coronavirus infections have been a key metric in what's to come here. a first indicator, if you will, before hospitalizations and in worst cases death. but that may no longer be the case in 2022. >> i think this is the most important part of this moment in this pandemic. we have to do a shift. look, for two years infections always preceded hospitalizations which preceded deaths. so you could look at infections and know what was coming. this is the shift we've been waiting for in many ways. we're moving to a phase where if you're vaccinated, particularly if you're boosted, you might get an infection. it might be a couple of days of not feeling so great but you're going to bounce back. that's very different than what we have seen in the past so i no longer think infections generally should be the major metric. obviously we can continue to track infections among unvaccinated people because those people will end up in the hospital at the same rate. we have to focus on hospitalizations and deaths now. >> omicron surge of cases has now topped delta's, but hospitalizations haven't skyrocketed in the same way. they remain about 70% of what they were during the september peak. it's part of the reason many businesses are now pushing to shorten isolation times for asymptomatic cases. in new york state essential workers are now allowed to return to work just five days after testing positive. >> yeah, that's right. note here, it applies to workers who are fully vaccinated, don't be have symptoms and haven't had a fever for 72 hours. also note here, testing not required, perhaps because finding a quick pcr test in particular right now is nearly impossible unless you want to pay hundreds of dollars. coast to coast there have been long lines and days spent waiting for pcr results. >> i was just hoping to have a normal christmas with my wife and family and in the middle of the day her sister said she wasn't feeling well. she was able to get a rapid test and then coming back positive. i'm supposed to work this entire week so i'm going to make sure i have the knowledge that i am positive because i don't want to expose anybody. >> cruise ships with covid returning to u.s. ports. at least four cruise ships were turned away from ports in the americas recently because of virus cases on board. the disruptions are still though a far cry from march of 2020 when the pandemic shut down the entire industry. so cruise lines have used vaccination requirements and other precautions to try to minimize the outbreaks. the rate of ships forced to alter their plans appears to have ticked up. one passenger telling cnn, quote, we're sailing on a petat dish. >> they didn't inform us of anything. the only reason why we found out that people on the ship had covid is because the first destination we were told to go to, we sat there for a couple of hours and then we found out they wouldn't let us on the destination because of so many people on the ship having covid. >> we've heard varying stories. 5, 12, 25. >> they guaranteed them. i mean, it was safe. we had a good time. we'll do it again. >> i couldn't even go in the pool the whole time. we didn't touch one pool on that ship because everybody is in there all over each other. nobody's wearing masks. it was disgusting. nobody cared. >> the situation in airports, no better for holiday travelers. thousands of flights were canceled as staff and crew were calling out sick. millions of people still flying. what about a vaccine requirement for air travel? well, dr. fauci didn't dismiss the idea. >> a vaccine requirement for a person getting on the plane is just another level of getting people to have a mechanism that would spur them to get vaccinated, namely, you can't get on a plane unless you're vaccinated, which is just another one of the ways of getting requirements, whatever that might be. so, i mean, anything that could get people more vaccinated would be welcome. >> interesting to hear him say that especially since the president have not told him he needs to do it yet. meanwhile, airport crowds did ease a bits over the weekend, but the week of travel leading up to christmas, it rivaled pre-pandemic figures. nadia ramiro has more from hartsfield-jackson airport in atlanta. >> reporter: laura, paula, good morning to you. it hasn't been great here at atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport because of all of the cancellations and delays. some 2,000 flights canceled. when you add in global flights, international flights, you can triple that number. think of all of the numbers impacted. we spoke with people who said they were excited to have the flights canceled because that meant they got to see the family and other people were frustrated. they made it to the airport and they needed to get back to work monday and they can't because their flight was canceled. delta canceled 250 flights on wednesday. so that gave people notice but still interrupted their holiday travel plans. listen to some travelers talk about how it meant so much to them to finally see their family and friends after two years not seeing them since before the pandemic in 2019. take a listen. >> this is my in-laws. first time i've seen them in two years. yeah, it's been a while. 1 saw my mom for the first time in two years. i got my booster shot. first and foremost, i was due for it so i got it. been wearing my mask. i switched my seat to be next to one person instead of three other people. so just to keep my distance. so, yeah, my whole family's vaccinated and we felt safe. it was just immediate family. like ten people. >> reporter: now tsa tells us that they saw fewer passengers going through screen checkpoints. 8,000 passengers compared to the same time frame two years ago before the pandemic. you can attribute that to the coronavirus, omicron variant. spreading rapidly. cases rising across the country and all of those thousands of cancellations with the domino effect we're still feeling at the beginning of the week. laura, paula? >> the pandemic may be slowing travel but not holiday shopping. i believe i may have personally contributed to this trend. net retail sales over the holiday season up 8.5% according to master card which defines the holiday season as november 1st through december 24th. in store sales up 8% compared to last year. ecommerce sales were up 11%. despite all the warnings and concerns, nearly all packages delivered by u.p.s., fed ex or the usps delivered on time. a christmas miracle. >> i, too, i think contributed to a lot of the shopping boom. >> somehow doing it online doesn't feel the same. >> it doesn't. still ahead for you. follow the money. where did the financing for the capitol riot come from? the first subpoena from the january 6th committee to a bank is revealed. we'll tell you how. .. ...and dry, cracked skin. new gold bond advanced healing ointment. restore healthy skin, with no sticky feeling. gold bond. champion your skin. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom ♪ ♪ for me and you ♪ ♪ and i think to myself ♪ ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ a rich life is about more than just money. that's why at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner so you can build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. ray loves vacations. but his diabetes never seemed to take one. everything felt like a 'no'. everything. but then ray went from no to know. with freestyle libre 2, now he knows his glucose levels when he needs to. and... when he wants to. so ray... can be ray. take the mystery out of your glucose levels, and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free. visit freestylelibre.us go long! oh god, they'll never let us back in here. i'm james corden and i'm here to tell people that ww is getting even more personal. ahh! the new ww personalpoints program is particular to you. you can eat pizza. you can even eat this, if you want to. and these... in the same... i mean, not at the same time, i wouldn't do them at the same time. no two plans are the same. when can i start? join today for 50% off at ww.com. hurry, offer ends december 27th. 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 absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day. the los angeles police department is expected to release body cam footage from the shooting of a 14-year-old girl. she was killed in a police department store dressing room. the male suspect targeted by police was also shot and killed. no weapon was found at the scene. and in colorado today a hearing for a truck driver sentenced to 110 years prison for a deadly crash back in 2019. a judge is set to review rojo aguilera medera's clemency application to the governor's office. findings that brake failure contributed to the crash have sparked a national outcry. it frustrated the judge who originally sentenced him. cnn's lucy cavanaugh has that story. >> reporter: laura, paula, good morning. the district attorney is now asking the court to reconsider that lengthy 110 year prison sentence for him potentially reducing it to 20 or 30 years. just to remind our viewers, the truck driver was 23 years old at the time of the incident. he was going at about 85 miles an hour when his brakes failed. he was convicted of vehicular homicide. the da is not looking to overturn the conviction. in a statement she said he made multiple choices that resulted in the death of four people and adding the shorter sentence, quote, reflects an appropriate outcome for that conduct. at issue are colorado mandatory sentencing laws that require sentences to be served out consecutively rather than concurrently which is how he ended up with nearly a century behind bars. even a judge who sentenced him, quote, if i had the discretion it would not be my sentence. some colorado lawmakers now calling for legal reforms. take a listen. >> our system here at this building has created a situation where a judge at their own discretion who doesn't want to issue a sentence has had to issue that sentence. what we hope to achieve is reforms. that's really what this is about. we have to reform the system that is creating a situation where we are creating more victims of our justice system. we have to do that now. >> reporter: this case sparking national outrage. nearly 5 million people signing a petition urging the colorado governor to either reduce his sentence or grant clemency. kim kardashian got involved tweeting about this calling for legal reforms. the governor's office, meanwhile, saying the governor's office is reviewing this clemency request. paula, laura, back to you. an accidental christmas day shooting has a 3-year-old child hospitalized this morning in asheville, north carolina. police say the unidentified child accessed the firearm and fired it saturday afternoon. no word on the condition of the toddler. an investigation is underway. it's important to note though in 2020 in the u.s. more than 5,100 children younger than 18 were killed and injured in gun violence. omicron not holding back movie goers from the theaters. at least in one case, the first billion dollar film of the pandemic era. that's next. >> that was when you found out. ♪ (man) still asleep. 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-easy? switch your xfinity services to your new address online in about a minute. that was easy. i know, right? and even save with special offers just for movers. really? yep! so while you handle that, you can keep your internet and all those shows you love, and save money while you're at it with special offers just for movers at xfinity.com/moving. archbishop desmond tutu was one of our nation's finest patriots. he was a man of unwavering courage, of principled conviction and whose life was spent in the service of others. he in many ways em bodied the essence of our humanity. >> tributes like that pouring in this morning for archbishop desmond tutu. a hero in the fight against apartheid. he died sunday in south africa at the age of 90. >> unfortunately when you say let bygones be bygones, they aren't tlaeft way. what we are saying is we need to look the beast in the eye, deal effectively with our past and then we can close the door on the past and concentrate on the present and the future. >> that was archbishop tutu on cnn in 1998 speaking about the truth and reconciliation commission, a corner stone of the racial justice process in south africa. the nobel peace prize winner was wildly haled for playing a critical role for ending apartheid in the '90s alongside former president nelson mandela. larry, a week of remembrances in store for a man revered far beyond south africa. >> reporter: that's right, laura. the south african government, the whole country in mourning for a man they called the arch. there will be a funeral service on new year's day on 1st january in cape town. so far the government in south africa telling the world this is a global bereavement for this man who believed and fought against apartheid because he said racial segregation was evil. that's why he won the nobel prize in 1984, almost a whole decade before apartheid fell in south africa. even after that he found causes to rally against. he marched against the iraq war. he was a prominent activist for lgbtq rights. he had a great sense of humor who was comfortable preaching in some of the world's biggest cathedrals or chatting with jon stewart on "the daily show." that is why you see tributes from the dalai lama, queen of england, prime minister of india and he's one of the greatest africans to ever live and he left an indelible mark against the fight of justice. president biden said they were hurt to hear about the death of a man who was in service and to god. >> incredible life. thank you so much, larry. appreciate it. authorities in xian china are taking extreme measures against covid. the entire city is being disinfected. the whole area is in lockdown. steven jiang is live in beijing. what are you learning on the ground about the extreme measures? >> paula, that's right. the draconian measures in she an is something we haven't seen. xi an, 13 million residents placed under strict lockdown. each household being allowed to send out one resident every other day to the grocery store. even that is suspended as the authorities there began another round of city wide mass testing. so this is really a familiar page from their playbook in containing the virus. mass testing, mass quarantining and extensive contact tracing. disinfecting, spraying disinfectants throughout the sprawling metropolis with authorities warning residents to keep their doors and windows shut and not to touch any outside surfaces and this is a reflection of them taking no chances. the government insists their zero covid policy is working well. according to the fast number of cases outside of chinese borders including in the rest of asia pacific. in singapore, authorities are forcing strangers who have tested positive for covid to share the same room in quarantine facilities over their 10-day mandatory isolation. officials say they have to do this to optimize capacity as they face a slew of new infections in that city state. paula? >> steven, thank you so much for that report. a lot of chemicals looks like they're spraying. yikes. all right. this is something to look forward to this weekend. friends, collaborators, legends. carol king and james taylor in an unforgettable conference film, just call out my name, sunday at 9 only on cnn. issuing the first confirmed subpoena for bank information. that subpoena was september to jpmorgan ordering it to hand over financial information for taylor butterwicz. >> it's not clear if the bank has already turned over the documents because he missed the deadline to dispute this request. the committee has moved aggressively in recent weeks and is using subpoena power to follow the money around the pro trump rallies that led to the insurrection. when it comes to the holiday weather, quite a contrast across the country. thousands of customers left without power sunday after a storm hit the pacific northwest dumping almost 30 inches of snow across the sierra nevada. several highways had to close. on the flip side, however, texas and oklahoma were seeing temperatures in the 90s to welcome in christmas day. here's our meteorologist pedram javaheri. >> reporter: this is what's happening around the u.s. record cold in parts of the west and northwest and extreme heat in the east. it goes for large heat this week. towards friday, upwards of almost 200 record temps in place for a maximum high and warm overnight temperatures. largely around the southern u.s. now where temps in new orleans, houston, atlanta running as much as 20 degrees above seasonal averages. the 80s, the 60s, the 70s where you expect the 50s. in the northeast, some changes on the horizon. a couple of disturbances push through. another one on tuesday with a few showers and cold enough in the interior portion of say pennsylvania and new york where there are some winter weather alerts where there are ice secretions possible. generally a quarter of an inch or left. it could exceed or get up to half an inch or less. notice the western u.s., it is an absolute mess. significant snow into the higher elevations. heavy rainfall, even for southern california. temperatures as cold as 2 degrees in billings 267892 in seattle and in the 80s in south texas. guys? >> thank you. "early start" continues right now. good monday morning, this is ea"early start." i'm laura jarrett. >> i'm paula reid in for christine romans. >> so great to have you. time for our top stories to keep an eye on today. another 700 flights in the u.s. already canceled today driven by staff calling out sick and snow in the pacific northwest. about 3,000 u.s. flights canceled over the holiday weekend. meantime new york city's new workplace vaccine mandate for the private sector goes into effect today. impacting about 184,000 businesses. >> jury watch in manhattan. dlib ber ragtss will continue in the sex trafficking case of ghislaine maxwell. she has pleaded not guilty to all six charges against her. she faces up to 70 years in prison. and the jury in the fraud trial of elizabeth holmes returns today to deliberate her fate. the former ceo of theranos is accused of frauding financial backers, customers and patients in believing her blood testing startup was going to revolutionize medicine. and a clemency hearing for a truck driver sentenced to 110 years in a fatal crash. he said his brakes failed while he was traveling at 85 miles an hour. the judge originally said at sentencing his hands were tied by the state's mandatory minimum for the crime. today the lapd releases body cam footage from the shooting death of a 14-year-old girl. the teen was killed thursday in a department store dressing room when police fired at a different person, a suspect inside that store. and a third college football bowl game is now up in the air. the university of miami pulled out of friday's sun bowl because of the covid surge. officials at washington state are now trying to find a replacement opponent for the game. with 2022 right around the corner, the world is wondering what will life look fliek year three of the pandemic. i can't believe i'm saying year three, but so far omicron seems to pose a less deadly threat to vaccinated people. this virus is still spreading like wildfire around the globe at an alarming rate potentially causing disruptions for the foreseeable future. >> the issue that we don't want to get complacent about, john, is that when you have such a high volume of new infections, it might override a real diminution in severity. so that if you have many, many, many, many more people with a less level of severity, that might kind of neutralize the positive effect of having less severity when you have so many more people and we're particularly worried about those who are in that unvaccinated class. >> still, some public health officials are confident that 2022 could be the year we finally get covid under control. >> i think it is definite ly th year we get this under control. no one thinks of this as the holiday season we were looking for. contrast it to last year. it's so much better. well, next holiday season i doubt covid will be completely gone. it won't be gone. it will be endemic, it will be around but it will be much, much better than this year. while the virus continues to change, so do we. we're building better tools. we'll have more variants. i'm absolutely convinced we'll have more variants but each will impact us less and less and we will get to a point by the end of this new year coming up, we'll get to a point where we'll see new waves of infection, it will not have a big effect on hospitals. >> all right. it's time for three questions in three minutes. let's bring in dr. eric choi pena. he's an emergency room physician at staten island university and director of global health at northwell health. thank you for being here with us. really appreciate everything that you are doing right now. you are in what is again the epicenter in new york which reported its highest case count ever this christmas eve. nearly 50,000 new cases, which is just mind boggling, but at the same time hospitalizations are nowhere near where they were during those early, awful days of the pandemic, which is a good thing, except, except for what's happening with kids. that's what i want to ask you about. there's been this four-fold increase in hospitalizations among kids in new york city. why do you think that's happening? >> so i think -- good morning, by the way. thank you for having me. i think that the increase in pediatric case probably is is twofold. number one, that it represents a population in new york city that isn't fully vaccinated yet or may not be fully vaccinated. under 5 may not be eligible for vaccination so we are going to see, i think, more cases. i think the other thing that may happen is because omicron is so infectious, we're seeing a lot of people who are hospitalized but not hospitalized for covid. getting hospitalized for another reason and because we're testing all of our admissions they're a positive case and act as a positive hospitalized case. it isn't to say we are seeing severe disease in children. we are in some children but it's still a small population. we're seeing a lot of sur row kbats for the fact that this is a very, very infectious variants. >> i know friends who have the flu, rsv, end up in the hospital. >> exactly. we saw new york city cut the time from ten days to five. is this part of a broader trend? is this too quick? is it ultimately fair to the workers? do they have enough time to recover? >> part of that reduction is that they need to be -- have improving symptoms or symptom free, fever free certainly. one of the things we're seeing is because we have 100% vaccinated hell care, we're seeing vaccinated people do recover a lot quicker than people who are unvaccinated. we are taking advantage of that. the fact had a it can be a very mild or asymptomatic infection. if they don't have any symptoms per se by day five or six, we have used it as a way of reinforcing our lines and making sure people who are fighting this get relief and have the relief that they need. it is a balance. you certainly don't want someone coming to work and feeling sick. that's not the intent of the reduction. >> it shows you the desperation. we wouldn't be doing this if hospitals weren't already on the brink of collapse and worried about being able to sustain the latest wave. i want to ask you about college students. so many came home for the holidays from school just as this virus was sort of taking off. what do you think the best approach is going forward over these next coming weeks? should college students go back to campus? should they stay remote? what do you think is the balance there? >> yeah, i think we need to balance this as well. look at the college specifically. do they have a vaccine mandate? are they asking their students to be boosted before they return to campus. the second thing is you have to use testing. they have to test before they arrive on campus, shortly after they arrive on campus. using testing will prevent us from having to go remote or avoiding these kind of lockdown situations. i think the more we test, the more information we have, the better we can adjust our lives around this pandemic. >> now dr. fauci suggested that a rough winter of covid could actually help create some form of immunity through infection. it's been a rough two years. do you agree that a bad few months could ultimately help in the long run? >> so i think it could. i think it's different saying it's an observation versus that's what should happen. i think we should avoid getting infected, get our boosters and get vaccinated if we're on the fence about that. certainly the more that this virus is exposed to us, like the previous guest said in that talk, we're going to get more and more use today it. our bod kwlis get more and more used to it. it will cause less severe infection. it's becoming, like they said, endemic. it really will just be like the flu season. much less severe. hospitals won't feel it as much as they do now and we'll get back to normal life. >> doctor, thank you so much for joining us and good luck with everything you do. we appreciate it. >> thanks so much. have a good one. a shortage of rental cars is adding to the holiday travel pain. the return of leisure travel left companies like avis and hertz flat footed. they sold off their inventories and they're having trouble ramping up the fleets. the average price to rent a car is over 30% higher than time last year. that amounts to about $81 a day. your friendly neighborhood super hero sure hit a nice stride. >> you're struggling in everything you want. >> marvel's latest film spider man, no way home, broke the billion dollar mark. it only took 12 days. the film is a bright spot in a dark year for movie theaters. sales down 16% from 2019. we'll see if movie studios stick with more releases on streaming services which could further hurt the traditional movie houses. >> i'm still not ready to go back to the theater. so much good stuff at home to stream. >> i know. >> so much good content right now. >> yeah, i agree completely. later today president biden is joining his coronavirus response team as they discuss with many of the nations governors what's happening right now. it's a sign of omicron's rapid spread across the country and the top of the president's agenda right knew despite what he may have wished, other pressing concerns are on the back burner, not forgotten including build back better. >> in a new op ed the chair of the congressional progressive caucus urges imimmediate steps writing taking executive action will make it clear to those who hinder build back better that the white house and democrats will deliver for americans. cnn's jeremy diamond has more from the white house. >> reporter: good morning, laura and paula. with coronavirus cases skyrocketing across the country and pictures and images of those long testing lines around the country around the holiday season. president biden will meet with his coronavirus response team and he's actually going to join them for a call with governors around the country, a sign of the extent to which this white house is really trying to step up its response to the coronavirus pandemic in the face of this wave of cases spurred on by the omicron variant. so we know now that president biden has already been sending some emergency response teams to help hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, including mobilizing as many as 1,000 military service members to help those overwhelmed hospitals. there's also, of course, that plan to send 500 million tests to americans who request them to their homes. that's not happening until early next year. so the president is sure to face a lot of questions from these local officials and governors on this call slated for later this morning. meanwhile, christmas, it came and went. president biden still doesn't have that central piece of his domestic policy agenda that he's looking for. that's the build back better act. he had aimed to get it done by christmas. senator joe manchin saying he won't support it pushing it off into 2022. conversations ongoing in terms of how to get senator manchin back on board. there's discussion in the democratic caucus about exactly how to get that done. >> are democrats hoping to scale it back even more or passing various pieces as stand alones may be attracting senator manchin or even some gop on some of these issues? >> well, that's a strategy decision that's being negotiated. we are open to a way to reach the finish line. we want to make it as comprehensive as possible because the needs are just there. >> reporter: now there does appear to be a holiday pause underway as they regroup to try to figure out exactly how they can get this bill passed and what strategy will serve them best. president biden for his part, he remains optimistic. he said last week that he believes he can still get large chunks of that bill passed and he plans to continue to try to get as much of it as he possibly can saying that he believes the stakes are too high. senate majority leader chuck schumer for his part says democrats in the senate will, indeed, vote on the build back better act in the early part of the year. he has not yet officially scheduled that vote. laura, paula? >> jeremy diamond at the white house. thank you. we'll be right back. i like that my plan is built just for me. arugula, you get an extra... with the new ww personalpoints program, you take an assessment, enter your goals, the foods you love and what fits into your lifestyle. you don't have to eat diet food. i can enjoy the things that i really love like wine, cheese. you can add points for eating vegetables or being active. i lost 26 pounds and i feel incredible. the all new ww personalpoints program. join today for 50% off at ww.com. hurry, offer ends december 27th. age before beauty? why not both? visibly diminish wrinkled skin in... crepe corrector lotion... only from gold bond. ♪ my name is austin james. as a musician living with diabetes, fingersticks can be a real challenge. that's why i use the 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there. a crossbow was recovered on site. cnn's selma ab ddel azeez has t story. what more are you learning? >> reporter: laura, shocking news. on christmas morning police responding to an intruder breaking on to windsor castle grounds. security procedures were triggered within a matter of minutes so this suspect wasn't able to get near any buildings. he was simply on grounds when police arrived around 8:30 local time. he was arrested. we understand he's a 19-year-old from south hampton. he was arrested on suspicion of intrusion and in possession of an offensive weapon. he underwent a mental health assessment and that's when authorities say mental health issues did become an apparent part of this incident and they have now arrested this man, this 19-year-old suspect under the country's mental health act. it's not the first time the queen has dealt with an intruder. this is christmas morning so unusual circumstances there, but there's that famous episode in 1982. a man broke into the queen's bedroom and stood over her while she was sleeping. the queen recovering from that incident and this one. she continued, of course, her christmas plans at windsor castle. it comes at a difficult time, laura. this is a year the queen is celebrating without her husband, prince philip for the first time. he passed away in april. it's a year where she had to cancel her own plans. she was scheduled to go to the norfolk estate which she traditionally does. this year she stayed behind because of the spread of the omicron variant. the family in good spirits and celebrating at the castle. >> selma, thank you. certainly glad she's okay. now to a remarkable story about a group of talented young scientists who became the face of afghanistan's progress after their harrowing escape after the fall of kabul. they found safe haven in mexico, the girls robotics team. they spoke about fears for their families and what comes next. cnn's matt rivers has the story. >> reporter: just four years ago the half dozen girls from afghanistan strode confidently into competition waiving their flag. the global robotics competition held in the u.s. was a chance to show what so many in their country doubted, that girls can accomplish anything. and accomplish they did. winning an award for, quote, courageous achievement given to teams who persevered through trying circumstances. so much has changed since then. in a matter of months this year the taliban swept back across afghanistan toppling city after city, immortal threat to those like the girls on the robotics team which is the exact opposite of what women should be. five of the original team made the decision to flee in a harrowing journey. they went from afghanistan to kabul. there they managed to get on one of the last commercial flights. from there islamabad, pakistan, followed by doha, qatar and frankfurt, germany, and then to mexico city. landing in the mexican capitol where the government there has allowed them to stay while they figure out what's next. it's here that we had a chance to meet in person. safe in mexico their first thoughts are, of course, about home and cruelty from the taliban regime. >> the government is an insult to islam but islam is the religion of kindness. we kindly request not only the united states but the entire international community to eradicate the taliban generation from afghanistan. >> reporter: they know that the u.s. has limited options in that regard after the withdrawal and a terrible situation. they also know how lucky they were to get out. >> it was really hard to, you know, leave our beloved ones in afghanistan, but we are happy that today we are safe not only because of ourselves but here we can be the voice of thousands of girls who want to be safe in afghanistan and who want to continue their education and make their dreams become true. >> reporter: a dwindling reality for girls in that country. in the weeks and months after the taliban took over their subsequent actions have reaffirmed a tradition of men wholly unequal to men. they have a message for those left behind. >> my message and my message to my generation is that to please don't lose your hope, your spirit wherever in afghanistan you are. i know it's difficult and i fully understand you, but please don't lose your spirit. there is always light in the height of darkness and make your dream and follow your dream and believe that one day your dream will come true because i experienced that. >> reporter: and we asked all of the girls what do you want to do next, both in the near future and long-term future. all four girls we spoke to tell us they do plan on going to college somewhere hopefully in the united states they say. as for the long-term future, they all have hopes to return to afghanistan some day. matt rivers, cnn, mexico city. >> matt, thank you. that's a great story. two more college bowl games canceled because of covid and another is looking for a new team. carolyn manno has the story. >> 18 games were supposed to be played between now and friday's playoff semi-finals. two of them lost because of the latest cases. rosters are depleted and wednesday's inaugural fenway bowl between virginia and smu. hawaii bowl supposed to be played on christmas eve but that was lost as well. covid-19 preventing the miami hurricanes from fielding a team in the sun bowl. they're hoping to face washington state in el paso. the nhl is set to return from the covid hiatus tomorrow but three more games have had to be postponed. they have agreed to taxi squads and emergency callups to help bolster rosters affected by the virus. in the nfl five teams clinching playoff spots in the east. chiefs, cowboys won the nfc east and buccaneers wrapped up the nfc south. the rams and cardinals also clinching playoff berth. dallas clinched before taking the field on sunday night. the cowboys did not take their foot off the gas. there are bigger goals in hand. namely they want to land the number one seed in the nfc. dak prescott threw four touchdown passes in the first half. the cowboys won by 42 points. the biggest demolition job in the history of the divisional rivalry. frustration boiling over for washington on the other sideline. jonathan allen and deron payne had to be separated after allen took a swing at his former alabama teammate. washington clinching the fourth straight loss. joe and the bengals threw for a franchise record. 41-21 route. cincinnati taking over first place. the team closing in on the first playoff berth and laura, paula, i know you love a good halftime show. the one organized by the vikings during their game with the rams on sunday is up there for me. this is a corgi race at us bay stadium. by the way, the dogs are wearing christmas costumes with mini santas on their adorable backs. 12 boys and girls lining up on the 40 yard line. i'm calling this a photo finish ish. it's a little bit confusing who won or lost. look at this. this is adorable. >> they look like they were going to run into each other. >> yeah. they were kind of just making loops and circles going back to their owners. minnesota fans ended up losing to the rams but at least they had this. >> carolyn, thank you. appreciate it. finally for you this morning, an atlanta ups driver went the extra mile for a new mom and made a new friend. jessica kigil was at home. she was exhausted with a newborn baby when she received this video caught on her doorbell camera. >> if this is the it's a boy house who had the -- i forget the name of the bird. i hope all is going well with your newborn. i had a child at around the same time you guys did and i just hope everything is going good. god bless. happy holidays. >> she was so touched by the message she posted it to social media where it was viewed thousands of times. days later kitchell and the driver finally met. >> i asked if he had a baby registry he could share with us and him and his fiance had not had a baby shower. >> so kitchell posted another meeting and linked to his baby registry and since then he says he's received multiple packages a day mostly from strangers. >> i don't want it to be a one-time deal. not a season. >> it's so easy to focus on what isn't going right and the fact that we all got to see somebody take a second to show an easy act of kindness, that really meant a lot. >> they plan to introduce their baby boys to each other after the holidays. i love that story. remembering well how exhausting those days were and how even just someone doing a small act of kindness goes such a long way. >> absolutely. it's the positive. the happy news that we need among all the other things going on in the world. thanks so much for joining us. i'm paula reid. >> paula, so great to have you the next couple of days. i'm laura jarrett. we leave you this morning with a performance from christmas. the duchess of cambridge on the piano alongside tom walker singing "for those who can't be here." 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