so instead of jumping around from page to page on government websites, state, local websites, relevant information is attached directly to your ticket based on where you're going. >> that's exactly right. based on the ticket that you purchased, tailored to you so that you will know everything that you need particularly as all the covid kind of landscape is changing. >> reporter: it works like this -- once your ticket is booked, you can locate it inside the united app or on its website and scroll down to the travel ready center. here you'll see testing requirements based on your destination. now you can schedule that test through the service. and one of the new locations is here inside united's terminal c. i am here for a covid test. >> okay, you have an appointment? >> yes. >> you can follow me -- >> reporter: on friday xpress check demonstrated its process to cbs news before the new popup site opens at newark liberty

international airport today. ceo says his company is uniquely poised to offer the testing in the terminal. >> our spa closed down at the end of march. so we have three zones. we have check-in, we have testing rooms, and then we have a full service lab. >> reporter: once tested, passengers upload results to their booking profile. >> the airlines are investing in providing testing because they know it's good business. >> reporter: travel analyst henry harteveldt says the move stems from necessity. >> some countries or destinations want you to have a pcr test. others will take an antigen test. so it's really confusing. >> reporter: dr. william schaffner notes the process is more straightforward and suggests it very well could be the future of flying. he also says that while my rapid test was negative, it still does not guarantee 100% safety. >> it's not perfect. but it is another layer that

could be introduced to help reduce the risk. >> like 9/11 changed airport security forever. we're still taking our shoes off. covid is going to change safety protocol in airports for a long time, as well. >> reporter: now united says since this app launched just a few weeks ago, it's seen hundreds of thousands of customers upload the covid results directly to the app. we should also note they do also provide the pcr or antigen test in addition to the rapid test you saw me receive. and right now the places to get this done here in newark at san francisco and l.a.x. airports, with the plan to expand this nationwide. >> errol barnett reporting. today is fat tuesday, most years that would mean tens of thousands jamming the streets and sidewalks of new orleans for the traditional mardi gras parades. but this year the pandemic has put a lot of activities on hold.

bars are closed and parades are cancelled to keep large crowds from gathering. but that didn't stop the artist who make the extravagant floats. instead of rolling them through the streets, they created thousands of house floats. jamie wax reports. >> reporter: for the people of new orleans, mardi gras is more than just the world's biggest free party. it's the throbbing, pulsing, beating heart of the city's culture. ♪ [ cheers ] but how do you keep mardi gras alive when a pandemic has stopped the parades from rolling? you turn it into yardy gras. across the city and beyond, house floats have been popping up. >> the universe put me in the right place at the right time, and everybody just latched on to the idea. here we are, you know, 3,000 house floats later. >> reporter: back in late november, new orleans resident

megan boudreaux tweeted, it's decided, we're doing this, turn your house into a float and throw all the beads from your attic at your neighborhoods walking by. that bit of levity and that simple idea spiralled into a grassroots movement that transformed new orleans homes into the famed floats that typically parade through the city. >> i got on facebook and made a group to try and recruit some people, and that group just exponentially grew within days into something that was clearly going to need to be organized and not just the low-key neighborhood thing that i had intended. >> reporter: she now has a team of over 50 volunteers and has inspired multiple other crews and individuals to join her in creating something to celebrate. >> just been such a long year. and everything seems to be bad news, and just from day one, everyone i talk to said this is so great. i have something fun to do. something positive to think about. and i think that's really why everybody just clung to it so quickly.

i don't know they would have happened in any other year. >> a triumph. triumph of art. triumph of, you know, spirit. it's wonderful. >> reporter: doug mccash has been covering new orleans culture for local publications for decades and has been photographing some of the most creative floats as they appear throughout the city. as you have documented all of these places, you've encountered a lot of locals, a lot of tourists passing by, families. what are you hearing from the people around these house floats? >> i think people are really celebrating that we're supposed to have this reputation for being creative and never say die, you know, that kind of thing. and this is such a great example of it. and i think everybody is really enjoying that. even in covid we're living up to expectations. >> look -- >> reporter: a sentiment echoed by joni broussard. we caught up with her as she was out with her family. what does it mean when the parades are not rolling for you

to be able to see these houses like this? >> well, this is actually incredible. you get to walk and actually see and take your time as when floats pass, it's kind of -- you got to watch it or you miss it. this is pretty neat. >> reporter: so for you, this is not like the second choice, this is even better? >> i think so. i mean, covid has done a lot of bad, you know, for a lot of people. but i don't think people would have thought of this if covid wouldn't have happened. >> reporter: city council member jay banks is chairman of the board of the zulu social aid and pleasure club, an iconic part of mardi gras parading. >> it is new orleans culture. we are the melting pot of the world, the cultures here all blended from french to spanish to african. they all came here together and made this magic that we see today. and we have this wonderful gift to share. this is absolutely magical. >> reporter: and this is not the first time that magic and this city's resilience have been tested. >> the first casualty of katrina

was normal. we knew when the storm hit normal died first. we needed to come back, and we led the way back home with that first mardi gras after katrina. that was a much smaller parade, there were far fewer people, but it sent a message that, hey, new orleans is still here. >> reporter: something the people of new orleans prove time and time again. >> there is not what we hoped for or planned. but reality of it is again, it can cancel the way we practice our customs, but it can't cancel the customs. cancel the customs. mardrdi gras ♪ ♪ ♪ why do o you build d me up, bubuild me up.p... ♪ ♪ buttercupup... ♪ ♪ baby y just to lelet me down♪ ♪ l let me downwn! ♪ ♪ and m mess me aroround... ♪ ♪ and worstst of all, worst ofof all ♪

if youou ride, youou get it. gegeico motorcrcycle. fififteen minunutes could d sau fifteeeen percent t or more.

in italy, one of the most famous sculptures of all time, especially the renaissance, is getting itswn o rebirth. michelangelo's david is being digitized for posterity. chris from florence. >> reporter: left us awestruck for human form and try as they might, copies like this one, albeit never with laser precision like today. flash photography at museum can get you dirty looks. but these cameras are different. >> this one is a laser scanner, combined with a laser tracker.

>> reporter: inside florence's academia museum, professor tucci and her team are measuring all 14 feet of david, from head to toe, with tools used to design high tech jet engines, this time, high tech replicas. >> we're producing a digital twin first, will be useful for the scientists, researchers, monitoring in the future. >> reporter: microscopic 3d data that can be studied on desktop in unrivalled detail. you can see every detail, hand of michelangelo himself, something you normally have to do in person, with a digital twin, you won't have to. they're also making a physical twin, next step feed the data

into a digital printer, final product will star at italy pavilion of the world fair in dubai this october says director. if this is perfection, how good can a copy be? >> even the best copy is still a copy. that's the reason why millions of people come every year. >> reporter: most copies of course are a dime a dozen. some more profane than sacred. he's biblical hero after all who slayed goliath. michelangelo took two years, finishing and giving birth to most famous sculpture of the renaissance, moved to academia museum in 1873 where he's lived ever since. while the statue that will emerge from the 3d printer may not possess the soul of the original, it just may help us

see it more clearly. david's digital twin should be ready by this spring and could be priceless should anything happen to the original. ankles are cracked and if it got sudden stress,

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. there's a penguin in chicago who may soon be picking up the keys to the city. wellington has become one of the online stars of the pandemic. adriana diaz has his stor. >> reporter: this was the waddle seen around the world. when covid closed chicago's shedd aquarium in march, the penguins toured the halls lighting up our lives and the internet. they got millions of views. surprising bridget coglin, shedd's president and ceo. >> i was getting emails from people i hadn't heard from in years. >> reporter: they said, we saw your penguins. >> exactly. not only did they say i saw your penguins but there was this sense of peace and gratitude that came across, thank you, i

needed this. i needed this mental recess. >> you know how so many of us are being asked to stay in? in chicago it means they could let the penguins out. >> reporter: they became a sensation. and wellington here, a star. whether enjoying the fish or seeing eye to eye with a beluga. their popularity exploded just as the country shut down. not a coincidence, says coglin. >> the pandemic for everyone has been omnipresent. yet for one minute, you look nature in the eye, whether it be a shark or a penguin or rescued sea otter, the pandemic fades away. >> all right. there is georgia -- >> reporter: the animal caregiver says the walks are nothing new. >> gives them great physical exercise. mental stimulation. >> reporter: the field trips went offsite to help publicize

the field museum where the penguins marveled at sue the t-rex, soldier field, and the museum of contemporary art. you're spreading the fame. >> yes. spreading the fame. spreading the love. definitely. >> reporter: the fame is real. "the chicago tribune" named wellington a chicagoan of the year, and they even landed a psa with illinois' governor. >> six feet apart, everyone. >> reporter: are these penguins part of chicago's recovery story? >> the penguins are part of the ambassadorship of chicago writ large. i think all organizations right now have one common mission which is the economic recovery and the social/emotional healing post pandemic. >> reporter: would you say that these penguins have really helped keep the aquarium afloat? >> the penguins have been an absolute beacon of light to showcase all the work the aquarium does. >> reporter: adriana diaz, cbs and that's the "overnight news" for this tuesday. for some of you, the news continues, for others check back later for "cbs this morning" and follow us online all the ime at

cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm catherine herridge. ♪ it's tuesday, it's tuesday, february 16th, 2021. this is "cbs morning news." ice, snow and freezing rain, a deadly winter storm is barreling through the u.s. how one state's power grid is crumbling under the cold. the race to vaccinate. why one doctor believes the next few months will be the worst of the pandemic. nursing home scandal. new york governor andrew cuomo addresses a growing coronavirus controversy. york governor andre addresses a well, good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green.