djokovic is back in the country. he was threatened with a three-year ban after it was determined he was a public health risk. that all happened after djokovic said he didn't want to be forced to get the covid vaccine. and australia's immigration minister was concerned at the time he could be seen as a, quote, icon for anti-vacciners. but the ban was lifted in november, allowing him to compete at tournaments in australia. djokovic was shut out of the u.s. open in 2022 due to his vaccination status. he said he was willing to pass up tennis records he might break if it meant remaining unvaccinated. thank you so much for joining us tonight. "ac 360" starts now. the former president's chief of staff setting documents on fire and qanon being discussed favorably at the highest levels of the white house. pamela brown here in for anderson tonight. those are just some of the revelations from testimony released today by the january

6th committee. and in both cases, testimony by cassidy hutchinson, former close aide to then chief of staff mark meadows. jessica schneider joins us with the very latest on this striking newly revealed testimony. really some stunning details coming out of these transcripts, jessica. >> yeah, pamela, we've been seeing this throughout the past few days. this one in particular a lot of new details. that's particularly because one of these is cassidy hutchinson's final deposition. it dates from june 2022. crucially, that was right after cassidy hutchinson had fired her trump world attorney, and her new attorney was really letting her correct the record and tell every truth for the committee. so first thing she told the committee that she saw mark meadows burning documents in his office fireplace, she says about a dozen times. and that amounted in her estimation to once or twice a week. that was between december 2020 and january 2021. she says also at least twice she saw meadows burning documents after meetings with republican

congressman scott perry, who of course was subpoenaed by the committee, but he never complied. then in addition, cassidy hutchinson told the committee how these discussions about qanon conspiracies really permeated throughout the white house after the election. she said not only did mark meadows bring it up, but congresswoman marjorie taylor greene. she made mention of what is this far right wing political movement that spreads these outlandish conspiracy theories. and then cassidy hutchinson said she had this exchange with white house trade adviser peter nav navarro. cassidy hutchinson saying "at one point i had sarcastically said oh, is this from your qanon friends, peter? because he would talk to me frequently about his qanon friends. he said have you looked into it cass? they point out a lot of good ideas. you really need to read. this make sure the chief sees this. cassidy hutchinson said i did note take this as sarcasm. peter navarro has been indicted for not complying with the city's subpoenas. but as these transcripts trickle

out here, as we're expecting throughout the week, there are a lot of crucial new details in here that we might not have seen before. >> yeah. and it's just remarkable that a top administration official like peter navarro would be giving credence to qanon and these ridiculous conspiracy theories. we're also learning more about what former white house press secretary judge dear told the committee. what do you know? >> judd dear told the committee he really heard this all gossip. but still, it was the week after the 2020 election. he heard from them that trump in fact was considering conceding, and even inviting the bidens to the white house. so judd deer said he was looped in on the conversations because he would have been the one arranging the press access for any visit from the bidens. deer told the committee this. he said in the week after the election, there was gossip around the building that he was seriously considering conceding,

even strongly considering inviting the president-elect and the incoming first lady to the white house. of course, though, none of those things happened. trump refused to concede. he held on to those claims of a stolen election, and none of those rumors actually came to fruition. >> they didn't. i know from my reporting a the time that white house officials, they were saying that to reporters that that's what they were hearing. jessica schneider, stay with us. thank you so much. i want to bring in cnn chief political analyst gloria borger along with former prosecutor gloria rogers. is there any parallel in u.s. history that you're aware of for a white house chief of staff to be burning documents in a fireplace inside the white house? >> you know, off the top of my head, i cannot think of any. even richard nixon didn't burn the tapes. there was a gap, but he didn't burn the tapes. this is stunning. and look at the timing of this. after the election, before january 6th. i think we should point out that we don't know what those

documents were. we don't know whether they were required by the archives because of the presidential records act to be preserved. but i would say unless this was some kind of a shopping list that he was throwing inside the fireplace for these dozen times, that this is a real problem for mark meadows. what was he thinking about when he threw things in the fireplace that he thought needed to be destroyed? >> well, and we know according to the testimony from cassidy hutchinson, two of the times where after meeting with congressman scott perry who tried to install jeffrey clark as head of doj, as the attorney general who tried to get dni to investigate some of these conspiracy theories and defied the subpoena from the committee. is there any legal justification that you know of that would permit a legal white house staff to burn documents like this? >> well, as gloria said, pamela, only if it was something that really has nothing at all to do with the job. and almost everything has to be

maintained pursuant to the presidential records act. it's likely that whatever was being burned was being burned in violation of the act. the problem is if you're thinking about criminal law, of course, you know, it's not good enough to say it probably was. you would need proof beyond a reasonable doubt. it just gives prosecutors another reason to dig into mark meadows as potentially either a criminal defendant or their crucial insider witness in their investigation. >> yeah, let's talk a little bit more about that. we know that cassidy hutchinson is already cooperating with the justice department. how do you think this fits into their investigation? and does it give them leverage against meadows? >> well, they've long had a lot of leverage against mark meadows. he has been central to all of the different strands of the plot that they've been pursuing for some time. this is just added to the pile of evidence that they want to confront mark meadows about. they'll certainly be looking at meadows. the question is, is he already talking to them? are they treating him as a

potential defendant? are they going to approach him as a cooperating witness? that will be for doj to decide. but they have all of those options on the table because there is so much evidence that mark meadows was at the center of this conspiracy and knew all about its various parts. >> gloria, what do you make of the fact that former trump aide peter navarro, as well as republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene were pushing qanon conspiracy theories inside the white house? >> it's bizarre. it's outrageous. and i never thought i'd say white house and qanon in the same sentence. and it is remarkable to me that this even went as high as the president, the former president himself. i mean, cassidy hutchinson talks about marjorie taylor greene being at a trump rally in georgia before january 6th, and this is a quote from cassidy hutchinson. she was showing him pictures of them, meaning qanon, traveling

to washington, d.c. for the rally on the 6th. what did the former president say about that? oh, that's great? so excited to see qanon at my rally? i mean, what was that about? >> yeah. >> and i remember covering the white house, the president was asked multiple times about qanon. and he was always reluctant to bash them. >> exactly. >> or criticize them. so this just kind of adds an interesting layer to that. jessica, cassidy hutchinson also testified to the committee about how mark meadows was managing oval office meetings during the transition period. what did she tell them? >> so we're talking about mark meadows. she saw him burning documents. but it also turns out he was giving this direct alternative some of the white house staff during the transition period to keep what he called a close hold on any of their meetings, and he basically said don't worry about what exactly that means. i'll explain it later. but don't give any of this information out. don't leak it. don't tell anybody. and on top of that, cassidy hutchinson says that that means that none of these meetings were

recorded in the oval office diaries. so there is no record of them. >> yeah. >> she says that she doesn't really remember what was discussed at these meetings, if anything surrounding january 6th was discussed, but it really adds this other layer to mark meadows' potentially burning documents, now making a concerted effort not to create any documents that were supposed to be created as a record of what was going on at the white house. so that's another concerning element to this. >> yeah, and gloria, what cassidy hutchinson said about this was corroborated. >> sure. >> by what sources told cnn that the white house diarist told the committee earlier in the year that significantly less information about trump's calls and visits were being provided in the days leading up to january 6th. putting all the pieces together and knowing what was happening in the months after the election, it begs the question of what meadows was trying to keep close hoecld. >> and who was he trying to protect. this is the question. if the president, the former president's behavior grew more

and more bizarre, if there were discussions going on inside the oval office about january 6th, for example, or about changes at the justice department, et cetera, et cetera, which we've reported, these are important conversations that need to be archived. and what mark meadows was saying was shh, don't tell the american people about this. don't let the american people know what was going on in the oval office. >> gloria borger, jennifer rodgers, jessica schneider, thank you so much. >> sure. still to come tonight, the supreme court rules on title 42, the covid restriction on migrants. and later, a rise in the death toll from that epic snowstorm that buried the buffalo region. and a look at the travel nightmare that has ensued, much of it due to southwest airlines. what exactly went wrong there. we're going to take a look.

introducing the new sleep number climate360 smart bed. only smart bed in the world that actively cools, warms aneffortlessly responds to both of you. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per nit. proven quality sleep. only from sleep number. waiting. sometimes it's just inevitable. but if you're over 50 or live with a chronic condition, untreated covid could be deadly.

got covid symptoms? get tested and get treated right away. it can't wait.

about two years ago i realized that jade was overweight. i wish i would have introduced the fresh food a lot sooner. after farmer's dog she's a much healthier weight. she's a lot more active. and she's able to join us on our adventures. get started at longlivedogs.com a short time ago, president biden responded to today's decision by the supreme court to allow a controversial covid era restriction on migrants to remain in effect while legal challenges play out. >> the court is not going to decide until june, apparently. and in the meantime, we have to enforce it. but i think it's overdue. >> president biden's comment there that he thinks it's overdue refers to his administration's continued desire to let the title 42

authority expire. we want to go now to cnn's rosa flores, who is in el paso, texas tonight where officials say about 1500 migrants are crossing the border every day. rosa, what more do we know about the supreme court decision and its impact there on the border? >> reporter: well, you know, pamela, here on the border and along the u.s. southern border, all of this back and forth with title 42 is really fodder for human smugglers and human traffickers. let me put it to you like this. i can't tell you how many migrants i talked to that said word spread in their communities that this was their chance to come to the united states for their american dream because the border was open. these individuals have sold everything they own. they trek their children through dangerous jungles and through multiple countries, only to come to the united states border and learn that the border is actually closed. and then they have been caught in this limbo back and forth. and i know that the biden

administration has said multiple times that they have delivered the message that the border is actually closed. but here is the reality. the message is not being received in a lot of these countries. and so long as this back and forth continues, because pamela, as you know, we've been here before, back in april and may, we were doing live shots just like this, talking about how title 42 was going to end then. and then through the court system. the can gets kicked down the road for months and months, and here we are again. and so all of this back and forth just gives fodder to human smugglers who then lie to individuals in countries across central and south america to tell them exactly that, that this is their chance. and of course they're lying, and they have zero regard for human life. pamela? >> it's really sad. rosa flores, thank you. joining us now, el paso mayor oscar lizar. mayor, thank you so much for joining us tonight. what is your reaction to the supreme court ruling? >> well, i think that we've seen, as we were talking

earlier, this is beyond. this is bigger than just title 42. as we've seen the big impact that started really back in august. we've had quite a large number of asylum seekers coming through the border. so this is a lot bigger right now than really title 42. >> the executive director of hope border institute whose organization helps to run some of the shelters in el paso said this about the supreme court ruling. quote, the decision of scotus will extend the bottleneck at the border, create unsustainable pressure on border enforcement and lead to more deaths, end quote. do you agree with that statement and the idea that keeping this border policy in place will increase the pressure on border patrol in the future? >> well, like i said, it's bigger than title 42. you know, the city alone has done a lot to make sure that we continue to take care of the asylum seekers. we've opened the county coliseum. we've actually also opened two schools to make sure we have plenty of shelter, and will continue to do that.

we have warming centers all over the city. we want to make sure that we don't lose any lives. we want to make sure that people are treated with dignity and respect. and it's not only a city of el paso, the county, the county judge, our congresswoman, and everyone that has been involved within the city has been doing that, the state senator. as you see in the picture you're showing there, people out on the street. because these are people that do not want to accept shelter. we actually go three times a day, and we offer them shelter. we offer them protection. and we need and will continue to do that. these are people that are from venezuela most likely and would be expelled if they went into any shelter. that's not the deal. we'll make sure we treat them and we take care of them. we want to get everybody off the street to make sure they don't have any additional risk on themselves or anyone else. >> right. because there have been dangerous freezing temperatures for people across the country. what is the effect been on el paso and the migrant population crossing the border?

>> well, we were at 20 degrees just a few days ago and will continue to be cold. we will continue to make sure that we provide shelters and we provide housing and will continue to provide warming centers. but as you see in those pictures, these are, again, we have, you know, we've had as many as 2500 crossings a day, and that will continue. this is while title 42 is still in place. again, this is beyond title 42. and we've had the incredible support from the federal government. we've had -- we've gotten about $10 million in front money to be able to provide the service. but, again, this is just a band-aid on a broken immigration system. the system has to be fixed because we can't continue to go this way. we can't continue to work whether it's el paso all the way up the texas borders. we can't continue to go in this manner with a broken, like i said, immigration system that has to be fixed, and it's bigger than the united states. i have to work with the u.n. and

countries around us to be able to fix it because, again, it's a band-aid that they cannot continue to go in this way. >> mayor leeser, thank you for your time tonight. up next, how freezing weather caused a meltdown for southwest airlines and a nightmare for southwest passengers that is far from over. how did the airline get it so wrong? and what does the ceo have to say about it? we're going to have details on that, up next.

well, we fell in love through gaming. but now the internet lags and it throws the whole thing off. when did you first discover this lag?

i signed us up for t-mobile home internet. ugh! but, we found other interests. i guess we have. [both] finch! let's go! oh yeah! it's not the same. what could you do to solve the problem? we could get xfinity? that's actually super adult of you to suggest. i can't wait to squad up. i love it when you talk nerdy to me. guy, guys, guys, we're still in session. and i don't know what the heck you're talking about. as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network. with no line activation fees or term contracts. saving you up to 60% a year. and it's only available to comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities.

the storm-related death toll is now at least 54 nationwide. 31 in the buffalo area alone, which saw nearly 4 feet of snow and more than 37 straight hours of blizzard conditions. right now, though, as you can see on your screen, the big problem remains, air travel. and the specific culprit is southwest airlines, according to flightaware. more than 3100 cancellations in the country today. about 85% were southwest flights. in fact, southwest today was responsible for more than half of all canceled flights on planet earth. transportation secretary pete buttigieg called it a meltdown. >> this is an unacceptable situation. you look at the number of passengers who are stranded. you look at how hard it is even to get somebody on the phone to address it. from what i can tell, southwest is unable to locate even where their own crews are, let alone

their own passengers, let alone baggage. >> so late today, southwest's ceo put out a video statement apologize fog interest mess, and offering this explanation. >> the tools we use to recover from disruption serve us well 99% of the time. but clearly, we need to double down on our already existing plans to upgrade systems for these extreme circumstances so that we never again face what's happening right now. >> and he added, quote, we are optimistic to be back on track before next week. in a moment, we'll be joined by a southwest airlines captain and vice president of the union representing southwest pilots, but first, let's go to cnn's gabe cohen at baltimore's bwi airport. gabe, describe what you have seen there today. are passengers getting any help from southwest? >> well, pam, we've seen travelers waiting in this line to rebook for more than three hours. some of them can't get a flight

until january. and for those who are calling customer service, well, many of them are waiting on hold for even longer. some people are literally sleeping here at the airport. so you can imagine the level of frustration here. now as you mentioned, southwest ceo just put out that video statement, saying in it they're going to take care of the stranded customers. as he puts it, go above and beyond, offering refunds and proactively reaching out to the folks who are dealing with costly reroutes and detours. in some cases, they are providing food vouchers to folks, hotels and transportation. but, look, i've spoken with quite a few travel evers today at this point they're paying their way through this. they're footing the bill because they can't reach customer service. one young woman told me she paid roughly a thousand dollars for a flight home to syracuse on another airline because southwest can't rebook her until new year's eve. and a couple trying to get back to buffalo told me they've spent more than a thousand dollars on

their hotel, on food and new clothing because they've been stranded here in baltimore without their luggage for four days. now southwest says for customers like that, they can save their receipts and submit them, and those are going to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. quite a few travelers have said to me they're skeptical and are worried in the end they're going to eat these costs, even though the department of transportation is saying they expect southwest to take care of these stranded passengers. and they're going to hold them accountable, pam, if they don't. >> yeah, that's what we heard from pete buttigieg today right here on cnn. all right, gabe cohen, thank you so much for that. joining us now from denver, southwest captain second vice president of the southwest pilots association tom nicoy. when you hear gabe describing what passengers have been telling him, and you see the same scene of stranded people in airports across the country with southwest responsible for the vast majority of these flight

cancellations, what is your reaction? >> thanks for having me on. i can tell you that i'm happy to hear that mr. jordan is finally coming to terms with the fact that we have internal problems that perpetuated this event after the snow we had last wednesday. but i do disagree with him on one thing. the tools that we have to recover from these irregular operations don't work 99% of the time. they might have worked 99% of the time back in the '80s and the '90s, but where we are right now, if you look at the meltdowns that are increasing in number and increasing in intensity, and the recovery times from these meltdowns are becoming longer and longer. by the time we're out of this one, it will be well over nine days at least what they're planning on doing. so when i hear passengers like

that, the customers, we love our jobs. we love our company and we love our passengers. so when we hear that, somebody said it earlier today that we're kind of tired of apologizing on behalf of the company because they haven't given us tools, as mr. jordan alluded to as well, to do our jobs, to complete the flights or schedule the crews. this was very much self-perpetuated because of the massive reassignments the company does. if you look at our competitors here in denver, united airlines, for instance, they went through the exact same weather system as we did, and a, didn't cancel as many flights, and b, their recovery is very expeditious, versus us. we're still recovering with 15,000 bags at the airport. and now we're over 15,000 canceled flights. so those tools that we identified back in 2016 and brought to the attention to gary

kelley, this is basically what's happening now. and that's the lack of infrastructure. we crew scheduling system and software that is not adequate and the massive reassignments with pilots and flight attendants to get them to the airplane. that's an execution problem to get pilots and flight attendants to the airplanes to operate once something like a weather event or an air traffic control event happens. this company has a really hard time recovering. >> so if the company had listened to you and your colleagues back in 2016 and upgraded the systems then, would this dramatic disruption still be happening? what do you think? >> we believe so. we believe that it wouldn't be happening, not to severity. we have communication and documents that we sent over to the company that communicated with the company back in 2016 because we're very analytical operation, very data-driven, and

we showed them exactly what's causing these recovery from these meltdowns. and that is reassignments, meaning pilots that are on a certain trip are supposed to fly a certain trip get reassigned right away in massive numbers. we're talking 1400 to 1500% increases in reassignments when weather happens. and the problem the company had was an infrastructure i.t. problem to be able to get those pilots to those airplanes. that has been going on since 2016. we identified that problem. and earlier this month, we announced $428 million in dividend payments to shareholders. i am one. it's great. but the proportional amount has not been reinvested in the company infrastructure, i.t. being the biggest one. and that's why we're seeing the meltdowns that are getting worse and worse and the recovery is becoming pretty posable, really. >> the context according to "the

wall street journal," southwest has grown expanding to 18 new cities and becoming profitable after the pandemic. i was just reading the ceo's bio. apparently he used to be in charge of technology for southwest. in fact, that's how he started his job there at southwest. so there is a lot more questions all of this raises. but captain tom nekoue, thank you. appreciate it. up next, condemnation for the truth-challenged congressman-elect george santos, including from fellow republicans, not to mention a republican jewish group that is not amused by the fact he was jewish in claim only.

technically when enamel is gone, you cannot get it back. but there are ways you can repair it. i'm excited about pronamel repair because it penetrates deep into the tooth to help actively rair acid-weakened enamel. i recommend pronamel repair to my patients.

at booking.com, finding perfect isn't rocket science. kitchen? sorted. hot tub, why not? and of course, puppy-friendly. we don't like to say perfect, but it's pretty perfect. booking.com, booking.yeah.

two incoming new york house republicans late today condemned the congressman-elect who could be their conference colleague, george santos. one is calling for an ethics probe. also today, the republican jewish coalition issued a condemnation of its own. the reason? when he said this to the organization about being jewish, he was lying. >> shalom to everybody, and thank you for being here. thank you for having me. my name is george santos. and i would be remiss if i didn't acknowledge that my good friend congressman lee zeldin really paved the way for all of us in new york. [ applause ]

lee has served as an inspiration, as a friend, and as a leader for the jewish folks in congress, and for all of us in this room by at one point being just two members. so now we're going to be three. >> again, that claim, that his election to congress would make him the third jewish republican in the house was a lie. and it wasn't the only lie he told about who he is, where he has worked, his education, and more. he is now trying to explain it all away, and how he is going about it doesn't seem to be helping his case. more now from cnn's eva mckent. >> reporter: an admission. >> did i embellish my resume? yes. >> reporter: and an apology. >> and i'm sorry. it shouldn't be done. >> reporter: after a week of controversy, congressman-elect george santos 'fessing up to lying on the campaign trail about parts of his resume as he seeks to minimize and defend the extent of his tall tales on everything from his education

and work history to his philanthropic pursuits and jewish heritage. >> i apologize if anybody feels hurt or betrayed. i will gain everybody's trust back by just delivering results for them and making sure they do not forget why they voted for me in the first place, which was to get stuff done. >> reporter: santos has boasted of working for investment banks citigroup and goldman sachs. he now admits he did not. the congressman-elect claims he received degrees from nyu and baruch college. he now says he did not. but he maintains he is not a criminal and still intends to serve in congress. >> i'm not resigning. i have to leave congress, it's going to be by a pink slip by the voters november of 2024. >> reporter: and then there are the questions surrounding his alleged jewish heritage. >> we're no stranger to persecution. my grandfather fleeing ukraine in 1920s to belgium, then fleeing belgium to brazil in 1940. >> reporter: those claims were

contradicted by family trees compiled by genealogy websites, records on jewish refugees, and interviews with multiple genealogists. one professional genealogist who spoke with cnn said there is no sign of jewish and/or ukrainian heritage, and no indication of name changes along the way. santos now saying he never claimed to be jewish. >> i always joked i'm catholic, but i'm also jew-ish, as in ish. and i've made that joke because growing up, i grew up fully aware that my grandparents were jewish. >> reporter: but cnn learning that santos described himself as a proud american jew in a document he shared with prominent jewish groups. >> shalom to everybody. >> reporter: santos now drawing the ire of the republican jewish coalition, who says they were deceived. santos will no longer be welcome at our jc events. >> i'm not a fraud. i'm not a cartoon character. i'm not some mythical creature that was invented.

i'm no russian puppet. >> wow. eva mcken joins us now. i was on the phone tonight with a gop house member who said, look, nobody wants to be associated with him other than marjorie, talking about marjorie taylor greene defending him. mccarthy should speak out and say santos won't be given any committee assignments at the very least. what else are you hearing from republican lawmakers about this? >> pam, what we are hearing publicly from these republicans clearly differs from what they are saying privately. publicly, two long island incoming congressmen have come forward with one calling for a house ethics committee investigation and potentially a law enforcement probe too. but for the most part, they're following kevin mccarthy's lead. and staying silent as this whole episode continues to play out. >> yep. all right. eva mckend, thank you so much. political commentator and former

pennsylvania republican congressman charlie dent. congressman dent, as we noted, there is already one republican calling for an ethics investigation. how do you see this playing out? >> well, first, let me just say this, pamela, that i think this gentleman, mr. santos is going to have a lot of problems. he has already become a distraction and an embarrassment for the party. i suspect he will be seated. he will come under tremendous pressure to resign. you know, last night i thought most of his problems were more political rather than legal, although i'm starting to think that he has some real problems with his financial disclosures. based on what i read i think in another news source, it was "the washington post," he reported that he had in 2020 that he had earned a $5,000 commission and had no assets. when he ran in 2022, he filed a financial disclosure suggesting he was worth millions of dollars, and he even lent $580,000 to one of his political

committees. so you better be truthful if you are signing those financial disclosures to the house, and there are criminal violations for those types of errors. i want to be very clear. i was chair of the ethics committee. and members routinely had incidental errors or omissions on their financial disclosures, and they usually just amended them quickly, but they're usually minor errors or oversights. but if there are serious discrepancies here, that will invite real scrutiny from i suspect law enforcement entities. i think he's got a lot of problems. and by the way, i served at a time too, pamela, when members, and i was chair of the ethics committee and serve odd tonight committee for eight years. and i saw a lot of dirty laundry. i remember the kissing congressman forced to resign. another for marital infit dealt. he resigned. you remember anthony weiner resigned. at that time it was not a criminal matter. another had tickle fights with his staff. he resigned. a long list of members, another who had a minor drug infraction.

he resigned. and oftentimes would resign to avoid further embarrassment. and shame to themselves and to their families. but also to protect the institution. and the leaders usually stepped in. the speaker and the minority leader depending which party was affected would step in and try to force a resignation. and i suspect that's what should happen here. now whether or not the republican leader, that's going to be kevin mccarthy, assume:00 he becomes the speaker, whether or not heem do that or not, i don't know. but this is going to be a real problem for members. >> but it's interesting, because you have this added twist that kevin mccarthy needs his vote, right, to become speaker. as i mentioned to eva, i was talking to one republican tonight that look, republicans need to come out harder on this. there have only been two i've seen from new york that have come out and publicly said something. do you expect that to increase? do you expect to eventually hear from kevin mccarthy and do you expect action to be taken? >> well, i think at some point that kevin mccarthy will have to respond to the questions.

we're a holiday week. but they're going to be coming back into session on january 3rd for the vote for speaker. i suspect questions are going to be raised at that time. and i suspect he will have to answer around that time. again, i don't think that he is going to -- i think he will be seated. look, he is not the first congressman to lie on his resume. i mean his are egregious lies, obviously. he's got to deal with that. but i don't think anyone serious is going to happen to him on or before january 3rd when they have the speaker vote. >> all right. we will have to wait and see. but it seems like it's gets worse with each passing day. charlie dent, thank you so much. >> thanks. still ahead, the country struggling to contain the fentanyl crisis. we're going introduce you the parents who lost a teen child to it, and they are now working to make sure no one else goes through what they did.

pst. girl. you can do better. at least with your big-name wireless carrier. with xfinity mobile you can get unlimited for $30 per month on the nation's most reliable 5g network. they can even save you hundreds a year on your wireless bill over t-mobile, at&t, and verizon. wow. i can do better! -yes you can! i can do better, too! see how easy it is to save hundreds a year on your wireless bill over t-mobile, verizon, and at&t. talk to our switch squad at your local xfinity store today.

and 2021, the cdc says more than 71,000 people in the u.s. died due to overdosing on synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl. a 23% jump from the previous year. cnn's josh campbell spoke with the parents of one teen who died after taking a fentanyl-laced pill. they're trying to sound the alarm for other families. >> i found zack asleep at his

desk. his head was laying down on his arm. i could feel before i even touched him that something was horribly wrong. >> reporter: every parent's worst nightmare. 17-year-old zack didier found unresponsive in his room two days after christmas of 2020. medics arrived and began resuscitation efforts, but it was too late. >> i started resuming cpr, and they just stood there. and i got mad at them, and said guys, help me save my boy. when they didn't, i started trying to talk to zack and begged him don't go, come back. please come back. do not go. >> i walked up, and chris just our baby is gone. >> reporter: we sat down with chris and laurie didier inside zack's old classroom, surrounded by memories of their son. >> he loved school. he loved sports. he starred in the musical.

zack was such a stellar young man, and he always wanted to help other people. >> reporter: zack's sudden death initially a mystery to investigators. but the placer county coroner near sacramento had two theories on the day of his death. either an undetected medical issue or fentanyl. >> and that further spiraled us into -- >> into confusion. >> debilitating confusion. why would you say that word? we had no red flags of zack having struggles with any kind of drug use or addiction or depression. >> nine out of every ten overdose deaths in teenagers involves opioids and most commonly involves fentanyl. >> reporter: dr. scott haviland is head of adolescent medicine at mass general hospital. >> fentanyl is so potent that teens, particularly teens who have never used an opioid before and have no tolerance to them, can die really quickly, we're talking within seconds to

minutes. >> reporter: new cdc data indicate the most common place for teens to overdose is at home. and experts say there are various reasons they turn to pills. >> about 2 out of every 5 teens who overdose has a history of struggling with depression, anxiety or other mental health problems. and in many cases these problems have gone unaddressed. >> reporter: in los angeles county alone health officials recently announced accidental fentanyl overdoses skyrocketed over 1200% from 2016 through 2021. >> the promise is very serious. not just in the city of l.a. but nationwide. >> reporter: to understand where many teens are obtaining fnt-nil we spoke with an lapd narcotics detective. we agreed not to name him as his work involves undercover operations. >> the more personal sites would be facebook marketplace, instagram, and snapchat. if you're buying it on a social media account or you're buying it from somebody on the street or a friend, then most likely it's going to be counterfeit.

>> you look at these photos, the fake pill looks just like the real pill. >> they sure do. the dealer's main objective is to get you hooked, and if you don't die from it then you're a customer for as long as you live. >> reporter: in zack didier's case his parents say he met a drug dealer on snapchat who sold him a deadly fentanyl pill that zack thought was the pain reliever percocet. >> zack's case was really the first for our county dealing with whether or not to hold someone who provides drugs to someone else who ultimately dies, whether or not to hold them responsible for their death, and if so how much. the message to dealers is we are fed up, we are tired of seeing young people dying in our communities. >> reporter: zack's dealer was sentenced to 17 years in prison. but placer county's district attorney, who has advocated for aggressive charges against dealers, says prosecution alone won't solve the fentanyl crisis. >> the solution will be education and awareness and talking to parents, talking to tachers. >> i've had a lot of struggle -- >> reporter: warning families about the dangers of fentanyl has become a life mission for

zack's parents, who now spend countless hours going into schools telling their shattering story. >> as hard as it is to talk about and as hard as it is to share the story, i feel him with me when i do it. i feel him helping me find the words even. >> reporter: what is it that goes through your mind before you step out on the stage? >> i hope we reach them. i see their faces. i just scan the room and they're listening. and absorbing it. and i just think please let us reach them. >> reporter: and pamela, zack's family believes they've already saved lives. in one chilling example they were contacted by a parent who saw zack's story and said that they made their child watch this presentation that the family gives as they go about telling their story. the child admitted to their parents that they had just bought a pill on social media. the parents had that hill tested. lo and behold, it contained a deadly dose of fentanyl.

but for the parents telling their story, that child could have been the next victim. and for parents out there who might be asking how can i talk to my kid about fentanyl, teen health professionals say you want to approach the conversation in the spirit of curiosity. ask your teen open-ended questions like what do you know about fentanyl, what do you know about its deadly effects. and finally i just want to say i know the didier family is watching tonight. pamela, today marks two years since they lost their son. and i just want to say on behalf of all of us at cnn thank you for letting us tell his story, thank you for what you're doing every day to help ensure that other parents out there don't have to experience the pain that you've endured. pamela? >> yeah, they've really turned their pain into purpose, saving lives. just like that anecdote you shared. incredible. josh campbell, thank you so much. we'll be right back.

i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular

whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information.

a woman became a true hero after taking in a man who was stranded in buffalo, new york's deadly blizzard. a life saved thanks to the kindness of a stranger. "360's" gary tuchman has the story. >> reporter: the worst of mother nature, bringing out the best of human nature. this is buffalo resident shakira autry on facebook live. >> i currently have an older 64-year-old white man in my house. i found him yesterday. i heard him screaming for help. >> reporter: in the midst of western new york's blizzard shakira spotted and heard the man in terrible pain in the frigid cold outside her house on the morning of christmas eve.

her boyfriend carried the man inside. that man is joey white, seen in this picture in a toronto blue jays baseball game. >> he got away from his home -- that he he lives in a group home he told me. >> reporter: joey's sister says her brother is mentally sxhajd does indeed live in a group home. he works at a movie theater and may have goent scared during the blizzard and tried to walk home getting lost in the heavy snow outside the mother of three's house. shakyra did her best to comfort him and feed him and pleaded for help in phone calls and on facebook live. >> this man is not about to die over here on 111. y'all need to get this man some help. >> reporter: but her neighborhood was virtually impassable. christmas eve became christmas day. joey was in immense pain with severe frostbite on his hands. >> joe. listen to joe. how are you feeling, joe? joe ready to go. he ready to go. he needs to go because he needs medical attention. i had to -- he had a ring on his finger.

i had to use these to cut the ring off of his finger. i'm not no surgeon. >> reporter: with her three children by her side sha'kyra tried to comfort joey. >> joe. >> yeah. >> you feeling better? are you trying to feel better? pardon me? >> i'm not going to die. >> no, you're not going to die. we're not talking about death. see, this is how you knee he needs help. >> reporter: and that help was about to come. good samaritans showing up in a vehicle that can make it through the snow. joey was on his way to the hospital. >> i'm right here, joe. >> reporter: and sha'kyra rode with him. >> i'm right here. are you okay? i love you too, sweetie. you're okay. >> reporter: joey arrived at the hospital safely. >> this man could have died. 64 years old. could have died outside. i wasn't going to let that happen on my watch and he wasn't going to die in front of my kids. >> reporter: joey has severe frostbite and is in the icu in the hospital burn unit. his severe yvonne telling us it's touch and go whether his hands can be be