♪ happy new year. i'm paula reid in washington. and you are live in the "cnn newsroom." well, it's a new year, but same virus. people flooded the streets of new york for celebrations in times square, making it seem like any other year, but, of course, it's not. health officials warning holiday

celebrations like this one could mean a sobering start to 2022, as the omicron variant tears through the country at an astonishing pace. covid tests for those who can find one keep bringing bad tidings. the u.s. has already smashed another daily count record. experts worry it will bring a tidal wave of hospitalization comm admissions. right now, child hospitalizations are all-time high, and schools are torn how to move forward safely. massachusetts has denied a teachers union request to close schools on monday for covid testing, but in washington, d.c., students must produce a negative test to return to school. and returning home from the holidays is proving to be an issue. people learning that air travel, right now, airlines have cancelled 11,000 flights since christmas eve. the faa says it may be having to

send crew members home for isolation. taking to the seas may be complicated right now. the cdc has increased 9 risk refusal for cruise ships to its highest level. the federal agency said you should avoid cruises regardless of vaccination status. cnn's polo sandoval joins me from new york city. polo, happy new year. >> thank you, paula. this year, workers standing in lines to get covid tested. that's because new york state continued yesterday, closed off the year, following that trend of shattering its own record when it comes to daily numbers of covid cases. about 76,000 new yorkers tested positive again yesterday. 7900 new yorkers in the hospital right now. that's certainly concerning as these kinds of numbers are the ones that really add strain to these health care facilities that have already been through the wringer when it comes to previous surges. that's one of the reasons fema is sending in sources, medical

resources to hospitals throughout the state. because of these numbers that are not expected to drop, at least not immediately. there is hope, obviously that this wave could be potentially short-lived. and ultimately, we will see it. i was out here in times square yesterday, seeing the massive crowds. it's interesting new yorkers were greatly reduced in numbers, about 58,000 that we usually see prepandemic, to only 15,000, according to authorities. and i saw how nypd was actually trying to limit the number of people in some of these fenced in areas and gave people plenty of elbow room. there was obviously excitement in the new year that many of those folks in attendance were basically cramming themselves up to one corner to get close to that iconic ball drop. that worried officials. it's impossible to enforce social distancing when you have 15,000 people coming together in times square. so ultimately all new york authorities could do after deciding to move forward with

this, following the advice of multiple health officials, was to give people the ability to remain socially distanced. i can tell you i saw first hand many people did not. most people there were supposed to be fully vaccinated, were supposed to be wearing masks. and authorities hope that will decrease the chance of this having become a superspreader, paula. >> let's hope so, outside ventilation, helpingsome not to spread too quickly through that significant crowd. polo, thank you for your reporting. >> thank yous, paula. joining us dr. jonathan reiner, he's a medical professionaler of surge at new york hospital. thank you for being with us. right now, we have seen millions of americans ringing in the new year. while cases are at a record high. what are you worried about now in the weeks ahead? >> well, i'm worried about our hospitals, we're going to continue to see millions and millions of cases in the united

states. and even with the lower virulence, apparently for the variant, 2% of folks who contract the virus need to be hospitalized. and it's going to be a race, it's going to be a race between waiting for this surge to crest. and hoping that we don't run out of hospital capacity. and again, it's not just the bed capacity in the hospital. what we're really worried about is hospital staff getting ill and having to isolate. and it's going to be close in many parts of the country. we're seeing hospitalizations in places like new york, rise significantly, you know where i live and work in d.c., also we're seeing hospitalizations rise. we still have some capacity, but it's all going to depend on when this surge crests. and for parts of the united states that are less well vaccinated than new york and

d.c., they're going to have that real soon. >> a new study found that it will wane with omicron but it wanes even more an a natural infection. what does this mean for people listening to someone like florida governor ron desantis who has argued that a natural infection is institute for vaccination. i'm sure you've seen the comments online about omicron being nature's vaccine. what are you saying to people? >> well, i say look at what's happened in florida. florida has had 1,000% increase in cases in ten weeks. that's ten-fold increase in cases and about 150% increase in hospitalizations. natural immunity doesn't work for this variant now. so, if you're just relying as a prior covid infection as your shield of armor, it's not going to cut it. you're going to get infected and you're going to get sick. two shots of mrna vaccine will

protect you from serious illness, very likely, but you're still likely to get ill. a booster increases the efficacy against symptomatic infection, to about 75%. which is pretty good. with even higher rates of protection against severe illness and death. unfortunately, only about one-third of the folks in this country who have been vaccinated have been boosted. and it's time for the cdc to tell the public that you are not fully vaccinated if you don't have a third shot. or if you've had the johnson & johnson vaccine, a second shot. let's just stop this fallacy that full vaccination is two shots. two shots doesn't cut it anymore. >> well, why do you think the cdc hasn't done that at this point? you're certainly not the first person to call for that. >> well, there's a lot of politics involved. you know, they're walking this

tight rope between trying to do what's right for public health. and perhaps, they're worried about undermining folks' confidence in the vaccines. i think when you tell people, what we now know, this is a three-shot vaccine. if you haven't had your third shot, you're not fully vaccinated, people will understand that. but when -- you still perpetuate this myth that two shots constitutes full vaccination. it portrays this notion that the third shot is optional, you know, it's extra protection -- it's not extra protection. it just takes you up to an acceptable level. and only about a third of the people in this country who have been vaccinated have opted to do that. if you look at the country as a whole, only about 20% of the population has had a third dose, factoring in the folks who have not been vaccinated. so we are unprepared for omicron. and this is why our hospitals are going to be stretched to capacity. so, everyone needs a third dose.

and in florida, if you're relying on your summer infection as your protection against omicron, you're sadly mistaken. and i'd like to hear from the florida governor -- i'd like to hear governor desantis tell his population in that state which is being hammered now to get vaccinated and get boosted. stop the nonsense. protect the people that have voted for you. >> a lot of folks vacationing right now in florida. earlier this week, you said you wouldn't eat inside a restaurant without a mask. >> no. >> what other activities would you not engage in right now? >> yeah, i wouldn't -- i wouldn't walk into a bar. i certainly wouldn't have a drink in a bar. i wouldn't go on a cruise ship. i wouldn't sit tightly packed in a theater. there's just too much virus around to do this. now, if you're wearing a medical grade n95 which i do wear in a crowd, yeah, you can probably

tolerate that for a period of time safely. but now is the time to hunker down. this is as dense a viral environment as we've had since the beginning of the pandemic. and at the beginning of the pandemic, when there was much less virus around everyone was basically locked down. but there isn't the political will or maybe the public will to do that now. but in places where hospital capacity is at a breaking point, where they're cancelling elected procedures like in places like rhode island and michigan, maybe we should have a lockdown and tell people to stay home for a week until, you know, we get better control of this. but the notion you that can sort of live your life now because we're tired of this and we have to move on, isn't going to cut it for the next few weeks. you need to be smart. spend time in your house, binge a series that you've always wanted to do. but now is not the time to spend amongst many of your friends unmasked.

>> dr. jonathan reiner, thank you so much for that sobering reminder and endorsement for us. we're going to need some netflix in the next couple of weeks. >> my pleasure, happy new year, paula. and up next, we remember american icon betty white. the tributes pouring in for the beloved "golden girl" next. some of my best memories growing up, were cooking with mom. she always said, “food is love.” so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ i want to make the most of every meal we have together. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com

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and they attack chickens. i don't care about chickens, rose, she didn't call me chicken. she called me peacock. >> fans are mourning the death of a "golden girl" actress and icon betty white died friday, just weeks shy of her 100th birthday among her roles the man-hungry sue ann nivens and

rose nylund of the "the golden girls." over the years, row won 25 emmy nominations five in 2010, she enjoyed a snickers is super bowl commercial. and adding to that the oldest person to host "saturday night live" when she was 88. >> when i heard about the campaign to get me to host "saturday night live," i didn't know what facebook was. and now that i do know what it is, i have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> i would never say that people on it are losers. [ laughter ] but that's only because i'm polite. >> late night host seth meyers tweeting, rest in peace, betty

white, the only "snl" host getting a standing ovation at the after party. a party at which will she ordered a vodka and hot dog and stayed till the bitter end. stating sandra bullock from "the proposal" i don't think vodka but i will tonight. on ice with a slice of lemon with a hot dog on the other side. and from ryan reynold, the world looks different now. she was good at defying expectation. she managed to grow very old and somehow not old enough. bill carter joins me now. bill, i think you'd be hard-pressed to find somebody universally loved as betty white. how did she stay so relevant for seven decades? >> i'm tempted to say talent. this is another trained actress.

she grew up in the very early days of television just doing everything. she did sitcoms. she did game shows. they did variety shows, she sang. she was just a very natural talent. considering who she was, it wasn't a put-on at all. as she grew into the com ic persona, you saw these tremendous comedy jobs that not many people have she could deliver a devastating line so effectively, like the one you just showed on "saturday night live" so beautifully. there aren't that many hosts at "saturday night live" that good at just jumping into that cast. she was brilliant on it. they had a campaign to get her to do it. then she gets on and gets the biggest rating of the year and she kills it. i went back and watched some of the sketches they did, she was great. just plain great. an unique talent. >> here you have on the one hand a sweet-natured woman regards as america's grandmother. on the other hand, you have a

razor sharp comedian that could be salty pipe wanted to play one of her sketches on "saturday night live." let's take a listen. >> how would you describe your race or ethnic origin? >> well, superior to asians but not as intelligent as blacks. >> let me clarify, which describes you, white, asian, hispanic, pacific islander. >> oh, pacific islander, let's try that. and don't skimp on the rum. [ laughter ] >> what is your last name, ma'am? >> loven -- >> can you smell that -- >>-s-m-i-t-h. >> and that's pronounced -- >> it seems like that combination of sweet and salty that made her such a comedy genius. >> well, this is the interesting

thing about it because she was like kind of this very sweet conformer in her early career, especially on game shows where you're supposed to be this kind of appealing, pleasant person, and she was all of that, but then she got the sue ann nivens role in "mary tyler moore" who was a bloody character and she played that so well and that was part of her persona. she could tell a risque joke so well, because she was able to be that sweet, grandmotherly person. and many clips of her, especially in the later series where you saw her ad-libbing or going back with the director or people on the cast and she's extremely ly funny. and she just kills them. because she had that ability to play with that image of herself and make everyone laugh. i mean, an unique talent and really, really special.

>> incredibly special. and it seems like authenticity key here as well, but, bill, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention betty white was, of course, an animal lover. in fact, she called television a hobby, and animals her work. tell us a little bit about that part of her life. >> well, she was. this has become au courant to support animal. she was doing this a long time. she really was an animal lover and committed to that. this is a person who held a performance i don't know how many years but she was well off. she started off in a sitcom. she basically was in charity work for animals. and was a dedicated person. not just this is my charity, i'm going to take animals up, that's what she believed in. >> one of the things that's bittersweet, she passed away

right before her 100th birthday which is commemorated on this week's "people" magazine. one of the things asked were there any projects she would like to do. here's how she liked to joke. >> i usually answer that question with robert redford. i think i've been lucky enough to do just about so much -- if i start complaining about anything under the sun, throw me out of the business. >> we should note, robert redford actually gave our show a statement saying, quote, betty lived life devoted to her craft and love of animals. she made us all laugh, including me, i had a crush on her too. how else is hollywood remembering her today. >> well, i think people all over hollywood are basically saying they're recognizing this was a person in your life for all of these years. i mean, television started with her. this is amazing to think about this. she was how television started.

we all know her. most people in hollywood grew up watching her in some form or another and felt like they identified with her. then when they worked with her, they were struck by this unique kind of personality, you get all of these people offering tributes that are not off hand because they're personal. they really felt, even if they didn't act with her, they knew her because she's been in their lives for basically 50, 60, 70 years. that's an extraordinary experience. >> bill carter, thank you so much for joining us. we'll be right back. new vicks vapostick. strong soothing vapors... help comfort your loved ones. for chest, neck, and back. it goes on clear. no mess just soothing comfort. try new vicks vapostick. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪ (coughing) ♪ breeze driftin' on by ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪

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all that entertainment built in. xfinity. a way better way to watch. this morning, hundreds of colorado residents are without homes after wildfires moved across the boulder, colorado, area. wind gusts of more than 100 miles per hour thursday turned those fires into a blow torch. and as the flames moved in, it resembled an apocalyptic scene until superior, colorado. shoppers ran out of the store into the parking lot. today, a welcome the sight for residents and emergency workers, snow, and there's more on the way. cnn's natasha chen joins me now from lewisville, colorado. the governor said it would be a

miracle if no one died. at this point, have there been reports of casualties? >> reporter: well, paula, there are not any confirmations of casualties. standing with me is the delaware family, they have lived in loui louisville for more than 20 years. i'm with judy delaware right now. can you tell me what happened the day you were asked to evacuate. >> absolutely, it started out as a beautiful morning, we were getting ready. our son came running into the bathroom talking with a friend on the phone, my daughter was with me, said there's huge smoke behind our house. we were able to get out there, take a peek at it, and we realized the smoke was attached to fire. and the flames were moving very quickly. the flames were very close to the house and it was very windy,

we realized we were in harm's way very quickly. we had almost no time to get to where we were back to the car to the house. >> just a few minutes would you think? >> yes, less than five minutes. >> and what did you take with you in those five minutes? >> everybody we see here. our dog, our cell phones and chargers, computers, medicine, and clothes on our backs. >> and you went back to your neighborhood yesterday. >> we did. >> tell me what that was like when you first saw what was left. >> well, we had known, we had heard from some people that had through the neighborhood. we already knew that the house was gone, many of our neighbors' houses were gone. it was hard to even visualize and conceptualize that our whole neighborhood was destroyed. we've lived there for so long, and it is such a community of friends. it's family. louisville is an amazing

community. and the support here has just been overwhelming. but seeing it, it's hard to believe when you look at your house, that that's everything. and it just was a pile of rubble, the bricks, everything had exploded. bricks were in the street. it just -- it was unimaginable. >> you have so many family memories there. your kids grew up there. and you had a celebration just the night before. >> we did. we did. and i'm just happy, memories, and we're just so glad we're here. our dogs are in the car. having three dogs is difficult to manage, not having a fenced in yard. we're okay, and i have all my people, and that's all that matters. >> what a way to start the new year, right, with the people you love, and as judy says, that's all that matters. there's so much recovery work to be done, we wish you luck this year. paula, back to you. >> natasha, thank you for that

report and thank you to the delaware family for sharing your story. we're glad you're all safe. now, storm chaser aaron rigsby joins me from louisville. aaron, what are you seeing out there? >> yeah, the main highway that actually goes from denver to boulder was just recently opened back up for the public to use again. pretty much the only thing that i've seen today is people attempting to get back to their homes and beginning the cleanup process. >> so, how do these wildfires compare to others that you've seen in the region, based on reporting from a colleague in the field it just seems that these were very quickly moving? >> that's exactly correct. the interesting thing a lot of our wildfires here in colorado typically start in the mountains, whether that be from a lightning strike or a rogue camp fire. and the dry conditions and they feed off all the trees up there. this was very unique because it started with downed power lines, at least that's what it's presumed to be at the moment.

and it's mostly wind-driven. it didn't have as much fuel to kind of go off of, as it does in the mountains. the wind was blowing. i think the highest wind gust reported was 106 miles an hour and it just drove those flames unfortunately right into the communities of superior and louisville. >> can you describe this, as the closest thing you'll see to the apocalypse, those are pretty strong words. what makes you say that based on your previous storm experience? >> that's correct. i've been doing this 11 years now. i've seen everything from category 5 hurricanes to violent tornado damage. everything just happened so quickly while i was there. everything around me went from, you know, everyone evacuating to just everything on fire. everything around me burning. you heard a constant popping sound and explosions going off from either vehicles catching on fire. gas meters or homes being caught on fire. and there was just a constant rain of embers coming down. and to be in a situation where literally everything around you

is burning. and then to come out of that and get an overlook view of how many fires were in the city. it's just something that words can't reaccurately put into description what it was really like. you hear about these things in movies but you never think you'll be in that situation in person. >> what's interesting, obviously, you run towards a storm, you're a storm chaser, when femur fleeing. you like other people were caught off guard. they were surprised. why is that, do you think? what was unique about these fires? >> well, unfortunately, it was a ticking time bomb that we all didn't really see happening. when you have this dry winter like we've had -- i mean, normally, you know, the snow is something that we start to see in october, november, by december, the mountains are usually covered by snow. we have significant accumulation. we haven't seen that this winter. and unfortunately, it's been

bone-dry, and we haven't seen much precipitation. it's been one of the driest seasons on record in state of colorado. when you mix those conditions together with the winds and it was a recipe for disaster. unfortunately it did come through. when you have 100-mile-an-hour winds you can't forecast that. storms you can forecast days ahead of time. hurricanes sometimes, you can forecast a week ahead of time. a wildfire, it's a freak accident that happened. and unfortunately with as fast as it was moving, these residents only had a few minutes to prepare and grab a few things if any at all, before fleeing the houses. >> terrifying. aaron, thank you for sharing your expertise with us. please be safe out there in your important work. >> absolutely. thank you so much for having me. and coming up, parents on alert, doctors see a wave of children in the hospital with covid while the debate over back to school rages on. we'll talk to a pediatrician about it next.

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and right now, an alarming surge in hospitalizations among children. the cdc says an average of 378 pediatric patients are being admitted on a given day. a pandemic-era record, that's also a 66% jump from the previous week. cnn's nadia romero joins me now from atlanta, where the children's health care system is overwhelmed and pleading with

the public to do their part. nadia, based on your reporting, what are the hospitals in georgia telling people? >> reporter: well, paula, just this week, we saw about six hospital systems come together, to release a joint statement, begging people, really, to stop gathering in big numbers. to start wearing masks, to get vaccinated and get boosted. and we're seeing a big impact on kids here in georgia, just like we're seeing in other parts of the country. let's dive deeper into the georgia pediatric numbers. cases and hospitalizations on the rise. as we look at cases we saw a family of 2700 back in august. what was happening in august? well, kids were heading back to school around those times. and novembers dropped november 28th, and now they're growing again. those numbers are rising and approaching their peak. the concern now is we are now after the holiday season. and many of those kids in georgia are supposed to go back

to school on monday. but there's a concern, with these rising numbers, getting kids back together again, will that mean remote learning? well, here in georgia we already know the pufulton county school district, one of the districts that covers the atlanta, one of the largest in the state, will be back to remote learning for at least the first week of january. that's the wrong direction. it's not what the secretary of education wanted to happen for school districts around the nation. he's asking those kids and staff members to mask-up. listen to his plea for keeping his kids in-person learning. >> i think parents have had enough of school closures due to policy. let's protect our students, our staff, keep our communities thriving. it's unfortunate the numbers are going up but we know how to continue during the pandemic. we shouldn't have shutdowns. we shouldn't have our schools closed for a long period of time. if we know what works we should

ememploy it, we have the resources there, and we need to come together for our students. they deserve that. >> and, paula, what we're seeing here in georgia and across the country is lower vaccination rates for kids. we are expecting, though, boosters to be allowed for a more broader age group which could help slow down the spread of covid-19. >> paula, nadia romero, thank you so much for your reporting. with me is dr. glenn butnik, the share of the pediatric group. doctor, pediatric admissions have reached an all-time high. so, do we know, is the omicron variant causing more severe illness in children? or is this just parents bringing their children to the hospitals out of abundance of caution? what exactly is driving these numbers? >> good morning, paula, happy new year. well, omicron in children is milder than delta. and it's a relatively mild illness in children.

usually just cold symptoms, runny nose, clog, congestion and sometimes fever. but it is extremely contagious. and what you're seeing is that the population of children 0 to 5 has no immunizations at all. and between 5 and 16, the immunizations have really just come out. so there's a very low antibody level. and this group is very susceptible to catching covid. so, it's mild, but it's affecting a lot of people. and when it affects a lot of children, even a small percentage, are going to end up in the hospital. you're also seeing the numbers skewed somewhat because the hospitals are reporting all children who test positive with covid. and some of these children have other conditions, let's say, like gastroentitis, but they're also testing positive for covid and putting that in

hospitalization also. so the good news for parents is that omicron is milder in children. and the bad news is, it's very contagious. and we're going to see a lot of children sick over the next three to four weeks. >> you say it's milder in children. what if you suspect your child has covid. at what point should you possibly take your child to the doctor or hospital? >> well, it's important for us to identify if your child is covid positive. so, if your child's sick, has a cold, i would not send them to school. the first thing i would definitely do is keep the child hom home. second thing i would do is get the child tested. testing and surveillance is a very important part of this part of the pandemic. so, either take them to your pediatrician. to your pharmacy have a home kit at home, and get your child tested so you then can do the proper quarantining for your child and your family. so, the first thing i do, if

your child is sick, get them tested. you can determine whether you want to do that in your pediatrician's office, home testing or one of the many testing sites. >> here in washington, d.c., they will require all students and staff to show a negative covid test before returning to school on wednesday. we all know it's hard to get these tests. but the city is providing tests for families at pickup sites. and the tests must be taken on tuesday. is this, though, an effective model, to try to combat omicron? >> well, they're trying different models. i think surveillance and testing is important. and i think it may be difficult to get every child tested, but that may be something we may have to strive for in the future. i do think surveillance is extremely important if there is a high absentee rate. and of staff, or students, then you have to consider closures. but that would be the last thing. we want to get children back to

school. they need to be back in school. masking in school is important. testing is important. >> thank you so much, doctor. we really appreciate your insight on this critical issue. i know it's on the minds of so many parents right now. thank you. >> thanks, paula. and coming up, the january 6th committee kicks off the new year with a date at the supreme court. the fight to get donald trump's secret white house documents, next. plus, an unforgettable concert film featuring two friends and legends, carole king and james taylor "just call out my name" airs tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m., right here on cnn. i always dreamed of having kids of my own. ♪ ♪ now i'm ready for someone to call me mom. at northwestern mutual, our version of financial

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it's hard to believe, but we're quickly approaching the first anniversary of the attack on our capital. and the january 6th commission is gearing up for a busy 2022, with plans for public hearings and an initial report released as soon as this summer. but before then, the committee is asking the u.s. supreme court to deny former president trump's request to shield his records from house investigators. some of the documents in dispute are from the day of the insurrection. white house visitor logs, call

logs both handwritten notes from former chief of staff mark meadows. join me now is former assistant prosecutor nick askerman. thank you for joining me. >> right. >> with nixon with watergate, ordered him to hand over materials and other subpoena materials. we learned that trump has lost twice now in federal court. there's been a big debate will the supreme court even take up this case, if they do, what will they rule? how do you see this playing out over the next couple weeks and months? >> you're right. there are two courts. lower courts, district court, and circuit court of appeals in new york. basically issued very extensive opinions turning trump down on the issues that he's raised. but ultimately, there are really two issues at play here. one is executive privilege. trump is claiming that he has the right to assert executive

privilege over the documents on january 6th. the problem with that argument is that the supreme court has already spoken to executive privilege back in 1974, when they ordered nixon to produce his tapes. to our privilege is a privilege that belongs to the government, to the republic. it doesn't belong to the individual. it's not like the privilege to not incriminate yourself under the fifth amendment, which is an individual privilege and joe biden, the present president, already determined in a very extensive writing that these documents do not come with an executive privilege. the supreme court has basically been limited to diplomatic, military, and national security matters. it certainly doesn't cover a plot against the government to overthrow its normal processes. so it's very unlikely that trump is going to succeed on that. both opinions, the lower court

opinions basically pointed out that in the face of joe biden's very detailed analysis as to why executive privilege does not apply, trump has provided absolutely zero facts to explain why it does apply. so it's very unlikely that that issue is really going to go anywhere. the other issue has to do with the legislative purpose of the committee's investigation. trump is claiming that there is no valid legislative purpose, and both of the lower courts have pointed out that the committee has the right to investigate an activity that has probably been the worst attack on our government since is civil war. certainly there's a legislative purpose there to prevent this kind of activity from happening again and also securing the capitol. you also have trump making a last-minute decision to the supreme court pointing out that the chairman of the committee

referenced possibly referring donald trump for prosecution in the department of justice. now, that doesn't detract from the overriding legislative purpose here, and it's not unusual. it's pretty much standard practice if a congressional committee finds that they believe a crime has been committed to refer that to the department of justice, which is the agency that has the ultimate authority to determine whether or not a prosecution is going to take place. so when you take those two issues together, the executive privilege and the legislative purpose, and the fact that both courts have really extensively ruled on that, by all rights the supreme court should just deny the appeal and leave it at that. now, there's no guarantee that'll happen, but in the normal course, that is what should happen in this circumstance. >> well, we don't see things

play out normally here, but earlier this week bennie thompson said a key part of this investigation has to do with phone calls at the willard hotel. the former president and steve bannon would gather and lead up to january 6th. based on your experience as an investigator, what kind of questions should the committee be asking about those phone calls? >> well, they want to know the content of the calls. they're clearly going to get phone records, what calls were made, how long they took place. but the real key is learning what the content was and whether or not they can get a witness in there that can actually explain what was said. now, with respect to donald trump, the big issue is did he know and did he encourage the violence in order to stop the vote-counting in congress in order to get the states to come back with alternate electorates so he could accomplish this coup?

did he encourage the violence? and that plays into the committee chairman's notion that they may refer this to the department of justice for prosecution because the only way you can prosecute donald trump is if you can show that he obstructed congress and had a corrupt intent. corrupt intent certainly would encompass encouraging violence to stop that vote. so that is why that is so crucial. it's also crucial to get some witnesses that can tell you what happened or documents that can show donald trump's state of mind during that period of time. >> we know they've spoken with approximately 300 people behind closed doors. there could potentially be public hearings, though none have been scheduled. we know with watergate they had that famous john dean moment that captivated a nation. let's take a look at it real quick. >> i began by telling the president that there was a cancer growing on the presidency, and if the cancer was not removed, the president himself would be killed by it.

>> so really quickly, do you see any potential john deans in tr trump's orbit? >> i think there's lots of possibilities. donald trump had contact with a number of people prior to january 6th and during the insurrection. and the question is, when you got 300 or 400 witnesses, somebody had to have overheard something. something had to see something. there's going to be documents that were created during that period of time. so we don't know if there's going to be that john dean moment, but it could very well happen, and certainly the committee's investigation has put across a very wide net. and so the question is, is somebody going to really, you know, come forward? that can be in vice president pence's camp, somebody who was knowledgeable about what donald trump was telling vice president pence. >> nick, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. happy new year.

archbishop desmond tutu was buried today, honoring the activist who fought apartheid. it was a trim guest list to meet covid regulations and a plain wooden coffin at tutu's request. the president of south africa delivered the main eulogy and held tutu as the country's national conscience. >> if archbishop desmond tutu were here, he would have said, hey, hey, why are you looking so glum, so unhappy? he would have wanted to elicit a smile, laughter from amongst all of us. that was the type of person that he was. >> archbishop tutu was 90 years old. coming up, the covid surge.

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you are live in the "cnn newsroom." i'm paula reid in washington. happy new year. the u.s. is now, though, in its third calendar year of the coronavirus pandemic, and last night's champagne-filled new year's eve parties came with a sobering warning from health officials. mass gatherings could bring a tidal wave of hospital admissions as omicron surges. the u.s. has