opening curtain. everyone was seated already. new outbreak in post pro sports. the league postponed games. the nba and nfl updated protocols for the holiday season, issuing new mask requirements and restrictions and the like. speeding up the team asymptomatic players can get back to the field or courts after testing negative. companies are cracking down on the unvaccinated. new orleans this morning becoming the first public school system in the nation to mandate vaccines for children 5 and up. >> that is huge for parents there. when you look at this and all these developments john just told you about, here are where the numbers are. the u.s. is averaging 119,000 new cases each day. that's 40% higher than where we were just a month ago. coronavirus hospitalizations are also 40% higher, more than 67,000 people. right now icu beds are 78% full and one in five of those patients has covid.