hello and welcome to our viewers here, in the united states, and all around the world. i'm michael holmes. you're watching cnn "newsroom." let's get to our lead story now. iran's president accusing israel of killing the nation's top nuclear scientist. president hassan rouhani says the killing of mohsen fakhrizadeh was at the hands of terrorists. but he says this death will not

deter the nation's scientists from carrying on their work. the iranian state media says fakhrizadeh was assassinated, friday, in an ambush outside of tehran. so far, israel, remaining silent about his killing but as cnn's nick paton walsh rortds, they have had him in their sights for years. >> reporter: iran's most prominent nuclear scientist, mohsen fakhrizadeh, largely lived in the shadows. gunned down, friday, in an apparent assassination, according to state media. he was traveling in the city east of tehran, when reports say his car was targeted by gunfire in a vehicle explosion. he and his body guards were gravely wounded, succumbing to their injuries at the hospital, a short time later. believed to be age 59, fakhrizadeh is said to have

headed technology. u.s. and israeli intelligence services say he was the mastermind of a decades-long secret program to design a warhead. efforts made by israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, in a press conference. >> remember that name. fakhrizadeh. so, he's director, right here. and he says, the general aim is to announce the closure of project amad. but special activities, you know what that is, special activities will be carried out under the know-how of scientific development. >> reporter: but iran has long blamed israel's intelligence service for assassinations of several of fakhrizadeh's colleagues going back a decade. and theories are emerging, as to what they have to gain from his

death right now. >> it is a twofold effect. so, one is to slow down the program. the other one, which is something that prime minister netanyahu would want, is to get iran to do something that would make it impossible for the united states to engage iran, after january 20th. >> reporter: iran has long denied they plan to weaponize nuclear energy. claiming fakhrizadeh was merely an academic. for years, denying the iaea's request to interview him. a martyr for iran, they are vowing revenge for the killing. quote, severe revenge against the killers. and iran's foreign minister tweeting, terrorists murdered an eminent, iranian scientist, today. this cowardice, with serious indications of an israeli role, shows desperate war mongering of perpetrators. iran calls on international community and especially the eu

to end shameful double standards and condemn this act of terror. aimed at damaging iran's accelerated nuclear program and, above all, limiting the options for president-elect joe biden to reopen diplomacy with iran, namely, the 2015 nuclear deal. nick paton-walsh. cnn, london. >> all right. now, world leaders watching to see what iran might do next. u.s. officials say they are closely monitoring the situation, as the timing of the death could, of course, complicate diplomacy under the upcoming biden administration. cnn's barbara starr with more from the pentagon. >> reporter: even with no official word from the government of israel or the trump administration, behind the scenes, u.s. officials are calling the assassination of this iranian nuclear scientist a big deal. the man is said to have been involved, for decades, in the development of iran's nuclear-weapons program.

no one can say, yet, who carried out the assassination. iran, very clearly, pointing the public finger at israel. israel, not responding. so, the question really becomes, what happens now? in the region, there is a good deal of concern that things stay calm, that iran not retaliate for this assassination, even though the iranians are already threatening to do so. for the part of the u.s., they are moving the aircraft carrier back into the region. officials say it has nothing to do with the assassination. but this had been planned. going to provide air cover and defense for the withdrawal of u.s. troops, from iraq and afghanistan, that president trump had ordered to be completed, five days before he leaves office, in january. so, all of this, putting more firepower into the region. more tension, if you will, with

president-elect joe biden coming into office, having to decide what to do about it all. and everyone is wondering if the iranians are getting the message that the u.s. is after deterrent. they want to deter iran. as one general said, we are not looking for war. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> all right. let's get more reaction from iran and the region. from tehran. jomana karadsheh is in istanbul. let's start with you. you know, we heard from foreign minist minist minister zarif, earlier. what's your read on the messaging? >> i think just saving face. because assassination was brazen, in the daylight. and the former -- energy organization today reveal that physicist, nuclear scientist, has been under surveillance

since two decades ago. so, if someone is social security nighted assassinated i daylight, after two decades, by the enemy of iran, as they say. then, it is not failure, what it is? it is a failure of intelligence to safeguard the most wanted person in the past two decade. so i think that -- i mean, the officials here, between the international pressure, assad pressure, and domestic pressure, that are calling for the severe revenge. the severe revenge has been postponed since qassem soleimani assassination. now, adding up. so, the officials of iran are under pressure what to do, to

take severe revenge and explore all the opportunities for diplomacy with president-elect biden. or just be patient and try to have diplomacy work its way. >> yeah. delicate balance. there, in tehran, appreciate that. jomana karadsheh, in istanbul. no shortage of tensions in the region, generally, and so on. what's been the reaction in the neighborhood? >> well, so far, michael, interestingly, not much has been said. a lot of silence, in this region. of course, as you would expect, iran's allies have been fast to condemn the killing. we heard from a number of political parties close to iran, those are in iraq. and then lebanese ally, hezbollah, number two in command, condemning this, blaming it on agents of israel and america.

but interestingly, saying it is up to iran, here, to decide how it is going to retaliate, and what it is going to do. and that is the question, michael. you've got a region, right now, that was already on edge. very concerned about what might unfold here, over the next few weeks. those final weeks of the trump administration. there's been concern that he might make a move against iran, in those final days. so, everyone is waiting to see what happens. some believe that iran can't really afford to risk any sort of a wider confrontation. if you consider what is going on domestically there, the country's really stretched, dealing with the worst covid outbreak. you have got the impact of the u.s. sanctions that have been really crippling for the country. wh not risk it right now when you

have got a new administration on the way, perhaps could mean reviving the iran nuclear deal. but, others would say you have got hardliners in iran, who can't sit back after this embarrassing attack for the iranians, right in the heart of iran. so close to the capital. this kind of strike against one of the most prominent, probably the most well-guarded, officials in the country. really, a strike against the country's intelligence services and its security apparatus. so, some would say it is going to have to retaliate, in some way, to save face here. and, how is that going to happen is the question? is it going to go after any u.s. or israeli interests in the region, directly? is it going to go after any of the u.s. or israel's allies in the region? and one country that would, most definitely, be watching this very carefully and it's really

tense for them is, of course, iraq. we have seen this happening here, earlier this year, as you recall. the assassination of qassem soleimani in iraq. and, you know, the concern is that country that was the proxy battlefield for the united states and iran, for years, it turned into a bloody confrontation, earlier this year. and their concern is they will be dragged into it, once more, and that iraq will be caught in the midst of it. so, everyone waiting to see what iran's going to do. michael. >> of course. jomana, good to see you. thanks for that. jomana karadsheh, there, in istanbul. >> jon kirby is a cnn and diplomatic analyst and former pentagon and state department spokesman. he joins me, now, from alexandra, virginia. it's good to see you.

officials there accusing israel of this killing, of course. but regardless, what do you make of the timing of this killing? >> i think, michael, you have hit on a real key point there. certainly, makes the timing more suspect, in that regard. i mean, look, again, we don't know who -- who's done this. there's been no attribution. certainly, this is an individual that's been on the israelis' minds for a long time. and he did have significant responsibilities within the nuclear program. but now, you kind of wonder if the israelis were responsible, if this wasn't a little bit of their mindfulness of the clock. a new president, who is likely going to take a very different approach to issues in the middle east, and probably will want to get the united states back into the iranian deal. so, if this is something you want to get done, you maybe want to get that done before

president biden comes in. the other thing about this is, and you know it's been very quiet on the trump-administration front. and you have to wonder. regardless of how much knowledge they might have had beforehand, president trump and his team. they, too, aren't making too much of a big deal about this because, to a degree, this closes closes to closes down potential diplomatic space for incoming president biden. removes some opportunities to perhaps pursue diplomacy, particularly if the iranians respond in a fairly aggressive way. >> good point. it's interesting. when you look at, for iran, one imagines that one knows if they responded to this before january 20 and -- and the inauguration, they would perhaps be playing into the hands of the hawks in america. that would be a risk of theirs, wouldn't it? >> it would. and the hawks in the middle east and there are some, certainly, hawks in the middle east. not just the israelis. that's right. they would be playing into that

hand. and moving to a much more radical sort of position. and i think, in fact, hurting themselves, in the future. also, i think they believe, again, that president biden will want to save the iran deal, in some aspects. they've already made that tough on biden, the iranians have. just because they've been flouting, now, some restrictions on enrichment. but he wants to get them back in the deal. if they respond overly aggressively, they make that even more difficult for president booiiden and his team >> yeah. international chess, underway. speaking about joe biden, i want to ask you about what he needs to do in terms of diplomatic and defense appointments, not just this issue but generally given how fraught things are in some parts of the world. >> honestly, he should continue to do exactly what he 's been doing, michael.

pick people that have experience, that are competent, that are well known on the world stage. every single person that he laid out so far, from tony blinken to linda thomas greenfield, certainly secretary kerry, all of them are known on the world stage. so, as he continues to make these picks, i would expect and hope that he would continue that. looking for experience. looking for calm and confidence defense. state. dhs. the -- the -- the career officials there. that's what they are looking, too, in terms of leadership. that's what they want. >> john kirby. admiral john kirby. really appreciate it. thanks so much. >> you, too, michael. thank you. >> we will take a quick break. when we come back on cnn "newsroom," u.s. health experts warn of a coronavirus surge, on top of a surge. how thanksgiving travel is expected to make things much worse. meanwhile, europe is easing some coronavirus restrictions ahead of christmas.

it's looking very different, this time around, compared to last summer. how it's trying to keep the virus under control. we'll have a live report. investing today wherever you are - even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood.

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again, added more than a million coronavirus cases, in less than a week. that brings the total number of confirmed infections to more than 13 million, according to johns hopkins university. and more than 264,000 americans have, now, died. this, as the centers for disease control and prevention makes plans for how americans will be vaccinated. it's holding a meeting, on tuesday, to vote on who should receive the first doses. with a vaccine, still, weeks away, the pandemic is expected to grow even worse, and thanksgiving gatherings have a lot to do with it. nick watt with more. >> reporter: americans were urged not to travel for the holiday. millions did, anyway. >> i am so worried about everything that's happening over thanksgiving because we have a massive surge, on top of another, massive surge. >> reporter: that massive surge in numbers, more than 100,000 new cases logged, every day, for

25 days, straight. thanksgiving day, more than 90,000 americans in the hospital with covid-19. yet another, all-time high. on average, more than 1,500 deaths are now reported a day. some experts say that could double in the coming weeks. but, take florida. the governor just extended his ban on local government enforcing mask mandates with fines. >> the most important job of an elected official, whether you're president, you're governor, or you're mayor, is public safety and health. if we all do these things, we will reduce numbers, less people will get sick, less people will go to the hospital and unfortunately die. >> reporter: don't be fooled. some states aren't reporting over the holiday. this country not in a good place as we wait for a vaccine. >> vaccines are being delivered, literally, it will start next

week and the week after. >> reporter: very unlikely. the fda hasn't even authorized a vaccine, yet. their advisory committee meets december 10th. so, likely, late december, best case, for first shots in arms. >> don't let joe biden take credit for the vaccines. >> reporter: the president is playing politics, still. even in defeat. >> has to stop. people are much more reluctant and hesitant. i'm in a health care setting and health care workers are also hesitant because of the politicization of everything that's been going on. >> reporter: here in los angeles, cases remain at alarming levels. so, from monday, and for nearly three weeks, angelinos are being advised to stay home as much as possible and basically, we're being advised not to mix with anyone outside our immediate household. authorities here, trying

desperately to keep a lid on this virus in this window between thanksgiving and christmas. nick watt, cnn, los angeles. >> and a little later in the newscast, we will hear from a doctor on the front lines. his personal takes on how this latest surge is impacting our health care workers. now, europe, trying to ease some restrictions ahead of christmas. but it, also, of course, wants to avoid a third coronavirus wave, at all costs. infections seem to be slowing down in some of the countries that were running low on icu beds, just a few weeks ago. france is one of them, and some restrictions are supposed to relax this weekend. the big news, that nonessential businesses can reopen. now, local media reporting that even restaurants and some pubs can reopen next week. cnn international correspondent, jim bitterman, is live for us

outside paris. tell us what's going on there in france. >> michael, this morning, for the first time in a month, there's been a lockdown. so, for the first time in about a month, shops and businesses can open. hair dressers can open. it was only an hour per day and you had to stay within a kilometer of your front door. now, three kilometers -- rather, 20 kilometers. and you can stay out for three hours, at a time. it's not much. houses of worship can be reopened but people are still going to have to carry around a piece of paper why they are out and what their reasons are for being out. they have to justify being out. and there's still going to be a curfew on. cinemas and theaters won't reopen until at least december 15th. and bars and restaurants which,

of course, something a lot of people in france are addicted to, they won't be open, at the very least, according to president macron, january 20th. so, a lot of restrictions stay. now, as countries across europe are looking at christmas, they are trying to figure out how the best way is to handle this. in the uk, for example, they are creating what they're calling a christmas bubble, which is to say, three households can get together and that's okay but not more than that. they're not going to open up the bars and restaurants, though, until sometime thereafter. here, in france, they're going to have curfews. the curfew will remain. but on christmas eve and new year's eve, there will be exceptions made and you can be out and about after midnight. in any case, every country seems to be approaching this slightly differently not only how people can gather but what businesses do because, in fact, this is the busiest time of year for a lot of small businesses, in

particular. and so, they are trying to figure out how to open the businesses up, and how to get the commerce flowing just ahead of the holidays. as the italian prime minister said, the italians know that this is going to be a different kind of a christmas, michael. >> yeah. all around the world. jim bitterman, just outside paris. good to see you, my friend. thank you for that. canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, says the country is going through some of its toughest days of the pandemic. mr. trudeau says it is possible nearly all canadians will be vaccinated by next september. but right now, canada is averaging more than 5,000 new cases, a day. residents of toronto, by the way, have been advised not to leave their homes, at all, this weekend. i'm michael holmes. if you are an international viewer, i'll say good-bye to you and "african voices" change makers is next.

if you are here with me in the u.s., not done, yet. i'll have more cnn "newsroom," after the break.

welcome back to our viewers here in the united states. i'm michael holmes. you are watching cnn "newsroom." add another setback to president trump's growing pile of legal losses. on friday, a federal appeals court denied his campaign's attempt to revive a lawsuit challenging election results in pennsylvania. the court said the claims have no mertd. also, without merit. president trump's tweet claiming joe biden can only enter the white house, if he can prove he got 80 million votes. trump's false claim got flagged by twitter, within minutes.

but while the president keeps pressing his baseless attacks, the president-elect is moving ahead with his transition. biden is expected to name his economic team, next week, and get his first presidential, daily briefing on monday. cnn's jeremy diamond with more from the white house. >> we caught them cheating. we caught them stealing. i'm the president of the united states. don't ever talk to the president that way. >> reporter: lying and lashing out, president trump, bitterly, refusing to accept his loss to president-elect joe biden. >> it's going to be a very hard thing to concede. >> reporter: but also, vowing to leave the white house, if the electoral college locks in biden's victory next month. >> if the electoral college does elect president-elect joe biden, are you not going to leave this building? >> just so you -- oh, certainly, i will. certainly, i will, and you know that. >> reporter: that admission coming during a thanksgiving airing of grievances and

conspiracy theories, marking the first time trump has taken questions since the election. tweeting, biden can only enter the white house as president, if he can prove that his ridiculous 80 million votes were not fraudulently or illegally obtained. but, it's trump who has failed to prove his claims. today, a federal appeals court, denying the trump campaign's latest effort to overturn biden's victory in pennsylvania. a trump appointee writing, calling an election unfair does not make it so. charges require specific allegations, and then proof. we have neither here. the campaign's claims have no merit. that ruling brought trump and his allies courtroom losses and withdrawals to more than 30. with not a single court, in any state, substantiating trump's claims the election was rigged. trump, also, refusing to commit to attending his successor's

inauguration. a tradition upheld by every outgoing president, since 1869. >> i don't want to say that, yet. i mean, i know the answer. i'll be honest, i know the answer, but i just don't want to say it, yet. >> reporter: in georgia, where two runoff elections will decide the fate of the u.s. senate. georgia republicans are worried trump's baseless claims about voting. >> i said, listen, you have a fraudulent system. >> reporter: and his attacks on the republican secretary of state. >> he is an enemy of the people. the secretary of state. >> reporter: could depress gop turnout. today, trump doing damage control, tweeting the 2020 election was a total scam but we must get out and help david and kelly. otherwise, we are playing right into the hands of some very sick people. meanwhile, the president spending another day on the golf course, missing in action, as the coronavirus pandemic enters its darkest chapter, yet. >> we are rounding the curve.

>> downplaying the virus, focusing, instead, on who gets credit for vaccines. >> don't let joe biden take credit for the vaccines because vaccines were me and i've pushed people harder than they were ever pushed before. and we got that approved and through and nobody's ever seen anything like it. >> reporter: president-elect joe biden's team also reacting to that ruling from the 3rd circuit court of appeals there. this coming from the spokesman for joe biden, this election is over and donald trump lost both in pennsylvania and nationally. desperate and embarrassly meritless like this one will continue to fail and will not change the fact that joe biden will be sworn in as president on january 20, 2021. jenna ellis says the campaign is prepared to take it all the way to the supreme court.

jeremy jeremy diamond, the white house. >> good to see you again, patrick. i want to start with one of the president's tweets on friday and what it suggests. quote. he said biden can only enter the white house, if he can prove that his ridiculous 80 million votes were not fraudulently or illegally on attained. when you see what happened in detroit, atlanta, philadelphia, and milwaukee, he's got a big, unsolvable problem. unquote. what's the impact when it comes to the faith in the process of the electoral system? >> well, it's another false statement by trump and it really is a lie and it's a dangerous lie because it, somehow, suggests that joe biden isn't going to be president. and that, somehow, donald trump is the arbiter of whether joe biden can be president. sort of, the idea that a -- that

an incumbent president, who lost the election, is able to somehow dictate the rules for validating the 80 million votes that joe biden won. you know, is -- is -- is a lie and i use that word very carefully. i don't often use it. but, president trump knows, full well, that this is not true. and it's -- it's a dangerous point that he puts into the electoral bloodstream, michael, because this is a system, in america, that relies on good-faith actors, in both the democratic party and republican party, to accept the results of an election. it has always relied on both parties coming together after an election, as hard and as bitter as that can be, to basically acknowledge, together, that one side won and one side lost.

and donald trump continues to propagate this argument that, somehow, he has either won or joe biden needs to somehow prove that -- that his votes are legitimate. and particularly, votes from predominantly-black cities in america, which donald trump has really zeroed in on. you know, which is -- which is also a dangerous thing. >> yeah. exactly. exactly. and there are going to be millions, perhaps tens of millions, of his supporters who will just not accept that this election went the way it did. and i mean, as for the president, he'll probably always say the election was stolen from him. rigged. but -- but again, where are the voices within the republican party, speaking out about this sort of thing? how damaging is what we see from the president to the party? >> well, i think it goes to the -- frankly, the integrity of the republican paertd. th that so many republicans are not

showing the kind of integrity that predecessors did. i think of president bush in 1992 when he painfully lost his re-election bid against bill clinton. and, you know, president bush, you know, having the integrity to say bill clinton won. the acknowledgment, over the years, that the other has won. i think, michael, you know, we're starting to see certainly some republicans who are saying, you know, joe biden is probably going to be the president. a couple who call him president-elect. but this really isn't in the spirit of american democracy where you expect both parties to come together. it's -- it's -- it's -- it really goes, michael, to the control that president trump still has over the republican base, much more than any other republican-elected official, and those officials are afraid to

take on president trump, because they know that president trump can, you know, galvanize and rile up his base to -- to really go after any republican, who -- who dares disagree with him right now. >> patrick heely. thank you so much. good to see you. >> thanks, michael. >> we'll take a quick break. when we come back. staggering numbers of covid-19 patients are filling hospitals across the u.s. health care workers feeling the strain, all over again. just ahead. a firsthand account of the situation from one of those frontline workers. robinhood believes now is the time to do money.

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more now, on the rapidly rising coronavirus cases in the u.s. the country now reporting more than 13 million infections. that's according to johns hopkins university. more than 200,000 of those were recorded on friday, alone. but, that might, also, include a

backlog of cases that went unreported on thursday, due to thanksgiving. hospitalizations have dipped, slightly, but still near all-time highs. the covid-tracking project puts that figure at almost 90,000 people in the hospital. dr. bradley collins joins me, now, from providence, rhode island. only finished his shift a couple hours ago. dr. jonathan reiner, on cnn earlier, predicted the death rate could double within the next ten days. what do you see possible or likely unfolding over the next few weeks? >> yeah. i think -- i think he may be right. i think the -- you know, the -- people are having a big struggle between do i see family? do i stay at home? i think a lot of people think it won't happen to them. and we just -- that kind of

behavior, it just takes one person to get a whole family sick. and so, you know, it's -- it's difficult. and i've had conversations with people, to say that they've got aging parents or grandparents that they might not see for the next thanksgiving, and so they're taking the chance. and, you know, it's -- it's just -- it's tough to -- decisions to have to make, i guess. >> yeah. the number of covid patients hospitalized in the u.s., i think it's gone up 35% in the last two weeks. how -- how stretched are facilities, where you are, but what you are also hearing? i'm talking supplies, beds, qualified staff? >> yeah. so, you know, i think we're stretched everywhere. early on, there were a lot of people who were really afraid to come to the hospital because they didn't want to catch the virus. so they stayed at home with their chest pain or their pneumonias and -- which wasn't good, necessarily. but early on, seemed like all we were taking care of was just covid patients. but since the summer's gone on

and people have gotten more comfortable coming to the hospital, we are taking care of regular patients, as well as this surge in covid patients. next week, we are going to open a field hospital at a local convention center, just to take some strain off the hospitals, themselves. staffing's obviously going to be hard when we have got all of our staff on deck in the hospitals. but one way or another, we'll see it through. >> it's -- i was reading that, even suicide rates among health care workers are growing. i mean, is there any way you can convey what it was like to see what you see and the impact that it has on health care workers? >> yeah. you know, it's -- it's really tough. i think that the -- there's a lot of frustration, especially because people can't come in and visit and see their loved ones who are sick. so, oftentimes, we are the ones who are with them when no one

else can be around. luckily, we have some therapies now that are helping. but even early on, just being the only person in a room holding somebody's hand can really take a toll, when that's patient, after patient. and then, really having a difficult time getting people to stay healthy, themselves. to -- to be able to take care of other people, while still meet staffing needs that you have with these large number of hospitalizations. >> yeah. as i was hearing the other day, you know, you can add beds but you can't add icu experts and doctors and nurses and, you know, respiratory therapists, and so on. i mean, you -- you've been doing this a while. how are you doing? you ever seen anything like this? does it take a toll? >> i've never seen anything like this. i've been practicing almost 20 years, and it was a little similar, during the h1n1 epidemic. when, along the east coast, we were pretty full. but we weren't needing to call

in extra people, like we've been doing now. just seeing these huge volumes. and then, the other part of the problem is that you don't want to send somebody to a nursing home or some place that's an in-between because, if you send one person to a nursing home with covid, you are going to get ten people back. and so, it's really hard to discharge some of these people, which causes backup through the hospital, using a lot of the beds. and you end up, you have less emergency room beds. so, it really can -- can, you know, take its toll. >> i -- i can only imagine. it's -- you know, the president, just yesterday, said we're rounding the corner, again. when you hear that, and then you see what you see, what would you say to people? >> you know, i wish there was some way to -- to make everybody safe, to spend a few days with us. you know, the -- it's -- it's really hard to, number one, be

taking care of people who are extremely sick, on a day-to-day basis. but again, i'm used to walking into a room, giving somebody a big smile. trying to reassure them. and with my new respirator, i feel like i look like darth vader. i have got goggles on. it really takes some of the humanistic parts of what we do out of it. and sometimes, people are hard of hearing, so you are yelling through these respirators and can be -- it can be really difficult. so, you know, we see it. it's not anything that's fake. it's absolutely real. it's heartbreaking when we lose these people. it's a joy when we are able to discharge them home, to get them home. yeah. >> dr. bradley collins, really appreciate you coming on. value what you do, and thanks for humanizing this for people. i think, you know, people who aren't directly contacting with this illness don't really get it, sometimes. and it's important to hear

stories like yours. thank you so much. >> oh, so, very welcome. thanks for having me. >> when we come back. pope francis about to appoint the first african-american cardinal in catholic history. just ahead. hear from arch bishop wilton gregory and what he hopes his elevation might mean for the african-american community. you're watching cnn. we'll be right back. want to brain better?

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the highest-ranking african-american catholic in u.s. history is about to upstage, well, himself, really. in a few hours, pope francis will elevate 72-year-old archbishop wilton gregory of washington, d.c., making him the first african-american cardinal in catholic history. cnn's delia gallagher with more from rome. >> reporter: the first black cardinal of the united states, archbishop, wilton gregory, who receives his red hat from pope francis, on saturday. >> i hope it's -- it's a sign to the african-american community.

that the -- the catholic church has a great reverence and respect and esteem for the people -- for -- for my people. people of color. >> reporter: gregory has been archbishop of washington, d.c., since 2019. he recently denounced president donald trump's visit to d.c.'s national shrine as baffling, reprehensible, and a photo opportunity. the archbishop is hoping for better days, ahead. >> well, i'm hoping that it's a time we can transition, peacefully, into a new administration. and where we can -- we can reset the conversation. reset our focus. and -- and hopefully, show to the world that democracy really

does work. >> reporter: as head of the u.s. bishops conference in the early 2000s, gregory spearheaded the catholic church's response to the sex-abuse connected to -- who was, himself, an abuser. gregory says it was responsible for the bad judgment of mccarrack and others. >> that, we did not see that, the biggest pain to be endured was that, that was, you know, endured by the people who were hurt. >> reporter: it's now his turn to lead u.s. catholics as cardinal, at a time of transition and hope. delia gallagher, cnn, rome. now, germany is known for its extraordinary christmas markets, which draw millions of

visitors every year. sadly, many have been, of course, cancelled or scaled back, this year, because of the pandemic. now, the good news. the holiday spirit is being brightened by beautiful displays of christmas lights, throughout the country. especially, in berlin's biggest shopping and tourist district. >> we are home. it's getting dark. it's winter. we're so depressed, anyways. i think any light that you can see just walking down the streets just makes everyone happy. >> german chancellor angela merkel confirming, this week, that covid restrictions will likely remain until the new year. but gatherings of up to ten people, excluding children, are expected to be permitted between december 23rd and january the 1st. thanks for watching cnn "newsroom," everyone, spending part of your day with me. i'm michael holmes. my colleague and friend, paula newton, will be back with more news, in just a moment. businesses today are looking to tomorrow. adapting. innovating.

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iran vows revenge after its top nuclear scientist was killed in an apparent assassination. the u.s. hits a new covid milestone, 13 million cases. the cdc prepares to decide who will get the first vaccine. and a new legal defeat for donald trump and some blistering words from the court. he tries to have legitimate election results overturned. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, i want to welcome our viewers here in the united states, canada, and around the wo