hello, again, everyone. this is cnn newsroom sunday. i m frederica whitfield. we begin with the fallout from that toxic train derailment in ohio. residents of east palestine frustrated, angry and demanding answers after being exposed to highly dangerous levels of vinyl chloride. the epa halting millions of gallons of contaminated waste shipments to michigan and texas as the agency reviews disposal plans. federal teams are on the ground and they re checking in on east palestine residents, door to door, passing out fliers with information on getting health assessments and clean waters. for many in the town, that simply is not good enough. residents are worried about their own health and their homes. and many are questioning how this even happened after an initial ntsb report said the derailment was 100% preventable. cnn s priscilla alvarez is at the white house for us. how is the administration responding to these concerns and what is next? well, they re saying that they ar
this us royal deb the first time prince louis joins his family at christmas service while the king pays tribute to his late mother. i cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family. and, later, it s a treasured holiday tradition. the nutcracker, performed by america s oldest ballet company with a new barrier-breaking star. as soon as you step on stage, it s kind of just, let s go. this is the cbs weekend news from new york with jericka duncan. good evening. it s been a white christmas for many americans with plenty of weather misery to go with it. it s a disaster in buffalo, new york. nationwide, the mammoth storm is blamed for at least 33 deaths and hundreds of thousands of power outages. it s also still causing nightmares for travelers on highways and airports. reporter: at airports across the country, more than 2,300 flights have been canceled with thousands more delayed. the airport in buffalo, new york, is still shut unti
ukraine. just over a year into the war, and that region continues to come under russian artillery fire. like so many ukrainians waiting out the war in the u.s., she says she feels tormented not knowing when she ll see her family again. rather than give in, she gives hope by lacing up her point shoes and doing what she says her family would want her to do, just dance. when oyou re on the stage and performing, are you thinking about the war? as soon as i m in ballet, i m trying to escape this world. i m going into something unrealistic, i would say, so when i m dancing ballet, i m enjoying the moment and imagining that i m somewhere in, like, fairytale. reporter: she left ukraine to pursue a ballet career the day before russia invaded her country. she remembers getting a phone call from her mother a year ago asking her not to return home for her own safety. that was the moment when i
others to not believe those nonsense like that. reporter: last january, she almost had to hang up her point shoes for good after an injury nearly ended her career. former principal dancer ricardo bustamante is her rehearsal director. she can be strong, she ca be passionate. reporter: and that s exactly what nakisha wants to be known her, to the countless young dancers who see her when she takes the stage. and that s the cbs weekend news for this sunday. i m lilia luciano in new york. from all of us here at cbs news, we wish you a good night. merry christmas.
only nakisha makes her breakfast next to her point shoes. the job doesn t really finish once you leave the office. reporter: everything from her makeup to her clothes. this one is really pretty. this feels like a sugar plum. reporter: it s all about getting into character as the principal dancer for the san francisco ballet, she knows her impact reaches far beyond the stage. i did get a lot of messages from people saying that i m helping them or that i m inspiring to them. reporter: nakisha was born in sweden. her father is jamaican and her mother is white. both of them were dancers, and it was clear early on she had a gift. when i was younger, one of my teachers actually said to me that i would never become a professional ballerina because my hair was too frizzy. that s why i m happy that i can be someone that can inspire