the end of january. >> reporter: in addition to pfizer, pending approval the astrazeneca. 2 billion doses with the goal for inoculating all adults during 2021. >> we can start traveling, meeting our friends and family again and have normal days, which we all long for. but until then, we have to continue being careful. >> reporter: that can't come quickly enough for hardest hit italy. coronavirus may have originated in china, but once it got a foothold in italy, it ravaged the population. back in early march, we were there when the country served as a tragic bellwether of what was to come in the u.s. one week ago, we reported around 1,700 cases. that number has now quadrupled. unimaginable the number would climb to more than 15 million cases and 350,000 deaths across europe. the pace of mass vaccinations

will be no match to the spread of coronavirus any time soon, but at least the race has begun. >> and there is an added urgency. that new mutant virus has already become the dominant strain here in the uk. it spreads a lot faster, and it's already been detected in parts of europe. >> that was charlie d'agata in london. closer to home, the pandemic is ruining the ski season for towns and resorts from aspen to killington, vermont and beyond. some are taking extra measures to entice skiiers, that includes the town of alta outside salt lake city. anna werner reports. >> reporter: even without a pandemic, there's no question devan practices social distancing on the job. >> it's a fun job. >> reporter: he's a snow cab driver who smooths out the rough spots on ski slopes as the sun sets each night. but there aren't as many skiers cutting tracks in the snows

these days, and after hours business isn't what it used to be. skiing is open but restricted at all ten of utah's world class resorts. but operators fear closures that have hit california ski lodges might influence utah officials to cut back more than they already have. >> typically in here we would have seven rows of tables along here, and this year we have four. >> reporter: the rustler lodge sits mostly empty. >> we're sitting here in the bar and that's usually open to the public where people can come in after skiing but that's closed to outside guests right now. >> reporter: gone too are employees. nearby in park city with the county's ski-centered economy, the unemployment rate is above 20%. yet the adventurous are pushing back and doing what it takes for the love of skiing. >> i was split boarding today so

i guess i can do the back country more. >> reporter: to get there he has to get past buffy. >> can you pull up your mask for me? >> reporter: a five year chair lift foreman whose duties expanded this year to include coronavirus protection. >> we're making sure everyone's boarding with their masks on. we have multiple signs everywhere so no one has an excuse. >> we have proven and i think we've seen nationwide that being outside on a chair lift in the wind and outdoors is about as safe as you can get. >> reporter: nathan rapherty lived through one season of closures already. we first met him last spring shortly after utah's ski season abruptly shut down. back then he was helping to collect goggles for doctors and nurses at a time when eye protections were in short supply. now he's helping to enforce strict measures to make sure the u.s. ski industry doesn't suffer

a $2 billion loss like last year. >> they'r all operating here in utah today under stricter protocols than even our state government has mandated. >> reporter: but the slopes here any other year would be full. tom pollard says many of his regular customers just aren't coming. >> there's a little bit of sadness in your heart when somebody decided that this is not the season that they're going to come to alta. >> copy that, thank you. >> reporter: yet devin klein keeps moving snow, hoping there will be more skiers to come here so they'll have to do it all over again. i'm anna werner. (ringing) - hey kaleb, what's up? how you doing? - hey, i'm good, guess what, i just had my 13th surgery. - really? i just had my 17th surgery. - well, you beat me. - well, i am a little bit older than you. - yeah it's true.

how are you doing? - i'm doing good. i'm encouraged by seeing how people are coming together to help each other during times like these. - kind of like how shriners hospitals for children is there for us. imagine if i couldn't get my surgery. who knows what would have happened. - same for me. i know my shriners hospitals family will continue to take care kids like us who need them most all because of caring people like you. - like me? - no, the people watching us right now at home. - oh, those people. hi people. - kaleb and i know not everyone can help right now, but for those of you who can, we hope you'll this special number on your screen right now. - you'll be making sure our amazing doctors and nurses can keep helping kids like us, who need them now and in the days to come. - your gift will make a huge difference for kids like us. - ooh, ooh, show them them the thank you gift. - okay, okay, hold on a second. with your gift of $19 a month

we'll send you this adorable, love to the rescue blanket as a thank you and a reminder of the kids you're helping with your monthly support. - so what are you waiting for? you can use your phone and call, or go to loveshriners.org to give and join with thousands of other generous people who change lives with their gifts every day. - i think that's about it buddy, good job. - my pleasure captain. please call now. if operators are busy with all the other caring people, please wait patiently, or you can go to loveshriners.org to give right away. - [alec] big or small, your gift helps us all. - [both] thank you. (giggling)

the city of los angeles is being accused of stealing water from rural upstream counties, and a trial over the issue is set to begin next month. l.a. gets almost half its water from lakes and snow melt in the sierra, nevada. and for more than a century there have been battles over how the city uses that water. in hour series "eye on earth," jonathan vigliotti reports on the latest round of water wars. >> reporte >> hundreds of thousands of people visit just to fish each month. >> reporter: here water the life. for fishing guy chris leonard, it's also big business.

>> we have to have lot of it for quality fishing is what it boils down to. >> what is the state of water up here right now? >> it's the american west. whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over. >> reporter: the fight playing out here is the stuff movies are made of. the 1974 jack nickelson classic "chinatown" fictionalized a real early 20th century water war. it started with the department of water and power, or dwp, built a system using gravity to deliver mountain-fed water 300 miles south from this remote region to the growing but water starved city of los angeles. >> he bought the land and bought the water rights and channelled the water through the valley. that's when the water wars really started. >> reporter: many locals claimed dwp stole the water, but to this

day the agency owns almost 500 square miles of land up here, along with the rights to all the water that flows through it. much of it flows south to l.a., but for decades some of it dwp diverted to irrigate ranch lands. like the 1,600 acres leased by cattle rancher matt kemp and his wife maria. >> how much of this is dependent on water? >> everything you see. if we don't have water spread out through here, none of this looks like it does now. you can take these if you want. >> reporter: they're one of ten ranching families that work about 6,000 acres of irrigated land for generations. they say dwp would release billions of gallons of water a year to keep the fields green and the cows fed. then came a devastating five-year drought. >> and the culmination of the year 2015, dwp came to us and said we're going to dry you guys

up. it was a shock. >> reporter: dwp cited the drought as the reason. but three years later when the snow pack in the mountains had rebounded, they told the ranchers again zero water would flow to them. >> my thought was how would we make it work? how am i going to sustain this? how am i going to support my family? >> reporter: the chief points out its leases with the ranchers never guaranteed any water deliveries, but the agency is still committed to providing them. >> in 2018 when there was a pretty moderate snowfall, water to be had, yet none for of it for ranchers. what happened that year? >> i would say nothing has changed year to year. >> except that year it did change. >> there are some things that don't change. number one is the process by which we determine how much water we deliver is not really of equation. it's as much art and science that goes into that. so, there's no one particular thing that drives that. >> that is the origin of the water we see in the valley.

>> that's right, yeah. >> reporter: while water is vital to ranchers, it's also critical to wild life. >> you always want to come to where there's water. >> reporter: this woman is a local biologist with her eyes on a particular species. >> on the hiorizon, i see birds >> reporter: this is a rare and unusual bird. its declining population has made it's a candidate for the endangered species. expanded habitat where the birds thrive. >> we can't just remove the water without any notice and without a plan to protect the birds. >> wild life organizations and ranchers aren't usual allies. >> i would say that it's been really refreshing, and i think we've realized how much we have in common for the place that we live and love.

>> l.a. dwp claims it has always set aside water for the habitat. >> they've always gotten water either incidentally just through the application of water for ranching or when water is really low, we'll always make a priority for them. >> we're totally at the mercy of the snow melt. >> reporter: and then there's the recreational community, which fears a dried up landscape could drive away tourists, hikers and anglers. >> it's not just you that relies on the snow melt and the water that comes from it. los angeles, how do you compete with that? >> how do you compete with dwp? >> yeah. >> you don't. they own the land. >> reporter: some are trying to compete in court. the lawsuit argues dwp must first do a comprehensive environmental impact review before making drastic changes to this ecosystem, like taking away water that's been provided for decades. and as climate change shrinks the snow pack in the mountains

up here, fights like these back down here will likely only get worse. >> what's your message as you watch this struggle for the water unfold? >> f m a for

when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of god, in due time he will exalt you. hi, i'm joel osteen. i'm excited about being with you every week. i hope you'll tune in. you'll be inspired, you'll be encouraged. i'm looking forward to seeing you right here. you are fully loaded and completely equipped for the race that's been designed for you.

the pandemic has cancelled a lot of holiday traditions, but not "the nutcracker" ballet because the show must go on. nancy chen reports. >> reporter: with its iconic score and glittering scenes "the nutcracker" has performed for audiences around the country every year. but the heart i dy tradition is taking a fly with a twist. the costumes include matching masks. maids offer guests hand sanitizer and temperature checks. the famous party scene, performance filmed for drive-in screening. passers by in brooklyn can catch a hip hop fusion. in arkansas the stage is main

street, but little rock as audiences cruise by classic scenes. in miami people watch while socially distancing outside. >> it's a tradition that is passed on from year to year. >> reporter: kelly heads the san francisco ballet, the first in the nation to stage "the nutcracker" in 1944. 80,000 people see it here every december december, but this year they're offering audiences a paid stream of a 2008 performance with interactive features. >> you have all expenses and very little revenue. that's why we're creating this. but we're in the business of creating memorable moments. and we think that, you know, that the future will look back at this moment and it won't be about revenue. it will be how you connect it with your community. >> ticket sales from "the nutcracker" make up about half the revenue which helps fund the

rest of the year. now with most stages still closed some like the new york city ballet in lincoln center are finding new collaborations. the prestigious company partnered. model items for auction as they swirl around an empty gallery. also in new york, american ballet theater collaborated to sell one of "the nutcracker's" most memorable scenes. >> anyone can connect to the dream of a young girl like clara in "the nutcracker" and just the feeling ofxcitement and magicag and mystery that you have. whether you're a kid or an adult, i hope that it is uplifting and brings everyone some warmth and holiday cheer. >> a reminder of cherished traditions, even in the year keeping people on their toes. nancy chen, new york.

and that is the "overnight news" for this tuesday. reporting from the nation's reporting from the nation's capitol, i'm jeff pegues. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.co it is tuesday, december 29th, 2020. this is the "cbs morning news." stimulus boost. the house approves $2,000 checks for most americans. the roadblock ahead as the military sends help to one state crushed by covid. behind the blast. investigators comb for clues in the nashville explosion. the new details after federal agents dig into the suspect's background. wrongly accused. a woman accuses a black teen for allegedly stealing her phone. why prosecutors and the mayor of new york city are now getting involved. good morning, i'm diane king ha i