live longer. >> she's one of them girl comics. it ain't that funny. got extra gland in the hooha that filters the jokes full that ain't funny. i read it in science book. it's science, look it up. whole episode on "planet earth" they did about women and their anti-joke vaginas. in hd, too, horrifying. ♪ it is christmas eve. all welcome, wherever in the world you are watching. i'm richard quest. i'm in london. ahead on the "cnn newsroom" --

the dangerous arctic blast now slamming across the earth. with it, snow, ice, howling winds and all before christmas. we'll have a full forecast for you. we'll also tell you about -- >> in kansas city, delays here. >> driving in was wild, with all the weather, and, you know. >> winds and rain. >> there's the people hoping to fly home for the christmas holidays. may simply not make it. we'll also update you with the travel delays in your world. and there's a not nativity display at the vatican, and it sends a message of hope to the people of ukraine. ♪ very good day to you. we begin, of course, with the massive winter storm that's

barreling across united states. 11 people so far have died from the storm. at least 200 million people are under winter weather advisories. it's an arctic blast that's knocked out power to more than 1 million homes and businesses. it's brought with it a combination of frigid temperatures, gusty winds, heavy snow and ice. and as a result, hundreds of travelers are stranded on the roads. >> it's seriously -- it's dangerously cold. i mean, i would advise anyone, if you don't have to be out, don't go out. and if you do go out, well, you need to bundle up. >> air travelers are finding major flight delays and lots of cancellations. in fact, maybe 6,000 flights were cancelled in the united states on friday. and the bad weather is impacting all of north america.

in canada, airports from one side of the country to another, from vancouver to toronto and beyond into the maritimes are all reporting massive delays and cancellations. and so the storm and what we know about it. across several states, the national guard has been activated. as a result 1,000 flights already cancelled for this christmas eve. take new york state, for instance, where the police have responded to more than 650 weather-related crashes. the weather is going to be the coldest in atlanta and philadelphia on record for christmas eve. more than half of the united states is feeling this winter storm in one way or another. cnn's omar jimenez has more. >> reporter: from record snowfall in the midwest to dangerous road conditions in the deep south. now, more than half of the

country is under massive winter storm and windchill alerts. a blizzard whips through buffalo. storms ravage rhode island. wichita experiencing a whiteout. >> it's really hard to find where the worst weather is. it's just about everywhere to coast to coast. >> reporter: the extreme weather blamed what is being called a bomb cyclone across nearly every state from the rocky mountains to the south. some temperatures free-falling, a record 30 to 47 degrees children a matter of hours on thursday. in denver, colorado, below zero temperatures prompted a windchill warning. >> still not safe for people to be outdoors. >> reporter: even texas is experiencing a deep freeze, and as arctic temperatures hit near the u.s. border with mexico, many migrants are now facing the harsh elements without shelter. almost 1.5 million americans are now braving the cold without power.

some now stocking up to ride out the storm, the dangerous combination of ice and wind, creating extreme road hazards and major disruptions to holiday travel. >> i know we all want to get to our loved ones for the holidays. but, please, please pay close attention to what local authorities are saying. and if they're saying it's not safe to drive, it's not safe to drive. >> reporter: and that many airports, transportation authorities, are saying it may not be safe to fly either. more than 7,000 flights have been cancelled today. >> it's been changing by the minute. >> it was going to be a long trip. and now it's just part of the adventure to get there. >> reporter: snow even disrupting travel in seattle and creating a domino effect around the country. the frigid temperatures are expected to last throughout the holiday weekend. breaking 40-year records in the midwest and the plains. for millions of americans, this may be the coldest christmas they've ever experienced. and across the country, the travel situation just hasn't been great.

in total, we've seen more than 5,200 flight cancellations over the course since friday. that's on top of i should say, around 9,000 flight delays we've seen amid this intense winter werth we've seen ascend over most of the country. and as so many people are trying to make it either to warmer climates and more importantly to their families tour christmas. omar jimenez, cnn, chicago o'hare international airport. >> as the new day starts in the united states, cnn meteorologist britley ritz is with me. and how that forecastolo owill it clear there's no part of the united states not affected. >> that's correct. this is a massive system from the plains all the way down to texas, right up into new england, and we're still dealing

with brutal, potentially dangerous temperatures. potentially dead if we're not taking care of ourselves. as we factor in the wind, we've got a windchill of 22 below. speaking of the winds, wind gusts 40 miles per hour, detroit. those are gusts but sustained winds of 30 miles per hour. regardless if it's going to hold for the next 24 to 48 hours and windchills below zero. we're trying to warm up with some hope not for long. here we are with windchill warnings from the plains up to the mid-atlantic. if you're not under a warning, you're under a advisory. make sure you take care of yourself. dress appropriately. make sure the skin is covered especially the fingers, nose, all the extremities. and that way, we can avoid frostbite with windchills 25 to 35 below. atlanta, georgia, here you are, trying to warm up on saturday,

getting there as we roll into thursday and friday. finally pushing back up to nearly 60 degrees. and it's not just the cold, it's the snow, too. this is watertown, new york, where we had near whiteout conditions earlier. still abandoned snow, completely covering all the roadways. please don't drive around. blizzard warnings in effect, by the way, too, richard. >> so, looking at the numbers for atlanta, and looking at the next week, things are going to get better. the worst is over, can we say that? >> yeah, we can say that. this is probably going to be the coldest air of the season for many of us, not just the southeast, but many across the plains and ohio valley and even into the northeast. >> thank you. i know you'll be watching and let us know more. >> absolutely. the u.s. house committee that's investigating last year's insurrection has now released more transcript of witness interviews and that includes depositions from key figures

like the white house counsel and donald trump's daughter ivanka. cnn's jessica schneider has the latest. >> reporter: more than 40 pages of transcripts released thousands of names, ivanka trump, hope hicks and former attorney general bill barr. our team has been parsing through the pages and we learned for the first time that ivanka trump did hand over text messages to the committee. though we're still not clear about the content. ivanka, though, telling the committee that she never exchanged texts with trump on any vice. the committee interestingly also uncovered a white house press relief that was drafted but never sent that would have called for the firing of anyone who disagreed with trump's election fraud claims of course that were false. the committee has said that the transcripts will keep coming out through of the end of the year. but the most riveting details are contained in that 845-page report that was released on thursday night. >> and we fight, we fight like

hell. >> reporter: the january 6th committee leaving no doubt that former president donald trump was the one singularly responsible for the attack on the capitol. the 835-page report said none of the events on january 6th would have happened without him. drawing a distinction between the election denial and the violence that day. after sending four criminal referrals for trump to the justice department the committee also recommended that he's barred from holding golf office ever again. zeroing in on a section of the constitution who says any officeholder who engaged in an insurrection can be disqualified from serving again. >> no man who would behave that way, at that moment in time, can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again. he is unfit for any office. >> reporter: house investigators say trump and his inner circle engaged in at least 200 attempts to fresh state officials to overturn the results including

this call with georgia's secretary of state. >> i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won. >> reporter: also others in the alleged conconspiracy. and a 23-minute call between trump and john eastman as the genesis of a pressure campaign against vice president mike pence. >> if mike pence does the right thing, we win the election. >> reporter: this, leaving the committee to recommend the overhaul of the 1887 count act with each the house and senate passing their own reform bills but back in 2020, trump did not agree with every outlandish theory his team presented. >> the massive influence of communist money through

venezuela, cuba and likely china and the interference with our elections here in the united states. >> reporter: when sidney powell repeated these conspiracy theorys in a phone call to trump, white house aide hope hicks told the committee, the president muted his speaker phone and laughed at powell, telling the others in the room, this does sound crazy, doesn't it? the committee also laying out trump's failure to act for 187 minutes during the riot. writing president trump did not contact a single top national security official during the day. >> mr. president! >> reporter: trump responding to the report calling it a witch hunt. and today, he's still falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. the committee's work is officially wrapped up but we will see more in the coming days. the committee plans to release 1,000 transcripts from the 1,000 interviews during the year. then we see things ramp up in terming of criminal investigations. fulton county d.a. is deep into

they are investigation. and jack smith has issued a flurry of subpoenas in recent weeks. jessica schneider, cnn, washington. ahead of the christmas holidays, the u.s. house passed an enormous bill that will fund the u.s. government operations over the next year. and within it is the emergency aid for ukraine. i'll give you the details of the measure and what's there. very shortly. new science shows it getets in between teeth to destroy 5x more plaque above the gumline than floss. for r a cleaner, healthier mout. listerine. feel the whoa!

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but it's so absorbent, you can use less. enjoy the go with charmin. ♪ u.s. house on friday passed a massive $3.7 trillion spending bill that will fund the government operations for the next year. it also provides emergency aid for ukraine with natural disaster relief. it changes a law that president trump tried to use to nullify the 2020 election. cnn's chief congressional correspondent manu raju has been looking at the law. >> reporter: now the 117th congress is now coming to a close after a messy spending fight that led to passage of a bill and exposed deep divides among the republican party as

congress ultimately got its act together and fundeded federal government nearly three months after the initial deadline to do just that. the bill that passed the house on friday was approved by 225 to 201 vote, one member voting present, that was senator talib of michigan. one voted against it, that was alexandria ocasio-cortez over her concerns of immigration spending, immigration enforcement. but most -- all other democrats in the house and senate voted for it. republicans, however, were divided. there were nine republicans who voted for it in the house. that is half the number of republican members who voted for it in the senate. 18 voted for it in the senate yesterday and that significant because there are 50 republican senators and more than 200 republican house members. there's a difference between the tactic and the leaders. kevin mccarthy in the house, mitch mcconnell in the senate. mcconnell believed it was time

to cut a deal. now, he got behind this deal because of his belief that the defense funding in particular was what he wanted, what he had been pushed for, in the $45 billion in aid to ukraine, a big priority of mitch mcconnell's. kevin mccarthy is trying to become the next speaker of the house. he is a republican majority incoming january 3rd. ten days away. he did not want this deal to be cut now. he wanted to wait until the new congress, believing republicans would have a stronger hand to negotiate a deal. but mcconnell and senate republicans disagree. some senate republicans were concerned that if they punted to the next congress where mccarthy would have a narrow republican majority, they would have a difficult time passing a bill, probably couldn't even get a bill out of the house, some were concerned could potentially lead to a shutdown fight in the new congress. they did not want that. essentially republican leaders jammed republican leaders in the house, and they pushed this bill through democrats and joe biden who plans to sign this into law. now this bill, $1.7 trillion

sweeping in nature, funding all aspects of the federal government, not just funding for ukraine, but domestic programs as well, disaster relief needed for communities hit hard by natural disasters also included an overhaul in the electoral count act of 1887. that governs how congress counts the certified presidential election votes when they meet to do that after a presidential election. remember, donald trump tried to exploit that law, tried to get mike pence presiding over that, to discount the results showing that joe biden won. that couldn't be done with the issue. among the issues, billions of dollars of earmarks, projects for different states as well as a wide range of other programs as well, including a ban on federal devices to use the social media app tiktok, no longer will that be allowed. now, this will be headed to joe biden's desk. lawmakers have rushed home for the holidays, many did not even appear in person to vote on

friday in the house voting remotely instead. something to be used for the pandemic but they started their holidays early and avoided the difficult travel during the storm season. nevertheless, this is all wrapped up now as congress is home for the holidays and ready to begin absent january 3rd. manu raju, cnn, capitol hill. now, the $45 billion set aside for ukraine is a very large amount of money. they'll be used for more weapons and military training also money for economic existence. for comparison, the total usaid before this bill was $50 billion so far this year. it all comes on the heels of president zelenskyy's visit to washington earlier this week. ukrainian leader has now returned to work in kyiv on friday. in doing so, he's warning the ukrainians not to let down their guard during the christmas holidays. >> translator: with the approaching holiday season,

russian pairs may can be active again. they disguise christian values and any values in general. therefore, please heed the air raid signals. help each other and always take care of each other. >> with me, clare sebastian, two things to talk about, clare, this large amount of money how to redisburse. secondly, once we do, we'll move on to the idea of christmas. first the money, it's a very sizable amount now. but zelenskyy pretty much said, you know, thank you for the missiles. and please, i'll have some more. >> yeah, richard. is this a very large amount of money, as you said, almost double the amount that's already been given by the u.s. and sort of justifies the trip that zelenskyy took, which was a major deal, having not left the country at all since the beginning of the war. i think events this morning back up the need for more support for ukraine. we're hearing of a pretty major attack on the center of the city of kherson, this report coming

from the deputy head of the president's office, zelenskyy's office. we're getting images as well. pretty terrible scenes. the reports are that five people have been killed. 20 injured. terrible scenes, but sadly, not completely out of the ordinary for the city. liberated by ukraine after long months in the middle of november. we've seen pretty relentless shelling ever since. in the last few days ukrainians warning of an uptick. just yesterday on friday, shelling in that region, today, another attack on the center of the city, for context on the city, this is the only regional capital that russia managed to up. ukraine then took it back. very strategic important, kherson region borders crimea also the black seas for russia that withdrew on the other side of the river and not willing to let up on this.

>> now, as we go, we're now in the depths of winter, and as we move forward with these various campaigns, one view is that russia is, if you will, reforming and preparing for a new onslaught. and they know, they're really throwing everything they've got on it already. >> i mean, i think in some ways both could be true, richard. as you know, there have been multiple reports how their resources have been deleted. troops on the front line were without the amount of equipment, plus even the amount of food that they would need to continue. but the other point to note is that russia want ukraine and the west to believe they are planning something. even if it perhaps didn't go the way they expect. the visit to belarus raised a lot of questions whether they can do that defense over the northern border. possibly even towards kyiv. that causes ukraine to potentially step up surveillance

of that border. it may cause them to bring troops to other areas. this is what russia is looking for. and also doing counter programming for that dlzelensky equivalen visits. and stepping up and improving the provision of weapons all of that. and, look, ukrainian officials have said they think another russian offense could be possible in the year. they are preparing for that. you have to be aware of the kind of information operations that go around that as well. >> clare sebastian, grateful, thank you. pictures now, protesters back on the streets of paris following an attack on a kurdish city. these are pictures, all three of the people killed were kurds. prosecutors are not ruling out possible motivation it'ss behin.

and they're said to be fed up with lack of support with french authorities. >> translator: once again, despite our alerts, despite the calls of distress, despite getting the government to work with us. how is it once again under the responsibility of the french authorities. >> the french president has expressed his condolences and he condemned what he is calling a heinous attack. the suspected gunman has a long criminal history, as cnn's jim bittermann reports from paris. >> reporter: within minutes of the shooting at a kurdish center, police had a suspect in custody, a witness described the scene. >> they had arrested a guy, an odd man, elderly and tall. there were three people in the room, the guy continued to shoot but he couldn't shoot anymore because there were no more bullets in his magazine.

>> reporter: when the french arrived he seemed confident of the motive. it is not certain that the kill wanted to assassinate people and little doubt he wanted to assassinate people here in paris was specifically targeting the kurds and the foreigners. within hours of the shooting crowds gathered in a sometimes intense neighborhood where it kurd shouting murderers and some in the crowd hurled objects at police and eventually to firefighters set to protesters. police fired volleys of tear gas to disburse them. what we know a frenchman who only got out of jail 11 days, he was being preventively held because of a similar crime a year ago. police are investigating it, but at the moment, they think this is crime of racist nature, not

necessarily terrorist crime. they're investigating the crime as murder, officials at the scene of the murder said those killed were activists and said there would be a vigil to remind everyone of the plight of the kurdish community. a reminder not needed in this neighborhood. jim bittermann, cnn, paris. the infamous french serial killer has arrived back in paris after being freed by nepal. he's now 78 years ago old. he was serving a life sentence for the killing of two tourists back in the 1970s. many of his other alleged murders remain unsolved. he is known as the serpent and his case rose to prominence after traumatizing a popular tv series with the same name. after transported to france, he said he didn't commit the crimes that the case was built on false documents and said he also plans to sue nepal.

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more than 175 million people are under windchill alerts this morning. the visibility at buffalo's new york airport has been at or near zero for hours. and a boullizzard warning is in

effect until sunday morning at least. the mayor of buffalo spoke to us last night. >> reporter: t >> this has been a very challenging storm, we've also seen trees down. power lines down. poles down. visibility at zero for driving. so, we want people to put their safety ahead of their desire to travel right now. >> cnn's polo sandoval is in buffalo, from where he shows us just how awful are the conditions. >> reporter: these are the wicked winter conditions that first responders here in erie county, new york, will have to endure overnight, as they work to rescue what may be hundreds of people in stranded cars. what we know, according to buffalo's mayor, that they have identified at least 150 stranded vehicles in and around buffalo. so authorities will be working throughout the night making sure

that there aren't any people that snneed rescuing from insid. they fear, however, there were many that disregarded what was a driving ban that was put in place on friday morning, basically making sure that people would not head out and brave these kinds of conditions. and sadly, it seems that did in fact happen. what we expect throughout the night is that these winds will continue, the snow, according to meteorologists will begin to scale back, come tomorrow. however, those winds will continue which means that freeze threat will also continue. so, really, the main recommendation from authorities are, after issuing to the public, not just here in buffalo, but all the way to new york governor kathy hochul, which is, those folks who live around the region that are not with their family members to resist the urge to actually hit the road to try to be with their family this christmas. polo sandoval, cnn, buffalo, new york. now, the freezing temperatures are affecting

migrants at the u.s./mexico border, especially, many are sleeping outdoors. they continue to struggle staying warm as they wait to be processed. so many of them arrived in totally unprepared clothing. cnn's camila bernal reports from texas. >> reporter: nights have been extremely difficult and even dangerous here in el paso, as these migrants do anything they can to stay warm. we've been here when the temperature is 17, 18 degrees. all of these migrants just lining up, one next to the other, trying to stay warm. you're seeing that right now. families and children who are cold and having to wait for help from these shelters. now, the city has opened some city-run shelters. the problem is that a lot of these migrants don't have the proper documentation from border patrol to be allowed in those city shelters.

and if they don't have those documents, the city is saying they're not allowed in because of federal and state law. now, the only option they have is a nonprofit shelter. and these shelters are at capacity. their capacity is actually about 130 people. they're trying to squish in about 200 of them, to be able to have a place to sleep at night. now, we know that this is likely going to be the scenario over the next couple of days. but the migrants say that they want to be in this country, so they will do whatever it takes to stay here. camila bernal, cnn, el paso, texas. as we continue, growing concerns, the iranian regime is going to take its brutality to a new level to discourage protests. families of some of those people who are detained, some of the protesters, are telling us they fear the worst. this'll help. vicks vaporub? vickcks vaporub's ...medicated vapapors go straight to the source of your cough... ...so you can relieve e your cough to breathe easier.

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iran's most prominent sunni cleric is now urging the government to stop executing protesters. the religious leader said during his friday sermon, the government cannot hold on to power by force. many iranian families are fearing while the west is preoccupied by christmas, iran's government will carry out a new wave of executions against protesters. sunni comprise only 10% of iran's muslim population. 90% are shia, and that includes the country's top leaders. our nima elbagir has the report. >> reporter: for many, these iranians are in custody. much come in pain, not knowing whether their children will be held indefinitely, handing down police sentences, not knowing

whether the children will face execution. we were able to verify and identify just some of the dozens of names of those who could face execution. >> translator: my son has been sentence exclusion. >> reporter: hamid is only 22. >> translator: my son is innocent. for the love of god, help him. >> reporter: desperate families in iran, risking it all with a plea to the world to save their loved ones from execution. fearing that detainees in iran are set to face a wave of execution in an accelerated judicial process while holiday celebrations have the world's attention elsewhere. in collaboration with iranian activist groups, we worked to verify court documents that show that dozens of iranians, including high-profile iranian athletes face execution. we also worked to verify video plays like this one from this

81-year-old mother of one of the detainees. >> translator: we don't know his whereabouts. no information about him, nor do we even know where he is. >> reporter: this document from inside the regional court shows at least people have been charged with war against god. spreading corruption on earth and other charges, all which carry the possibility of the death penalty. through obtaining and verifying court documents and witness testimony, we have evidence which supports a rushed-through judicial process. defendants having court-appointed counsel forced on them. many defendanting having their right to appeal refused. some defendants faced charges which could carry the death sentence being handed down in a single sitting. tear fired iranian families believe that wild the world is busy celebrating the holiday season, busy with their families that they in iran face imminent

execution of their loved ones. cnn has confirmed that iranian footballer asa dani is facing execution. here's training ahead of match day, now on death row waiting. this is social video of his arrest. cnn made contact someone close to him. inside iran. we're not disclosing their identity. they told us in the days after his arrest they were unable to get word from kim, or about him, from authorities. even as the iranian authorities denied his arrest. >> translator: it was one month and 19 days. i think maybe even perhaps longer since the security forces same and wanted to see amir's home. >> reporter: and despite being told he would be freed. >> translator: they would tell us in the first few weeks that they would release amir. and amir will be released by the

end of the week. >> reporter: then came the charge of the crime of war against god. nafr- nafr-azidanecharged. during protests in late november, a charge they denied. now sources close to nas nasr-azadani he and others have a charge punishable only by execution. there's more, in a regional court of kazakhstan, to the west, in court documents that 23 more people have been charged with the same crime, punishable by death. we're redacting their names out of fear for their safety. there is still even more. cnn and 1500 tasvir are facing exclusion.

including a 21-year-old champion whose parents have gone public with their plea. >> translator: please, i beg you, to please lift the execution on my son's life. >> reporter: in messages shared with cnn, his family say he was not only sentenced to death but is also being tortured in prison. in another message shared with cnn, they say he was somehow in good spirits but physically damaged having suffered torture on his head and body. including those whose families recorded public pleas for help, that brings the total of those verified by cnn as facing execution to at least 43. and that's in addition to the two executed by iran, amid the excitement of the world cup. ♪ just this week, the 27-year-old iranian kurdish rapper attempted suicide whilst in detention.

he tried to end his life with pills after enduring extreme psychological torture in the harsh prison conditions in northern iran. as much of the world gets about surred with their festivities, iranian families have one message -- >> translator: please save them, for the love of god. save my sons. >> reporter: cnn reached out to the iranian authorities for response and did not receive one. we also shared our findings with the u.s. state department who based on what we shared with them said that they strongly denounce the charges iran has handed down to these protesters. nima elbagir, cnn, london. as we continue this christmas eve, ukrainian refugees are trying to celebrate the season. they're far from home, but they are doing what they can to make it a festive season. if it not just for the young.

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♪ at christmastime, you do your best, whatever the response is, which is why ukrainian refugees are doing their best to

celebrate christmas far from home and loved ones. russia's invasion has forced nearly 8 million people to flee, to neighboring countries, mostly. and yet, despite, many are doing their best to keep some form of holiday spirit. >> reporter: for the family from kyiv, this christmas is about getting together with the polish family that took them in soon after russia invaded ukraine. >> translator: we arrived here with just a couple bags and with the things we had on ourselves. we left all of our things in ukraine, all that we have now is thanks to the poles. >> reporter: more than 1.5 million ukrainian refugees have registered for temporary protection in poland. many with help from strangers. >> translator: it was a natural impulse to help. it was in the first days of the war. we met on a freezing night outside of my house. i invited this family to my house. and i huggeded them to my heart. >> reporter: traditionally,

ukrainian orthodox christians celebrate christmas on january 7th. but today, many celebrate on december 25th. and ukraine has made it a public holiday. as part of a larger break with russian tradition. ♪ people over eastern and central europe are helping refugees enjoy new tradition. these proud residents organized a party for refugee children. >> we felt like these kids, there's 130 children living here, and they're spending their christmas not at home. but in a strange dormitory. so we're just trying to make it a little bit better for them. >> reporter: in this bucharest shelter, ukrainians decorate trees with ornaments as they wait in line for packages. and many families spending time in youkraine, like this family w

living in prague. >> translator: as refugees we don have many possibilities we had to figure out if we could buy a christmas tree or not. that's when we decided just to use branches for the kids. it makes the kids happy. >> reporter: a few decorations that carry a lot of meaning. lynda kincade, cnn. king charles iii is donating money, including that given to him in condolence cards. it's been sent to the fuel foundation to help people pay heating and electric bills. the king has also made a donation of his own to the charity, the energy crisis and the rising lost of living has made it very hard for some britons to stay warm this year. the hours ahead, pope francis will mark christmas eve with the traditional christmas

eve mass in the basilica. they've restored dozens of nativity scenes around the world. cnn's delia gallagher. >> reporter: christmas dates back to st. francis, 100 of them in the vatican including here in the sistine chapel. giuseppe with his wife along with two friends spent nine months creating this neopolitan scene, making it complements the frescoes. the artisans used sustainably sourced cedar from trees that had fallen down into statues with all of the hustle and bustle, pope francis says the

nativity scene is what the season is all about. the franciscan priest in charge of the st. peter's basilica explains the belief. >> translator: in order to come close to men and women, the thinker of the world. >> reporter: even nativity scene is an expression of the people who made it like this one from ukraine. >> translator: so beautiful there are miniature nativity scenes, japanese scenes, indian, african, each one represents the meaning of nativity. >> reporter: the friar says the true nativity scene is in each person's heart. the important thing it's willing and hopopen to the hope of the season. now, before i go, we're obviously watching santa because it is now past midnight.

and there's a bit of a dispute at the moment. norad doesn't have santa on the move yet. however, google has him already to all those places and on his way to new zealand. but as you can see, even though it's after midnight in the -- well, the far part of the pacific. no sign of santa, norad sleeping on the job. probably not watching as closely as they should. they say they're going to start at the top of the hour. questions need to be answered. why google has santa on the move and norad does not. anyway, whatever, they'll post santa going around the world shortly. coming up on midnight in new zealand. that's the start of christmas day and on to saaustralia and beyond. i'll be here, by the way, on

christmas day, the christmas tradition. with the silly hat. i thank you for taking the time to join me this morning. i'm richard quest. in north america, "cnn chris morning" is next. for the rest of the world, culinary journeys around the world, around the clock. this is cnn. ♪ some are of intensity, others, joy. all are of - ahhhh. listerine. feel the whoa! for back pain, i've always been a te 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.

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good morning and welcome to "cnn this morning." i'm martin savidge. >> and i'm whitney wild. a massive storm is blanketing the u.s., leaving thousands without power and making travel a