for more news, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm elise preston, cbs news, new york. it's monday, january 3rd, 2022. this is the "cbs morning news." back to school. students nationwide return to class amid a surge in covid re. breaking overnight, the fed secretary lloyd austin tests positive for covid. his condition and last contact with president biden. two people remain missing after a massive wildfire in colorado as evacuees return home for the first time to assess the damage. well, good morning, and good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. the new year is bringing new uncertainty for millions of

people across america as the covid pandemic rolls on. last night defense secretary lloyd austin said he tested positive for the virus despite being fully vaccinated and boosted. in a statement austin said he was experiencing mild symptoms and planned to remain in quarantine at home for five days. austin said he last met with president biden on december 21st, more than a week before he began to have symptoms. johns hopkins university reported nearly half a million covid cases on friday, largely fueled by the fast-moving omicron variant. despite the high number of cases, the second half of the school year begins today for children throughout the country as districts try to adjust to the latest outbreak. bradley blackburn is in new york with more on all of this. good morning. >> reporter: anne-marie, good morning. you know, a lot has changed over winter break with the spread of the omicron variant, and this morning some parents are waking up to learn their kids will be staying home today as schools cancel in-person classes again.

millions of children and teachers are back in school after a week off for winter stay in the classroom. >> it's important that covid doesn't spread anymore. so it doesn't get worse at school and like we would have to start zoom. that would be much worse. >> reporter: according to burbia, more than 2,100 schools are closed or remote to start the new year. some school districts like seattle and washington, d.c., are delying their return in order to distribute rapid tests. in richmond, california, the long line of cars picking up at-home tests was a good sign for teacher lisa weaver. >> it's peace of mind so that we all can feel safe back in the classroom. >> reporter: former fda commissioner dr. scott gottlieb says that while omicron seems to cause less severe illness in adults, it may hit young children harder than previous variants. >> this is a milder form of the coronavirus. it appears to be more of an upper airway disease than lower airway disease.

that's good for most americans. the one group that may be a problem is very young children, toddlers who have trouble with upper airway infections. >> reporter: that's what dr. michael daignault is seeing in his emergency room. >> a lot of the croup-like illness, bronchial illness caused by this omicron variant which is not a walk in the park for kids. >> reporter: gottlieb says the national surge in cases is likely to continue into february. and there has been so much debate over the cdc's new five-day guidelines for people who test positive for covid-19. now dr. anthony fauci says the agency is considering adding a negative test requirement to those guidelines that would be an aboutface, anne-marie. >> yeah. it would be leaving people with a lot of questions. bradley blackburn in new york, thank you very much. so covid and bad weather continue to disrupt air travel as people try to return home from their holiday break.

this morning more than 1,600 flights within, into or out of the u.s. have already been canceled. that's according to flight aware. thousands of flights were canceled over the weekend stranding passengers at airports nationwide. tom wait reports. >> reporter: the rush to return home is turning into a day of disruptions. americans are facing full freeways and jam-packed airports with bad weather and omicron-fueled staff shortages giving travelers a holiday headache. >> sat on the tarmac for an hour and a half. >> reporter: holiday air travel is up 184% from 2020. this as delays and cancelations pile up. at chicago's midway international airport, winter weather forced more than half a dozen flights to be scrapped. how long will it take the airlines to rebound from the delays and cancelations over the holidays? >> that's a tough call. it depends on how they can work through their stuffing and the -- their staffing and also the weather.

it's taking a hard hit on the airlines. we hope we can get through the next week or so, but it's going >> reporter: jeff spring of aaa says holiday road travel is at near pre-pandemic levels. since 2020 it's jumped 28%, even as packed roads and dangerous wet and icy conditions slow many down. are people hitting the roads like you expected them to? >> it was one of the busiest travel holidays on record. nationwide, not just hitting the roads but all over different kinds of travel formats. that's the most in nearly 20 years since aaa started doing tracking. >> reporter: experts say pandemic fatigue is one reason why so many are hitting the roads during this holiday season, but omicron could have a huge impact on those numbers in the coming weeks. tom wait, cbs news, los angeles. federal offices will be closed in washington, d.c., today because of a winter storm. it's expected to bring at least three to seven inches of snow as it rolls into the nation's capital, northern virginia, and central maryland.

wind gusts could reach up to 35 miles per hour. the storm could also hit new york city where they are preparing for up to three inches of snow. and search crews in colorado are looking for two missing people after a massive wildfire ripped through more than nine square miles in the suburbs near denver. the fire which started thursday destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and other buildings. people who barely escaped from the fire returned home yesterday to sort through what was left. some described what it was like when the fire hit -- >> within five minutes, our neighbors called and said the fire department was telling everybody to get out. and it wasn't much longer than that that our son called and saw news coverage up the hill, and he could see that there were flames on our roof. >> the cause is under investigation. president biden is reassuring ukraine that the u.s. and its allies will act decisively if russia further invades the country.

mr. biden spoke with ukranian president volodymyr zelensky over the phone yesterday. it followed a call between mr. biden and russian president vladimir putin last thursday. russia has 100,000 troops near its border with ukraine. mr. biden said that he warned putin that the russian economy would pay a heavy price if it moves against ukraine. and south korea's military says an unidentified person crossed the heavily fortified border into north korea. south korean officials say the person was spotted earlier by surveillance equipment in the demilitarized zone but avoided capture by troops saturday night. the person was later seen crossing the border. it's unclear if this was a rare case of a south korean trying to defect to the north or north korean who briefly entered south korea trying to return home. coming up, cable car rescue. 21 people get stuck on two tram cars in freezing conditions.

how they were safely brought down after being stranded overnight. railing collapse. fans fall to the ground at the end of the philadelphia eagles game. how they almost injured star quarterback jalen hurts. this is the "cbs morning news." is is the "cbs morning news." i'm always up for what's next, even with higher stroke risk due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin i'll go after that. eliquis. eliquis reduces stroke risk better than warfarin and has less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis has both. don't stop taking eliquis without talking to your doctor as this may increase your risk of stroke. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking, you may bruise more easily or take longer for bleeding to stop. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, or unusual bruising. it may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor about eliquis.

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jury deliberations are set to resume today in the federal fraud trial of theranos founder elizabeth holmes. the 37-year-old onetime billionaire is accused of defrauding investors, doctors, and patients with false claims about her blood-testing startup. after six days of deliberations in san jose, california, the jury took a break last wednesday. if convicted, holmes faces up to 20 years in prison. some eagles fans took a tumble from the stands, and harry reid will be honored at the capitol. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." the "associated press" reports former senate majority leader harry reid will lie in state in the u.s. capitol rotunda next

week. the longtime nevada democratic senator died last week at the age of 82 after battling pancreatic consider. congressional leaders say ceremonies honoring reid at the capitol will take place on january 12th. the ceremony is being limited to invited guests only due to the pandemic. "usa today" says 21 people were rescued in new mexico after being stranded for hours in two aerial tram cars on new year's eve. the cars, mostly filled with employees of a mountaintop restaurant, were stuck overnight in below freezing temperatures 85 feet in the air due to icing on a cable. rescue crews spent hours using ropes to lower the stranded workers to the ground saturday afternoon. >> once they were on the ground, they were escorted about 100 to 200 feet away to a small landing zone where the sheriff was able to fly in. he picked them up in his helicopter, flew them back to the ground where they were medically assessed.

>> no injuries were reported. and "the philadelphia enquirer" says jalen hurts avoided injury when several fans fell out of the stands near him. hurts was walking through the tunnel at fedex field in maryland yesterday after the eagles defeated the washington football team. he quickly stepped aside as fans fell ten feet to the ground after a railing collapsed. hurts helped some of them up and took pictures with several others afterwards. the washington football team said that it was glad that no one appeared to be seriously hurt. still ahead, mid game meltdown. the bucs part ways with wide receiver antonio brown after he runs off the field shirtless. what may have caused the bizarre scene and brown's response after the game. fter the game.

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on the cbs "money watch," twitter bans a congresswoman, and a huge powerball lottery jackpot is up for grabs. naomi ruchim with that and more. >> reporter: good morning. after a banner year on wall street in 2021 investors enter 2022 with an eye on several factors that could derail the markets' gains including summering covid cases, decades' high inflation, and the fed's plan to raise interest rates starting in the spring. stocks ended the year lower on friday. the dow lost 59 points. the nasdaq fell 96 points, and the s&p 500 slid 12 points. personal account of representative marjorie taylor greene. the giant permanently suspended the lawmaker's account for repeatedly violating the platform's covid misinformation policy.

twitter cited its strike system for banning greene. five or more strikes leads to a permanent suspension. greene still has access to her professional twitter account. she called twitter an enemy to america and can't handle the truth. tesla is starting the new year with a positive report. the electric vehicle company said it delivered a record 936,000 vehicles last year. that's up 87% compared to 2020. the majority of vehicles delivered in the final quarter were the model 3 sedan and the model y hatchback. tesla's production report surprised analysts who expected lower numbers because of the global shortage of computer chips. and someone can start 2022 as a multi, multimillionaire. tonight's powerball jackpot has swelled to $522 million. no one matched all six numbers over the weekend. if you choose all cash, if you r

was $1.5 billion, you'll remember, back in 2016. it was shared by three winners in three states, anne-marie. anyone playingod lucto you. >> good luck indeed. naomi ruchim in new york. thank you. >> thank you. so up next, a hockey fan to the rescue. how a woman possibly saved the life of a vancouver canucks employee, and the team's special thank you to her. this is the sound of nature breathing. and this is the sound of better breathing. fasenra is a different kind of asthma medication. it's not a steroid or inhaler. fasenra is an add-on treatment for asthma driven by eosinophils. it's one maintenance dose every 8 weeks. it helps prevent asthma attacks, improve breathing,

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here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ a documentary that was supposed to celebrate betty white's 100th birthday is still coming to theaters despite the beloved actress' death on friday at the age of 99. the producers of "betty white 100 years young: a birthday celebration," say the film will be released as planned on january 17th. that would have been white's 100th birthday. the title of the movie has been changed to "betty white: a celebration." tampa bay buccaneers wide receiver antonio brown has been kicked off the team.

in aizar sceuring yesterday's game against the new york jets, brown removed most of his uniform, threw some of it into the stands, then walked off the field waving his arms shirtless. after the game, bucs head coach bruce arians said that brown was off the team. he said the receiver did not enter the game when he was told to. bucs quarterback tom brady reacted to what happened. >> we all love him. we care about him deeply. you know, we want to see him best and -- unfortunately it won't be with our team. i think everyone should be very compassionate and empathetic toward, you know, some very difficult things that are happening. >> brown was suspended last month for three games for violating the nfl's covid protocols. in an instagram post after the game, brown wrote, "big mad making a difference, thanks for the opportunity." and a vancouver canucks assistant equipment manager is saying a special thank you to a woman who may have very well saved his life. during a game in seattle in

october, a woman sitting behind the vancouver bench noticed a mole on the back of brian hamilton's neck. the 22-year-old fan was able to get hamilton's attention. she held up a message on her phone telling him that she thought it was cancerous and that he needed to get it checked out. he did, and discovered it was a malignant melanoma. the mole was removed, and two -- and the two reunited saturday. >> so nice to meet -- are you okay with shaking hands? thank you so much for reaching out. >> thank you. no, thank you. >> my gosh -- >> the woman is studying to be a doctor. during saturday's game, both the canucks and the seattle kraken surprised her when they announced they were donating $10,000 toward her medical education. and coming up on "cbs mornings," actress sophia bush tells us about her drama series "good sam." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news."

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our top stories -- defense secretary lloyd austin says he's tested positive for covid despite being fully vaccinated and boosted. austin said that he was experiencing mild symptoms and planned to remain in quarantine at home for five days. he said he last met with president biden on december 21st, more than a week before he began to have symptoms. and white house medical adviser dr. anthony fauci says the cdc is now considering whether asymptomatic people infected with covid need a negative test to leave isolation. it comes after confusion over last week's revised recommendations that would let people leave isolation after five days withsympto.

when we think about new year's resolutions you might think about losing weight or eating right. the american medical association is encouraging people to commit to making better health choices to improve overall health. brleains >> reporter: like many of us, alfred monacella has some resolutions for the new year. >> i've got to lose 15 pounds and get back to the gym. >> eat better and continue to work out on a regular basis. i say it every year, but yes, this is going to be the year, 2022. >> reporter: the american medical association is offering recommendations to improve health this year and in the future. high blood pressure and diabetes can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke so they urge people to monitor blood pressure and take steps to reduce hypertension. they advise checking your risk of diabetes by taking a simple two-minute screening test at the

website doihaveprediabetes.org. >> as many as one out of three may have prediabetes and not know about it. left untreated it can advance to full-blown diabetes. >> reporter: the ama president dr. gerald harmon says managing stress should also be at the top of your list. that includes eating right, getting at least 7.5 hours of sleep, and daily exercise and wellness activities like yoga and meditation. >> if you really need help, don't be embarrassed to talk to a doctor. don't be embarrassed to talk to your family members. >> reporter: many americans have become more sedentary so it's time to get physically active. health experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate every week. >> reduce your stress, reduce your risks of diabetes and help you lose weight. >> reporter: eat fewer processed foods, especially those with added sodium and sugar.ar2022 a.

coming up on "cbs mornings," ahead of the anniversary of the january 6th capitol riot we'll speak with jamie raskin who is on the house select committee investigating the attack. we'll take you to japan where there's a new demand for so-called companion robots to help with the epidemic of loneliness. and actress sophia bush tells us about her new cbs drama series "good sam." that's the "cbs morning news" for this monday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. ♪