we will see you back in an hour for more news. >> cbs weekend news is next captioning sponsored by cbs >> yuccas: tonight america braces for the fallout. the covid spotlight on travelers at home for thanksgiving, at airports, and millions more on the road. a new wave of infections and deaths likely on the way. >> to every american, this is the moment to protect yourself and your family. >> yuccas: the nfl blitzed by its own covid problems. games postponed, a stadium lockout and the broncos scramble without a quarterback. also tonight president trump lashes out again as legal losses pileup. >> as president of the united states, i don't have standing. what kind of a court system is this? >> yuccas: plus joe biden gets set to govern. could relations relations with t for a fall tha-w.

we remember the actor behind darth vader's mask. cher to the res cue, helping save the world's loneliest el fat-- elephant and an early push to make the holiday spirit bright. >> to forget the world for just a teeny bit. >> in ishe cbs weekend news. >> yuccas: good evening, i'm jamie yuccas in los angeles. tonight top federal health experts are warning of a surge on top of a surge. this after americans defied warnings and pleas not to travel or gather this thanksgiving. but we did. by the tens of millions. so far this month we have recorded four million new cases, more than double the infections in october. the fear now, all that travel will drive those numbers way up. and dr. deborah birx told cbs's

"face the nation" today travelers should assume that quote you were exposed and you became infected. we begin with lilia luciano in los angeles. >> tonight americans are packing up after the holiday on what could be the bus ye-- busiest travel day since the start of the pandemic. most are on the road. nearly a million others packing airports and with them fears of a new wave of infection is on the way. >> white house coronavirus task force dr. deborah birx with a warning on "face the nation." >> we're entering this post thanksgiving surge with three, four and ten times as much disease across the country. >> today hospitalizations hit a record high in 33 states with more than 91,000 patients straining icu's in places big and small, dr. vanessa walkens in sacramento provides intensive care remotely. >> we put an icu physician right there in your hospital room even though we are 300 miles away. >> what has been the most

impactful or concerning for you? >> i'm really very, very worried that we are going to have a large population of patients with long-term health affects. >> covid is tackling the nfl. several teams with infected players. today the denver broncos playing without quarantined quarterbacks. >> so here is the first nfl snap. >> the team starting a wide receiver instead. and the san francisco 49ers need a new stadium to play after santa clara county banned all contact sports. and the new orleans saint repealing a half a million dollar fine in losing a draft pick for players not wearing masks during a post game celebration. there is hope, infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci insists vac even approval is imminent. a cdc panel will meet tuesday to strategize who should get it first. dr. scott gottlieb on "face the nation." >> there is only going to be 40 million doses available throughout the whole month of

december. >> travelers coming back to california are urged to quarantine for two weeks. l.a. county today once again tops 5,000 cases. those flyers now bracing for another limited stay at home order that goes into effect tomorrow. jamie? >> yuccas: lilia luciano in los angeles, thank you. we want to go now to cbs news senior foreign correspondent elizabeth palmer in london where lockdown rules are being met with some resistance. >> a crowd of mostly young protestors marched through the center of london. they're fed up with the restrictions that have shut down businesses and social gatherings in the u.k. for a month. prime minister bore is johnson. >> we are in relaxing too much and. >> but there are early signs of a holiday mood as many stores and restaurants will be able to reopen at last in a cup elf days.

the past few weeks of covid lockdown measures across europe have been painful but the good news is they are working. the infection rate is coming down almost everywhere, and some of the restrictions are being lifted. paris' main department store reopened after a month with an ovation for returning customers. some sectors will remain moth balled. ski hills, for example, aren't due topen until january. though some with swiss resorts high in the alps are bucking the trend. there is a winter wonderland in moscow too, the traditional ice rink has opened on red square. though skaters have to glove up and enter through a so called disinfection booth. unlike europeans, russians are facing a worsening covid infection. it has grown 30% in november. compare that to australia where a heat wave has packed the beaches. regional lockdowns, some of them ultra strict have paid off.

the virus is under control with only 8 cases reported nationally in the last 24 hours. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> yuccas: tonight the state of wisconsin has completed a recount requested by the trump campaign and it confirms joe biden won the state. but president trump who spent the weekend at camp david is still falsely claiming the election was rigged. cbs's ben tracey is at the white house. >> president trump back at the white house tonight and still making baseless claims of election fraud signaling he may never concede. >> in other words, my mind will not change in six months. there was tremendous cheating here. >> there is no evidence of widespread fraud. the president's legal team has racked up a string of defeats. in an certificate view this morning, president trump questioned why the department of justice is not helping him and seemed not to understand why the supreme court may not take his case. >> we should be heard by the

supreme court. something has to be able to get up there. i wanted to file one suit, donald j. trump, president of the united states. and they say sir, you don't have standing. i say i don't have standing. you mean as president of the united states, i don't have standing. what kind of a court system is this? >> on saturday pennsylvania's supreme court through out another lawsuit filed by republican congressman mike kelly trying to halt certification of president-elect joe biden's win. republican lawmakers are finding it harder to defend the president's claims of fraud. >> arkansas governor asa hutchinson. >> the transition is what is important. the words of president trump are not quite as significant. >> president trump is also claiming that foreign leaders are calling him and telling him this is the most messed up election they have ever seen. but the white house has not released a readout of any call with any foreign leader since the election and almost every u.s. ally has called joe biden to congratulate him, jamie? >> yuccas: ben tracey at the white house, thank you. tonight the president elect is back in wilmington after the

tharntionz giving break. that is where nikole killion is, he is not commenting on the president's claims but is he making news, what happened. >> well, jamie, late tonight we lower joe biden got checked out by a doctor according to his office, he slipped while playing with his dog major and twisted his ankle. it happened saturday while he was spending the holiday weekend at his rehoboth beach home. they said he is getting examined by an orth pedis out of an abundance of caution. >> yuccas: the president-elect is also kicking off the week with more announcements, what do we know? >> well, the president-elect just announced his new white house communications team, it is all female lead by kate bettingfield. she was previously communications director for the campaign but will now become white house communications director. jen socci formally a spoadges person in the obama administration and held other senior roles mpg the

president-elect plans to roll out his economic team this week and starting tomorrow, he and the vice president-elect will receive their first presidential daily briefing. jamie in. >> yuccas: nikole killion, thanks. >> the people of cuba are waiting to see if the incoming biden administration will mark a new tha-w in relations following an icy four years. here's cbs's manuel bojorquez. >> western union's more than 400 locations across cuba are now shut down. thousands here no longer have a formal way of receiving the money transfers they rely on. ricardo herrero is executive director of the washington think thank the cuba study group. >> the way that the trump administration has framed it has been that they have been going after the cuban military. which does manage several aspects of the island's economy. >> that's the argument president trump used to reverse obama era reengagement with cuba including a travel ban. even banning crucials that were growing in popularity.

during a pretrump visit to havana some every day cubans told us they were ben filting economicically. but after years of renewed isolations, they hope the tide will turn again. >> i hope that with biden things will get better because honestly, each day gets worse with this man. >> they want to turn america into communist cuba. >> but many cuban americans embrace president trump's hard line approach and helped him carry florida on election day with. >> the sharp turn to the left and the extreme ideology that the democratic party is taking is losing the latino vote. >> but herrero believes real change will require more engagement with the u.s >> but howe do you do that without further empowering their government? >> that is always the catch. but if a policy that helps empower the cuban people also creates a collateral benefit for

the cuban government, it should still be pursued because ultimately change in cuba will come from within. it must come from the cuban people. >> critics of the obama era approach argue that it failed to improve human rights on the island. while president-elect biden has yet to announce a formal plan, it is believed he may start by restaffing the u.s. embassy in havana. manuel bojorquez, cbs news, mimey. >> yuccas: we learned today that the actor who played darth vader in original star wars triology has died. david prowse provided the hulking frame of vader while james earl jones provided his voice. standing 6 foot 6 the former body builder said he was offered the role of vader or chewbacca. he made his choice saying everyone remembers the vilan. david prowse was 85 years old. straight ahead on the cbs weekend news.

food insecurity surges as americans struggle. plus meet the naval academy mid shipman breaking barriers and making history. and later, traditional holiday lites get a 2020 upgrade.

>> yuccas: on thanksgiving many of us enjoyed an abundance of food at the table. so the pandemic has revealed how many americans are one paycheck or medical bill away from hunger. here's cbs's mireya villarreal. >> out of work and out of food. >> i need meat. >> these massive giveaways in denver, miami and dallas have become the new lines of the times. >> unemployment, everything so this is a great help for everybody. >> beyond the holiday season feeding america projects more than 50 million americans will have faced hunger in 2020, up from around 35 million before the pandemic. >> simply put, people don't know where their neck meal will come from.

the north texas food bank erica yeager says they are serving 10 million meals a month, that is four million more than this time last year. >> history tells us that we can expect to see this elevated need for at least the next two years. >> schools like the texas can academies are also helping hungry families. brandi glasco lost her home health care job during the pandemic and is scraping by as a seasonal worker for fedex. >> as a mother you never want your kids to see you worry or panic. so it got a little hard and got a little questionable there. >> did you have money in your bank account. >> no. >> in texas, more than two million kids are expected to go hungry this year. a reality 17 year old michael glasco is now facing. >> right now i'm trying to graduate and get a job. so that will help like with the bills and stuff. >> it is a wake-up call for a generation coming of age. in the midst of a pandemic. mireya villarreal, cbs news,

dallas. >> that likely won't get better soon. still ahead on the cbs weekend news. a commanding first at the u.s. naval academy.

>> yuccas: to news now of an important first. starting next semester a black woman will serve as brigade commander at the u.s. naval academy. it's the top post for mid shipman. cbs's michelle miller has her story. >> this spring senior sydney barber will earn her stripes rising to the highest rank at the u.s. naval academy. brigade commander, the first black woman to do so. >> i'm extremely humbled to play a role in this moment of history. >> for the 21 year old illinois native, it is all still a bit

overwhelming. >> for a black female to be taking command of an institution that once never had a single female let alone a black person, it speaks volumes. >> to how far we have come. >> barber's legacy began with her father lieutenant kenneth barber, a 1991 navalk add me graduate. >> the mark your name in 175 years of history of the u.s. naval academy is quite humbling. >> barber becomes only the 16th woman to serve in the top job since the academy went coed in 1976. the same year her mentor jamie januaryie mines became the first black wod admitted. >> me being her is her worldest dreams, i hope i can be someone else's wildest dreams. >> you were telling me you also didn't go out for this. >> yes, you're right. i almost didn't.

my-- sheological spoke it into life. >> captain tasha lacey an academy alum couldn't let this opportunity sail by for barber. >> i never thought that i could be the brigade commander so subsequently didn't apply for that job. and so when i saw sydney getting ready to go that same route i am like oh no, ma'am, you have to go for the stars. with. >> i'm blessed in so many ways that i have to give back. >> still there are times when she doubts herself. and that is when she turns to her brother justin. >> i would say if there is anyone in my life who has inspired me most, it is him. >> born with a rare condition that has left him blind and deaf, justin was given less than two years to live. >> we celebrated his 19th birthday this past may. he just reminded me that every single day is a blessing. every day is a gift within a

gift she shares with her classmates and generations of leaders to come. >> michelle miller, cbs news, essex county, new jersey. >> she has quite the network there. go girl. next on the cbs weekend news, remember that monolith found in the utah desert? tonight a new mystery.

>> yuccas: there was a spectacular crash in the first lap at the bahrain grand priks today, the formula one car smashing into barriers. you see there, exploding on impact and breaking apart. remarkably the driver as you watch walked away with only burns on his hands and afng els. wow. there's a new mystery tonight surrounding the monolith found in a remote part of the utah desert. it's gone, federal authorities say they didn't touch it but they do say that 12 foot tall metal structure was removed by a

quote unknown party on friday. it was first spotted 11 days ago by a helicopter crew surveying sheep. all just a little odd. an update now in the world's loneliest el vant, kaavan is on his way to a new home, an animal sanctuary in cambodia where he will be able to socialize with other elephants, he had been languishing in pakistan since 1985 and alone his his mate died eight years ago. cher learned of his story and used her star power to help make it all happen. proof you can believe in life after love. when we return the pandemic pushed to make this holiday season extra bright.

is. >> finally tonight with so many of us at home this tumultuous year some pandemic weary americans appear to be going all out for some extra holiday cheer, here's cbs's nancy chen. >> it's the most wonderful time

of year. even in 2020. with. >> makes you just forget the world for just a tiny bit. >> americans are going to great lengths to capture the brightness and magic of the holiday season. with some decorating earlier and more elaborately than ever. >> this year because of corona we wanted to start earlier because we saw our neighbor hootd very de pressed and dreary. >> when so much has been out of the norm, and so much time is spent at home many americans crave the traditional. and then some. >> christmas can never come too soon. >> and north carolina summer partee says requests for her christmas deck crating services started as early as august. >> why do you think it is that people are seeking such elaborate decorations this year? >> this year has been so incredibly hard. a lot of people are just losing that opportunity to be with family during the holidays. christmas and decorations is just brings joy into people's homes. >> sales at this holiday shop in

southern california are already well above average. >> sometimes double, sometimes triple. our business is crazy. people want to be happy. we sell happy. >> real tree vendors are also reporting strong demand. 21 percent of people in sun survey said they were more likely to buy a real christmas tree this year after displaying artificial tree last year or no tree at all. >> maybe you shouldn't be celebrating stuff because it doesn't feel celebratory but i feel like that is all the more reason to do it, you know, taking the wins big and small. >> winning gold, silver, red and white and making spirits bright. >> hey pretty girl. >> nancy chen, cbs news, new york. >> love it. i say go big or go home. that is the cbs weekend news for this sunday. later on cbs, "60 minutes." i'm jamie yuccas in los angeles where they say everyone is a star but dodge erstadium is shining the brightest tonight. take a look. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh

ac ss.wgbh.org and now at 6:00 thousands of bay area travelers are heading home from their holiday destinations tonight, returning to a lot more restrictions than when they left. >> i'm john ramos in san francisco where china town merchants are hard hit. not just by the pandemic, but by those who blame them for it. i'm da lin. coming up why doctors say people who might have been exposed on thanksgiving, it might be wise to wait a little longer to get tested. good evening, thanks for joining us, i'm juliette goodrich. >> i'm brian hackney. we begin with the rush of the holiday travelers. oakland airport is the busiest it has been since the start of the pandemic. we saw a steady stream of travelers returning and heading

home from thanksgiving visits. different scenes across the bay at sfo tonight. joe vazquez is there now. hey, joe. >> reporter: hey, brian. yeah, this is one of those situations where you have to say it is all relative. yes, it seems like there is more traffic today than the beginning of the pandemic, but also appears to be the case that it doesn't appear to be busy at all especially by the standards of the sunday of thanksgiving. this is terminal one here at sfo. you've got your southwest and jetblue. every now and then a flight comes in, but it's not packed here. i'm told it's a bit more congested than this. overall officials tell us traffic is down 75% compared to last year at this time. in san jose they report 70% less traffic. still there are definitely folks who would travel elsewhere for thanksgiving, now