unfortunate sequence of events. >> yuccas: the $10 billion telescope n.a.s.a. hopes will tell the story of your universe. the war on cancer, the power of science and music. ( singing ) one impressive young woman who's making it her mission to help others going through treatment. smaller christmas eve crowds as the pope's mass and in the biblical town of bethlehem but what's not missing is hope. and on the road, with a reminder that all it takes is one person to make a difference. >> yuccas: thanks for joining us. i'm jamie uccas in for norah. we begin with the rise in omicron cases causing nighted mares for holiday travelers. airlines have canceled more than a thousand flights here in the u.s. and over 3,000 worldwide because employees are getting infect by the virus. in the last week the number of average daily cases is up 45%. that surge is attributed to the fast spreading omicron variant. there is one bit of good news. hospitalizations remain flat, hovering around 60,000 patients, suggesting omicron infections have been less severe than the deadly delta strange. despite the covid surge, president biden and the first lady try to bring christmas eve cheer to kids at children's national hospital here in the nation's capitol. the first couple spoke with children and their families and answered calls to norad's santa's tracking service. good news, santa is right on schedule. nancy chen joins us from new york city. a lot of other people not on schedule. >> reporter: absolutely, jamie. good evening to you. those last-minute cancellations are adding disappointment on top of concerns over surges in covid cases, most cancellations coming from delta as well as united which scrapped ten percent of the flights. frustrations don't end 250d. hundreds of flights have been caceled tomorrow. for many travelers, it's the nightmare before christmas. >> i want to cry. >> reporter: united and delta putting the blame on omicron infections grounding flight crews and operation staff. >> they're telling us we have three days to get any of us anywhere near l.a. or hawaii to go where we need to go. >> reporter: earlier this week, a warning of possible staffing shortages as the company requested shortened isolation times for vaccinated workers who test positive. wait thursday as some hospitals encounter staffing issues the c.d.c. shortened the recommended isolation time from ten days to seven for infected healthcare workers as long as they don't show symptoms and test negative. >> once medical systems will be compromised, healthcare workers themselves are getting infected. >> reporter: how do we manage on top of an already depleted hurricane workforce. >> reporter: in hard-hit new york the governor announce new standards, fully vacnated asymptomatic essential workers can return in five days after testing positive instead of ten. >> we want to make sure our critical workforce, the elder care, home healthcare, sanitation, grocery store, pharmacies, we need you again and be able to go to work. >> reporter: new york reported nearly 45,000 new cases today, a 14% jump from the day before, breaking records for the seventh time in just over a week. in los angeles, the number of daily cases has tripled in just three days to nearly 10,000. it's not just omicron's impact but the cumulative toll on healthcare workers. >> there's so much mental and physical exhaustion, it's the -- the concept of it is crazy. >> reporter: this nebraska nurse posted on social media about dealing with so much death for nearly two years and a very uncertain future. >> we missed christmas and nears coming up, we have a big fear. we are trying to clear out beds but there are quite literally no beds in this hospital. it's just as easy as getting vaccinated, being wise about who you're around. at this point, i'm just asking for your help. >> reporter: and we also learned tonight the white house lifted a temporary ban on travel from eight south african countries nears day, a decision the world health organization has been urging, jamie. >> reporter: and the the world health organization also said today santa is immune from covid so we have good news ahead of christmas. nancy chen, thank you. a. >> yuccas: a powerful winter storm could bring five to eight feet of snow to the sierra nevada, while other parts of the country could be in store for a record warm christmas day. cbs's lonnie quinn joins us now with the latest forecast. talk about extreme, lonnie. >> yeah, it depends on where you live, right? i mean the stormiest weather right now, jamie, as you were saying out west. take a peek, arizona is picking up heavy rain. heavy snow colorado and utah. look at the computer models, showing some of that snow continuing all the way through tuesday. by the time it's said and done, the numbers for snow totals could be enormous. looks like the sierra will pick up an additional 5 to 8 feet so they could finish with another two snow by tuesday. rockex picks up an additional one to two feet but the other extreme you were talking about, the armest christmas ever for memphis at 77, warmest christmas ever for nashville 73. dallas hits 836789 the east coast actually had a little bit of snow this morning but it's turning to rain for most e daor geup tohe new orleans you will still hold on to some snow. that is the way we see the weather picture. a little bit of something for everybody. it's all yours. >> a little bit of something, lonnie, thank you. to los angeles where the city's police chief called the shooting death of a 14-year-old girl absolutely heartbreaking, as cbs's carter evans reports, it happened when officers opened fire on a suspect inside a store. >> suspect entered into the business. >> reporter: the by czar attack inside a burlington coat factory began after security had amman leave a store. >> he started threatening security he was going to throw items. >> reporter: she said she tried to help customers escape. >> customers were waiting downstairs. i had a customer in front of me. he reached down, he attacked he, hit her with a chain. >> female victim, head trauma. >> reporter: they received additional radio calls from multiple people indicating there was a possible shooting in progress. investigators say, when officers saw the suspect about to assault another person, they opened fire, killing. >> officer needs help. >> reporter: they later found a bullet hole in the wall. >> it went behind it. it turned out to be the dressing room. >> reporter: inside, 14-year-old valentina orellana-peralta was dead from a gunshot wound. she was reportedly trying on queensier ray dresses with her mother. >> preliminarily we believe that round was an officer's round. >> reporter: no gun found on the suspect. >> these are tragic and unfortunate sequences of events. >> reporter: l.a.p.d. policy is to release body cam video within 45 days of a shooting but the chief is promising to release the video by monday, in this case. jamie. >> yuccas: tragic, carter. thank you. move over hubble, the james webb telescope will launch christmas morning from french guiana. n.a.s.a. spent $10 billion to build it. we could see the universe as it looked right after the big bang. how cool is that? here's mark strassmann. >> reporter: from the perch a million miles beyond earth, the james webb telescope will glimpse the dawn of tame like nothing before us. >> the universe is a 13.8 billion story and we're missing key paragraphs in the very first chapter. >> reporter: n.a.s.a. astro physicist amber straughn hopes webb's discoveries will fill in in blanks. >> we hopefully will be able to see the galaxies for the first time. >> reporter: the gold plated mirror will alline to create one mirror, 21 feet across, six times larger than the one on the hubble space telescope. for more than three decades, hubble has given us stunning humbling views of the universe. but webb will search for heat >> we aroking for thes. the telt cold, it will actually glow brighter than the objoro blo th, engineers designed a first of its kind sun shield, the size of a tennis court. it's five layers will keep the telescope side more than 600 degrees colder than the sun facing side. >> this material here is about 2 thousandths of an inch thick. >> reporter: once in space, webb will carefully unfold and rebuild itself like robotic origami. project manager bill oaks. >> the complexity, the deployment, the materials has never been tried by a n.a.s.a. mission before. >> reporter: if any one of 344 parts fail, the entire mission could be jeopardized. it all has to work. >> it's got to be pretty damn close to being 100% perfect for it to work. >> a million miles out, something goes wrong, no calling aaa. >> no calling tripping a. >> reporter: webb's first images six months away, worth the wait for a chance to see baby pictures of the universe. mark strassmann, cbs news, greenbelt, maryland. >> yuccas: definitely worth the wait. we begin our series "the war on cancer: 50 years." because of incredible work of medical researchers the survival rate has gone from less than half to nearly 70% in the last 50 years and every survivor has a story. we report on mighty molly's. ♪ i'll be on top of the world with nothing holding me back ♪ >> reporter: pretty much nothing will stop 20-year-old molly oldham from singing and acting. but in 2019, debilitating migraine headaches almost did. >> they did a scan and found this ginormous mass on my brain the size of a tennis ball. >> reporter: her family was with her in ohio when she got the news. >> so the doctors came in and told me, um, it was cancerous. >> reporter: it was stage three aggressive cancer that required chemo and radiation on top to have the six-hour surgery to remove the tumor. an hour after the operation, she came out, singing. ( singing ) >> i don't remember that, i just remember afterwards, my mom telling me, it was the most beautiful experience because, in that moment, she knew i was going to be okay. >> reporter: but 17 months later, the carnes was back. another surgery, and yet another song. one she wrote called "mighty in me." ( singing ) during this recovery, however, she had backup. ( singing ) a nurse at duke university hospital named david duckett. ( singing ) is there something significant in those lyrics, say you won't let go? >> i believe so. i'm not going anywhere, i'm not going to let you go, we're going to do this together. >> and not only is he giving me medicine and making me feel safe and helping me with my headaches and managing all of that, he was also helping with my heart. >> reporter: molly is now studying musical theater at the university f north carolina greensboro, launching a foundation to help young adults with cancer and making a point to show that, though cancer free, it's still day to day, suffering from seizures, a life long side effect of treatment. >> someone has to talk about it to find the cure. >> we can respond in fear. she chose life, she chose hope. >> reporter: and, still, mighty molly says it best herself. ( singing ) manuel bojorquez, cbs news, greensboro, north carolina. >> yuccas: mighty indeed. still ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news," christmas eve in the town of bethlehem. try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in theaters december 17th. my dvt blood clot left me with questions... was another around the corner? or could i have a different game plan? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didn't experience another. and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. what's around the corner could be a different game. ask your doctor about eliquis. could be a different game. in a recent clinical study, patients using salonpas patch reported reductions in pain severity, using less or a lot less oral pain medicines. and improved quality of life. that's why we recommend salonpas. it's good medicine. >> yuccas: pope francis celebrated christmas eve mass before an estimated crowd of 2,000 at st. peter's basilica. everyone in attendance including 200 cardinals, bishops and priests wore a mask, everyone except his holiness. smaller than usual crowds in the biblical town of bethlehem for the second straight year but covid couldn't dampen the mood at the annual christmas eve activities. >> reporter: the lighting of a candle at the church of the nativity where christians believe baby jesus was born on this very spot, but there are far fewer of the faithful in the builbiblical city of bethlehem s christmas thanks to the rapid emergence of omicron. still, for some, hope isn't all lost. >> we are christians, we always have hope in our hearts, and christ is the one who is bringing this hope. >> israel which controls all the borders of the occupied west bank with bethlehem live has renewed its ban on oversized tourists, still in manger square the traditional christmas tree is up and the decorations are hung but without the usual 3 million-plus visitors for a second year in a row. small businesses here are struggling. vaccinated palestinian christians who live in israel, the west bank and even the few from gaza who are able to get permits are still able to visit bethlehem and were on hand for the annual christmas tree lighting ceremony. >> we believe that the prince of peace really joy and will prevail through the whole world. >> reporter: a message of hope, peace and light at a time when the world needs it most. cbs news, london. imtiaz tyab. >> yuccas: always hold on to hope. next the author of a sympathetic ear traveled far beyond this event. we gave new zzzquil pure zzzs restorative herbal sleep to people who were tired of being tired. i've never slept like this before. i've never woken up like this before. crafted with clinically studied plant-based ingredients that work naturally with your body. for restorative sleep like never before. >> yuccas: this summer, we introduced you to a man who offers a sympathetic ear, all from his beachside bench. here's cbs's steve hartman with an update "on the road." >> reporter: in st. petersburg, florida, when the sun rises, al nixon sets for his impromptu therapy sessions. >> how you been? >> reporter: are you surprised at what people tell you? >> not anymore. >> reporter: al isn't a strained therapist. >> i have been concerned. >> reporter: he works for the city water department. >> he's dismissing you. yeah. >> reporter: in these early morning hours he's a trusted confidant and counselor to whoever passes by. >> and i wrote to him and said -- >> reporter: renee retestein is a regular. >> he knows everything about me. >> reporter: did you feel weird sharing your secret with a guy on the bench? >> no, he won't judge me. he takes you for who you are. >> reporter: bernadette mills says she's never met a wiser than. >> he's a guiding force. >> reporter: at the same time, i don't hear you talking a lot. >> no. >> reporter: i just see a lot of nodding like you're doing now. >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: a lot of mm-hmms. >> listening is a number one skill all mankind needs to know how to do very well. >> reporter: a skill he has clearly mastered. when al starred coming here seven years ago, the therapy was for him. he needed a quiet place to clear his head and the last thing he wanted was to hear other people's problems. but then a woman he'd never met told him something he'll never forget. >> she said, every day i see you, i know everything's going to be okay. and that made me realize that, when you speak to someone or you smile, you let them know i value you, and people pick that up. >> when i walk by sometimes, you know, i don't get a chance to chat with him because there are other people waiting in line. ( laughter ) >> reporter: and the the line has only grown. after we first told this story this past summer, people popped by with poems and paintings and poses for selfies, many new faces from many new places. >> yes. >> reporter: from how far away. >> all over the country. >> reporter: all over the country? why do you think people came from far and wide just to sit on that bench with you? >> i simply think people just know i care. >> reporter: same reason people put a plaque on the bench, to a loving and loyal friend and a confidant to many, forever and always. >> powerful. >> reporter: how can such a simple plaque be that powerful? >> when you l.s.uan to someone, you matter to me. >> reporter: they gave you back what you gave to them. everyone needs an al, even al. >> have a great day! you, too, honey! >> reporter: steve hartman, "on the road," in st. petersburg, florida. >> yuccas: i think we all need a lot more ales. we'll be right back. it's amazing... he's talking about motorcycle insurance, and people love it. of course, they love the savings they're gonna get with geico, but... it goes beyond that. you. deserve. to save. ha — heard that before. you. deserve. to save. i know. i need you to hear me. you deserve to save. i deserve to save! i mean he has a way of making you feel...seen. bundle car and motorcycle insurance and save at geico.com. do you take aspirin? plain aspirin could be hurting your stomach. new vazalore is the first liquid-filled aspirin capsule clinically shown to cause fewer ulcers than plain aspirin. vazalore is designed to help protect... releasing aspirin after it leaves your stomach... where it is absorbed to give you the benefits of life saving aspirin... to help prevent another heart attack or stroke. heart protection with your stomach in mind. try new liquid-filled vazalore. aspirin made amazing! ♪ try new liquid-filled vazalore. ♪ ♪ downy's been taking you back, since way back. with freshness and softness you never forget. feel the difference with downy. hi susan! honey? yeah? i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad... try this robitussin honey. the real honey you love... plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? now get powerful relief with robitussin elderberry. 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—for. ♪♪♪ there's no going back. manhood looks different from guy to guy. but when yours bends in a different direction, you might feel bothered by it. so talk to a urologist. because a bend in your erection might be peyronie's disease or pd. it's a condition that involves a buildup of scar tissue. but, it's treatable. xiaflex is the only fda- approved nonsurgical treatment for appropriate adult men with peyronie's disease. along with daily penile stretching and straightening exercises, xiaflex has been proven to help gradually reduce the bend. don't receive if the treatment area involves your urethra, or if you're allergic to any collagenase or any of the ingredients. may cause serious side effects, including: penile fracture or other serious injury during an erection, and severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. seek help if you have any of these symptoms. do not have any sexual activity during and for at least 4 weeks after each treatment cycle. sudden back pain reactions after treatment may occur. tell your doctor if you have a bleeding condition or take blood thinners as risk of bleeding or bruising at the treatment site is increased. talk to a urologist about what your manhood could look like. find a xiaflex-trained urologist at bentcarrot.com for the power of a deep clean in minutes try mr. clean clean freak talk to a urologist about what your manhood could look like. unlike bleach sprays, clean freak begins deep cleaning on contact with 3x the cleaning power to break down tough messes in seconds so, it's perfect for stovetops, tough bathroom soap scum, and even stainless steel. mr. clean clean freak >> yuccas: sunday on "face the nation," more of margaret brennan's exclusive network interview with vice president kamala harris. and remember, if you can't watch us live, don't forget to set your d.v.r. so you can watch us later. that's it for tonight's christmas eve. jamie yuc cas for norah >> judge judy, i'm sorry, but i did not lock him out. >> announcer: this landlord swears her tenant was still welcome. >> i came home and found a lock on the gate with a note on it saying i no longer lived there. >> judge judy: she said you were a drunk and a drug abuser. >> announcer: but could he be trusted to live under her roof? >> judge judy: you stated that the plaintiff stole your pills. >> i called the deputy. and i told him, "i can't prove anything." >> judge judy: what were those pills doing in your room? >> announcer: "judge judy." you are about to enter the courtroom of judge judith sheindlin. steven crnogorac is suing his former roommate, carole dillard, for an illegal eviction, stolen property, and false charges. >> byrd: order! all rise! your honor, this is case 569 on the calendar in the matter of crnogorac vs. dillard. parties have been sworn in. you may be seated, sir. have a seat. >> judge judy: mr. crnogorac, you rented a room from ms. dillard. is that correct? >> yes, your honor. >> judge judy: in her house? >> yes. >> judge judy: you rented that room and moved in at the end of july of last year. >> yes, ma'am. >> judge judy: and it is your claim that she illegally evicted you from the room... that she unceremoniously tossed your property out, causing some to be damaged, some to get lost, and she filed false charges against you? for what, i don't know. ms. dillard says that you didn't pay rent. your room was a pigpen. she had to pay somebody to clean it up. and she's got a counterclaim. she also says -- i don't think she denies, actually, that she locked you out. she said that you were a drunk and a drug abuser, and you took your stuff that she threw out, and you moved next door or across the street to be with friends. now you can speak. >> he moved in in the end of september.