[clock ticking]
[music playing]
CARL AZUZ: Happy new year, everyone.
I'm Carl Azuz, and it is great to see you
as we launch into a new calendar year
of objective news coverage.
For more than two years now, a leading news story around
the world has been COVID-19.
It's still going.
In fact, new international records
have been set in recent days for the number of people testing
positive for coronavirus.
In the United States, the majority
of those new infections--
90% in some places--
have been linked to the newer Omicron variant
of the virus, which was first identified in South Africa
last fall.
Health officials say it's extraordinarily
contagious, more so than other versions of COVID-19.
The US government says COVID vaccinations are the best
defense against all of the virus variants
that are currently spreading.
And some hospital officials have told
CNN that most of their COVID patients
have been unvaccinated.
But despite the fact that more than 62%
of the entire US population has been fully vaccinated according
to the CDC, the country has seen more new infections than ever.
The record set last Monday was over 1,082,000 positive tests
as Omicron has infected both the unvaccinated
and the vaccinated.
There is a silver lining, though-- experts
believe Omicron is less severe than other COVID variants.
It has milder symptoms overall, and
while more people may catch it, it appears
to be causing fewer deaths.
Still, there have been major differences
in how communities and governments have
responded to Omicron's spread.
In some cities, for instance, people
need to show proof they've been vaccinated
in order to go to restaurants, gyms,
bowling alleys, or concerts.
In other areas, people are going about their business as usual
without requirements or restrictions in place.
When it comes to schools, research
has shown that in-person learning is better
for students' mental health, but concerns about Omicron's threat
to physical health have renewed debate
in some communities about whether schools
should stay open.
OMAR JIMENEZ: Back to school hangs in the balance
for the country's third largest school district as negotiations
between Chicago Public Schools and the teachers' union
remain deadlocked over returning to in-person learning.
MELANIE LOPEZ: I'm not happy that we're not at work.
We want to be at work.
And we want people to understand that this idea was to go
remote, not to stop working.
OMAR JIMENEZ: Melanie Lopez is a high school
teacher in the school district and a union member.
It's a teacher's union that has argued the city of Chicago
hasn't provided adequate resources
to be in person safely.
Did you feel like you had what you needed in the classroom
for it to run safely?
MELANIE LOPEZ: I did, because I bought it.
I don't know if that--
OMAR JIMENEZ: With your own money.
MELANIE LOPEZ: With my own money, right.
OMAR JIMENEZ: The city, however, has argued through masking,
vaccinations, testing, and more that school is still safer
than being at home, even with record
numbers of cases among students, staff, and across Chicago
in recent weeks.
LORI LIGHTFOOT: The difference between now and a year
ago is obviously, we have vaccines for a huge swath
of our school-based population.
I think that the issues that are on the table,
as I understand them, we can narrow the divide
and get a deal done.
Schools are safe.
There's been no question about that.
OMAR JIMENEZ: The union disagrees,
and one of the major sticking points
in their ongoing negotiations with the city is testing.
Governor JB Pritzker's office confirmed Friday
it had been in touch with the White House
in recent days asking for more tests.
The White House confirmed those conversations
with Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot
to assess their needs.
All the while, students have been out of class,
and parents have been frustrated.
CARL AZUZ: 10-second trivia.
In terms of land area, which of these nations is the largest--
Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, or Ukraine?
[music playing]
Though it's not the most populated nation on this list,
Kazakhstan is by far the largest in area.
Kazakhstan's been grappling with violent protests
over the past week.
At least 164 people there have been killed, including
dozens of demonstrators and at least 18
law enforcement officers.
More than 5,000 people are reportedly
being held by the government.
It's declared a state of emergency
and asked other nations to help protect government buildings.
Some of those have been burned.
The unrest started after the price of a type of gasoline
suddenly doubled.
Afterward, the Kazakh government said
it would limit what those prices would be,
but the protests grew to include other complaints
over corruption, the standard of living,
poverty, and unemployment.
Some Kazakh leaders have resigned, though the nation's
president remains in place.
He's characterized the protesters as criminals,
murderers, and terrorists.
And he's ordered government troops to shoot
those who don't surrender.
NINA DOS SANTOS: Kazakhstan rarely
makes headlines in the West, but that changed
when these protests over rising living costs
were met with brutal repression.
As so-called peacekeepers from Russia
and other post-Soviet states hit the streets of the country's
biggest city, Almaty, there's deep unease
at where the Central Asian state is now heading.
- The West is going to be keeping an eye
on Russian imperial ambitions.
And perhaps they could start stationing troops there.
But nonetheless, they could make several power plays.
NINA DOS SANTOS: Home to 90 million people spread
over the ninth largest sovereign landmass,
Kazakhstan stands between two increasingly
autocratic superpowers--
Russia to the north and China in the east.
Economically, it still has one foot in the past,
relying on Russia for most of its trade,
whilst also hosting the Baikonur Cosmodrome, crucial
to the Kremlin's space program.
Large deposits of coal and natural gas,
as well as a 3% chunk of the planet's oil reserves
and 40% of its uranium, mean that Kazakhstan's people
could be rich.
But thanks to a ruling elite in power
since the fall of communism, few share in that wealth.
For now, it's unclear what the future
holds for Kazakhstan and the country's stymied potential.
What is becoming clearer is the world
is watching and is worried.
Nina Dos Santos, CNN in London.
CARL AZUZ: Up next today, thunderstorms
in the American South, sub-zero wind
chills in the upper Midwest, treacherous icy
conditions in the Northeast.
All of it is because of a cold front
that swept across the country over the weekend.
Tens of millions were under a winter weather alert Sunday
morning, with freezing rain, ice, and sleet threatening
some parts of the Northeast.
It came less than a week after another snowstorm
led to a number of accidents and a shutdown of Interstate 95
in Virginia.
Hundreds of drivers were stranded
along a 50-mile stretch of the road,
and the backup was too severe for even
snowplows to get through.
Thankfully, no injuries or deaths
were reported, even though people were stuck in their cars
overnight.
If you ever get caught driving in a fast-descending snowstorm,
here's a tip.
[music playing]
DEREK VAN DAM: So we're all used to seeing cars fishtailing
on icy and snow-packed roads.
But the more common and more expensive
skid is called an understeer.
[music playing]
KURT SPITZNER: We turn in, and the car
doesn't want to respond.
And to make it turn better, I have to take steering out.
And notice how the arc came right back,
and we're now where we want to be.
DEREK VAN DAM: The car almost recorrected itself.
KURT SPITZNER: Correct.
If I had just kept the steering turned in or added more,
which is what's commonly done-- because our instinct is
to, well, if it isn't steering enough, I need to go
ahead and steer a bunch more--
the car is going to respond even worse.
That's when you run into a curb or into oncoming traffic.
[music playing]
Your speed's good.
All right.
Then go ahead and turn in.
Notice how it doesn't want to respond?
Straighten the wheel out slightly.
OK.
So by letting go of the steering wheel,
you almost notice it straightened out too much.
DEREK VAN DAM: Yes, right.
KURT SPITZNER: OK, so just feed the steering wheel back gently.
OK.
Break, break.
Off the brakes completely.
Now turn.
DEREK VAN DAM: What a marked difference.
[chime]
[music playing]
CARL AZUZ: Henry Ford once said customers could have
a Model T painted any color they wanted as long as it was black.
As far as this BMW concept is concerned,
customers could have black or white
or a whole lot in between, as this thing can change color.
The vehicle's wrapped in electronic ink
like the kind found in e-readers.
That allows a variety of monochromatic patterns,
including racing stripes.
If and when it's produced, other color options
may also be possible.
So it's both color shifting and monochrome automatic.
Would it make a hue difference?
It would across the spectrum of buyers
who are looking to break free from the prism
of single-color options.
But while this is something that hasn't really
been seen Roy G. Before, critics will
say it's just throwing shade.
I'm Carl Azuz.
Elizabeth High School, thank you for watching
from Elizabeth, Colorado.
The one place we look for the schools we mention
is our YouTube channel.
That's at youtube.com/cnn10.
We hope to see you all tomorrow.