never let you go to lumi dotcom and get your first starter pack for 30% off. >> close captioning is brought to you by mike. an all in one home access and monitoring system mike, you boost your home's iq. >> cnn heroes, an all star tribune sunday at eight on cnn breaking tonight an unfortunate development for one of the world's legendary pop stars. >> elton john has announced that he can no longer see. >> i haven't been able to come to many of the previews because, as you know i've lost my eyesight so it's hard for me to see it but i'd love to hear it. and boy, he sounded good tonight the 77 year old, who retired from performing last year, blamed the development on an infection he contracted over the summer and thank you for watching newsnight.

>> cnn's coverage continues next don't lie to us. >> don't tell us you're not going to do it. and then do it. that's not what a president should be like. >> it was a really important mistake. i think people will understand his act as a father, but not as a president. >> you get used to this kind of weather living here. >> we've been lucky so i guess we're due. >> this is measured in feet and not inches. during this event. i'm still standing after all this time. >> the music legend retired last year after decades of live concerts i've lost my eyesight so it's hard for me to see it. >> but i love to hear it live from london. >> this is cnn newsroom with max foster and christina macfarlane hello, warm welcome to our viewers. >> joining us from all around the world. i'm max foster. it is tuesday, december the 3rd, 9

a.m. here in london. 10 a.m. in luanda, angola, where us president joe biden is today far away from the lawmakers. still processing his bombshell decision to grant his son hunter, a full and unconditional pardon. you can see the document here with the president's signature at the bottom. first lady jill biden remains in washington, where on monday she fended off questions about the matter whilst unveiling the new white house christmas decorations doctor biden, what changed on the pardon for hunter criticism for president biden's decision continues to pour in even from some of his own allies i'm disappointed in terms of the signal it sends to faith in our american system. >> um and i'll leave it at that are you disappointed by the

decision yes, i'm disappointed by the decision he didn't need to tell the american public i will not do this. and he did. and when you made a promise you got to keep it. >> well, i'll put it this way. if it was my son, i'd pardon him, too. but here's what i didn't like. don't lie to us. don't tell us you're not going to do it and then do it that's not what a president should be like. >> i'm a human being. i know the bidens and it's been done. and let's look forward. all i can say is i'm ready to turn the page. >> cnn's paula reid has more on the reaction to hunter biden's pardon. >> reporter even as president biden publicly declared he wouldn't pardon his son, i said i abide by the jury decision and i will do that, and i will not pardon him. >> sources tell cnn that people in the west wing and those close to hunter biden believed a pardon was always coming. >> will you testify in june hunter became the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime. >> the jury has found hunter

biden, the president's son, guilty on all three counts. >> in this case after three hours of deliberation. >> good morning. >> after that historic conviction on gun charges he faced another federal case in los angeles on tax charges. but just hours before the trial was set to begin, he entered a surprise guilty plea on all of the counts he faced. >> this plea prevents that kind of show trial that would have not provided all the facts or served any real point in justice. >> sources familiar with hunter's legal strategy tell cnn he would not have pleaded guilty, exposing himself to the possibility of 17 years in prison and possibly more than $1 million in fines without the expectation of some form of clemency. and even as the white house repeatedly denied a pardon was on the table, one senior white house official told cnn they felt certain biden would pardon his son

before leaving office, saying i know how much he worries about hunter. this tree lighting. then, after the president spent the thanksgiving holiday with hunter, his wife and their son, biden informed his staff about the pardon decision on saturday night. on monday, the white house had no clear explanation for the president's flip flop. i can speak to where we are today and so i can't speak to hypotheticals here where we are today, the president made this decision over the weekend. >> he thought about it. he wrestled with it. >> one former white house staffer asks the question, which is if it was so obvious that the president was going to pardon his son, why did he and the white house pretend otherwise for so long? we do not have an answer to that question, but another source points to the fact that, look, the president did allow david weiss, who began investigating hunter in the trump administration, allowed him to continue his work, allowed the justice department to bring two cases against his son. they argue that this pardon should not

undermine the lengths that biden went to to allow the doj to act independently. but again, that was not the message from the white house over the past year. and their contradictions have now made this pardon a far greater controversy. paula reid, cnn washington. >> speaking with cnn, former u.s. federal prosecutor jeffrey toobin says whilst not intended president biden's decision to pardon his son speaks volumes about privilege and preferential treatment. >> the prosecution came down very hard on him, but it's important to remember that he was guilty of these 12 felonies, you know nine that he pleaded guilty to three was convicted by a jury lots of people get leaned on by the federal government in this country lots of people plead guilty in difficult situations. are convicted, and they don't get pardons. this president in particular has been very stingy about pardons he's only

granted 25 other pardons when other presidents have granted substantially more. so the idea of singling out his son, i think just sends a terrible message about who gets preferential treatment in this country and that pardon will last partly. >> it will at least partly overshadow the u.s. president's africa trip joe biden is now the first us president to visit angola next hour. he's expected to take part in an arrival ceremony and meet with the angolan president. he'll also deliver remarks at the national slavery museum in the capital, luanda. president biden, seeking to highlight the united states commitment to sub-saharan africa and efforts to boost investment as china makes deep inroads into that region some of donald trump's cabinet picks are spending this week on capitol hill ahead of their confirmation hearings. they include attorney general pick pam bondi who met with senator lindsey graham of south carolina on monday. he's currently the top republican on

the judiciary committee and likely to be chairman come january trump's choice for defense secretary, pete hegseth, is also expected to make the rounds on capitol hill and one of trump's most recent picks kash patel as fbi director is getting a lot of scrutiny. cnn's sara murray reports. >> donald trump's bombastic pick to run the fbi the fbi's footprint has gotten so freaking big. >> already has some controversial ideas for overhauling the bureau. >> i'd shut down the fbi. hoover building on day one and reopening the next day as a museum of the deep state and i take the 7000 employees that work in that building and send them across america to chase down criminals. go be cops. your cops go be cops. >> in choosing kash patel to lead the law enforcement agency, trump picked a loyal firebrand who has vowed to take on the so-called deep state, which patel claims is made of journalists, big tech elected leaders and senior government bureaucrats. >> and our biggest enemy against that truth is the deep

state. and we are on a mission to annihilate the deep state. >> he's also shown a taste for retribution, including over false claims of 2020 election fraud. >> we will go out and find the conspirators not just in government, but in the media. yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about american citizens who helped joe biden rig presidential elections. we're going to come after you, whether it's criminal or civil. we'll figure that out. >> he's been a public defender and a federal prosecutor in the justice department's national security division during the first trump term, he worked on the national security council and then as chief of staff to the acting defense secretary. >> we are blessed by god to have donald trump be our juggernaut of justice, to be our leader, to be our continued warrior in the arena. >> patel defended trump against the charges he faced in the now dropped, classified documents case. >> they can take what they want. you can't be prosecuted for possessing classified documents. >> and while he's claimed violent offenders from january 6th deserve punishment, he's defended others charged in relation to the riot at the u.s. capitol. >> their lives have been

destroyed by the justice department because of a political vendetta they want to enact through the justice system to take out trump. >> as for his other endeavors patel has a line of apparel as brash as its creator, with items featuring his signature k dolla sign h. he also penned a children's trilogy apparently dedicated to trump, the quote king of the series the most recent installment describes the tale of the quote maga king and his journey to quote take down kamala, la la la and reclaim his throne. patel's book for adults, government gangsters now, his rallying cry for reform i am going to go on a government gangsters manhunt in washington, d.c. for our great president who's coming with me, of course, to assume that role. he's going to have to be confirmed by the senate and there's also the awkward issue of what to do with the current fbi director, christopher wray is still in the midst of a ten year term, a term that's designed to insulate fbi directors from the kind of political wrangling that we're seeing now. so in order for kash patel to take over, trump is either going to

have to fire christopher wray, or wray will have to step aside. sara murray, cnn washington syrian and russian forces are intensifying their aerial assault on opposition fighters after significant rebel gains in northern syria. >> the un says syrian army airstrikes have killed dozens of civilians and injured many more, and displaced nearly 50,000 people in less than a week. syria's long running civil war has resulted in several groups with areas of heavy influence inside the country. everything in pink, still controlled by the regime. kurdish forces have a strong presence, though, in that yellow area and large parts of aleppo and idlib provinces in green are in rebel hands. the head of the internationally recognized syrian opposition made this vow from istanbul leila mutalib. >> we see that if the regime does not respond to the people's demands, this military operation will continue. we will liberate our lands and restore the rights of the syrian people. all the

syrian people surprise rebel offensive is the first time in eight years that opposition forces have seized territory in aleppo shattering the stalemate of a war never really ended. >> cnn's katie polglase takes us through the events of the past few days. >> over the weekend, there was a major shakeup in the syrian civil war. rebel forces entered aleppo for the first time in nearly a decade. it is a major achievement in their fight against the syrian regime, led by president bashar al-assad. aleppo is syria's second largest city, and they took it in a matter of days here's what we know so far about what happened. rebel fighters had been fighting near aleppo for days, and just the day before on thursday, this video shows they were less than five kilometers from the city's entrance. by friday, we see fighters arriving at the western entrance to aleppo. you can see this distinctive arch in the background. the sunlight indicates it's late afternoon. further along the same street,

we see them racing into the city as they enter many are on foot at this point regime forces are nowhere to be seen here. by early evening, even closer to the city center, the fighters get hold of a loudspeaker and start addressing local residents telling them not to be afraid as it gets dark, they reach al basil roundabout and take down the regime flag by geolocating. videos of this route, we can see that they arrived in the west and by nightfall they've taken more and more of the city. imagery shows they reach as far north as al-rahman mosque and they take the citadel much further east on saturday morning, the offensive gets bolder a statue of president bashar al-assad's brother is toppled at al bassel roundabout. but now the regime is striking back an airstrike hits the same roundabout within

hours journalists in the city told cnn there were civilian casualties. the rebels fight on even entering aleppo. international airport al matar still, the strikes by the regime continue. this one by the hospital. the strikes are delivered not only by syrian airplanes, but russian ones too. a key regime ally as the situation on the ground continues to evolve rapidly and with the regime's main allies, russia and iran being occupied with other wars the question is whether these rebels can retain the land they have so quickly gained, and what will this mean for the civilians of aleppo who will inevitably bear the brunt of this fighting? katie polglase cnn, london. >> catherine, the princess of wales, will undertake her biggest engagement since returning to royal duties after chemotherapy. buckingham palace saying she'll join prince william in welcoming the emir

of qatar to the uk. today, the emir and his wife in london for a two day state visit. catherine's involvement in the ceremony marks another step in her return to official duties since ending chemotherapy treatment following her cancer diagnosis, but still some concern about the queen. camilla, who's had to scale back her involvement. but she's got a chest infection. still to come, the us and germany pledge new military aid for ukraine as the war against russia heads into yet another brutal winter. plus, tsa says it screened a record number of air travelers in the u.s. during the thanksgiving holiday. we'll have those numbers for you just ahead and christmas decorations are up at the white house. look at that. we'll have more on what the u.s. first lady is saying about this year's holiday theme. can you work it out like a relentless weed. >> moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can

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been calling for fresh elections since a contested vote in october, says security forces are violating basic human rights. protesters have faced a violent crackdown by police using tear gas and water cannon. that's alarmed international watchdogs and the u.s. has announced a new $725 million military aid package meanwhile, for ukraine, in the same region. secretary of state antony blinken says it will include stinger missiles, himars rockets and anti-personnel mines. it's part of the biden administration's efforts to bolster ukraine's defenses before joe biden's time in office ends next month. meanwhile, german chancellor olaf scholz also reaffirmed his country's support for ukraine on a visit to kyiv, promising to deliver more air defense systems next year my visit to kyiv today made one thing very clear to me ukraine will prevail. >> this is all we have talked

not only to the current american administration, with which we had a very good cooperation in this regard, but we've also talked to the future president donald trump to i believe that we can set on developing joint policies other military aid can't come soon enough for ukrainian forces as troops on the front lines try to hold off swarms of russian drones. >> cnn's nick paton walsh reports from kursk on ukraine's defensive efforts there they have a three second window rushing out with the us supplied stinger and an aging anti-aircraft gun. >> watch back to shoot down russian attack drones. in the fleeting moment they fly overhead in range three kilometers from them. they could hit that and prepare to but the radar is wrong and they pause to hear it so reposition the entire truck. but suddenly the drone has

vanished it sounded like a decoy but that usually means others are coming and the sky is filling up with drones in the next region a month ago, the targets here seemed endless november was a record month for drones across ukraine that usually crash into towns, not this empty field. yes their sound slices through the dark it was pretty low and close, and while they think this is ukrainian drones headed for russia. the russians also used this moment to take the same routes to try and sneak their drones in. right now, a ukrainian drone attack on russia is underway. so they've been forbidden, even if they could, to fire. each night they watch russian drones weave their complex way out of their

tiny range when the defenses fail, the icy silence breaks. moscow pummeling the border town sumy here with a cluster munition missile that killed 12 at an apartment block because ukraine is still inside russia, holding positions in kursk this thermal drone image shows just hours earlier, the dawn's fight in curse for alexander group contact robert saleh joe tague. >> shtula in the positions they've hit. >> no sign of the north korean troops meant to be in kursk. instead chechens, even african mercenaries. but above all endless waves of russians limit selydove cyrus raji night his humvee is a mess. he

hasn't slept for three days and shelling has damaged his hearing. but he knows what he'd say to president elect donald trump when ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in the 90s, we were promised protection. >> we russia we must we should believe that. that this chance was very ed lavandera sima merick anjali rao confident they can hold out in kursk. >> less confident of how long the west expects them to nick paton walsh cnn. sumy in ukraine and salma abdelaziz joins us now to discuss the developments out of nato meetings in brussels. >> i mean, we're going to go back to the same point that you

know, biden is a lame duck, almost. >> absolutely. >> and we have secretary of state antony blinken, who's just arrived in brussels for this foreign ministers meeting. >> i believe we have images to show you of him getting there. this could potentially be his last major meeting here with nato foreign ministers before, as you mentioned, of course, he is on the way out. he just before arriving in brussels yesterday, i believe, announced this massive new aid package for ukraine. more than $720 million. and what is unique about this package is that it's part of what is called presidential drawdown and it means that president biden can take from the u.s. stock us's own arsenal of weapons and send that straight to ukraine. that makes it much quicker to get out to reverse that. if he does it, president trump would not be able to reverse that. and all of this of course, laying the groundwork that president biden wants to lay for ukraine to be as supported as possible before president trump enters the oval office. you can of

course, expect secretary of state antony blinken and european allies to say, we are with ukraine. we stand with ukraine. they're going to continue to announce that support but standing alongside them today is going to be ukraine's foreign minister. he recently wrote a letter asking for nato to formally invite ukraine to nato and to set out a timeline for that membership. that's something so far, nato has been unable or unwilling to do. yes, they've said ukraine will join, but never have. they said when or how or how that plays out. and now, more than ever, there is uncertainty over that. of course with president trump and european leaders preparing for that possibility. >> some speculation that this negotiation, donald trump, is talking about might involve ukraine membership in return for russia keeping hold of some of the land. >> look, there's a lot swirling about what could potentially take place. we won't know until president trump is in office, but we do know that he's made a pick general kellogg, he's the one who's going to be in charge of

the ukraine file. he has written strategy papers that indicate that he would be willing if he was in charge, that he would be willing to barter and trade with russia. so is there something in terms of maybe lowering sanctions in order to bring russia to the table? how do you provide ukraine with that guarantee of security because you're going to hear that term over and over again. the security guarantee, how does ukraine ensure that it is not attacked by russia? all of these are very complicated things. in the meanwhile, all you're going to see is everyone shoring up their support ahead of any speculation as to what donald trump will do and just explain why russia's got such an issue with ukraine in particular joining nato. >> it would create a border. it would border a nato country russia. so it's going to be a red line, isn't it? >> yes just like the west has said, we are concerned about russian aggression we are concerned about russian expansionism. what moscow is saying is we are concerned about nato aggression and nato

expansionism, as you said, that would bring nato right up to russia's border if ukraine did join nato. it would also trigger article 50in nato, which is the requirement that if any nation is attacked, that all nations would have to defend it, that are part of nato. that's why ukraine has yet to join nato. look joining nato is a long process. it would take many many years. we do not even yet have a formal invitation, even if that took place, it would be unlikely that all of that would fall into space before president trump ends his time in office. for now, it is about the conflict and how moving forward, ukraine can defend itself and prevent russia from taking any further gains. absolutely russia has the momentum on the ground now. you saw that report from nick paton walsh in kursk. those troops are suffering. they are struggling and they are outmanned and outgunned by a superior military. >> okay, salma, thank you so much. donald trump is planning

his first overseas trip since winning reelection. find out where he's heading this weekend just ahead plus, why elon musk's multi-billion dollar tesla pay package was blocked by a judge for the second time. >> and who should be the cnn hero of the year? weigh in now. cast up to ten votes a day, every day. visit cnn heroes dot. >> when i hear cancer, i hear death sentence. >> every 15 seconds, someone will hear the words you have cancer. at the american cancer society, this is why we're here to help people through their entire journey. >> i was ready to battle to be there for my family. >> and this giving tuesday. we're asking for your support. go online or scan the qr code now. your gift helps fund research that saves lives and provides support like free ride

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>> don't let this happen to you. >> download rocket money today cnn. >> this morning with kasie hunt. >> today at 5:00 eastern. >> welcome back to cnn newsroom. i'm max foster. if you're just joining us, here are today's top stories. so far. us president joe biden's trip to angola has been overshadowed by the announcement that he is granting his son, hunter, a full and unconditional pardon for his felony convictions. the move has been widely condemned, even by many in his own party, since biden promised earlier this year that he wouldn't

pardon his son. iranian rapper toomaj salehi salehi has been released from prison, and that's according to his international legal team. he was arrested in october 2022 for supporting the nationwide protests in iran that were sparked by the death of mahsa amini, one of ceylonese lawyers says his release is a time for celebration but also vigilance. french president emmanuel macron is in saudi arabia for a three day state visit. mr. macron met with saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman in riyadh on monday. they called for elections in lebanon and a de-escalation of conflicts in the middle east. this is the first state visit to saudi arabia by a french president since 2006. an exchange of strikes is testing a shaky ceasefire between israel and hezbollah. on monday, lebanese authorities say israeli air strikes killed at least nine people in southern lebanon, marking the deadliest day since

the truce took effect last week. israel says it's retaliating after hezbollah fired two projectiles towards israeli occupied territory but the iran backed group says it targeted israeli military positions after days of repeated israeli air strikes. a source with a un peacekeeping force in lebanon says israel has breached the ceasefire agreement approximately 100 times since last week. on the heels of that tenuous truce, there's a renewed push by the biden administration to try to secure a ceasefire in gaza. us secretary of state antony blinken met with israeli strategic affairs minister ron dermer in washington on monday. dermer did not answer questions as he left the u.s. state department, but we've learned that during the meeting, blinken stressed the importance of a ceasefire and a hostage deal, and the need for plans for a postwar gaza. cnn's nadia bashir joins us in london with the latest. if we could talk about gaza in a moment, uh

you know, it's you know, it was not unexpected that this ceasefire with lebanon may have some edge to it. it's not. i mean people aren't saying it's over yet, but clearly it shows how much distrust there is on both sides. absolutely. i mean, this is a really fragile truce agreement, and it had been sort of expected over this initial 60 day period that we may see some of the hostilities that we're currently seeing on the ground. >> this is, of course a process in the hope that after that 60 day period, that's when we would see a lasting ceasefire. but what we've seen from about a day after, in fact, the ceasefire was declared, is the israeli military carrying out strikes, shelling several villages in southern gaza? we've heard reports of israeli and southern lebanon rather, we've had reports of israeli fire from as early on as last week in southern lebanon. and since thursday, what we have seen is a daily airstrikes carried out by the israeli military in southern lebanon. as you mentioned, at least nine people killed in monday, according to the lebanese health ministry. we've seen

drones flying overhead in beirut. so there has been real concern that these are potentially violations of the cease fire agreement. that is certainly what hezbollah believes. we've been hearing from officials there. they believe that israel has taken action to violate the terms of the cease fire agreement. that is why they say they had fired two projectiles yesterday on israeli occupied territory. now they say they were firing targeting israeli military positions. we've been hearing from israeli military officials. they say that the projectiles landed in open spaces that nobody was injured but this has drawn criticism from the israeli government. israeli prime minister netanyahu has been very firm. he has said that the country will respond with force. so that has really raised concern as to what we might see in the coming days and weeks with regards to a potential escalation, a potential further breakdown of the current ceasefire agreement, which, as i said, is is very, very fragile at this stage. and we've been hearing from our affiliates in israel reports that both the u.s. and france have been warning israel that they are in violation of the cease fire agreement. however,

we've also been hearing from the u.s. state department they believe that it's still being upheld right now. they want to see a continued focus on keeping the ceasefire together. take a listen. >> what we have seen since the cease fire went into effect, is it being successful? broadly speaking, it has been successful in stopping the fighting and getting us on a path where we are not seeing the the just daily loss of life that we had seen for two months prior. now with respect to violations or potential violations of the ceasefire, we set a mechanism up to look into this very question now, you heard that from matt miller talking about avoiding that daily loss of life that we'd seen before. >> we are seeing people being killed in lebanon, civilians being killed. we're seeing a real state of insecurity and fear for many of those civilians who had been returning back to their homes in the south, many of them finding their villages completely destroyed. the israeli government, the israeli military say that they have been responding specifically towards threats by hezbollah,

that they have been targeting hezbollah movements in the south and infrastructure. but again officials and sources familiar with the negotiations tell us that unilateral israeli military action against hezbollah is not enshrined in that ceasefire negotiations. so there is expected to be mounting pressure on both sides to uphold their end of the deal but again, it's very fragile. yeah. >> okay nadia, thank you so much ireland's two main center. right parties are in the hunt for coalition partners now that all the votes have been counted from. it was friday's election. the parties fell just two seats short of the 88 needed to govern. green party, which had been a junior coalition partner, lost all but one of its seats. and far right candidates failed to win a single seat. exit polling showed cost of living, homelessness and health amongst the most important issues for voters in that election. the french government may be on the verge of collapse after lawmakers have put forward a no

confidence motion against michel barnier, the centrist prime minister's 2025 budget is deeply unpopular. it includes more than $60 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts in hopes of bringing down the deficit. the far right national rally led in parliament by marine le pen, has vowed to join lawmakers on the left to take down barnier unless he agrees to several of their demands. donald trump is planning his first overseas trip since winning the presidential election last month, and he will travel to paris for the reopening of the notre dame cathedral on saturday. sources tell cnn trump was invited by the french government and his team has been in discussions with president emmanuel macron's office. the cathedral was severely damaged by a fire in 2019, paris police say the reopening ceremony is expected to draw 50 heads of state and of government elon musk's multi-billion dollar tesla pay package has been blocked by a delaware judge again. tesla shareholders approved the

payout in june, but some of them sued, arguing that the compensation plan was unfair and not in their best interests. and so far, the judge has agreed the package consists of more than 300 million tesla stock options now valued at around $100 billion. would you believe sex workers in belgium now have access to employment benefits? a landmark law the country passed in may went into effect on sunday. it allows sex workers who sign an employment contract. the rights to benefits like health insurance sick pay and maternity leave. they also have more control over the services that they provide and can refuse a client. the law requires their employers to obtain a government license and belgium's law is the first comprehensive law of its kind in the world to expand equal employment rights to this industry areas near the great lakes in the us are expecting another foot of snow, would you believe? coming up, a look at the weather warnings in place for ohio pennsylvania and new york. and devastating news from

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favorite pair of jeans today m taylor. available on the apple app store or android. >> i'm clarissa ward in beirut and this is cnn in the u.s.. >> it's still snowing in the great lakes region after nearby states got more than five feet over the thanksgiving holiday weekend. the area expecting another foot of snow today and lake effect snow warnings remain in place for parts of ohio, pennsylvania and new york. nearly 70% of the u.s. is expected to see freezing temperatures this week. ivan rodriguez has more now on how people are dealing with this winter weather reporter more than five feet of snow falling over parts of western new york in the span of a few days and copenhagen, new york. >> this ain't nothing you get used to this kind of weather living here. >> people spend their weekend clearing out the snow from

roads, driveways and even their cars. >> not a huge fan, but we've been lucky, so i guess we're due well, lucky as in it is after thanksgiving before we had our first major snow. >> so why not? according to the weather prediction center, an additional foot plus of snow could fall over western new york, northern ohio, and parts of pennsylvania through monday. lake effect snow warnings are in effect into tuesday. officials in erie county pennsylvania, say they're working to clear roads that as of monday morning were impassable as a result of snowplows and snow removal equipment not being able to access those areas. >> so now you need the national guard now you need the wreckers. you need all those things in order to remove those obstacles. so they in turn, can clear the snow. >> also asking people to stay home and off the roads only travel when necessary. the cold will also persist. nearly 70% of the country will face temperatures below 32 degrees for the next few days. i'm ivan

rodriguez, reporting records were shattered at airports across america on sunday, which marked the busiest day in history for us air travelers, according to the transportation security administration. >> more than 3 million people were screened at the nation's airports. the most ever in a single day the prior record set in july. on july, the seventh. earlier this year, after the 4th of july holiday. now the tsa is now honoring some key members of the agency explosives detection dogs. that's coming in the form of a canine calendar, a yearly tradition highlights the hundreds of dogs working at airports across the us. the 2025 calendar features 13 canines picked from more than 80 entries from tsa teams nationwide, with each month including pictures and fun facts about the featured dog. the calendar now available for download and come let us adore him. >> let in christmas lights on

in downing street, getting a mixed reception. >> coming up, a look at the festivities at the british prime minister's residence i had no idea i was still paying for in-flight wi-fi until i finally checked my credit card statement 14 months and $600 later. >> that's why i created rocket money, an app that shows you all your subscriptions in one place. see something you no longer want. you can cancel it straight from the app. download rocket like a relentless weed. >> moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back start to break away from uc with tremfya with rapid relief at four weeks tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation at one year, many people experienced remission and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur before treatment. your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you

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no, i'm still standing. >> better than i ever did. looking like a true survivor you're feeling like a little kid i'm still standing after all this time. picking up the pieces of my life. >> the only man who can wear a suit on a beach. elton john singing i'm still standing. recently revealing though severe eye infection. and it's left him unable to see. the 77 year old pop star broke the news to a london audience at a performance of the devil wears prada on sunday. cnn's elizabeth wagmeister reports sir elton john making a surprise announcement on stage at a gala performance of the devil wears prada in london. i've lost my eyesight, so it's hard for me to see it, but i'd love to hear it it's got to come down to play. >> the 77 year old pop

superstar wrote the score to the show and thanked his husband, david furnish, for his support during his months long battle with a severe eye infection. >> and to my husband, who's been my rock because i haven't been able to come to many of the previews. >> he first spoke publicly about his sight in an instagram post three months ago, saying he was dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye. and in an interview last week, the icon said his eye issues have interfered with his ability to work. >> i'm kind of stuck at the moment because i can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording, i don't know because i can't see. a lyric for a start. i'm still standing after all this time. >> the music legend retired last year after decades of live concerts performing in more than 300 shows alone. during his farewell yellow brick road

tour back then, the pop star joined president biden in new york during the summer. >> thank you mr. president. >> to mark the 55th anniversary of the stonewall riots that helped launch the modern gay rights movement, let's have some music. >> it does bring us together two years after the president presented him with the national humanities medal during a concert at the white house to celebrate his talent and his advocacy in the global fight against hiv and aids. >> the pop legend's presence on stage at the devil wears prada gala was cheered on sunday night after talking about his health challenges and then praising the musical's performers. boy, you sounded good tonight. >> okay elton john, they're wishing him well. >> the uk, meanwhile, getting into the holiday spirit. three,

two. one. yay! well, don't they look so excited? keir starmer. they're switching on the christmas tree lights outside. ten downing street. for the first time since becoming prime minister, starmer and his wife victoria are greeted by coy wire to mark the festive occasion followed by a performance by the band of the scots guards. the white house decorations went up over the weekend a bit more impressive. the office of the first lady, jill biden, says this year's theme is a season of peace and light, and the decor includes thousands of twinkling lights and floating paper doves. julia benbrook takes a look at the final holiday season decorations under the biden administration it's beginning to look a lot like christmas at the white house. >> first lady jill biden unveiling this year's holiday theme a season of peace and light. >> we are guided by the values that we hold sacred faith

family and service to our country. >> kindness toward all of our neighbors and the power of community. >> the decor includes 83 christmas trees, more than 28,000 ornaments, and over 165,000 lights. more than 300 volunteers helped create the winter wonderland. >> it's been incredible to watch all of you transform this space year after year. >> the first christmas tree display on the tour is dedicated to gold star families, with the stacked stars representing all six branches of the military as guests continue down the east colonnade, they're surrounded by bells, symbolizing the sounds of the holiday season and in the blue room, the official white house christmas tree, an 18.5ft fraser fir presented by partners christmas tree farm in north carolina. white paper doves carry messages of peace in the red

room and finally in the state dining room. trees adorned with self-portrait ornaments crafted by students from across the country in hopes that each child can see themselves reflected in this year's display. >> may our nation be blessed with peace and light. this holiday season. >> reporting at the white house. i'm julia benbrook nasa giving the old holiday yule log video a bit of a boost or make that boosters for blazing rocket engines burning in this virtual fireplace. >> pretty cool specifically, it's video of the rs 25 for the space nerds out there. the engines that launched the artemis one rocket to the moon, two years ago. the blasting engines play on an eight hour loop, so get the soothing, low level roar of the rockets along with the cracks and pops you expect from a traditional yule log video. thanks for joining me here on cnn newsroom. i'm max foster in london. cnn this morning is lifting off next

after the break nn heroes an all star tribute. >> find out who will be named the cnn hero of the year sunday at 8:00 on cnn. >> when i hear cancer, i hear death sentence at that moment.

>> it was sadness scared, surprised worry everything every 15 seconds, someone will hear the words you have cancer. >> at the american cancer society, this is why we're here, to help people facing cancer through their entire journey every cancer. every life. and today we're asking for your support. >> i was ready to battle and do whatever it took to be there for my family. >> your donation helps fund our cancer research. >> i survived cancer because of research funded by the american cancer society. >> thanks to our efforts and others, over 4 million lives have been saved since 1991. but we can't do it without your support. to donate call, go online or scan the qr code now. your gift helps ensure people don't miss their life saving treatments. last year, we gave over 750,000 free rides. your

gift supports our hope lodge communities, where patients and caregivers can stay when they travel for care free of charge. >> it's so important that my mom is here at the hope lodge with me. >> this year, over 2 million americans will hear the words you have cancer. your donation will help us be there for them and help support our efforts to end cancer as we know it for everyone. >> i want to thank you guys for your donations that make my stay here possible. i owe it all to the american cancer society. >> i want to show people that there is strength even with cancer, that there is hope. >> every cancer every life. >> i am a prostate cancer colorectal cancer. >> stage four breast cancer survivor.

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