good day. i'm joe fryar in for andrea mitchell. we see skyrocketing covid cases nationwide after the holiday weekend. president biden is urging people to go out and get boosters and shares this message of reassurance to the nation's governors. >> my message is simple, if you need something, say something. we're going to have your back any way we can. >> covid test shortages potentially shortening that ten-day isolation period. another booster live at the white house with the latest.

one area getting hit hard by the omicron variant is the airline industry. between the violence and brutal severe weather, thousands of flights are being cancelled when so many are traveling for the holidays. we're going to dig into the chaos hitting airports nationwide. also, the house panel investigating the january 6th attack is hit with another lawsuit, this time from trump did a trump spokesman and why the committee wants access to his information. we'll begin with the latest on the omicron variant. we go to delaware and new jersey and molly hunter is live in hard-hit london. the president about to head home to delaware this afternoon but first we just saw him continuing urge people to get booster shots

at that meeting with the governors. >> what else should we be expecting him to discuss with his team in the meeting. >> as we were setting up camp in delaware where the president is due to arrive in a few hours, i couldn't help remember whack to when the president-elect was preparing to take office. the message was they knew his presidency would ultimately judge on whether or not he successfully helped see the nation through this pandemic. a year later the virus in a mutated form is still very much with us. what struck out to me as you listen to the president there is the degree to which me is sort of saying essentially are you better off than you were a year ago, that, yes, the virus is still with us but we have so many more tools that can help us to fight it.

primarily the vaccine and he underscored the urgency of getting the vaccine and getting boosters. let's take a listen to part of the president's message to them earlier. >> omicron is a source of concern but it should not be a source of panic. if you're fully vaccinated and up get your booster shot, you're high live protected. the bottom line is we want to assure the american people that we're prepared. we know what it takes and as this group of bipartisan governors has shown, we're going to get through it by working together. >> now, as this meeting is continuing with the governor, white house officials were stressing no new announcements were coming from the president, he laid out his strategy dealing with this omicron surge just last week and that was part of what he underscored, too. he's seen the coverage, he understands there's much more to do as it relates to testing. the president also wanted to use it as an opportunity to hear

more from those governors about what else they're facing in their states. the louisiana government indicated the hospitalizations have doubled in their state. part of the reason is surging resources, surging ppe, medics, doctors and nurses coming from ranks of the military as we see the staffing shortage and though we have more tools, we still need more bodies in the hospitals to help treat the surge of hospitalizations. >> we heard the president and governor hutchins talk about spiking cases. on christmas day, nearly 20,000 cases just in one state. what are you seeing and hearing from people there? >> hey there, joe. that spike in covid cases across the state of new jersey is leading to really long lines at

covid testing centers. this goes all the way back to the end of the parking lot and around again. we've seen hundreds of cars come through this morning and hundreds more expected this afternoon and some are getting tested as a precaution and one family tested negative on a test but haven't been able to get the rapid test. >> it's scary. a lot of places are requiring them but you can't get them. >> i think there should be some more available just because i've come here a couple times and every time i come, it's a long line. not that they're not doing good, it's just so many people want a test. >> reporter: so what is new jersey doing about this rise in cases? they are opening up more testing

centers. but when it comes to mandates and lockdowns, governor murphy says nothing yet in terms of any statewide mandates, he's leaving it up to the local communities it decide what's best for them. >> those are the sights and sounds from america. let's go overseas, molly. london is being swarmed with omicron cases. the office for national statistics showed around 1 in 20 londoners had covid and estimates suggest that could have risen to one in ten on sunday, 10%. it's a crystal ball to what america might have to anticipate. what are you seeing there? >> 10% is huge. and it is worth noting that the vaccination rates in london actually are quite a bit lower than the national vaccination rates. but one thing that strikes me and i know we were talking about this over the weekend, as 10% of

london is getting covid, that will yous health care workers. it is an estimated one third of health care workers will be out of the workforce by new years. that means it's going to take far fewer cases to overwhelm the hospitals than previously of course. look, we were expecting prime minister boris johnson to come down with restrictions today. that didn't happen. we aren't sure why. were the numbers better today? we haven't gotten the case count yet today. is he waiting till after new years? does he not want to ruin people's celebrations. we're seeing london is basically in defacto lockdown. and other european countries are making very different choices. italy, for example, has cancelled all new years's celebrations and in france where they also saw record numbers this weekend of cases, french president emanuel macron is in a

crisis meeting and we should hear whether new restrictions are going in there. joe? >> interesting to see all the different ways people are handling this. thanks to all of you. i want to bring in dr. ja. some of the other topics expected to be discussed includes shortening isolation guidance from the current ten days. president biden when asked about this said, quote, i rely on my medical team. i get a recommendation, i follow it. just last week we saw the cdc shorten for health care workers. do you think it should be shortened for more workers as we move forward here now? >> thanks for having me back. i do. of course the president should listen to his medical experts. it's really critical. i think most experts agree, certainly all the people he been talking to, my own reading of the data, that ten days is

probably too long, especially for vaccinated, boosted people. what we care about is how long are people contagious? date why suggests people are contagious for about five, six days, at the onset of system. we should shorten it to five days and requiring a rapid antigen test and if that's negative, and then we can shorten it. >> president biden addressed it. so in your mind, what do you think needs to be done to make testing less of a headache in this country right now? >> i mean, first of all, we should not be here. i mean, this is ridiculous that this far into this pandemic we still can't quite get our testing strategy right. you know, sure, it's better than last year, better than a year ago but not anywhere near where it needs to be. we need to improve both access

to pcr testing, as well as the antigen at-home tests. i appreciate the president said we'll see them in january. i wish we had more available for the holidays but we don't. between that and rapid pcr testing and we need to be able to get tested on demand and that's not where we are. >> dr. fauci put out a warning saying don't be surprised if omicron is not as severe as previous strain and the how do we get that message out to people and how important is that message right now?

>> i think it's really important to both be very clear about what the science says and what the implications are. if you're fully vaccinated and boosted, you may get a break breakthrough infection but it should be mild. the question is how much milder is it for the unvaccinated person? the data suggestions people unvaccinated are getting sick at a pretty high rate. if you are unvaccinated, i would not take comfort that this virus is mild, somewhat milder. khat ooe hochel said over 5,500 hospitalizations in the

last two days. what do you think about that? >> this is spreading like wildfire, certainly new york, and there are a lot of people vulnerable, unvaccinated and high-risk people not boosted. over 15% of people over 65 are not boosted. that sets up a huge risk for people who are high risk, they can get pretty sick. and all the folks not vaccinated, there are millions and we're going to see hospitalizations in that population. that's what we have to pay attention to right now. >> and we heard the governors in the covid group there discuss the possibility of a fourth dose of a covid vaccine, so another booster. we know it's being tested in israel. how likely do you think it is we're all going to be advised to get a fourth covid shot here in the u.s.? >> that's a really good

question. i have not seen much data yet that makes me think we'll need it. i expect this to become an annual booster, sort of like a flu shot. the question is do we need it sooner, at six or nine months? based on everything i've seen so far, i'm not seeing much in the way of a need for a fourth booster but if the evidence changes, the recommendations will change. if we need it, we have plenty of vaccine and we'll have capability to do it and if people need it, they'll get it. the data is just not in yet to make a determination. >> dr. jha, that's why we always ask you these questions. we know you are so driven by the data and give us very clear, concise, proven information. thanks for being with us. >> a new lawsuit filed this morning against the january 6 select committee. plus, holiday headaches, whether

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welcome back. this morning the committee tasked with investigating the january 6th riots faces yet another lawsuit. after testifying to the panel for nearly four hours, trump's spokesman has sued the panel over access to his financial records. joining me is ali vitale and the host of the talking feds pod cast and phil rucker of the. "washington post." ali, explain how budwicsz fits

into the investigation. >> they are trying to get at and demand these financial records. they're trying to get at how these rallies were planned at the elips and at the capitol were financed and paid for. in filing his lawsuit to stop the committee from going after these banking records, he also says he himself been cooperating. what's clear is that even for people in the pred's orbit who have not said kind things about the committee's work, they're still cooperating with the work that they're doing. this also comes against the backdrop, joe, of them trying to go after these national archives records. the committee still very interested in getting that information and the former president filing his own lawsuit trying to take this up to the supreme court to fully elevate this question of executive privilege. all of this speaks to what the committee is trying to get at, which is both the money trail and also what was happening among the president's inner orbit as well with former

president donald trump in those critical hours around january 6th. >> phil, there is cooperation here, someone who has provided four hours of testimony to the panel. what answer could they provide the committee in. >> in addition to those four hours of testimony, he provided a wealth of documentation that the committee was seeking but has not handed over his financial records and that's the subject of this lawsuit. the financial record could tell you what his personal finances were like but they would more importantly, i think, paint a picture of the financing of the january 6th rally to the extent that he was involved in helping pay for them or at least helping front load some of those expenses. we don't actually know how much he personally was involved in financing that effort. obviously that's what the committee is trying to find out. that's why they're seeking these

records. you know, he does not want them to have those records. so it raises the question, i think, for members of the committee what exactly is he hiding if he's not going to furnish the documentation requested of him. >> he organizes they lack the authority to obtain the reports from jpmorgan. is this a delay tactic or could this hold up in court? >> they cooperate to an extent, he has here, and by the way, it looks like from what the committee said that he somehow got $200,000 were a source without disclosing it, funneled it through a 501c4 and then he runs to court and the same as meadows, this is now the 10th,

what do they say? not much. it's the same tired argument, no legislative purpose or first amendment violation. it's all they've got. but it's their only way to try to get at a third party. it's all they can do when the same with meadows, who they're getting at phone records is go to a court and say stop this third party but they have really poor and tired arguments that have essentially no chance of prevailing. might buy a few weeks but it's their only play, oh, no, not a third-party record, i wouldn't do that. >> phil, we know the former president, donald trump, he's trying to get the supreme court to stop the national archives from releasing white house records to the january 6th committee, the house panel is urging the supreme court respond to that request. what more can you tell us about that? where do you think that goes from here? >> clearly the former president is hoping the supreme court will

be on his side. in part because he installed three of those nine justices during his presidency. trump has a very transactional view of judiciary and in particular of the supreme court. and he believes that because he nominated these individuals to be justices of the highest court of the land that they owe him a favor or two or three and so i think he's counting on the court to intervene here, to have his back and keep the national archives from releasing the documents that trump doesn't want this committee to have. what we've seen over the years with the court is that they don't make their decisions based on transactional politics, they make it based on their interpretation of the law and the arguments that are presented. >> harry, let's get your expert opinion. do you expect the supreme court to respond to that question? -- request? when do you expect them to respond? >> when is the first big

question. congress is pushing for them to do it at their january 14th conference, which would be very quick. if they take the case, it's on ice as far as the committee's concerned past the mid terms. if they don't, then they're able to move forward on the subpoena and i think i consider it a toss-up, a lot of people think it's a forgone conclusion the court will take it. they need four votes to take it. i get to three for the easy, joe, but not the fourth if i were a betting man and i'm not, i would say they do not take it. the more important question is will they do it quickly and that would mean we would have a decision by the end of january. >> which will come quicker than we think. ali, this committee doesn't seem to being taking much of a holiday. what's the next thing to expect, witnesses to speak, a dead line day? what should we watch for? >> still pretty busy.

if this does stretch past the mid terms, that's the ball game right there. that has always been the former president's plan here is to tie this up in the courts and that's not a question that's usually answered very quickly once you get into the court system on this. in terms of what's coming, we already know that there are more documents deadlines, even for the first week of january. we'll also be looking at the january 6th one-year anniversary. we'll look to see the way that these lawmakers and the committee commemorate that specific day. but more broadly speaking, you're going to see them continue to try to work quickly. the other thing that's lingering here is that we saw them request information from current lawmakers right before we got to the time that congress left town. those two lawmakers have said they're not going to comply. the committee now is faced with a pretty open question as they have been before about what lengths they will go to to actually get people to comply with their requests for information and depositions. we've seen the way they've gone about this with people who are

former white house staffers like mark meadows, former allies like the president like steve bannon and jeffrey clark. we don't know how they will deal with sitting members. that's the open question here is how far they will go to actually get that information and if they could subpoena sitting lawmakers. >> that definitely seems to be a stickier situation. harry, final thought here. what are you going to be watching for in the new year and what do you think will signal that the investigation is entering a new gear? >> yeah, i'm with ali. the third rail that's coming up, i don't see them subpoenaing trump, but the big brouhaha will be if they actually go after their colleagues. they've signalled they're going to. i think they're trying to push one of the six to kind of break rank and begin to cooperate, but will they in fact be sufficiently embolden to

actually subpoena and even potentially hold them in contempt and then what would the department do? the second thing is even though they don't subpoena trump, liz cheney and others have indicated they may be ready to actually do a criminal contempt referral -- excuse me, an obstruction referral to d.o.j. wow, how would d.o.j. handle that? that would be the sort of world war iii move for this committee. that's what i'm watching for. >> all of this as the anniversary of january 6th approaches. ali, phil, harry, thanks to all of you. a lot to digest. coming up, chaos at airports across the country. why the omicron variant is being blamed for thousands of cancelled flights over the weekends and how travelers are scrambling to get home. o get hoe

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welcome back. the grinch who might have impacted your holiday flight this year, the omicron variant. today alone close to 2,000 global flights are already cancelled. over the holiday weekend, that

number was around 10,000. it comes as the highly transmissible covid variant hit flight cruises and winter storms hit the nation, as americans try to head home. kerrey sanders has more. joe, today is not a good day if you're planning to fly. first of all, there have been major delays and cancellations, just as there was the day after christmas, more than 1,500 domestic cancellations. there are more than 900 cancellations, more than 1,800 delays, most of those related to the spread of coronavirus. when the airline employee tests positive, they have to quarantine for ten days. as we know, coronavirus is spreading quickly and as they quarantine for ten days, there's fewer and fewer employees from mechanics, ramp workers, all the way to the flight attendants to be pilots.

so without enough people to backfill those jobs, the airlines have no choice at this very, very moment to delay or cancel flights. the only hope right now the airlines can see is requesting that the cdc limit the number of days of quarantine from ten maybe down to seven. but for the moment their requests have not been answered by the cdc, which means that if you're traveling today and maybe for the next couple of days, because this is a rolling problem, in all likelihood, your flight might be delayed or cancelled. joe? that was nbc's kerry sanders. now to a different kind of holiday tradition. if santa did not give your gift quite right, you're not alone. two out of three consumers are expected to make a return this holiday season. with a surge in online shopping this year, new challenges are emerging for retailers. shaquille brewster is is at a

warehouse that process return products. we know what the return process looks likes here, what does it look like on your end there? >> reporter: i can tell you, it's busy. as you can probably hear behind me, we're talking about 6,000 pallets of returned items. two in three of americans plan to make a holiday return during this holiday season. that's not because people are ungrateful. it's because so many more people are doing online shopping, sending things back that don't fit or that they didn't get to experience themselves. but the thing is most of those returns don't end up back on the store shelves. we spoke to the chief operating officer of a company called b-stock, that helps work to repackage and resell some of these returned items. listen to what the coo told us. it might surprise you. >> if you buy it from a store and return it to a store, it often winds up back on a shelf. if you buy from an e-commercial

retailer or division of a retailer, it never winds up back on the shelf. >> reporter: never winds up back on that shelf. so many times we hear the season free returns. well, we know that very few things in life are really free. those returns and the processing of them are costing retailers 7% more this time around. if you have a $50 gift that you bought, it costs the retailer about $33 on average, to return and process that return. so some retailers are actually saying if you want to return it, just keep it and we'll give you a refund and you get a sense of that. more people online shopping, more online shoppers, more online items going back to the score leading to a busy season for the folks here at this warehouse. >> shaq, i think you were a limb surprised earlier when i told you, i'm in the one and three,

friend and families this year nailed it. how about you? you have any returns? >> i have a few returns. i'm not going to say who, though. >> very wise. we'll keep that a secret. >> coming up, jurors in the max well trial are now in their third day of deliberations. we have a live report for the latest on the verdict watch. that's next. >> and later, an nbc news exclusive, hhs secretary javier bacera talked about caring for family members with alzheimer's and dementia. you're watching "msnbc reports." "

overreaching. that's what the defense team for five men charged with kidnapping conspiracy against michigan's democratic governor are calling the actions from federal agents and informants.

they're asking for a judge to toss out their indictment. defense attorneys say fbi agents and federal prosecutors invented a conspiracy and entrapped people who could face life in prison. federal prosecutors say the men were not entrapped. prosecutors say the men were upset over whitmer's covid-19 intentions and kidnapped her. five men are scheduled to stop her trial in march. right now the fate of gislaine maxwell is in the hands of jurors. it's the third full day of jury deliberations after jurors heard from more than two dozen witnesses over a span of three weeks. joining me now with the latest is nbc news correspondent kathy parks these deliberations come as covid cases surge across new york and the rest of the country. in what ways is that affecting this process? >> hey, joe, that's right. this high-profile case comes

against the backdrop of rising infections here in new york. ahead of the holiday break, the judge told the jury to stay safe, essentially be careful over the last would you mean of days when they had this break to be with family and friends and essentially not get sick. effective today everyone who is with the jury, they are required to wear a hospital grade mask, so those n-95 masks. as far as we know there are no covid issues at this point and they are moving forward with delay three deliberations. joe, i can tell you in just the past couple of hours, we have a couple of updates from the jury. they handed over two notes to the judge. they are requesting office supplies, post-its, a white board and also a definition of the word enticement. they're also asking for additional testimony, one from an ex-boyfriend of one of the accusers, jane, and they also just recently asked for the

testimony of a former palm beach police officer who did a surge on his home. we hold tight to wait to see if there is any verdict today. if we can glean any information, it seems they are settling in for the day. they are combing through a lot of evidence, weeks of evidence, and they're taking this trial very seriously, joe. >> we know you'll keep an eye on it, kathy park, thanks so much. >> tributes are pouring in for the late archbishop off desmond tutu. he passed away over the weekend in capetown at the age of 90 after a long battle with prostate cancer and several

hospitalizations. he was called a true servant of god and of the people. his legacy transcends borders and will echo over the ages. former president barak obama tweeted he was grounded in the struggle to libber in the his own country. and south africa's president saying it was this hope and this light that he preached and he celebrated throughout his life. we'll be right back. i've lost count of how many asthma attacks i've had. but my nunormal with nucala? fewer asthma attacks. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection

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moments ago president biden left the white house bound for rehoboth beach, delaware. reporters asked him how the meeting went with the national governor's association and he said they thanked me. there were no complaints. >> new details on the biden administration's plans for alzheimer's and dementia. richard lui spaebs with javier

ezra for an exclusive interview revealing why this is so personal to him. >> xavier runs the agency overseeing the cdc and more. >> probably the best way to discuss this issue, dementia/alzheimer's today is to talk about the family members who are right now alone because of covid. >> reporter: alzheimer's cost america more than $355 billion annually. 70% of that cost is paid for by families. >> everyone should be able to care for their loved one, if they're willing to. my mother-in-law, who did suffer from dementia for many years, never was a day without a family member at her side. my father, who passed on new year's day 2020 and we, the family, became his care givers, his hospice care givers for much of his life. he lived with me his last four

years of life. >> he moved his parents next door to help. he became one of 53 million americans taking care of a loved one living with a disability. >> when he started to decline, we would sleep in his bedroom with him. those are tough days. you don't get a lot of sleep. you for your aged parent that your parent did for you when you were an infant. >> i go through that battle now. i'm fine with my siblings about how to pay to keep my father under the care he needs. my mom at home. how does the plan address that? >> well, the plan which is updated every year -- >> the government plan tracks five goals and this year a sixth new goal was added. funding new research on what behaviors might cause alzheimer's or dementia. >> can i make sure the diet that my parents have is healthier, so they're eating less risky foods? absolutely. can that help us when it comes

to something like dementia? well, that could help reduce the risk. >> and that risk is higher for certain groups. in black and latino communities, the rate of alzheimer's can be twice of others. >> you and i grew up in poverty. essentially. when you think about health equity and this plan, bring those two together for me briefly. >> in racial and ethnic minority communities, dementia hits hard and more often in some cases. >> most ambitious of the plan, to prevent and treat alzheimer's disease within three years. >> what is inspiring one thing your father said to you in your years growing up? >> if you can get up and go to work, it's a good day. there was a man who really impacted my life who makes it possible for me to jump high, to get up in the morning and have a good day. and so i am -- i won't forget my

dad. >> the plan is used as a guide for hundreds of millions of dollars. that's allocated each year by the national institutes of health to battle alzheimer's. again, the strategy which also includes issues of mental health and alzheimer's and their care givers, that plan is just out today. >> richard, such an important topic. thank you for sharing this story. we really appreciate it. still ahead, a comeback story this weekend. a super hero comes to the rescue following a really rough year for america's movie theaters, but are the crowds back for good?

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after nearly two years of uncertainty for movie theaters during the pandemic this holiday weekend more americans went back to the big screen. the new spider man movie swung to new heights becoming the first pandemic era film to surpass 1 billion in global box office sales. now, with more superhero sequels and action-packed hollywood films on the way, movie theaters are hoping to make a big return. >> this morning signs the big screen is mounting a block buster come back. >> i love coming back to the theater. >> i'm going to keep my mask on the whole time, but i'm not really concerned. >> reporter: the holiday weekend enjoyed a power house showing with "spiderman no way home" breaking records by raking in

more than million dollars. a feat for an industry looking to bounce back. >> i did see it, but i have to see it again. >> reporter: "sing 2 " has brought in 41 million since last week. while "the matrix" pulled in 22.5 million. one in five u.s. adults said they would feel comfortable heading back to theaters within the next month. marvel movies will likely continue to lure many movie-goers into their universe with sequels to "dr. strange", "thor", and "black panther". and the return of tom cruise in top gun maverick and "mission impossible 7".

there's tough competition from streaming. next year disney plus will have exclusive titles and peacock owned by nbc universal, the parent company of nbc news will stream most universal films as early as 45 days after their theater release. >> to this is the suicide squad. >> reporter: come january, hbo max will no longer offer the same-day release plan, a move that may get more people back to the theater. >> in 2022, do you think we're going to see fewer movies released both in theaters and on streaming on the same day? >> i think we're going to back to the theater first model, heading for it makes movies more coveted. >> reporter: theaters were shuttered for much of the pandemic forcing some to rent out entire auditoriums. amc theaters, the largest movie theater chain posted a loss of $4.6 billion in 2020. now the company is looking for new ways to retain customers.

investing in payment options like bitcoin and even selling popcorn outside the theater. as the industry looks to rebound in the year ahead. >> the movie theater experience has withstood every challenge that's come its way. it's a resilient business. people love going to the movies. >> it's starting to come through. and i can't stop him. >> according to one projection, global box office numbers for next year could increase 60% from 2021. that means we have to wait until 2023 to see a full return to prepandemic sales. that does it for me this hour. i'll be back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. eastern. and you can always catch me on "morning news now" week days after 7:00 a.m. eastern. first, my friend alison morris picks up our coverage right now. >> it is 1 p.m. on the east coast. 10:00 a.m. on the west. we start this hour with a

massive increase in covid cases. a massive shortage of testing and massive chaos at the airports. new covid cases are at levels the u.s. hasn't seen since president biden's inauguration. over 1 million americans tested positive for covid in the past week. and experts fully expect the case numbers to go up after the holiday celebrations. this morning the president met with governors reiterating his commitment to providing states with federal help. >> my message to the governors is simple. if you need something, say something. and we're going to have your back in any way we can. last week we took steps to bolster support for you with number one, more capacity to get shots in arms. >> many states set covid records over the past week. we'll check in on new jersey in a moment. they hit the highest number of covid cases ever on christmas day. and yesterday delaware, hawaii, maryland, new jersey and virginia set new seven-day average