infections in the east are dropping the south and west, though, still struggling with more, here's miguel almaguer> reporter: today as the cdc cited new data saying booster shots are at least 90% effective in preventing hospitalization, less than half of americans who are eligible have actually received one. it comes as rooms, gurneys, hallways and triage areas outside hospital lobbies in states like california face a crushing wave of covid cases. >> i have 32 patients down here waiting for a bed. >> reporter: hospitalizations here in the hardest hit states have recently doubled. in san diego. >> on a daily basis, it is loud and chaotic. >> reporter: dr. julie phillips treats patients who are still overflowing into field hospitals and are among the 27 who are regularly admitted from ambulance alley, a steady conveyer belt of the seriously sick. are you surprised that things are this bad? >> you know, i want to say no, but deep down i was hoping we would never be back here again. >> reporter: just a few days ago, this hospital was so overwhelmed, they tried to divert patients everywhere. but when e

miguel almaguer starts our coverage >> reporter: announcing the start of their new clinical trial today, pfizer says it's testing if their new reformulated covid vaccine will specifically target the omicron variant and to see how effective that new formula would be. with the vaccinated and boosted already highly protected against hospitalization, the fda would then have to consider if the formula is even needed. in a trial expected to take months, it comes as pockets of the nation emerge beyond omicron's peak how difficult is it to get ahead of a new variant with a vaccine? >> if a new variant emerges, we can always build vaccines, but they can take several months to build and test vaccines always play a really important role, but often not fast enough to deal with a new variant. >> reporter: with omicron still fueling a pandemic record of e.r. visits, today the cdc confirmed the disease severity appears to be lower than previous peaks but medical centers remain overwhelmed with the sheer volume of those sick, and now the fda says two monoclonal antibodies by regeneron and eli lilly can

miguel almaguer, nbc news >>> and up next, we'll remember a trailblazing hollywood icon >> sidney poitier died at age 94. tonight tributes are pouring in for a hollywood giant. here's joe fryer. >> they call me mr. fibbs. >> reporter: sidney poitier played characters who jumped off the screen opposite rod steiger in "the heat of the night". >> i'm a police officer. ♪ amen. >> reporter: and in the field as handyman homer smith. >> i ain't building no shop. >> yeah, you. >> reporter: the role that won him the first ever lead actor oscar for a black performer. >> it is a long journey to this moment. >> reporter: raised in the bahamas, he moved to harlem as a teenager and endured the usual hard scrabble climb to an actor's life then came "no way out," the ground breaking joseph mankiewicz film about racism. >> you watch yourself, black boy. >> reporter: in '67 he reached hollywood mountain top its top earning leading man, righteous enough to slap and return the white politician who had slapped him. and in "guess who's coming to dinner," an interracial couple telling his disapproving father ti

miguel almaguer, nbc news. >> this week is massive under sea eruption cut off the island of tonga new zealand is trying to deliver aid, planes have been unable land because the airport runway is covered in ash and communication is down because of an under water cable that provides internet access was damaged. one british woman has been identified as angela glover. her brother says she was swept away trying to save her dogs >>> tonga's flag bearer says he has been unable reach his family while he is training in australia. >>> a rabbi at a texas synagogue is speaking out. he said when the gunman seemed to grow more desperate he cozy to act to save himself and the two remaining other hostages, take a listen. >> the exit wasn't too far away p. i told him to go. i took a chair with the gunman and i headed for the door. >> reporter: local news captures the escape on camera the rescue them then stormed the building and shot the hostage taker ending the nearly 12-hour siege. he was a bridge citizen. >>> the country's most restrictive abortion law if texas is staying in place for now after a f

miguel almaguer, nbc news. >>> the nation's airlines are warning of a catastrophic disruption if the telecom industry goes ahead with plans to turn on new 5g wireless technology this wednesday that could affect a critical flight instrument on planes here's tom costello. >> reporter: just 36 hours before verizon and at&t switch on their new faster 5g cell systems, the nation's airlines today issued a stark warning. an urgent request signed by every major u.s. airline and cargo ceo for the government to keep the 5g ground stations turned off if they're within two miles of major airports the ceos write immediate intervention is needed to avoid disruption to air passengers, shippers, supply chain and delivery of needed medical supplies >> 50, 40, 30. >> reporter: the concern, those 5g ground stations could disrupt a plane's radio altimeter which provides precise altitude readings when pilots land in poor visibility as 5g goes live wednesday, the faa will prohibit pilots from using altimeters, including large airport hubs in dallas, new york, chicago and seattle. today the airline ceos wa

miguel almaguer spoke with dr. anthony fauci, who is weighing in tonight >> reporter: the first city in the nation to enter a lockdown is tonight looking to change the face of the pandemic starting next week in san francisco, masks can come off inside offices, gyms, college classrooms, and certain indoor venues for those who can prove they're not just fully vaccinated but also boosted a new policy that comes with risks >> if you are boosted and -- vaccinated and boosted, there still is a chance that you can get infected because there are many breakthrough infections that we're seeing >> reporter: with the city vaccination and boosted rate both significantly higher than the national average, masks in san francisco will still be required in retail stores and public schools, where large crowds mix >> i think this is a good strategy, to basically lift mask mandates in places where you have high vaccination and low infection numbers. and i think that's a strategy that a lot of cities and states are likely to adopt. >> r

and often conflicting guidelines as the country deals with the most aggressive surge yet here's miguel almaguer >> reporter: on the very day covid cases tallied a staggering record high, 1.3 million new infections reported in 24 hours, key members of the white house covid task force are blasted over their handling of the pandemic >> i'm not questioning the science, but i'm questioning your communication strategies it's no wonder that the american people are confused >> reporter: testifying on capitol hill as new hospitalizations soar, up 83%, dr. fauci and dr. walensky faced withering criticism over perceived missteps and miscommunication >> the american people don't trust the words coming out of your mouth. every day you appear on tv, you do more damage than good. >> reporter: a frustrated fauci caught off camera on a hot mic after a series of heated exchanges. >> what a moron. jesus christ >> reporter: as the biden administration pushes for more testing amid a serious lack of supplies and overwhelming demand -- >> tests are hard to find they are costly. >> reporter: frustrated lawmakers also

novak djokovic's visa was canceled again over his vaccine status miguel almaguer as the latest. >> reporter: taking center court in a covid controversy playing out on a worldwide stage, tonight tennis superstar novak djokovic faces deportation from australia again after the immigration minister canceled his visa for a second time citing public health in a nation that requires foreigners to be vaccinated. >> it's bigger than any one person. >> reporter: meeting with his legal team to perhaps apply for an injunction to stay, djokovic has served up controversy since his arrival for the australian open. >> whether someone wants to get a vaccine or not, that's up to them >> reporter: a critic of vaccine mandate, after djokovic caught covid last month in serbia, he said he was unaware he had the virus when meeting with children unmasked but he did apologize for doing an interview the next day while knowing he was sick. state government in australia later granted djokovic a medical exemption to arrive, but he was detained at the airport and his visa was canceled before it was reinstated so he coul

first miguel almaguer with late details. >> reporter: tonight a new vaccine that specifically targets omicron may be just months away. but as new covid cases explode, our nation is likely just weeks from reaching omicron's devastating peak, with nearly every state now a hot spot, the u.s. is closing in on 700,000 new cases a day, nearly triple last year's surge. pfizer's new vaccine would target omicron and other variants already circulating. >> this vaccine will be ready in march. i don't know if we will need it i don't know how it will be usedit will be ready. >> reporter: in recent weeks, infections have some five and a half million cases just this month while most infections are mild and don't require hospitalization, in areas first hard hit by omicron, there is now a dramatic fight in covid-related fatalities. >> there has been more deaths that i have seen the whole time in just one week than i normally see in a month, let alone in a day. >> reporter: first detected in the u.s. six weeks ago, omicron is decimating the workforce and quickly spreading among children in two weeks, c

tonight, tools aimed at curbing the pandemic coming as the nation hopes to turn the corner miguel almaguer, nbc news >>> some tragic news tonight from baltimore where three veteran firefighters were killed as they fought a fire in a vacant row house. they became trapped after part of the building collapsed a fourth firefighter was pulled out and is in serious condition the mayor there calling it a gut-wrenching tragedy for the city, the fire department, and the families >>> in new york city the man police say was wounded when he fatally shot one officer and injured another on friday has died it comes as a spike in violent crime has some american cities on edge let's get more now from stephanie gosk. >> reporter: the new year is already off to a heartbreaking start for new york city's finest five nypd officers shot so far. >> we're going to get trigger pullers off the streets and guns out of their hands. >> reporter: friday 22-year-old rookie jason rivera was killed his partner, wilbert mora, gravely wounded when they responded to a domestic disturbance call police say lashawn mcneil opened

miguel almaguer, nbc news. >>> there is breaking news this evening. near north carolina officials say a military vehicle carrying 19 marines lost control as it turned on to a highway, overturning and ejecting the marines who were in the back of the truck. two marines were killed several others reported to be in critical condition. >>> we're getting a look tonight at newly declassified video showing the botched u.s. drone strike in afghanistan last year that left 10 civilians dead courtney kube with the new images and what they reveal. >> reporter: tonight the u.s. military released three newly declassified videos of a deadly drone strike in kabul last august the footage published after "the new york times" sued for the release shows the final moments before 10 innocent civilians were killed, including 7 children the strike occurred in the last days of the chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan three days earlier, an isis attack on kabul airport killed 13 u.s. service members and dozens of afghan civilians. the u.s. military was on high alert, with intell

here's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: tonight the attorneys for hannah gutierrez-reed, the armorer on the set of "rust," say they know the answer to the question investigators desperately want: how did the bullet that killed cinematographer halyna hutchins end up in alec baldwin's gun? in new court documents, pdq arm and prop, owned by seth kenny accused of supplying the set with real bullets the ammunition boxes failed to state a material fact. the contents contain both dummy and live ammunition which were deceptively sold >> the facts are a live round or multiple live rounds ended up in a box labeled as dummies. >> reporter: in their lengthy court filing, attorneys shifted the blame away from gutierrez-reed saying others also handed and loaded the revolver court documents indicate officers found a suspected seven live rounds distributed inside an ammo box with the lawsuit filed hours ago, nbc news has reached out to seth kenny who provided the ammo. his attorney says for now no comment. >> no one wants the truth more than i do >> reporter: baldwin continues to post on social media b

miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: this morning the battle over vaccines playing out in the nation's. on sunday, crowds of demonstrators led by speakers including robert f. kennedy jr., marched from the washington monument to the lincoln memorial in an effort to defeat the mandate. >> i feel like to force somebody to make that decision is really unjust. >> reporter: the rally come days after a virginia woman was arrested after she appeared to threaten officials at a school board meeting over mask mandates. >> my child, my children will not come to school on monday with a mask on. all right? that's not happening. and i will bring every single gun loaded and ready. >> the nation's deep division comes as covid cases are finally starting to fall after weeks of skyrocketing case counts driven by omicron. the national average of daily new cases, down 10%, compared to a week ago. >> don't want to get overconfident but they look like they're going in the right direction right now. >> in new york, once the nation's covid epicenter, the governor signing a 66% drop in just the last two weeks. >

miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >> man, 2021 just keeps getting worse. listen to this.g time friend and agent said even though betty white was about to be 100, i thought she would live forever i told this to ""people magazine."" i will miss her terribly and so will the animal world she loves so much. i don't think betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband alan. she believed she would be with him again. let us hope they are reunited today. with me now is tv critic for npr. what can you say, eric, about betty white? she was everything. >> yeah, and what was amazing about her was that she was a star in so many eras of television from its earliest beginnings all the way through the game show era, she was known as the first lady of game shows and married one of the best known game show hosts in alan luden and became the queen of the sitcoms and co-starring on "the mary taylor moore show" and having one of the biggest roles on "the golden girls" and later becoming an elder statesman of television or elder stateswoman of television

here's miguel almaguer with the life and legacy of the one and only betty white. >> ladies and gentlemen, betty ♪♪ ♪♪ >> when i first heard about the campaign to get me to host "saturday night live" i didn't know what facebook was. and now that i do know what it is i have to say it sounds like a huge waste of time. [ cheers and applause ] >> betty white, born in the chicago suburb of oak park, illinois, certainly never wasted her time. in the 1940s she began working on radio appearing on "the great gildersleeve". >> i didn't go to college. i just went into show business. >> she was on television from the very beginnings of tv. in 1952, co-producing her own comedy show, "life with elizabeth". >> what is so terrible about spiders? they go doing. >> to the betty white show in 1958. ♪♪ >> she is best known for two signature tv roles, sue an neve ins, the happy homemaker on "the mary tyler moore show." >> surely, that is not how a strawberry swirl is supposed to look. ♪♪ thank you for being a friend ♪ ♪ >> and rose nylund on the golden girls. when i was in minnesota the doctor would make hous

here's miguel almaguer. >> ladies and gentlemen, betty white!reporter: may 8th, 2010, betty white making history at the age of 88, becoming the oldest person to host "saturday night live," this after half a million people on facebook petitions to show to give her a shot at hosting. >> when i heard about the campaign to get he to host "saturday night live," i didn't know what facebook was. now that i do know what it is, i have to say it sounds like a huge waste of time. [ laughter ] born in oak park, illinois, she never wasted her time. in the 19.40, fresh out of high school, she appeared on nbc's ""the great guildersleeve"." >> merry christmas, mr. guildersleeve. >> i didn't go to college. i just went into show business. i just enjoyed it. >> reporter: she was on television from the very beginnings of tv. in 1952, coproducing her own show "life with elizabeth." >> what's so terrible about spiders? >> tell him, honey. >> they go doing. >> she revealed another talent, singing. ♪ to one who'd watch over me ♪ >> reporter: but she is best known for t

miguel almaguer, nbc news. >>> thanks for watching msnbc reports. i'm kori coffin.tigators zeroing in on the highest profile targets yet. >>> plus, it has been a year since the attack on the capitol, but the insurrection is still going on in plain sight all around us. even if we haven't noticed. i'm joined by the smartest i know to help us understand what is happening. >>> and life sentences for the three white men

. >> reporter: the investigation ongoing as lawyers race to assign blame miguel almaguer, nbc news. >> from fire works to bear spray, the tsa is out with the top catches of 2021. the key oddity was this chainsaw, which was confiscated from a passenger in new orleans. they confiscated a meth burrito taken from a passenger in humid one passenger trying to fly hit bullets in the deodorant they joked the passenger must have been sweating bullets going through security here's the top ten list. a machete, cleaver and pistol were confiscated over the country. >> that burrito takes the cake >>> let's bring in meteorologist janessa webb, who is tracking a day's long winter storm for us good morning >> good morning, yes this will be the major headline for the next couple of days. it depends on which section of the country, first up it will be the high plains to the upper mid-west, this afternoon, that's why the national weather service issued winter storm warnings currently in place they will continue to spread throughout the afternoon these don't go into effect later today into friday as your

reported over 1.3 million cases yesterday breaking the record our miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: the new vaccine that specifically targets omicron may be just months away. but as new covid cases explode, our nation is likely weeks from reaching omicron's devastating peak with nearly every state a hot spot, the u.s. is closing in on 700,000 new cases a day, nearly triple last year's surge pfizer's new vaccine would target omicron and other variants already circulating >> this vaccine will be ready in march. i don't know if we will need it. i don't know how it will be used, bu ready. >> reporter: in recent weeks, infections have exploded off the charts, some 35.5 million cases just this month. while most infections are mild and don't require hospitalization, in areas first hard hit by omicron, there is now a dramatic spike in covid-related fatalities >> this is the more stressed i have been in weeks with cases more in a week than in a month, let alone in a day. >> reporter: six weeks ago, omicron is decimating the work force and quickly spreading among children cases tripling with

worry it can be more contagious but it's unclear if it causesal trials f targeted vaccine nbc's miguel almaguer has the details. >> reporter: announcing the start of their new clinical trial pfizer says it's testing if their new reformulated covid raxee vaccine will specifically target the omicron variant and to see how effective that new formula would be with the vaccinated and boosted already highly protected against hospitalization, the fda would then have to consider if the formula is even needed in a trial expected to take months, it comes as pockets of the nation emerge beyond omicron's peak >> how difficult is it to get ahead of a new variant with a vaccine? >> if a new variant emerges we can always build vaccines, but they can take several months to build and test vaccines always play a really important role but often not fast enough to deal with a new variant. >> reporter: with omicron still fueling a pandemic record of er visits, the cdc confirmed the disease severity appears to be lower than previous peaks, but medical centers remain overwhelmed with the sheer volume of those sick an

coming days tools aimed at curbing the pandemic coming as the nation hopes to turn the corner miguel almaguer, nbc news. >>> president biden is making headlines when he was caught on mic cursing at fox news reporter peter ducey about inflation. take a listen. >> will you take questions on inflation then >> thank you, thank you. >> do you think inflation is a political liability ahead of the mid-terms? >> that's a great -- what a stupid [ bleep ] >> last night peter ducey was on hannity and here's what he had to say about the exchange. >> within about an hour of that exchange he called my cellphone and he said it's nothing personal, pal, i made sure to tell him that i'm always going to try to ask something different than what everybody else is asking and he said you got to >> when hannity asked if mr. biden apologized, ducey said he didn't need an apology >>> the future of college admissions is in the hands of the supreme court this morning justice will hear an appeal by opponents of affirmative action who say it discriminates against white and asian students nbc's brie jackson is in d.c. with

the battle over masks is once again intensifying, especially when it comes to schools miguel almaguer has the latest miguel, good morning >> reporter: savannah, good morning. the first batch of 400 million n95 masks president biden committed to sending out for free is starting to arrive in some parts of country, as the debate over masks in classrooms and in the state of new york is heating up once again. overnight, confusion for new york's schools and businesses as a judge strikes down the state's mask mandate, saying governor kathy hochul's rule for public indoor spaces is unconstitutional the governor vowing to fight back and some districts saying they were told by the department of education that schools must continue to follow the rule. leaving uncertainty for parents and kids this morning as more than 1 million children in the u.s. have contracted the virus in a single week there's renewed pushback against mask rules in other states students in utah returning to schools without a mandate. the same is true in virginia where seven school districts are challenging the governor's sta

miguel almaguer has been following that story from the beginning.ths after that deadly shooting on the set of alec baldwin's new movie, law enforcement has yet to file any charges. but attorneys for hannah gutierrez-reed say the deadly misfire may have been prevented had their client been able to personally hand the gun to baldwin. >> reporter: in a new lawsuit, attorneys for 24-year-old "rust" armorer, hannah gutierrez-reed, say they now know how live rounds got on the western set. the complaint against pdq arm and prop owned by seth kenney says they supplied the production with real bullets the ammunition boxes failed to state a material fact, the contents contain both dummy and live ammunition, which were deceptively sold. >> live rounds ended up in a box labeled as dummies >> reporter: saying, gutierrez-reed said rounds were not live 15 minutes before the shooting but she was not inside the church when the firearm went off.mes say baldwin did not respond to hannah's request on october 15th to schedule cross draw training. baldwin said he spent a

nbc national correspondent miguel almaguer. >> the u.s. is heading towards another milestone. 75 million confirmed infections with more than 2,000 dying every day. more than two years in there is still a bitter debate how to protect ourselves and what safety measures really make a difference this morning an about face new york's mask mandate is back in place, at least for now an appellate judge temporarily allowing mandatory face coverings in public spaces while the state appeals a ruling by a lower court that called it unconstitutional the seesaw battle impacting schools and businesses in the state of 20 million. one also playing out in other regions across the nation. >> i'm so looking forward to the day to, say, these are history we don't have do this any longer all of us are. i don't want to keep requirements, safety in place a day longer than necessary. >> reporter: with omicron still fuelling a pandemic record for hospitalizations, the cpc now confirms the variant severity appears to be lower compared to previous peaks but because om

miguel almaguer, nbc news. >>> thanks for watching msnbc reports. i'm kori coffin. "velshi" starts right now. >>> today on velshi, new reporting on on the january 6th committee has investigators zeroing in on the highest profile targets yet. >>> plus, it has been a year since the attack on the capitol, but the insurrection is still going on in plain sight all around us. even if we haven't noticed. i'm joined by the smartest i know to help us understand what is happening. >>> and life sentences for the three white men convicted of killing a 25-year-old black jogger named ahmaud arbery. can accountability in this case make a difference? >>> down side to the pandemic social safety era. watch this before you plan to spend your tax return. and the collective efforts behind voting rights. i'll talk to the man charged with getting them in line. the house majority whip james clyburne. "velshi" starts now. good morning. i'm ali velshi. there is new reporting this morning on the high stakes ramp up of the january 6th investigation into congress. i want to start with the hard

the afterparty, a party at which she ordered a hotdog and a vodka and stayed to the bitter end miguel almaguer looks back on her life and career. >> ladies and gentlemen, betty white. >> may 8th, 2010, betty white making history at the age of 88. becoming the oldest person to host "saturday night live" this after half a million people on facebook petitioned the show to give her a shot at hosting >> when i first heard about the campaign to get me to host "saturday night live" i didn't know what facebook was and now that i do know what it is, i have to say it sounds like a huge waste of time >> betty white, born in the chicago suburb of oak park, illinois, certainly never wasted her time in the 1940s, fresh out of high school, she began working in radio, appearing on such shows as nbc's the great gildersleeve. >> merry christmas >> i didn't go to college. i just went into show business i just enjoyed it. >> she was on television from the very beginnings of tv. in 1952, co-producing her own comedy show, life with elizabeth. >> what's so terrible about spiders? >> tell him, honey >> they go doing

nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: for a nation on the brinkvid catastrophe, clear signs of optimism in what appears to be the impending end to omicron dangerous surge as cases continue their steep decline in pockets of the country, new infections are down 14% across the u.s. a climb of new cases over the course of the pandemic reaching peaks and valleys, and now finally after omicron's unprecedented spike, experts say the most serious threat may be over by next month. >> we'd like it to get down to that level where it doesn't disrupt us in the sense of getting back to a degree of normality. that's the best case scenario. >> while omicron's wave may crest by mid february, its wake is still rippling across the country. every day, more than 2200 americans are still dying. 16 states hit later by omicron have cases spiking by over 100%. >> we have all reached the point where we're just so burned out. >> many on the front lines are struggling to see the end to the spike. >> these are sort of unprecedented levels, and the numbers of patients that we'

nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer reports. >> reporter: announcing the start of their new pfizer says it's testing at their new reformulated covid vaccine will specifically target the omicron variant. and to see how effective that new formula would be. with the vaccinated and boosted already highly protected against hospitalization, the fda would then have to consider if the formula is even needed. in a trial expected to take months, it comes as pockets of the nation emerge beyond omicron's peak. >> how difficult is it to get ahead of a new variant with a vaccine? >> if a new variant meerchs, we can always build vaccine but they can take several months to build. vaccines play an important role but often not fast enough to deal with a new variant. >> reporter: with the omicron filling with e.r. visits, the cdc confirms the severity appears to be with peaks but with the sheer volume of those sick and now the fda says two monoclonal antibodies by regeneron and eli lilly can no longer be used to be proven to be ineffective against omicron which accounts for 99.9% of infections

miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: it's been nearly three months since that fatal shooting. authorities are still pushing forward in their investigation, but now there's a new lawsuit assigning new blame. in a new lawsuit attorneys for 24-year-old "rust" armorer handy gutierrez reed say they now know how live rounds got on the western set. the complaint against pdq arm and prop owned by seth kenny alleges the company supplied the production with real bullets. the ammunition boxes failed to state a material fact. the contents contained both dummy and live ammunition which were deceptively sold. >> the facts are a live round or multiple live rounds ended up in a box labeled as dummies. >> reporter: the court documents also provide the first detailed account of what gutierrez reed says she did in the hours leading up to the shooting that killed cinematographer halyna hutchins. saying gutierrez reed last checked that the bullets she loaded and took from a box labeled dummy rounds were not live 15 minutes before the shooting, but she was not inside the church when the firearm we

miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: there are signs of progress among setbacks.n some regions first hard hit by omicron, stalts like connecticut and new jersey, cases appeared to peak. in new york, a drop of 47% from earlier this month. the most encouraging signs in weeks though not widespread enough. >> we are in no way seeing a plateau or declining. the numbers are still going up. >> reporter: as hospital networks like mass general cancelling thousands of surgeries every week so overwhelmed staff can care for covid patients. the surgeon general says the u.s. may be weeks away from a national peak. >> reporter: some hospitals turning back to the past. this one in virginia using its parking garage as a field hospital. >> across california, patients are waiting hours just to be unloaded from an ambulance. >> as the ambulance is waiting in the er to transfer patients, there are 911 calls coming in and still accidents and these crews are not available to respond. >> reporter: with more breakthrough expected, general mark millie is isolating at home with minor sympto

nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: this morning's the nation'sthese vaccines will be ready in march. i don't know if we will need it. i don't know how it will be used, but it will be ready. >> reporter: with our nation already averaging nearly 700,000 new infections every day, most of those hospitalized are unvaccinated and with covid deaths rising in places where omicron first hit, doctors fear a rise in fatalities similar to last year may soon be coming. now officials in sonoma county, california, are advising residents to stay home for the next 30 days, moving quickly to ban large gatherings here in wine country that would impact weddings and conferences with limited exceptions. meanwhile, child hospitalizations are up 133%. cassandra castillo's 6-month-old son is one of almost 4.5 million kids who tested positive for the virus. he's been taken to the hospital three times. >> my biggest concern is him being able to breathe. he sounds like he's struggling to breathe, and it's terrible to hear that. >> reporter: amid a push to get kids back into

nbc's miguel almaguer reports. >> reporter: this morning the battle over vaccines playing out in thet to the lincoln memorial in an effort to defeat the mandate. >> i feel like to make somebody make that decision is unjust. >> reporter: the rally comes days after a virginia woman was arrested after she appeared to threaten officials at a school board meeting over mask mandate. >> my child -- my children will not come to school on monday with a mask on, all right? that's not happening. and i will bring every single gun loaded and ready -- >> the nation's deep division comes as covid cases are finally starting to fall after weeks of skyrocketing case counts driven by omicron. the national average of daily new cases down 10% compared to a week ago. >> don't want to get over confident, but they are looking like they're going in the right direction now. >> in new york, once the nation's covid epicenter, the governor citing a 66% drop in just the last two weeks. >> this is extraordinary progress. >> but cases in southern and western states where omicron hit later continue to go up as hospi

miguel almaguer is in los angeles with details good morning. >> reporter: good morning, when you look at the new daily case counts there's early evidence that the latest wave may be peaking but health officials are warning the worst of covid's ripple effects like hospitalizations and deaths may still be ahead of us despite forecasts of omicron's peak approaching, this morning top health experts warn the most dire days of the surge may be weeks away >> the omicron wave started later in other parts of the country so the next few weeks will be tough. >> reporter: the nation now facing a conflicting reality. in the northeast where the virus first hit, the rise in new covid cases is slowing. >> the covid forecast is improving, looking better. the covid clouds are parting. >> reporter: but the delayed effects like deaths are on the rise, and hospitalizations are hitting record levels. >> we still have lots of people who are getting severely ill with covid coming in. and we're in no way seeing a plateau or decline. >> reporter: with 150,000 covid patients in hospitals nationwide, many health

. >> hey and sister pop start correspondent miguel almaguer joins us with the latest >> hey, carson goodily members in court and online this morning britney spears free but still fighting ♪ stronger ♪ >> reporter: the pop star speaking out about her family as her legal battle with her father heats up jamie spears had controlled many of his daughter's financial and personal dealings for almost 14 years, and now asking that she pay his legal bills for the lengthy battle that ended the arrangement. overnight, britney spears pushing back with legal documents saying jamie enriched himself as acting as conservator with more than $6 million of her earnings, also accusing her father of abusive and bullying conduct, chronic alcohol abuse and alleging an altercation between him and brittany's child the documents allege that jamie spears used britney's resources to further his own career jamie show and used a security firm to spy on her cell phone. jamie spears has previously stated that he acted to protect britney as her conservator and unconditionally loves an supports his daughter. it comes as b