i'm vladimir duthiers and we have a lot to tell you about this morning starting with the deadly measles outbreak in the south pacific. it has spread like wildfire in the island of samoa. several people have died, including young children. 91% of the eligible population is now vaccinated, but scientists say 93 to 95% of a population must be immune to prevent measles from spreading. here in the u.s. the government says at least 14 states are below this immunity threshold. carter evans traveled to samoa to get a firsthand look at the crisis. >> reporter: this is samoa's main hospital and health officials have set up tents in the parking lot to help with the large number of measles patients. the government has mounted an aggressive vaccine campaign which it hopes will help. but it's clear now, this

outbreak will have a life changing impact on families. paolo says the measles outbreak took hold of his family in an instant. the disease killed three of his five children. so they got sick and four days later they died? >> um-hmm. four days later. >> reporter: their mother is so distraught she sleeps on her children's grave which is set up in the family's front yard according to samoan tradition. she told me it's her only way to be close to them now. >> it's going to take a long time to heal. >> reporter: community advocate lien a chang is helping the families of measles victims. when you see that, what do you think? >> heart breaking, heart breaking. it shouldn't, shouldn't happen this way. >> reporter: experts say the measles is entirely preventable, but so far more than 2% of the island nation's population has been infected. most of the deaths are children, including this 10-year-old boy

whose funeral was held over the weekend. >> it's the most complicated thing in life. >> reporter: only 31% of samoans were vaccinated around the time 69 outbreak, in part because of fears that spread last year after two infants died when nurses incorrectly mixed their vaccines with another medicine. the vaccines are now mandatory here, and the government is cracking down on the spread of misinformation. authorities recently arrested a, quote, alleged antivaxer after he publicly disputed the vaccine drive saying i'll be here to mop up your mess. enjoy your killing spree. >> i think from what we've learned from this episode and this epidemic is the absolute importance of getting the right message out to the communities. educating the communities on the importance of having the vaccine. >> reporter: while the samoan vaccination rate has nearly tripled in a matter of weeks, there are still challenges. samoan families often have many

children in close contact. this baby surrounded by family was just released from the hospital. >> the measles vaccine is the one safe and cost-effective way of protecting children from measles. in this day and age, we shouldn't see the measles in any country, and we're seeing a lot of cases globally. there's been double the number of cases reported just in the last two years. >> reporter: samoa is still upped a state of emergency and now the nearby u.s. territory of american samoa is also declaring an emergency after nine people there contracted the disease. >> the cannonball run is the name of an old burt reynolds movie, it's a very real and illegal race from new york city to southern california. this year's winners made it in record time. dana jacobsen tells us just how they did it. >> reporter: with a top speed of 193 miles per hour and an average of 103 for more than a day, drivers arnie and doug along with spotter berkeley are

the new cannonball record run holders. as first reported by road and track, the team made the 2800 mile journey from new york to los angeles in 27 hours 25 minutes, shaving more than an hour off the old mark set in 2013. while in the movie burt reynolds and dom delouise crossed the country in an ambulance, the team rode in a suped up mercedes souped up in two years with this in mind. >> we have a cb radio, police scanner. we use gyro stabilized bin olk lars and something new for this trip that's never been done. we used a thermal scope on the roof of the car so we're able to see anything warm on the side o. >> reporter: they were also aided by a network of spotters driving ahead of them and reporting road conditions, along with the placement of police speed traps. >> we knew we had a shot, pretty much the whole time. and thankfully nothing bad

happened. there were no altercations with the police or anything to slow us down. >> reporter: but the feat is drawing criticism from safety experts. the governor's highway safety association says speeding is widely deemed culturally acceptable by the motoring public. we need to change that narrative and make speeding as socially unacceptable as drunk driving. he maintains the team never put any other drivers at risk. >> there was no close calls at all. we don't pass people at a high rate of speed. simply because it's dangerous. and if we were to do that, to drive recklessly, they're just going to call the police and then we're just going to have police waiting for us. >> here's the kicker. the winners actually got pulled over by police after the race. their license plate bracket was dangling. they weren't speeding at the time and the officer let them off with a warning. the "cbs overnight news" will be the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. introducing new vicks vapopatch easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you,

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>> oh, hey, big bird. >> hi. >> anthony, how are you? >> i'm good, how are you. can you help me? >> sure i can help help you, what do you need? >> can you tell me how to get to "sesame street"? >> can i tell you how to get to "sesame street"? oh, you bet. ♪ "sesame street" ♪ >> it's been the favorite for kids to learn the alphabet. >> c is for cook i, that's good enough for me. >> reporter: learn to count. >> 1, 2, 3, 4. >> reporter: or learn about life. >> let me see you when you're happy. ah. >> is this the place, big bird? >> gee, i don't know. hey, guys. >> happy birthday. >> hi, guys. >> how are you doing? >> hi, aby. >> tell me, why is "sesame street" such a special place? >> it's a place where no matter who you are, what you look like, you're welcome. >> it's true. whether you're a grouch or a big bird or a -- >> snufalafagas.

>> they're our friends. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: not only are the muppets all different colors on "sesame street." from the beginning so were the actors. >> i was stunned. these people of color in a neighborhood that look like my neighborhood. >> reporter: sonia was 21 when she joined the cast in the third season in 1971. >> hi, maria. >> oh, oscar, you scared me. >> reporter: one the first latina actors to have a lead role on tv. >> i'll be your partner. >> reporter: she would play maria for 44 years. there aren't that many actors who play a part as long as you did. >> i know. i was going to keep at it till i got it right. [ laughter ] >> reporter: why did you stick with it so long? >> because the needs of the kids changed every year. i grew up on "sesame street." we were allowed to age, which was unheard of. >> reporter: the show had a

mission right from the beginning. >> the show came out of the civil rights movement. we were going to change the world. i understood what the mission of the show was. >> it's a very pretty brown. >> thank you. >> it has children entering school ready to proceed. >> reporter: the carnegie had dinner with joan. >> do you think television could be used to teach children? that's the beginning. >> reporter: he studied the idea, wrote this report, and realized as she told "60 minutes" in 2017. >> it would be demonstrating what children's television could do for children, and that that would be huge. >> action. >> reporter: but the muppets almost weren't part of the show. >> jim henson did not want to do

a children's show because he didn't want to be identified as a children's entertainer. >> reporter: but henson came around. >> all right, here we go. >> take it away. >> reporter: and in 1969, "sesame street" went on the air. >> you've never seen a street like "sesame street." >> reporter: what was the show like in the early days? >> it was very raw. it was almost like live television. we would do one rehearsal, and then you take it. >> reporter: had you ever acted with pup et cetera before? >> no, no, i kept looking down at the puppeteer. grover said, quit looking at that man down there. i was shaken. >> reporter: frank oz, jim henson and caroll spinney who played big bird and oscar the grouch have since been succeeded by a second generation of puppeteers. >> we're actors from the elbow up. >> reporter: matt vogel who now performs big bird and the count is puppet captain for the show. >> see how sad the pup et cetpe?

they're so sad. >> don't even look at me. >> we'll go out and do live shows, we'll go in with a puppet on our arm. the child in front of us, they don't see us at all. they see the characters and believe in them instantly. it does not matter at all that we are there. >> this is mayor. >> reporter: everyone, it seems, has a favorite muppet. >> this is -- >> are you comfortable, grover? >> i think so. >> reporter: are you ready? >> yes. >> reporter: grover has always been mine. what kinds of things are you curious about, grover? >> i am curious about rapids. why the sky is blue and not polka dot. i am curious if the letter "o" is jealous of the letter q because it has that little tail thing on it. do you know the answer? >> reporter: do not know the answer. >> i'm also curious right now if your mommy usually dresses you. >> reporter: not any more,

grover. >> no? is that why you forgot to wear your tie? >> reporter: sorry, do you feel disrespected? >> no. i'm not wearing anything. not a problem. >> reporter: the kennedy center is giving our nation's highest performing arts award to a television program for the very first time. ♪ sing, sing a song ♪ >> reporter: so how do you feel about winning the kennedy center honors? >> what's it like? >> is it like a prize you get in a cereal box? >> is that the prize you're talking sfwh >> reporter: it's not a bowling trophy. >> where are we going to put that prize? >> reporter: a prize for the cast and crew of the show that half a century after its creation is still enlightening children and their parents. ♪ ♪ >> you can see the kennedy center honors this sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on

cbs. the overnight news will be right back.

we end this half hour with john blackstone making a trip to his favorite donut shop. it almost closed down last year, but was rescued by the love of neighbors as well as strangers. >> oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. >> what a christmas present to see you back here. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: stella chan is back behind the counter at donut city in seal beach, california. >> just let me say hello. >> reporter: for nearly 30 years, stella and her husband john have been a team, selling sweet treats. >> she brings smiles to everyone's faces. just super loving people. >> reporter: last year there was doubt stella would even survive, let alone return to work after a debilitating brain aneurysm left her partially paralyzed and unable to speak. >> now is stronger, stronger. hold trey. i need to move.

i don't want to stay home. >> reporter: but with his wife in a coma last year, john came to work each morning at 4:00 a.m. alone. then some of their regs offered to help. >> good morning. how are you? >> two dozen. >> we tried to offer him help with the medical expenses for stella. >> reporter: he didn't want people to give you money? >> no, no. >> reporter: john would not accept a handout, so his customers decided to try a buyout. >> a dozen doughnuts. >> give me four dozen. >> reporter: turning to social media, they spread the word to show up early and buy all of the doughnuts so john could close up early and spend more time with stella. >> i came to buy five dozen doughnuts. >> five dozen? >> i'm going to take care of the staff at my kids' elementary school. >> reporter: doughnuts were selling like hot cakes. >> i'm from minnesota and i heard about this. this is awesome. >> people from 50, 60, 70 miles, they came here. not only to buy just one donut,

but dozens. they didn't even want a donut, but they came here and helped. >> reporter: it wasn't just people from seal beach or close by? >> no. other country. >> reporter: did all of that support, has that helped you get better? >> that's true. >> that's true. >> reporter: how are you? >> you look fantastic. >> you look better. >> reporter: with stella's return business is back to a normal pace, but the confections now come with special affection. >> i'm grateful. they give me a hug. i'm so happy. >> reporter: and the hole in this donut shop has been filled with kindness. when you come in here and see stella behind the counter, donut city is complete? >> a twinkle in my eyes, a delicious donut in my belly, and the day is good. >> reporter: everybody loves a happy ending. >> john blackstone on donut patrol. and that's the overnight news for this wednesday. from the broadcast center in new

york city, i'm vladimir duthiers. it's wednesday, december 11th, 2019. this is the "cbs morning news." jersey city shooting rampage. an officer, three civilians, and two suspects are dead after a wild shoot-out. what police found inside the shooter's u-haul that could have caused more tragedy. high crimes. democrats unveil two articles of impeachment against president trump. we'll break down what happens next, plus how the president is responding. there are no crimes. they're impeaching me, and there are no crimes. this has to be a first in history. and a desperate search in the antarctic for a plane that went missing with 38 people on went missing with 38 people on board. captioning funded by cbs