>> announcer: live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom"

with laila harrak. hello and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm laila harrak. ahead on "cnn newsroom" -- >> from a historic win and celebrations to heartache and tributes for a sporting world legend, we will break down all the highs and lows from the world cup live in doha. ukraine is firing back. we're getting reports of a number of missile strikes after attacks on odesa. a live report from kyiv. and millions of americans under storm alerts as heavy rain and snow pummels parts of the west. we're live at the cnn weather center with the latest. well, after three weeks of

grueling competition only four teams are left standing at the world cup and it's a picture very few could have predicted. it all starts this tuesday when argentina takes on croatia and then on wednesday the defending champs france will play morocco. the first african team to reach the final four. fans in morocco have been celebrating their team's dream run which has -- which was extended after another win against a top team. morocco knocked out portugal and its star player cristiano ronaldo to book its semifinal spot. france also advanced to the final four following a win over england. france's supporters celebrating the close victory, the match was decided in the final minutes when england missed a penalty

kick that would have tied it. well, now all this world cup action comes with heartache as the sporting world is mourning the loss of journalist grant wahl who died covering the tournament. for more on all this we're joined by cnn senior sports analyst dan lewis in doha. good to see you, darren. so champions france through and up next they face the cinderella story of the competition. >> yes, they do. as you've been saying, they are the first african country to reach the semifinal of the most prestigious competition in world football. they are the first arab nation, they are the first muslim country. so as you can imagine a lot of joy around the world, millions of people celebrating their arrival at the last four. the big thing about mr. corocco

they love dee is fending, have only conceded one goal so far in this competition. ever since cameroon and you even go back to morocco in 1986 they kind of suggested that the african nations could make an impact on the world stage, but what you have now is five countries that came into the competition with african coaches, players that had gone on to lead their countries, understand the talent and grasp just what moments like this mean to their countries, to their people. it is a wonderful opportunity now for morocco to do what nobody believed they could, they've beaten spain and beaten portugal because they were underestimated by both those countries and both their fans and both those sets of players. if france do that in the semifinal we could have yet another upset. >> and, darren, as the sporting world continues to come to terms with the death of grant wahl, tributes were made at that

france game. >> yeah, i was at the game last night and it's quite important to point out a couple of things. there was a tribute from fifa at the seat where grant would have sat, there was a small posey of flowers and lovely picture of grant but also an announcement made before the game began, in the moments before kickoff his image was on the big screen in the stadium, a round of applause from the fans which it was a really pleasing to hear, but also i spoke to some of the journalists who had been sitting in and around the area where everything unfolded on friday night and for those journalists it was very important to be able to speak about, to process what they had witnessed, what they had experienced on that night and just how much of a loss grant is because as you and i were talking about yesterday, he was a guy who spoke truth to

power, he was a guy who was revered the world over because of his fearlessness not least at this competition where he showed that truth to power. for the journalists at the game last night it was important to do what grant would have been doing last night, working, continuing to be at the heart of the big stories and continuing to command that respect that he had earned inside america, outside america, around the world. it was a really poignant evening but an important evening as well. >> darren lewis, thank you so much for sharing that. darren lewis in doha, qatar. well, later in the program i will speak with a sports writer about the life and legacy of grant wahl as well as the latest developments from the world cup. in southern california three -- there are concerns of moreland slides after part of a coastal cliff gave way in los

angeles county. here is the moment that the rocky wall came crumbling down. luckily no one was injured but the massive collapse forced the closure of a beach. meantime, a major winter storm is pummeling parts of the western u.s. with heavy snow and rain. nearly 12 million people in more than a dozen states are under storm alerts through monday. flood warnings are up for parts of california while some places in the sierras can expect as much as 5 feet of snow. let's bring in cnn meteorologist britley ritz. what are you seeing? >> absolutely. this whole area of low pressure continues to bill low up moisture and push it right on to the shoreline, flooding threats to the california coastline, the sierras dealing with some of the heaviest snow where we can expect nearly 5 feet and isolated amounts up to 6 feet above 5,000 feet on the sierras. watching this closely because we

do have many under winter weather alerts, nearly 12 million and alerts extend across the upper midwest watching winter storm warnings through monday for the sierras and others under winter weather advisories. expect snowfall, dangerous travel conditions, travel not advised for many of these locations especially through the sierras, many road closures already in place where we could pick up feet of snow, above 5,000 feet is where you can expect most of that snowfall to fall. of course, heavy rain one of the bigger concerns, we have picked up several inches over the last few days, we have that flash flood threat carpmel valley through san diego. flood warnings in effect north of fresno as well as l.a. watches this closely as it pushes farther east. the flooding threat extends through parts of the lower

mississippi, western tennessee and central tennessee valleys as we have had that stalled bound tree over the last week or so we have added on an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain as this system continues to push eastward. it's not just the flooding threat, however, we're focused in on the threat of severe weather. it comes into play monday as we have that warm moist airflow up from the gulf of mexico, the lift from the boundary and wind direction wind speed changing with height. with that all that have combined we bring in the threat for damaging winds, tornadoes ands large hail. the greatest threat for severe weather will be lower arkansas, southern arkansas into northern louisiana as we move into tuesday and that extends wednesday into the florida panhandle. >> britley ritz, thank you so much. wnba star brittney griner continues to undergo a medical evaluation at a u.s. army hospital in texas following her ten-month detention in russia. griner's wife posted an update on saturday saying in part as

b.g. and i start our journey to heal our minds, body and spirits i wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands seen and unseen that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again. cherelle griner also called for imprisoned american paul whelan and others to be brought home. the biden administration says it tried to include whelan in the prisoner swap with griner, but russia refused. the january 6th committee will meet virtually in the coming hours to finalize a list of possible criminal referrals to the justice department. that list is widely expected to include former president donald trump and four close associates. the referrals do not mean that federal prosecutors will pursue them because the justice department has its own january 6th investigations under way. the committee's final report on the u.s. capitol attack

including any criminal referrals is expected to be made public by december 21st. a u.s. federal judge has declined to hold former president donald trump in contempt of court for failing to turn over classified records as required by subpoena. while that's according to two sources familiar with the matter who said the judge instead told trump's legal team and the justice department to work it out among themselves. despite repeated assurances from trump's lawyers that all classified materials have been returned, more were discovered just days ago in a florida storage facility. government prosecutors insist other sensitive documents are still missing and they believe trump may have them. in los angeles karen bass is set to make history as the city's first female mayor. she will also be the first woman of color in the post.

bass will be sworn into office later today by vice president kamala harris. harris also endorsed bass during her campaign. bass, a six-term congresswoman, was also on president biden's short list for a running mate during his 2020 campaign. bass has said that tackling los angeles' homelessness issue is her top priority in her first 100 days. saturday was winter graduation day at the university of idaho. the school attended by four college students killed in their off-campus home last month. the ceremony normally an occasion for celebration had a somber feeling, it included a moment of silence for the lives lost. camila bernal is there in moscow, idaho, with the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: there's still a lot of fear and a lot of frustration here in moscow because in part it's been a month and we still don't have a motive, we don't have a weapon and we still don't

have a suspect. it's graduation weekend here so people are celebrating, hotels and restaurants are full, and yet everybody is also thinking about these attacks ahead this have graduation weekend police even releasing some tips, telling people to be vigilant, to walk in groups, to tell your family and your friends where you're going to be and then we also saw a very emotional moment, a moment of silence at the commencement ceremony, a time to honor and remember the victims. now, in terms of the investigation, we know there are many, many tips coming into police. they ask people for information regarding a white hyundai elantra made between 2011 and 2013. they say that car was near this house on november 13th when they believe these four students were stabbed to death multiple times while they were sleeping. it's unclear if these new tips have been helpful to police, but

they are encouraging people to continue to call. they even had to change their strategy and are no longer dealing with it locally, instead it is the fbi call center that is now dealing with all of these tips. the frustrating part of all of this is that police still not releasing a lot of information, not saying whether or not there is progress and, again, it's been one month since these attacks. camila bernal, cnn, moscow, idaho. russia takes heat from ukraine after moscow's new attack on ukraine's energy system. still ahead, the latest as kyiv takes aim at russian-held targets after a major ukrainian city was left in the dark. plus political pressure also piled on moscow at the nobel peace prize ceremony. what a ukrainian laureate says should happen to russian president vladimir putin.

♪ you pour your heart into everything you do, which is a lot. so take care of that heart with lipton. because sippin' on unsweetened lipton can help support a healthy heart. lipton. stophuggin'. start sippin'. the face of millions of germs zapped in seconds. the face of clean. the face of whoa. some are of intensity, others, joy. all are of - ahhhh. listerine. feel the whoa! because your lives are forever entwined. love entwined. shop kay's last big sale of the year

and save on everything. only at kay. moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day, that's effective without topical steroids. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. plus, they felt fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq, as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. disrupt the itch and rash of eczema.

talk to your doctor about rinvoq. learn how abbvie can help you save. mass general brigham -- when you need some of the brightest minds in medicine. this is a leading healthcare system with five nationally ranked hospitals, including two world-renowned academic medical centers. in boston, where biotech innovates daily and our doctors teach at harvard medical school and the physicians doing the world-changing research are the ones providing care. ♪ there's only one mass general brigham.

>> tech: when you get a chip in your windshield... trust safelite. this couple was headed to the farmers market... when they got a chip. they drove to safelite for a same-day repair. and with their insurance, it was no cost to them. >> woman: really? >> tech: that's service the way you need it. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ one prilosec otc each morning blocks heartburn all day and all night. prilosec otc reduces excess acid for 24 hours, blocking heartburn before it starts. one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. the european union is moving to give ukraine a head start in future reconstruction. the council approved more than $18 billion in loans for

ukraine's short term financial needs including repairing their infrastructure and making the first steps towards post-war reconstruction. help is also coming from norway which is pledging $100 million for fixing up ukraine's energy system. we're getting reports that ukraine is firing back after russia knocked out power to the city of odesa. president volodymyr zelenskyy says iranian-made drones hit key power facilities around the city on saturday leaving it largely in the dark. this is how he described the situation in his evening address. >> translator: the key for today is energy. the situation in odesa region is very difficult after the night strike the strike by iranian drones, odesa and other cities and villages of the region are in the dark. as this have time more than 1.5 million people in odesa region are without electricity, only critical infrastructure is

connected and as much as it is possible to supply electricity. >> but now ukraine says its missiles hit the occupied di of melitopol, a russian news agency says the same happened in russian held eastern ukraine. while unconfirmed social media reports are describing widespread explosions across the crimea peninsula. our reporters are standing by, barbie nadeau is in rome but first i'd like to go to sam kiley in kyiv. sam, what's the situation like there on the ground? we understand ukraine has been launching attacks on self-proclaimed donetsk and occupied melitopol. >> reporter: yeah, i mean, there is -- this is not a tit for tat response i don't think to what happened in odesa which was an attack against the energy infrastructure of ukraine. now, odesa was hit with 15 missiles, ten of which were shot down. importantly these are

iranian-made missiles, very significant that president zelenskyy chose to highlight that once again because of course if it is found that such attacks are violating international humanitarian law, in other words, a war crime, then by extension potentially iran could be held accountable for aiding and abetting the committing of war crimes. the attacks on melitopol and do the donetsk, especially melitopol should be seen as a suspicion that perhaps soon the ukrainians will be launching some kind of counteroffensive in the southern front down south towards the crimean peninsula. there has been a proop buildup, there is an expectation as the ground freezes perhaps the ukrainians will be able to get on the front foot on what has been until now pretty quiet front line with both sides kind of frozen along long lines of -- defensive lines with occasional exchanges of artillery rather than these much more targeted

attacks, particularly in melitopol where both sides agree that the ukrainians have attacked installations that include the concentrations of russian troops. >> sam, i want to turn our attention to bakhmut which has become kind of the epicenter of fighting right now. why is russia focusing on taking this particular city? >> reporter: that is a question that i have put to numerous ukrainian officers, senior officers and people fighting on the front lines and they don't have a simple answer for that because strategically, even tactically bakhmut doesn't represent a particularly important target from the russian perspective. yes, it is a city that they would have to take if they wanted to continue to prosecute and advance towards the much more important city of cream a tor cre

kramatorsk. according to the ukrainians they are killing large numbers of troops, suffering casualties in difficult circumstances. the city has been all but destroyed. the only explanation the ukrainians have come up with is that there is an anxiety perhaps on the russian side to deliver to the kremlin some kind of a victory this year given the losses they have suffered, particularly in the north and the south of the country where a land that was conquered in the early stages of this russian invasion has been recaptured across wide swaths of territory by the ukrainians. >> sam kiley, thank you very much for your continued coverage reporting from kyiv, ukraine. i want to go now to barbie nadeau in rome. barbie, what more have you learned about this eu/norway/ukraine aid package? >> reporter: yeah, you know, what's really important about this is this is not military aid, this is one that is going to be used on reconstructing ukraine.

now, this sends a message of optimism obviously because it shows that europe thinks that ukraine is going to be fully in control of their country when the war ends. directly for the energy sector has been very, very well received by president volodymyr zelenskyy. let's hear what he had to say about it. >> translator: there is a new support package from this country in the amount of $100 million and precisely for the restoration of our energy system after these russian strikes. i think all norwegians for this decision, i'm thankful to the government. in general, we received defense, economic and very important political support from norway as well as a lot of humanitarian assistance. norway also helps with the purchase of gas. we will work together on the reconstruction of ukraine. >> reporter: and this really does send a message of optimism to ukraine and is also a slap in

the face to russia with europe saying we're behind ukraine, we will continue to support them during this military moment and after when it's time to rebuild the country. >> thank you so much. russia's war on ukraine was central to this year's nobel peace prize, the awards ceremony was held on saturday in norway and one of the laureates, ukrainian human rights lawyer made this appeal to the international community. >> translator: anyone's life is priceless, it is a continually evolving matter. we have to establish a an international matter and bring putin and other war criminals to justice. >> the other laureates are

russian human rights group memorial and jailed belarusian activist ales bialiatski, his wife accepted the award on his behalf. more tributes are coming in for the journalist who died at the world cup in qatar. we will look at the life and legacy of grant wahl when we come back. plus, a dream run at the world cup. how morocco has defied the odds to reach the semi-finals and inspire millions of people worldwide.

new dove body wash with micbiome nutrient serum transforms the iest skin in 1 shower. because your lives are forever entwined. love entwined. shop kay's last big sale of the year and save on everything. only at kay.

here in the united states and

around the world. i'm laila harrak and this is "cnn newsroom." sadly, there's been more to the world cup this weekend than just the excitement of the game. there have been tributes and mourning at the tournament after the death of acclaimed sports journalist grant wahl. the american died doing what he loved, reporting on soccer. he passed away after collapsing at the argentina/netherlands match on friday. the 49-year-old was passionate about the game but he was also at times critical of fifa and qatar over its human rights record. still, the world football federation honored wahl on saturday saying he should have been there. flowers and a picture of the journalist were placed in the media section ahead of the england versus france match. cnn's don riddell has more on wahl's life and legacy. >> reporter: at the most extraordinary world cup game the most devastating news as the quarter final match between argentina and the netherlands went into extra time american soccer writer and broadcaster

grant wahl died after collapsing suddenly in the stadium. days before the 49-year-old had spoken in his podcast about feeling unwell during the tournament. >> my body, i think, told me even after the u.s. went out, dude, you are not sleeping enough and it rebelled on me and so i've had a case of bronchitis this week, i've been to the medical clinic at the media center twice now. >> reporter: after collapsing on friday night on site medics reportedly spent 20 to 25 minutes treating wall. news of his sudden death quickly sent shock waves throughout the football community. >> i was at the netherlands game last night when all this horrible drama was unfolding. i wasn't aware of it at the time so to wake up this morning and switch on my laptop and see the news was just devastating really. >> reporter: wahl made his name as a writer for "sports illustrated" introducing unknown player lebron james to the world through a memorable cover story. >> i'm very fond of grant and,

you know, having that -- that cover shoot, you know, me being a teenager and him covering that, it was -- it was a pretty cool thing. >> reporter: but it was as a soccer writer that he made his greatest mark. in 2011 he use add campaign to run for fifa president to expose the corruption within football's world governing body. wahl quickly emerged as a cheerleader for the beautiful game in north america long before it was fashionable. >> he was one of the first people to welcome me when i made my big move across the atlantic. he was almost a missionary in that sense, would he travel around the globe telling people to take american soccer seriously. >> reporter: in the run up to the world cup wahl made it his mission to expose the deaths of migrant workers qatar had enlisted to build the stadiums, he continued to advocate for human rights as soon as the tournament got under way, refusing to follow the demands of stadium security to remove a rainbow shirt worn in solidarity with the lgbtq plus community.

wahl told cnn that he was detained for 25 minutes by qatari authorities for wearing the shirt. >> they forcefully took my phone out of my hands, they made me stand in front of a cctv camera, they continued to try to get me to take off my shirt. >> reporter: he went on to receive apologies from a fifa representative and a senior member of the security team. after spending 12 years writing about the buildup to qatar this tournament was wahl's eighth and final men's world cup. the tributes that have poured in from commended wahl's commitment to exposing injustices within the sport and cementing his legacy as one of the greatest advocates of american soccer. don riddell, cnn, qatar. >> for more i'm now joined by a sports writer and co-host of the stadio podcast.

many still reeling from grant wahl's tragic death. how important was he for the growth of soccer in america? >> he was the mt. rushmore of sports journalists. it's as simple as that. he's extraordinary. everyone has a grant story. lebron james, billie jean king, but also a freelancer who just started out their career whatever country they are in, grant would somehow maintain contact with thousands of people throughout their careers and it was always authentic and it always mattered and i think the greatest legacy for him is that he built so much community. for him it wasn't just about the by lines and him being famous and him being well-known, it was about elevating the entire craft and he did that his entire career. >> and musah, what would grant wahl have made of morocco winning against portugal and being one of the final four countries in this world cup? >> he kind of predicted it. he's been doing a superb newsletter throughout the tournament, sorry, i referred to the present tense there, i still can't quite accept it -- he has a great substack where he talks about the prospects of the great

teams and morocco was a team he identified as being going the full distance especially against portugal. >> the first african nation to make it to the semi-finals. do you think they can go the whole way? how do you see this evolving going? >> of course she can. they have a superb team, well drilled, familiar with european opposition, they are not a grad of the challenges, they are certainly not afraid of france. one of the smartest coaches that has ever been on the big stage at the world cup, all they need now is the confidence. >> the moroccan team are riding on a wave of support from their fans. does that make a difference? >> oh, huge. i mean, they're effectively the home team at this point, they've been adopted by the african world, the arab world, the muslim world so it's exciting for them. all they have to think is let's play as if this will be the last two games of football we ever play and i think they could surprise. >> let's talk about portugal,

what went wrong for portugal? >> well, i think portugal were trying not to be beaten the way that spain are beaten, they want with higher intensity but i don't think they fully understood how fully resilient morocco were. when it came down to a goal, not contesting it, these tiny margins as i think al pacino said it's that much, those tiny margins. if you lose the inches you lose the battle. i think morocco won the inches. >> moussa, watching that footage of cristiano ronaldo leaving, crying, quite emotional. does this mark an end of an era for portugal? >> not necessarily. they have a superb team, a wonderful group of young players, if ronaldo accepts a lesser role, if he comes off the bench and says i'll play 20 minutes, 10 minutes in big games that might be a way to prolong

his career. it's certainly not the end for them. i think it's maybe the middle of the journey. they are still a great team. >> how likely do you think that is that, chnot playing in that marquee position? >> that's a choice he has to make. portugal as a whole that team have serious young footballers there and i expect them to be a threat on the world stage for several years to come. >> morocco will be facing world champs france. what is their weak -- what is the weak spot of this french team? do they have a weak spot? >> yes, the center back position i think is a difficulty, the left back spot, they lost lucas hernandez, maybe not as defensively solid. if they don't sort that out against morocco i think they're going out. >> all right. let's see what happens on wednesday. moussa, thank you so much for speaking with us. >> my pleasure. thank you so much.

and before we go to break i want to leave you with fan reaction from africa and the arab world following morocco's historic win. take a look. >> what to say. what a joy. i never imagined it. we are the first african country to reach the world cup semi-finals. what can i say? >> translator: we made history today, for all the arabs and africans. congratulations to all moroccans around the world. >> translator: it was a fairly close match, portugal played

well. well done to them, but we are stronger. >> translator: it was a great game today, the team did not let us down, instead they made us proud. they made our country proud. they made the arab world proud. new dove body wash with microbiome nutrient serum tranansforms the driest skin in 1 shower.

because your lives are forever entwined. love entwined. shop kay's last big sale of the year and save on everything. only at kay. what's the #1 retinol brand used most by dermatologists? it's neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1-week, deep wrinkles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles goodbye! neutrogena® two new ihop lunch and dinner menu items for twice the goodness, twice the flavor, and twice the choice.

sirloin salisbury steak and all-natural salmon. perfect for lunch or dinner. only at ihop. download the app and earn free food with every purchase.

tens of thousands protested in the streets of dhaka the capital of bangladesh to demand the resignation of the prime minister. the rally was organized by the bangladesh nationalist party, the country's main opposition. the demonstrators blamed the

prime minister for rising fuel prices and the soaring cost of living. they want her to step down for new elections under a caretaker government. the prime minister has called opposition leaders arson terrorists and western officials have expressed concerns about her government's response to the protests. people in germany came out saturday to stand in solidarity with anti-government protesters in iran and to condemn the execution of an iranian demonstrator. participants in berlin danced, chanted and demanded freedom for iran's women in civil society but an iranian minister vowed saturday that the punishment of protesters would continue. that's according to a news agency. a day earlier another official in iran signaled that more executions will take place in the coming days.

protesters have also gripped china in recent weeks as the public pushed back against the government's strict zero covid policies. online videos that evaded china's censorship apparatus gave the world a glimpse of what was happening on the ground. the man responsible for sharing many of those videos spoke exclusively with cnn's selena wang. take a look. >> reporter: video after video of historic anti-zero covid protests in china broadcast on the world's television screens everywhere but inside china where authorities censored all evidence of the protests. so how did these images manage to get beyond china's controlled internet? news rooms around the world including cnn have been relying on information from this twitter account and there's only one man behind it, lee, a chinese painter in italy, whose identity

we're hiding for security reasons. >> translator: this account may become a symbol that chinese people are still pursuing the freedom of speech. when you post something within china it will quickly disappear. this account can document all these historical events that cannot be saved inside the country. >> reporter: his account quickly turned into one of the world's key sources for protest information. lee says he received thousands of submissions per day as the demonstrations unfolded. apps like twitter, youtube and instagram are banned in china, but people used virtual private networks or vpns which are prohibited in china to access twitter and send their videos to lee. >> what's the motivation behind all the work that you do? >> translator: it's to let people inside the china, climb out of the great firewall to see what's happening at this very moment. >> reporter: but that's exactly what authorities want to prevent. here is what happens if you search for information about any

of the protests on chinese social media, you get a notice that says, sorry, no relevant results are found. meanwhile, on lee's twitter account he was rapidly uploading videos of demonstrations across china zhengzhou to shanghai with protesters chanted for xi jinping to step down. researchers say the chinese government is even trying to bury information about the protests from social media users abroad. search on twitter in chinese characters for cities that had protests and you get this, a flood of spam and porn advertisements, the spam campaign researchers say appears to be the work of chinese authorities. twitter did not respond to a request for comment. >> are you worried about your own safety? >> of course i'm very worried. i get a lot of anonymous harassment saying i know who you

are, where you live, and i will kill you. >> reporter: his parents frequently call him in fear, he says, and the chinese authorities have been harassing them, too, making midnight visits to their home in china. >> what price do you think you have to pay for the work that you do? >> translator: this account is more important than my life. i will not shut it down. i've arranged for someone else to take over if something bad happens to me. i'm mentally prepared, even if authorities won't let me see my parents again. >> reporter: authorities in china try to keep the country in a parallel universe but li is playing a pivotal role in break that go bubble. li spends hours a day on the account, only taking breaks to feed his cat and barely slept during the peak of protests as he sorted and verified the endless stream of submissions each one urgent and historic. he's doing the work that he hopes one day chinese journalists and chinese citizens from within china will be able

to do without fear. salina wang, cnn, beijing. tropical sigh clean man do you say killed four people and damaging dozens of homes. up to a contract of a meter of rain fell in the state capital. a local official said more than 9,000 people were moved to safety to some 200 relieve camps as authorities tried to remove uprooted trees from the roads. a marine fossil just discovered in australia is being compared to the rosetta stone which helped decode ancient languages. the 100 million-year-old skeleton found on a cattle station in the queensland outback is being hailed as a breakthrough that may provide vital clues about prehistoric life. >> there's still so much we

don't know about these animals that were swimming in this ancient inland sea 100 million years ago including how many species of these long-necked plesiosaurs, for instance, or something as simple as that, just how many species there were, we don't really know exactly. so this animal here that has a head with a body attached to it allows us to unravel some of that species diversity. while some amateur pal i don't know tolling gists called the rock chicks made the discovery, the three women go around australia hunting for fossils. just ahead, the artemis i mission is almost over as nasa waits for the orion space capsule to reenter earth's atmosphere in the coming hours. we will have a report. new dove body wash with microbiome nutrient serum transforms the driest skin in 1 shower. with powerful, easy-to-use tools

power e*trade makes complex trading easier react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a fures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so youon't miss an opportunity find your beat your moment of calm find your potential then own it support your immune system with a potent blend of nutrients and emerge your best every day with emergen-c

hi, susan. honey. yeah. i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad. try this robitussin honey. the real honey you love, plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? robitussin. the only brand with real honeyand elderberry. ♪ ♪ give the gift of shine. ♪ only at zales, the diamond store. for back pain, i've always been a take two

and call in the morning guy. but my new doctor recommended salonpas. without another pill upsetting my stomach, i get powerful, effective and safe relief. salonpas. it's good medicine. nasa's historic artemis i mission is set to splash down off the coast of california later today. let's take a look at this mission by the numbers. according to nasa the uncrewed spacecraft took a 25-day trip around the moon, total distance

traveled 1.3 million miles. and the re-entry speed will be more than 24,000 miles an hour. michael holmes looks at what lies ahead for this ambitious space program. >> reporter: the lead up to the artemis i launch might have been a bumpy ride after a series of delays due to technical glitches and bad weather but nasa says once it's mega rocket got off the ground it's been smooth sailing. >> we got to witness the world's most powerful rocket take the earth by its edges and shake the wicket out of it and it was quite a sight. >> reporter: after three and a half weeks in space filled with engine burns, lunar fly-byes and stunning views of the earth and the moon, nasa's orion spacecraft is almost home, but before its splash down it needs to pass a critical test. in one of the most nail biting times of the re-entry process,

the orion capsule will separate from its service module then complete a skip maneuver off the edge of the earth's atmosphere which will bring it closer to its landing site and cut down on the g forces that future astronauts will have to endure. after that all eyes are on the heat shield as orion blazes back to earth at temperatures twice as hot as molten lava. nasa says the heat shield has been tested more than 1,000 times and making sure it can take the heat is one of the primary goals of this mission. from the outset the uncrewed artemis i mission has been a dry run to make sure the spacecraft is safe enough for astronauts to fly on board. >> we are stressing it and testing it in ways that we will not do to a rocket that has a human crew on it. >> reporter: if artemis i is a success it will be followed by

artemis ii which like the first mission will fly around the moon, but this time with a crew. that will be followed by artemis iii which intends to return astronauts to the moon surface, including the first woman and person of color. later missions will aim even further with the goal of sending astronauts to mars, but nasa says before any of that happens the orion capsule must successfully complete its journey on sunday. >> as we progress we will spend -- we will land on the moon, we will step foot on the moon and then we will extend the time we're on the moon longer and longer. >> reporter: michael holmes, cnn. take a look at these pictures from the hubble telescope, the first one is using blue filters to get a look at what's called a glob u lar cluster in a satellite galaxy of the milky way. the next photo is of the same

cosmic neighborhood but looks very different because a red filter was used. it's thought that these stars are about 100 million years old. by the way, that's considered relatively young for a star. and that wraps up this hour of "cnn newsroom." thank you so much for joining us and for your company. i'm laila harrak. cnn this morning weekend is up next. i will see you next time. ♪ you pour your heart into everything you do, which is a lot. so take care of that heart with liptoton. because sippin' on unsweeeetened lipn can help support a healththy hea. lipton. stop chuggin'. start sippin'. ♪ energy demands are rising. and the effects are being felt everywhere. that's why at chevron, we're increasing production in the permian bas by 15%. and we're projected to reach 1 million barrels of oil per day by 2025.

all while staying on track to reduce our carbon emissions intensity in the area. because it's only human to tackle the challenges of today to help ensure a brighter tomorrow. it's the sparkle and shine sale. get 30% off everything. ( ♪ ) give the gift of shine at zales, the diamond store.

good morning, everyone and welcome to cnn this morning. i'm amara