information from a major domestic crackdown which is ha

i'm john avlon in with kaitlan collins all week. hope you had a great christmas. >> i hope you did, too. i wish we were in person this morning. i think this is the next best thing. i'm excited to anchor with you all week. >>> this morning, the extraordinarily contagious omicron coronavirus variant surging across the united states. dr. anthony fauci warning cases will climb much higher. testing continues to be a major challenge. around-the-clock lines. many facing the possibility of scrapping new year's plans altogether. the good news, dr. fauci expects things to improve beginning next month. >> we should be using testing much more extensively than we have. even in a situation where you have people who are vaccinated or boosted. we've obviously got to do better. i think things will improve greatly into january. but that doesn't help us today and tomorrow. >> as omicron cases are surging, health experts are waiting to see if hospitalizations will, too. right now, they're about 70% less than the last peak in september. those unvaccinat

kaitlan. . >> understandably so. ryan young, thank you. >>> joining us is the lawyer for judge michelle odinet. counselor, thank you for being with us. the judge has taken a lead but not resigned. why not? . >> well, certainly she's heard the calls from the governor and the community and resignation is certainly at the top of her list of considerations. we spent yesterday getting her removed from the i filed at 3:30 in the afternoon a petition, a joint consent petition to have her removed on an interim basis and it was granted by the chief justice within hours. so we got that done yesterday. that was at the top of the list and ad hoc judge has been appointed to take her docket. she's going to make longer term decisions over the weeks to come. >> so the city marshal of lafayette said, quote, i'm sure people of color will find it impossible to trust that they will be treated fairly and equally if they have to stand for judgment before judge odinet. you're a lawyer. how do you feel bringing a client of a person of color

what more can you share with us, kaitlan? >> reporter: we need to look at what the cdc has done the last several days to pinpoint this. they said it was really, ana, looking for a needle in a hay st haystack trying to find this. you heard dr. fauci saying the cdc could find this variant. that's what they've been trying to do but also do this tracing not just done through the cdc, but it's the cdc working, basically, on a daily basis with the state labs because it would be the state labs that would find this first. now we know the first case of omicron has been found in california. that's likely in conjunction with the state labs and the cdc working together to find this. i think also, of course, the question is how many more cases did they find after this? you heard officials say starting last friday when we were talking about this omicron variant, it's likely already here in the united states. if it's not here yet, it will likely be here soon. while there's not much known about it, one thing they do know is it spreads veryth

kaitlan. . >> yeah. that is certainly something we see the white house has been highlights since we have seen these pediatric hospitalizations going up. elizabeth cohen, thank you for that update. >>> a state of emergency in colorado. with thousands of people fleeing their homes as two fast-growing wildfires fueled by hurricane-force winds destroyed hundreds of homes. more than 17,000 people are still without power across the state. cnn's lucy kafanov live in denver with more. lucy. >> reporter: john, this has been absolutely catastrophic and devastating for colorado. this is already being described as the most disruptive wildfire in colorado history with more than 500 homes burned. the expectation unfortunately as day breaks, the numbers may rise. two wind-fueled wildfires sweeping through parts of boulder county, colorado on thursday. . >> this fire is frankly a force of nature. gusts of 100, 110 miles per hour can and have moved this fire down a football field in a matter of secretaries. >> reporter:

i still like kaitlan, though. thank you, kaitlan. see you soon. >>> so we've got some real work to do in this country. but the wing nut wing of the gop is trying to distract us with endless trolling. we'll discuss that, next. when they're sick, they get comfortable anywhere and spread germs everywhere. wherever they rest protection nothing kills more viruses, including the covid-19 virus, on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. lysol. what it takes to protect. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. for rob, it took years to find out why his constipation with belly pain just wouldn't go away. despite all he did to manage his symptoms... day after day. still came the belly pain, discomfort, and bloating, awful feelings he tried not showing. finally with the help of his doctor it came to be, that his

i'm kaitlan collins with john avlon this morning. john and brianna are off. good morning, john. >> good morning. >> this morning, we have the u.s. shattering its record of daily new coronavirus cases as thely contagious omicron variant is spreading. daily new cases hit a seven day average of more than 300,000 cases. the last time the number of cases hit a peak close to that was in january. dr. fauci says it is time to rsvp no to the giant new year's eve bashes you had planned. >> if your plans are to go to a 40 to 50-person new year's eve party, with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing and wishing each other a happy new year, i would strongly recommend that this year we do not do that. >> yeah, so if that were your plans, sorry about that. there is also been growing pushback from frontline workers to new cdc guidelines cutting the amount of suggested days to isolate and quarantine in half. the american nurses association saying it is deeply concerned about the changes, citing insufficient evidence and concern for healthcare workers sa

it allowed for this awesome moment, kaitlan. coaches's son drake stoops catch the second touchdown pass of the season. sooners pull away from number 14 ducks. oklahoma blasting the ducks, 47-32 for stoops' first win since the 2017 sugar bowl. he gets that gatorade bath and father/son moment as he soaks it in before the head coach venuable takes over. >>> and one of the wildest touchdowns ever in the cheezit bowl. brock's pass turns into a game of hot potato. goodrich takes 18 yards to the house. purdy's pass is tipped at the line. clemson wins 20-13. at the end of this one, coach dabo sweeney gets doused with a bucket of cheezits, not gatorade. number 13 pittsburgh taking on number 11 michigan state in the peach bowl at the mercedes-benz stadium. and college football playoffs, number one alabama facing number four cincinnati in the cotton bowl, followed by michigan and georgia in the orange bowl. facing a nonpower five team in the number four bearcats. how are you feeling about it? >> i feel pretty good. i don't like to make pre

kaitlan collins is traveling with the president. kaitlan, take us through what the president is seeing and saying. >> reporter: he's getting an up-close look, ana, at this devastation here. he is touring a neighborhood right now in mayfield, kentucky. that's where that candle factory is, and he got a briefing earlier from officials. that's going over the nuts and bolts of everything, what do they need, what are they doing, what federal resources are they expecting to tap into going forward, but he's also looking at the human aspect of this, which is going into these neighborhoods where people have lost everything, and they are going and looking at this storm that has just devastated a lot of these areas. this is where president biden says he wants to listen. he wants to hear these stories and talk to these people. then he's going to come here to dawson springs where i am, where an entire neighborhood behind me as just been completely leveled, essentially, and trees are just snapped in half like they were matchsticks. this is where s

house correspondent kaitlan collins. kaitlan, talk to us about this. this is something that biden has talked about for a long time. a long time. what does he want out of this? >> they want it told in person. that wasn't feasible with 110 countries, that have been invited, but ever since biden took office and before that, you've seen him frame this global conversation and a global kind of inflexion point as democracies versus these countries that are run by authoritarians. he said that we have to make a decision, you know, as a globe, of which direction we want to go in. that was a big message he took to the g-7, his first big summit in person with other world leaders, let's show other nations that democracies can work, they can put accomplishments on the table. that will be the broader conversation you see from president biden when he speaks any moment now on this. >> what do you think he'll say, even if in veiled terms, about china and russia? >> i think you've seen him working to undercut the message, having their own democracy summits this week. chi

we have kaitlan collins. hold on a second, guys. the president is taking questions. >> there is a plan in place unless somebody decides to be totally erratic, and i don't think that will happen. so i don't think -- thank you. >> all right, the president was taking questions in shadow, though, we did recognize that was president biden there. okay, let's go back to cnn medical analyst, e.r. doctor leana wen. let's talk about those nine points and what you think will actually move the needle. what i heard was the free at-home testing for families. how many times over the past 20 months have we said, if only there were tests that we could do at home so we would know if we were positive or negative. is that a game-changer to you? >> it's a game-changer if that's actually what the plan says, as th in, if it's true that we should all be tested before, let's say, we get together with our friend, before we go to parties and dinners, that would help so much and would provide so much reassurance to individuals, especially if they have young ki

you know, kaitlan, what is important, this started before january 6th. i said on cnn last fall after the election, this was a soft coup attempt when they began to try to interfere with the electors in georgia and other places, to put pressure on people, not having a clue, of course, that january 6th would happen. of course, january 6th happened. i think what mark meadows is trying to do is have it both ways. i'm really proud of this committee because congress has to exert its article one powers here, or future generations of congress have no power. it'll be interesting to see what doj does on this once it is referred to, assuming it passes the house today, which i expect it to do. the contempt, that is. >> we expect it to pass the house. we know it took the justice department three weeks to act when it came to steve bannon. we will be watching to see how they choose to handle mark meadows when it comes to this. david, i wonder what you make of what we're learning about the timeline of the day, when it comes to the messages not just from the fox news host

. >> paula reid, thank you, let's bring in cnn chief white house kaitlan collins, charlie dent, gloria borger, let me start with you. it's been decades since a white house chief of staff has been considered for criminal charges before steve bannon, decades since someone has been charged with contempt of congress. the historical framework as this debate and vote happen this afternoon. >> it's quite remarkable and while it's political in many ways, it's a solemn moment for the country, i believe. we all witnessed what occurred on january 6th, and as you saw from the committee hearing last night, it could not be more serious, and more important to the country, and so i think when you have these texts and you have these e-mails on mark -- to mark meadows, what you have laid out before us are the receipts here for lack of a better word. you have the receipts that show that mark meadows knew how serious this was, that the president of the united states was being implored to do something. mark meadows telling donald trump jr., you know, i'm trying to get to the president. you know the preside

kaitlan, the public safety part of this plan, also politics plays a role, communication. this is crisis management 101. get ahead of the issue as we see the new variant emerge. >> yes. this has been the issue for president biden since he took office. the main issue of his presidency he has said. of course the concern here is not just the small subsidies or big measures he is taking when it comes to fighting covid-19. it is also that he is in charge and taking steps to combat the new variant. there is a divide when it comes to democrats and republicans and how the president has been handling this but look at the number when it comes to independents. 39% approve of how he is handling it so far based on the kaiser family foundation poll. 52% disapprove. the number has fallen sharply. i think what that means is the white house is trying to apply the lessons they learned from the delta variant back in june when his numbers were much higher. then we saw the delta variant sweep across the united states and his poll numbers go down. they are trying to show here while we still don

as kaitlan collins reports, biden made clear the u.s. will react to further russian escalation with, quote, specific, robust, clear responses. >> reporter: a high-stakes call amid fears of a russian invasion. >> hello. good to see you again. >> reporter: with tensions simmering on the border of ukraine, president biden spoke to vladimir putin for 2 hours and 1 minute today. >> the call covered a range of issues but the main topic was ukraine. >> reporter: the call posing a critical test for biden as he tries to avoid a major european security crisis if russia invades ukraine. >> so did president biden get clarity from him on whether or not that is his intention? >> we still do not believe that president putin has made a decision. what president biden did today was lay out very clearly the consequences if he chooses to move. >> reporter: biden warning putin about strong economic consequences and, quote, other measures, but it remains to be seen if the combative russian leader backs down. >> there is no finger wagging but the president was

kaitlan collins is joining us right now. inflation is now, what, a 39-year high here in the united states and that's posing a real problem for the president. >> yeah, and, wolf, these are numbers the white house was bracing for. they tried to get out ahead of them yesterday saying they don't think it paints the full picture of where the u.s. economy stands right now. but they have to balance that with acknowledging that, yes, prices are up and consumers are concerned. with prices at their highest point in nearly 40 years, president biden is predicting it's the peak of the crisis. >> inflation is affecting people's lives. >> reporter: inflation reached its highest point in november since 1982 when ronald reagan was in office and joe biden was a senator from delaware. tonight president biden is pointing to other ways the economy is recovering. >> it's doing incredibly well. we've never had this kind of growth in 60 years. >> reporter: that message complicated after the consumer price index, which measures what you're paying fo

i'm john avlon with kaitlan collins. berman and brianna are enjoying a well-deserved week off. >> i can't believe they left us in charge. >> we'll see how it works out. i'm feeling good about it. the contagious omicron is surging across the united states and dr. anthony fauci is warning those cases are likely to climb much higher. years into this pandemic, testing a major challenge. many americans are wondering if they need to scrap their new year's plans all together, as omicron cases are surging health experts are waiting to see if hospitalizations will as well. right now they're 70% less than during the last peak around september. millions of americans who are still unvaccinated though are at the greatest risk of severe illness and death from the omicron variant and it's those cases that could overwhelm the country's already stressed health care systems. >>> over the holiday weekend, millions of people around the world are dealing with mass airline cancellations as staff and crew are calling out sick amid the omicron

kaitlan collins is there. kaitlan, what do we know? >> reporter: you saw him getting a briefing from the governor of kentucky, fema, the secretary as well, they're all here on the ground talking about what the efforts are going to look like, because this will be a very long road to recovery, sadly, for people here in kentucky and several other states that were hit by these storms. so the white house says the message that president biden is bringing with him as he's about to tour a neighborhood in mayfield where we know the damage was incredibly extensive is that they will be here to do whatever it takes as long as it takes. of course, they know there is a lot going on here. you know, john, the message the president brings with him is not just about federal resources. he's also here to listen to people, and that is certainly what people want to hear. what they are going through is incredibly overwhelming. we just spoke with someone earlier, a man who was about as kind as they come who lost his mother here in dawson springs. now not only

i'm john avlon with the great kaitlan collins. wishing you a good morning. we are following three major stories this morning. the u.s. shattering its record average of daily coronavirus cases, and the cdc slashing estimates for how much omicron is actually in the u.s. plus, the political world and the sports world are mourning the death of two american giants, harry reid and john madden. but first let's get to the pandemic. the u.s. hitting a record of more than 265,000 new coronavirus cases tuesday alone as two highly contagious variants fuel surges across the country. but we need to note that the number of hospitalizations are not rising yet at the same rate. and the cdc is lowering the estimate of the prevalence of the omicron variant from 70% t

. >> thanks, kaitlan. here to discuss this is the former white house senior adviser for coronavirus response. thanks for joining us. white house press secretary jen psaki today defended the president's plan saying, quote, we are pulling out all of the stops to protect americans. earlier in the show rick bright who was part of the biden covid advisory board said he doesn't understand why some of these plans are just now being rolled out two years into the pandemic. why pull out all the stops now? in december, 2021 >> i was very excited about what the president announced today. he is making clear to the public we have the tools and will aggressively build on what we've started to get more tests available to people effectively at no cost whether through a community health center or through their insurance plan that we'll push boosters aggressively and i think one thing kaitlan may have mentioned is they are now committing to sending 200 million more doses of vaccines overseas in the next hundred days. they've

cnn's kaitlan collins is at the white house. cnn's matthew chance is in odessa, ukraine. kaitlan, let's start with you and what more you know about this call between president biden and president putin. >> reporter: you talked about how this could be one of the biggest conversations that president biden had since he's taken office. it certainly seemed that way inside the white house. as a critical call that happened today for two hours and one minute with these leaders, as you just saw there, from the russian side of things, the meeting happening virtually where the two leaders could actually see each other instead of just a phone call like typically you see in these world to world leaders conversations and so far we only have a readout from the white house of that call in addition to them noting it lasted for just over two hours and the white house said in part president biden reiterated his support for ukraine's sovereignty and called for de-escalation and return to diplomacy. the two presidents tasked their teams to follow up and the u.s. will do so in close coordinati

kaitlan, do we know what they said in this phone call? >> reporter: we can see the phone call happening. we could not hear the phone call, unfortunately, but of course this is a call that is coming two days after president biden spoke with the russian president for two hours and one minute with the main topic being ukraine, and the fears of a russian invasion there. and so, today was a call, really, to offer reassurances. you've seen the white house do so publicly but also to debrief him on how that conversation went. and you can imagine the ukrainians have a lot of questions, because one thing that putin has made clear, that he wanted to make clear to biden in their call the other day was they don't want ukraine getting anywhere near nato, that military alliance that biden was talking about yesterday, reminding people that ukraine is not part of it, therefore, if russia does invade ukraine, you're not going to see the u.s. going unilaterally into ukraine when it comes to combat troops or anything of that matter. so, i do think that ukrai

it to go to our chief white house correspondent, kaitlan collins. kaitlan, the president says that the economy is bouncing back, so how does this grim new inflation report released today figure in? >> reporter: well, it complicates the figure that they're trying to paint. because, yes, there are several signs that the economy is recovering. those are the big, strong indicators that the white house is trying to point to, but they also have to grapple with the fact that people are paying more at the pump, at the grocery store, and those inflation concerns that we've seen people say is now one of their number one concerns when it comes to the national outlook, is of course, a priority that the white house is trying to address. with prices at their highest point in nearly 40 years, president biden is predicting its, quote, the peak of the crisis. >> but inflation is affecting people's lives. >> reporter: inflation reached its highest point in november since 1982, when ronald reagan was in office and joe biden was a senator from delaware. tonight, presid

i still like kaitlan collins. >> we'll see how your new coach does. >> great. he's got a great accent, too. inside joke. google it. thank you. see you soon. >>> so we've got some real work to do in this country but the wing nut wing of the gop is trying to district us with endless trolling. we'll discuss that, next. >> i don't feel like talking about what the republicans aren't doing or are doing about the disgraceful, unacceptable behavior of their members. ne. everything felt like a 'no'. everything. but then ray went from no to know. with freestyle libre 2, now he knows his glucose levels when he needs to. and... when he wants to. so ray... can be ray. take the mystery out of your glucose levels, and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free. visit freestylelibre.us ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list event. rob did his best to manage his constipation with belly pain day after day. but after realizing it was ibs-c, he found another way. and finally said yess to adding linzess. linzess

let's begin with kaitlan collins at the white house. matthew chance is in odessa, ukraine. and we are going to go there in a moment. but kaitlan, first. does the white house actually think this call made any impact on putin? and jake sullivan says he looked him in the eye and said we are prepared to do things this time, we didn't do last time. how did that go? >> well, they are kind of in wait-and-see mode, erin. to see what is the russian response to this call today? where according to white house officials, they were actually talking with one another. of course, both of them speak at length often and they were talking about the reality of the the situation on the ground. and the white house's description of this is essentially president biden laying down the gauntlet of here are the consequences of what happens if russia does invade ukraine, as you were mentioning there. those economic sanctions they have said they are prepared to put in place. or the alternatives if russia does not make that move and ends up backing down from that troop buildup you have seen on the borde

our chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins joins us now with the latest. so, what about these new testing requirements? >> so, what this would essentially do and we should note, no final decisions have been made. but would shorten the time period in which you could be tested before you return or get on a flight coming to the united states regardless if you are u.s. citizen or someone just visiting the united states. right now for vaccinated travelers, you have to get a test about three days before your departure date. but apparently tonight, officials are deliberating based on our reporting shortening that timeframe, anderson, to one day. but the other thing they are considering that is especially noteworthy is having travelers even u.s. citizens who are vaccinated or permanent legal residents who are vaccinated potentially get tested again after they get back to the united states. several days after their flight because officials have said for a few weeks now that they believe that's kind of a lapse in the rules here. which is that you could certainly get

i'm kaitlan collins. in with john avlon for one more time this morning. thank you for joining us this whole week as we have been in here. john, back home in 2021, it is coming to a close with an unprecedented spike in covid cases. fueled by the omicron variant. health officials are urging new year's eve revelers in the united states to keep their parties small, maybe outdoors, just have one glass of champagne, bourbon or beer or however many you want maybe at home though is what they're saying. the surge is crushing hospitals and doctors are describing packed emergency rooms already. dr. anthony fauci predicts the omicron wave could peak in the united states by the end of january. the u.s. is hitting a seven-day average of more than 355,000 new cases with record case counts in new jersey, new york, arkansas, and chicago. pediatric hospital admissions a big concern for parents everywhere are soaring to a record high with on average 378 children being admitted to the hospital with covid-19. >> when it comes to travel, the cdc is warning vaccinated and unvac

walensky said this morning to kaitlan. she said the decision to change the guidance, quote, had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate. end quote. what do you make of that? >> well, who are the -- who are the people she's talking about? is it industry? we heard about industry reaching directly, particularly the airline industry, reaching directly out to the cdc to try and get them to shorten isolation because we're running out of employees. i get that. that's important. and this, again, is why testing can be so important. if you want to get your employees back in five days, you should know whether they are infected. and, sure, antigen tests are not perfect. but they will identify a lot of people who should not be going back to work. particularly because the new cdc guidelines don't even require people to be fully asymptomatic. they say improving symptoms. what does that mean? your throat is still sore, but not as sore? you're coughing but a little bit less? they don't require people to be complet

kaitlan collins is in washington for us. jim bittermann is in paris following the vaccine mandates, eleni giokos is in south africa where it is on the rise and paula hancocks is in seoul. first let's go to the white house where kaitlan collins has more on the biden administration's plan to deal with the omicron variant. >> reporter: this is what they have been bracing for, finding the first variant in the united states, in san francisco, an individual who returned from south africa to san francisco. felt symptoms. went to the doctor and tested positive. it took 30 hours for scientists to figure out, yes, it was the omicron variant. they said the person had mild symptoms, was vaccinated with the moderna vaccine but had not yet gotten a booster shot. of course, they are conducting that aggressive contact tracing for this person. though dr. fauci said all of their close contacts had tested negative. of course, the broader question is what this means for the united states. the white house, while they are still waiting to get mor

and kaitlan raised a crucial point. this is also about the rest of europe. how is president biden going to draw on these other relationships? the united states has a lot of strong relationships in europe, and he can bring that to bear as a threat in effect against vladimir putin to say, if you do this, you will go into the deep freeze. you become a pariah and you don't want that. that's one of the things he has up his sleeve. >> jeff, the ukrainian defense minister predicts, and i'm quoting now, a bloody massacre if russia decides to invade ukraine. how wary is the biden administration of being dragged into a potential military conflict in light of a potential russian invasion? >> very wary, wolf. diplomacy is really something that this president, this administration is trying to turn to. and they hope work. so they're going to present a series of diplomatic alternatives. those include putting a financial squeeze on russia as well through the international financial system as well. there is no appetite here for military intervention. on a briefing earlier wi

our chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins joins us now be the latest. so, what about these new testing requirements? >> so, what this would essentially do and we should note, no final decisions have been made. but would shorten the time period in which you could be tested before you return or get on a flight coming to the united states regardless if you are u.s. citizen or someone just visiting the united states. right now for vaccinated travelers, you have to get a test about three days before your departure date. but apparently tonight, officials are deliberating basbased on our reporting shortening that timeframe, anderson, to one day. but the other thing they are considering that is especially noteworthy is having travelers even u.s. citizens who are vaccinated or permanent legal residents who are vaccinated potentially get tested again after they get back to the united states. several days after their flight because officials have said for a few weeks now that they believe that's kind of a lapse in the rules here. which is that you could certainly

kaitlan collins. perspective now from dr. richard besser, former acting cdc director and currently president and ceo of the robert wood johnson foundation. with us as well my co-host for tonight's upcoming cnn town hall at 9:00 p.m., cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. dr. besser, so in light of this case in the u.s. which was inevitable, how do you think the cdc is handling all this behind the scenes right now? >> well, you know, anderson, i think the steps that are being taken, being aggressive until we know more, is the right thing to do. it's -- you only have one chance to get ahead of a newly spreading strain of a disease. and, you know, i'm -- my -- my hope is that we will take these measures. people will up their game to protect themselves, and when we learn more, hopefully we'll learn that -- that this is not the -- the dangerous strain that eludes vaccines that we're concerned it could be. but you want to take the steps upfront, and not hope that that's the case. you want the science to prove that the m

kaitlan collins. perspective now from dr. richard besser, former acting cdc director and currently president and ceo of the robert wood engineson foundation. with us as well, cnn chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. dr. besser, so in light of this case in the u.s. which was inevitable, how do you think the cdc is handling all this behind the scenes right now? >> well, you know, anderson, i think the steps that are being taken, being aggressive until we know more is the right thing to do. it's -- you only have one chance to get ahead of a newly spreading strain of a disease. and, you know, i'm -- my -- my hope is that we will take these measures. people will up their game to protect themselves, and when we learn more, hopefully we'll learn that -- that this is not the -- the -- the dangerous strain that eludes vaccines that we're concerned it -- it could be. but you want to take the steps upfront, and not hope that that's the case. you want the science to prove that the measures that you are taking are -- are appropr

let's go back to cnn's kaitlan collins who is travel with president biden. president biden says the federal government will be covering the cost of the cleanup. >> right. that's part of that disaster declaration he put in place over the weekend. the president in those remarks talking about destruction meeting compassion. that's the case of what we've seen here in dawson springs today where there is a lot of destruction. you can see it all behind me. there's been a lot of compassion of neighbors helping other neighbors look through, trying to find family pictures, dishes, any kind of memento that's been completely destroyed or lost as a part of this destruction that they've seen. of course, a big part of this going forward, jake, is going to be house chicuse chicago ing be house chic which is going to a huge issue here. there aren't a lot of places for them to stay nearby because there's damage to other facilities where typically you'd be able to put someone in a situation like this. and so, just where i'm standing here in dawson springs we should remind ever

i want to turn to cnn's kaitlan collins for the latest on the case of the omicron variant confirmed here in the u.s. >> reporter: it's what scientists were bracing for. >> we knew it was a matter of time. >> reporter: the omicron variant now in the united states. >> this is the first confirmed case of covid-19 caused by the omicron variant detected in the united states. >> reporter: a fully vaccinated person, returning from south africa to san francisco, the first to test positive for the new variant about which it wille is known. >> have they had a booster shot yet? >> to my knowledge no. >> reporter: they returned to the united states on november 22nd and tested positive a week later, and is now isolating as close contacts are being traced and tested. >> all close contacts thus far have tested negative. >> reporter: the news coming as the cdc prepares to tighten testing restrictions on all travelers entering the united states shortening the time frame for a negative test from 72 hours to 24. >> this person, i mean, did what we hope other people would do. they got off and as soon as the

. >> cnn's kaitlan collins starts us off with more on the discovery of this new variant in san francisco and the administration's response. >> reporter: good morning, christine and laura. this is a moment that scientists in the federal government had been bracing for. finding this first omicron variant in the united states, in san francisco, an individual who returned from south africa to san francisco started feeling mild symptoms. >> they did the right thing and got tested and reported their travel history. they had received a full dose of the moderna vaccine, but no booster. they had mild symptoms and thankfully have now recovered. >> we ran a very fast molecular test which looks for what we call spike gene drop out. we were able to confirm the detection of omicron within five hours and we had most of the genome within eight hours. >> reporter: of course, they are conducting that aggressive contact tracing for this person, though dr. anthony fauci said so far all of their close contacts had tested negative. and, of course, the broader question is what this means for the united states.

kaitlan, good morning. why do you think he changed his tune here? >> reporter: we have information from meadows he figured out what parameters can be and what he's negotiating. really what this does with meadows deciding that he can help the committee in some way does two things. it gets him out of hot water, so it essentially takes that criminal contempt referral possibility off the table. and it also signals potentially to a lot of other witnesses out there who view him as a leader, as a key thinker around trump about exactly how much someone can work with the committee, show up, and stay away from that criminal contempt third rail that people -- some people just don't want to have that weighing over them. >> which is understandable. this is a former member of congress. nobody wants to be held in criminal contempt, much less someone who has occupied that position in the past. someone who is still not cooperating as far as we know, though, is this former d.o.j. official, jeffrey clark. the house is set to recommend criminal contempt charges over to

ind kaitlan collins is here for more. >> reporter: right now if you are a vaccinated traveler coming into the united states, you can take a test three days before that flight boards in order to get into the united states. of course, a negative test result. now it seems all but certain they are going to shorten that time frame to just one day. you have to get that test 24 hours before takeoff, a negative result, in order to get into the united states. this is something that is a regulatory process right now. it could be announced at any moment, so if you are a traveler who is on an international flight coming into the united states, that is a change that you should be prepared for, and they are also considering, john, having people retest several days after they get back into the united states. because health experts have said this is kind of a missing hole here where people take that one test, they get into the united states, but maybe they don't start to show symptoms or test positive until several days later. another thing under consideration that they were debating last night is w

joining us now, cnn chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins. kaitlan, talk to us about this. this is something that biden has talked about for a long time. a long time. what does he want out of this? >> they want it told in person. that wasn't feasible with 110 countries, that have been invited, but ever since biden took office and before that, you've seen him frame this global conversation and a global kind of inflexion point as democracies versus these countries that are run by authoritarians. he said that we have to make a decision, you know, as a globe, of which direction we want to go in. that was a big message he took to the g-7, his first big summit in person with other world leaders, let's show other nations that democracies can work, they can put accomplishments on the table. that will be the broader conversation you see from president biden when he speaks any moment now on this. >> what do you think he'll say, even if in veiled terms, about china and russia? >> i think you've seen him working to undercut the message, having their own

cnn's kaitlan collins has that. >> reporter: well, the united states is currently considering imposing new testing requirements on travelers returning to the united states. that includes u.s. citizens, even those who are vaccinated and, of course, foreign travelers as well. right now the period to get tested before getting on a flight to enter the united states is about three days. 72 hours before your departure time. and now we are told officials are considering shortening that time frame to one day. of course, that would also come in conjunction with something else they are weighing, which is requiring all travelers who get to the united states to have to take a test several days after their arrival. essentially, retest to make sure they are still negative following that negative test to get on their flight. these are things that are coming up now. officials are racing to figure out what kind of threat is posed to the united states by the broader community by this new omicron variant. something, of course, the white house has made clear they still don't have the answer to. but it com

more now from cnn chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins. >> reporter: with prices at their highest point in nearly 40 years, president biden is predicting it's, quote, the peak of the crisis. >> inflation is affecting people's lives. >> reporter: inflation reached its highest point in november since 1982 when ronald reagan was in office and joe biden was a senator from delaware. tonight president biden is pointing to other signs the economy is recovering. >> every other aspect of the economy is racing ahead. it's doing incredibly well. we've never had this kind of growth in 60 years. >> reporter: that message complicated after the consumer price index, which measures what you're paying for services and goods, climbed 6.8% in november compared to a year ago. >> it's a real bump in the road. it does affect families. >> reporter: rising costs are also challenging the path ahead for biden's legislative agenda. the president sounding uncertain when asked if he can get senator joe manchin to vote yes on his expansive economic bill with inflation numbers this high. >> i don't know

we are entering year three, as you said, kaitlan. i think the end of the pandemic phase is in sight. we need three things to be in place. vaccines for young children. i have two kids under five. we are not returning back to our lives until our kids are better protected. we need oral pills. we have two pills to treat covid. but we need them to be widely available. the third thing we need to end this pandemic phase so we are able to live with covid is much more rapid testing. we keep talking about testing, but ultimately it is what is going to help us, are we infectious at this point in time. that way we can separate ourselves from others. and have widespread free available testing that is given by the federal government the way it is in other countries. >> no question about it. testing under 5s. oral testing. and more testing, oral pills to help treat this. it seems hospitalizations so far have been lower with the surge. does that give you an idea of the relative severity and the ability for us to return to normalcy as well. >> when i

i'm kaitlan collins in with john avlon. john berman and brianna keilar are having some much deserved time off today. >> they deserve it. >> glad to be with you. and we begin this morning with the cdc cutting the recommended isolation period for many infected americans in

let's go immediately to our chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins. what are you learning about the omicron patient in california? >> yeah, wolf, the california governor says this person started feeling mild symptoms on november 25th, three days later they took a covid test and the next day got a positive result. after that it only took 30 hours for the scientists at the university of california in san francisco to figure out it was omicron. it's what scientists were bracing for. >> we knew that it was just a matter of time. >> reporter: the omicron variant now in the united states. >> this is the first confirmed case of covid-19 caused by the omicron variant detected in the united states. >> reporter: a fully vaccinated person who recently returned from south africa to san francisco, the first to test positive for the new variant about which little is known. >> had they had a booster shot yet? >> to my knowledge, no. >> reporter: this person returned to the united states on november 22nd, tested positive a week later and is now isolating as close con

kaitlan? >> yeah, especially given children under 5 are that last group ineligible to get vaccinated yet. elizabeth cohen, thank you. >>> for more on all of this, let's bring in the dean of brown university's school of public health, dr. ashish jha. in your view, the cdc changing this isolation period, cutting it for people who are asymptomatic, that's a key phrase in this new guidance, from ten days to five days, was this long overdue? >> first of all, good morning, thank you for having me back. yes, i codo think it was long overdue. i've been calling for a shortening of the isolation period for a long while now. for two reasons, one, the evidence suggests most of the spreading that people do happens for a couple of days before they have symptoms and two to three days after they have symptoms. waiting five days is reasonable. second, asking people to be isolated longer than they need to be. it is hugely burdensome to them. i think this cdc move is exactly right. if people follow what cdc laid

cnn's chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins has details for you. >> reporter: with the still mysterious omicron variant now in the u.s., today president biden laid out a new strategy to fight the pandemic. >> my plan i'm announcing today pulls no punches in the fight against covid-19. >> reporter: at the national institutes of health, biden attempted a balancing act, preventing panic while taking aggressive steps to combat the spread of omicron. >> we move forward in the face of covid-19 and the delta variant. we'll move forward in the face of omicron variant as well. >> reporter: biden will impose stricter testing requirements on u.s.-bound travelers, extend tsa's mask mandate, launch mobile family vaccines clinics, move to require private insurers to pay the cost of at-home tests, and boost access for those without it. there are some caveats to biden's new campaign. given insurance won't pay for past test purchases and the rule likely won't go into effect for at least six weeks. >> we expect to be -- have the final rules on this and have this implemented mid january. i expe

chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins here with me in new york. >> happy to be here. glad you're back from kentucky. >> look, there's so much need down there, and we're going to focus on the need throughout the show. >>> there is other major news this morning as well. overnight, text messages revealed that refrain the january 6th investigation. text messages to mark meadows, former chief of staff, from donald trump jr., fox entertainers, even lawmakers, that all privately and, for a time, unsuccessfully beg to do something to stop the violence as the attack unfolded at the capitol. there's plenty of focus about people speaking out of pboth sides of their mouths on tv about this. while that is salacious, there are legal implications here. what could be a road map as to what the white house knew, what the white house did, what the white house didn't do, even what the white house may have coordinated before, during, and after the attack. it shows an acute, keen awareness the capitol was under siege. donald trump jr. writes meadows about his father. he's got to condemn th

cnn's kaitlan collins has more on the meeting from washington. >> reporter: a high stakes call amid fears of a russian invasion. >> hello. good to see you again. >> reporter: with tensions simmering on the border of ukraine, president biden spoke to russian president vladimir putin for two hours and one minute. >> the main topic was ukraine. >> reporter: the call posing a critical test for bhiden as he tries to avoid a major security crisis if russia invades ukraine. >> we didn't get clarity if that is his intention? >> we still do not believe president putin has made a decision. what president biden did was layout clearly the consequence if he chooses to move. >> reporter: biden warning putin about strong economic consequence and, quote, other measures, but it remains to be seen if the combative russian leader backs down. >> there is no finger wagging, but the president was crystal clear. >> reporter: putin had his own demands, including blocking ukraine from joining the military alliance known as nato. >> he made no such commitments or concessions. >> reporter: sullivan adding the u.s.