right now on "america this morning," we have a deal. after days of fighting over covid safety protocols, teachers agree to return to class in chicago. 340,000 students impacted. the agreement, plus the new challenge for hospitals across the country this morning as the cdc considers issuing new guidance on which kind of mask to wear. plus, the urgent and historic new ra peel from the red cross doing something it's never done before. >> supermarket sweep. the toll this covid surge is taking on grocery stores, the potential shortages and price increases. caught on camera, officers jump into action after three fall into an icy pond. a 6-year-old girl no longer breathing. a medical first, a man with

terminal heart disease receives a new heart from a pig. we hear from the surgeon and the patient's son on this groundbreaking operation. later, the thieves seen walking away with a one of a kind trading card worth big money. and the military recruits now being forced to wear secondhand underwear all because of the global supply chain crisis. good tuesday morning, everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. >> i'm rhiannon ally in for mona. we begin with the breaking news overnight, chicago teachers have agreed to go back to school after days of disputes over covid safety protocols. >> it comes as hospitals across the country treat the most patients since the pandemic began and a record number of children have now tested positive. also this morning, "the washington post" reports the cdc is now considering whether to issue new guidance on the masks

we should all be wearing. >> abc's faith abubey has the latest from washington. faith, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. with cases surges, insurance companies will be covering eight tests per month as long as you keep the receipt and file the claim. medical staff currently caring for a record 141,000 americans in hospital beds with covid, a new pandemic record. >> we're in the thick of this latest fight against the omicron tsunami washing across the state. >> reporter: in new jersey the number of icu patients desperate for lifesaving ventilators has doubled since december 25th rivaling the may 2020 crisis. right now about one out of every four u.s. hospitals reporting data says they're currently experiencing a critical staffing shortage.

it's so bad that california is allowing covid positive health care workers with no symptoms to get back on the job without isolating or testing negative. >> we are in this industry to care for others, you know, that's the root word right there and yet we are asking to put others in potential harm. >> reporter: concern for children also growing as a record-breaking 580,000 kids tested last week after the winter break came back positive for covid-19, a 78% increase in the past week. in chicago the tense standoff between educators and the city over covid protocols in schools now over. >> some will ask who won and who lost. no one wins when our students are out of the place where they can learn the best and where they're safest. >> reporter: overnight the union voting for teachers to return to classrooms today. >> having a stronger effort around supporting our schools,

whether it's contact tracing, the initial investments in ppe. >> reporter: mean while, an eye-opening study on masks showing it can take about half an hour for two people wearing cloth masks to pass the virus to each other compared to 25 hours when both are wearing n95 masks. well, the cdc according to "the washington post" is now weighing an update to its mask guidance pushing for those higher quality n95 and kn95 masks over cloth masks amid this omicron surge, andrew. >> faith, thank you. for the first time ever the red cross has declared a national blood crisis. donations are down sharply since the pandemic. blood centers are reporting severe shortages. covid-related supply chain issues and worker shortages are also hitting supermarkets. some companies are now warning about a shortage of meat and eggs along with higher prices in coming weeks. beef prices up 0% in one year.

some shelves are empty because of a lack of workers. the airlines also getting hit hard by staffing shortages. united is now offering bonuses of $15,000 to new baggage handlers. airlines have already been paying double and triple time to employees working extra shifts. former vice president mike pence is reportedly becoming increasingly disillusioned with the idea of cooperating with the january 6th committee. "the new york times" reports pence is concerned that the committee investigating the capitol riot is too partisan and is looking to hurt republicans' chances of winning control of congress. president biden, meanwhile, and vice president kamala harris travel to atlanta today to speak about voting rights and will deliver remarks aimed at advancing the election reform legislation stalled in congress. biden is expected to support changing the rules of the senate, a position he took last month during an interview with david muir. >> you support a carve out of the filibuster for voting rights? >> i don't think we may have to go that far. but i would be if -- the only

thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is a filibuster. i support making an exception on voting rights for the filibuster. >> republicans say changing the senate rules would be a partisan power grab. now to a medical first that is being described as a breakthrough. a man with terminal heart disease has received a heart from a genetically altered pig potentially paving the way for a new era in surgery. this morning a man in maryland is living his fourth day with a pig heart beating in his chest after a groundbreaking surgery. surgeons at the university of maryland transplanted the pig heart into 57-year-old david bennett in a last ditch effort to save his life. >> he is awake. he is recovering and speaking to his caregivers and we hope that the recovery that he is having now will continue. >> reporter: during the

nine-hour operation doctors replaced ben threat's heart with one from a 240-pound pig genetically modified for this purpose. according to bennett's family, bennett is aware there is no guarantee the experiment will work, but agreed because he's ineligible for a human heart transplant. >> for him it provided a level of hope. my dad is only 57, so that was very important to him and didn't feel like he was ready to die. >> reporter: it's not the first time this type of procedure has taken place. in september, doctors at new york university transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a patient who was brain dead. they say the pig kidney functioned normally in the patient's body for 54 hours. >> it functioned really well and didn't reject and that is a really important finding. >> reporter: the new procedures mark a major step in the decades long quest >> it is a game changer because

we'll have these organs available and, you know, can customize basically the heart or the organ for the patient. >> just incredible. more than 100,000 people in the u.s. are currently waiting for an organ transplant. as for david bennett, doctors call the next few weeks critical. an 18-year-old in new mexico faces attempted murder charges. police say she was caught leaving her newborn in a dumpster. three people found the baby outside a store. the child had been in the dumpster for six hours. police say the woman said she was desperate because she didn't even realize she was pregnant until recently. officials are reminding people about the safe haven law that protects infants. near denver, colorado, some desperate and heroic moments captured on video. a neighbor and a teenager saved three children who had fallen into an icy pond, one of them, a 6-year-old, had to be revived. her face turning blue. the woman who saw the kids fall in described the

scene. >> nobody was really outside, so i mean i was going -- it was me, you know, i just knew it was me that had to do it. >> we were back at the fire station talking about how brave she was. i hope if this happened to one of mine, somebody like her was close by. >> what a hero. the 6-year-old is expected to recover. now to the arctic blast gripping much of the country. today is expected to be the coldest day in three years for millions of americans. let's take a closer look at your forecast. a dangerous cold spell is hitting cities from the midwest to the northeast. it's expected to feel like 14 degrees below zero in boston, this morning. minus 36 in northern maine. air that can produce frostbite in just 20 minutes on exposed skin and look's scene in upstate new york. snowfall rates hitting three inches per hour in oswego. looking at today's highs, 50s in washington state. a flood watch has been issued in

seattle. coming up, how tax season will be different this year. also ahead, several top universities are accused of colluding to inflate the cost of tuition. the new lawsuit out this morning. and later, the evidence of a prehistoric sea dragon straight out of your worst nightmares. how did panera come up with the idea to combine their famous mac and cheese with their iconic grilled cheese?

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engaged in a conspiracy when it comes to handing out financial aid. abc's christine sloan explains. >> reporter: this morning, a legal battle in the world of higher education. five former students are suing more than a dozen universities claiming the schools colluded on tuition and participated in a price fixing cartel. >> the lawsuit essentially alleges that these universities got together and artificially limited the amount of financial aid that would be supplied to students that applied to their schools and therefore are officially raised the overall cost of their education. >> reporter: the lawsuit targets some of the most elite universities including brown, georgetown, columbia and yale and claims several of the schools also considered the financial status of wait listed applicants as a factor in whether to grant them admission. >> it's going to be up to the courts to decide whether at least some of these schools gave a disproportionate leg up to the

children of wealthy donors as the lawsuit puts it and then if that indeed represented a violation of federal law. >> reporter: under federal law universities are allowed to consult one another on their admissions formulas, but they are not allowed to consider applicants' financial needs in the admissions decision. >> a university is never supposed to discriminate against anybody because of their ability to pay. >> reporter: 11 of the 16 universities say they have no comment on the lawsuit. vanderbilt could not be reached by abc news. brown told abc news based on a preliminary review the complaint against brown has no merit and brown is prepared to mount a strong effort to make this clear. caltech says, we have confidence in our financial aid practices. yale says, the university's financial policy is 100% compliant with all applicable laws, and mit says, it's reviewing the filing and will respond in court in due time. no word yet on a possible court

hearing for this lawsuit. christine sloan, abc news. >> christine, thank you. if you're due money from the irs this year, expect that cash to be delayed. the agency says pandemic-related staffing issues and a backlog of paperwork will slow down the process. right now the agency still has 2 million unprocessed tax returns from last year. tax season begins january 24th. >> it's coming. coming up next, what we are learning about the death of bob saget, plus the emotional tribute from jimmy kimmel overnight. also ahead, hear from the officers who saved a pilot who officers who saved a pilot who crashed his plane onto railroad i like that my plan is built just for me. with the new ww personalpoints program, you take an assessment, enter your goals, the foods you love and what fits into your lifestyle. you don't have to eat diet food. i can enjoy the things that i really love like wine... cheese. you can add points for eating vegetables or being active. i lost 26 pounds and i feel incredible.

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tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor about eliquis. it could take up to four months to learn how bob saget died. a preliminary autopsy shows no evidence of trauma, drug use or foul play. he was found lying on his back in his bed of his orlando hotel room. jimmy kimmel is among the many stars paying tribute. >> so, last night i was going through emails with bob, and some of them were just funny, but some were very serious emails about life and, uh, the well-being of our children and how hard it is to appreciate one without the other being just right. when my son was in the hospital, bob checked in a lot. i'm sorry i taped this like 14 times, and i just --

>> in a statement, the cast of "full house" expressed gratitude for all of the beautiful memories. we're now hearing from the officers seen on camera in los angeles risking this be lives to save a pilot after a crash. they had very little time because a train was barrelling towards them. new details after a man in california escaped death twice in a matter of minutes. the pilot of a single-engine plane lost powered, crash landing near whiteman airport in los angeles. he survived but wasn't out of danger yet. >> the plane went down on railroad tracks. >> the plane landed on the center of those railroad tracks, stuck inside. officers rushed to get him out. realized something wasn't right. >> the bells and lights started ringing. signaling an incoming train. we looked and sure enough there was a train headed right for us at full speed. >> the officers made a split-second decision to stay with the pilot, freeing him just moments before this happened.

>> go, go, go, go! >> the man and officers narrowly escaping with only seconds to spare. the pilot in his 70s was responsive and taken to the hospital for further examination. >> i'm happy to be alive. i'm happy we got the pilot out of there. and that was really close. i could not believe how close that train was and how fast it came upon us. >> the officers hailed as heroes. they say they were just doing the right thing. >> i don't see myself as a hero. i'm lucky i was there at the right time and everybody made it out alive. >> the pilot and officers weren't the only ones lucky to escape. luis jimenez was recording everything on the phone. you could see a large chunk of debris came flying towards jimenez, narrowly missing him. truly remarkable. the crash was down the street from a police station allowing the officers to respond quickly. now to sports. the dogs are back on top.

the georgia bulldogs are the top in football sealed their win over alabama. it's the first national title since 1980. >> the win sparked wild celebrations in athens, georgia. an official celebration is saturday, but i have a feeling they'll be partying between now and thin. >> yes, it will be a week long affair. up next, the tv drama renewed for its 19th season. tackling tough messes can take more time than you have, but mr. clean clean freak delivers the power of a deep clean in minutes unlike bleach sprays, clean freak starts deep cleaning on contact with three times the cleaning power to break down tough messes in seconds it quickly cleans your home's toughest messes so, for a deep clean in minutes, get mr. clean clean freak available in easy to switch refills. get the cleaning power of mr. clean in a wipe to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses.

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checking the top stories now, chicago teachers are headed back to work today after reaching a deal on new covid safety plans and remote learning options. students begin class again tomorrow. currently a pandemic high of 141,000 americans are in the hospital and a record 580,000 children have tested positive in recent days. u.s. mint has started shipping out quarters featuring poet maya angelou, honoring trail blazing women. tennis star novak djokovic has led to new talks between the prime ministers of australia and his native serbia. djokovic won a court fight to play in the australian open despite not being vaccinated against covid. but an immigration official could still kick him out of the country. even climb above zero while snow

falls near the great lakes. the northwest gets heavy rain. finally, the secret language at a popular restaurant chain. >> will ganss is tracking the code at waffle house. >> reporter: first rule of waffle house? >> up side jelly means wheat toast. a apple butter means raise in toast. >> reporter: don't talk about waffle house. but michael leighton is racking up hundreds of thousands of views on tiktok spilling secrets into the restaurant chain. the most popular videos focusing on the waffle house marking system. >> all the way to the left is a plain omlette. at the bottom is a bacon omlette. to the right is a sausage op let. up top is a ham omlette. >> reporter: for employees, a new chart for guidance. >> probably a couple weekes to get the basic down. >> reporter: four weeks later michael loves the market system.

he prefers to reed the printed ticket. >> you have to keep looking at it to try and see what you're doing. with the marking system, i just look over at the six plates and i know, okay, bacon cheese, instead of having to reead, you know what i mean? >> reporter: some online aren't convinced. wouldn't it be easier to use the written language? they're out here acting like the other team is trying to steal their plays. but michael is happy to mark the plate even for more complicated orders, like his own favorite, the bacon cheese steak melt with onions. >> piece of ham means a half bacon, two strips of bacon. two pieces of cheese, two pieces of butter texas toast with a piece of hash brown up top. >> reporter: you're literally speaking a foreign language. a secret language never tasted so good. >> and there it is, my favorite sandwich. sandwich. >> we did reach out i love you, man. i love you too.

right now on "america this morning," we have a deal. after days of fighting over covid safety protocols, teachers agree to return to class in chicago. 340,000 students impacted. the agreement, plus the new challenge for hospitals across the country this morning as the cdc considers issuing new guidance on which kind of mask to wear. plus, the urgent and historic new ra peel from the red cross doing something it's never done before. >> supermarket sweep. the toll this covid surge is taking on grocery stores, the potential shortages and price increases. caught on camera, officers jump into action after three fall into an icy pond. a 6-year-old girl no longer breathing. a medical first,