time for one quick tweet. what is it? i think the american public for surviving all of this. not a bad answer, nancy. thanks for tweeting at me. "don lemon tonight" is in the on-deck circle and here he is. >> hey. michael, what about some of the insurrection police officers, like michael fanone or some of those guys? i think michael's on the cover of time magazine perhaps. >> a lot of folks said the protestors, insurrectionists, call them what you will because that was january 6, that was the beginning of this calendar year. it is certainly a story that's dominated the news ever since. if you really want to go by a definition, how about the unvaxed among us as a group? >> person or persons? >> persons. remember, don, who most dominated the news for better or worse? >> oh. well, there you go. i was thinking people who did something heroic but you are right. whoever, better or worse and the better is michael smerconish.

thanks, mike. you are on this weekend, right? this saturday? >> tomorrow morning. tomorrow morning. >> all right. i'll let yget out of here. i will see you tomorrow and i will see you next week. thanks. this is "don lemon tonight" and make no mistake. the warning lights are blinking and they are blinking red. january 6th was not the end, it was really, people -- it was just the beginning. we were just talking about it. you know? what dominated the news cycle more? was it january 6th? was it the unvaxed? what was it? whatever it is, both of them tell us that our democracy is at risk, and we are running out of time to do something about it. the committee investigating the attack on the capitol issuing six new subpoenas just tonight and for the first time, they have made a direct connection between organizers of the january 6th rally and the former guy, the then president. you may not know their names but these are the people who know what was really going on behind those closed doors at the white

house in the days leading up to january 6th. the committee says max miller, robert p. jr., met with then president in his private dining room of the oval office on january 4th -- two days before, right -- to discuss the rally that was to be held just two days later. and would be speaking at that rally. now, the committee mentions the former-trump campaign official katrina pearson. remember? she was always on television as a trump surrogate before he was elected and then she became -- right -- someone in the administration. so, katrina pearson is mentioned who was reportedly involved in organization of the rallies and has already been subpoenaed. she was in that meeting, too. max miller, who is now a congressional candidate in ohio tweeting his first vote would be to disband the committee that subpoenaed him today. bonus points for the ever-popular in some circles, anyway, accusations of a witch hunt, right? and we have got a newly revealed memo tonight written by trump campaign lawyer jenna ellis.

yes, that jenna ellis. the same one who stood up with rudy giuliani to push the big lie of bogus election fraud. in a mow me the day before the attack on the capitol, she said then-vice president mike pence could ignore a federal law the electoral count act and just stop the certification process when it reached arizona. that memo, first issue reported by "politico." so, let's not forget what happened when pence refused to do just that. watch. >> hang mike pence! hang mike pence! >> looking at that, seeing the violence at the seat of our democracy that day, it is just stunning to realize that less than half of the capitol rioters -- listen to this -- less than half of capitol rioters who have been sentenced so far have gotten any time behind bars. that is according to a new cnn analysis. and meanwhile, the clock is ticking as the former president tries to keep his secrets from the january 6th committee. it's got less than two weeks to appeal to the supreme court with a conservative majority and

three justices that he appointed. then, there is republican david perdue. who lost his senate seat in that hotly contested georgia run-off election the day before the attack on the capitol, and is now running for governor of georgia. he's got this whole new thing. you decide if you think it's grifty. because he's still pushing the big lie of bogus-election fraud. filing a lawsuit just today, more than a year after the election, a lawsuit to inspect absentee ballots from 2020. as i have been saying here, it's been reported everywhere, the ballots were counted three times. georgia officials have said over and over and over that there is no evidence of widespread fraud. joe biden won the state by about 12,000 votes. but that is not stopping david perdue from running on the outlandish claim that he would stopped the certification of a lawful election. like i said, the warning lights are blinking red.

democracy is in peril, with republicans running on the idea that they would refuse to certify legitimate elections. there was a time when some republicans knew what was right. >> the president bears responsibility for wednesday's attack on congress by mob rioters. he should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. these facts require immediate action by president trump. accept his share of responsibility, quell the brewing unrest, and ensure president-elect biden is able to successfully begin his term. >> what happened to that? the january version of kevin mccarthy. what happened to him? now, completely knuckling under to a disgraced, twice-impeached, one-term, insurrection-inspiring former president. the gop is unchecked and it's leaderless. members push hate, they push

islam phobia. they push all kinds of bigotry. lies. they proudly post christmas cards showing their kids holding guns. they post violent videos that apair to show a democratic colleague being killed. and then, there is florida's ron desantis sending out a fundraising e-mail today calling for dr. anthony fauci to be put in prison. complaining about what he calls medical authoritarianism and claiming fauci lied to congress. and then, going on to shell for cash because that's what this is really about. that and getting attention. trolling and feeding the fake outrage machine instead of governing. it's really about the money. power. attention. and that is where we are tonight. but think about where we were just last year at this time. did anybody -- did any of you -- did any of us ever imagine what

was going to happen on january 6th? blood-thirsty trump supporting rioters attacking the united states capitol? what will we think when we look back on this time? when we look back on the nationwide assault on the vote? candidates like david perdue running on how he would have stopped the certification of a lawful election. local officials who stood up against the big lie replaced by others who might not stand up the way that they did. we think we missed the warning lights that i have been talking about? the ones that are blinking red? the warning lights that our democracy is in peril. right to the new round of speeches now, i want to bring in cnn political commentator charlie dent. former republican congressman from pennsylvania. and senior legal analyst laura coates, a former federal prosecutor. good to see both of you. good evening. do you disagree, before i go to

the first question, each of you just quickly, yes or no, is our democracy in peril, laura? >> yes, it absolutely is. with voting rights being curtailed, people trying to metastasize further a big lie and our integrity of our elections constantly questioned, it absolutely is. >> charlie dent? >> yeah, i think our democracy is at risk and there is backsliding but i really blame one person -- the former president -- because he continues to poison the dialogue by saying the whole system is rigged and he was robbed even though all these other people who won were not robbed. they won legitimately. >> laura, let's get to the -- the six new subpoenas. um, focus on the people involved in planning of the rallies leading up to the capitol attack. some who even met directly with trump just days beforehand. what do you think the committee wants to get out of them? >> the key word here is beforehand. remember, there hasn't been really a correlation, as of yet that we are aware of, where there was a direct communication or something about the planning

with the former president from the rallies to the insurrection. they are actually going to figure out what happened, what were the events leading up to it and really what led to what is being suggested as you had in your piece, the idea of the transition of thought from who bear responsibility to what happened later. there is no way that there was a coincidence that everyone seemed to attack the citadel of our democracy. try flying a kite most places in washington, d.c. imagine having actual lumber be brought on, gallows be built and have this all coordinated effort with a target towards trying to, um, hurt or harm in some way mem members of congress. this is not happenstance. so the committee is trying to figure out what led up to it? who was involved in the planning? it could have been and obviously was more than one person who was involved in it. to an extent people were complicit or they acquiesce, remember the goal of congress here in the committee is to

investigate ways in whthere wer shortcomings, investigate ways to have an oversight function further and legislate a way to fortify elections even further. so all this is an eye towards figuring out and confirming what we all frankly saw with our own eyes. this wasn't coincidence and happenstance. this appeared to be strategic and planning. >> yeah. it wasn't a tourist visit to the capitol. um, charlie, cnn also learning about memos from trump lawyer jenna ellis. remember her? the one that stood with rudy giuliani. supposedly, they outline theories of how former-vp mike pence could overturn the election. that is on top of the memo we know came from john eastman. um, was this all right out in plain sight you think? >> i don't know how out in the open it was but i think everybody recognizes that it was -- these were absurd arguments. that the vice president had no authority to overturn the state certification of elections. i mean, the vice president

understood that. dan quail explained it to mike pence and they were right. and so, i mean, these -- these lawyers were coming up with these outrageous theories in an attempt to prevent the peaceful transition of power. and it's as simple as that. and again, i -- i hlay the blam at the former president. that's why we are having these conversations today. i know that most republicans with whom i have dealt with who serve or currently in office believe they were all elected legitimately. and if the democrats are going to steal elections, they wouldn't have just stolen the presidential election. they would have stolen it all and they all know that so i think this is -- it's really sad that we are in this -- this position in this country right now. >> laura, the national archives -- say again? >> and others are watching. and as -- as america backslides, you know, that's really spells trouble for the democratic institutions around the world because they always look to us for leadership. we were the paradigm, we were the model. no so much any more, unfortunately. >> national archives, laura,

working with mark meadows to get records that he had on personal accounts and may not have been given to the agency. we don't know what those records are. but i want you to listen. this is -- this is congressman adam schiff, what he told cnn when asked about it tonight. >> what he says through his lawyer is that the reason he had an about face was that the committee wanted his phone records. um now, why would that change his willingness to cooperate unless he felt perhaps that those phone records might contradict what he's -- what he was preparing to say? or show context that he wasn't disclosing to the committee. >> what do you think? can these phone records be critically important? >> absolutely. i mean, his skepticism -- adam schiff's skepticism is warranted as to what would transform your otherwise cooperation. and by the way, i don't want anyone to have this false notion that cooperating with a subpoena issued from congress is somehow optional. the idea of voluntarily

complying is something that we should take out our minds, it is the opposite of being held in contempt but it is the expectation, the voluntary compliance is the bare minimum. and remember, you have to be able to appear and you could assert if you have a valid privilege, question by question. but an overall thumbing of the nose, saying you want to carte blanche not to appear, you can't answer what your name is. you can't answer to any conversations that weren't with the president of the united states. personal correspondence with members of congress, with your own family, anything else. and you have the records to corroborate that these indeed did happen. >> and you can put some of it in your book, laura? >> they also -- what did you say? >> you can put some of it in your book but then you can't go and speak before congress, before a committee? >> i mean, in many respects, this harkens back to the criticism of john bolton, right? the idea that, no, we can't appear to testify for impeachment proceedings or be any service to the impeachment

managers in the hearing for transparency because it might run up against a book publication. here, mccarthy -- mark meadows has published information. he has spoken about it. and even before having information in a book, he has essentially publicized conversations through nonprivileged communications. and so, cherry picking based on your preference, what you give and provide to an investigative committee, is shocking and i just remind -- and -- and congressman dent, you know this quite well. this was a former member of congress who was saying that there is no authority for congress to investigate and have oversight of a proper legislative function over an attack on members of congress? i wasn't in the capitol that day. you weren't in the capitol. don, you were not there. we were not the ones who were immediately in danger but our democracy was. our -- our elected officials were. and to have someone say there is no oversight and i am not going to give the information because i'd rather compartmentalize in some way or provide for a book, that's one of the reasons why

democracy is in peril. >> yeah. charlie, i want to get your response to that. also, you know, you were just talking about how ridiculous this is. david perdue filing this lawsuit to -- that calls to inspect absentee ballots. now that he is running for governor. he lost the senate election and now he is running for governor, and now he is doing -- a year after the election. >> first, i just want to say, don, that mark meadows is one of the senior members of the house oversight committee when he was in the majority. and if somebody defied a subpoena that they had issued, i guarantee you he would have had a conniption fit. he would have gone -- he would have gone wild, berserk. now, on -- on senator perdue or former-senator perdue, look. he -- he lost his election largely because donald trump suppressed the vote in the -- in the run-off election. he told republicans the system was rigged, they didn't show up, and that's why you have a democratic majority with ossoff and warnock winning. and so now, it's -- i hate to see people debase themselves to the former president in this

way. he is simply just trying to become governor and he is blaming -- he is blaming the current governor and -- and the -- and the secretary of state down there who actually did their jobs, and recognized they couldn't decertify an election and it was an honest election. and so bottom line is, he wants to be a -- um, a governor and he feels he needs the president's support in the primary to do so, so he will say things that he has to no he are simply not the case or not true. >> does he need that in georgia? it's just weird. they are -- they are running a weird strategy. we will see, though. thank you, both. i appreciate it. so, how do the threats to our democracy look to the rest of the world? charlie was just talking about that. he mentioned it. are autocrats empowered at home, as well? big questions for fareed zakaria. fareed is next. u return safely. even if it's still... a little awkward. how've you been? -i'm so good! ♪ this is what healthier looks like. ♪

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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 president of the united states joe biden today delivering a message about protecting democracy to leaders from around the world but as the president tries to bolster democracy across the globe, the u.s. is struggling to protect its own institutions here at home. >> defending democracy demands a whole-of-society effort. it requires all of us. the leaders of government, we -- we have a responsibility to listen to our silt zen citizens, to strengthen the towardrails of democracy, and to drive reforms that are going to make

transparent, accountable governments. >> joining me now to discuss, fareed zakaria. he is the host of cnn's fareed zakaria gps. fareed, thank you so much. i was just sitting here thinking, you know, to do this summit today. he is dealing with the economy. he is dealing with covid. um, he had the funeral, whatever. i was like who would ever want to be president of the united states? my gosh, what a job? >> the bandwidth you need to be dealing with all these issues and, you know, it's -- people often forget. they think like, okay, it's now foreign policy week. it's -- it that's not how it works. there is a great biography of president kennedy which points out that, in every day, you are dealing with all these issues, simultaneously. >> yeah. >> so, like you are in a meeting about inflation and somebody comes in and says, putin just moved another 50,000 troops into, you know, to the border of ukraine. and then, somebody else comes in and tells you something about the ohio runoff election. and then, you know, it's -- it's all happening every day all the time.

>> yeah. >> it's -- the -- the guy who i don't think seemed -- who didn't seem to age in the job, other than that everybody ages was donald trump. you know? so you notice -- well, who knows what his hair looks like? but i am always struck by the fact that doesn't seem to make much difference to him because, you know, he was tweeting the same way he would be doing. >> there was a lot of executive time there but i mean, listen, things on the current president's plate, including we have witnessed a relentless deliberate plot to tear down institutions and norms. and across the country, republicans are passing laws to restrict voting. the former president's refusal to accept his loss. causing mass distrust in our own elections. i mean, it is gating tougher for the u.s. to preach about democracy right now, no? >> well, look. you are exactly right, don. it's a very tough time because f y if you think about it, what we are trying to do is to talk about democratic backsliding. that is the whole point of this

democr democracy summit. i it's not so much about democracies versus authoritarian regimes. it's about how -- the problem in some sense is not that china and russia undermining it. it's that it is all getting undermined from within, places like hungary, places like poland, places like turkey. and of course, places like the united states. that is the principal problem here which is, as you rightly say, there is every day, every week, evidence that the united states is moving toward a constitutional crisis. look. it's very clear what trump and his minions are trying to do, which is to give state legislatures the power to overturn elections. and if that happens, you end up, in 2024, with a constitutional crisis. so, how do we go around telling people, you know, democracy is important, the rule of law is important, election -- free and fair elections are important when we're undermining those

very things right now? and in a -- in a way that could be very consequential. >> yeah, but even the fact that we need a summit like this to protect democracy around the globe shows that it is on the -- that -- that -- it's on the defensive right now. and democracies ultimately have to deal with their own domestic politics. so, what can a summit -- i mean, can this -- will this accomplish anything? >> honestly, i -- i -- i think that, you know, i mean i don't -- i don't know, um, whether biden thought about it this way. but the best thing we could do right now is to strengthen democracy in the united states, which means to turn the issue of voting rights into a national nonpartisan issue. and i mean, if i were president biden, i would make -- and say nothing less is at stake than american democracy and it is a very simple proposition. that everybody has the right to vote and everybody --

everybody's vote should be counted. now, let me tell you what is happening in these various states and here's why you have to mobilize. you have to support congress when it tries to pass legislation. i would, for this case, suspend the filibuster. talk to manchin. you know, if we give it that sense of urgency and crisis, um, it may get through because i fear the danger here is this is a kind of slow-motion coup. there is no one day where something is happening that is undermining democracy. it's in about 12 states that a series of small measures are being taken. you know, in georgia, the secretary of state is -- is stripped of the powers that he was meant to have and, instead, it's been given to the legislature. similar thing is happening in wisconsin. so, you know, when do you report that democracy is at threat? there's no one day. and the one person who could create a crisis and create an event is the president of the united states. >> well, i mean, that plus we are seeing some people in the

u.s. embracing autocrats and in an unprecedented way. the fox propaganda network even defendlinging putin this week. listen. it's crazy. >> so at this point, nato exists primarily to torment vladimir putin who whatever his many faults, has no intention of invading western europe. vladimir putin does not want belgium. he just wants to keep his western borders secure. >> i mean, this would have been unimaginable ten -- or i mean even five years ago. how troubling is this sympathy on the american right with authoritarians like putin and hungary's viktor orban? >> it's stunning and startling. so let's remember, unpack what -- what -- what was just said. um, putin is not planning to invade western europe. in other words, what tucker carlson seems to be saying is that it's okay if he has designs on eastern europe. now, for the last 25 years,

there has been bipartisan agreement that one of the great successes of american foreign policy was the victory in the cold war and the consolidation of that victory was to free all those captive nations that had been colonized by the soviet union. p poland, the czech republic, slovakia, the baltic states. and, you know, anchor them in freedom and democracy in -- in the west. what tucker carlson seems to be saying is we are just worried about western europe. we are worried about belgium and france. if putin wants all of eastern europe, well, you know, that -- that's okay. a very odd concession and a very odd turning of one's back on one of the really the most extraordinary achievements of western strategy for the last 30 or 40 years. i mean, and -- and even let's look at ukraine. this is -- ukraine is a country where these people desperately want a future that is anchor

understand liberal -- in liberty, democracy, capitalism, the west. and shouldn't we be supporting that? >> one would think unless you -- >> they are willing to fight and they are fighting and dying for it, right? they're asking for moral/political support. some arms. and that we can't give because -- because it makes vladimir putin feel insecure? >> yeah. can we talk about some domestic issues? let's talk about the economy. also, a huge concern in the u.s. new reporting showing the key inflation measure hit a 39-year high in november. it's more than just gas prices. i just want to put this graphic up. it's furniture, food, clothing. i mean, these are necessities. how does this weigh on everything else americans are dealing with right now? >> this has got to be president biden's number one concern. the thing to understand about inflation and the reason it's been so destabilizing throughout history is unemployment affects only a small number of people.

right? most people have jobbeds and soe unemployment rate is 8%. 8% of the people who don't have jobs who are upset. but inflation affects 100% of the people. 100% of the people, when they go to the gas station, when they go to the grocery store, when they go to buy something at a store, they all feel the pain. so, it's much more widespread and it's much more -- it -- it makes -- it makes people feel they have been robbed of their savings, you know, of they income. so, he is -- you know, look, some of this is beyond his control. there is, frankly, a lot of weirdness in the way that the entire global economy shut down. and then, is restarting and it turns out this is not a seamless process. you know, when you restart an economy, it turns out, a bunch of people who are working places have quit jobs. a bunch of factories cloeed down. a bunch of countries still have covid restrictions. so there is a lot of, you know, jerkiness in this opening. but also, what is happening is

frankly, you know, it is the flip side of a good news story. there is a lot of demand. people have cash, they are buying stuff and that fuels inflation. people are being paid more. you know, one of the great drivers of inflation right now appears to be wage inflation. mcdonald's says that they are paying 10% more for their people across the country. that's good news. on the other hand, they are raising -- they are passing some of those costs onto the consumers. so it's a mixed bag but, you know, one of the things -- inflation is often seen as a test of presidential leadership and even though in some ways the federal reserve has more to do with it. so biden just needs to show that he is thinking about it long and hard. and let me -- let me point to one thing, in particular. it's not just gas prices. it's energy prices. if people start feeling like heating their homes, going to the gas station, all those things are going to cost more. that -- you know, you don't want to go back to the '70s when you

had an energy crisis and jimmy carter was president and it didn't end well. >> yes. i was -- i was there for it. i remember it very, very well. >> you are too young to remember that. >> it's the makeup and lighting. i am not that young. thank you very much. you are very kind. fareed zakaria, it is always a pleasure. i really enjoyed the conversation, so i will see you soon. be well. and make sure you watch fareed zakaria gps sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. right here on cnn. the cdc is out with their first analysis of the omicron variant in the united states. what they are finding about who is getting infected and how severely, next. by the team at fidelity. his ira is professionally managed, and he gets one-on-one coaching when he needs it. so ben is feeling pretty zen. that's the planning effect from fidelity

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the cdc out today with their first evaluation of omicron cases in the u.s. their study looked at 43 positive cases, and found most had mild symptoms but a majority of those people infected were vaccinated and 14 of them already had boosters. interesting. let's discuss now. dr. leana wen is here. cnn medical analyst. good to see you, doctor. thanks for joining. >> great to see you too, don. >> so, some experts say that this shows that omicron is not the doomsday variant. but others, like dr. anthony fauci, are looking for more data. what's your read on this cdc report?

>> i still think that it's too early for us to tell exactly what is going to happen with omicron. so, there is good news and bad news. i will start with the bad news, first. the bad news is that it does look like omicron is really contagious. it might even be twice as contagious as the already very contagious delta variant. that's really not good but the good news is it doesn't seem like omicron is causing more severe disease. although, the caveat is even if something doesn't cause more severe disease but spreads a lot more easily, it could still end up overwhelming our hospitals and already in some parts of the country, we are already seeing a lot of these hospitals being overrun. we have also seen this week that there is some degree of immune escape. meaning, that vaccinated people can still get the omicron variant. they are not very well protected. however, if they are boosted, that does give them a very high level of protection. so i think bottom line is if you are not vaccinated, get vaccinated. if you are not boosted, please get that booster now. it's not just a luxury item. it's something that is essential at this point.

>> say it again. i mean, it's -- get -- if you are not vaccinated, get vaccinated. if you are not boosted, get boosted. it's the best that we have right now and wearing masks. so like i said, most of the people in the report who -- who got omicron were vaccinated. and some even boosted. so you are telling people to do it but that's got to be -- you have to have some level of concern about that, doctor? >> well, most americans at this point thankfully are vaccinated. so the fact that most people who -- in -- in this initial case series who got omicron are vaccinated. that really should not be surprising, especially because a third of those individuals according to the cdc study are people who had international travel, so they are much more likely to be vaccinated for that reason. >> so you have to look into the numbers to show what they mean. >> right. so, i think the takeaway from this very small case study -- so we are talking about 43 people that the cdc is reporting on, thus far. a third of them have

international travel but what's concerning is that two-thirds do not, which means that there is some level of community transmission that's occurring. the good news so far is that all of these individuals seem to have pretty mild symptoms. mainly, cough, fatigue, overall not feeling well. one person was in the hospital but was then briefly -- was briefly there and has since been discharged. so, all of that seems promising, so far. but i do also want to remind people that we have the delta variant to contend with right now. we are seeing over 100,000 new daily infections because of the delta variant. and we have the holidays still coming. and so, this is the time for us to be vigilant. i would definitely still keep wearing masks while in indoor crowded public spaces. if you are gathering with others, make sure that they are fully vaccinated. ideally, boosted as well. and also, testing can be a really good strategy. if you are gathering with people, especially who are immunocompromised or elderly or who are young kids, too young to be vaccinated, it would be great if everybody can be tested that morning before the gathering.

>> you talked about older folks. let's talk about young people. cdc is now saying kids over 16 years old can get a pfizer booster but for kids younger than that, they are still not authorized for that booster shot. what do parents need to know to protect their kids right now, doctor? >> yeah. so, i think if there are kids who are 16 and older -- adolescents 16 and older, they should definitely get a booster now that it is available to this age group. for parents in the 5 and above group who have not yet gotten their kids their initial doses, n is the time to do that, especially with omicron and the threat of delta, as well. for people who have younger kids, including me. i have got two little kids below the age of 5. we have to keep being vigilant because if does appear omicron -- we know from the uk, for example, omicron seems to be spreading really quickly, including in households. so i think again this is a time to be vimg last and not let down our guard. i am not saying don't gather with people. but rather, just be careful when doing so.

ideally, make sure they are also vaccinated and boosted and if they are not, that testing is going to be really important. >> how long have we been working together? almost two years now, that you have been on cnn and we have never met in person and we just mitt the other day. it was nice meeting you in person and nice having you on. thank you, doctor. >> thank you, great to see you. and great to meet you in person, too, don. nine of the country's most populous cities seeing a record number of homicides. we are going to take a look at what's behind the alarming rise in violence. that's next. hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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guns. more tonight from cnn's ryan young. >> reporter: across the country, police departments, cities, towns, and communities are dealing with an alarming increase in the number of homicides. from portland. >> everybody has their head on a swivel. >> reporter: to birmingham. >> over to the street. >> reporter: now, to austin. >> this certainly is not the right reason, not something when we are setting this type of a record, that we want to be in the news for. >> reporter: with the fast-growing city has shattered its yearly record for homicides making 2021 the city's deadliest year on record. cnn analysis of more than 40 of the most populous cities in the u.s. shows nine that have already set homicide records before year's end. indianapolis has surpassed their 2020 total of 215. philadelphia, with 524 homicides to date. and albuquerque, new mexico, with 103. and austin, texas --

>> what is it like to see the numbers of homicides that you guys are experiencing right now? >> you know, it's just really disappointing quite honestly. >> reporter: austin police chief joseph chacone says there is no one reason for these record-high numbers but he has noticed a disturbing trend. >> we have seen really a spike in gun violence. so, you know, just a proliferation of illegally owned weapons on the street. >> reporter: nationwide, more homicides are being committed using guns than ever. shootings have increased nearly in all major u.s. cities that track that data. there have been 88 homicides in austin so far this year according to the police department. double last year's total and the city's homicide rate has ticked up to 8.5% putting it on par with numbers not seen consistently since the '80s. but it's not guns alone. police chiefs, activists, and experts say covid-19 is still a contributing factor. >> you have something of a perfect storm where the people who are at the highest risk for violence are being pressed more

than ever. >> reporter: experts recommend looking into community-based approaches to reducing violent crime. >> police need to be at the table and police are part of the solution. but they are not the whole solution. you need community-based organizations and law enforcement agencies working together. >> reporter: activists agree. >> maybe, if we were sending other types of resources other than just police into our communities, we would be having different outcomes. >> reporter: chris harris says he's seen more guns on the street leading to not just violent but deadly consequences. >> guns are just more accessible across our country and across our community and across our state, in particular. >> reporter: austin pd is working to turn the tide using its real-time crime center and new office of violence prevention. >> if these guys were fighting, we can watch exactly what's going on. >> reporter: other cities are also looking into violence reduction strategies to combat violent crime. >> we have a problem that is much deeper than baltimore city. >> reporter: in baltimore, the mayor there says they have taken 2,000 guns off the streets this year. but the city's homicide rate has

remained steady in recent years. mayor scott says it's something many mayors around the country are dealing with. >> we still have the historical things that are happening, the drugs, gangs, the money. but so many more people are dying over small, interpersonal disputes. they are using gun violence to solve petty beefs. >> it is a culture. it's a way of thinking. >> reporter: as the country grapples with the historic increase in the homicide rate and a re-imagining of police departments, back in austin, they are looking for solutions as fast as they can. >> we need to get ahead of that problem and as a community, as a city, that's what we are doing. >> reporter: don, as you know, this is friday night so a lot of people go out to have a good time. it's also where we see the spikes in crime across the country because when you add alcohol or when you add people in large crowds going out, um, sometimes violence happens. in the city like austin, they are watching the downtown area very closely on nights like this. they confiscate a lot of guns across the country. what they are hoping to see, though, with some of these new

strategies that are being put into place. tamping down some of the crime that is being experienced across the country. don? >> ryan young, thank you very much. let's hope it works. more than 55 million americans at risk of severe storms tonight. we are going to tell you who is in the path of the storm, next. in giving back. that's why, in difficult times, we provided one hundred and fifty million meals to feeding america. and now through the subaru share the love event, we're helping even more. by the end of this year, subaru will have donated over two hundred and twenty five million dollars to charity. this is what it means to be more than a car company. this is what it means to be subaru. ♪ ♪ welcome to allstate. where everything just seems to go your way. ♪ ♪ you're in good hands with allstate. click or call for a lower auto rate today.

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hey, pay attention, everyone. tornadoes touching down in arkansas tonight. at least two people dead as a powerful storm system puts more than 55 million americans at risk. our meteorologist is derek van dam. he joins us now from the cnn weather center. who's in the path of the storm and what should they expect?

>> don, unfortunately it's turned out to be a deadly and very dangerous night across northeast arkansas into western kentucky and tennessee. we've got another eight hours of this storm, this line of storms moving through the region. a very large, expansive, and multifaceted storm with snow to the north and six current tornado watches ongoing from indianapolis all the way to shreveport, louisiana. let's focus in on the storm that caused the fatalities across northeast arkansas, just outside of jonesboro in a small town called mow net. this is a long trek, long duration tornado that stayed on the ground for the majority of the past two hours. it's traveled over 100 miles, and it's particularly dangerous because it's taken advantage of that very unstable environment out ahead of the main line of thunderstorms. that storm is expected to continue to be tornadic going forward. it's not the only tornadic thunderstorm. we have severe thunderstorms

walloping st. louis. we've got an active night ahead of us and these storms all taking place under the shroud of darkness tonight. keep your phones on not mute tonight. >> be very careful. derek van dam, thank you very much. make sure you stay tuned to cnn. thank you for watching, everyone. you're not working. a plan that gives you the chance to grow your savings and create cash flow that lasts. along the way, we'll give you ways to be tax efficient. and you can start, stop or adjust your plan at any time without the unnecessary fees. we'll help you go from saving... to living. ♪ play all day ♪

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>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. hello, everyone. i'm michael holmes. appreciate your company. you're watching "cnn newsroom," and we begin with breaking news. a dangerous night across the central u.s. millions of people at risk from a powerful storm system with more than 20 tornadoes reported across five states. have a look at this video. in the background there, yep, you can see a tornado in the darkness. it makes it harder to see, and it does make it even more dangerous as well. at least two people have been killed in arkansas, one at a dollar general store, another at