covid-19 could reach 321,000 by 19th of december. nearly 2300 people died just yesterday. almost 90,000 americans are spending the holiday inn a hospital bed. the country is witnessing a stark contrast between the two leaders at the center of it, president trump is at his golf course today in virginia and in his thanksgiving proclamation, president trump is encouraging people to gather today, mentioning zero words of caution or safety from the virus. on the other hand, president-elect joe biden and his wife jill, they're asking americans to keep celebrations small, and thanking americans for the personal sacrifices made to mitigate the spread. all of this is coming on this holidays a divided u.s. supreme court just ruled on religious gatherings in the pandemic, siding with christian groups who sued the new york governor,

andrew cuomo, over his coronavirus restrictions. we'll have more on that later this hour. i want to begin with my colleague, rosa flores, live outside jackson hospital there in miami and ed lavandera working this holiday as well in dallas. and rosa, i will begin with you. happy thanksgiving, friend. nice to see you. so tough to have to talk about what we are covering on a day like today, but what are hospitalizations like where you are? >> reporter: brooke, happy thanksgiving to you, too. look, hospitalizations not only here in miami-dade but other areas are increasing. that's what we are hearing from coast to coast, rhode island to washington state. here in miami-dade where i am, according to the last data released by the county, hospitalizations increased by 25% in the past two weeks. use of ventilators has increased by 44%. and also use of icus have increased by 43%.

medical experts had warned about this. they had said that if americans weren't wearing masks, not social distancing, we were going to see the surge. and here we are, seeing it across the united states, according to the latest data here in the u.s., reports of more than 181,000 cases reported yesterday. hospitalizations around the country are nearing 90,000, and when it comes to the number of deaths, this is staggering. they continue to increase. they've been more than 2,000 for the past few days. yesterday, that count, more than 2,200 americans died here in the united states due to covid-19. states across the country are beginning to react. we're seeing this across some of the states. what some states are doing is they're rolling back some reopening plans. that's what's happening in louisiana, for example. other states are tightening their mask rules. that's what's happening in north

carolina. here in the state of florida where i am i can tell you, brooke, there's a lot of frustration by local mayors, especially here in miami, city of miami, francis suarez, they're asking that the governor, ron desantis, do more to help them curb spread of the virus. i will tell you why they're so frustrated. when governor desantis reopened the state in one swoop in late september, the other thing he did, brooke, he banned these mayors from restricting and fining people violating the mask rules. you ask the mayors, they say that was the rule that was helping them curb the virus, and now their power is clipped. they can't do that. so they're calling on the governor to act, to do something to stop the spread of this virus. >> thus the frustration, and fear is numbers only go up after

this thanksgiving. rosa, thank you for that in miami. ed to you in dallas, i know they put in some new kcurfews in dallas. tell me a little more. >> reporter: not here in dallas, in san antonio, bear county, and in el paso county where city and county officials there said over the last couple of holiday weekends, they saw such a surge in the number of new cases because of people gathering. they're taking the step of instituting kcurfews. in san antonio and el paso, you're seeing kcurfews from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., everything must be shutdown. restaurants are allowed to do drive through and takeout, there are other caveats in there in each of those locations as to what people can and can't do in the holiday weekend, but as i mention, brooke, it all stems from the fact it was the last several holiday weekends that

health officials noticed a resurgence of coronavirus because of people gathering. this here in a state that has more coronavirus cases than any other state in the country and is also second in the number of coronavirus deaths. there's a great deal of concern as the state is in the midst of another surge, a surge i should point out, brooke, is much higher than this state saw during the summer in july and into early august, so the highest record total of new coronavirus cases was reported here in texas yesterday. more than 14,000 cases. back in july, that surge was just over 10,000. so we're in the midst of another dangerous surge here as we head into the holiday season. brooke? >> going to talk to a health official about everything you threw down. with me, an emergency room physician and associate professor at brown university.

doctor, thank you for being on with me, especially on a holiday. nice to have you on. >> my pleasure to be here. happy thanksgiving, brooke. >> same to you. for the people who maybe went against cdc guidelines, got a negative test, got on a plane, they're now with family today, what advice do you have for them as they sit down for the thanksgiving meal? >> my voice is take that thanksgiving meal outside for your safety and for your family's. that negative test you got before you got on the plane does not protect you and does not protect your family. it is like a pregnancy test. you could have tested negative yesterday, but turn positive today, and as a health care worker, i am so worried about all these people sitting indoors. you can't come up with a better way to spread the virus than a thanksgiving meal, you're mixing families without masks, indoors, for hours at a time. if you are one of those that has

insisted on seeing family, which i understand, please do it outdoors, wear masks whenever possible, try to keep distance. do your best to keep yourself and your family safe. i do not want to see you in my er in two or three weeks. >> you were quoted in the "new york times" op-ed that definals the freedom and how the response to covid-19 has been similar to gun violence pandemic. and many feel the life-style restrictions are violation of their own freedoms. what do you think is missing? >> so what i think is missing, brooke, is awareness of the larger community. this is not about infringing on freedom, this is about keeping yourself and your family and those around you healthy. listen, my town right now, we have two-thirds of the firefighters who are out sick because they've been exposed to covid-19 in the course of their normal job.

that's because of the lack of mask wearing and the lack of following public health precautions of the larger community, so when people say oh, you're infringing on my freedom by wearing a mask, they forget that freedom is about the larger country, about the group all around them. if you put a mask on, sure, you might protect yourself. most of all, you're protecting our right to go out and do things that make our country great, like celebrating thanksgiving. we are here today because we didn't do the right things back in september and october. i would love nothing more than to be able to sit down with extended family today, but i am not doing it. because that's the right thing. that's what we stand for as a country, doing the right thing for each other, making tough choices. i hope people will do the right thing to keep themselves safe. >> to that point, there are millions of health care workers today who are away from their families, working this thanksgiving. hundreds of staff at university of wisconsin wrote an open letter to people of their state.

i want to read part of it to everyone watching right now. wisconsin is in a bad place now with no sign of things getting better without action. we are quite simply out of time. without immediate change, our hospitals will be too full to treat all those with the virus, and those with other illnesses or injuries. doctor, post thanksgiving gatherings, do you expect hospitals to be even more -- we had so many stories about lack of beds already, even more over capacity than the initial surge? >> i do, brooke. only 1% of 50 million people that traveled this week end up catching or transmitting covid, that's another 500,000 infections today alone. hospitals are already at the breaking point. many of us are already talking about opening field hospitals, many of us have colleagues out sick. mayo clinic has 900 workers out sick with covid. my own hospital, we are on third

backup for er doctors today, so many of us are out sick. i know, right? you combine that with the transmission today and this is going to be, i don't mean to be scary, this is a potentially -- today can change the course of covid for our country for the rest of the year because infections that are sustained today are going to show up in three weeks, will show up in deaths over christmas and new year's and will spread in every state. i'm so thankful to colleagues at university of wisconsin for writing that letter, and i just want to emphasize it is not just them, that's how health care workers literally across the country are feeling and hoping and praying today that their communities will listen. >> to that point, i want to reiterate, you said today could be make or break day with the future of covid the rest of the year, going into 2021. for the people who have gone and seen the family, again, it is like it is so complicated, part

of you wants to understand, part of you thinks why are you doing that for the safety of everyone else. what can people do tomorrow, over the weekend, to mitigate potential spread? >> yeah, so i want to start by saying this is a failure of messaging. americans are confused and they're divided, and just like with the gun violence issue, it is because people made this political instead of making it about health. for those that have made unsafe choice to get together with families today, outside their own nuclear household, the best thing to do is just maintain contact with those people you were with today. don't then go out to a bar, don't then go to an indoor restaurant, stay just with the people you were with today. on the return home, i implore them to quarantine themselves, to stay home for 10 to 14 days, get a negative test at the end of that. having a negative test monday does not mean you did not get sick today. it takes somewhere around a week to 10 days for the test to turn

positive. so if you made the choice to go and be with family today, do the right thing tomorrow and monday and next friday, stay home. don't expose other people. >> wise words we all need to hear. thank you so much. thank you for everything you do and happy thanksgiving. >> you too. >> thank you. pope francis has written an opinion piece in "new york times" today, pushing for compassion for those that suffered due to coronavirus and frankly calling out some people's selfishness. let me read part of what he has written. quote, look at us now. we put on face masks to protect ourselves and others from a virus we can't see, but what about all the other unseen viruses we need to protect ourselves from? how will we deal with the hidden pandemics of the world, the pandemic of hunger and violence and climate change, if we are to come out of the crisis less selfish than when we went in, we have to let ourselves be touched by others' pain. coming up on cnn,

president-elect joe biden delivering a thanksgiving message in a new op-ed here at cnn.com, expressing grad tud for front line workers. and president trump pardons michael flynn after he admitted to lying to the fbi. the question we're asking today, are more pardons on the way? in a late night ruling, the u.s. supreme court sides with religious groups who are fighting restrictions intended to slow the spread of covid. you're watching cnn on this thanksgiving thursday. i am brooke baldwin. we'll be right back. we do it every night.

every night. i live alone, but i still do it every night. right after dinner. definitely after meatloaf. like clockwork. do it! run your dishwasher with cascade platinum. and save water. did you know an energy star certified dishwasher... ...uses less than four gallons per cycle. while a running sink uses that, every two minutes. that means even small loads can save water. so why not do it? run your dishwasher every night with cascade platinum. the surprising way to save water. $$9.95? no way.? $9.95? that's impossible. hi, i'm jonathan, a manager here at colonial penn life insurance company, to tell you it is possible. if you're age 50 to 85, you can get life insurance with options starting at just $9.95 a month. okay, jonathan, i'm listening. tell me more. just $9.95 a month

for colonial penn's number one most popular whole life insurance plan. there are no health questions to answer and there are no medical exams to take. your acceptance is guaranteed. guaranteed acceptance? i like guarantees. keep going. and with this plan, your rate is locked in for your lifetime, so it will never go up. sounds good to me, but at my age, i need the security of knowing it won't get cancelled as i get older. this is lifetime coverage as long as you pay your premiums. it can never be cancelled, call now for free information. you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. use this valuable guide to record your important information and give helpful direction about your final wishes to your loved ones. and it's yours free. it's our way of saying thank you just for calling. so call now.

itthe north pole has to and be feeling the heat. up, it's okay santa... let's workflow it. workflow it...? with the now platform, we can catch problems, before customers even know they're problems. wait... a hose? what kid wants a hose?! fireman? says "hose". -it says "horse"! not a hose! cedric! get over here! now our people can collaborate across silos, from across the globe. so how's the new place? it's a 4 bed, 2.5 bath igloo... it's great! yeah, but you have to live in the south pole. sir... -wait, are you sure? yes, we're that productive now. you hear that?! the kids get twice the presents! about time 2020 gave us some good news. whatever your business is facing... let's workflow it. servicenow.

a son once returned home from afar and gave to his father a gift. it wasn't a thing of great meaning but a thing of quality and purpose. this gift was used well. over 40 years this thing of quality of purpose. became a thing of the heart. a thing of a son. we are back, happy thanksgiving. i am brooke baldwin. a message from soon to be first family that echos the campaign

and encourages necessary covid kindness. >> i know this isn't the way many of us hoped we'd spend our holiday, we know that a small act of staying home is a gift to our fellow americans. >> so many people are celebrating this year knowing that someone they love will never again take their seat at the table. joe and i know the pain of that empty chair. >> the empty chair was a campaign trail center piece in the president-elect's coronavirus message and there are a lot of empty chairs today, 262,000 americans missing from the thanksgiving table. let's go to mj lee, live in delaware. mj, i was listening to the president-elect's thanksgiving speech yesterday, greeting the cnn op-ed, making this appeal to unity in this country. >> reporter: that's right. and they're clearly emphasizing that they understand this is

going to be such a challenging and unusual thanksgiving period for so many families across the country. you know, people who simply can't travel, can't gather with the family members they usually would over the holiday because of this pandemic, and this is the same for the president-elect and his wife. they usually have the tradition of traveling to get together with extended family. this is a holiday they really enjoy and love, a time for them to be with their loved ones. they're not doing that this week. they're staying behind here in delaware this week and just getting together with a few members of their family and demonstrating that even for them, the rules do apply, and as you said, we heard joe biden talk about this yesterday in his national address, and we have a new op-ed on cnn.com. i just wanted to read a piece of

that. they write like millions of americans, we are temporarily letting go of the traditions we can't do safely. it is not a small sacrifice. moments with loved ones, time that's lost can't be returned, yet we know it is the price of protecting each other, one we don't pay alone, isolated in our own dining rooms and kitchens scattered from coast to coast, we are healing together. there are two over arching things joe and jill biden are trying to do here, they're trying to empathize with the pain a lot of families are feeling across the country, talking about the missing chair at the dining room table, and really urging americans to please be responsible, that they're trying to do the responsible thing and that they urge others to do the same because a vaccine is on the way soon and they really hope they can see the country turn the corner sometime soon. >> the bidens are normally in nantucket for thanksgiving.

like so many of the rest of us, not where we normally are because we just want everyone to be safe and have thanksgiving next year. mj, thank you so much. the president-elect's priority is covid, the president's focus meantime in his final days in office, yes, they are his final days in office, is very, very different, amplifying baseless voter fraud claims, and the latest maneuver chips away at the justice system. the president pardoned michael flynn. he was the president's first national security adviser who twice admitted to lying during the 2016 transition. so to ron brownstein. cnn senior political analyst. happy thanksgiving to you, ron. nice to have you on. the conservative "the wall street journal" editorial board gi gives thumbs up writing congratulations for sparing an innocent man that served his country well, but was ill served

by too many of his country men. ron, your response to that. >> he lied to the fbi on multiple occasions and the president pardoned him as he come utilitied the sentence of roger stone who may have been withholding information relative to the investigation of the president. you don't get to appoint like this an act so egregious as pardoning michael flynn in a single step, don't get there without complicity of essentially the entire republican party and much of the conservative intellectual ecosystem. you see the step by step process, brooke, from extorting the government of ukraine to weaponizing the postal service, trying to tilt the census, to commutation of roger stone and so forth. you have to look at the trajectory, say that we can expect more i think actions like this between now and the president's final day in office. >> ron, the president retweeted a message from matt gates

tuesday night. president trump should pardon flynn, the thanksgiving turkey, and everyone from himself to his administration to joe exotic if he has to. to your point, that raises questions about if the flynn pardon is about michael flynn or a prelude to a broader attempt to wipe the slate clean. >> i think both. we don't know how far the president is going to go. what we do know is what susan collins said after impeachment i think will be the defining quote of the trump era, when she said, as you recall, she thought he learned a pretty big lesson from impeachment. he had. but not the lesson she thought. the lesson he learned is that he could act, he could bow through the rule of law without meaningful consequence from republicans in congress. one thing we learned clearly through the trump presidency is one party alone cannot uphold small d democracy.

the fact it continues with so many republicans silent or openly abetting the baseless claims, refusing to acknowledge that joe biden is the president-elect, we are in as your previous segment showed, we are in the greatest national security crisis this country has faced to its physical security since world war ii. and world war ii, the entire country came together to meet the threat. because of the environment we're in now, the president has essentially encouraged or intimidated much of the republican party into denying what's happening and refusing to work with the president-elect on what is obviously a great moment of crisis for the country. >> no, to your point, it is like some of the republicans can't stand up to president trump, how are they supposed to lead and govern and stand up to the likes of xi and putin and leaders like that around the world, dictate ors like that. ron brownstein, thank you very much. happy turkey day. the supreme court siding with religious groups that were

fighting against coronavirus restriction in new york. why andrew cuomo, new york governor, says it is irrelevant next. research shows people remember commercials with nostalgia. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's one that'll really take you back. wow! what'd you get, ryan? it's customized home insurance from liberty mutual! what does it do bud? it customizes our home insurance so we only pay for what we need! and what did you get, mike? i got a bike. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

working, parenting, problem solving. at new chapter vitamins we've been busy too... innovating, sourcing organic ingredients, testing them and fermenting. fermenting? yeah like kombucha or yogurt. and we formulate everything so your body can really truly absorb the natural goodness. that's what we do, so you can do you. new chapter wellness, well done.

lelet's get fast, accuratell range oresults.ions. introducing letsgetchecked health testing you do at home. know your health. know yourself. now, get 40% off at letsgetchecked dot com ...this one's for you. you inspired us to make your humira experience even better... with humira citrate-free. it has the same effectiveness you know and trust, but we removed the citrate buffers, there's less liquid, and a thinner needle... with less pain immediately following injection. ask your doctor about humira citrate-free. and you can use your co-pay card to pay as little as $5 a month. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections,... ...including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened,... ...as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems,... ...serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas

where certain fungal infections are common... and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections,... or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ask your doctor about humira citrate-free. the same humira you trust with less pain immediately following injection. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. so when you do, make it count with crest pro-health. it protects the 8 areas dentists check for a healthier mouth. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. crest. tturning downhe temperature, dad. ow. thunk, lock the doors. locking doors.

thunk, dim the lights. dimming lights. [ croaking ] goodnight, honey. goodnight. [ laughs ] that's my leg. aw! pft, pft. evolve your home security. get the peace of mind, safety and convenience of xfinity home. and don't forget to catch the croods, a new age now in theaters. rated pg.

in a late night ruling, supreme court ruled in favor of religious groups challenging covid related restrictions on large gatherings. the case revolved around restrictions imposed by new york governor andrew cuomo the groups said were unfairly aimed at religious institutions. this ruling gave us an idea what to expect from the new justice, amy coney barrett, that sided with the conservatives. chief justice john roberts sided with more liberal justices. jessica snyder, happy thanksgiving to you. >> you too. >> we know this is the third case of its kind to get to the supreme court, the other two went the other way. what do you take away from this ruling? >> it is the difference in the court's makeup, since justice ginsburg's death, and amy coney barrett replacing her. this ruling is the first glimpse

how consequential it will be for the future of the court. she was critical giving conservatives 5-4 majority since it was chief justice john roberts that once again sided with liberals as he had this past summer when justice ginsburg was still on the cord, and when they sided 5-4 against houses of worship that were fighting restrictions. that's the flip side of what we're seeing with the new court makeup. the late night decision on the eve of thanksgiving, a stark reminder of the split we'll see on consequential cases moving forward. as such, we saw unusually critical language, we saw this from justice sonya so the my or. yet, on the flip side, the unsigned opinion from the majority conservative justices, it seemed to punch back.

this is what unsigned opinion said. it said members of the court are not public health experts, we should respect the judgment of those with special expertise and responsibility in this area. even in a pandemic, the constitution cannot be put away and for gotten. the conservative justice majority seizing on the religious liberties the constitution affords in this case, and brooke, like i mentioned first time, justice amy coney barrett the key vote to side with those churches that challenge restrictions. could be a glimpse what's to come as we move forward in the supreme court term. >> that's why the appointments matter. governor cuomo responded. >> he was roundly criticized for putting restrictions into effect. the religious institutions are celebrating this as a big win. but he spoke out this morning and pointed out, he said look, the restrictions, they've already ended. he believes there was no reason for the court to even rule in

these cases, that's why he criticized the court. take a listen. >> it is irrelevant from any practical impact because the zone that they were talking about has already been moot. it expired last week. this is really just an opportunity for the court to express its philosophy and politics. i fully respect religion and if there's time in life when we need it, the time is now but we want to make sure we keep people safe at the same time and that's the balance we're trying to hit, especially through the holiday season. >> brooke, governor cuomo thinking the court is already getting too political, something the chief justice has tried to insulate the court against, these criticisms of

politization. we'll see. this is the latest battle in what could be a long year for the court, brooke. >> jessica snyder, thank you so much. vulnerable senior citizens in nursing homes across the country are facing thanksgiving day without their families, giving up holiday traditions they hold dear in the midst of nationwide surge in coronavirus cases. many seniors will spend the day without hugging sons, daughters, grandchildren. cnn's brynn gingras tells their story. >> that's in rhode island at my sister-in-law's house. >> reporter: since the pandemic began, it is the physical connection with family kathy and other residents at this connecticut nursing home ache for. >> my heart ripped up sometimes. >> just waiting. >> waiting for what? >> to be able to hug again. >> especially this time of year. >> holidays are memories of the

family, when they can't even come up and eat a meal with you or anything, it is hard. >> reporter: in spring, coronavirus ravaged the northeast, nursing homes may have paid the heftiest price. to date, residents in long-term care facilities makeup 8% of all cases in the u.s., but nearly half the country's total deaths. >> it is like being in a battle. it is the same impact. >> reporter: bill white owns long-term care in connecticut. to keep residents safe, he put in place a strict multi layer system of checks to prevent covid-19 from infiltrating walls. a health questionnaire, testing requirement for visitors. beachwood went through periods of denying visitations outright to allowing them with restrictions. >> you don't know what works. in the end, no one will care. >> so far, they had just 14 cases since march. three of them residents, the

rest staff. a success by all accounts. >> we are lucky to have just precautions taken. we didn't see that every year, and people really paid the price. >> in the last week, connecticut saw 306 confirmed coronavirus cases of nursing home residents. 39 people died. a sign of where the state may be headed. last week, this once abandoned nursing home became fully operational again, it is reserved for covid-19 positive long term residents, moved here to mitigate the virus spreading like a brush fire inside their home facilities. >> amount of referrals we're getting, people calling, asking can we take patients. it has been very consistent since the day we opened. we haven't really had a slow moment. >> reporter: with help from the national guard, the state first opened the facility in april. one of four like it needed in the spring to get control of

cases. it closed in the summer when the numbers went down. for now, the state is relying on just this building, but hasn't ruled out the possibility of needing more space as cases surge. on this day, eight sick elderly patients were expected to arrive. we talked to charles miller, one of the first patients admitted. he is a beachwood resident that tested covid positive recovering from a stroke at the hospital. >> tough on the elderly. i think it is tough on everybody. >> reporter: he tries to keep good spirit. >> you look good. >> i feel great. >> reporter: because this thanksgiving will be the first away from his wife and family. >> we have next year. >> we sure do. >> seeing their loved ones face even a facetime visit is sometimes a critical piece in their care. >> reporter: miller's goal is to fight the virus, get back to beachwood, enjoy the residents as they stick together, waiting

for one thing. >> give him a hug after this is over. >> i will indeed, a lot of hugs. >> reporter: brynn gingras, cnn, new london, connecticut. >> so important to tell those stories. thank you for doing that. coming up, the nfl postponing tonight's game between the ravens and the steelers after multiple players on the ravens team tested positive for covid. baru createde love event. where our new owners could choose a national or hometown charity. and subaru and our retailers would proudly make a donation. but now, in times like these, companies are having a hard choice to make. but subaru is more than a car company. and as charities struggle, we cannot just stand by. which is why we plan to donate over twenty four million dollars, again this year. the subaru share the love event, going on now. this was the theater i came to quite often. the support we've had over the last few months

has been amazing. it's not just a work environment. everyone here is family. if you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. we thought for sure that we were done. and this town said: not today. ♪ - with the ninja foodito intelligesmart xl grill.ingday. just pick your protein, select your doneness, and let the grill monitor your food. it also turns into an air fryer. bring outdoor grilling flavors indoors with the grill that grills for you.

♪

irresistibly smooth chocolate. to put the world on pause. lindor. made to melt you. by the lindt master chocolatier. to fight wrinkles? it's what i use! neutrogena®. the #1 retinol brand used most by dermatologists. rapid wrinkle repair® visibly smooths fine lines in 1 week. deep wrinkles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles... and other wrinkle creams goodbye! rapid wrinkle repair®. pair with our most concentrated retinol ever for 2x the power. neutrogena®.

the nfl is postponing tonight's game between the ravens and steelers after the ravens confirm multiple cases of covid. carolyn man now is following th details. what's going on? >> reporter: the nfl is postponing the prime time matchup to sunday afternoon after worsening of widespread outbreak of coronavirus within the ravens organization. at least seven baltimore players have either tested positive or identified as close contacts, several coaches and support staff have already tested positive. the scheduling change comes after the ravens disciplined a staff member for conduct surrounding the virus cases. baltimore's facility is closed with all team activities happening virtually. shortly after the scheduling announcement, several pittsburgh

players expressing disappointment on social media. wide receiver tweeting first they take away the bye week because another team can't get their covid situation together, now take away thanksgiving prime time game for the same reason. shaking my head. this is the second time the steelers have been effected. week four game with tennessee was moved after a titans outbreak. that was echoed by steelers and ravens fans. everyone hoping to see them square off. two games this afternoon, plenty of turkey, hopefully enough to hold everybody over until sunday afternoon's meeting. >> carolyn, thank you so much. still ahead on cnn. food banks continue to report massive surge in demand this holiday season. up next, i talk to an official from salvation army that says outreach that doubled. my kids, they know i'm a scientist. but it's hard to explain to them what i do every day. ♪

right now, i'm working on purification technologies that help advance vaccine and therapy research for covid-19. one day, they'll realize i wasn't just trying to help them go out and play again. i was trying to make it safer for the whole world to get back outside too. to help you build a flexible wealth plan. you'll have access to tax-smart investing strategies, and with brokerage accounts online trades are commission free. personalized advice. unmatched value. at fidelity, you can have both. unmatched value. it's timnew sleep numberte sleep360 smart bed.on the what if i sleep hot? or cold? no problem, with temperature balancing, you can sleep better together. can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. will it help me keep up with mom? you got this. so you can really promise better sleep? not promise, prove. and now, during the ultimate sleep number event, save $800 on new sleep number 360® smart beds.

only for a limited time. to learn more, go to sleepnumber.com. which is breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance 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, and shrank tumors in over half of patients. patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs that can lead to death. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including trouble breathing, shortness of breath, cough, or chest pain. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant.

common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. tonight, try pure zzzs all night. unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. fall asleep. stay asleep. to syour body needs routine. system, centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. season, after season. ace your immune support, with centrum.

so many americans are facing as much as devastating impacts, including the increased need for food assistance. covid-19 is also changing how nonprofits help families. atlanta's hosea house is celebrating an versery, but they're out handing out boxes of food that people had to preregister for. first and foremost, happy thanksgiving, my friend. secondly, i'm so glad you've been out there all day, shining a like on misthat's so important. what have you seen?

>> reporter: it's been so amazing. hosea house feeds thousands of people, and one said this was like katrina for months and months. so many have needed food assistance. there have been people showing up who will eid thanksgiving in their car. that's tough. this is one of the outreaches. there have been truck that is left here now to feed more people throughout the community who couldn't show up, but you see this massive operation they've had all day. cars started lining up. earlier this video is when the massive line started showing up. when you talk to people who have been volunteers in years past who are now coming here for the assistance that they used to give other people, you understand how this pandemic is having a ripple effect

throughout this area. they've been doing this for 50 years. hosea williams was in the inner circle with martin luther king, so there's a long history of this effort. we spoke to one veteran, though, who said he's dealing with a tough time and this is an outreach program he can count on for provides him a safe meal. >> i'm just truly grateful, there are people and organizations that help when you need help. you know, trying to survive. i work at day labor jobs, make a little money, and when i need help, i go to these events. >> reporter: i think the one thing we should mention is just because thanksgiving ends today doesn't mean people stop being hungry. you can still dough nay and reach out, especially so many who have food tonight. we have to think of those who

are less fortunate. it's sad to see the ripple over and over. >> it's awful. you know, the kin, the parents, the stigma around here asking for help. this is an extraordinary place there in atlanta. ryan, thank you so much for that. the coronavirus pandemic is also putting more demand on groups like the salvation army. it's already doubled its outreach this year. this year it has served more than 100 million meals and provided more than 1.6 million nights of shelter for people in need. joining me now the commander of the salvation army, commissioner kenneth hodder. bless you for all you do, happy thanksgiving. >> great to be with you today, brooke. >> there are more people in need because of covid-19, and i know it's changed the way you reach out. how are you keeping up with the

demand. >> it's no exaggeration to since since the beginning of the pandemic, the salvation army has seen a tsunami of the human need. the figure you quoted a moment ago, that was 100 million meals as of the end of september. that figure has grown even further and we're anticipating about a 155% increase in the number of people coming to us for christmas assistance, everything from food to clothing to rent assistance, to toys. the need out there is enormous. you undoubtedly are aware of the columbia university study that says that 8 million people have fallen into poverty across the country since the middle of may. that's certainly the case that the salvation army has seen the results of that. >> as i'm trying to just take all of this in, i wrong do you 155%, i think of salvation army, commissioner, and i think of this time of year, the red kettle campaign, the ringing

bells and the donations that passers-by provide, except there many very many passers-by right now. how concerned are you that so many are so strapped, that you won't get what you normally do? >> this is an extraordinary time for the salvation army. we've never faced anything like this in our history. not only do we have overwhelming need, but the christmas kettle campaign, which has always been a mainstay of what we do, is at risk. last year we raised at those little kettles on the corner of america's streets, about $126 million. we anticipate at this point we will realize about 50% of that figure this year. so the salvation army is trying to do everything it can to address what could be described as a perfect storm, increasing need, and the challenged means by which we can find the resources to address that need. at the kettles which will still be out, we're going to provide

electronic means by which people can donate. they can tap their phone to the sign rather than putting money in the kettle itself. people will be able to donate via alexa. they can donate by texting the word "kettle to 91999. the big resource for us will be a website we're calls rescuechristmas.org, where people can put in their own zip code, find out what the salvation army is doing there. the salvation army is in every zip code in the country. if they need help, we want them to come to the salvation army. if they can help us immediate thoughts needs, please make a donation. >> rescuechristmas.org. everyone fortunate enough to be ladling the gravy and the cranberry sauce -- i'm talking to myself, too, we all need to help out those less fortunate. thank you, commissioner, for

coming on, and happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanks giving to you, brooke. why experts are fearing another big surge in coronavirus cases at the worst possible time.

insulin injections can make diabetes complicated. meet omnipod - it delivers insulin through a tubeless pod. just one small pod replaces up to 14 injections! and today - you can get started with a free 30-day omnipod dash trial at omnipod.com. no more daily injections. it's game-changing! get started with a free 30-day omnipod dash trial today. go to omnipod.com for risk information,

instructions for use and free trial terms and conditions. consult your healthcare provider before starting on omnipod. simplify diabetes. simplify life. omnipod. simplify life. we doevery night.ght. i live alone, but i still do it every night. right after dinner. definitely after meatloaf. like clockwork. do it! run your dishwasher with cascade platinum. and save water. did you know an energy star certified dishwasher... ...uses less than four gallons per cycle. while a running sink uses that, every two minutes. that means even small loads can save water. so why not do it? run your dishwasher every night with cascade platinum. the surprising way to save water. that's why i get up in the morning! i have a secret method for remembering all my hr passwords. my boss doesn't remember approving my time off. let's just... find that email. the old way of doing business slows everyone down. with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in one easy-to-use software.

visit paycom.com for a free demo.

welcome to a special edition of "cnn newsroom." happy thanksgiving to you. if you are lucky, you are