twelve christian missionaries who were held by a haitian gang are free tonight. bombshell allegations -- two women accuse "sex and the city" star chris noth of sexual assault. dangerous drinking water, a cbs exclusive with the head of the e.p.a., the plan to get rid of the millions of lead pipes carrying water to america's children. ♪ ♪ ♪ "the boss" cashes in, wait till you hear how much bruce springsteen sold his music catalog for. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ baby, we were born to run ♪ ♪ ♪ and american heroes -- three soldiers receive the medal of honor, two who paid the ultimate sacrifice. ♪ ♪ ♪ 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. we're going to begin tonight with a spike in covid cases that has health officials sounding the alarm. a rise in cases has states and businesses changing their plans, bringing back indoor mask mandates, canceling holiday parties, and giving employees the option to work from home again. and now, professional sports seasons hang in the balance with the n.b.a. and the n.h.l. postponing games. a growing number of n.f.l. players are testing positive, having the league requiring masks regardless of vaccination status, and they're pleading with players to get their booster shots. on average nearly 118,000 cases are being reported daily just as millions of americans prepare to hit the road and the airports for the holidays. the double threat tonight from the dangerous delta variant, and the extremely contagious omicron strain, leads to the question could covid be the grinch that steals christmas again. cbs' meg oliver is in new york with all the headlines, good evening, meg. >> reporter: norah, good evening. as omicron quickly spreads, people are spending hours waiting in line for covid tests. here in new york city, positive cases of covid 19 have doubled in the last three days. that's up in the mayor's top that's something the mayor's top health advisors said they've never seen before. tonight health officials are sounding the alarm, new covid cases are up nearly 40% in two weeks, fueled by the delta variant and omicron spread. >> it's so highly transmissible that it's just going to sweep across the country like a fire storm. >> reporter: dr. anthony fauci predicts omicron could become the dominant variant in the u.s. soon. >> we're looking over our shoulder at omicron, which will assume a dominant role i would imagine within a period of a few weeks as we go into january. >> reporter: now officials are bracing for an explosion of infections, although cases so far have been mostly mild. >> i think it's going to be pretty rough now heading into the holidays, and then the early part of the new year. >> reporter: the c.d.c. expects new cases to surge 57% in the coming days with as many as 1.3 million cases reported the week of christmas. >> things could get really bad, particularly-- particularly for the unvaccinated. >> reporter: today, c.d.c. advisors voted unanimously to discourage anyone 18 or older from getting the j&j vaccine, citing evidence that it could trigger a rare blood disorder that has been linked to at least nine deaths. in the list of companies telling employees to work from home is growing. city bank announced today its employees in new york and new jersey could begin working from home again. >> with omicron surging right now, is it too early to return back to the office in january? >> you know, at this point, i wouldn't push it. let's se how this unfolds. >> reporter: and with christmas only days away, the demand for tests is skyrocketing. alysa peralta is feeling fine but wanted to make sure she was safe to travel back home to chicago. are you worried about traveling this holiday? >> i definitely am. i am really scared. >> reporter: i talked to alysa late this afternoon. her test came back negative. she plans to get the booster and keep testing before flying home next week which is exactly what the experts recommend. norah. >> o'donnell: meg oliver, thank you. and turning now to the latest in the series of deadly storms across the great plains and midwest, at least five people were killed in wednesday night's dangerous weather which brought more than a dozen tornadoes including minnesota's first ever tornado in the month of december. cbs' mola lenghi reports from hartland, minnesota. ( sirens ) >> reporter: hurricane force winds tore through over 700 mi miles of the midwest. in nebraska, strong winds toppling a moving tractor- trailer. next door in iowa, a roof ripped off a library -- somehow the books remained on the shelves. residents were left to sort through what was left of their homes. >> power flashes! >> reporter: in chicago, 66- mile-per-hour winds reported at o'hare airport tearing limbs off trees and smashing them into car windows. more than 20 tornadoes reported in the upper midwest with minnesota's first ever december tornado, this after the five tornado rampage after haste were littered with overturned tractor-trailers. cbs news meteorologist jeff berardelli insists this is not normal. >> we should not see one of the biggest tornado outbreaks we've ever seen happen in the month of december and then three or four days later another extraordinary weather event that is unprecedented. >> reporter: here in hartland, minnesota, the storm punched holes into solid brick buildings, overturned an r.v. and downed trees and power lines, not the holiday season the town had planned. >> it felt like someone ran into the side of the house and it was over that quick. >> reporter: how quick are you talking? >> minutes, minutes: it was here and gone. nobody got hurt. that is the key. so this stuff can all be replaced. >> reporter: well, cleanup is well underway here in hartland, minnesota. the small town population just over 300 really got the brunt of it. they lost the only bank in town behind me and the only post office around the corner. tonight throughout the midwest, roughly 280,000 people remain without power, nor. >> o'donnell: mola lenghi, thank you. the two-month hostage situation in haiti has come to an end. the final group of christian missionaries abducted by a violent street gang was released today. in all 17 people were held captive including five children. it is not clear how much if any of the million-dollar ransom per person was paid. as the cast of "sex and the city" returns to television, with it comes new accusations against star chris noth. two women say noth sexually assaulted them. tonight, he is denying thes. cbs' jericka duncan has the details. >> reporter: tonight, chris noth who played mr. big in the '90s show "sex and the city" is facing explosive allegations of sexual assault. the hollywood reporter, using pseudonyms for two women, details their accounts. one woman named as zoe, says in 2004, when she was 22 years old, noth raped her from behind inside his los angeles apartment. she said she received medical treatment and counseling. the other woman named as lilly says she was raped inside noth's new york city apartment after a night of drinking in 2015. noth has denied the allegations calling them categorically false adding the encounters were consensual. it's difficult not to question the timing of the stories coming out. both women approached the hollywood reporter at different times. wanted to tell their stories after seeing promotions for hbo max's "sex and the city" reboot series and "just like that." variety chief correspondent elizabeth wagmeister. >> he played the character of mr. big, was this very showy ladies man. so it appears to be an instance of life almost imitating art but in the worst way possible. >> reporter: noth has starred on "law and order" and has a role on the cbs show "the equalizer." >> to new beginnings. >> reporter: tonight peloton who used him in a commercial as mr. big pulled the ad. cbs says it is not responding to any inquiries. as for the los angeles police department, it says that it will look into the nature of the report. norah. >> o'donnell: jericka duncan, thank you. today, the biden administration detailed its plan to try to replace every underground lead drinking water pipe in the country in the next ten years. about half of the children in the u.s. have detectable levels of lead in their blood. cbs news has been covering the lead crisis in drinking water for years. cbs' ben tracy has more. >> reporter: in benton harbor, michigan, bottled water is not a luxury, it's a lifeline. in october we introduced you to frances davis. what water do you use to cook? >> the bottled water. >> reporter: to brush your teeth. >> bottled water. >> reporter: bathe? >> bottled water. >> reporter: lead was found in the water here in 2018, and the city's water system failed six lead tests in the past three years. residents have been begging the e.p.a. for help. >> help is on the way. >> reporter: michael regan is the e.p.a. administrator and says $2.9 billion will soon be sent to states to replace lead pipes in 2022. places with a lot of these old pipes will be prioritized, and e.p.a. will strengthen existing drinking water standards to force more water districts to replace lead pipes. >> how quickly can you get this money out the door? when will the people in these communities actually see change? >> we're hoping people will see change sooner rather than later. >> reporter: is that weeks, is that months, is that years? >> you know, we anticipate that it will be months. >> reporter: and, so, this won't be one of those things where a year or two from now people are saying where's the money? >> no. >> reporter: the e.p.a. says there are as many as 10 million lead pipes carrying drinking water across the country. the infrastructure bill includes $5 billion over five years to replace them. but the white house says the actual cost could reach 45 billion. do you acknowledge you're going need more money to really solve this problem? >> you know, we will need additional resources at some point. >> reporter: because he says this issue is critical. >> right now, there are children in this country drinking water from lead pipes, and, so, we can't fail our children. we have to get this done. >> reporter: there is no safe level of lead exposure, and it can cause lower i.q.s and increased aggression in children, and, norah, we did follow up with some of the folks we talked to in benton harbor and they said they are still drinking bottled water and don't expect new water pipes for at least a year. >> o'donnell: this is such a huge issue. it is an injustice to the communities and children who live there. ben tracy, thank you. all right, there is a labor shortage across america as businesses are struggling to find and hire employees. well, now, a popular app that connects businesses with hourly workers has become indispensable during the pandemic, both for the businesses and those who have recently lost their jobs. cbs' carter evans has the amazing story of american ingenuity. >> so, this is one of our most popular gifts. >> reporter: at lula's garden in los angeles, 'tis the season for -- succulents. but c.e.o. lirz birnbaum says getting holiday help during a pandemic worker shortage is a challenge. now, instead of placing a want ad, she orders instaworkers on an app. >> reporter: do you have to send them a paycheck? >> no, that's the best part. once you put the credit card on the app, it just charges automatically, you don't have to deal with it. >> reporter: so, what makes this different than a temp agency? >> we're economic opportunity at the touch of a button. >> reporter: sumir meghani co- founded insawork in 2016 in a stroke of "american ingenuity," but business took off when covid hit. >> the whole workforce changed how they work during the pandemic. they're not just looking for better jobs or higher pay, they're looking for more flexible work. >> reporter: that appealed to chester lemon who lost his job during the pandemic. now he works at a clothing designer warehouse one day and the next, a concert. >> i did b.t.s. this past weekend. >> reporter: the jobs don't provide benefits or overtime but the best part for him? getting paid immediately. so let me get this straight, when you go home today the money from this job will be in your bank account? >> before i get to my car. >> reporter: instawork has more than 1.5 million workers in 25 cities and just since april this year wages on the app have increased 20%. >> about half our professionals aren't willing to work for less than $15 an hour. >> reporter: the company charges employers a commission. what would you say that inns work is another middle man that ads cost? >> our workers speak with their swipe. >> reporter: do you ever see yourself having a regular nine to five job again at one place? >> it's going to be hard because i've gotten to used to this now, when you know you can make money tonight, tomorrow. >> reporter: most instaworkers are considered independent contractors, so they have to pay their own taxes quarterly. the company does background checks and, on the app, workers only see the jobs they're qualified to do. norah. >> o'donnell: really interesting. carter evans, thank you. all right, now to a solemn ceremony at the white house today. three u.s. soldiers were honored with the nation's highest military award. two sacrificed their lives saving others, including the man who just became the first black recipient of the medal of honor since the vehement war. here's cbs' david martin. >> reporter: a mother and daughter received the medal of honor three years after their husband and father, army ranger christopher celiz, used his body to shield a battlefield casualty in afghanistan. >> i'm in awe that he would be so selfless but that's who chris was. i wouldn't have expected anything less. >> reporter: eight years ago master sergeant earl plumlee stepped into the breach to stop a suicidal attack on his outpost in afghanistan. you see ten guys coming at you, what did you think? >> that i would be killed. >> reporter: so what do you do when you think you're going to be killed? >> try and take a few of them with me. >> reporter: 16 years ago, sergeant first class, alwyn cashe pulled his soldiers from a burning vehicle in iraq. >> flames that were just spewing out of every port out of the bradley fighting vehicle. >> reporter: lieutenant colonel leon mathias was there. >> he's going in and out of the bradley trying to pull them out one by one, and it's just an intense inferno. >> reporter: colonel jimmy hathaway arrived on the scene. >> here's sergeant cash, he's been burned on 77% of his body, still standing up, walking around, pushing everybody to take care of his boys, as he would say first. >> reporter: cashe and three other badly burned soldiers were medevaced to the united states. his sister was at his web site. he was worried about his boys. >> he said tell them to fight, they can do this. >> reporter: one by one, the soldiers died. >> he was the last to pass away. >> reporter: cashe's sister has been leading the campaign to recognize his sacrifice. >> i just want to know that sergeant first class alwyn c. cashe has been awarded the medal of honor that he earned. >> reporter: honor delayed but no longer denied. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >> o'donnell: never too late to honor these heroes. still tonight on "cbs evening news," investigators issue a search warrant for alec baldwin's cell phone. what are they looking for? 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