>> garrett: denver shooting rampage. still no motive in the shooting deaths of six people, including the gunman. >> this is the holiday season. to have this kind of spree take place is not normal for our community. >> garrett: california plane crash: four people killed when a small plane goes down on approach near san diego. american innovation: a new hydrogen passenger ferry that could carry america to a greener future. feeding america's military families. how your generosity leads to the one millionth meal served. and a lesson in giving from one generation to another. this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell, reporting from the nation's capital. >> garrett: good evening to our viewers in the west. thank you for joining us. i'm major garrett in for norah. we begin tonight with the latest wave of covid infections making it feel-- yes-- like december of 2020. as an example: new york city is once again the epicenter of this stage of the pandemic. but it's not alone. new jersey, florida, delaware, and massachusetts also recently reported new daily records. this as the national average of new infections approaches an all-time high set almost one year ago. meanwhile, some medical experts are questioning the c.d.c.'s new isolation guidelines. long covid testing lines remain throughout the country, with wait times topping four hours in parts of florida. the recent surge in cases has spurred another wave of postponements and cancellations. airlines canceled more than 1,000 domestic flights today, adding to the misery of air travelers still trying to return home from the holidays. and the c.d.c. has now identified nearly 90 cruise ships where covid outbreaks have been detected. and in the sports world, the holiday bowl in san diego was canceled just hours before kickoff, becoming the fifth bowl game covid casualty so far. cbs' nikki battiste has all the latest from new york. nikki, good evening. >> reporter: major, good evening. the c.d.c. is now saying the omicron variant is responsible for nearly 60% of all covid cases across the country as of christmas day. the highly contagious variant is ravaging new york city. here in manhattan, one in 50 residents tested positive just in the past week. tonight, new york's covid numbers soaring as high as its skyscrapers. the city has seen its covid case average climb more than 20,000 a day, a nearly 11-fold increase in the last month. new york is now reporting more new cases per capita than in any other state. across the country, hospitals are starting to feel the impact. just after thanksgiving, jackson health in miami had 37 covid patients. it now has over 200. in massachusetts, new cases are skyrocketing. it is one of at least seven states now reporting record-high daily infections, more cases than at any time since the start of the pandemic. testing sites overwhelmed, lines still stretching for hours. >> we're trying to be the proactive type and get it done. if we don't know, then we could be spreading it around a lot further. >> reporter: but the lines mask a bigger problem, says dr. peter hotez. >> the hard reality is it's hard to get a covid test. it shouldn't be that way, but that is the reality. >> reporter: the misery continues at the nation's airports. today alone, more than 1,000 flights canceled. over 5,000 u.s. cancellations since christmas eve, some of it due to staffing shortages fueled by the omicron variant.es and tonight, more reaction to the new c.d.c. guidelines, which cut the suggested isolation time for those who test positive and are asymptomatic from 10 days to five. >> it's not only the healthcare workers, but we have to keep the essential-- other essential workers in the workforce, the fire and rescue. people are often shedding virus even before they have symptoms and, therefore, are contagious, and people are contagious mostly for the two or three days after they start having symptoms, not so much six, seven, eight, orsog nine days afterwards. >> reporter: but there's some pushback from the association of flight attendants, which says it could create an unsafe work environment, which will cause a much greater disruption than any staffing shortage. one immediate concern is the impact of all those holiday get- togethers. >> omicron is so highly transmissible, that i've been advising people, if you don't have to have a new year's party this year, or you can delay it a few weeks, that might make a big difference. >> reporter: adding to all this worry, the flu is making a comeback this winter. the c.d.c. said today hospitalizations are up, and two children have died from the flu so far. major. >> garrett: with the hard numbers and the key realities, nikki battiste, thank you so much. with the rise in cases in both adults and children, the question now turns to schools. today, new york city's mayor said the nation's largest school district will reopen as planned on monday. for other schools across the country, there is a feeling of deja vu and uncertainty. here's cbs' meg oliver. >> it's all in the timing. >> reporter: tiffany jacobs is a working mom of five in paterson, new jersey. before christmas, the school district announced a return to all-remote instruction for the first two weeks of january. >> i just felt like here we go again. >> reporter: here we go again. >> but it was inevitable. we knew it was coming. >> reporter: how did your kids react to the fact they're going back to all remote? >> they're not too happy about it. they're not. they'd rather be out. >> reporter: covid cases are soaring in paterson. befoe winter break, about 20% of school district employees were absent. eileen shafer is the superintendent. knowing how much students suffered during all remote, how hard was it to make this decision? >> it was extremely hard. to have to go back to remote, you know, it was really a tough decision to make. but, again, we have to err on the side of caution at all times. >> reporter: nearly 300 schools in four states will start the year virtually. d.c. and baltimore will take two days off to allow students and staff to test. other cities, like seattle, are telling families to prepare for a possible last-minute switch to remote learning. but following the guidance from top health officials, new york city has decided it's better for kids to be in person. >> your children are safer in school. the numbers speak for themselves. >> reporter: with covid cases rising, is it safe to reopen schools? >> it is if you have the protocols in place. >> reporter: washington statesul points to protocols like mask wearing and a high vaccination rate among staff. >> we know how to control this and keep spread minimal in schools. sports are a little harder, but in classrooms, very effective with these strategies, and we did it before we even had a vaccine. >> reporter: here in paterson, new jersey, the superintendent plans to keep schools all remote only until january 18. during that time, they're offering families free rides to vaccination clinics. major. >> garrett: meg oliver, thank you. turning to the severe weather across the country. chicago finally got its first measurable snowfall of the season today. the latest first snowfall in city history. the wintry conditions are stretching into the northeast. meanwhile, more than a dozen cities across the south hit record highs for the day. houston recorded its hottest december day ever-- 84 degrees. those warm temperatures will bring threats of severe weather tomorrow, including possible tornadoes across tennessee and alabama. the parents of the 14-year-old girl killed in a clothing store dressing room by a los angeles police officer's stray bullet called for justice today, one day after police released video showing the chaotic moments before the shooting. here is cbs' jonathan vigliotti. >> i had a customer in my store attacking customers. >> reporter: 911 calls and surveillance video captured the chaos and confusion as 24-year- old daniel elena-lopez entered the north hollywood burlington clothing store and launched the attack. the suspect entered with his bike, which led to security asking him to leave. after he refused he chased one woman down an escalator, then carried on his assault, using a heavy bike lock to beat another customer. within minutes, officers arrived at the scene. on the way, police say, they received calls of shots fired. body camera footage shows their guns drawn as they enter the store. as they made their way up the store escalator, elena-lopez, seen on another camera, continued to kick and hit his victim behind a display. officers followed a trail of blood and rescued the injured woman and then shot and killed lopez as he stood at the end of the aisle.ma he was declared dead at the scene. no gun was found on him. the footage, released by l.a.p.d. on monday, then captures the wailing of soledad orellana-peralta. at a press conference today, she recalled the tragedy as one of the officer's bullets pierced through a wall, hitting her 14- year-old daughter, valentina. >> ( translated ): something hit my daughter, valentina, and it knocked us to the ground. >> reporter: they had been hiding in a dressing room hugging and praying after the chaos erupted on a christmas shopping trip. >> ( translated ): and she died in my arms. i couldn't do anything. >> reporter: valentina's parents promise to seek justice for their daughter and have hired an attorney. police officers i've spoken with have called this a tragic accident. what do you call this? >> preventable. unnecessary. needless. >> reporter: and the shooting has sparked debate over police tactics. the l.a.p.d. has shot and killed 18 people this year, more than double compared to last year, major. >> garrett: hugging and praying. jonathan vigliotti, thank you. now to denver, where police are investigating the motive for monday night's shooting spree that left six people dead, including the gunman. the shootings began around 5:00 p.m. and continued across multiple locations. the suspect was killed after exchanging gunfire with police. two other people, including a police officer, were injured. the suspect has been identified as lyndon mccloud. police say some of his victims were targeted. federal investigators are on the scene of a small plane crash near san diego. four people were killed when the small lear jet crashed and burned just after 7:00 p.m. monday night. no one on the ground was hurt, but one home was damaged. power lines were knocked down. the n.t.s.b. is handling the investigation. the future of sea travel could be here, and it may bring some help for the planet. it's another example of american innovation. here is cbs' ben tracy. >> reporter: for more than a century, ferryboats hve moved people around san francisco bay, powered mostly bydiesel, a planet-warming fossil fuel. so his is the boat of the future. but now there's a sea change coming. down the hatch. >> down the hatch, yes, sir. >> reporter: this is the first passenger ferry in the world powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cells. >> instead of a big diesel engine spinning things to make power just happens here in the fuel cells. >> reporter: jeff sokolik is with all american m with all american marine in bellingham, washington. it built the 75-passenger catamaran that will soon launch in san francisco bay with zero emissions. >> and that's really kind of the holy grail of this. >> reporter: r wisone li presidenof ct what does a hydrogen-powered boat allow for? >> when you actually use hydrogen to create electricity, the only by-product is literally hot water. so it's zero emissions, completely clean. >> reporter: the marine industry, mostly international shipping, is one of the dirty and not-so-little secrets of climate change. it causes about 3% of all global carbon dioxide gas emissions, which is more than the co2 emissions from the airline industry. this much larger hydrogen- powered ferry is now being built in europe and the technology could eventually be applied to container ships. but there is a downside. if hydrogen leaks during production or from its tanks it contributes to global warming. >> there's a lot of hope and promise around it. but in order for it to really move forward, in order for the climate to be protected, we need to understand what the leak potential really is. >> reporter: back in bellingham, they're proud that a cleaner future is being built in america. >> i really think it's going to be a game changer as things move forward. >> reporter: and a sea change for the industry. ben tracy, cbs news, bellingham, washington. >> garrett: tonight, a prosecutor said former new york governor andrew cuomo will not face criminal charges following accusations of unwanted kissing made by two women. new york's westchester county district attorney said she found the allegations credible, but that they did not merit charges. cuomo, who resigned in august, is still being investigated by two other county district attorneys. he has denied touching anyone inappropriately. now a follow-up on an important issue we have been reporting on- - military families facing food insecurity. it is a real crisis. the pentagon responded, and so did you. that response just hit a milestone. cbs' mark strassmann tells us more. >> reporter: if a picture is worth 1,000 words... >> thank you for your service. >> reporter: ...your donations were worth one million meals to military families battling hunger. >> if you all just head right in there they'll help you out. >> reporter: near fort hood in texas, hundreds of families each received 60 pounds of free groceries. >> this food makes a huge impact on their lives, on their family lives. >> reporter: back in february, we started reporting on military families struggling to feed themselves. why? low incomes, frequent moves, denial up the chain of command. >> i cannot feed my kids. it's just unacceptable, really. >> reporter: from joint base lewis-mcchord in washington state, to naval station norfolk in virginia. >> how can they focus on the mission when your family can't even survive? >> reporter: in one study, nearly 40% of active-duty military families faced hunger issues at the start of the covid era. finally, the pentagon agreed to identify and help them. >> our men and women in uniform and their families have enough to worry about. basic necessities, like food and housing, shouldn't be among them. >> reporter: you jumped in to help, unprompted, donating more than $600,000. what an impact. >> i'm absolutely humbled and incredibly emotional to share with each of you here with us today that we just officially broke one million meals for military families! ( applause ). >> reporter: enough to feed 7,000 families. >> this would not have been possible without the support of cbs shining a spotlight on the issue, and then the viewers who really leaned in to provide incredible support. >> reporter: these families have our backs. you had theirs. >> thank you, cbs viewers! ( applause ) >> reporter: mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. >> garrett: we have breaking news just coming in. let's go to the cbs news desk for the latest details. >> i'm alice gainer in new york. we have learned tonight that hall of fame football coach john madden has died. the national football league said madden died tuesday morning. he coached the oakland raiders for 10 years, winning seven titles and a super bowl following the 1976 season. he became a household name, broadcasting nfl games on cbs news, educating viewers as they told the story of the sport. later, he became the face of madden nfl football, one of the most successful franchises of all time. john madden was 85. >> garrett: and we'll be right back. you clean dishes as you cook, to save time and stay ahead of the mess. but scrubbing still takes time. now there's dawn powerwash dish spray. the faster, easier way to clean as you go. it cleans grease five times faster. on easy messes, just spray, wipe, and rinse. on tough messes, the spray-activated suds cut through grease on contact, without water. just wipe, and rinse. get dishes done faster. dawn powerwash dish spray. now available in free & clear. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ why give your family just ordinary eggs when they can enjoy the best? 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>> a big one is appreciating simplicity. >> reporter: i just feel like you guys are way wise beyond your years. >> i think just having that connection between the younger generation and the older generation will just make our society a better place. >> reporter: jamie yuccas, cbs news, tucson. >> garrett: keep up their good hearts. and we'll be right back. back. or sunday afternoon in the produce aisle. these moments may not seem remarkable. but at pfizer, protecting the regular routine, and everyday drives us to reach for exceptional. working to impact hundreds of millions of lives... young and old. it's what we call, the pursuit of normal. ♪ ♪ from the very first touch, pampers, the #1 pediatrician recommended brand, it's what we call, the pursuit of normal. helps keep baby's skin drier and healthier. so every touch will protect like the first. pampers 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. hi susan! honey? 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[girls laugh] -nice smile, brad. -nice! thanks? crest 3d white. 100% stain removal. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. >> garrett: on tomorrow's "cbs evening news," unifying america. how a new jersey high school is trying to bridge the gap between police and the black students who distrust them. quick reminder: if you can't watch us live, please don't forget to set your dvr so you can watch us later. that is tonight's "cbs evening news." for norah o'donnell, i'm major garrett in the nation's capital. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs capt right now at 7:00 -- >> i live look outside. i cold and rainy night across the bay area. more reaction coming in following the death of legendary nfl coach john madden . how he is being remembered in the bay area. 2021 won't be going out with a bang in the bay area. the big new year's eve bash just canceled. the important health mandates you need to know about heading into the new year. thank you for joining us. i'm allen martin. i am morning anchor amanda starrantino in for elizabeth. we start with a live look outside on a cold and wet night as more rain showers move through our area. parts of the bay area saw snow today. here is what it looked like on mt. diablo in the santa cruz mountains, napa valley, and santa rosa. was get to brian hackney tracking the rain tonight. it is quite a sight. there is more coming tonight. mostly just light showers now. also beginning to move into the south bay, and developing more to the south off of the peninsula. we all get wet the next couple of hours. scattered showers, mostly light , but then we increase tomorrow towards the morning commute. no more than about 0.25 inches. just to take san francisco as an example, 8:00 tonight, to 10:00 tonight, to the peak chance around midnight tonight. it tapers off a bit but built again towards the morning commute. the amount of rain we get will depend on the hour, but it is peaking tonight at midnight in the city, and it is a broadbrush kind of way that will happen to the rest of the bay area.