ice, wind chill alerts. plus, the january 6th committee just released the final report recommending donald trump be barred from ever holding office again. and for the first time in public, vladimir putin says what the world has known all along, he s wagging war on ukraine. it is friday. welcome to our viewers in the you states and around the world. i m christine romans. let s begin with this. a christmas gut punch from mother nature as a once in a generation storm blasts across the country with the worst yet to come. more than half the u.s. population is under some kind of weather alert. from florida west to washington state. more than 200 million people are under wind chill alerts. more than 80 million under winter weather alerts. more than 40 million other bracing for high winds. needles to say it is a mess for holiday travelers. thousands of flights were canceled thursday. nearly 2700 flights already canceled today with hundreds more delayed. and look at power outage
alissa, annie, david and heather again. heather keeps me sane. she makes sure i don t completely go crazy on the air. thank you to you all. it takes a team to make some show work. paula reid coming up. you are live in the cnn newsroom. i m paula reid in washington. a christmas eve storm for the ages. we are tracking the very latest on the severe weather impacting millions across the u.s. at least 16 storm-related deaths have been reported, including two in erie county, new york, in what may be the area s worst winter storm since the famous 1977 buffalo blizzard. jefferson county, new york, is experiencing life-threatening blizzard conditions, banning travel and declaring a state of emergency. jaw dropping sub zero temperatures across huge swaths of the country. 100 people people remain under windchill alerts. atlanta and philadelphia are facing their coldest christmas ever. and nearly two million people are without power. power companies in ohio, kentucky, and memphis are
incoming gop congressman george santos is under fire for discrepancies in his resume. his biography lifted college at new york university, earning degrees in finance and economics. however, neither nyu had any record of his attending. he claimed he ran his own charity called friends of pets united. but no such organization exists in the irs s searchable database. now, cnn has discovered yet another discrepancies in santos s biography. this one regarding claims his grandparents fled the holocaust. cnn s jessica dean has more. reporter: incoming congressman george santos injuring the growing scrutiny surrounding many apparent discrepancies in his biography tweeting, i have my story to tell, and it will be told next week.
reporter: incoming congressman george santos finally acknowledging the growing scrutiny surrounding many apparent discrepancies in his biography tweeting, quote, i have my story to tell and it will be told next week. one part of his background his family history. my grandparents survived the hollow cost. my grand father fled ukraine. marrying my grandmother, then fleeing hitler. going to brazil. reporter: those claims are contradicted by sources reviewed by cnn s k file including family trees, records on jewish refugees and interviews with multiple genealogists. i m jew-ish.
scrutiny surrounding many apparent discrepancies in his biography tweeting, coat, i have my story to tell and it will be told next week. one part of the new york republican s background now in question, his family history. you know my grandparents survived the holocaust. i m very proud of my jewish heritage. i m very proud of my grandparents story, my grandfather fleeing ukraine, fleeing silent persecution, going to belgium, finding refuge there, finding my grandmother, fleeing hitler, going to brazil. reporter: but those claims are contradicted by sources reviewed by cnn s k-file including family trees, records on jewish refugees and interviews with multiple genealogists. as i always joke i m jewish. reporter: an author and professional genealogists who helped research santos family tree at cnn s request said in an