aide close to trump, mike pence is cooperating with the lawmakers investigating the january 6 riot. we'll go live to france where new restrictions are in place to curb the fifth wave of the coronavirus. >> announcer: live from london, this is "cnn newsroom" with max foster. it's tuesday, december 7th, and we're just six hours away from a high stakes call between u.s. president joe biden and his russian counterpart vladimir putin. as tensions remain high over ukraine, russia's military buildup on the border is expected to be a major issue during today's talks. us yous intelligence estimates that moscow could invade ukraine as soon as next month. >> what we continue to see is added capability that president putin continues to add, added military capability in the western part of his country and around ukraine. >> well, in an exclusive interview, ukraine's defense minister spoke with cnn's matthew chance about what could happen if russia invades his country. >> reporter: do you believe russia will invade? >> i not believe -- i will not believe russia will have a victory in ukraine. it will be a really bloody massacre. and russian guys will also come back in the cough inches, yes. -- coffins, yes. >> reporter: we are also following a diplomatic boycott. the president said they won't be sending a delegation to the winter olympics in beijing. sef sell any has more from the white house. >> reporter: president biden preparing for talks with vladimir putin in the hope of deterring russia from invading y ukraine. the president on imposing economic sanctions on russia as new intelligence estimates moscow could invade ukraine as soon as next month. >> this is the moment for russia to pull back their military buildup at the border. that diplomacy is the right path forward here. >> reporter: the russian president is expected to issue an ultimatum of his own. a written guarantee for biden to oppose nato and weapons systems from the military alliance for expanding into ukraine. putin called this a red line and an urgent threat to russian sovereignty. the meeting between biden and putin comes at a low point in relations between the two countries. it's their first conversation since july following their face to face summit in geneva. >> i came what i did do do. >> reporter: since then tensions have soared, based on these images from cnn, u.s. intelligence reports russia could a mass as many as 175,000 troops on the ukraine border, with half already there. white house press secretary jen psaki saying the sanctions are aimed at putin's inner circle and critical sectors of the economy. >> we have consulted significantly with our allies and believe we have a path forward that could impose significant and severe harm on the russian economy. you can call that a threat, call that a fact, call that preparation, whatever you want to call it. >> reporter: the escalation of troops on the ukraine border is reminiscent of the invasion of crimea, a brazen room alarming u.s. and western leaders. >> what i am doing is putting together what i believe to be -- will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for mr. putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do. >> reporter: tensions also escalating with china as the u.s. takes a rare step of imposing a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 winter olympics in beijing. >> the athletes on team usa have our full support. we'll be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home. we will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games. >> reporter: sack >> said the president is intent on calling out forced labor and human rights abuses in china. but the white house stopping short of a full boycott like the u.s. did in 1980 when president jimmy carter protested the moscow olympics keeping the american athletes from taking part in the games. >> i don't think that we felt it was the right step to penalize athletes who have been training, preparing for this moment. and we felt that we could send a clear message by not sending an official u.s. delegation. >> reporter: and by not sending a u.s. delegation, that is certainly a symbolic move. but the timing of it is very important as well. certainly going to complicate the already tense relationship between the united states and china. but it is that meeting that is scheduled to happen tuesday morning here in washington at the white house, a video call between president biden and president putin. diplomatic alternatives are on the table, but so are those economic sanctions. that's why president biden spent much of the damon talking to european leaders trying to get everyone on the same page. jeff zeleny, cnn, the white house. >> cnn is covering both developing stories for you. ivan watson is following the diplomatic boycott of the winter olympics. fred pleitgen the ukraine high stakes summit. fred, let's begin with you in berlin with sanctions already on russia. what difference will more really make? how will it affect these discussions today, do you think? >> reporter: well, i think it's the main tool really that president biden has in his arsenal. certainly the main one he wants to talk to vladimir putin about. and i think the sanctions that the biden administration has been talking about and has really been talking to allies about as well and also ukrainians are far stronger or would be far stronger than anything that we've seen so far, even in the past couple of years with all the things russia has been doing in and around ukraine. a lot of it could lead to some is he vee economic penalties for russia, could make it difficult. but also could quite frankly take a pretty big toll on european countries that have economic relations with russia. one of them, of course, being germany, getting a lot of gas from russia. in jgeneral, these sanctions could have a large effect. that's something president biden has said he wants to make clear to putin, reaction would be fierce by the united states. saying the reaction would remain an economic one rather than a military one, although the u.s. is also saying that if an invasion were to take place, for instance, more u.s. troops in eastern european countries, should eastern european countries demand them, that is also something that would be on the table as well. we are talking about, say, a different dimension than the economic sanctions on russia so far. that is something the president said he wants to make clear to vladimir putin. the russians, of course, for their side saying they want guarantees from the u.s. and nato that ukraine will never become a member state of the alliance. however, so far nato is rejecting that. ukrainians rejecting that, and the u.s. has rejected that as well, max. >> okay, fred, thank you. and, ivan, on the diplomatic boycott of the olympics, what response do we have from beijing and are we concerned that other countries will do the same? >> reporter: beijing is irritated and clearly frustrated, a little bit more than two hours ago the spokesperson for the chinese foreign ministry came out and basically accused the u.s. of a self-directed political farce and of a cold war mentality. take a listen to what else that official had to say. >> translator: out of ideological bias and based on lies and rumors, the u.s. attempts to disrupt the beijing winter olympic games. this will only expose its malicious intention to the world and will lead to greater loss of moral authority and credibility. >> reporter: beijing has threatened counter measures, but this official, when asked whether china would conduct a similar boycott of the 2028 los angeles summer olympics, did not specifically say whether that measure would be adopted. he accused the u.s. of politicizing sport and the olympic games. the international olympic committee which is co-hosting the upcoming beijing winter olympics said that the presence of government officials at the games is a purely political decision, reasserted the i.o.c.'s political neutrality, and said that this announcement from the white house makes it clear that the olympic games are beyond politics, somewhat undermining the chinese government's argument that this is politicizing the games. so the white house has been asked whether or not it's urging american allies to follow suit with this diplomatic boycott. jen psaki, the white house spokesperson, said effectively no. they are sharing this decision with allies and it is up to them whether or not they go through with this. i want to underscore what a dramatic difference the run up to these winter beijing olympics are from the summer games that were hosted in beijing in 2008, because in that case there wasn't just a u.s. official diplomatic delegation present. it was led by then the u.s. president george w. bush, who was on hand, enthusiastically participating, accompanied by the first lady, as well as his father, the former president george h.w. bush, who was the honorary captain of the u.s. olympic team. you know, fast forward 14 years, and the ties between the world's two largest economies are much more strained right now, max. >> absolutely. ivan in hong kong, thank you. earlier olympics sportscaster spoke with cnn about the international olympic committee's relation with china. it could be harmful for those who choose to speak out against beijing. >> we might have said in the past that it was questionable and it was discouraging or disappointing. the i.o.c.'s affinity for china and for other authoritarian regimes, i think it has now reached a point where it is disgraceful. but this is, this is tricky terrain now for nbc and for other americans. we don't know what sort of peril anybody might be in if they speak forthrightly. we know what happened when patrick mcenrow was a guest on cnn, began to address this and the feed went blank in china. houston rockets games were taken off, and china is a big market for the nba. houston rockets were taken off when their then gm tweeted something to the effect. and a week ago when enes kanter with the celtics who is a turk and is well aware of what happens in authoritarian regimes, when he criticized china, boom, celtic games taken off the air. they broke no criticism, they doubled down and they threatened consequence and in some cases there are economic consequence. here we have all these american sports entities and individual sports stars who are invested in this giant chinese market and are loathed to defend it by stating the obvious. given its size and given its resources and given its intentions no matter what else is happening around the world as tragic as it may be, china has to rank as the number one human rights violator on the planet, and so much of america is, at least business wise, in bed with it. >> bob costas there. do stay with cnn for more coverage on this story throughout the day. now to cnn exclusive. sources tell us a senior aide to former vice president mike pence marc short is cooperating with the house committee investigating the capital insurrection. cnn's ryan nobles has more from washington. >> reporter: marc short, who is the former chief of staff to the then vice president mike pence, is cooperating with the january 6 select committee. that was information exclusively learned by cnn as we are certain to get some insight into exactly what the committee is learning about what happened here on january 6th. and short is a key player in all of that. this is someone who is and remains very close with mike pence. he was with the vice president during january 6, was part of a group of aides and advisers that were evacuated from the capitol with pence on that day. so short has unique insight into everything that happened on january 6th. it's not just january 6th that will be of interest to the committee, though, because short was one of the former vice president's closest advisers as he was facing a major pressure campaign from the former president donald trump and other conservative leaders who believed that pence had legal authority to prevent the certification of the november election. that certification, of course, was scheduled to take place on january 6th. now, pence had a meeting in the oval office with president trump and john east man, who is a controversial conservative lawyer. he was the first author or architect, i should say, of this theory that pence had the ability to prevent the certification of the election. and marc short was in the room during that meeting. of course, pence did not take that step. he ultimately did not attempt to intervene in the certification process, saying that he believed he did not have the constitutional authority. that led to a lot of anger from the former president trump, of course, and a lot of his supporters that were here on january 6. many of them came here to washington specifically to look for mike pence. some even saying they wanted to execute him. marc short's recollection of what took place on that day and the events leading up to it are of great interest to the january 6 select committee. and after issuing him a subpoena, which we learned for the first time, short has agreed to cooperate. ryan nobles, cnn, on capitol hill. the late senator bob dole will lie in state in the u.s. capitol rotunda on thursday. he died on sunday at the age of 98. dole had announced in february that he was being treated for lung cancer. in a joint statement, how speaker nancy pelosi and senate majority leader chuck schumer called dolan extraordinary patriot who devoted his entire life to serving our nation with dignity and integrity. 18 years ago today, one of the most pivotal moments in world history was playing out in hawaii. a surprise japanese attack on pearl harbor killed more than 2,000 americans, gutting the pacific fleet, enjoining the u.s. in world war ii. events in hawaii on pearl harbor remembrance day, survivors will attend, many of them now centenarians. this is a change from last year when events were curtailed due to covid-19. still to come, details of the new restrictions being put in place across europe as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads. plus, south africa's covid positivity rate has jumped since the omicron variant was detected. how the country is preparing in the face of another covid surge. that's next. look, i gotta say something. 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dominant, omicron has been detected in 19 states. covid cases and deaths are rising across the u.s.. the country is now averaging 1500 cases a day. 150 people are dying each day. those are some of the highest numbers we've seen in more than a month. the situation has grown so alarming in one part of new york state that officials have now declared a state of emergency. meanwhile, new york city is set to implement one of the strictest vaccine mandates in the country. starting on december 27th, all private sector employees will be required to fully vaccinate. mayor bill de blasio making the announcement on monday. >> this is how we put health and safety first, by ensuring that there is a vaccine mandate that reaches everyone universally in the private sector. a lot of folks in the private sector said to me they believe in vaccination, but they're not quite sure how they can do it themselves. well, we're going to do it. >> the u.s. cdc is urging americans to avoid traveling to france over omicron concerns putting on high risk. they closed all night clubs, masking and social distancing measures in primary schools. officials say the country is now in the grip of a fifth covid wave. meanwhile, italy's new super green pass is now mandatory to get into bars, restaurants, theaters and other entertainment venues. and all travelers to the uk must take a pre-departure covid test regardless of their vaccination status. this comes as england reports community transmission of the omicron variant. now, in south africa, new data reveals the covid positivity rate has jumped by 24% since the omicron variant was detected there. initially two weeks ago. the cunountry's president said appears to be dominating new infections and pushing the country to a new fourth wave. cnn covering the story from all angles for you. larry in johannesburg, but let's begin with melissa bell in paris. these are tough restrictions. we've seen how other countries are unsure. there are demonstrations and turn back because of restrictions. do you think the french are willing to accept this? >> reporter: well, the prime minister was very clear when he made the announcement yesterday evening, max, that he did not want to introduce measures that he called difficulsproportionat. we've seen rises above 50,000 indications in a 24-hour period. this is a wave according to french authorities much steeper than the second or third or fourth waves we've had here in france. this is the fifth wave that is threatening to challenge and overwhelm hospitals, say authorities, by the end of january, if things continue unchecked. so these announcements not disproportionate, said the prime minister, and yet enough -- to try and bring those numbers down. yes, night clubs closed from friday for a month, but schoolchildren -- the transmission of this particular fifth wave fueled as it is by the delta variant, fresh measures and side schools, max, to keep children apart for social distancing. and also a fresh effort to get the youngest vaccinated with the oepgs of vaccinations to children under 12. will it be enough? certainly french authorities trying to strike that balance between trying to preserve the end of year holidays to allow for the economy to stay as open as possible. the rises we've seen, max, over the last couple of weeks have been so staggeringly high it is unclear whether this is going to be enough. bear in mind as you mentioned a moment ago, the omicron variant also now present here in france with community-based transmission as well. something to worry about, no doubt, looking ahead, max. >> yes. larry, all eyes on south africa because this is where the omicron was first detected. at least, it is spreading pretty fast. >> reporter: it has gotten quite far in the last two weeks. two weeks ago in south africa it was only 2.3%, max. in the test data on monday, the positivity rate was 26.4%. the highest since omicron variant was detected. that led to all the travel bans around the world. that's why you see the people about to board an emirates flight going to dubai, hoping to get to whatever part of the world they were going to. on the other side is the flights to addis ababa, the african continent and trying to get, again, to the other part of the world if they are allowed to come in. many countries have travel bans affecting south africa and other south african nations which have been criticized around the world including the leadership of south africa. calling them selective and travel apartheid because they expect only black majority nations and not countries in europe that reported similar cases of the omicron variant. you see how many people are trying to get on this one flight to addis ababa. look at the cue all the way back there. there's a lot of concern and anger and frustration about the travel ban here in south africa. one expert i spoke to a moment ago it's time for africa to stop depending on the rest of the world. >> if africa is going to rise, africa is going to have to look to africa and to africans. this is a reminder of the selfishness of the west when it comes to issues like vaccine, sharing their vaccines or sharing their knowledge. so a reminder that for africa to thrive again, africa must look to itself and not -- and we need to get over this need to get validation from the rest of the world. >> reporter: the impacts of the travel bans will be devastating to south african tourism. this is a top destination in africa, and it lost 70% of our arrivals because of the pandemic. it was just beginning to recover before this latest travel ban. here, the government encouraging people to get vaccinated even though there is hesitancy. the reason is compelling because even though it seems to indicate this variant is more transmissible but less severe, nobody wants even a mild covid infection because you might still end up with long covid and that is the worst thing you need, max. >> absolutely, larry. and melissa, both, thank you very much indeed. over in the u.s. five hours away wall street looks to extend the rebound. the dow jumped more than 600 points on monday. helping to make up for last week's losses. markets have been just reopened with concerns of the omicron coronavirus variant. things are largely looking up for u.s. futures as you can see. now, still to come, michigan police search the home of the man who helped the parents of the suspected school shooter. the latest on that investigation. and actor jussie smollett takes the stand in his trial. ahead, how he tried to convince jurors he didn't stage a hate crime attack. the men lied to police about it tony here from creditrepair.com taking to the streets to talk about credit. can you repair your credit yourself? yes. -great. how? uhhh... how long does credit repair take? i don't know, like 10 years. what? are you insane? what's a good credit score? go. 600. maybe if you're trying to pay thousands extra in interest rates. cut the confusion, get started 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out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. do you struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep? qunol sleep formula combines 5 key nutrients that can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. the brand i trust is qunol. want to save on your home internet? xfinity is proud to support the emergency broadband benefit program. for a limited time, you may be eligible to qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service through this program. that's right! you could qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service and equipment. for even more value, switch to xfinity mobile, and you could pay as little as $15 a month for wireless. click, call, or visit a store to learn more. welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm max foster. let's get you up to date with the latest story this hour. we are hours away from the high stakes call between president biden and his counterpart president putin. president biden has been working with european allies to impose sanctions on moscow. and a top aide to former vice president mike pence is cooperating with the january 6 investigators to give lawmakers insight from one of the highest-ranking trump officials. more ahead on these stories on "early start." police in michigan have searched the home of the man who helped the parents of the suspected oxford school shooter. so far that man hasn't been charged with any crimes. meanwhile the school district's investigation continues. earlier michigan's attorney general told cnn the district's turned down her offer to conduct an independent investigation. >> the offer that we made would have extended to, you know, the protocols and policies, not just so we can make sure the kids in oxford are safe in the future, but so that we can ensure that the policies are put in place all over the state of michigan so that each and every school district can be better protected. if the school district is really looking for transparency and they're really looking to ensure that everything that they did and everything they continue to do results in the most security for their children, which is something people are greatly concerned about right now, then i would hope that they would want to cooperate with an investigation by the state. >> cnn's adrienne broadus has the latest on the investigation from oxford, michigan. >> not guilty. >> not guilty. >> reporter: jennifer and james crumbly now sit in the same jail as their son, all under close observation. the parents were arrested early saturday morning, found in a warehouse in nearby detroit, hours after they were charged with four counts each of in voluntary manslaughter. >> if there are fugitives of justice, charges that could be additionally added, if they are convicted, there are actually additional points that are scored for the obstruction of justice. and so they are likely to get higher sentences. >> reporter: prosecutors saying the crumblies were making preparations to flee during the time they evaded capture. >> $4,000 from an atm in rochester hills. they fled and sought multiple attempts to hide their location. and were eventually tracked down, and these two individuals were found locked somewhere in a room hiding. >> reporter: a third person, the man who allowed the couple to get into the warehouse, was interviewed by the oakland sheriff's department. a search warrant was issued for electronic evidence at his home, but still no word on whether he will face potential charges. >> clearly somebody helped them into that location and made it available to them. and it was after it was publicly announced that there were warrants for them. >> reporter: both jennifer and james crumbly have pleaded not guilty to the charges, and their attorney took issue with the time line of events laid out during their arraignment. >> the facts that have been presented by ms. mcdonald, her office, have been cherry-picked to further her narrative to make an example of mr. and mrs. crumbly. >> none of this should happen. a 15-year-old should not be sitting in jail facing life in prison, and it could have been prevented. >> reporter: the prosecutor is still investigating the school's role in the events leading up to the shooting. >> i think it's time we stop talking about how terrible it is we have school shootings and look to see what we can do to actually prevent them from happening again. >> reporter: the michigan attorney general has also criticized the oxford school district's hiring of a third-party to investigate the shootings and offered to help conduct a review of the events that day. meanwhile, a community is still grieving the death of four teenagers and rallying around those injured in the shootings. and today the 16-year-old who died in the patrol car on the way to the hospital will be laid to rest. his family says he loved the holidays, especially this time of year, decorating the tree and making cookies with his mom. adrienne broadus, cnn, oxford, michigan. the sex trafficking trial of ghislaine maxwell resumes just hours from now in new york. on monday a woman testified that maxwell befriended her when she was 17, then arranged meetings that allowed jeffrey epstein to sexually assault her on multiple occasions at his homes. she said maxwell also asked her whether she knew of other girls who could perform sex acts with epstein. epstein was a convicted sex offender who died by suicide in 2019. the defense argues maxwell is being used as a scapegoat for his abuses. in chicago, jussie smollett has taken the stand in his high-profile criminal trial. he is trying to refute charges he staged a violent hate crime attack against him then lied about it to police. here's out omar jimenez. >> reporter: jussie smollett testified for about five hours on monday. things ended with cross-examination or in the middle of it, i should say, where jussie smollett denied tampering with the new oose see around his neck in january of 2019. he tried to make it look more like a serious lynching. pictures were shown side by side when he first walked into his apartment building with it around his neck and after police officers arrived sometime later. and smollett did tell jurors he took off that noose at one point and before police got there he put it back on at the advice of his manager. he said they should see the evidence. smollett argued it looked less like a noose afterward. prior to cross-examination, the defense went through some of the major points in the prosecution's case, or at least took jussie smollett through that in the testimony that was being heard. during one of the major points, i should say, came during the car ride the brothers testified was when jussie smollett first brought up this alleged hoax and asked smollett if that's what happened. smollett said, no. all they did was drive around and smoke blunts. specifically he was asked by his attorneys at any point in time, did you talk to owe -- osendera about a hoax? he said no. he testified they had multiple sexual encounters which he denied during the course of his testimony. the defense has argued that ola osendero or homophobia was one of the driving factors in what they say was a real hate crime attack. cross-examination was where things left off, so that's where things will pick up when court resumes tuesday at 10:15 eastern time. back to you. omar jimenez. now, the u.s. justice department is closing in on the murder of emmett till, the 14-year-old black teen was kidnapped, tortured and killed while visiting mississippi in 1955. a white woman claimed he whistled at her. the justice department reopened this investigation after a 2017 book claimed the woman recanted parts of her testimony. the department said it could not prove the woman lied. till's relatives say they didn't get justice, but they will continue fighting hate crimes. a controversial far-right campaign kicks off with violent results in france. what happened at the rally. we are live in paris for you just ahead. the state of georgia which handed democrats control of the u.s. senate is facing a contentious governor's race. ex-senator david perdue has announced he'll challenge the republican incumbent brian kemp. he picked up the endorsement of former u.s. president donald trump. there is no love lost between trump and kemp for refusing to challenge his loss in georgia last year. purdue said he's running to make sure stacey abrams is never governor of georgia. the democratic candidate lost in 2018. devin nunes said he's retiring to become the trump media and technology group. the trump loyalist is facing a more democratic district. eunice wright won praise for his efforts to discredit the fbi investigation. now, french police are launching an investigation into the violence that erupted at eric zimmer's campaign sunday. they grabbed the far-right potential candidate by the neck and antiracism protesters were assaulted by supporters. the tv reports 62 people have been detained in connection with those attacks. cyril vanier reports on the start of a divisive bid for the presidency. >> reporter: zimmer's first steps as presidential candidate overshadowed by violence. france's conservative columnist turned far-right ideologue attacked on his way to the stage. moments later the former journalist delivered his first official campaign speech. >> translator: obviously i'm not racist. no, you, you're not racist. all that we want is to defend our heritage. we're defending our country, our homeland, the heritage of our ancestors. >> reporter: he defended himself against accusations of fascism and racism and misogyny. he promised immigration and singled out french movement. this is the reaction he's been getting. even two years ago this would all have been unthinkable. he is not possessed of obvious charm. has never held political office. and has been convicted twice, found guilty of inciting racial and religious hatred. in today's political landscape, it turns out, the perfect resume for a fire-breathing populist campaign. >> translator: they are thieves, murderers, rapists, that's all they are. we've got to send them back. >> reporter: this diatribe about under age migrants in france one of countless controversies. yet even that pales in comparison to his writings. islam is incompatible with france, he expounds in a best-selling book. tomorrow in their millions, are invaders. he says, arabs are to blame for france's problems, explains this political analyst and critic. politically he's found a gold mine. a gold mine distilled into tv sound bites over 20 years. this from an algerian immigrant. >> translator: we must give first names what we call the calendar. the names of christian saints. well, your mother was wrong. >> reporter: provocations tolerated in part because zimmer was seen not just as a journalist, but as an intellectual. >> translator: this has specifically french, says the author of a recent biography. he hypnotized part of the french population with his knowledge of history, his love of french literature. >> reporter: so, how far can his popularity take him? in france's fragmented political landscape, he is seen as having a real shot at reaching the final round of the presidential election against the incumbent emanuel macron. but his first campaign steps have been shaky, and pictures like these won't help. an anti-racist group silently protesting at his rally, violently assaulted by zimmer's supporters. max, zimmer was on french tv this morning. he was asked about the violence. he says he takes no responsibility for it. the reason it occurred, he said, was because of the provocation of the anti-racist group. he also says he can't promise there won't be repeat moments of violence at his future rallies if the same provocation occurs. and lastly, max, he came on set for the interview this morning bearing a cast on his wrist saying, why, asking why the media are not giving as much coverage to the attack of which he was a victim. i think beyond these clashes between far-right and leftist groups, max, what's going to be interesting is to find out how much political momentum he really has now that he is officially a candidate in this presidential campaign, max. >> we'll find out soon. thank you. rain and flooding concerns in hawaii proving the governor to declare a state of emergency. after the break, a look at what the islands can expect in their forecast. she took new mucinex instasoothe sore throat lozenges. show your sore throat who'o's boss. new mucinex instasoothe. works in seconds, , lasts for hours. my hygienist cleans with a round head. so does my oral-b my hygienist personalizes my cleaning. so does my oral-b oral-b delivers the wow of a professional clean feel every day. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information. in indonesia they are digging through layers of ash and debris to find survivors of the eruption of mt. semeru. heavy rain is hampering the efforts. hundreds of homes have been destroyed in east java province. officials say 2,000 people are in evacuation centers. mt. semeru is one of indonesia's most active volcanos. lawhawaii's governor has declared a state of emergency. meteorologist pedram javaheri has the latest. >> good morning, max. the story across the hawaiian islands is as impressive as it gets. rainfall a foot or more. the western periphery which includes oahu and honolulu, the most populated city, has the islands under a flash flood warning. meaning flooding is imminent or occurring. across the region that is where we are seek the storms like boxcars on a train, one after another producing heavy rainfall over the same spot. that is precisely why we are seeing flood warnings across some of these areas. max, why this is so interesting is much of the islands had been underneath a drought situation. in fact, 56% of the islands dealing with drought conditions, and this last run of rainfall here certainly going to be beneficial. unfortunately, too much of it coming down in a short time period. also leading to problems. that is how things are playing out across the region with some of the disruptions and roadways that are shutdown as a result of this. again as you work your way farther towards the west in kauai, maybe 10 inches possible in a few spots. in honolulu, scattered thunderstorms possible on tuesday, but you'll notice dryer weather persists once we get through wednesday. across the lower 48 has been also about thunderstorms, and severe weather there across portions of the southern u.s. as many as six reports of tornadoes. as you work your way through the northern reaches of the u.s., plenty cold enough to support significant snowfall. and how about these wind chills across parts of the state of north dakota? wind chills as cold as 40 below observed in the past 24 hours. but change is in store. warmer temperatures relatively speaking, climbing to the 40s and almost 50 in chicago the latter portion of this week. max? >> thanks to pedram. now, the horse racing world is mourning the sudden death of kentucky derby winner medina spirit which is 3 years old and placed in every race that he ran. according to the california horse racing board, the colt collapsed and died as he was completing a workout, most likely due to a heart attack, and there is plenty of controversy here because this happened at the notorious santa anita race track. 70 horses died in 2017. 20 have died this year. the kentucky derby is under scrutiny after he tested positive for a legal drug and you banned on race days. hbo max which is part of cnn's parent company warner media, has released a new teaser for the harry potter reunion special hogwarts, marking 20 years, can you believe it, since the first film in the franchise was released. take a look at this. ♪ ♪ new trailer there features emma watson who played hermine granger. the special set to premiere on january the 1st. now, when it comes to yuletide decorating for one german couple, they are the german world record holders for having the most decorated christmas trees in one place. a total of 444. no two trees are the same, and themes include storm troopers and superheroes. more than 10,000 christmas balls, 300 strings of lights were used in the display. the couple starts putting the trees up months ahead of time to have them ready for the first sunday in december. they made it. thanks for joining me here on "cnn newsroom." i'm max foster in london. our coverage of the highly anticipated call of president biden and putin begins on "early start" with christine romans and laura jarrett. you're watching cnn. blendjet's holiday sale is on now for the #1 gift this holiday season, the blendjet 2 portable blender. it packs t power of aig blender on the go, and it crushes right through ice. just drop in your favorite ingredients, even frozen fruit, and make a smoothie any time, anywhere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and get our best deal ever! want to save on your home internet? xfinity is proud to support the emergency broadband benefit program. for a limited time, you may be eligible to qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service through this program. that's right! you could qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service and equipment. for even more value, switch to xfinity mobile, and you could pay as little as $15 a month for wireless. click, call, or visit a store to learn more. all right, good morning, everyone. it is tuesday, december 7th. it is 5:00 a.m. in new york. thanks for getting an early start with us. i'm christine romans. >> and i'm laura jarrett. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. we have reports this morning from berlin, johannesburg, washington and chicago. we begin, though, with one of the most critical calls of joe biden's presidency. probably the most critical call. it's happening later this morning. he's speaking via video from the situation room at 10:00 a.m. mr. biden is expected

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