a major investigation underway in nashville, tennessee, after what officials call a deliberate explosion took out part of the city's historic downtown. right now, no word of a motive, nor suspects. only three people were injured, incredibly, and they're all expected to be just fine. and despite the widespread damage, no loss of life. but police do say that possible, human tissue was found near the blast site. that has been sent off for testing. now, the bizarre events began, early christmas morning, after police responded to a call of shots fired. and came across that motor home, there, in your screen there.

it was parked and it was playing a recorded warning. it said a bomb would explode in 15 minutes, and then counted down, minute by minute. you can hear part of that warning, and part of the blast, in the video we're about to show you that was posted on social media. >> message. vo evacuate now. if you can hear this message, evacuate now. >> now, imagine how jarring that would be, anytime, much less, early on christmas morning. now, the warning from the rv, and the fact that police believed it and got people to safety, likely, saved many lives. getting more now from natasha chen in nashville. she spoke with the mayor about how the city is dealing with the aftermath. >> reporter: much of downtown nashville is under a curfew that began, the afternoon of

christmas day, and goes into sunday afternoon. and that's to really keep people away from the investigation scene, that now stretches several blocks. debris scattered everywhere. again, this happened early, christmas morning. when people first heard gunshots, called -- called 911. and then, there was the odd sound of a recorded message coming from an rv, giving a countdown, 15 minutes, until an explosion. the mayor of this -- of nashville said that at least 41 businesses were destroyed. three people, three civilians, hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. the mayor said that this was intended to create chaos, but that the city will be resilient and rebuild. >> my message is expect a knock on your door. you know? it's going to, i think, be a puzzle, a mystery, for some period of time. but i expect them to solve it, and they're bringing the resources to bear to be able to solve it. this should not be in america, where you have bombings on the street. >> reporter: and while we don't know who may be responsible for

this, right now, police did say they believe it's an intentional act. the mayor said the city will be resilient. back to you. >> and joining me, now, from orange county in new york is cnn law enforcement analyst and retired fbi supervisory special agent, james gagliano. appreciate you and your expertise. what -- what is your read on what we know, so far? it -- it -- it's fairly bizarre, in many ways. >> michael, i think bizarre is -- is -- is the right way to kind of capture what we're seeing here. a lot of this doesn't make sense, yet. but, in 25 years in the fbi, and much of that time having worked post-blast analysis, a lot of times, we just don't have all the facts, right off the bat. and one of the most difficult things about these-type investigations is the evidence tends to get destroyed in the blast. now, this wasn't a tiny, pipe bomb. it was, obviously, something much bigger than that.

i couldn't tell whether or not it was a sophisticated device or not. i'm sure the fbi and the atf and the local police working the scene probably have a lot more answers right now than -- than -- than we, in the media, do. >> what's the difference between what police have called an intentional act and -- and terrorism? >> well, i mean, a lot of it is nuance. you know, we describe or we define terrorism as violence or the trehreat of violence, in orr to pursue some type of political or some type of social-justice mission or aim. now, what was interesting about this, and i think you pointed it out at the top, is that there was a warning played, prior to the detonation going off. and the fact that this was done at 5:30 in the morning, central standard time, if you were seeking to do something that was going to cause massive casualties, this would not have been the way to do it. where you gave a preemptory warning, and you did it, at a

time when the streets and the buildings weren't filled with people. >> yeah. exactly. yeah. the -- the -- the -- the phone calls coming in about shots fired may have been to lure in law enforcement. we don't know that, at the moment. so, what are investigators going to be looking for? i mean, this is a pretty touristy area, so there's likely to be security cameras. >> it is. it's a relatively small to medium-size american city. and, look. we're in the 21st century. you can't walk across the street, without emitting some type of, what we call, digital exhaust. and whether it's cell phone data that's hitting off of a cell tower nearby, or an ez-pass or some type of, you know, device that, when you cross a bridge, takes a picture of your license plate. somebody knows something, and look. all the years i spent in law enforcement, whether it was on the criminal side or the counterterrorism side, there are no such things as perfect crimes. i don't know how soon we'll get some answers on this, but i

imagine it'll be in short order. this does not look like it was a well-crafted, well-put-together conspiracy. now, i could eat my words. but in just looking at this and what i've seen, thus far, i believe plus will have some answers here, in a day or two. >> yeah. it was interesting. and -- and -- and you know -- you know this stuff well. i mean, i heard a lot of people talking about, you know, sophistication and so on, earlier. but, isn't it true that car bombs can be reasonably low tech? you don't need access to c4 and so on. i mean, fertilizer is readily available. you -- you -- you can get instructions online, pretty much. how much expertise is needed to do something like this? >> not much. and -- and you just pointed it out. whether you're going back to the early '70s and "the anarchist cookbook" or what you find online. and -- and bombs can be very simple devices. i mean, if you go back to 1995 and the oklahoma city bombing. i mean, you were basically dealing with fertilizer and

diesel fuel. and then, yes, you need a power source and initiator and you need a switch. but those are relatively easy things to put together. now, one of the -- one of the things that i think investigators are obviously going to be looking at here is every bomb maker has their own fingerprints. and i don't mean their literal fingerprints, although, those can be recovered from crime scenes. but the way they put their bombs together. now, if this was somebody that did it for the first time, maybe, we don't have them in our -- you know, in our rogues gallery. but if this is someone who's done this in the past, they do have a particular type of style, a particular signature, if you will. and i am pretty sure that all the bomb technicians, right now, from the atf, the fbi, and the local police, are probably going through the debris and trying to determine what type of bomb this was, how sophisticated it was, to your point. and most importantly here, is this a precursor to something else happening? is there a conspiracy or a plot

for more of these? that's the number one thing that they want to get to the bottom of right now and attempt to interdict. >> yeah. does your gut tell you this was some sort of, you know, message attack? and you make the point, i mean, they seem to go out of their way to avoid civilian casualties or a high-body count. perhaps, trying to entice law enforcement in. but the whole message thing. that was very deliberate. we don't know, yet, about, you know, the location, the significance. outside an at&t building and so on. does it feel like a message to you, rather than something intent on causing, you know, mass casualty or mass damage? >> so, to your point, i mean, this was parked outside of an at&t building. and obviously, at&t is part of a communications network. is this the type of critical-infrastructure targeting that you would expect if this was an act of international terrorism and somebody wanted to, a, cause

mass casualties and, b, cause massive damage to -- to -- to infrastructure? it doesn't appear that way. now, look. if somebody really wanted to have people be hurt, there's three things in a bomb that -- that -- that -- that -- that -- that cause fatalities. number one is the overpressure. number two is the shrapnel that's in it and, in this case, it was the actual vehicle, itself. and then, number three is the incendiary effect, caused by, you know, fires and things like that. where it was parked, the time it was parked, and the fact that there was a preemptory warning, it's almost like somebody wanted to send a message. and this could be something as simple as a disgruntled, former employee. and again, i'm -- i'm not speculating that's what it is but it could be those things. police have got to follow the evidence. they're going to do that, and, michael, i'm going to guess, in the next day or so, i think we're going to have some answers and some leads that -- that end up panning out. >> hope -- hopefully, so. great to have your expertise, james. james gagliano, thanks so much.

>> thanks for having me, michael. now, the white house says president trump was briefed on the explosion, and will continue to get regular updates. but for the most part, the u.s. president has spent the holiday golfing at his resort in florida. one thing he hasn't tweeted about is what happened in nashville. and he golfs, as millions of americans, desperate for economic aid, wait on him to sign the coronavirus-stimulus bill. cnn's jeremy diamond reports from west palm beach. >> reporter: now, the president was scheduled to have a teleconference with military service members, on the christmas holiday. but unlike in previous years, where the president has usually invited the news media in, invited cameras in to record the event, the president, this year, disinviting the news media from attending that teleconference with the troops. which means that we did not get any reaction from the president to that explosion in nashville. we, also, didn't get to get an update from the president on that coronavirus-relief

legislation. the president, earlier this week, putting that legislation into limbo. suggesting that he -- calling it a disgrace, and suggesting that he might not sign that legislation. the president complaining about a number of items in that omnibus-spending bill, as well as saying that he wanted to see those stimulus checks to americans, which were at $600 in that legislation, more than tripled to $2,000. of course, the president raised those objections, only after that legislation was passed. and the president, in his two days at mar-a-lago, so far, he has done nothing to actually get that piece of legislation amended or to get it passed in congress. the president, instead, spending time on both of his two full days at -- at his mar-a-lago resort, golfing and doing nothing, it seems, to actually get that legislation through. jeremy diamond, cnn, traveling with the president in west palm beach, florida. >> we are going to take a quick break here on the program. when we come back. that downtown nashville explosion on christmas morning. very much a mystery.

witnesses say, understandably, it was terrifying. we'll have the latest on the investigation and a firsthand account of what happened. also, coronavirus cases and deaths mount in the u.s., as the troubling, new, uk variant shows up in more countries. stay with us for the latest developments. we'll be right back. yet some say it isn't real milk. i guess those cows must actually be big dogs. sit! i said sit! ♪ when they're sick, they get comfortable all kinds of places. they also spread all kinds of germs, from cold and flu to strep and more. nothing kills more cold and flu viruses, including the covid-19 virus, on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray.

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janssen may be able to help. welcome back. a holiday season, like no other, is upon the united states. as the country, hardest hit by coronavirus, grapples with the pandemic, still. it topped 330,000 total deaths, on christmas, according to johns hopkins university. and more than 18.7 million infections have now been recorded. meanwhile, france is the latest country to report a case of the more contagious virus/variant that was first detected in the uk. this coming, as the eu prepares to roll out its first vaccination campaign. officials, hopeful the new strain won't impact vaccine effectiveness. and south korea and japan

are seeing a troubling surge in cases. both have repeatedly reached new highs, in recent days. let's take a closer look, now, at the situation in the u.s. making matters worse, behavior over the holidays. alexandra field, with that. >> reporter: this christmas, the one we never imagined. >> it was january 1st, of this year, when -- when most of us heard about the covid-19 pandemic starting out of hubei province, in china. i just never believed that we would get to 330,000 american lives lost, by christmas day. and still, accelerating at 3,000 deaths a day. >> reporter: almost one in every 1,000 americans killed by covid this year. in la county, a person dies from covid every ten minutes. there are no icu beds left in southern california or the san joaquin valley. >> when our icus get overwhelmed, we saw this back in march and april in southern europe and new york city. that's how the numbers skyrocketed.

and so, this is happening now, all across the country. we're -- we're reproducing that manhattan and new york city epidemic from march and april, now times dozens of times. >> reporter: despite a clear warning from the cdc that travel can increase your chance of getting and spreading covid-19, more than 7 million people passed through america's airports in the last week. >> i think people don't think coronavirus will happen to them. they think coronavirus will happen to another family. but there is no safety, other than those public-health measures that we have been preaching from the mountaintops. >> reporter: new, travel restrictions go into effect monday. passengers coming from the uk will need a negative-covid test within 72 hours of boarding a flight and documentation of the results. that, as concerns grow over a variant of the virus discovered there could be more transmissible. >> to see if this new strain is equally sensitive to our vaccine. and also, will be neutralized by our vaccine. >> reporter: pfizer ceo says he

is cautiously optimistic the vaccine will prove as effective against the variant. dr. anthony fauci now estimates nearly 70 to 85% of the country will need to get the vaccine to get to herd immunity. >> so that everybody is able to be protected from coronavirus. and in that meantime, we still have to really double down and do the masking, physical distancing, avoiding indoor gatherings. >> reporter: will sufferithe su holiday season, unprecedented. for most americans, even the first dose of the vaccine is still months away but another surge may just be days out. >> just seeing cases amplify and amplify and amplify. so, christmas, today, is going to do a similar thing. >> reporter: given the concerns about, yet, another surge after christmas and given the fact that we have seen the numbers rise, so sharply, after so many, major holidays this year, it should come as absolutely no

surprise to anyone that, at this point, the cdc is strongly recommending that for new year's, you stay home, you celebrate with members of your household. or if you are going to celebrate with your friends, to do it online. in new york, alexandra field, cnn. >> let's take a closer look now where things stand in europe and asia. cnn's cyril vanier in paris. let's start with you, and what you have seen there. >> yeah, michael. look. the news this morning in french newspapers, the headlines, is that a contamination with the new, british variant of the coronavirus has, now, been found in france. now, experts said this was bound to happen, at some point. now, it has shown up. a french national, traveling from the uk to france last week, same day that i did, in fact. was -- tested positive for covid. his test, because he came from the uk, was sent for dna

sequencing. and it was confirmed yesterday, on christmas day, that, yes, indeed, this was the new variant. so, this is a cause for concern because the new variant is believed to be a lot more transmissible. that person, by the way, it should be said, has no symptoms. he is feeling fine and he is now in isolation at his home. all his contacts, including the healthcare professionals that took care of him when he went to the hospital, are now being put in isolation, michael. so, that's one headline. meanwhile, we have another, huge bit of news. about to happen, here, eu-wide for the european union, which is the beginning of the european-vaccination program rollout. european countries start vaccinating their people, tomorrow. european union is 450 million people, michael. so, this is going to be a massive undertaking, and i am going to set expectations, right off the bat. the eu commission has said that, by the end of next year, they might have been able to vaccinate everyone or at least all those who want the virus.

so, that's how long it's going to take. but as i speak to you, michael, the vaccine is being shipped, trucked, to all 27 member states. they should receive it today. vaccinations in france are going to start tomorrow morning. just a few dozen people, tomorrow. really, it's symbolic. it's a drop in the ocean, but i do think authorities wanted the vaccinations to start by the end of the year. they were poised to do it in january. but then, things actually went faster than they had anticipated with the -- the european medicines agency approving the pfizer vaccine, on monday. the french followed suit, on thursday. and now, they're going to start vaccinating on sunday, michael. >> that is good news. and we hope it goes smoothly. cyril, thank you. selina, let's turn to you, now, in tokyo. and some worrying numbers in your region, particularly south korea and japan. >> michael, we are seeing a surge in covid infections in countries that have largely managed to keep cases under

control for most of the year. in japan, we are seeing cases continue to break those records. reporting more than 3,000 covid-19 cases a day for three days in a row. japan has also confirmed its first cases of that new, covid-19 parent, that's potentially more contagious, coming from five people who have traveled from the uk. now, japan, along with more than 40 other countries, have restricted travel from the uk. it is clear, now, that the outbreak is gaining momentum in japan. we are seeing hospitals strained and some interesting statistics here is that it took japan more than nine months to reach about 100,000 covid-19 infections. but in less than two months, japan's covid cases have now doubled to more than 200,000 total covid-19 infections. now, the japanese government has refrained from declaring a state of emergency and, in fact, the government does not have any legal enforcement for covid-19 restrictions. but the prime minister has said that he's considering the use of subsidies and penalties, to

enforce these sorter business hours for restaurants and bars. and now, meanwhile, in south korea, this is a country that has been seen as a model nation for how to combat the covid-19 pandemic. they are now, also, dealing with a surge in cases. south korea, lingering around more than a thousand, daily covid cases. these are record-high numbers for this country. the country has already banned large gatherings, and ordered tourist attractions to close. now, the challenge here for south korea is that, when we saw previous waves and infections in south korea, they were largely from these large clusters. for instance, at churches or nightclubs. but the new infections are harder to trace. coming from places, like restaurants and offices. but, michael, it is important to put into context that this surge we are seeing in asia pails in comparison to the massive numbers we are seeing in parts of europe and the united states. but, what this does show is just how hard it is to deal with the pandemic, during this winter

season when cold weather is driving people indoors, and when everyone is dealing with covid-19 fatigue. michael. >> yeah. yeah. absolutely. selina, good to see you. selina wang there, in tokyo for us. now, the coronavirus did lead to a subdued christmas at the home of the catholic church. thousands of visitors usually flock to the vatican for the holiday. but, st. peter's square was empty, yesterday. pope francis delivered his usual, christmas-day message from an unusual spot. instead of speaking from the balcony overlooking st. peter's square, the pope spoke indoors, calling for covid vaccines to be available for all. and he pled with countries to cooperate in the race to emerge from the pandemic. for viewers in the u.s., i'll be right back with more news. for our international viewers, stay tuned for "african voices"

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we have to find somethingust else. good luck!ut it. what does that mean? we are doomed. [ laughter ] that's it... i figured it out! we're going to give togetherness. that sounds dumb. we're going to take all those family moments and package them. hmm. [ laughing ] that works.

and welcome back to our viewers, here, in the united states, i'm michael holmes. you are watching cnn "newsroom." i appreciate you being with us. six police officers are being hailed as heroes for their swift actions, before an rv blew up in downtown nashville, early christmas morning. some witnesses say was, understandably, terrifying. first, a voice coming from the motor home announcing the vehicle would explode in 15 minutes. and then, it did. officials say because officers moved fast to clear the area,

only three people were injured. the blast tore into at least 41 businesses. what may be human remains was found near the blast site. no confirmation on that, though. they're being tested. the nashville mayor says the explosion was called by a -- caused by a, quote, deliberate bomb. >> as of right now, it does -- initial evidence does show that the early-morning explosion was a -- was a deliberate bomb being set off in our community. and the blast caused injuries and catastrophic damage to this very historic part of nashville. >> now, cnn was able to talk to witnesses, like betsy williams. she says she was asleep, when what sounded like gunfire from an automatic weapon woke her up. here is what she told cnn's anderson cooper. >> it was sometime between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. i'm not exactly sure the first time we heard the gunshots.

it was -- it sounded like an automatic weapon. it -- it -- it -- and it was very loud and it woke me up. it woke us up, and you know, we didn't do anything, to start with, because just wake up after you've heard that. well, then, we waited a few minutes and it happened again. and so, we called 911. >> did the first time -- sorry. sorry. just to be clear, the first time you heard it, how many shots did you hear in a row? >> i think it was -- you know, i didn't really count them but it was about, probably, eight to twelve. >> okay. >> caller: you know, it was bam, bam. bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. like that. >> how much time elapsed between the first burst and the second time you heard it? >> you know, i'm -- it seemed like it was probably longer than it actually was. you know? and -- and so, maybe it was five minutes. >> okay. >> maybe -- maybe ten. >> okay. >> and then -- and then, it

happened again, and then we called 911. well then -- then, it happened the third time and we called 911 back, again. just to make sure. and -- and -- and there were responders, who had already come, down there after we called the first time. and we noticed, we looked out the window, and there was this white rv that was parked just across the street. >> uh-huh. >> caller: and -- and so, it started playing this message. evacuate now. this vehicle contains a bomb and it will explode. and -- and it -- and i think they may have been playing some other things. it was a mechanized, woman's voice. it was computerized. >> uh-huh. so, it didn't sound like a -- a -- a woman had recorded it, herself? it sounded some -- somehow computerized? >> no, it sounded like it was a computerized thing. you know, how you have those automated calls, and you have automated stuff. and that's what it sounded like. and -- and that went on for a

good, long while. because, by that time, we were -- we called 911, again, wanting to know what should we do? >> now, millions of americans, meanwhile, are hours away from losing critical, unemployment benefits. they are waiting for president trump to sign legislation that many need as a lifeline. if he doesn't, it could also cause a government shutdown. so, there's that. plus, an atlanta institution saved by customers who didn't want to lose it to the coronavirus pandemic. the owner says there's still more to be done. we'll talk with him, next. kim is now demonstrating her congestion. save it slimeball. i've upgraded to mucinex. we still have 12 hours to australia. mucinex lasts 12 hours, so i'm good. now move! kim, no! mucinex lasts 3x longer for 12 hours.

starting today, some 10 million americans are set to lose extended unemployment benefits, and a government

shutdown, by the way, could also happen on monday. this, thanks to president trump not, yet, signing the $900 billion coronavirus-relief bill and a massive, government-funding bill. instead, he went golfing for a second-straight day at his florida resort. now, senate republican, lindsey graham, was with him on the golf course christmas day. and tweeted mr. trump's demands for $2,000 direct payments are reasonable and he hopes congress is listening. the republican side isn't, anyway. earlier, i spoke with cnn political analyst, josh rogan, about why the delay and what the outcome will be if the president doesn't sign the bill. >> what's crazy is that the congress actually flew down a paper version of the 5,000-page legislation to mar-a-lago, yesterday. and trump didn't even bother to read it. he tweeted, today, that he's

been making calls and having meetings. neither of which claim has been verified. regardless, it seems clear, that he is not going to read the bill or sign it or veto it, friday. now, saturday comes another deadline. if he doesn't sign the bill, by the end of the day, saturday, then actual unemployment benefits will cease. restarting them will be very difficult, and real people will suffer, greatly. so, while the president tweets livelihoods are on the line. and, you know, 398,000 people signed up for pandemic-unemployment insurance, just this week alone. >> incredible numbers. now, one of the businesses that desperately needed help is right here, in atlanta. manuel's tavern has been a mainstay here, for six decades. it's been a hub for politicians, lawyers, police officers, journalists, even priests and actors. but the pandemic was putting all

of that at risk. owner, brian maloof, was afraid he was going to have to shut the place down, for good. but, thanks to a gofundme campaign and an outpouring of love and support from the public, manuel's future is looking a bit brighter. brian maloof is the owner of manuel's tavern. and it's great -- it's great to get you on, brian. before we get to the good news, how bad were things? how desperate was the situation before customers stepped in? >> it was terrible. i mean, we were losing $25,000, a month, on average. sales were down 62%, since march. it -- it was an incredibly difficult situation to be in, that was impossible to manage. it just -- the circumstances of everything were just a recipe for -- for business failure.

>> yeah. and -- and -- and i know that it -- it -- it's such a family there, with the staff. and you're having to send a letter out, and say we're not going to make it. and -- and -- and i read about you doing a to-do list, you know, returning ashes that were there, and uniforms of fallen soldiers. there is a plaque on the wall to a lot of your longtime regulars, who pass along, including a longtime cnn producer. it's sort of home to some people, isn't it? >> it really is. we have a 64-year business history and over those times, we have made a lot of personal connections with the community. really, personal connections with a lot of customers. and over the years, we've been given very memorable pieces of their lives, that we've -- we have on display at the tavern. so, to shut all that down, to return all those things, it --

it was really heartbreaking to think about. but, going back to your point earlier, when i was thinking that we were going to have to close permanently, those all needed to go back to their home. and it was incredibly sad. >> well, one of your loyal customers starts a gofundme. and -- and then, like, within a day, things just started to happen. tell us about your reaction to the response. what was going through your mind, as the amount kept rising and rising during that day? >> i wasn't sure if the gofundme was going to work. i knew that people loved us. i knew that there would be some donations. but the amount of money that we needed to get through december and into 2021 seemed unobtainable. and a dear friend of mine and -- and regular customer, angelo, didn't give me a choice.

he was gonna try this. and he started this gofundme page. and he just asked me to be patient, and let's see what would happen. and i think, in 17 hours, we met the goal. it was -- it was astonishing how fast it -- it really took off. it was amazing. >> yeah. you needed a few tens of thousands. and -- and you were saying that you are now well over 180,000, which is remarkable. and it's happy news. for people who don't know, manuel's is a huge institution in atlanta. you have had a lot of high-profile people in there, over the years. three former presidents, for example. clinton, carter, obama. and for those who don't know, give us a sense of what manuel's means to atlanta. the loyalty of the customers, and so on. >> so, i mean, we've seen atlanta grow up. my father started the business. it was an extension of my grandfather's business, that was just a little further down the street.

and we've watched atlanta -- our family's watched atlanta grow, and we've grown along with it. it's an 8,000-square-foot restaurant. we seat about 340 people inside. we do a lot of event business. a lot of memorable, event business. rehearsal dinners and retirement parties, wakes, and a bunch of different things. and there's a tremendous section of the population that has some memory of an important, life event that's taken place at manuel's. and we've seen a lot of stuff that's happened. and so, to close it down, kind of, you know, shuts down those memories, so to speak. i think that's why everyone stepped up, so quickly, was that it meant so much to them. >> yeah. and the beauty of the place, as -- as you describe it, it is, you know, large in terms of what you can see. but there's so many small, little nooks and areas and bars.

it doesn't feel as big as you describe. and that's part of the beauty of it. i -- i -- i'm just thinking. going on -- we've all seen the politicians at work, or let's be honest, not at work. what is needed, going forward now, not just for manuel's but other businesses in terms of assistance? what's it been like watching politicians dither? >> it's -- it's been painful. we're -- restaurants were the first businesses citizens were told to avoid to stop the spread. we'll be the last business given the all clear for people to come back. there's been a tremendous effort to keep people out of bars and restaurants. what's been frustrating, for us, is that energy that's been put into stopping the spread of the virus hasn't been adequately met with funding to support us for this lack of business.

it wasn't like we were doing anything wrong. we're managing your business, like we always have. we were looking forward to a fantastic 2020, and covid came along. if this was bad management on our part and we were going out of business because i was doing stupid stuff with the business, i would happily accept the outcome -- not happily. but i would accept the outcome. what's frustrating is the money hasn't been coming, in the fashion that we've needed it. the money hasn't been coming, as fast as the damage has been occurring, is the problem. and what really cemented our fate, and caused this reaction that has happened is when congress went on break for thanksgiving. and there was no, additional small-business stimulus voted

on. that's when i decided to close it, and that's when angelo stepped up with the gofundme. but this really should not be grants -- i mean, i'm sorry -- it shouldn't be loans, it should be grants. this money is needed right now. this is the most expensive time for restaurants, when you have to prepay your insurance, you have to buy all your licensing. december's an incredibly expensive month for bars and restaurants. and the money is needed now. we have varioery -- all of us h very similar financial statements. we are all shooting for the same labor-cost percentages, same food-cost percentages. and i'm -- i'm guessing that, you know, the trouble that i'm in, there's a lot of restaurants that are in the same boat because all of our percentages are roughly the same. so -- >> you -- you -- yeah. you mention no funding and they went on break in thanksgiving. well, here we are, christmas. the money's still not been

formally approved. let's end on a happier note. once this nightmare is over, this covid nightmare is over, i can imagine there's going to be quite a party at manuel's. >> well, we actually had one today. we had a very safe, social-separated party, today, celebrating christmas. and when we get through this, and all this is behind us, and i'm suspecting that will be midsummer, we are expecting to have a large event. and i'm really looking forward to that day. >> yeah. i -- i might just pop in, brian maloof. it's a great institution. >> more than welcome. >> a wonderful pub. and it's just a great christmas story of what your patrons did to keep this business going. brian, thanks so much and merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you. thank you so much for having us,

and i really look forward to a covid-free 2021. >> yeah, we all do. thank you, brian. >> thank you. >> positive christmas story there. now, the weather outside for many americans is, indeed, frightful. flood and freeze warnings, spreading across the country. who's in danger? when will it let up? we'll have the details, when we come back. last night's sleep, interrupted by pain? tonight, silence it with new zzzquil night pain. because pain should never get in the way of a restful night's sleep. new zzzquil night pain. silence pain, sleep soundly. for the better. whatever question i have i feel like there's an avenue to seek the answer. hit that app and you start a story, you're on an adventure. download a new book within seconds and it's ready to go. there's something for everybody on audible. i like short stories. short stories are easy. they're quick. i like long and like intricate stories, that's really what i love. audible originals. i like biographies. self-help.

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it was a white christmas, in st. petersburg, russia, but not just the snow, as you can see. a mysterious foam was floating in a river, and flying through the air. some people, amused by the sight. others, worried about what's causing the sudsy mess. investigators say a chemical used to make liquid soap may have been dumped in the area. bit worrying. now, nearly 4 million americans under flood watches in the northeast, as heavy christmas-day storms. and freeze warnings, that stretch as far south as central florida. all right. let's get the latest now from

derek van dam. what are you seeing there, derek? >> i bet you have never heard this one before, michael. it's so cold that iguanas are falling from trees. i will explain in just a minute. let's talk about the flood threat, across the northeast. i got to take you back to this blockbuster snow storm. several areas broke records, across new york. now, the storm that is moving through is producing rainfall. so, it's warm enough to -- to produce liquid precipitation. and the snow on the ground from the blockbuster storm, ten days ago, is now melting. so, you add, on top of that, the liquid rainfall and we get scenes like this in the new york region. you will see just how bad that river runoff just is. in fact, we have three river gages, according to national weather service, that are at major-flood stage. over a dozen at moderate-flood stage. you can see how significant the water rushing across the region

you can imagine as rivers overflow their banks, that spreads in all directions, impacting homes and businesses as well. now, the rain that moved through the region, now just exiting from maine into the eastern sections of nova scotia. lots of cold air, behind it. we are going to kick in the lake-effect snow machine off of lakes erie and ontario. 1 to 2 feet of snow, in some of those favored locations. the arctic blast continues. this is significant people, because this is the day after christmas. we refer to this as boxing day. people returning gifts. i don't want to go outside in that. look what it feels like in the nation's capital. 12 degrees, that's the windchill. central florida, where we have freeze warnings and hard-freeze advisories in effect for this region, impacting the citrus community but also the iguana community. incredible. these are cold-blooded animals and when temperatures drop below

45 degrees fahrenheit, michael, i bet you didn't know this. they actually become dormant or paralyzed and they have been known to fall from trees in cold temperatures just like this. so, watch out for iguanas. >> i will keep an eye out after i leave the show. it's like drop bears in australia. you got to be careful of those. koalas attacking tourists. it happens. you can google it. all right. good to see you, derek van dam, thanks for that. now, notre dame cathedral in paris was filled with the sounds of the season, on christmas eve. have a quick listen. [ singing ] >> the choir, wearing helmets and coveralls, perhaps honoring the workers who were trying to repair the cathedral. no live audience, of course,

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an explosion in downtown nashville, tennessee, on christmas morning has investigators searching for answers. covid at christmas, surges in the u.s. and around the world show that the virus is definitely not taking a holiday. and donald trump's christmas