russia. a cnn exclusive on how the country is bolstering its troops. also ahead -- >> three, two, one -- and liftoff on the falcon nine. >> a mission that might one day save the planet. why nasa wants one of their spacecrafts to crash. ♪ ♪ live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom" with rosemary church. >> thank you very much for joining us. just hours from now, jurors in brunswick, georgia, will begin their second day deliberating the case of three white men charged with killing ahmaud arbery, an unarmed black man. the jury spent just over six hours on tuesday deliberating the racially charged case, garnering international attention. defense attorneys argue the men acted in self-defense and were trying to make a citizen's arrest for suspected burglary when arbery was fatally shot last year. prosecutors claim the men were acting more sinister and pursued arbery because he was a black man running down the street in the defendant's neighborhood. all sides are striking an optimistic tone about the possible verdicts. >> we're confident that the state put all the evidence out necessary to convict these men on all charges, and we're confident that this jury will seriously consider all the evidence and come back with a verdict that is reflective of what actual ly happened. >> we feel very confident in the case we put forward. and now we'll see what the jury feels is justice and will accept the verdict, whatever it is. >> i want to bring in charles f. coleman, jr., a civil rights attorney and former new york prosecutor. thank you so much for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> so we heard closing arguments monday from the defense and prosecution, and now the jury is preparing to start a second day of deliberations. how might they have been impacted, do you think, by those closing arguments, and which side appeared stronger? >> i think the prosecution did what he needed to do in terms of rebutting some of the defense and their theory of the case in terms of what they were trying to argue around self-defense. i think they did a good job of walking the jury through the judge's charges, what each of the defendants are going to be charged with, and they should feel very good about the position that they're in. the defense, on the other hand, did what they could with what they had, which wasn't much, quite frankly. what i found to be notable on that side was that the attorney for william bryan began to point the finger at the other defendants, which is ultimately not a good sign when you have multiple defendants in a case. my experience is when you start to see that happen, juries are generally going to convict everyone. of course, we don't know whether that will be the case here as it remains to be seen. but one of the things i noticed during the summations of both sides is that is something that started to happen, which began to show some of the cranks on the defendant's side. >> i do want to ask you about that. i wonder how possible it is the jury will hand down three different verdicts for each of the three white men accused of chasing and killing ahmaud arbery. >> well, it is certainly possible under a legal framework, without a question. because each of the three defendants is charged with something different, and each of them has a different set of standards that they have to meet or that has to be proven in order to convict them. i don't think that they are going to split themselves on the mcmichaels, meaning the father and son. if there is a split among the defendants it's going to be between the mcmichaels and mr. bryan. but i don't believe they would convict travis and acquit george and mr. bryan. but i want viewers to know that is something that could happen in terms of one of them or two of them being convicted and another one going free or being acquitted and vice versa. >> of course, the recent kyle rittenhouse case dealt with vigilante justice and self-defense. in that case, rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges. this situation, however, is very different. how do you expect this to turn out? >> well, if the law is followed and the prosecutor's words are heeded, then i would expect a conviction of all three defendants in this case. this is a very different case than the kyle rittenhouse case for a number of different reasons. the argument around provocation is significantly greater in this case than it was in the rittenhouse case. such that i don't believe that the defendants are going to be able to rely on it in the same ways that kyle rittenhouse relied on it and resulting in an acquittal. so i don't necessarily anticipate that these individuals will not be convicted. however, there are very, very unpredictable things that happen when you are talking about a jury and a jury trial. so nothing is certain until the verdict is rendered. so we'll have to see what happens. >> i wonder disturbed you were by one of the defense lawyers referring to arbery's toenails, as she tried to paint him as a criminal, and how do you think that will likely play with the jury? >> she didn't just try to paint him as a criminal, let's be clear about that. what she tried to do was paint him as a runaway slave. i think that what we have seen from not only her, but other defense attorneys in this case, specifically kevin gough, the defense attorney for mr. bryan, we've seen an unparalleled and unprec unprecedented case of racism. the only thing i can think of is they think that will resonate given the demographics of the jury, that being 11 white jurors and one black, that they're hoping there is somebody that will latch onto this racist rhetoric they're spouting and potentially prevent their client from being convicted. hopefully we won't see that happen. but that sort of rhetoric and using racism as a legal strategy is an aberration and something i hope not to see continue. >> do you expect a verdict wednesday? >> i do. a wednesday verdict would not surprise me. i do hope that the jury is doing its jobs by considering all the facts and they paid attention and they are giving all the charges and the defendants just and due consideration. because that's what our legal system commands. however, i think this is also a very straightforward case in many regards. and hopefully, a quick verdict will be a sign that justice -- that there is an attempt to have justice for ahmaud arbery. >> charles f. coleman, jr., thank you so much for talking with us. appreciate it. >> no problem. a federal jury has found the white nationalists who organized a violent demonstration in charlottesville, virginia four years ago liable for more than $26 million in damages. the unite the right rally became a new front in america's cultural wars and empowered white supremacists to broad cast their briefs in public instead of online. brian todd has details on the verdict. >> reporter: the jury awarded the plaintiffs in the trial more than $26 million in compensatory and punitive damages, among them finding five defendants were liable for violence under a virginia state law. and all the defendants participated in a conspiracy. >> i think this verdict today is a message that this country does not tolerate violence based on racial and religious hatred in any form. >> reporter: in addition, james alex fields, jr., the driver of the car that plowed into the crowd killing one, was found liable for more than $12 for assault and battery and inflicting emotional distress. >> there's going to be accountability for the people who did this. >> reporter: more than half of the damages against fields, the rest spread among various defendants from the white nationalist movement. ises the defendants in this case are destitute. none of them have money. >> reporter: the jury was deadlocked on the first two claims that organizers conspired to commit racial violence or failed to prevent it. it included victim testimony about the injuries they sustained from brawling at the rally and fields' car that rammed through the field. and private communications showing organizers the potential for violence, cracking skulls and whether it's legal to drive into protestors. but the defendants said they didn't plan the violence. it wasn't their fault, and what they said before the rally was hyperbole and protected speech. the damages will go to the plaintiffs, who include some of those most severely injured in the car ramming and brawling. >> i think we did a decent job on the defense side, cutting the damages down. >> reporter: this trial, an effort to cripple the white nationalist movement. >> it sets a precedent. if you conspire to commit violent acts, you should expect that plaintiffs will file suit against you under these federal and state laws in the future. so the trial in that way is a deterrent against future white supremacist conduct of the kind we saw in 2017. >> reporter: two attorneys for white nationalists told us they're going to try to get the damage assessments against their clients reduced. this and other similar lawsuits have already succeeded in crippling some white supremacists. but regarding those two counts that the jury was not able to reach a verdict on, the plaintiff's attorneys say they're going to try to get those cases brought again. brian todd, cnn, charlottesville, virginia. a child was died raising the death toll to six from the attack on a wisconsin christmas parade. 8-year-old jackson sparks died tuesday. he was one of 16 children admitted to the children's hospital of wisconsin. court documents show more than 60 people were injured when an suv rammed through the parade. the suspect, darrell brooks, made his first court appearance tuesday. his bail is set at $5 million. he's charged with five counts of first degree intentional homicide, and prosecutors say they will add a sixth charge. the committee investigating the january 6 riots at the u.s. capitol have issued a new round of subpoenas. this time targeting right wing extremist groups involved in the riot. they include the proud boys and the oath keepers. dozens of members of both groups have already been charged in the attack. the committee has spoken to more than 200 witnesses, but some key members of former president trump's inner circle have refused to cooperate, stone walling the investigation. well, a global push to drive down sky-high gas prices. on tuesday, the u.s. announced plans to release a record 50 million barrels of oil from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve. it's part of a coordinated effort with other countries to try to ease rising energy costs around the world. but it's still unclear how much relief the move will actually provide. cnn's jeff zeleny reports. >> it will take time, but before long, you should see the price of gas drop where you fill up your tank. >> reporter: joe biden taking new steps to ease the pain at the pump, by tapping into the nation's strategic oil reserves. >> we always get through those spikes, but we'll zget through this one, as well. but it doesn't mean we should just wait for prices to drop on their own. instead, we're taking action. >> reporter: the decision, coming just two days before thanksgiving, is unlikely to change gas prices for weeks. but it's the latest sign the white house is acutely focused on the political fallout from inflation, causing anxiety in the american economy. >> the big part of the reason americans are facing high gas prices is because oil producing countries and large companies have not ramped up the supply of oil quickly enough to meet the demand. >> reporter: he ordered the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserve. and the u.s. getting commitment from five other countries, the uk, china, india, and south korea, agreeing to open their reserves to help combat soaring oil prices. >> this will help us deal with the lack of supply which helps ease prices. >> reporter: it's an open question whether the move will make gas prices fall over the holiday season, ahead of the critical midterm elections. but the president's decision also highlights the challenges facing the u.s. and the world, to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and combat climate change. >> i want to address one myth about inflated gas prices. they're not due to environmental measures. my effort to combat climate change is not raising the price of gas or increasing its availability. >> reporter: the timing of this announcement, no coincidence coming before thanksgiving here in the united states. but also it was done in coordination with those five other countries. now, joe biden made clear gas prices will not go down immediately. but energy secretary-generaler if granholm says she expects that to happen in the coming weeks. growing fears of a winter covid surge in the u.s., as americans are on the move ahead of the holidays. and cases are moving in the wrong direction. i'll speak with an emergency physician, next. and new warnings for europe. once again, the epicenter of the pandemic. health officials say the next few months could see a staggering death toll from the virus. those details and a live report from paris coming up. after his acquittal, kyle rittenhouse is making the media rounds, including a visit with president trump. next up, carvana. oh, boy. carvana just doesn't seem to understand how the test drive works. they give their customers seven days. and if they don't like it, they give 'em their money back. wait, they take the car back? that's crazy! what if it was driven by like a zookeeper? or a mud wrestler? or a guy who's on the outs with the missus and he just needs a place to sleep for seven days? yeah. 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(sha bop sha bop) ♪ ♪ ♪ alexa, play our favorite song again. ok. ♪ i only have eyes for you ♪ what if you could have the perspective to see more? at morgan stanley, a global collective of thought leaders offers investors a broader view. ♪ we see companies protecting the bottom line by putting people first. we see a bright future, still hungry for the ingenuity of those ready for the next challenge. today, we are translating decades of experience into strategies for the road ahead. we are morgan stanley. as millions of americans travel ahead of the thanksgiving holiday, covid cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. and health officials are bracing for a winter surge. the centers for disease control and prevention says so far only about a quarter of eligible adults have received a covid booster shot. so let's go now to honolulu, hawaii, where i'm joined by emergency physician dr. dara o'carol. thank you for all that you do and for talking with us. >> thank you for having me. >> so americans are prepares for thanksgiving, and in the midst of surging cases, the cdc says only about a quarter of eligible adults have received a booster shot. what could this mean for the country, particularly as people gather to celebrate, many sharing a table with family members who refuse to get vaccinated. >> yeah, it's definitely concerning, and i think the nation is exhibiting something of a -- kind of a national no nonchalance with regard to the pandemic and it's understandable being with us so long. but we do see there's very robust evidence that if you do have natural immunity, and natural immunity is much less consistent than our vaccines. but we're seeing waning an immunity, and a third dose that ups our immunity to be effective against infection. so it's concerning when we're having a holiday where so many of us are gathering. it's definitely important for us to gather. but there's many ways to do it smartly. and i think this national nonshalance is pervasive and worr worrisome. >> we're only around the 06% mark of total u.s. population fully vaccinated, meaning two shots. because now we're coming to the conclusion that fully vaccinated means three shots. that, of course, leaving 81 million people still to receive a first dose. how much does that concern you, and is there any way at this f juncture to convince those many millions of americans that vaccines will end this pandemic? >> you know, we have to keep trying and showing where the evidence is. the last thing we want people to do to convince them severals that they need to get the vaccine is to get ill or have a family member get ill. so we have to keep promoting that the science is robust and showing if you have a choice getting your immunity from a vaccine and a third dose or getting a natural infection, the vaccines have much, much less consequence, not only to you but those around you. and so it's worrisome that people aren't really hearing the news yet, but we have to keep trying. and if you look at austria, if you look in europe, we've got -- in austria, they have roughly about 64% of their population that has two doses. and they're exhibiting a very steep rise in the lockdown even. they're also seeing a rise in deathsened s and hospitalizatio well. and death and hospitalizations is a fairly low bar for public health. what about long covid, what about the 5% to 10% who have symptoms for months. roughly a third of people are having long covid symptoms. so that rarely makes it into the discussion of vaccines. >> you mentioned austria there, and what's happening now is because they are putting a vaccine mandate in place, people are rushing out to get vaccinated. they're also worried about getting fined, because that's going to happen, as well. they're dealing with anti-vaxers, they're dealing with some resistance there that had that lockdown. is that going to be something that happens the united states has to consider, the mandates, the fines if you don't do it, or would it be impossible to translate in this country? there would be way too much pushback. >> that's a very good question and one that i don't have the complete breadth to answer as a public official, but i hope people will do everything they can to prevent that from happening, because that is what we don't want to see. the things you can do over this holiday season, because any gathering is going to put those around you and yourself at risk, is, you know, get vaccinated if you haven't already. get a flu vaccination, as well. because that virus will come back and we don't know exactly how flu and covid are going to interact, but you can get infected with both at the same time. other things you can do is wear masks when you can. have your gathering outdoors, if possible. if you can't have it outdoors, then increase your ventilation, maybe crack a window, have a fun of some sort. that's obviously weather dependant. and one other method is definitely, if you have access to those rapid tests, you can think of them as contagiousness tests. if you take a test before you get to your destination, if it is negative, it's very sensitive at picking up if you're contagious to others. so that's another way that you can keep yourself as safe as possible. and what we don't want to see, like you said, is what's happening in austria and another lockdown. i wouldn't call it out of the realm of possibility if things continue to go bad. >> critical advice there. doctor, thank you so much for talking with us. and happy thanksgiving to you and your family. >> thank you. take care. the coronavirus situation in europe is rapidly deteriorating. germany just reported its highest ever single day surge of new infections. more than 66,000 new cases. the previous record came just last week. this as the world health organization issues a dire new warning. europe could reach more than 2 million deaths from the virus by march. the global body says it expects high or extreme stress on hospital intensive care units in nearly every country in the region this winter. right now, western europe is being hit hard by the delta variant. this map shows the new covid cases in the past week compared to the previous week. the darker shades of red indicate a growing outbreak. cnn's correspondent joins me now from paris. good to see you. the w.h.o. issuing this dire warning to europe. how are leaders across the continent likely to respond to this as they deal with vaccine hesitancy and resistance to lockdowns amidst these surging cases? >> yeah, dire warning indeed. the w.h.o. estimates that there are now 4,200 daily deaths in europe, twice what we had at the end of september. so just a month and a half ago. how are leaders responding? first of all, a step late, frankly. as they did during the first, second, and third waves of the pandemic for most countries. most leaders in the european region have been taken by surprise by just the strength, the speed of this new wave of infections. that is why we're still seeing record highs or near record highs for daily infection numbers being set in multiple countries. and that's been the case in austria, which just entered a national lockdown. it's also the case in germany. new measures are being put in place in all those countries, but crucially, it is about getting third doses and increasing the vaccination rate in all those countries. >> yeah, that third dose is critical. it's going to be a three-dose regimen. we have to just accept that. many thanks. just ahead here on cnn newsroom, a cnn exclusive on patrol with ukraine's navy, as the country's military races to counter the threat of a possible russian invasion. >> in order to complete in project, the ukrainian military says they are working seven days a week. with framebridge... make what matters to you last. halloween, '72. jojo's adoption day. uncle leo's legacy. summiting kilimanjaro. asher's art phase. the moment you knew it was love. whatever you treasure, make it last. framebridge. >> man: what's my safelite story? my truck...is my livelihood. so when my windshield cracked... the experts at safelite autoglass came right to me... with service i could trust. right, girl? >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ top u.s. and russian generals are staying in touch amid serious concerns about the russian troop buildup near the border with ukraine. but the government in kiev isn't taking any chances, pushing forward with a badly needed upgrade of its navy. cnn has this exclusive report. >> reporter: on patrol in some of the most contested waters in the world. ukraine's navy took us on an artillery boat, just as tensions with russia have reached a boiling point. the main goal is to keep and defend the sovereignty of ukraine from the direction of the sea, the captain tells me. russia has been massing troops on the border, warning allies that a large-scale invasion could happen soon. the ukrainians believe if russia decides to launch an attack the sea of azov could be one of the main battlegrounds. the coastline holds a strategic value to russia. it would allow president vladamir putin to establish a much-sought land corridor to annex crimea. they give us access to the construction going on at the naval base. kiev ordered this building program to urgently be accelerated, with the russian threat looming large. in order to complete this project, the ukrainian military tells us they are working seven days a week. they say once finished, it will offer a formidable deterrent against any russian aggression. upgrades seen badly here, with the port in disrepair. new facilities will allow them to base more and bigger ships here, we are ready, he says, so that at any time, if there's any aggression in the sea, we can resist it. russia has positioned close to 100,000 troops near the border, which the kremlin denies. these images appearing to show dozens of military vehicles in southwestern russia. the biden administration warned moscow not to attack. cnn learned that one u.s. defense official says russia's aim may be to create confusion or get concessions. the kremlin dismissed talk as an invasion as hysteria, but also issued a clear warning. "we need to consider western partners worsen the situation by delivering to kiev weapons and provocative exercises in the black sea and other regions close to our borders." ukraine's armed forces say they are on constant alert, preparing for an armed confrontation. fred pleitgen, ukraine. >> we'll be right back in just a moment. 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>> i did. he had it pointed directly at my head. that's when i shot him one time. he is no longer a threat to me at that point because he ran off after i fired that shot. >> reporter: they are portraying rittenhouse as heroic, and leaving out questions like him lying on the night of the shootings about being an emt. >> his community falls apart and he tries his best to do the right thing. >> reporter: that's the story tucker carlson is helping rittenhouse tell. >> do you feel like you've been watched over? >> i believe god has been on my side. >> reporter: carlson asking more like a promoter than interviewer. >> he struck us as bright, sincere, dutiful and hardworking, the kind of person you would want many more in our country. >> reporter: rittenhouse does say he was defamed by joe biden. >> what did you make of the president of the united states calling you a white supremacist. >> reporter: paired with a comment about president trump refusing to disavow white supremacists. rittenhouse is now using legal terms to describe it. >> it's actual malice, defaming my character for him to say something like that. >> reporter: more broadly, he says he feels exploited. >> how polarized it became is sickening. like right or left, people using me for a cause that should never have been used as a cause. >> reporter: and he's blasting the prosecution. >> it's just amazing to see how much a prosecutor can take advantage of somebody -- if they did this to me, imagine what they could have done to a person of color that is not widely publicized like my case. >> reporter: for now, rittenhouse is pursuing a career in nursing but may change it. >> i may want to become a lawyer. >> brian stelter, cnn, new york. the crackdown on unruly airline passengers in the u.s. is growing. on tuesday, the federal aviation administration said eight people alone racked up more than 160,000 one of those passengers allegedly brought their own alcohol onboard and sexually assaulted the flight attendant who asked them to stop drinking. more than 5,200 cases of unruly passengers have been reported so far this year. well, the thanksgiving holiday travel rush is fully under way across the u.s. the tsa says it expects to screen around 20 million people during this year's travel period. that's close to the numbers we saw pre-pandemic. but after limping along for more than a year, is the travel industry ready for the rush? cnn's pete muntean takes a look. >> reporter: these numbers are going to be huge. united airlines is anticipating its biggest passenger volume in 19 months. more than 4 million passengers will board its airline for thanksgiving. but remember airlines got a lot smaller during the pandemic, making the challenge to get you to the dinner table even bigger. the frustrations of thanksgiving travel are back at airports across the country. the latest estimate from the tsa that 20 million people will take to the skies for the holiday. that means this year's rush will look nothing like it did last year. >> it's almost back to where it was before the pandemic. >> it's good to finally feel kind of normal again. >> people feel really safe about leaving and are excited to reconnect with friends and family. >> reporter: now the question is whether airlines can handle this rebound. united airlines network operations center in chicago is monitoring 3,900 departures a day packed with the most passengers since the start of the pandemic. >> i'm ready to deliver a great product to our customers. >> reporter: operations director david kensingtonic says the gold here is to head off staffing and weather delays before they cause you to miss your flight. >> i am confident in delivering a safe and reliable operation this thanksgiving. >> reporter: shortages of flight crews contributed to scheduled meltdowns at both southwest and american airlines in october, leaving thousands stranded by canceled flights. captain dennis tager represents the american airlines pilots union. >> if management fails after mother nature hits and a storm hits to connect us to the airplane, then you've got headlines. >> reporter: american says 1,800 fl flight attendanted just returned from pandemic leads of absences. it is also paying flight attendants time and a half for working this week. but america's 14,000 pilots say that is not enough and turned down a similar offer to send a message. >> it's incredibly frustrating because we don't see the structural changes happening. >> reporter: airlines insist they are out of the woods and are ready for their biggest test of the pandemic. >> through all the challenges we face, it's just made us a bit more agile in dealing with any issues that come up, so we are more prepared when we get to the holiday season. >> reporter: the tsa is anticipating its biggest numbers on the sunday after thanksgiving. that's when everybody will come home all at once. united airlines is anticipating more than 450,000 passengers on its airline alone. pete muntean, cnn, reagan national airport. and the good news for travelers, weather delays have not caused too much of a headache so far, but will that luck hold out? let's bring in meteorologist tyler mauldin for the latest on that. tyler, what are you seeing in the forecast? >> rosemary, wednesday is one of the busiest travel days of the year. as you can see behind me, the weather map looks rather busy. however, i can assure you that two-thirds of the country will have fine travel conditions, okay? but there are a couple of spots that won't. so let me take you through the forecast for today and tomorrow and the coming days and show you where those trouble spots are. first trouble spot is with this cold front that is moving east because as it moves east, it's going to pick up the winds here across the plains, and that could lead to some delays, especially air delays. then also you've got some mountain snow behind it, which will eventually turn into rainfall as it pushes eastbound. what we're going to see is with that system pushing east, some pretty poor road conditions across portions of the country. temperatures today not too bad. it is going to be chilly across the north and also across the plains going on into the northern rockies. meanwhile, a little warm down to the south. that is going to feed this system as it pushes to the east. so on thanksgiving, we are looking at that front pushing to the east and impacting areas from louisiana all the way up into ohio. we're also going to see parts of washington continue to see some pretty rough weather there. then on friday, we see the conditions go downhill for the northeast. the system is slowly but sure by going to put to the eastbound and affect many of us as we go through time. i mentioned that on wednesday, we're going to see wind gusts as high as possibly 40 miles per hour as this system pushes to the east. that's in the plains. then you can see it gather strength on thursday, thanksgiving. you can see some showers and thunderstorms along that front. then just like that, it pushes out, and friday we clear out and look a lot better across the country as we go into saturday and sunday. >> all right. tyler mauldin, thank you so much for keeping us up to date. we appreciate it. u.s. president joe biden is ready for a thanksgiving break. on tuesday, the president, first lady, vice president and second gentleman spent part of the day packing thanksgiving meals at a washington, d.c. food kitchen. president biden was put in charge of serving the main course, the turkey. later, the bidens left washington for unannantucket, massachusetts, where they will spend the holiday with family. it has been a tradition for the bidens since 1975, commemorating the first holiday joe and jill biden spent together. well, a rare albert einstein manuscript has sold for more than $13 million at christie's auction house in paris. chr christie's says the manuscript details a key stage in the development of einstein's theory of relativity, one of the single most important ideas in modern science. the manuscript is 54 pages and written by both einstein and swiss engineer mckaley beso. thank you so much for joining us. i'm rosemary church. i will be right back with more news in just a moment. do stay with us. w we've createdw way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. 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