live from hong kong, welcome to our viewers here, there in the united states, and around the world. i'm anna coren in hong kong. ahead on "cnn newsroom," the omicron surge causes chaos as countries around the world pose new restrictions. democrats in the u.s. work to salvage whatever they can of president biden's agenda as inflation skyrockets. and the legacy of desmond tutu resonates as the world remembers the iconic voice that helped end apartheid.

we begin this hour with the growing concern over the rapid spread of the omicron variant in the united states. it's driving daily covid infections to highs not seen since last january. and as cases spread, so does the demand for tests. americans are facing a shortage of at-home kits. and this is the scene at testing sites across the country. long lines with people often having to wait hours to get tested. the white house is facing increased criticism over its handling of covid testing. here's what top health expert dr. anthony fauci had to say. >> we should be using testing much more extensively than we have, even in a situation where you have people who are vaccinated or boosted.

but the situation where you have such a high demand, a conflation of events, omicron stirring people to get appropriately concerned and wanting to get tested as well as the fact of the run on tests during the holiday season. we've obviously got to do better. i think things will improve greatly as we get into january, but that doesn't help us today and tomorrow. >> this is causing major disruptions during what is typically one of the busiest travel days of the year. on sunday, nearly 1,500 flights were canceled as staff and crew continue to call out sick due to the omicron surge. cnn's nadia romero has more from atlanta's airport. >> reporter: some frustration here at atlanta's airport, here's at hartsfield jackson for some travelers whose flights were delayed or canceled. one woman told me her flight was canceled from atlanta to wyoming, and she was hoping to get back because she has to go back to work. but that just can't happen because of that canceled flight.

that flight one of more than 1,000 flights canceled on sunday alone, bringing the total this weekend to about 2,000 flights. that's just domestic. you add thousands more when you talk about international travel. but for some people, they said despite all the cancellations, delays, they've been checking their phone. when their flight was able to be on time, they came to the airport. they said they weren't going to miss it because they haven't seen family and friends since before the pandemic, two years ago. listen to them talk about that experience of finally being able to get back home. >> this is my in-laws. the first time i've seen them in about two years. so, yeah, it's been a while. i saw my mom over thanksgiving, first time in two years. i got my booster shot. that was first and foremoast. been wearing my mask. i ended up switching my seat to be next to one person instead of three other people. so just to keep my distance. so, yeah, my whole family is vaccinated, and we felt safe. it was just immediate family,

just like ten people. >> reporter: tsa tills us screening through their security checkpoints is down this holiday season. christmas and christmas eve compared to the same time period back in 2019, so pre-pandemic levels. they contribute some of that to the coronavirus, the omicron variant that is spreading rapidly with cases we're seeing arising across the country and also all of the thousands of cancellations and delays. nadia romero, cnn, atlanta. >> joining me now is dr. scott miscovich, a u.s. consultant for covid-19 and president and ceo of premier medical group usa. dr. miscovich, season's greetings to you and your family. great to have you with us. >> thank you. >> omicron is spreading at lightning speed across the u.s. as you well know, sending daily caseloads soaring to higher than last winter's pandemic peak. are you concerned this will overload the country's health system considering only, what, 62% of the population is fully

vaccinated? >> absolutely. we are totally concerned that our health system may be pushed to the brink. you know, right now our health system is about 75% of the beds are full. we have about 25% of our -- or 25 of our 50 states have their icu capacity upwards of 85%. those are serious numbers, and we are just starting to see the numbers of hospital beds occupied by covid go from 40,000 or so in november, now it's approaching 80,000. and we are just starting to reflect the hospital admissions. remember, they lag about 14 days after the counts go up, and the numbers in the u.s. are soaring. so we are very concerned about it. >> as you well know, doctors are burnt out. they've been fighting, you know, against covid now for two years. if there is a surge in hospitalizations, will the system be able to cope?

>> i don't think so. i mean we already have, i think, at least five states have fema and national guard that are helping to staff their hospitals, and there are more requests that are coming up that can't be handled until january. now, the real concern is, you know, we talk about this -- we like to say it's still a little bit of a myth for people saying, oh, it's mild. don't worry about it. we still have questions about that. but the fact is because the rise is vertical, even if 25% less people get hospitalized, because the numbers are going up exponentially, it's going to overwhelm our health system in a very short period of time. so it's the speed of the rise of omicron which is threatening our health system. remember, we've lost almost 20% of our nurses across the united states over the last 18 months. so it's a real challenge. >> dr. scott miscovich, as always, great to get your

insight. thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me, anna. well, it's not just the u.s. the omicron variant is fueling surges in covid cases around the world. that includes europe where many countries are bringing back strict lockdown measures. barb barbie nadeau has our report from rome. >> reporter: the surge in coronavirus cases fueled by the omicron variant has led to new restrictions across europe. in france, which logged more than 100,000 cases in a single day on christmas eve, restrictions will mean no fireworks for new year's eve in paris. in italy, which logged nearly 55,000 new infections in a single day, new year's eve concerts and outside gatherings have also been canceled and nightclubs will be closed all month. spain and italy now also require masks to be worn outsides. belgium has closed movie theaters and in germany sporting events will be held without fans. some european countries now require visitors from within europe to be tested for covid

before departing. in greece, visitors have to test a few days after arrival as well. elsewhere across europe, spikes in cases have led to closures, cancellations, and curfews as governments do anything they can to avoid locking down entirely. barbie nadeau, cnn, rome. in singapore, covid-positive strangers are now being forced to share hotel rooms during quarantine. officials say the move is necessary to optimize capacity in quarantine hotels. while singapore's case numbers have actually gone down since early december, concerns about the omicron variant prompted officials to pause reopening plans. meanwhile, china is using strict lockdowns to fight local outbreaks, hoping to prevent a surge ahead of the winter olympics. for more, cnn's steven jiang joins us live from beijing. steven, let's start in shaanxi province, the epicenter of the latest covid outbreak. how are authorities tackling this? >> reporter: well, anna, they're tackling this in the most

stringent way possible, something we really haven't seen since the peak of the pandemic in this country when wuhan was still the epicenter. as you said, since last week, the authorities have confined the city's 13 million residents mostly to their homes with a few exceptions such as allowing each household to send out one representative every other day to do grocery shopping. but even that privilege, if you will, has just been suspended according to the latest local news reports because they have just begun another round of citywide testing. now, this, of course, by now is part of their familiar playbook of mass testing, mass quarantine, and extensive contact tracing. now, local officials and state media have blamed this outbreak to a flight from pakistan because the earliest case was detected among a hotel worker at a quarantine facility. still there are some unanswered questions because there are still some gaps in tracing a lot

of the other parts of this chain of transmission. that's obviously a major source of concern, which may explain some of the rather over the top measures they have adopted in xi'an, including disinfecting the entire city by spraying disinfectants with authorities warning residents not to open their windows or doors and not to touch anything outside in terms of surfaces and plants, even though the effectiveness of this campaign has been questioned by china's own health experts. but as we draw closer and closer to the winter olympics here to be held in beijing in about a month and a half, nobody wants to take chances. that's why you already see 26 local officials in xi'an being reprimanded for dereliction of duty. and the biggest question right now hanging above not just the residents of xi'an but the whole country is whether or not people could actually travel home during the upcoming lunar new year holiday in late january, early february because for many, if they couldn't do this, that would mean for the second or even third year in a row, they wouldn't be able to travel home to see their loved ones during

their only time off in the entire year. anna. >> that certainly would be tough. steven jiang, many thanks for the update. joining me now is karen grepin. she is an associate professor at the school of public health at the university of hong kong. dr. grepin, great to have you with us. you obviously are based here in hong kong, which as we know has very strict if not draconian quarantine measures. but i guess due to these measures, you know, hong kong has managed to catch covid cases at the border or in quarantine. i guess many fear it's just a matter of time before omicron gets into the community. what are your thoughts on that? >> yeah. things are definitely heating up right now in hong kong in terms of the number of imported cases. every imported case is a risk in that it has the possibility of getting into the community. but at the same time, as you said, we have some very rigorous border control measures in place here in hong kong and thus far have proven to be successful in

terms of keeping this out. i think the next couple weeks are going to be critical in terms of whether we succeed or not in keeping this out of the community. but the measures that we do have in place are amongst some of the most rigorous in the world, and we hope that they should be enough to keep cases out of the community. >> are you concerned about the vaccination rate here, which is still shy of 70%? >> yeah. i'm actually very concerned about the vaccination rate here in hong kong. 70% doesn't sound that bad, but when you look at the distribution of it, it's actually quite depressing. less than 20% of those over the age of 80, meaning those that are the most critical to be vaccinated, haven't actually been vaccinated yet. so if a case were to get into the community here in hong kong, it could -- it could spell disaster in terms of overloading of our hospitals and the number of cases and mortality that we would experience. >> well, the omicron variant, which is i guess ripping through parts of the world, most of the

world, is highly transmissible. but i guess the severity is questionable. there's data out of scotland, england, south africa that suggests that it's less serious illness that comes from omicron compared to its predecessors. but the concern is will people become complacent. >> yeah. i think there is an open question about how -- how severe this is. the problem is, of course, today that we're looking at the virus spreading in populations that have been exposed to the virus, that have seen high rates of vaccination. for us here in hong kong, i think we have a lot of reasons to worry about this new strain of the virus. we don't have any previous exposure to any of the variants of the virus, and as we've discussed already, vaccination rates amongst the most vulnerable are very low. so i think it's very dangerous to start saying that this is going to be mild. it could be very severe in

places like hong kong, which have low rates of vaccination and haven't experienced the virus in the past. >> dr. grepin, countries in asia are now delaying their border reopenings, easing travel restrictions due to the development of omicron. singapore, japan, thailand, and new zealand, just to name a few. how much longer do you think they will delay the reopenings, and don't we have to learn to live with the virus? >> yeah. i mean it's interesting because just a couple months ago, these same countries are the ones that were saying that they were going to start living with the virus and were gradually starting to reopen their borders. and then of course this new variant, the virus has come along, and so it has given a lot of these places reason to pause. and i think there is some value in that, in that i think it allows for countries to assess the situation a bit better. it also allows for the countries to perhaps prepare for what's likely to be a very big surge in the number of cases. but i think what you're pointing

at is quite correct in that it's probably inevitable that this virus will get into these communities regardless of what types of measures they have. it's quite likely that it's already in most of these places that have already opened up. and so it's a question of how long it will be able to delay it. probably a couple weeks, but it's unlikely to be able to avoid it altogether. >> we know that china has gone from the zero-covid policy. it's closed its borders and has closed its borders now for going on almost two years. we know there's this outbreak that's been reported in shaanxi province. they've longed down xi'an, a city of 13 million people. but given what we know about omicron and how transmissible it is, is it realistic to maintain this zero-covid strategy? >> china has been incredibly successful over two years. you know, they have developed a playbook that has allowed them

to squash out any localized outbreaks, and they're trying that again now. i th-- we've never tested it wi these more virulent strains like omicron, so it's unclear how successful it will be. i think there's still a possibility that the things they're putting into place will get this under control. the longer term question is how long do they want to maintain this zero-covid strategy. it's really not clear and i think it's an open question how long any country could sustain this over the long run. >> it's great to get your insight and perspective from hong kong. dr. karen grepin joining us from hong kong u., many thanks. >> thank you. the world mourns the passing of a human rights icon. south african archbishop desmond tutu. we'll take a closer look at his life and legacy after the break.

in a recent clinical study, patien using salonpas patch reportedeductions in pain severity, using less or a lot less oral pain medicines. and improved quality of life. ask your doctor about salonpas. it's good medicine. people, with quickbooks live someone else will do your books for you. they'll even pair you with an expert bookkeeper like me, who knows your business.

knows your business! expert bookkeepers who understand your business. intuit quickbooks live bookkeeping. my family's been devastated by covid-19. and we're not alone. we've all had to find new ways to keep going. and cue has made that easier. with cue, you get lab-quality covid-19 test results in just 20 minutes. speed and accuracy. it's just for the nba; it's for you too. cue health. the official covid-19 home test of the nba. go cue. go you. it's the most joyous time of year. especially at t-mobile! let's go to dianne. i got the awesome new iphone 13 pro and airpods, and t-mobile is paying for them both! and this is for new and existing customers. upgrade to the iphone 13 pro and airpods both on us. only at t-mobile.

condolences are pouring in from around the world following the death of south african anti-apartheid activist and human rights leader archbishop desmond tutu. u.s. president joe biden tweeting, we are heartbroken to learn of the passing of a true servant of god and of the people. pope francis described tutu's work as service to the gospel through the promotion of racial

equality and reconciliation. and queen elizabeth told of his great warmth and humor during their meetings. our robyn curnow has more now on desmond tutu. but first here's south africa's president on the passing of his fellow countryman. >> archbishop desmond tutu was one of our nation's finest patriots. he was a man of unwavering courage, of principled conviction, and whose life was spent in the service of others. he in many ways embodied the essence of our humanity. >> continue in the struggle.

continue in the struggle to make south africa free. >> reporter: when he won the nobel peace prize in 1984, the anti-apartheid movement was under attack. the minority government had banned the african national congress and imprisoned its leaders. it was the clergy led by tutu that stepped in to fill the void. a decade later, the struggle paid off when south africa held its very first democratic election in 1994. for you in your life, what do you think has been the greatest thing you've ever done? >> well, i say to people, my happiest moment was when i was told i'm a father for the first time. when our son was born, i was on cloud nine.

a close second to that is 1994 when i was standing on the balcony of the city hall overlooking the grand parade and introducing nelson mandela to that crowd, to south africa, to the world. >> ladies and gentlemen, friends, fellow south africans, i ask you welcome our brand-new state president, nelson mandela! >> i actually said to god, god, i don't mind if i die now. [ laughter ] >> reporter: as a new democracy took hold in south africa, tutu

was again called on to lead. in 1995, president nelson mandela appointed him as chair of the truth and reconciliation commission in front of a nation desperate to heal. a man never afraid to speak his mind wasn't afraid to show his emotion either. >> he's a person whose life was always dedicated to others, and the thing that has enriched him also in knowing how to connect to different kind of people, different status. but he connected very, very, very well. >> we owe our freedom to extraordinary people. >> reporter: in 2007, he joined a group of prominent world leaders called the elders. their mission, focusing the world's attention on all forms of injustices. any regrets, sir? >> being maybe too abrasive, and because i was right, so easily

becoming self-righteous. >> for you to say that -- >> yes. yeah. you know, we knew we were right, but it was so easy for that to turn and you get to feel you're better than your opponent, whereas you aren't. you're all god's children. >> reporter: tutu officially retired from public life in 2010 but remained in the public eye. a man unafraid of criticism. before his 80 birthday celebration in 2011, tutu lashed out at the south african government for denying the dalai lama a visa. >> one day, we will start praying for the defeat of the

anc government. you are disgraceful. i want to warn you you are behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we stood. >> reporter: the country's moral compass with a voice to match. archbishop desmond tutu was 90 years old. in the coming hours, we'll have more on the man and his work along with global reaction to his death. please stay with cnn. olay regenerist, with 99% pure niacinamide provides 5 times the hydrating power of a prestige cream;

while olay collagen peptide visibly firms and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; and olay retinol 24 brightens and smooths the skin while you sleep. for dermatologist-recommended ingredients at an affordable price, try olay skincare. santiago: i never graduated from high school. i realized i wanted to go back to school because i didn't want to work these back-breaking jobs the rest of my life. with the help of my father and having my son, it was all the motivation i needed to come back to school. i felt accomplished. it made me feel that i could take on whatever challenges life throws at you. vo: find free adult education classes near you

at finishyourdiploma.org

welcome back. you're watching "cnn newsroom." i'm anna coren live from hong kong. well, talks on u.s. president joe biden's build back legislation remain stalled after senator joe manchin said he wouldn't support it over inflation concerns. u.s. prices have been rising at the fastest rate in decades. but some economists say the plan would have a marginal effect on inflation and the pandemic is a bigger threat. here's what one critic of the legislation had to say. >> i think the biggest challenge that families are facing right now is the inflation. inflation numbers as high as

they've been in four decades. obviously we want to get people back to work. there are jobs available. people are trying to get people to come and work with them and make the country function economically. we can't solve every problem by just dropping money on top of more money. >> but the white house has signaled that mr. biden is not giving up on the legislation, and a key democrat says the party is open to breaking the plan up into smaller stand-alone bills. cnn's jeremy diamond has the details from washington. >> reporter: well, christmas came and went, and president biden still doesn't have that key piece of his domestic policy agenda secured. that's the build back better act, which the president had hoped to pass in time for christmas. but instead, that has been pushed back to early 2022 after senator joe manchin last week said that he could not support that bill in its current form. now, we know that those

conversations, though, have resumed between the white house and senator manchin's office. president biden saying just days ago that he believes that he can still get large chunks of that bill pushed through congress. how exactly, though, appears unclear. senator ben cardin, one of those members of the democratic caucus in the senate, weighing in on how it might get done. listen. >> are democrats open to scaling it back even more or passing various pieces as stand-alones, maybe attracting senator manchin or even some gop on some of these issues? >> well, that's a strategy decision that's being negotiated. we are open to a way to reach the finish line. we want to make it as comprehensive as possible because the needs are just there. >> reporter: getting that bill done in smaller bills, though, will be challenging given that democrats need to use that reconciliation vehicle if they want to pass anything without any republican support. ultimately, though, one thing is clear and that is that different factions of the democratic party want to move forward and try and

find a way to get large chunks of this bill passed. congresswoman pramila jayapal, the head of the progressive caucus, writing in an opinion piece in "the washington post" on sunday that she wants to continue working towards getting this bill done and getting something as close to that framework that democrats had previously agreed to as possible. meanwhile, senator chuck schumer, the senate majority leader, has said that democrats in the senate will indeed vote on that build back better act in early 2022. he has not, though, officially set a date for that. jeremy diamond, cnn, the white house. >> as the white house looks for a way forward on build back better, it's also working to address other issues affecting americans, including high prices and product shortages. vice president kamala harris explains how. >> short-term solution includes what we need to do around the supply chain.

we went to the ports in long beach, savannah, georgia, and said, hey, guys, no more five days a week, eight hours a day. 24/7. let's move the product because people need what they need. we're dealing with it in terms of the long term, and that's what we need to do to pass build back better. it strengthens our economy. >> the white house says that push for around the clock port operations definitely helps with progress reported in the lead-up to christmas. a colorado court is set to hold a hearing in the coming hours as it's being asked to reconsider a lengthy prison sentence for a truck driver convicted in a 2019 fatal crash. cnn's lucy kafanov has the details from los angeles. >> reporter: the district attorney is now asking the court to reconsider that lengthy 110-year prince sentence for rogel aguilera medeiros, potentially reducing it to 20 or 30 years. just to remind viewers, medeiros

was 23 years old at the time of the incident. he was driving at 85 miles an hour. his brakes failed. he was convicted of vehicular homicide among other charges. the d.a. is not looking to overturn the conviction. in fact, the d.a., alexis king, said medeiros made multiple choices that resulted in the death of four people as well as serious injury to others, adding that the shorter sentence, quote, reflects an appropriate outcome for that conduct. now, at issue are colorado mandatory minimum sentencing laws that require sentences to be served out consecutively rather than concurrently, which is how medeiros ended up with more than a century behind bars. even the judge who sentenced him said at the time, quote, if i had the discretion, it would not be my sentence. several colorado lawmakers now calling for legal reforms. take a listen. >> our system here at this building has created a situation where a judge, at their own discretion, who doesn't want to issue a sentence, has had to issue that sentence. what we hope to achieve is

reforms. that's really what this is all about. we have to reform a system that is creating a situation where we are creating more victims of our justice system. we have to do that now. >> reporter: medeiros himself was emotional during this sentencing, saying that he never intended to hurt anyone. the case sparking international and national concern. nearly 5 million people signing a petition asking the colorado governor to reduce or overturn this sentence. his office telling cnn that he is currently reviewing the clemency request. lucy kafanov, cnn, los angeles. at least one official says deadly floods hitting eastern brazil are unprecedented. why conditions there could get even worse. that's coming up. try this robitussin honey. the real honey you love... plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? now get powerful relief with robitussin elderberry. this is your home. this is your family room slash gym.

the guest bedroom slash music studio. the daybed slash dog bed. the living room slash yoga shanti slash regional office slash classroom. and this is the basement slash panic room. maybe what your family needs is a vacation home slash vacation home. find yours on the vrbo app. ♪ not only do centrum multigummies taste great. they help support your immune defenses, too. because a healthy life. starts with a healthy immune system. with vitamins c and d, and zinc. getting out there has never tasted so good. try centrum multigummies. ♪ ♪ you are my fire ♪ ♪ the one desire ♪ ♪ you are, you are, ♪ ♪ don't wanna hear you say... ♪

♪ ♪ i want it that way ♪ ♪ lisa here, has had many jobs. she's worked in retail during the holidays. as a barista during rush hour. and a nanny to a couple of rambunctious kids. now, all that experience has led her to a job that feels like home. with home instead, you too can become a caregiver to older adults, with a career that makes a difference. ♪ apply today. ♪

at least 18 people are dead and thousands left homeless as heavy floods hit parts of brazil. stefano pozzebon reports on the crisis from neighboring colombia. >> reporter: torrential rains and floods left more than a dozen deaths and hundreds of injured in the northeastern brazilian state of bahia over the weekend. bahia is one of brazil's poorest

states, and the entire northeastern region had been suffering from a drought in the year so far. but the state's governor said to reporters that tens of cities have been impacted by the catastrophic damage caused by the floods. >> translator: this is a massive tragedy. i can't remember seeing anything like this in bahia's recent history. given the amount of cities and houses involved, it's truly terrifying. there are so many houses and streets that are completely underwater. >> reporter: the state's civil protection agency said at least 16,000 people have been left homeless and thousands more displaced by the floods. the local meteorological service is forecasting even more rain through monday and tuesday, potentially inflicting even more damage on the population already impacted by the disaster. for cnn, this is stefano pozzebon, bogota. in the uk, a man accused of breaking into the grounds of windsor castle has been detained under the mental health act. the 19-year-old was taken into

custody christmas morning. police reportedly found a crossbow while searching him. queen elizabeth and other members of the royal family were inside the castle, celebrating christmas, when he was arrested. while rare, it's not the first time an intruder has been caught on palace grounds. famously, a man named michael fagan managed to sneak into the queen's bedroom back in 1982. the scene was even recreated in the netflix series "the crown." then in 2003, a comedian managed to gate-crash prince william's birthday party. and the next year, an intruder dressed as batman snuck by security to stage a protest on a palace balcony. well, now for a check of other stories that we're following from around the world, at least eight people are dead after a suicide bomber targeted a bar in the democratic republic of congo on christmas day. as people gathered to celebrate. a government spokesman says 20 others were wounded.

in a twitter post, the president of the drc says he strongly condemns the attack. negotiations on reviving the iran nuclear deal will resume in austria in the coming hours. according to iran state media, the country's foreign minister doesn't find the position of some european countries constructive to the talks. negotiations have made little progress since they resumed earlier this month after a five-month pause. the head of iran's atomic energy organization told russian media that tehran doesn't intend to enrich uranium beyond the 60% level even if sanctions are not lifted. well, three members of the k-pop group bts have tested positive for covid-19. the group recently returned to south korea from a u.s. tour. big hit music said rm tested negative on december 17th but positive on saturday before his scheduled release from

quarantine. and jin felt flu-like symptoms and tested positive saturday. suga was the first to test positive on friday. all three had received two doses of the covid-19 vaccine. another year, another hollywood scandal or several. after the break, we'll look at the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world of entertainment in 2021. imagine having someone else do your books for you. as your quickbooks live bookkeeper, i'll categorize expenses, reconcile accounts, and close your books. cool. yep.

know where your business stands. intuit quickbooks live bookkeeping. ♪3, 4♪ ♪ ♪hey♪ ♪ ♪are you ready for me♪ ♪are you ready♪ ♪are you ready♪

the holidays are in full swing and you can feel the magic in the air. especially at t-mobile! let's go to dianne. can you tell us what's happening? yeah, i got the awesome new iphone 13 pro and airpods, and t-mobile is paying for them both!

oooh and i get a free year of apple tv+. upgrade to the iphone 13 pro and airpods both on us. only at t-mobile. and this is for new and existing t-mobile and sprint customers. like me! back to you. uh, hello!? we are going to t-mobile!

well, the headlines weren't all pretty for the stars of stage and screen in 2021. from deadly accidents to demands for change and a pop icon finally free to live life on her own terms. cnn's stephanie elam looks at the biggest entertainment stories of the year. >> reporter: from adele's giant return to "jeopardy!" host in jeopardy. >> players, here's the clue. >> reporter: and alex baldwin at the center of a hollywood tragedy. here's a look at the top entertainment stories of 2021. number ten, the kim and kanye

split. >> i want to be happy. >> reporter: after seven years of marriage, kim kardashian files for divorce from rapper kanye west, citing irreconcilable differences. >> i deserve someone that can go support his every move and go follow him all over the place and move to wyoming. i can't do that. >> reporter: in began with kanye's elaborate proposal in a rented baseball stadium. parts of the 2014 wedding airing on e!'s "keeping up with the kardashians." the split also airing on the show. >> i feel like a [ bleep ] loser. >> reporter: which like kimye ended its run this year after 14 years. number nine, i sa shocker when comes to best actor. >> anthony hopkins wins best actor for "the father." they moved the best actor category to the end of the show. >> really did not expect this. >> reporter: hopkins wasn't on hand, leaving the critically panned telecast to end abruptly.

and hopkins to honor boseman later on social media. >> i want to pay tribute to chadwick boseman, who was taken from us far too too early. >> number eight. the astroworld concert stampede. >> i have never been in such chaos, like, so unorganized and just so many people, like, slamming into me. >> one of the year's top news stories, also, rocking the entertainment world. >> i could just never imagine the severity of the situation. >> with astroworld headliner, travis scott, and concert promoters facing scrutiny for not stopping the show as the crowd surged killing ten. >> i could feel, you know, myself losing the ability to breathe. >> scott said he wasn't aware of major problems during the show, and did not -- legal liability in response to scores of lawsuits against him. but the tragedy has the industry considering change. >> i definitely want to, you know, step in to figure out, you know, how can we fix this in the

future? >> reporter: number seven. a grammy boycott. the weekend calls the grammy's corrupt after his smash album "after hours" is shut out of the nominations. not even his hit single "blinding lights" was honored. the grammy's said the omission wasn't intentional and later dumped controversial nominating committees that govern the final nominees, relying on a popular vote among the recording academy. >> well, a history-making night for beyonce, taylor swift. >> reporter: the show went on where women reigned supreme with beyonce nabbing her 28th grammy. a record for a female artist. number six. the return of adele. her album "30" becomes the fastest-selling album of the year, besting every other title in just three days.

>> i think all day people are going to be going -- that's all you are going to hear. >> reporter: after a six-year absence, fans can't get enough of adele. as roughly 10 million people tuned in to her cbs special, which included a concert and oprah interview. >> i'm -- i'm nearing my goal of, like, finding my happiness. >> reporter: and as if that weren't enough, adele announced a 2022 vegas residency. becoming the hottest ticket on the strip. number five. the "jeopardy" host controversy. after a high-profile search for alex trebek's replacement -- >> a fun final jeopardy. >> jeopardy hired its own executive producer. >> who is mike richards? the answer to the question is no longer the host of j"jeopardy." >> but then, mike richard's past incidents and comments on a podcast resurfaced. richards stepped down and apologized but the backlash continued and less than two

weeks later, he gave up his executive producer role and left the show. number four. the "squid game" phenomenon. the south korean series swept the globe, becoming netflix's biggest series ever at launch. >> the plot? hundreds of people heavily in debt enter a game to win a huge pile of cash. the down side? if the contestants lose a game, they are killed on the spot. >> reporter: netflix says "squid game" was viewed by 111 million accounts in less than a month and fan re-creations, like this one in the united arab emirates, proved the show has worldwide appeal. from bts to parasite and now "squid game," the south korean influence on entertainment seems here to stay. number three. the box office bounces back behind powerhouses like spider-man no way home, shang

chi, and no time to die, the box office emerges from the pandemic topping $12 billion worldwide. in north america, theaters doubled their haul over 2020, passing $4 billion. still, way behind 2019's 11.4 billion. but the resurgence came with growing pains as studios used streaming platforms to pick up the slack. >> black widow biting back today. >> scarlett johansson sued disney for releasing "black widow" on disney plus, the same day as theaters, alleging it would cut into her profits. disney said it had no merit. both sides, eventually, settled. number two. the alec baldwin movie set shooting. the star discharged a prop gun on the set of his new mexico western "rust." killing cinematographer halyna hutchins and injuring the director. >> she was my friend. the day i arrived and stoorted shooting, i took her to dinner. >> reporter: hollywood and movie fans were stunned left to wonder how this could happen on a

fictional set. >> i think there was some complacency on this set and i think there are some safety issues that need to be addressed by the industry. >> reporter: as authorities investigate, speculation swelled. >> bang, the gun os off. >> reporter: baldwin sat down with abc. in a dramatic interview, professing his innocence and fueling the drama over what went wrong. >> the gun was supposed to be empty. i was told, i was handed an empty gun. >> reporter: and the number one entertainment story of 2021. >> free britney! >> when do we want it? >> no now? >> the free britney movement and end of her life in a conservatorship. the pop star had been living a restrained life since 2008 under the tight control of her father through a conservatorship. >> she was so open and vulnerable. how we treated her was disgusting. >> reporter: but a "new york times" documentary energized the free britney movement and put a spotlight on the courtroom. fans rallied outside the la

courthouse until the moment they had been waiting for. later, spears thanked her fans and shared what life feels like as a free britney. >> atm card, seeing cash for the first time, being able to buy candles. the little thing for us women but it makes a huge difference. >> reporter: and many wonder if britney will do a sit-down interview, which just might make our list next year. we will be covering all of the top stories, of course. from hollywood, i'm stephanie elam. >> yes, that is a wrap on '21. well, thanks so much for watching "cnn newsroom." i am anna coren. "cnn newsroom" continues with kim brunhuber after a short break. stay with cnn. and senses my movement and effortlessly adjusts to help keep me comfortable. the sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now. only from sleep number.

to be a thriver with metastatic breast cancer means asking for what we want. and need. and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. women are living longer than ever before with kisqali when taken with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant alone. kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash,

are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. (vo) the more we do with our phones, the more network quality and reliability matter. and only verizon has been the most awarded for network quality 27 times in a row. that means the best experience with calls, texts and data usage of any major carrier, according to customers. there's only one best network. the only one ranked #1 in reliability 16 times in a row. we are building 5g right.

mom, hurry! our show's gonna start soon! i promised i wouldn't miss the show and mommy always keeps her promises. oh, no! seriously? hmm! it's not the same if she's not here. oh. -what the. oh my goodness! i don't suppose you can sing, can you? ♪ the snow's comin' down ♪ -mommy? ♪ i'm watching it fall ♪ watch the full story at www.xfinity.com/sing2

welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. ahead on "cnn newsroom." ending 2021 like it began with covid cases surging in the u.s., difficulties getting tests, and healthcare workers pushed to the brink. president biden won't be ringing in the new year with a build back better victory. the democrats are plotting a new path forward to try and get his signature bill passed. and truck driver sentenced to 110 years following a fatal crash.