a major lockdown since the pandemic began. and heart break in afghanistan. 1 million young children at risk of dying from starvation. >> announcer: live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom" with rosemary church. good to have you with us. well, the biden administration is struggling to deal with these surprisingly swift spread of covid cases and at the same time is trying to reassure xan exasperated american public. nothing has been good enough yet insisted america is better prepared now than during earlier surges. still long lines like these prove there's not enough covid tests to meet the high demand from americans who desperately want to spend time with their loved ones this holiday season and feel safe doing so. cnn's jeff zeleny picks up the story. >> reporter: when president biden ock biden acknowledging in a nuint interview clearly marking the surge in cases here in the u.s. he was defensive on one hand in an abc news interview but also tried to really explain why no one could have foreseen this rapid surge. >> no, i don't think it's a failure. i think it's a -- you could argue that we should have known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago, a month ago. i ordered half a billion of the pills, 500 million pills -- excuse me 500 million test kits that are going to be able to set to any home in america if anybody wants them. but the answer is, yeah, i wish i had thought about ordering half a billion pills two months ago before covid hit here. >> but, in fact, many experts say you could see this coming, so there are questions of why more tests were not ready. now, there are going to be about a half a billion at-home tests mailed in the month of january, but the question is will that be too late. now the president also seemed to struggle between the idea of pills and tests, so a bit of confusion there on that part. but no doubt he said and wanted to stress this year with the hares certainly different than a year ago because of vaccinations. he said the country is at an entirely different place. the world of course is as well. the president clearly, though, trying to take command of this which has certainly alluded him. but also in that abc news interview david muir asked the president about his own re-election prospects. did he plan to run for re-election? watch what he says when he talks about president trump. >> yes. but, look, i'm a great respecter of fate. fate has intervened in my life many, many timesch if i'm in the health i'm in now, i'm in good health, in fact i would run again. >> and if that means a rematch against donald trump? >> you're trying to tempt me now. sure. why would i not run against donald trump if he were nominee? that would even increase the prospect of running. >> certainly that of course is many years to come. the challenges now facing this white house are much more severe on the pandemic trying to contain this. of course, the president's political fortunes are deeply tied into all of this. but clearly heading into the holidays the white house on edge during this christmas, certainly ending this year in a complicated step, again, with the pandemic. jeff zeleny, cnn, the white house. >> there is a new pill that could be a real game changer in the battle against the coronavirus. the fda has now authorized pfizer's anti-viral pill to treat covid-19 in the u.s. it's meant for people ages 12 and older at risk of severe illness. and some positive news on the omicron variant. two new studies from south africa and scotland suggest a reduced risk of covid-19 hospitalization when infected with omicron compared to delta. meantime, in new york 12 broadway shows have been canceled due to covid-19 outbreaks. the state reported nearly 29,000 new covid cases on wednesday, breaking its own highest daily case count record. and washington, d.c. also set a new daily record reporting more than 1,500 cases on tuesday. i want to bring in dr. megan ranee now, a professor of emergency medicine and associate dean of public health at brown university. thank you, doctor, for all that you do and for talking with us. >> thank you. it's a joy to join you. >> wonderful. so the fda just authorized the first anti-viral covid pill that promises to dramatically reduce hospitalizations and deaths, but it requires early diagnosis for it to work. and supply may also be an issue here. how big a game changer could this pfizer pill prove to be despite these obstacles, do you think? >> this approval is one of the first real pieces of good news that we've had about covid in a very long time. this is the first new therapeutic to be approved since remdesivir and the monoclonal antibodies and could not come at a better time. the ability to prescribe people pills they can take in the comfort of their own home and help prevent hospitalization, intensive care unit stays or death, that could be transformational on the effect of covid on society. but as you noted there are some issues. the first is you have to take it relatively quickly after you get sick. and we have a lack of testing here in the united states right now. the second issue is that we're not going to have adequate supply for quite a while. they're saying we're going to have around 65,000 doses this year, another 200,000 in january. that's just a drop in the bucket in the face of omicron. and the third thing is i worry this pill is going to be available largely to those with privilege, to the wealthy and not to those who are necessarily highest risk for those severe outcomes. >> right. that always is a concern in these sorts of situations, isn't it? and doctor, omicron infections appear to be falling sharply in south africa suggesting we could perhaps see a sudden drop in omicron infections elsewhere in a just a matter of weeks, although that is clearly not certain. what do you make of the data coming out of south africa right now? and does it give you any comfort or hope? >> it does give me hope but hope with a big caveat. there's so much about south africa different from the u.k., from europe or from the united states. it is summer there. folks are spending time mostly outdoors, and the demographics of south african society are different. it is a much younger society, and a huge percentage of folks have been exposed to the delta variant. so although it may be what rises quickly also falls quickly, that would be wonderful if we see that happen elsewhere across the globe. i'm not fully confident we'll see exactly the same pattern across the rest of the world particularly those of us in the northern hemisphere. our indoor mixing right now sets up for omicron spreading a little longer. >> doctor, you mentioned this, those lines for covid testing, still too long with some people waiting for more than three hours in some instances. and the white house has announced plans to increase testing, but that won't happen for weeks. so what should people do over the next few days when sure they don't put vulnerable family members in jeopardy? >> so the first and biggest thing is if you have symptoms, runny nose, sniffles, coughs, certainly body aches or fever, please stay home. make that appointment online for your local department of health or pharmacy to get a test, but don't go out and about if you have symptoms. the second thing is if you have to have been lucky enough to stock up on rapid tests, if you are asymptomatic and vaccinated and you're going to be having a family get together, i strongly recommend a rapid test right beforehand. not a day beforehand but really an hour or two of that get together to minimize the risk anyone is infectious. and the third thing is this is a good time to dial things back a little bit. i know we are all so exhausted by this pandemic. no one wants to go back into lockdowns, but for the sake of your family now is a good time to up your masking, try to decrease the socializing and avoid crowded indoor spaces as much as you can. >> great advice there. and doctor, most people who are fully vaccinated and boosted are getting frustrated and angry with those refusing to get even one shot. and of course hospitals and health care workers as you would well know are paying the price. is it time, perhaps, for health insurance companies to consider what osaustralia might do which is bill those who refuse to get vaccinated but then get sick with the full cost of their hospital medical expenses? >> i honestly don't see something like that flying here in the united states. certainly there's a precedent for charging people different rates for life insurance or other forms of insurance, but we don't typically see it in health insurance here in the u.s. for a variety of reasons. it is exhausting and frustrating as a health care worker to be continuing to take care of patients who are severely ill with a disease that the worst of which can be largely prevented by vaccines, but as health care workers this is our oath to take care of folks no matter what life choices they make. i just hope that more people decide to go and get their shots before it's too late. >> yeah. of course the problem is they're taking up beds for cancer patients. those patients with heart conditions. it is a very sad situation that could be worked out. doctor, thank you so much for talking with us, and happy holidays to you. >> thank you. you, too. stay healthy. >> thank you. well, china is launching what appears to be its biggest covid lockdown yet. some 13 million people are being ordered to stay at home in the central city of shian after a spike in locally transmitted infections. 63 new cases were recorded on wednesday, the most since xi'an's outbreak began two weeks ago. and mass testing is already under way. china has now basically blocked off xi'an with transportation to and from the city suspended just as it did with wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic early last jeer. china's strictest lockdown category is referred to as sealed areas which ban people from leaving their homes and requires groceries to be delivered. the next level is called "controlled," and that's where xi'an is right now. it allows one household member to leave every other day to get food in the neighborhood. and the least serious category is prevention, which advises people to work from home and avoid public transportation. more now from sulalina wang. >> reporter: the city has recorded over 200 covid-19 cases since december 9th. one designated person from each household will be allowed to leave every two days to buy groceries. otherwise residents are only allowed to leave in the case of a medical emergency or for, quote, urgent or necessary works. that's according to the local government. it's also shutdown all schools, public and transport facilities except for essential service providers. this is the fourth time a major chinese city has been placed under strict lockdown. the first was back in early 2020 when wuhan, ground zero of the pandemic wept into lock down. with the games now less than 45 days away the country is doubling down on its zero covid strategy. cities are locking down a mass testing residence. olympic participants will have to be in a strict bubble and tested daily. if they are not vaccinated they'll have to quarantine for 21 days upon arrival. if china pulls off the winter olympics successfully, it would be a propaganda win for its handling of covid-19 and its authoritarian system. coming up a new lawsuit aims to block a subpoena from the new house committee investigating the january 6th capitol riot. we'll have the details just ahead. and a verdict in gulain maxwell's sex trafficking trial will just have to wait until after the christmas holiday. the details just ahead. stay with us. you a lollipop... but then i give you our best lollipop. that's not fair. at at&t we think it's only fair that all customers get our best deals, and you get a choice of plans. she said everyone? 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who won the election on the 3rd? donald trump. i was the person who came up with the january 6th idea -- >> stop the steal. >> reporter: trump's allies have spent the past year repeatedly questioning the 2020 election, and the house select committee's investigation into the deadly insurrection january 6th. >> this actually exonerates me, and this evidence is actually going to exonerate president donald j. trump. >> reporter: and now they're taking another page from trump's play book. the former president has filed his own lawsuit now making its way through the courts trying to stop the national archives from handsing over hundreds of pages of documents including white house visitor and call logs and drafts and speeches and hand written notes. in recent weeks more lawsuits have poured in from trump's chief of staff mark meadows, trump's first national security advisor michael flynn, john eastman, the conservative lawyer who wrote a memo detailing how vp mike pence could interrupt the certification of the election results, alex jones, mitchell an election lawyer for trump, alexander, one of it planners of the stop the steal rally and a handful of other rally organizers. all have sued to stop the committee or to stop phone companies from turning over their records to the committee. a judge in flynn's case just denied a request to immediately step in and block a subpoena for his testimony and any request for his phone records as his case moves forward. >> the foundation is not based on a legislative purpose. >> reporter: mark meadows is challenging the basic premise of the committee, and others have followed his lead. in meadows' suit his lawyers write the select committee acts absent any legislative power. meadows handed over thousands of records to the committee, but when he refused to meet with them, the house voted to refer him for possible prosecution for criminal contempt of congress. >> but truly the executive privilege that donald trump has claimed is his to waive. it's not mine to waive, not congress' to waive. and that's why we filed the lawsuit to hopefully get the courts to weigh in. >> reporter: democrats are pledging their probe won't be impeded, stressing hundreds of witnesses have already cooperated even as a handful fight in court. >> we won't stop fighting for democracy, rule of law, won't back down, won't be intimidated. we're going to keep going. >> reporter: jessica schneider, cnn, washington. jurors ended a third day of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the manslaughter trial of kimberley potter. the former minnesota police officer claims she mistook her handgun for a taser when she fatally shot 20-year-old daunte wright, an unarmed black man back in april. the jurors have indicated they are struggling to reach a verdict. wright's death setoff several days of protests. prosecutors argue potter was negligent in drawing the wrong weapon. the defense says it was an unfortunate accident but not a crime. the jury in the sex trafficking trial of guerlain maxwell has adjourned for the holiday without reaching a verdict. the socialite is accused of luring teen girls to be sexually abused by her former boyfriend and associate jeffrey epstein. the latest now. >> reporter: after roughly 16 hours of deliberations, no verdict yet in the sex trafficking trial of guerlain maxwell. late last night jurors asked for additional testimony. they wanted to see kate's testimony. she had testified that guerlain maxwell had recruited her and lured her into giving jeffrey epstein massages, massages she said turned sexual. they also want to hear the testimony of juan alessee, the palm beach house manager. and alessee testified he'd found sex toys after amassages and he'd drove jane, another accuser to the airport and he was warned to be blind, dumb and deaf about their lies. the jury has now requested the testimony of all four accusers after on tuesday asking to see the testimony of accusers jean, any and carolyn. the judge warned the jurors to stay safe and said they could take n-95 masks with them because of the new variant. as for maxwell she'll spend her 60th birthday on christmas day in jail. and still to come, long lines and low supplies. many americans are scrambling to find covid tests before the holidays. why some are confused about which type of test to get. plus we are live in europe as one country reports more than 100,000 covid infections in a single day. back in just a moment. 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[ joe ] clearchoice has changed my life for the better. it's given me my health back. there's an amazing life out there if you do something for your health now. xfinity rewards are our way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like sing family fun nights! rent sing for $1 then belt out all your favorite tunes from the movie with sing karaoke. plus, see sing 2 in theaters with buy-one-get-one free fandango tickets. join over a million members by signing up for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards. welcome back, everyone. well, for many americans getting a covid test on this holiday has been very difficult. the supplies are dwindling and wait times i increasing, and health officials say demand is only going to get bigger. cnn's brian todd looks at the testing options available. >> happy holidays. >> reporter: from california to d.c., the lines of people waiting to get free covid tests many of them unable to buy test kits in stores are now extending around city blocks. and to say patience is wearing thin is putting it mildly. >> very frustrated. i've been looking for a test for about all week actually for a few days now. all of the cvss near me are out. they don't expect to get any in until friday. >> reporter: the demand for test kits is so high cvs, wal-mart, walgreens are limiting the number of test kits customers can buy, but many simply can't find them at all. >> we searched around on all the websites. everything is full because of the holidays. >> reporter: many people are confused over what kind of covid test to get. >> it's kind of confusing what's actually correct and what i need to be able to go home for christmas, see my family and all that stuff. >> there are three big categories of tests, and in each of those categories there's a bunch of manufacturers, a bunch of different ways you can do the tests. it's all awfully complicated for the average american to figure out. >> reporter: over-the-counter at home tests from these manufacturers are now authorized by the fda. experts say they all work well. >> in general for the purposes that most people are using tests today, which is to ask am i a risk to others around me, the rapid tests you can pick up on the shelf tend to perform very, very well for that use. >> reporter: there are three basic categories of tests. there are laboratory pcr tests. pcr standing for polymerest chain reaction. experts say those are the most accurate, most expensive tests done in labs which amplify the genetic material that may be in your system. experts say the pcr test is what you want if you want to figure out whether to go back to the office or travel. there are also rapid antigen tests which people can conduct at home, which are cheaper and can return results in as little as 15 minutes. >> the antigen test, the rapid at home test is the right thing to do if you want a rapid time sensitive assessment of whether or not you are infectious right before you go into a gathering. >> reporter: and there are antibody tests which can indicate if you have some protection from a previous covid-19 infection or vaccine. one expert says no matter what kind of tests you want to take because of the test kit shortage it's important to make your test count. if you have just one test available -- >> if you feel symptoms, come on, don't -- don't use the test right away. assume you are positive and isolate and quarantine. use the test on day two or day three. >> reporter: another key piece of advice we're getting from experts as we head to more holiday gatherings, they say if you've got a test at home and you're going to or are hosting the holiday gathering take the test as close in time as you can. not one or two days before, not a few hours before but maybe 20 to 30 minutes before the gathering so you can get the most accurate gauge of what to do. experts say we're going to have to ride this out for probably one or two more months before more tests are widely available to everyone. brian todd, cnn, washington. the wave of new covid restrictions across europe is moving nearly as fast as the omicron variant itself. spain is set to bring back outdoor mask mandates starting christmas eve. and belgium is canceling indoor events and activities although gyms and museums can stay open. meanwhile, the u.k. reported more than 106,000 new covid cases on wednesday. it's the first time the country has crossed the 100,000 threshold since the pandemic started. so let's cross over to london now. good to see you, nada. so we know that omicron is more contagious than delta and clearly the number of u.k. infections reflects this, but what about hospitalizations and deaths? what do those u.k. numbers reveal and of course the restrictions? >> that is the concern now, how these figures translate to the hospitalization rate we're seeing in the u.k. as you mentioned that sobering figure more than 100,000 cases of those new cases. more than 13,000 confirmed to be the omicron variant. and the warning we're hearing from health experts if urgent action isn't taken in these next few weeks before the new year we could be seeing a surge in hospital admissions in january, and that's the concern now. we're seeing in london in particular a significant rise in hospital admissions, and that's important to note because london is really where we're seeing that vast spread of omicron cases, so there is a real sense of focus now on how these figures will translate. the government has said it is monitoring these trends hour by hour in order to take a look at its response and the accurate response to those -- to those figures. but at this stage the government isn't bringing forth any new measures before christmas although it has said it could see tougher restrictions after christmas. >> in terms of infections, hospitalizations and restrictions there. >> well, rosemary, in europe we have been seeing a surge in those numbers as well and of course we've seen stricter restrictions being brought into force by a number of european countries by the director of europe for w.h.o. has said while there isn't a reason to panic at this stage, european leaders need to take a look at the measures they're bringing into force. take a listen. >> we should be very concerned, but there's no reason for panic. what we see is that it transmits three times faster than the delta and it is globally and that the doubling time is two to three days in countries like the united kingdom, denmark. so it means we have only limited strategies to come through the winter keeping it down. >> the strategies we're seeing implemented across europe but a boost to jabs for people to go out and get their third jab. and several extending to its youngest age group, 5 to 11-year-olds. we've seen restrictions come into force. in france, for example, new year's eve celebrations have been canceled. indoor events in belgium strictly restricted now and spain reimposing its mask mandate. there's a number of other european countries taking those tougher measures. rosemary? >> appreciate it. with pressure mounting the biden administration moves to get more humanitarian aid into afghanistan. we're back with that in just a moment. 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. mom, hurry! our show's gonna start soon! i promised i wouldn't miss the show and mommy always keeps her promises. oh, no! seriously? hmm! it's not the same if she's not here. oh. -what the. oh my goodness! i don't suppose you can sing, can you? ♪ the snow's comin' down ♪ -mommy? ♪ i'm watching it fall ♪ watch the full story at www.xfinity.com/sing2 the biden administration is lifting restrictions to allow more humanitarian aid into afghanistan. aid groups will be exempt from the economic sanctions imposed on the taliban. the u.s. treasury daepartment's action will provide support for educational programs including teacher's salaries. the u.s. will also send 1 million additional covid-19 vaccines in the coming weeks. administration officials say planning is under way at the u.n. to support civil servants beyond teachers. now, those moves come as u.n. aid agencies warn 1 million children are at risk of dying from starvation if relief doesn't arrive soon. ana coren reports on the humanitarian efforts. and we must warn you the images are difficult to watch. >> reporter: a little girl sobs gently rubbing her ears. in a feeble attempt to ease the pain tormenting her body. she doesn't have the energy to cry the way other sick children do. camilla is exhausted. as she lies in a hospital bed in kandahar, southern afghanistan, slowly starving to death. the 2 1/2-year-old weighs just over 5 kilograms, 11 pounds, about a third of what a normal toddler her age should. her mother is sick and we are poor people, explains camilla's grandmother. she tried to breast-feed but had no milk to give. camilla now one of at least a million afghan children under the age of 5 at risk of dying from starvation. for months the u.n. has been sounding the alarm warning that afghanistan was on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. the taliban takeover on the 15th of august saw international funds immediately dry up triggering an economic collapse in an already impoverished country where foreign aid represented 43% of the country's gdp and 75% of government spending according to the world bank. but as the u.s. with holds billions of dollars in afghan reserves and sanctions are imposed on the taliban government, the west's attempt to force fundamental change in the group are hurting the afghan people. and with the country in the grips of winter facing one of the worst droughts in decades, the most vulnerable are paying the price. in this hospital in northwestern afghanistan up to 100 mothers and children turn up each day with varying cases of malnutrition. the doctor has been working here for the past six years and has never seen this level of desperation. >> translator: almost 70% of the cases is severe and this is in the city. imagine how the districts are. if nobody pays attention, it's going to get much worse. we are in a disaster. >> reporter: one of his patients receiving treatment is this little girl. this is her third visit to the hospital in eight months. >> translator: there is no work, no income, no food to bring her. sometimes we have nothing to eat. every time i see her i get upset. >> reporter: the humanitarian community is collectively issuing an s.o.s. u.n. hcr says the country is witnessing unprecedented levels of hunger now inflicting its population of 38 million people. international rescue committee describes a global system failure fueling the crisis naming afghanistan the most at-risk country of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the year ahead. while the international committee and the red cross says the country is on the precipice of man made catastrophe. the world food program has been distributing aid around the country. and says the middle class teachers and civil servants are now joining the poor in the queues. >> please, please think of just the ordinary people of afghanistan, the children of afghanistan who are facing into a winter of abject hunger and destitution through no fault of their own, through just a lottery of birth. >> reporter: dr. paul spiegel from john hopkins university has just returned from afghanistan consulting for the world food program and is alarmed by what he saw. he says afghanistan's health system that once relied on 80% of its funding from international donors is now barely functioning and blames the west's sanctions which are gravely impacting government-run hospitals, imploring for the system to be changed. >> the western government, u.s., u.k., the eu have to make some decisions quickly or it's going to be too late. and therefore it's going to be a tremendous amount of i would say unnecessary deaths. >> reporter: for little camilla her trip to hospital has saved her life for now. after 15 days she's been discharged with some medicine that may last a few weeks. she's not very well but at least she's alive says her grandmother. it's better from the first day we brought her here. but having put on just a few 100 grams her fate is as precarious of that of her country, edging closer to the abyss. ana coren, cnn. >> the doctor is the u.n. secretary-general's special representative to afghanistan. he joins me now from kabul. thank you, doctor, for being with us. >> thank you for inviting me. >> those images, they're simply shocking, children slowly dying of starvation. what needs to be done right now to change this horrendous situation? >> well, first of all, we have seen yesterday the u.n. security council resolution and the new offer of licenses from the u.s. treasury. we needed that much, asked for flexibility to move forward to scale our response to reach to the remote areas, to go to the places we have not been able to reach before and to expand the scope of what it is we're doing. we have received now that possibility. we are grateful, and we are moving forward. we need money and continued support. >> and doctor, the u.s. is lifting restrictions to allow this and more aid to get into afghanistan. talk to us about how significant a move like that is. >> it is a major move. first of all, we have a very clear way forward, a lot of clarity is provided, and the exemptions given are giving all ngos and all the partners we're working with is a clear path to engage. and in broad sectors including education, including health, agriculture and looking also into the rule of law and basic human needs aspects, it is very important development. it couldn't come at a better time because the winter is harsh and we're seeing as you saw from the images today a very difficult situation on the grounds. >> yeah, it is simply heart breaking. and of course the challenge here is to provide humanitarian aid without supporting the taliban. how can that be done? >> well, the vast majority of the population here is not linked anyhow directly to the taliban or other groups. we're talking about the teachers. we're talking about the social workers. we're talking about health workers. all of those people are there. they worked hard almost 20 years to create savings, to create their livelihoods. the way of working with us now is to engage with the communities, support the livelihoods of farmers on the grounds, rural afghanistan is very poor. and that's where the focus needs to be these days to reach those people in the harsh winter months to help them improve support health services and to enable them to harvest in the spring. >> in the end, though, do you think the international community will need to lift most of the sanctions that seem to be hurting the afghan people more than the taliban? >> the sanctions and the flexibilities which we have provided now, this is a constant communication mechanism because all the international community is involved in providing this assistance. when we're facing hurdles we're communicating, we're making it known and we are able to obtain the exemptions. i think there's a lot of good will in the united states, in europe and all around the world because nobody wants to see those horrific pictures of children. and it's heart breaking. and trust me, i am visiting those hospitals and interacting with people on a daily basis. again, appreciating the flexibilities we've been providing them. >> doctor, thank you so much for talking with us, and we hope to see this situation turned around sooner rather than later. appreciate you talking with us. >> thank you very much. and thank you for covering faun and supporting the people of afghanistan at this time. >> of course. thank you so much. well, it is beginning to look a lot like christmas here in the united states, but for some parts of the country it may feel more like a tropical christmas than a winter wonderland. what you can expect when we come back. our retailers have been shg the love with those who need it most. now subaru is the largest automotive donor to make-a-wish and meals on wheels. and the largesest corporate dor to the aspca and national park foundation. get a new subaru during the share the love event and subaru will donate two hundred and fifty dollars to charity. feeling sluggish or weighed down? it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at it's best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar 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you powerful relief for your worst cold and flu symptoms, on sunday night and every night. nyquil severe. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. did you know some deodorants may not last all day? secret works immediately! and is designed to last for up to 48 hours. with secret, keep it fresh. available in over 10 amazing scents and aluminum free. secret. one person is confirmed dead, at least 50 others are believed to be missing after a landslide at a jade mine in myanmar. it happened on wednesday, sweeping dozens of workers into a lake and burying them under debris. pictures showed crews looking for survivors, with families watching from the shore, hoping their loved one also be found alive. but some rescue workers say that's not likely. deadly accidents are common in myanmar's jade industry. at least six people were reported killed last weekend in a separate land slide. so here it is, almost christmas, and many in the u.s. are turning on the air conditioners instead of fireplaces. record high temperatures are predicted across the southern part of the country, and our meteorologist joins us now to talk more about this. good to see you, tyler. it is a strange world we're living in right now. what can we expect to see across the u.s. in terms of weather conditions for the holidays? >> yeah, is it winter or is it spring? it's hard to tell outside right now. as you can see with the map sbhinld me, some of us, especially from the central plains down to the southern plains, dealing with temperatures in the 70s and 80s for highs today. eventually, that will start to migrate to the east. in fact, i think 2/3 of the country will be seeing temperatures about 20 degrees above average by the time we get to christmas eve and christmas day. let's look at -- let's look at atlanta, georgia, where you can see temperatures are going to shoot up to 70 degrees by the time we get to this weekend. and those temperatures are going to continue to hover around 70 degrees or so, if not warmer for afternoon highs, on into next week, too. now, not only is it going to not feel so much like christmas across the southeast, but we don't have to worry about travel worries in that part of the country. can't say the same about other parts of the country. we have moderate to major, and if not extreme impacts across the west coast today. and then we see that spread and push a little further to the east once we get into friday. so we expect travel impacts across the west coast in the next couple of days leading into christmas. it's because of this area of low pressure pushing to the east. it's going to tap into some moisture across the pacific, and that spells a lot in the way of rainfall, as well as snowfall across the west coast, rosemary. coming up next hour, we'll be talking about the temperatures a little bit more. >> look forward to that. tyler, many thanks as always. while the u.s. is heating up, parts of india have been cooling down, as they experience a winter chill. temperatures dropped to 5 degrees celsius this week in new delhi, one of the coldest days this season. and even in one of the comparatively balmy regions of the country, one national park bundled up its baby elephants in blankets to protect them from the chill. i'm rosemary church. thank you very much for your company. i'll be back with more world news. stay with us here on "cnn newsroom." oh no. for the gifts you won't forget. the mercedes-benz winter event. get a credit toward your first month's payment on select models. it's our holiday savings event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. what if i sleep hot? ...or cold? no problem, the sleep number 360 smart bed is temperature balancing so you both sleep just right. and it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. so, you can really promise better sleep? yes! you'll know exactly how well you slept, night after night. we take care 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