under weather alerts, including high winds, the tornado threat tonight. touring the disaster zone: president biden visits the damage in kentucky. >> i promise you, you're going to heal. you're going to recover. you're going to rebuild. you're going to be stronger. >> o'donnell: the fed's big decision: what it means for your pocketbook amid rising inflation. guilty plea: former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin admits to violating george floyd's civil rights. j.f.k. assassination documents released. new revelations from 1,500 classified files. breaking barriers: a woman set to run the n.y.p.d., the nation's largest police department, for the first time. >> o'donnell: good evening, to our viewers in the west, and thank you for joining us. to our viewers in the west and ♪ ♪ ♪ this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell, reporting from the nation's capital. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> o'donnell: good evening, to our viewers in the west, and thank you for joining us. tonight, >> o'donnell: we're following a concerning surge in coronavirus cases across the country, leaving colleges and businesses evans. >> reporter: with sirens blaring, tornadoes tore through iowa, blocking semis on the interstate. one of the twisters ripped apart a roof. >> it is like a tornado. >> reporter: the extreme weather blew in kansas, blinding drivers, while even more tornadoes touched down in nebraska. and the pictures from colorado looked apocalyptic, as the front ran through. this is how a man described the storefront as it blew into denver. it became a full-blown, 100 mile-an-hour windstorm. strong winds whipped up flames in th high plains of the central oklahoma panhandle. it is all part of this week's massive storm that pounded drought-striken california, dumping several feet of snow on the sierra nevada. carter evans, cbs news. >> o'donnell: for what lies ahead, eric fisher is here with the forecast. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, norah. today is a day for the record he books. when it comes to the weather in the middle of the country, we've had this widespread wind storm, the whole thing rocketing across the middle of the country tonight. let's take a look at some of those advisories, huge areas, high-wind warnings from new mexico to new york. and in the area we have had winds up to 100 miles per hour, places like russell, kansas, lamar, colorado. and tonight we're tracking more tornadoes. this is moving so fast, it's not just the wind in the storms. the storms themselves in this line that's moving across iowa at 80 to 100 miles per hour with embedded tornadoes. this will continue to move to the north and east. there are more tornado watches there. in fact, if one touchdown in minnesota tonight, it would be the first on record in the month of december in minnesota. here's why-- we have had record warms. records set in places like des moines, way into the 70s. omaha, nebraska, way in the 70s as well. all of this will continue to move rapidly to the northeast. behind it, we're talking a big drop in temperature. norah, it will feel very much like winter and this warmth will disappear head into the day on thursday. >> o'donnell: scary to think about those tornado warnings. eric fisher, thank you. we're also getting breaking news about the tornado that devastated the state of kentucky. the national weather service said it was an e-4, with winds up to 190 miles per hour. that is the only tornado of that magnitude ever recorded in the month of december in that state. president biden surveyed the damage today, meeting with survivors, and cbs' lilia luciano is there. good evening, lilia. >> reporter: good evening, norah. president biden said natural disasters have cost the country nearly $100 billion this year alone. and this is the fifth time since taking office that he's been called on to comfort families in a disaster zone. president biden made his way through mayfield, kentucky, five days after a devastating tornado outbreak left at least 71 people dead and more than 100 missing across the state. as the president walked among the ruins, he stopped and shook hands with angie wilson, who was sifting through her mother's damaged office building, looking for the only family photo of her grandfather. >> he wanted to know how we felt about the entire situation. >> reporter: the president then traveled here to dawson springs, where he praised the relief efforts, promising more federal resources and money. >> the government's going to cover 100% of the cost, 100% of the cost for the first 30 days, for all the emergency work from clearing everything to every single cost. >> reporter: pat and fill abruise lost their sister-in-law and their home. they say they hope the president keeps his word to rebuild their town. >> this town is our lives. help the ones that need it. >> help the ones that really need it. >> reporter: more than 1,000 homes were damaged or destroyed across kentucky, leaving thousands homeless. >> we were laying right here. >> reporter: including bete and andy hernandez, who lost everything. >> i thought we were going to die because the house was vibrating. the noise, i have never heard anything like that in my life. >> reporter: they had lived in this home for seven years. now at 78, she says they'll have to start over with their daughter in arkansas. >> we love it here. we love that little house. and... but it's totaled. it's totaled. >> reporter: it's totaled. >> it's totaled. >> reporter: fema has deployed disaster response teams to help displaced victims find temporary housing. eight fema shelters remain open across the state. >> make no mistake about it, this is a very hard time for a lot of people and we know that emotional and spiritual care is going to be just as important as the different financial and non- financial resources coming to communities. >> reporter: fema workers have been going door to door helping people sign up for aid, but in places like this, as you can see, there's not a whole lot of doors or homes still standing. so they set up a mobile registration unit for those people who don't have cell phones or access to internet. norah. >> o'donnell: lilia luciano, thank you for your excellent reporting these past several days. >> o'donnell: we're following a concerning surge in coronavirus cases across the country, leaving colleges and businesses to close or reinstate covid measures. several large schools are canceling all in-person classes and returning to remote instruction. others are shutting down campus and canceling all student activities, including athletics. the delta variant remains the dominant strain, representing about 96% of cases in the u.s.. but experts warn the omicron spread is likely outpacing the nation's ability to track it. today, we heard from the c.d.c. cbs' nikki battiste joins us 9now. good evening, nikki. >> reporter: norah, gooda varia evening. as business and colleges urgently implement plans to combat omicron, dr. anthony fauci says right now there is no need to develop a vaccine specific to omicron because studies show a booster provides considerable protection. today, the white house made it clear: to fight omicron, americans need a booster shot. >> our booster vaccine regimens work against omicron. at this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster. >> reporter: just 30% of fully vaccinated adults have a booster. >> it is a necessity. >> reporter: to emphasize the need for that extra shot, new jersey declared today "booster day," one year after the first vaccines were administered. omicron is surging there and in new york, making up 13% of cases, compared to 3% nationwide. the variant is now reported in 36 states, washington, d.c., and puerto rico. >> this is a roll of the dice. you don't know for sure that you're going to just slide right through it without any problem. we also know that prior infection with covid is not holding up at all to omicron. >> reporter: as omicron spreads nationwide, california is reinstating an indoor mask mandate, regardless of vaccination status, beginning today. and philadelphia's health commissioner is urging residents to cancel holiday gatherings with friends and family. college campuses are cracking down, too. cornell university's campus is nearly fully vaccinated but as an outbreak of more than 1100 covid cases, many likely from omicron. n.y.u. has canceled all in- person gatherings. princeton has made all exams remote and has encouraged students to travel home for the holidays as soon as possible. what do you predict january might look like? >> it's hard to imagine we wouldn't get to over a million new cases a day, which is a staggering number. >> reporter: tonight, apple has temporarily closed stores in miami and annapolis, maryland, because of the rise in covid cases. here in new york city, average daily cases in the past two weeks are up 109%, forcing some broadway shows to shut down yet again. norah. >> o'donnell: yeah, it's alarming hearing about all those shutdowns. all right, nikki battiste, thank you. we want to turn now to newly released details in the kennedy assassination. more than 58 years after that tragic day in dallas, the government unsealed a trove of confidential documents, and they prvide new revelations, but they also fall short of reswroflg all speculation about here's cbs' jeff pegues. >> reporter: among the documents released today, is this c.i.a. cable saying that lee harvey oswald was in mexico city two months before the assassination, seeking a visa for cuba on his way to the soviet union. the note, dated september of 1963, also say that oswald speaks in broken spanish. on the same day, oswald visited the cuban consulate in mexico city, three times asking an in- transit visa to cuba, with russia as the final destination. within hours of president kennedy's killing on november 23, police arrested oswald for the shooting. oswald himself was killed, shot in the stomach, while being walked through police headquarters. for 58 years investigators and historians have been asking whether oswald acted alone. today, the national archives released some 1,500 documents, but another 10,000 remain a secret, fueling speculation that the government is stonewalling. philip shenon has studied the kennedy assassination. do you think the government is hiding something? >> i think they're hiding a lot of evidence to suggest incompetence, that the c.i.a. and the f.b.i. knew a lot about lee harvey oswald in the months before the assassination, and failed to act on that information. >> reporter: congress ordered the release. president trump slowed it down amid concerns from the intelligence community. president biden has put off releasing more documents until next year. norah. >> o'donnell: jeff pegues, thank you. well, tonight, there's news that could impact your finances in the new year. the federal reserve signaled today that it may raise interest rates at least three times in 2022, hoping to ease the staggering inflation that has americans paying more for just about everything. cbs' ed o'keefe has more from the white house. >> reporter: new pressure on the biden administration as the federal reserve warns soaring prices aren't going away any time soon. >> the risk of higher inflation becoming entrenched has increased. >> reporter: while unemployment is dropping, prices are up across the board, from groceries and gas to used cars and rent. also of concern for the economy: the winter covid surge. >> the rise in covid cases in recent weeks, along with the emergence of the omicron variant, pose risks to the outlook. >> reporter: nearly 70% of americans disapprove of president biden's handling of inflation, and he knows it's a challenge. >> for working people and middle-class people, it's a big hit. it is-- the inflation, at least for the time being, is real. >> reporter: the higher prices are affecting almost everyone from coffee shop owner in new jersey... >> everything that we need-- coffee cups, coffee, sugar, milk-- everything is a lot more expensive. >> reporter: to consumers. >> i's scary. to me, with the corona, with the pandemic, with the new thing, virus, that goes with the inflation. so it's all brought in together. >> reporter: the federal reserve also signaled today it would raise interest rates next year for the first time since late 2018, another reason people should expect to pay more. >> if you're trying to borrow money to purchase a car, that could be a higher rate. if you're borrowing money to start a new business, that could be a higher rate. most of us are either savers or borrowers, and fed moves impact us. >> reporter: also tonight, the last of those child tax credit payments are going out, unless congress extends them by passing the president's social spending plan. but cbs news has learned that bill is unlikely to be passed by christmas as senior democrats had hoped. norah. >> o'donnell: ed o'keefe, thank you. well, now, we have a story that offers hope to patients battling severe cases of covid. it's also a story of gratitude to healthcare workers who go above and beyond their duty to save lives. here's cbs' meg oliver. >> i'm so excited to see you. ( laughs ) >> reporter: we first met 35- year-old hillary lee from montana in early october. hillary. >> reporter: on a ventilator and ecmo machine, clinging to life. her mom, pam lee, praying for a miracle. >> i love you, too. >> reporter: do you remember when she tried to wave to you? >> oh, my gosh. >> yeah, that was-- that was-- that was tough. >> reporter: the young restaurant manager was about to get vaccinated when she got covid. >> my symptoms were so, so, so mild. i never would have thought i would have been in that position ever. >> reporter: but two weeks later, she was rushed to billings clinic. >> the fact that we had a bed for her was nothing short of a miracle. >> reporter: kelsey purdue was hillary's nurse. at the time, their i.c.u. was overflowing with covid patients, operating at close to 200% capacity. >> it's a huge sacrifice for us. people had to pick up extra shifts to be able to care for her. you know, i'm not a betting person, but i don't think she would have survived. >> reporter: how exhausting has this pandemic been for you? >> really wears on you. >> thank you. >> reporter: hillary's family was one of those families that i got really close in that time. >> reporter: how many times were you there for her mom? >> i think, really, pam was more there for me. i don't think she would say that, but she would come and visit in the mornings, and... sorry. i didn't realize i would cry about this. she was really administering to me. >> you're going home! >> reporter: the day after thanksgiving, doctors and nurses lined the corridor as hillary stepped out on her own. >> i knew one day we would walk out of the hospital. i just didn't know if it would be with or without her. this will be the best christmas ever. >> reporter: a christmas to cherish. meg oliver, cbs news. >> o'donnell: truly a christmas miracle with those healthcare workers, her angels. all right, still ahead, history in the making at the new york city police department. and former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin guilty of violating george floyd's civil rights. hide our skin? 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[upbeat acoustic music throughout] [upbeat acoustic music for fthroughout]ations. for people who could use a lift new neutrogena® rapid firming. a triple-lift serum with pure collagen. 92% saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weeks. neutrogena® for people with skin. i'm 53, but in my mind i'm still 35. that's why i take oste bi-flex to keep me moving the way i was made to, it nourishes and strengthens my joints for the long term. osteo bi-flex, plus vitamin d >> o'donnell: last >> o'donnell: last year, covid interrupted a tradition that goes back more than a century. cbs' mark strassmann is with the santa claus girls as they return to bring cheer to children in need. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> reporter: for more than a century, the santa claus girls have had west michigan's longest christmas list-- all these cars? the parents of 6,000 needy children. >> merry christmas! >> that's what it's all about, it's helping underprivileged children. >> reporter: this is their only >> for some. >> yes, it is. >> we try our best to give them something that they'll be excited about. >> reporter: inside this warehouse, tables stacked with gifts, five gifts apiece. >> look at that. >> reporter: including a handmade hat and mittens. the santa claus girls, bringing christmas to life here since 1908. >> the love that the people have for giving back just doesn't go away. >> reporter: ask liz lamancusa. >> this checkerboard came from santa claus girls around 1940s. >> reporter: you're holding your mother's christmas when she was 10 years old. >> i know, i know. >> reporter: her mother, betty jarosch, died this june at 90. >> it just warms my heart to see all these gifts and to know someone else will have the joy my mom had when she was younger. >> reporter: in this line, we found the carters. >> we're doing the best we can right now, during this time. >> reporter: ...looking to give their six kids a christmas. >> without the help, it would be very tiny. >> reporter: some people just have a gift for giving. mark strassmann, cbs news, grand rapids. >> o'donnell: a reminder about the season of giving. we'll be right back. cbs news, d rapids. >> o'donnell: a reminder about the season of giving. we'll be right back. and taking . nce with an aromatase inhibitor is for postmenopausal women or for men with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole. ibrance may cause low white blood cell counts that may lead to serious infections. ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs. both of these can lead to death. tell your doctor if you have new or worsening chest pain, cough, or trouble breathing. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are or plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. for more information about side effects talk to your doctor. ♪♪ iur mom ask your doctor about ibrance. thinkorswim® by td ameritrade is more than a trading platform. it's an entire trading experience. with innovation that lets you customize interfaces, charts and orders to your style of trading. personalized education to expand your perspective. and a dedicated trade desk of expert-level support. that will push you to be even better. and just might change how you trade—forever. because once you experience thinkorswim® by td ameritrade ♪♪♪ there's no going back. your plain aspirin could be hurting your stomach. vazalore... is the first liquid-filled aspirin capsule clinically shown to cause fewer ulcers than plain aspirin. try new vazalore. aspirin made amazing! i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! 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