at 846 one 8800, or visit coventry direct.com. >> i'm dr. sanjay gupta in atlanta and this is cnn. >> closed captioning brought to you by book.com. >> if you or a loved one have mesothelioma, we'll send you a free book to answer questions you may have. call now and we'll come to you. >> 808 two one 4000. >> investigators now have their hands on a second black box recovered from the site of that fiery plane crash in central asia. and we're now hearing from some survivors as they recount their harrowing experiences. >> plus, a judge rejects jay-z's efforts to dismiss the civil suit, accusing him of

raping a 13 year old girl. >> we'll show you some of the scathing language used by the judge in that decision. and mortgage rates jump yet again, reaching their highest level in months ahead. what this could mean for prospective buyers looking to purchase a home in the new year. we're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to cnn news central. >> and thanks for joining us on this friday. i'm erica hill alongside jessica dean here in new york. so nice to be with you. investigators working now to determine what caused that deadly plane crash in kazakhstan. in the first, for the first time, we're actually hearing from one of the 29 people who were on board that plane and survived. you're looking at video of a survivor praying during the flight. he tells reuters. he heard a loud bang. then the plane started to behave, unnaturally. he didn't think he would survive, and his account could bolster one of the leading theories about what

went wrong. >> azerbaijan airlines saying the plane experienced, quote, physical and technical external interference before it went down. a u.s. official previously said russian air defenses may have mistakenly targeted that plane. 38 people died in the crash. investigators have in the meantime, recovered the plane's second black box. cnn's nadia bashir is joining us now with more on this. so, nadia, the question now is how long before we know what's on the data recorders? and also what else are we hearing from that survivor? >> that's right. >> there's a lot of pressure on the investigators now to come to some sort of conclusion as to what led to this fatal crash. as you mentioned, those two black boxes have now been recovered, and authorities say it could take about two weeks to fully examine the data collected by the black boxes. that is, of course, flight data and potentially also internal recordings from within the cockpit. but there have been a lot of questions swirling, a lot of speculation around the possible causes, and we have been learning more from authorities since that crash. take a listen to this

eyewitness account from one of the passengers, recording the final moments of that flight. >> when the first bang happened, i looked around, quickly, assessed the situation and thought that the plane was going to fall apart. a couple more seconds passed, but it didn't fall apart. another minute passed. not even a minute. a few more seconds passed, but it didn't fall apart. i thought that i should start praying now. i started saying words. i started to remember the almighty. i thought that those were probably my last words, so i thought i needed to get ready for a meeting with the almighty. so while this meeting hasn't happened yet, i thought i needed to earn more favor from him. >> of course. remarkably, 29 people out of 67 on board managed to survive that deadly crash. and we've seen images emerging of the aftermath, the wreckage upon that landing, the tail end of the flight seemingly somewhat intact, although upturned as survivors were able to scramble out of the

wreckage. but images and video appears to show perforations and holes in the fuselage, which may suggest a shrapnel impacting the body of the plane there. so that will be a key line of inquiry. and as you mentioned, there have been suggestions from one u.s. official as well as some unnamed sources speaking to reuters, that this may have been the result of russian anti-aircraft air defense systems. now, that is a huge point of concern given the drone activity in the area of this flight path. it is understood that shortly before the crash occurred, there had been drone strikes in southern russia, that this may have been something that impacted the flight, may have led to the flight path being rerouted and the and the pilot, of course, attempting to make that emergency landing in the kazakh city of aktau, as opposed to grozny in the chechen region of russia, where it was supposedly intended to land there. >> so a series of questions as to what this could mean and what, of course, investigators will be looking at. we know, of course, that the kazakh government has set up and

established a commission to investigate this crash. they will be working, of course, with experts from azerbaijan, kazakhstan and russia to take a look at the evidence that they have at hand at the moment, as well as aircraft and airline manufacturers as well, focusing on the details there. but again, a series of questions raised and concerns, of course, for the region in which this flight was traveling and the safety precautions taken by airlines when traveling in this region. >> well, and to that point, nada. we are also hearing that some flights have actually been suspended to different parts of russia. it is that all over potential security concerns? >> yeah, absolutely. azerbaijan airlines has now suspended flights from its capital, baku, to at least seven cities in russia. and i think what is important to underscore here is that we have heard today from azerbaijan airlines saying that they believe the flight was impacted by external, physical and technical interferences. again, leading some to believe that this may have been the cause caused by air defense systems. russian air defense

systems. so a huge point of concern, particularly as we are seeing drone activity in the area. questions around whether the plane was targeted by mistake, given ukrainian drone strikes in the area. we know, of course, that airports in this region have previously been forced to close as a result. and so there are questions around the safety precautions being taken for flights traveling in this region. there has been some suggestion by russian aviation authorities that that because of these concerns, that the flight was unable to actually travel to the grozny region, that the airspace should have been closed or pilots would have been advised to travel elsewhere or avoid this particular airspace. we'd heard shortly after the plane crash occurred from one ukrainian security and defense official accusing russia of failing to close airspace in this area. so again, a number of questions still to be answered. that will be the focus of investigations at this stage. there is no clear conclusion being offered by

investigators, but we will be waiting for updates from them as they come in. >> yeah, absolutely not appreciated. thank you. also joining us this hour, cnn aviation analyst peter goelz, who is a managing director of the national transportation safety board. peter, good to have you back with us today. i was struck by two. we also heard from kazakhstan's minister of transport, noting a kazakh control center had received a signal from russia about 45 minutes before the plane crashed, saying that the flight was being diverted. is there anything in that timeline that stands out to you? >> well, i think there's two things going on here. one. one is the russian officials statements are all being designed to divert attention from their responsibility for for this tragedy. and, you know, there was clearly drone activity, the fog of war was involved, surrounding grozny, the air defense units were responding, and this plane should have never been allowed

to take off to fly to grozny. there was simply too much military activity taking place. but for the russians to acknowledge that to close the airspace would have been a tremendous loss of face. they want to minimize the ability of ukraine to disrupt their, their, their systems. so this is everything is building towards the explanation that the air defense units around grozny shot this plane down. >> yeah. >> and and to that point, a passenger spoke of this loud bang as the approach as the plane approached grozny. and then the plane, he says, quote, began to behave unnaturally. what does that tell you? >> well, it means that that a you know, these these anti-aircraft missiles explode in the proximity of their target and damage it severely. so the plane started to lose control. probably its

hydraulics were damaged. the pilots began that struggle to to control it. and the passengers, everything that that we've seen so far indicates that that this was a shootdown. and today, admiral kirby, the white house security spokesman, also implied that this was a shootdown. and you can be sure that american intelligence has been monitoring the communications in russia. and they know what's going on. so, uh, the kazakhstan government has got their hands full running. this investigation. they've got the two black boxes. the most important will be the voice recorder that will tell us one, it will identify where the explosion took place. there are multiple microphones in the cockpit. they can determine the location of a of a sound outside the cockpit. the second is it will tell us what they

knew was going on and what their plans were to try and save their aircraft. >> our colleague nada bashir was just knowing. it will probably be about two weeks before we have that information from the black boxes. how much of it do you think will be made public? and by that i mean, how confident are you that we will get the full findings of this investigation? >> well, let's say kazakhstan is in a tough position. they are responsible for conducting this investigation because the plane crashed on their territory. they probably do not have the technical expertise to download the data from either box. they will have to reach out to another, uh, entity. could be the united states, could be the uk, could be france, could be japan, or australia could also be the russians. if it is the russians that will throw more question into the the candor in which these this data will reveal.

uh, they will have, uh, the responsibility to issue a report within 30 days that gives the basics of this accident. and i think kazakhstan has the ability to do it, but it will be a challenge. >> yeah. we're going to have to wait and see exactly how much of that information we get. peter gall, stand by because we want to come back to you to get some more analysis. i want to tell everyone about another story back here in the u.s., where another stowaway passenger has been caught on board a delta airlines flight. now, this is the second time in weeks that an unticketed person has snuck onto a delta flight. >> this latest incident happened on christmas eve in seattle. it was for a flight that was heading to hawaii from seattle. according to officials, the stowaway actually went through security screening, went through the tsa without a boarding pass, and was able to board the plane without a ticket. the flight was actually taxiing on the runway, about to take off when the clue crew learned that there was an unticketed passenger on board. cnn's carlos suarez is at atlanta's

hartsfield jackson international airport. so pick up the story, if you would, for us from there so they realize there's someone on the plane. what happened next yeah, erika and jessica, it's an incredible story, really, when you come to think about it, because this passenger was able to clear this tsa security checkpoint. >> according to officials, the night before this passenger boarded this flight on christmas eve, meaning that this passenger spent some time, perhaps several hours, in a terminal. exactly just how long this person was there, exactly. what they were doing is still unclear. officials have not provided any other information on that. we know that this. the flight was taxiing out for departure when, as you noted, the flight crew realized that they had someone on board that should not be on board. and so they decided to come back to the gate. and we're told that when they get to the gate, the door of the plane is opened and that the passenger runs out of the aircraft. law enforcement had not arrived at the gate just yet, and so officials had to rely on some surveillance video

to figure out exactly where this passenger ran towards. and this person was taken into custody, we're told, inside of a bathroom. now. delta released a statement shortly after all of this, saying in part, quote, as there are no matters more important than safety and security, delta people followed procedures to have a non ticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended. they went on to apologize to their customers for all of this. jessica and erika, a lot of unanswered questions in all of this, including the identity of this passenger. officials have not released that piece of information. all we know is that this person was taken into custody and is being detained on a criminal trespassing charge. >> and, carlos, before we let you go, today is one of the busiest travel days of the year. you are at the busiest airport in the world, but i'm looking behind you, and it seems like there aren't crazy lines, at least where you're standing. how is it? >> so far, so good. >> the wait time right now here

in atlanta is about five minutes, which really is not too bad. airport officials out here expect when the day ends out here, that more than 357,000 passengers will have traveled through hartsfield jackson international airport, making it the busiest travel day for this airport in the entire year. but again, it's not too bad out here. as for the overall picture on the number of flights that have been canceled or delayed so far today, well over 3400 flights have been delayed and the number of canceled flights right now stands at at least 96. >> all right, but five minutes. not bad. >> that's not bad at all. >> that's kind of a dream. i know. carlos, thanks so much. we appreciate it. back with us now, cnn aviation analyst peter goelz, thanks so much for staying with us. peter, i want to talk now about about this story that carlos was just walking us through. does it alarm you that another traveler has now been able to get through tsa and board a delta flight without a ticket? you know, you're thinking back to the one that was going to paris

back on november 26th. >> well, any time you have a breach of security, it's concerning. i mean, but let's put it into a little bit of a context. one is america. the united states has the most complex aviation airport system in the world, with millions of passengers clearing it each year. and the security of our flights is not dependent on simply the checkpoint the tsa runs or the gate checkpoint that the airlines run. there is a layered process, and probably the most important part of that security process is intelligence. you know that there are intelligence screening going on all the time now, in this case, clearly tsa slipped up at the initial checkpoint and the gate agents slipped up. now the flight

attendants on board the aircraft to hawaii realized when they did their final count as they were taxiing out that they had one one more passenger than they were supposed to, and they pulled the plug. now, there was a little bit of a keystone cop operation. when they got back to the to the gateway, but you know, that's simply something that is going to have to be evaluated and changed. i think today tsa supervisors are watching their screenings carefully. delta and every other major airline are reviewing their, uh, gate agent procedures. and the counts that take place inside the aircraft are going to be done twice. >> so to your point, though, about, you know, we've, you know, dubbed the keystone cop operation, that also threw me a little bit because the fact that so they realized there's an extra person on the plane, they come back to the gate. and as carlos said, they let this person off the plane. but the

fact that law enforcement wasn't there waiting to apprehend this person, they then had to find him in a bathroom. is that not concerning at all? >> it is. and and i think you'll see some heads roll because of that. that is absolutely unacceptable. but again, remember, i mean the this this is a layered approach. and the final, uh, the final line of defense is the cockpit door, which is armored and cannot be opened from the outside. so, i mean, there there are multiple steps to protect passengers that take place every time a plane takes off. but this these two failures were unacceptable. >> peter goelz, always good to have you here. thank you. >> thank you. >> still ahead. dismissal denied. a judge allowing an alleged rape case against music mogul jay-z involving a 13 year old woman who was 13 at the time, to move forward. the judge not holding back either, in issuing that decision.

>> plus, if you're in the market to buy a home in 2025, you may want to keep a close eye on mortgage rates because they are hitting highs not seen in months. we'll show you what's behind the surge that's ahead on cnn news central. can't fool myself. >> it was the most exciting time in the world. >> his life had extremely joyful moments and some really difficult moments. >> you only come across an artist like luther vandross once in a lifetime. >> luther. never too much new year's day. we, the lazy, declare that we will recline when we feel inclined. >> we've checked off our to do list. >> now we're checking off our to do list. >> we, the lazy, are taking back lazy and our la-z-boy furniture, la-z-boy. >> long live the lazy. i had the worst dream last night. you were in a car crash, and the kids and i were on our own. >> that's awful. hon. my brother was saying he got life insurance from ethos, and he got $2 million in coverage. >> all on. life insurance made. >> easy. check your price today at ethos comm. >> it's payback time.

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at eight on cnn. >> a judge today denying efforts by rapper jay-z to dismiss a rape case against him, ruling that that lawsuit, which was filed by a jane doe, can in fact proceed as she alleges she was raped 24 years ago by jay-z and sean "diddy" combs. after the mtv video music awards, when she was just 13 years old. >> jay-z, whose legal name is shawn carter, has aggressively denied the accusations and wants her to reveal her identity publicly. his legal team denies that he has sexually assaulted anyone. joining us now is cnn's lisa respers france and lisa, the judge ruled the accuser may remain anonymous, at least for now, as this case proceeds. and then the judge very strongly criticized jay-z's lawyer. >> yeah, it sounds like the. it sounds like the judge feels like jay-z's legal team has been overly aggressive with some of their filings, and we have a little bit of what the judge said in the order, i mean, which was equally strong, strong language, the judge said. carter's lawyer's relentless filing of combative

motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client. the court will not fast track the judicial process merely because counsel demands it. so the judge had some strong words to say about the way these things have been proceeding. and it absolutely is a tough case all around. >> yeah, it certainly is. what about comment? in the wake of this from jay-z and his legal team? >> yeah, we haven't gotten comment yet from jay-z and his legal team. but in the past, as you mentioned earlier, they absolutely have said that this did not happen. they also have been pointing out the inconsistencies in the accuser's story. the accuser in an interview has acknowledged that yes, there are some inconsistencies, but she says that she's absolutely standing by the story. so yeah. >> all right, lisa, appreciate the updates. thank you. thank you. also with us, legal analyst and trial attorney mercedes cohen. so mercedes, when we look at this in terms of the judge's decision here

to allow jane doe to remain anonymous, at least for now, as lisa just referenced, she did actually do an interview. she did an interview with nbc. if you were her attorney, knowing that she wants to remain anonymous, would you have advised her to do that interview? even with her identity concealed? could it work against her? >> that is such a great question. it certainly smacks in the face of if you're going to proceed anonymously, why are you then giving these types of interviews? it was definitely a risk and a risk, frankly, as a as a seasoned lawyer, not worth taking any time that you interface with the media, you could be asked a question that you're not prepared for, and it could harm you, because these types of inconsistent statements, even though she's not under oath, she's not in a formal proceeding, she's not in court, she's not being examined by the opposing side. those inconsistent statements can be used against her at a later date. it was a very tremendous risk and a risk that could have really defeated her. motion to proceed anonymously and mercedes, in a criminal trial. >> you have a fundamental right to face your accuser at that

trial, but this is a civil trial. how is that different? >> well, there's definitely a different burden. there's a burden of proof, obviously, in a criminal proceeding is beyond a reasonable doubt. in a civil proceeding, it's more likely than not. so it's a very, very different standard. that's why that that jay-z, if whether or not he has criminal charges at some point later in the future, he will have to sit down for a deposition in the civil proceeding. he wouldn't be subject to that examination in a criminal proceeding. there are very significant differences between the two and the discovery that which is one of the reasons why his lawyers were so adamant of trying to get rid of the case in a procedural motion, which obviously has been defeated. but they were trying to avoid what discovery looks like. discovery is written questions, questions, examination that's under oath. he could be forced to testify. now, if he says he takes the he takes the fifth in a civil proceeding, he can actually be subject to an

adverse inference in a criminal proceeding, if ever there's one that that manifests and he's subject to some sort of examination, if he takes the stand, it can't be taken against him. you can, you can, you can actually levy the fifth amendment in a criminal proceeding without there being any sort of adverse action by the court. >> i want to get your take as well on the judge's comments or scathing criticism, as it's been referred to for jay-z's attorney, alex spiro, talking about these aggressive legal filings, the personaattacks against the attorney for jane doe, even saying, quote, although carter's attorney assails plaintiff's lawyer as having a chronic inability to follow the rules, carter's counsel has failed to abide by this court's clear rules. i would imagine that as an attorney, you do not want to be on the receiving end of criticism like that from a judge. does anything about that surprise you that it would be so direct? >> i'm not surprised at all. i'm mostly a federal practitioner, and i appear before judge torres. she is a tremendous jurist. she is a

former president obama appointee. she's been sitting on the bench since 2013. she has a lifetime appointment then. and in federal practice, any defense attorney will tell you the judges do not play. you are to comply with their individual judges rules. you are to comply by the federal civil rules. and when you don't and you deviate, you are subject to this type of reaction by the federal judges. she is a great jurist. i'm not surprised at all. and i know the defense team that jay-z and shawn carter, as he's known his given name, they're great lawyers to try to push that envelope with this judge. they overplayed their hand. she is a no nonsense judge. and it's frankly, like she said, this doesn't benefit your client. you need to abide by the rules. and if you don't, you will get this type of reaction. and at the end of the day, this is the same judge that's going to be making evidentiary rulings. so when you make these dispositive motions, when you try to defeat some sort of discovery, when you try to stop examination

questions being asked of your client, she will be the ultimate decider as to whether or not those questions or the case proceeds. so it is a very dangerous play to try to be that aggressive in that courtroom with this judge. it could absolutely backfire on the client. >> that's so interesting that, you know, this judge from from having appeared before her. and that gives us such good context around this. i also want to ask you about the accuser, who has had to confront some inconsistencies in her accusation. for example, her father says he doesn't reme picking her up at a gas station that night as she's claimed benji madden was not at the vmas that year, while jane doe said she spoke to him there about his tattoo. how does she address these and what does that mean moving forward? >> that's such a great question. i'm going to unpackage it because it's not that clear cut. first off, i mean, it was she was having this conversation with the media, obviously not advisable to do so. but having said that, putting back into her, she was 13 years old, as she's

alleged, she went through a traumatic experience as she's alleged, of such an incredibly traumatic experience, the way that she can try to defeat those inconsistencies is having an expert talk about the trauma that she underwent. that's how young she was, that her recollection is faulty, not because it didn't happen, but because her recollection was so marred and skewed by the excessive trauma. now, as a defense attorney, this is gold. this is this is gold. to have this type of inconsistency, because that's the type of inconsistency that you can use in during cross-examination. and it's g cross-examination knowing the lawyers that are representing sean carter. so she will be subject to that type of cross-examination. she'll need some buffering through an expert that can assist her to explain away why those inconsistencies happen, especially the ones that you identified. those are really significant inconsistencies, especially when you're talking about her father not not remembering whatsoever that

this took place, that he drove hours to get to his daughter so that these type of inconsistencies can definitely be exploited by the other side. buffering with an expert can assist her. >> all right, mercedes cohen, thanks so much for your analysis there. we really appreciate it. still ahead, we're going to take a closer look at the seven stocks driving nearly all of the recent gains in the stock market. and what has them soaring.

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get xfinity streamsaver with netflix, apple tv+, and peacock included, for only $15 a month. overpaying for car insurance, go to finance buzz.com. >> now closed captioning is brought to you by sokolove law. >> mesothelioma victims call now $30 million in trust. money has been set aside. you may be entitled to a portion of that money. >> call one 800 859 2400. that's one 800 859 2400. >> americans looking to step into the new year with a new home are in for a bit of sticker shock. the average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage is now nearly 7%. at 6.85. it's the highest it's been since july. it's the second second consecutive weekly increase. you compare this rate to just four years ago. it means less than encouraging news for potential home buyers. cnn's matt egan is here. matt, all those fed cuts, all those fed rates that were cut, were supposed to, you know, bring some kind of relief. what happened? >> yeah. jessica, this is just

so frustrating for all of the home buyers out there. >> and everyone who had been hoping to refinance their mortgage rate. as you mentioned, this is happening even though the fed has slashed interest rates by a full percentage point since september. >> you see, the 30 year average is now 6.85%, almost triple where rates were back during covid at the end of 2020. >> now, why is this happening? well, it's really important to remember that although the federal reserve is extremely powerful, it really influences short term rates for stuff like credit cards and car loans. >> when it comes to long term rates for things like a 30 year mortgage, the bond market really calls the shots, and the bond market has driven rates significantly higher since the end of the summer, as investors anticipate three things faster economic growth, fatter budget deficits to pay for republican tax cut proposals, and also the potential that the trump economic agenda on stuff like tariffs and mass deportations ends up being inflationary. and that forces the federal reserve

to keep rates higher for longer, no matter the cause. unfortunately, we are seeing that mortgage rates are ending the year on a high note, and the outlook for 2020 5th may not really be for rates to come down all that much from here. unfortunately. and listen, this is just adding to the affordability crisis when it comes to housing, because it's not just high borrowing costs, it's high home prices. there's just too many people chasing too few homes. now, if you own your home already, this is good news because you're seeing your net worth go up and it's adding financial flexibility. but we know so many people want to buy, but they can't right now. oxford economics has found that in order to afford a home right now and pay for property taxes and home insurance, you need household income of $107,000 a year. that's almost twice the household income that was required before covid 19. only around 1 in 3 households make

enough money to actually buy a home. and so this is going to continue to be a problem. jessica, for not just as long as mortgages are high, but until there's a building boom that addresses this shortage of homes. >> there's a there's a lot of pieces there. i also want to ask you about the stock market, which has had another great year struggling today a little bit. but how much of today's drop is about the so-called magnificent seven stocks that are at the heart of the market? >> yeah, jessica, the market lately has just been living and dying with these magnificent seven stocks. you see that again today with the dow down 400 points, about 1%. the nasdaq is down around 2%. and this is coming as big technology companies have sold off. now when we talk about the magnificent seven we're talking about alphabet apple amazon, meta, microsoft, nvidia and tesla. and as you can see, all seven of those stocks are down today led by tesla, which is down around 4.5%. now, these

stocks have really been dominating the market. they've accounted for the vast majority of the gains since election day. and more than half of the gains so far this year. the combined value of these companies has now surpassed $18 trillion trillion with a t, with some some context there. that is more than the entire gdp of the economy of china. it's pretty staggering. and when this group is doing well, they can carry the whole market higher. and we have seen that happen. but the problem is the market has become so concentrated. i think that chart shows that right there that the the top ten stocks in the s&p 500 account for the very, very high a record percentage in terms of the total value of the market. and so, you know, in a perfect world, you'd have broader participation. you wouldn't want the market to rely on just a few stocks to go higher. it would be like a football team that can't score a touchdown

without their running back doing well. what if the running back goes down? what if the running backs in a slump? you can see how that would become a problem. and so this all exposes a potential vulnerability when it comes to 2025. because for the market to continue to power higher and continue to make new record highs, either the rally is going to have to broaden out or these seven stocks are going to have to stay magnificent, jessica. >> all right matt eagan breaking it down for us. thank you so much for that. troubling warning signs when it comes to the bird flu. samples of the virus taken from the first severe human case in the u.s., shows signs of mutations that could make it easier for that virus to spread. we'll tell you more about the cdc's new report just ahead. >> andy, take a seat. anderson. look at this. you're wet. disheveled. there's debris hitting you. we need to be ready for new year's eve. >> maybe you are ready. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn. >> do you know why i stopped

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call one 800 481. 700. coventry direct redefining insurance. >> i'm natasha bertrand at the pentagon and this is cnn. >> when it comes to the climate, 2024 was a record setting year for so many of the wrong reasons. month after month, there were new heat records as scientists continue to warn that the window to act is closing fast. here's bill weir with more of the top ten climate stories of the year. >> at number ten.

>> a rare moment of national unity and wonder. >> wow. >> thanks to the celestial dance of sun and moon, april's eclipse stretched from texas to maine, putting over 30 million americans in the path of totality. we won't see another one over the u.s. until 2044. at number nine, this year's hajj fell in june, drawing millions of muslim pilgrims to mecca just as thermometers hit 125 degrees in the saudi kingdom, reported over 1300 heat related deaths. at number eight. wildfire nationwide, while july's park fire was the fifth biggest in california history, texas saw their biggest ever with the million acre smokehouse creek blaze. and in the northeast, the worst drought in decades led to over 500 wildfires just in new jersey. at number seven and fueled by record high ocean temps, hurricane beryl roared to category five strength in

july, the earliest storm to ever hit the top of the scale. while who sweltering weeks to get the air conditioning back on at number six. tornadoes and lots of them the most in a decade. of the two dozen billion dollar disasters this year, over half included twisters. and while oklahoma saw two monster f fours. climate change is shifting tornado alley from the great plains to the southeast. at number five, earth's overheating atmosphere is like a giant sponge in the sky, soaking up more water, wringing it out with a vengeance, and causing the national weather service to issue an unprecedented 91 flash flood emergencies this year. and at number four, the deadliest rain fell in spain, where in late october, a year's worth fell in hours. around valencia. the surge broke, riverbanks, turned

streets into raging rapids and took over 200 lives. at number three, the devastating duo of helene and milton, back to back hurricanes that began with a 15 foot surge in florida's big bend, but got worse in the mountains of appalachia. up to 30in of rain around asheville, north carolina, brought horrific flooding, while spun up tornadoes helped make helene the deadliest since katrina. and then came milton just two weeks later, jumping from a tropical storm to a category 5 in 20 four hours. milton is just the latest example of rapid intensification in the age of climate change. but at number two, we have the rise of climate denial. after promising fossil fuel executives deregulation, donald trump retakes power with a promise to hamstring the nation's clean energy momentum and pull the u.s. out of the paris climate accord for a second, and possibly final time. the

american >> would be the coolest year for the rest of our lives bill, we're cnn new york and now to some of the other

headlines we're watching today. >> storms could prompt flight delays as millions of holiday travelers prepare to head home. a series of pacific storm systems will continue to affect the west this weekend, with periods of strong winds, low elevation rain and heavy mountain snow. meantime, severe thunderstorms are expected to hit the south on saturday, with possible tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail from louisiana to alabama. rain from that storm then stretches up the east coast by sunday, and could cause some minor travel delays. the fda is pushing a new proposal aimed at making sure all cosmetics are asbestos free. the new rule would require standardized testing on products like makeup, baby powder and other personal care items that contain talc. the fda says the asbestos exposure can lead to illnesses such as lung and ovarian cancers. the issue coming to light after more than 60,000 claimants sued johnson and johnson, claiming their talc powders products caused cancer. the company has denied those allegations and is looking to resolve the claims through an approximately $10 billion settlement in bankruptcy. still

ahead, how would you like to end the year winning $1 billion jackpot? yeah. eric is nodding. she says yes, i say yes. well, tonight's your chance, but the odds are probably not in anyone's favor. but you can't win if you don't play. >> that's what they say. >> we'll be right back. >> luther. never too much new year's day at eight on. louis cut. >> muhammad. action louis. louis. cut mud on her face. louis. okay, everybody, that's lunch. >> mud mask. >> no, no, no. >> compare hotels in the hotels.com app. >> we, the lazy declare that we will recline when we feel inclined. >> we've checked off our to do

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a billionaire tonight, tonight could be your night. could be. that's because the mega millions jackpot has now soared to more than $1.2 billion. it is the fifth largest in history. >> but when it comes to your odds, well, i'm the debbie downer here. it's a quick reality check. chances of winning are roughly 1 in 302,000,000. >> so you're saying there's a chance? yeah, it's always a chance. cnn's maribel gonzalez is joining us now from altadena, california. how many tickets have you purchased so far? >> erica and jessica, the question is, how many have i already bought? plenty. but listen, it only takes one. and that is what so many people, including myself, are banking on today. now, here in altadena, we've seen people flocking, you know, trying to hedge their bets here as well as nationwide. this is just one of the many spots where people are doing that today. but this place, joe's service center, is special and lucky to many in the area. and that is because

two years ago, this spot sold a winning powerball ticket prize at over 2 billion. billion with a b dollars and ticket buyers are definitely banking on that. and to strike gold here again. we spoke to one woman who says she spent around $600 in tickets and gave those away to her family for christmas. she drove all the way down here because she says she's feeling lucky. let's take a listen. >> it's once in a lifetime, no matter what. and then at the same time, if i don't win, the people in the school system get it. and so that's the main thing. the kids, our kids, our future. and if i do win, boy oh boy, what a day, what a day. >> what a day indeed. now, joe, the store owner, says they've been super busy this week. on tuesday alone, selling over 7000 tickets with lines out the door. but you know, on christmas eve, no one won that $1 billion prize. and as you mentioned, erika and jessica, the chances of winning

tonight, unfortunately, are slim. just to put it into context, you have a higher chance of winning the u.s. presidency. you have a higher chance of getting struck by lightning, getting eaten by a shark, or becoming a movie star. so sorry to disappoint. and we checked with the california lottery. here in this state. no player has ever won a jackpot of mega millions jackpot this high, but i'd say for $2, it's worth. it's worth trying. >> yeah, i think you're right. i think it's totally worth it. and we look forward to you calling us when you win. and, you know, if you want to share, that's cool to just say we were here with you, you know? yeah. yeah. well, thank you. also, a very important programing note for you as we look ahead to new year's and your resolution to become a billionaire. the boys are going to be back for the biggest party of the year. be sure to join anderson cooper and andy cohen for new year's eve live right here on cnn. coverage starts at 8 p.m. eastern. we'll be right back.

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