>> dr. jon lapook. i have ten friends coming over, everyone tested negative, we're safe. what do you say? >> biggest misconception of this pandemic, and there's not a close second, is that i got tested today, therefore i'm safe tomorrow or the next day. remember the incubation period is two to three days. >> reporter: law enforcement is already tamping down on large gatherings. in newark, new jersey two women were arrested for hosting people at bar. at restaurant in, reported secret indoor party to authorities. restaurant writing the invitation was misunderstood and they've consistently taken drastic steps to ensure safety. but invitations like this promoting a party in

san francisco are common across the united states. how concerned are you about public gatherings or house parties on new year's eve? >> very concerned. >> reporter: san francisco police warning of penalties for breaking the rules. >> protocol has been to admonish people, giving them a warning at first. sometimes there isn't that chance to admonish someone, and we will issue a citation. >> reporter: possible to be arrested even? >> it is, yes. >> reporter: more than 1 million people usually fill the times square streets to watch the crystal ball drop but this year they're closed to the public. dr. lapook gave us tips. don't party with anyone outside your pod and even if you have been vaccinated, doesn't mean the people around you are safe from covid-19. >> that was nikki battiste reporting. pandemic has forced people

to put off routine medical procedures like colonoscopies and many are hit with medical bills. hundreds or even thousands of dollars in surprise charges. anna werner has the story. >> reporter: everyone over 50 should get a baseline colonoscopy and federal guidelines say insurance should pay for it. why do we keep hearing from viewers they got stuck with the bill. order from doctor for first screening colonoscopy for everyone turning 50, given at no cost to patients every ten years under affordable care act. called her insurance. what response did you get? >> procedure was 100% covered as screening, facility and doctor

was 100% covered, all within network. >> reporter: at the clinic, a staff member asked if any family members had colonoscopy, which they had. >> my mom had a few polyps years ago. dad had a few. >> reporter: after the test, doctor said everything looked good. >> that was good. went home, was well. then i started getting the bills. >> reporter: for a colonoscopy supposed to be covered. $625 for facility, over $300 for the doctor's services and $325 for the anesthesiologist. over $1,200 her insurance company refused to pay. the reason? she said the clinic had decided because of her parent's polyps, she was high-risk patient and insurance company said it was no longer a free screening

colonoscopy but diagnostic she had to pay for. >> am i an candid camera tlt, i don't understand this at all, seems utterly ridiculous. wondering how many people this is happening to, why i contacted cbs when i heard about the unveiling of this type of problem. >> reporter: she's not only one who has contacted us. we've had dozens of complaints from people who say free screening colonoscopies turned into bills, particularly if they had precancerous polyps removed. integral part of the screenings. >>. >> reporter: congressman daniel payne jr. has been trying to fix the issues. his father died of colon cancer in 2012. >> unfortunately my father would not get checked. and subsequently succumbed to the disease. there's no reason he shouldn't

be here now other than he wasn't screened. >> reporter: payne sponsored legislation to close the billing loophole for medicare patients so if polyps are removed, that part of the colonoscopy will also be paid for. >> people should not have to be worried when they go to sleep for a procedure, what the bill is going to be on the other side. >> reporter: bill passed congress last week but doesn't apply to private insurance patients, many of whom told us they received bills for colonoscopies they thought were covered. despite fact that department of health and human services said it should be covered even if polyps are removed. is this the way you wanted it to work? >> no. that patient who goes into office for screening colonoscopy should not have to pay anything when they wake up.

>> reporter: university of michigan, helped write that section of the aca. >> fact you're still getting your viewers sending in these complaints suggests we have not implemented what i believe is the spirit of the regulation. >> reporter: dr. fendric says the ultimate goal is covered for everyone. in the meantime, she owes a debt she has no plans to pay. >> i instructed my family members if i die unfortunately in tragic accident, do not pay this bill. >> reporter: she was appeal pending with blue cross blue shield of illinois. company would not comment on the case but told us doctors are the ones who code the colonoscopies aroutine free screening or diagnostic. if it's free screening, free to members in network.

if you have private insurance and problems with this or another medical ♪

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these covid times, the morning commute has developed into its own new routine. fighting all that traffic down the hallway and into the home office. but if there's one consolation to the new way of lie, there's the feeling however solitary might be better for the planet. we are producing a lot less of the greenhouse gasses we used to spewing the way to work in our cars and spending days in power-hungry offices. hold the smugness, working from home is not cost-free and more of us twwho do it, more environmentally it becomes. >> every text, every thank you and got it, every time we hit send, download, stream or zoom, all require power. somewhere massive banks of

computers are storing and processing that data, sucking up enormous amounts of electrical energy to do it. the cloud doesn't so much have a silver lining as a carbon one. >> i mean it's certainly good for the planet to save your commute. >> reporter: but mike berners lee who has written on the cost of everything says it's not that simple. >> on the other hand, if you're home with the heating on which otherwise wouldn't have to be, that's not so good, and probably using more computing stuff than you would be. >> reporter: think about it, every email we send not only requires electricity to write, as it travels across the internet it gets stored and transferred from one mega server to another, gobbling up energy along the way, then if it gets read, it sucks up even more power. email may use 5% of the power

needed to send a paper letter but we send and receive gazillions of them. done the math, would be taking 350,000 cars off the road. the principle is accurate. i.t. is a huge consumer of power and it's growing exponentially. many more people are receiving emails, and are streaming. if the cloud gets that much bigger and requires that much more storage, isn't that creating an energy-hungry infrastructure? >> it is, and we estimate that the information technology is probably responsible for 2% to 4% of the whole world's carbon footprint. and that's a big deal, becoming

a bigger deal. >> reporter: maybe the question we need to be asking is do i we need to be asking is do i really need to send (drumsticks rattle, feedback hums) (door closes in distance) ♪ (overlapping voices): we are producers, engineers, singers, songwriters, musicians, tour and live production crews, and thousands more of us. (male voice): without us, the music stops. (overlapping voices): we need your help (female voice): to keep the music playing. (male voice): support those impacted today at: musicares.org. we're still hard at work, because vulnerable students who already struggle with poverty, hunger and trauma, need our support more than ever. at communities in schools, we do whatever it takes. delivering meals, helping kids access remote learning and just checking in. in schools, in communities and in times of crisis

providing kids a community of support. to learn more, visit communities in schools dot org.

the collapse of the radio telescope in puerto rico earlier this month marked end of an era in astronomy. the structure was victim of years of underfunding and neglect. but astronomers have another option in china. ramy inocensio paid a visit. >> reporter: the world's biggest single disc radio telescope, more than five football fields across, scanning our skies. its chinese name means eye of heaven. over a year to detect fast radio

bursts, ripples in space-time and search for signs of extraterrestrial life. became operational last january. cbs news gained access only because it was offline for maintenance. see that the huge steel ring? six towers piercing the clouds? they're spectacular and gigantic. we're all so happy. this is the apple of this cosmic eye, 30 ton feed cabin hoisted by towers nearly 500 feet up, job to collect data from the universe reflected from the disc. breathtaking to see it all complete. what we don't see is amazing. mandatory radio quiet zone three miles every direction from here.

scientists want to listen to very faint radio waves from millions of light years away, not from someone's cell phone down the road. it's now even more important after the collapse of aricibo telescope in puerto rico, plummeted through the disc after the cables failed. he said he grieved for the loss of partner and good friend for half a century and said china would share its telescope with the world. astronomy has no borders he says, this science includes us all, for cbs news, southwest china. >> and that is the overnight news for new year's eve. for some the news continues, others can check back later for

cbs this morning and follow us online anytime, cbsws.com. reportin it is thursday, december 31st, 2020. this is the "cbs morning news." new covid strain. another case emerges in a second state. what we know so far as the vaccine rollout gets off to a slow start. challenging the results. a republican senator says he will object when congress convenes to certify the presidential election results. his argument and what it means for president-elect joe biden. defending their actions. nashville police explain why they could not arrest the christmas day bomber after visiting his home last year. good morning. i'm diane king hall in for anne-marie green. we begin with that newe