hospitalization rates. and over 2400 miles away in in new jersey, more than 170 employees at three hospitals have contracted covid-19 causing staffing shortages. as coronavirus cases continue to rise. hospitals reduce the country are urgently in need of travel nurses. who work on temperature contracts for higher fees. >> it's a really intense demand environment. >> april hanson is the executive vice president for iya health care, an agency that recruits and deploys travel nurses. as of this week, the requests in all 50 states and over 29,000, 200 job openings for travel nurses. when i look at the job counts from the height of the first wave, this spring. we are seeing more than double the demand. >> we certainly seeing more of a --

>> it is 12:30. >> 32-year-old laura is a travel nurse. she has been on the road for month, following covid hot spots from hard hit new york in april to arizona in july. >> what are we seeing in terms of staffing and shortages at the current work location? >> the staff get sick. so, they have to quarantine appropriately. and then, additionally, the community gets sick. so, we have a swell of patients, and then we have a shortage of staff. so we come in, to the try and create a buffer. so that these nurses have down time. >> ca t ampa th atolo said that with trade alls. even with risks she wants to set an example for her children. >> reporter: did you ever question becoming a travel nu e nurse? >> i don't know if it matters

more than what my children think. >> new york is getting hit hard. dana jacobson has more. >> mitchell has owned little thing-s toy store in brooklyn for 40 years. >> we have dealt with gra grandmoth grandmothers, mothers, the kids. different generations. you get to know the children. you have a tie to the community. >> reporter: we first visited in june. once you shut down. what happened to your business? >> it dropped off the cliff. it went from normal business to nothing. >> reporter: how long did you think you could survive like that? >> without financial assistan , assistance -- secured ppe to help. other businesses in the neighborhood, the word is lucky. >> i know businesss that closed,

closed for good, that were not able to get loans and did not get -- the new normal is not enough to keep them in business. >> reporter: it's something that this broker and real estate agent predicted early on in the pandemic much. >> do i think it will impact the equivalent of a nuclear bomb on business? i do. a lot of people will not do the business they once did. >> reporter: the nations occupying nearly 22 million square feet less retail space than in the beginning of of the year. making it the largest decline since the fall-out of the 2008 recession. >> so, will we see building owners, landlords be forced to drop the rents to try to entice people in? >> 100%. listen, one of the big things that building owners, commercial real estate agents that represent the owners will have to do is drop prices to to

entice people to come back. >> sgl >> reporter: the shifting landscape is an opportunity for the rich to get richer. >> for those who have to have it, i think they will have their pick of what they want. >> owen thomas is ceo and director of boston properties. one of the largest developers and operators of urban office space in the country. >> boston properties is collecting 98% of the rents that we are supposed to receive from all of our customers. but, you know, our buildings today, gep, eagain, end of augu were 10% occupied they weres of people coming through the turnstyle. >> reporter: while he expects the occupancy to change, he believes the covid health concerns will leave a lasting impression. >> perhaps a good analogy is airport security before and after 9/11. when 9/11 occurred there was a lot of new things put in. and what still exists are

heavier security protocols. i think the touchless access to the buildings and all of the cleaning and the disinfection be protocols that we are using. i think those things are here to stay. >> reporter: with a small percentage of retail tenants the group found there's another kind of security it can provide. >> we want them to stay in business after the pandemic is over. so, we have, abated rents, we have delayed rents. work is many thing force people. it being in the office, it's being with each other. it's collaborating and collaborating with others had that are in the city. >> reporter: others big and small, like little things toy store in brooklyn. fighting on to preserve that personal touch they bring to the city's landscape. >> how do you see this area even changing if we start seeing them go away. >> the small businesses we lose. one business goes out, you don't replace it and you will lose

foot traffic and excitement. we are cautiously optimistic. we will keep the expenses down and try to increase business as things get back to a new normal. >> new normal did you know that geico's whole 15 minutes thing... that came from me. really. my first idea was "in one quarter of an hour, your savings will tower... over you. figuratively speaking." but that's not catchy, is it? that's not going to swim about in your brain. so i thought, what about... 15 minutes. 15 percent. serendipity. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. - 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) despite the hardships of

2020, there were remarkable advancements in technology. we look back at the year that was. >> reporter: 2020 will not be remembered as a big year for good news. but science and technology actually scored a few triumphs. starting with the software that allowed meetings, classes, to carry on. >> hey, dad. >> hi, dave. >> you can't see me though. >> no, i can't see you. >> something wrong with the start video. >> i'm referring to zoom video calls. >> there you go. >> like the one i had with my 92-year-old dad. >> hello, dave. cleveland lawyer dick pogue. am i correct that you never used zoom until the lockdown began? >> absolutely not. i was amazed when i first saw it. >> apple, google, and microsoft all had their own similar video

programs. why do you think zoom became the winner of the pandemic? >> i think it's a simplicity of getting in to the meeting. >> all of the zoom meetings meant fewer people flying and all the closed offices meant fewer people driving. it's not the kind of economy anybody wants of course, but it did lead to some more good news. for the first time in a century, you could hear bird songs in the cities. you coco see fish -- you could in the canals of venice, and blue skies in l.a. at one point, global greenhouse gas emissions dropped the biggest in human history and it's the year that the plastic pollution problem finally got the world's attention. we have been dumping a truckload's worth of trash in to the ocean every minute of every day. and china joined a ban/tax on

single use plastic bags. you do not have to be a government to make a difference. she was was fed up with the 40 billion plastic utensils that are included in take-out every year that nobody uses. >> so if i take it out of the take-out bag and throw it in the trash. that is not single use plat i can -- plastic >> it's zero uses plastic. >> she took on a 1 woman ca campaign that makes the utensils optional. >> it wasis -- >> it looks amazing. >> for if first time since the

space shuttle retired, flew astronauts, on an american spacecraft, made by spaces x, twice. and the breast news science could offer. vaccines for the disease that ruined the year in the first place. bill gruber is pfizer's head of vaccine development. vaccines typically take years to develop. i mean, five, ten, years. how was it possible that this one was developed so fast? >> this was really born of a great deal of cooperation between academics, industry, and government to essentially recognize this at the highest priority. one key element is that as opposed to work typically being done in sequence, a great deal of work has been done in parallel. >> the vaccines hold the from promise that this time next year, good news will be a lot easier to find. at least that is what my dad

thinks. >> do you have broader thoughts about the year 2020? >> i will be

. the holiday season is seeing a rebirth in pairs. the first time sinces the notre dame cathedral was nearly destroyed by fire, a christmas choir wearing hard hats filled the church with song. the 850-year-old cathedral is slowly being rebuilt with the help of donations from america. >> through the gaping hole in the heart of pairs coris comes

sounds of christmas. ♪ >> and a symbol of resilience and hope. this is the first time the notre dame choir is singing inside the cathedral, since a fire tore through it in april last year. >> the coronavirus pandemic has slowed reconstruction, but last month, crews finished removing 200 tons of melted metal scaff omt olding this that the flames welded to the building. >> would you say it's a turning point? >> it's a turning point in a way, and we know the building is not anymore at risk. >> reporter: even before the blaze, they were raising money to rescue the cathedral. months later, images of the fire's destruction be ignited private donations. he said, nearly 20,000 americans have pledged around $30 million so far. you have ala lot of fans in

america. >> a lot of fans. they are faithful to the project and more than before the fire. >> they will help cover the cost of restoring the chapels, and stain glass windows. as for the iconic spire, after modern designs like these sparked controversy, the french president promised the replacement will resemble the one that went down in flames. the cathedral is set to reopen, at least partially in 2024. so for now, fans and the faithful will celebrate notre dame's splendor in spirit. cbs news, london. >> and that is the overnight news for this wednesday. for some of you the news continues. for others, check back later for cbs this morning and you can follow us online at any time at cbs.com. reporting from the nation's capitol.

it is wednesday, december 30, 2020. this is the cbs it is wednesday, december 30, 2020. this is the cbs morning news. stimulus standoff. the senate blocks direct payments of $2,000 as the first $600 checks start to hit bank accounts. >> overnight, a louisiana congressman-elect dies of covid days before he was to be sworn into office. >> hotel confrontation. a woman accuses a black teenager of stealing her iphone. good morning. i'm diane king hall in for anne-marie green. we begin with breg