good morning, america. alarming surge. a record number of weekly covid infections in the u.s., more young children in the hospital. the extra protection for older ones who got the pfizer vaccine and a concerning report about covid and diabetes in kids as americans are one step closer to getting those free covid tests in the mail. vaccine mandate. president biden's plan put to the test. the nation's highest court hearing arguments. when a decision is expected. shoot to kill. kazakhstan's president ordering security forces to fire without warning. dozens of protesters killed so far. thousands arrested and what it means for u.s./russian talks next week. severe weather hitting across the nation. devastating flooding in the

west. the daring water rescues, over two feet of snow reported from michigan to maine, an arctic blast slamming the northeast. what you need to know about driving on black ice. court battle. novak djokovic's lawyers submit new documents in his fight to be allowed to play in the australian open. what happens next? what is making history? "jeopardy!" contestant amy schneider extending her winning streak, the million dollar milestone. and celebrating sidney poitier. the life and legacy of a legend. a look back at the actor's oscar winning career. >> they call me mr. tibbs. >> the tributes to a trail blazer pouring in from around the world. good morning, america. so great to have you with us this weekend, and we're extra excited this morning because not only do we have james longman

visiting us from our london bureau, but our great friend eva pilgrim back from maternity leave. it's so great to see you. welcome back. >> i missed you guys. i just saw james like a couple of weeks ago. >> we hung out. >> but haven't seen you in a while. >> i was going to say i'm a little bit jealous he got to meet baby ella before i did. >> it was a socially distanced outdoors walk. >> she's a brash baby. >> of course. >> so i got to meet her. >> you were in the uk. i couldn't exactly take an uber. so excited to have you back and, james, great to have you. we do have a busy morning. a lot to get to this morning. we begin with that surge in covid cases across the country. >> about one in every five americans has now tested positive for the virus and more than 130,000 covid-19 positive patients are currently receiving care at hospitals across the country. and a new cdc-led study finds children diagnosed with covid-19 are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes shortly after recovering from their infection though the reason for the increased risk is not yet

understood. abc's phil lipof is here in new york with the latest on the concern over rising infections. good morning, phil. >> reporter: good morning, james. hospitals all across this country are filling up at rates we've yet to see during this pandemic. and because of that, new york governor kathy hochul is now expanding the vaccine mandate for health care workers. this morning, the nation experiencing an alarming surge in covid cases. the u.s. seeing more than 4 million new cases over the past seven days, the highest weekly case numbers on record. health officials saying vaccination is still the best defense against the omicron fueled surge. pediatric hospitalizations are up with children under 4 who are not eligible for the vaccine making up more than 4% of all covid hospitalizations. >> please, for our youngest children, those who are not yet eligible for vaccinations, it's critically important that we surround them with people who are vaccinated to provide them protection. >> reporter: for older children, ages 12 to 18, a silver

lining, a new cdc study finding a 91% protection rate after two shots after a rare condition causing organ inflammation that could show up in kids weeks after a covid infection and the fda authorizing moderna booster shots five months after completing the original doses replacing the six-month interval. across the country, every state now reporting high community transmission. in arizona this phoenix airport shutting down security checkpoints, covid impacting tsa personnel. >> the shortage of workers and the way things are, you know, just in general whether it's at the airport or restaurants, it's just a different time right now. >> reporter: in chicago, a standoff between teachers and city officials over covid protocols shut down public schools. many teachers refusing to teach in person. >> we take zero pleasure in having to do a mass action like this to bring attention to the mitigations that are not in our

school communities. > reporter: this as more than 130,000 covid positive patients are currently receiving care in hospitals from coast to coast. health care workers in new hampshire are feeling the strain. >> we started to see the next wave of almost entirely unvaccinated patients, people in their 40s, people in their 30s, otherwise pretty healthy getting really, really sick. at least in our icu all of them are unvaccinated. >> reporter: new york governor kathy hochul is expanding the vaccine mandate for health care workers needing all hands on deck saying health care workers must be boosted within two weeks of becoming eligible. this time there is no test out option. whit? >> all right, phil, thank you. turning now to the biden administration's vaccine or test mandate for large businesses facing a major hurdle in the u.s. supreme court. abc's white house correspondent maryalice parks joins us now from washington with the latest. maryalice, good morning. >> reporter: whit, good morning.

the administration arguing that these two new federal rules are essential for saving lives and keeping workplaces safe as this pandemic rages on. the first rule would require all employers with more than 100 workers mandate vaccinations or conduct regular testing of unvaccinated workers. the second rule is aimed specifically at health care borkers, and it would mandate that anyone treating medicare or medicaid patients be vaccinated with very limited exceptions. yesterday in front of the supreme court the administration insisted that the government has an obligation to protect workers. now, those opposing the rules argued that they amount to government overreach. they made the case that mandates should be left to the states and they argue if these rules were allowed to go into effect, there could be people quitting on a large scale. now, we expect the justices to weigh in quickly here. the rule would essentially go into effect next month, and this comes as the administration has secured its first contract for its plan to buy 500 million at-home tests to send to americans for free.

we'll be tracking that closely and looking for when exactly those will go out. the president was asked if he thought covid was here to stay. he said, no, that he did not think this was a new normal in this country, but he did say it is possible that covid and its variants would stay in the environment and the world for the foreseeable future. eva? >> maryalice parks there for us in d.c. maryalice, thanks so much. joining us from los angeles is dr. darien sutton. dr. sutton, we've heard about the tsunami of cases. while many of the omicron cases appear to be mild, i'm curious what you're actually seeing in the er and what's the real concern for people here? >> good morning, eva. you know, the real issue right now is volume. as the amount of patients that are coming in associated with the covid-19 and its omicron variant are simply depleting hospital resources, staff and bringing the hospital to a capacity that is not sustainable. in the emergency rooms here we're seeing long wait times, we're erecting tents outside of

the emergency room to help triage patients and it's important to understand the patients admitted from the emergency room don't yet have room to go upstairs because the hospital is full, which further slows the transit down. this, of course, affects outpatient care, procedures like colonoscopies, mammograms and chemotherapy and dialysis get postponed or delayed so all patients are negatively affected by this. >> let's talk about this flurona, being infected with the fu and covid-19 at the same time. it was first found in california. i'm curious if you have seen it yet in the e.r. where you are work and what's the treatment like for this combination? >> yeah, well, flurona is a term i don't like, an unfortunate term. i don't like it because i like to identify what the actual issue is which is that we have a flu season superimposed onto an ongoing surging pandemic and unfortunately people who are getting infected by both, it is rare but it is something that we're seeing across the country simply because of the rates of covid-19 again superimposed on

top of this flu season. fortunately we have not seen many patients and i have not seen many myself but i will say that i have seen concomitant infections of the flu and other viral infections patients get. it is something we see and it's unfortunate but it's something we can still control. the main thing to remember, you can get vaccinations for both of these and you can get them at the same time. >> important to remember that they are two separate things there. the cdc has this new study out that's found an increased risk of diabetes for children who have been infected with covid-19. really concerning for parents and children out there. what do these findings tell you about the risk to children? >> this is certainly a concerning report by the european union in review of pediatric populations, and they found those under the age of 18 who had gotten covid-19 were more likely to get a diagnosis of diabetes. now, the reason behind this is not completely understood but the sars-cov-2 virus does attack other organs including the lungs, including the pancreas as well as the ace 2 receptors that the virus binds to can be found

on the pancreas. and it's also not the first time we've seen a viral infection associated with some type of chronic disease. we've seen epstein-barr virus that commonly causes mono nuke east list associated with other disorders in certain patient groups. we've seen the varicella virus that causes chicken pox lay dormant in the body and later cause shingles. these are the reasons we get vaccinated. not just from the individual acute infection but also the complications. >> and so much we are still learning about the virus so much time into it here. dr. sutton, thanks so much for being with us. james, over to you. >> thanks, eva. turning overseas now to kazakhstan where protests over fuel rises rapidly spread and turned deadly. the president there has told government forces supported by russian troops to fire without warning. lama hasan joins us now with the latest. good morning, lama. >> reporter: and good morning to you, james. this morning, kazakhstan's president appears to be increasingly reasserting control. the country's largest city is

reported to be eerily quiet except for the occasional sounds of gunshots. security forces have now arrested more than 4,000 people and this comes after a stark warning from the president who ordered his security forces to shoot to kill protesters without warning. now, government forces have been clearing protests using live fire. the interior ministry saying at least 26 protesters were killed. 18 law enforcement officers have died in the violence. the u.s. state department announcing nonemergency staff at the consulate to evacuate voluntarily. now, protests began after a hike in gas prices quickly escalating into anti-government protests calling for regime change. with anger on the street, deadly clashes breaking out in several ci cities. kazakhstan's president turning to his neighbors for help. a few thousand russian-led troops arriving to enforce security. now, world leaders are urging for calm. the white house saying it's closely monitoring the situation with russian troops now on the

ground in kazakhstan dividing attention with russia's buildup of troops on the ukrainian border. talks between senior u.s. and russian diplomats are due to take place next week. now, at a press conference yesterday, secretary of state antony blinken not wanting to equate the two situations but saying, once russians are in your house, it's sometimes very difficult to get them to leave. whit? >> truly alarming developments, lama, thank you. back here at home and the sentences handed down to the three men convicted of murdering ahmaud arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was on a run near his home. a georgia judge sentencing all of them to life in prison. elwyn lopez joins us now with more on what played out in the courtroom. elwyn, good morning. >> reporter: hey, whit, good morning. those three men were handed down life sentences for the killing of ahmaud arbery. two of them without the possibility of parole. that is travis mcmichael and his father, gregory mcmichael, they will spend their lives in prison

but their neighbor, william "roddie" bryan, will have the chance of parole after 30 years. they were all convicted in the murder of the 25-year-old black jogger who was chased for more than five minutes nearly two yars ago. the judge wanting the court to understand just a fraction of what that time must have felt like for arbery asking them to all sit in silence for a minute. >> and when i thought about this, i thought from a lot of different angles, and i kept coming back to the terror that must have been in the mind of the young man running through satilla shores. >> reporter: he also noted that the mcmichaels walked away when arbery fell to the ground. the judge describing the killing as callous but also pointing out bryan's situation was different from the mcmichaels saying he showed grave concerns about what had happened. arbery's mother feels like justice was served for her son. eva, those three defendants will be back in court next month where they will face federal hate crime charges. >> elwyn lopez for us there in atlanta, thanks, elwyn.

devastating flooding is hitting the northwest forcing people to evacuate their homes and leading to daring rescues. abc's zohreen shah has the latest. >> reporter: this morning, the threat of landslides looming over parts of southern washington after heavy flooding up to seven inches of rain in the state. dangerous flash flooding leading to more than 20 water rescues. watch this dramatic video. officials forced to navigate water by boat to rescue two people stranded on this truck, completely surrounded by water. >> i've lived here for 18 years, and this is the worst i've seen main street. >> reporter: heavy flooding prompting an hours long shutdown of the highway on friday. the state department of transportation halting traffic on the 20-mile stretch. >> well, look at that little car there. >> that little car is -- the whole hood is under the water. >> reporter: floodwaters seeping through residential areas. several members of the national guard called in to help. seen here filling sandbags. now the national weather service

warning of potential landslides as rain and snow saturate soil. in seattle, firefighters rescuing a man trapped inside his basement after they say his home slid up to 20 feet off its foundation. >> folks, you know, i see on the boulevard, i don't know them personally, but i'm very glad to hear that they're all right. >> reporter: for "good morning america," zohreen shah, abc news, los angeles. now, along with the flooding the northeast is digging out from its first major snow of the season. freezing temperatures are next. rob is in mamaroneck with the details. good morning, rob. >> reporter: good morning, james. yes, the weather out of the northwest has quieted down just a little bit, but we are definitely getting the brunt of the artic air across the northeast right now after that snowstorm yesterday and the lake-effect snows have been cranking across parts of michigan. here is south haven, michigan, outside grand rapids, jackknifed tractor trailer. i tell you what, i-95 looked like this in connecticut yesterday on my way

to work. south haven, you got it and more lake-effect snow is coming today. nassau county on long island got six to nine inches of snow. boston got nearly a foot. digging out after the first significant snowstorm of the year. but here's the bitter cold. this is no joke. right now i feel it. 9 degrees is the windchill where i stand. feels like 4 in chicago. 10 in st. louis. we'll see some moderating temperatures over the next couple of days but generally speaking it's going to be here to stay. so not much melting with temperatures feeling like minus 10 in minneapolis on monday morning. good saturday morning, and lisa arjun. it's nice and bright here from our exploratorium camera. still, some fog in the north and east bay, otherwise plenty of sun today it'll be another dry day on sunday, but a few more high clouds so high temperatures today where they should be for this time of year mid and upper fifties. a nice afternoon out there with 55 in richmond, 58 in

san jose. in the accurate the seven day forecast next system, perhaps on monday. >> reporter: it may be freezing out here but my heart is warm. my heart is full this morning. we have wa we have waited months. whit, i know you feel the same way as i do. it is so good to have james longman in studio this morning. [ laughter ] >> i knew that was coming. >> just -- >> well done, rob. >> i've missed you too, rob. >> reporter: i miss you. i miss you. i hope to see you soon. james, hat tip to you, my man. >> i love your beard. i'm into it. >> he >> absolutely. >> thanks, rob. tributes pouring in from around the world following the death of trailblazing actor sidney poitier. president obama tweeting, through his groundbreaking roles and singular talent, sidney poitier epitomized dignity and grace revealing the power of movies to bring us closer

together. oprah winfrey tweeting, the greatest of the great trees has fallen. my honor to have loved him as a mentor, friend, brother, confidant, wisdom teacher. and halle berry tweeted, in your 94 years on this planet, you left an indelible mark with your extraordinary talent paving the way for black people to be seen and heard in the fullness of who we are. abc's chris connelly joins us from l.a. with a look at poitier's legacy. good morning, chris. >> reporter: and good morning, eva. as we just heard, sidney poitier was admired and revered as few ever are for his monumental achievements as an actor and for what those achievements made possible in the lives of so many others. >> i drive a man around in his limousine, and i say, yes, sir and no, sir and should i take the drive, sir? >> reporter: a groundbreaking movie star of singular power and charisma whose many triumphs changed lives, the great sidney poitier made history on screen and off.

>> you get yourself another boy. >> reporter: in 1964 poitier became the first black performer ever to win the academy award for best actor for his acclaimed work in "lilies of the field." >> all i can say is a very special thank you. [ applause ] >> reporter: throughout the 1960s poitier would embody leadership and moral authority as he confronted white racism. >> they call me mr. tibbs. reporter: as virgil tibbs in "in the heat of the night," oscar's 1967 best picture, unforgettable in a role he'd revisit for "they call me mr. tibbs," as an unconventional schoolteacher in "to sir, with love." >> mom, this is john. >> reporter: and in "guess who's coming to dinner" as a fiance introduced to his wary perspective in-laws played by

spencer tracy and katharine hepburn, among the first in anything he did whether speaking, moving or just ti on screen was all but impossible. poitier also knew how many eyes were on him always, understood keenly how he carried with him the long denied hopes of black americans. "i felt as if i were representing, 15, 18 million people with every move i made," he once said. later poitier found a home in the rollicking comedies of the 1970s starring in such hits as "uptown saturday night" which he also directed. in the '90s he acted alongside robert redford, james earl jones and the late river phoenix in the political caper picture "sneakers." >> i couldn't and still can't play a scene, i cannot play a scene that i don't find the texture of humanity. >> reporter: he would receive the presidential medal of freedom from president obama in 2009. at the oscars in 2002 he would be given an honorary statue and

would be seated in a box as denzel washington won best actor for "training day" and acknowledged his hero and role model. >> 40 years i've been chasing to sidney. they finally give it to me. what do they do? they give it to him the same night. i'll always be chasing you, sidney. i'll always be following in your footsteps. >> reporter: a goosebump moment of greatness appreciating greatness only made possible by the courage and compassion of sidney poitier, who died friday at the age of 94 leaving behind a world he transformed for the better. a great man. we remember him today. we'll remember him forever, >> chris, thank you so much. truly a trail blazer, an icon, you're talking about his own words, the texture of humanity and really what that means when yothink about it. >> yeah,ne of the first movies i remember watching, "to sir, with love." >> yeah, yeah, we'll talk much more about him coming up in our second hour. we still have a lot more ahead on "gma." newly released court documents

reveal more about tennis star novak djokovic's fight to be allowed to play in the australian open. and amy schneider making "jeopardy!" history. her big achievement when we come back. "good morning america" is sponsored by progressive insurance. save when you bundle auto, home or motorcycle insurance. [ doorbell rings ] oh! there's my little nephew. he looks more like dad every time i see him. -dad is old. -right. so, your message said you wanted to talk about insurance? i said, "i want you to talk about insurance." well, most people know that bundling home and auto -saves you money. -keep saying your words. but did you know that new customers who bundle and save with progressive can save an average of $800? shh. sleeping baby. i love you, too. my two favorites. looks like you already chose your favorite. knife. two favorites. i'm gonna take this now.

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announcer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. liz: good morning prude i'm liz kreutz. fully host city hall will be closed until march because of a spike in covid cases. commission meetings will happen in person for now. the city council will consider switching to complete virtual

meetings in the next session tuesday. in the meantime, if you need to reach a certain department, they are taking virtual appointment monday through thursdays. lisa, let's get a check on the weather. sunny day ahead. lisa: we have the dense fog advisory until 10:00. in the north bay from napa to nevada beautiful view. 46 san francisco, 51 san jose, low 30's santa rosa. chilly but a lot of sunshine with upper 50's north and south bay. liz: thank you and thank you for joining us. the news continues now with gma. the news continues now with gma. ♪ before treating your chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more, you're not the only one with questions about botox®. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start, with about 10 minutes of treatment once every 3 months. so, ask your doctor if botox® is right for you, and if a sample is available. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection

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virgil, that's a funny name. you come from philadelphia. what do they call you up there? >> they call me mr. tibbs. >> welcome back to "gma" on this saturday morning. we are celebrating the life and legacy of hollywood trailblazer sidney poitier. coming up in our next hour, we take a look at his fight for social justice both on and off the screen that changed the life of so many who followed. we are following big headlines this morning. first up happening right now a judge has dismissed the criminal case against former new york governor andrew cuomo. the former governor appearing virtually in court making his first public appearance since stepping down from office. cuomo was accused of groping an aide in the executive mansion in 2020, but prosecutors say they determined they could not secure a conviction. also right now, rescuers working through the night after

one person became trapped following a mine collapse in western pennsylvania friday afternoon. the department of environmental protection saying the person was trapped in an underground part of the quarry mine. no word on their condition. and amy schneider continues to make "jeopardy!" history. schneider extending her winning streak, the longest of any woman on the show, reaching a new record by becoming the first woman to win more than $1 million, and she'll be back on monday. >> i like to play against her and i lose every time. >> we all do. and so do the other contestants. >> exactly. we start this half hour with novak djokovic and his fight to remain in australia and defend his title in the australian open. his lawyers filing court papers and britt clennett joins us from hong kong with more. good morning to you, britt. >> reporter: good morning, eva. that's right. new details emerging in the djokovic case. his lawyers claiming that he was granted an exemption because of a previous covid infection.

overnight new developments in novak djokovic's legal battle at the australian border where he's being held in an immigration detention hotel. lawyers for the tennis star submitting documents arguing that he was granted medical exemption from tennis australia to play in the australian open because he had recently recovered from covid-19. his lawyers also arguing he received a document from the department of home affairs saying that he met the requirements for a quarantine-free arrival into australia. djokovic was detained at an airport in melbourne wednesday after border forces deemed his exemption insufficient to enter the country and revoked his visa and he is currently staying in a hotel criticized by refugees over its poor conditions until his court appeal monday. his mother recently spoke on the poor conditions of the hotel. >> terrible, terrible accommodations. it's just some small immigration hotel as we can -- if it's hotel at all.

they are keeping him as a prisoner. it's not fair. it's not human. >> reporter: the state government saying they were not aware the australian government warned tennis australia that players granted exemption on the grounds of a recent covid case would not be allowed to enter the country. >> there's no way that djokovic could have got to australia not having been vaccinated without an australian federal government visa. that's the baseline problem here. >> reporter: djokovic announced on twitter late tuesday that he had been granted an exemption permission to defend his australian open title despite australia's strict covid rules. he has not disclosed his own vaccination status and has previously publicly opposed vaccine mandates. >> in some way i feel sorry for him, but at the same time, he know -- he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he makes his own decision, but then there are some consequences. >> reporter: and home affairs

telling us they're investigating two more participants who entered australia on the same exemption as djokovic. eva? >> and, britt, we just want to thank you first but also welcome you to weekend "gma." it's your first hit for the show. it is good to have you. >> reporter: thanks, eva. it's great to be here. >> welcome to the team. we'll be seeing a lot more of you in the future. that's for sure. thank you, britt. we do want to turn to the weather and rob marciano watching a few things across the country, but, rob, james pointed out the beard earlier. just circling back on that because we haven't had a moment to touch on it, where are we going with this? is there a plan here? this is round two. >> reporter: well, it's a windchill of 9 right know, so it's helping keep me warm. it's dedicated to omicron and i'm outside more. so it will be unceremoniously shaved in a couple months. okay? that's all you need. >> he did say a couple of months. >> we'll see about that, rob. >> reporter: yeah, until spring. all right. on to the winter weather, snow

here and the relentless barrage of storms in the pacific northwest. here's some flooding out of oregon and this is off i-84 and the columbia river gorge and we had a number of roads in organize on and in washington roads were shut down. lewis county just over the border. i-5 in spots shut down and homes surrounded by water. waters are now receding going into a bit of a drier period but still a few advisories out for six states there and winds will be cranking as well. so the windchills will continue and blizzard warnings are posted for parts of north dakota, yeah, it's going to be minus 13 in great falls, montana, for a windchill this morning. bundle up. that's a check of what's happening in the west. goodd to you here in santa cruz. it's a clear start and throughout the day today will have plenty of sunshine numbers warming up through the fifties with mid and upper fifties for most the sunsets at 507.

>> reporter: this weather report has been sponsored by vrbo, v-r-b-o. great time of year to get yourself a mountain chalet. do some swishing. >> or go someplace warm. >> maybe the swiss alps. >> reporter: okay, there you go. that's probably a better idea. >> thanks so much, rob. coming up on "good morning america," the newest in high tech from the consumer electronics show that could be in your garage. and then all the big showdowns in the nfl. espn's "monday night football" analyst louis riddick is here with a preview. this is your home. this is your family room slash gym. the guest bedroom slash music studio. the daybed slash dog bed. the living room slash yoga shanti slash regional office slash classroom. and this is the basement slash panic room.

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folding flat screens to ear buds you can control with your mind. after going fully virtual last year, organizers were determined to hold the expo in person but the rapid spread of omicron pushed part of the event to cyberspace. over 40,000 people showed up to the multiday event, a fraction of the 170,000 who attended in 2020. still, fans of the event appear to be satisfied. >> i think it's good when the connections are more intimate and personal so i see the upside >> reporter: over 2,300 uter or and now technology is so embedded into every product. >> reporter: the n code plus, the first lock in north america to support apple's home key. users will be able to unlock their doors just by tapping with their iphone or apple watch. and big news from john deere. they gave a peek of its self-driving tractors equipped with 12 cameras that allow

an owner to control everything from their smartphone. >> farm tech that allows a farmer to plow his field 24 hours. when the sun goes down usually people stop working, but john deere has built lights into these things, they can run all the time. >> reporter: bmw taking a page out of a bond film showing technology that changes the color of your car by a push of a button. >> it does have a potentially useful function if you're in a very hot place, if you turn the outside of your car all white so it deflects heat or all dark so it absorbs heat. >> reporter: now there are tons of exhibits showing tech from the health sector. health experts, they're hoping to elevate telehealth to new levels offering devices that will essentially transform your living room into a doctor's office. eva? >> more than the zoom that we're already doing with doctors? that's impressive. >> that's just what we need. >> ike, thank you. >> i do like the color for the car. that's pretty impressive.

>> can you choose your colors, though? >> i don't know. that's a good question. ask bmw. coming up on "good morning america," the crucial weekend in pro football. espn's "monday night football" analyst louis riddick is here with the rundown on the big match-ups. match ups. und, like screening for colon cancer... when caught in early stages it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive... and i detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers... even in early stages. early stages. yep. it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. we're in. on ancestry i discovered more about my great-great-grandfather baptiste caretto. ancestry threads all of the little facts together into a narrative so you get to feel like you're walking the same path they did.

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we are back now here on "gma" and the final weekend of the nfl's regular season with seven teams still vying for three remaining playoff spots. espn's "monday night football" analyst louis riddick runs down the big match-ups. louis, good morning to you. it's great to have you. >> thanks a lot for having me. this is great. >> all right. so you are calling the cowboys/eagles game later tonight. both teams trying to prove their playoff positions. both teams also likely to miss players from covid protocols. what should we expect tonight? >> i think for the dallas

cowboys, you should expect them to go out and really try to win this football game and play whoever they have available to them as long as they're able to play. look, you know, when you only carry a certain number of players on your gameday active roster, it's not like you can sit down all your starters and feel like you have enough to win the football game. dallas is playing to win this game. they still have a chance to go for that number two seed and make sure that they get as favorable match up as possible. with philadelphia, we don't know what kind of strategy they'll take. they have a lot of players on the covid list right now. they can't really improve their playoff seed that much, that significantly. they're not really in control of their own destiny as far as that's concerned, but when you're talking about an nfc east rivalry like this one, something i'm very familiar with, these teams will play to win and play hard. it will be a great match-up. we're fired up for it. >> exactly. whenever these two teams get together, it's always really exciting. a lot to watch out for. the chiefs facing against the broncos, why is this game so important for the reigning afc

champs and star quarterback patrick mahomes? >> yeah, they're still vying for that number one seed in the afc with the tennessee titans. and they have to win this game out in denver in order for them to have an opportunity to go ahead and be that number one seed. they need a little help. they need a little help from the houston texans as far as them defeating the tennessee titans, so then the road to the super bowl would go through kansas city. so i think right there that obviously gives them enough incentive. they always want people coming into arrowhead in terms of having that be the road to go to the super bowl. we know how tough of a place that is to play for them. so this, again, even though the denver broncos may not have had the year they expect, whenever you're talking about divisional match-ups which is exactly what the league wanted at the end of the year to have all these divisional match-ups have some kind of playoff implication and have some kind of sentimental and emotional meaning, when you have this kind of thing, anything is possible. so kansas city will need to be on top of their game out in the mile high city, no question about it. >> quickly, and you touched on

this a little bit but your thoughts on the role this covid surge will have on everything heading into the playoffs. can we see games get postponed or delayed? >> i don't think so. i don't think that's the plan. the nfl has never really wanted that to happen. i think because of the fact that they have expanded practice squads and they have the ability now, teams do, to bring players up on game day and the day before in order to fill out rosters in the event that you have players who come down with covid, i mean i think that's what the league's intent was for that to continue to have the schedule play out the way they wanted to play out. now with, you know, the quarantine protocols being reduced in terms of the number of days you have to sit out for vaccinated players, that's again an attempt to get players back quickly in the event that you do have a mass number or a significant number of guys who wind up testing positive at the beginning of a week, they can possibly still come back at the end of the week and play football games. so i think all of this is geared towards making sure that there's no interruption in the late season schedule and in the

playoff schedule as we move along here and so we can keep on trucking all the way out to l.a. for the super bowl. >> all right, louis, thanks so much for your analysis on a saturday morning. we look forward to your broadcast later on tonight. we appreciate it. week 18 kicks off today when the chiefs take on the broncos at 4:00 p.m. eastern. then the cowboys battle the eagles at 8:00 eastern. both games are on abc and espn. we'll be right back here with our "play of the day." espn. we'll be right back here with our "play of the day." hold on. nope. daisy's got lassoing lessons at noon. ok. high two o'clock? i got a spur fittin' at two o'clock, how's about three? i'm getting thrown through a saloon window at three. we don't need any more overscheduling. but we could all use more ways to save. i can squeeze you in between swim class and kevin's harp recital at 3:30. i thought we was eatin' beans at 3:30. right. switch to geico for more ways to save. tell you what. what about tuesday? johnson & johnson is building a future switch to geico where cancers can be cured.

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♪ i'm on the edge ♪ ♪ i'm on the edge ♪ "good morning america" is sponsored by ww, weight loss that works. wellness that works. ♪ i'm on the edge ♪ ♪ of glory ♪ back now with our "play of the day." and take a look at this. we are cheering along with the happiest fan in the world. this little boy on the jumbotron at the detroit red wings game. ♪ the edge, the edge ♪ ♪ i'm on the edge ♪

[ cheers ] the crowd going crazy. that is an opposing fan. the crowd letting him have it and then our little boy again those fans loving their new hero. the red wings winning that game possibly thanks to his enthusiasm. >> that was me this morning when we heard that eva was coming in. yeah! >> and that is me every time i watch american sports. >> especially hockey, big hockey fan. right? >> love it, yeah. >> make sure you cheer for the right team. >> okay. well, "gma" is now two hours on saturdays. coming up, covid cases hitting new records across the country. who is getting hit the hardest right now? also our "gma" cover story, hollywood icon sidney poitier's influence on hollywood and the roles that made him a trailblazer. and then the unsung heroes of broadway. how they're saving and stealing the show. the show.

announcer: building a better bay area. moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. >> good morning, everybody. today is the kickoff to the japanese new year. the festival is known as -- every year the japanese cultural and community center hosts the event in japan town, at the event is going virtual once

again this year. you can tune in enjoy arts and crafts you can do at home, children's art contest, and an art demonstration. it starts at noon. also today, a cross-country cleanup campaign ends at ocean beach. we go eco-is hosting the cleanup all over the country, picking up trash. they started last month in virginia beach. today their journey ends along the great highway, and you can take part in the cleanup. lisa, let's get a check of the weather. asa: good morning to you. things are getting bright and sunny out there. we still have a little bit of fog. a quarter-mile here in novato. look how pretty the view is here. you can see the temperatures are in the mid-40's. 47 in mountain view, with mid-40's in morgan hill. as we look toward the east bay valleys, it is still chilly back

in santa rosa. 33 there. 36 in napa. today it has been a chillier start, especially in the north bay. over to the east bay as well, that as we look at afternoon highs, we are going to warm up to where we should be. a lot of sunshine, a beautiful day on the way with 57 in oakland. in the north bay, another 57, santa rosa. a few more clouds tomorrow. maybe some drizzle on monday. >> thank you.

good morning, america. good morning, america. it's our second hour. alarming surge, coast to coast, high community transmission as the u.s. faces a record number of weekly covid infections. plus, a new study on the pfizer jab. the latest this morning. arctic blast on the move. rob marciano tracking it all as the deep freeze endangers drivers in the northeast covering roads in black ice. the safety tips you need to know before hitting the road. "gma" health alert. reassuring news on covid-19 vaccines and menstruation. a study finding any changes to menstrual cycles are typically mild and temporary without impacting fe