angry men shouting at us to leave. we have just been chased off away from where the mine is. these guys are proof that they are trying to control the people who go in and therefore, trying to control the information that comes out. what is the percentage chance covid is manmade? >> zero. we don't have enough knowledge to make a virus from all the known existing bat viruses. >> reporter: china's top secret wuhan center of virology of was the center of the thought that covid was created here. it was ground zero for the first known cases and scientists say the search should not be limited to one country. bats don't recognize borders and

neither do viruses. here, four southeast asia nations are less than 200 mile-s away. some b thai kingdom's capitol, bangkok, millions the flying mammals mesmerize tourists each sunset and they have attracted thailand's bat woman. since the pandemic hit, she and her team from the thai red cross have sampled thai bats for coronaviruss to determine how close they are. >> this one is 91% but it could not infect human cells. >> reporter: the people who collect bat dung tofeiz aoof, n has testedr

coronavirus bodies, what we don't know. how or where they jumped from bats to humans. >> it more likely looks like the -- >> reporter: earlier this year, delegates from the world health organization visited wuhan, and after allegations china tdid no give them full access to all the data. further complicating a mystery that could take years and even decades to solve. if ever at all. ramy inocencio, reporting. a baby boom the doctors predicted has turned out to be a major baby bust. cbs news obtained birth records from 27 states they show a 7% drop in births in december. that would be nine months after the first lockdowns began. researchers say it's part of a

long-term plunge in birth rates in the united states, the average number of babies delivered by an american woman has dropped from four in the 1950s to fewer than two today. tony dokoupil reports. >> it's far greater than we thought. >> reporter: in the 1960s and '70s, there was a baby boom. as the world stampeded toward 17 million people, some predicted that over population would break us. >> thesentrom reshers like usc professor dow myers who studies demographic trends. >> the trouble is, we over shot. dropped it down too much. >> it was predicted to have

peaked in 2064 and then fall by a billion people by the end of the century. the reason? fewer babies. here in the u.s., in fact, we are already below the so-called replacement level by some measures and that means fewer young people to support our otherwise aging population. >> that's a crisis, we need to have enough working age people to carry the load of the seniors who deserve their retirement. they deserve all of their entitlements and they are going to live out another 30 years. nobody in the history of the globe has had so many older people to deal with. and the pandemic is only making this problem worse. despite early jokes that more families staying home together might mean more babies. >> when we thought, oh, we would see a baby boom. we have not seen it. >> the doctor is chair of the department of gynocology and obstetrics, he said patients are worried about not only their

health but finances. you are hearing more people asking for contraception and fewer people saying we are thinking of trying? >> that is absolutely true. i get a report every morning at 5:15 of what happened in the last 24 hours and the first report is the number of deliveries in the last 24 hours, it's less than it used to be. >> reporter: the question is now, how low will it go? the brookings institution has predicted a large lasting baby with bust of 300,000 fewer children in 2021. we are on the precipice at the least of not having enough children to replace our population. >> and so, what? i mean -- >> well, that's the question. >> that's the question, right. >> reporter: laura lindburg tracks reproductive data, and she sees the baby bust, but sees it as a sign of progress, a sign of women's equality and freedom of choice. it's a shift later in life, in the shift comes more education, more career, more employment, so it's a reordering of how people

engage in adulthood. >> dow myers does not disagree, but in the bigger picture, he worries our declining birth rate is also a barometer of dispair. in 1978, when you were breaking in to the field, did you ever think, in your lifetime, you would be talking about a declining birth rate globally? >> no. >> so what changed? >> the burdens of life. the cost of housing. the cost of education. all these thing-s that have become more and more difficult. i think the boomers themselves don't realize how much harder it is for millennials today. and they think, oh, yeah, we were young. we had to live, you know, on very little money and we made due and you can do the same. it's the story. right? well, it really is harder for the young people today. it's amazing how much harder it is. >> that was tony

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>> matilda may be a break-out star, buttoday it's the location that is stealing the show. with postcard perfection, venice has long been a mecca for movies from 1950s classics, to indiana jones and the last crusade. and who could forget james bond's tricked on out gaundala in moonraker. filming here usually means contending with 10s of thousands of tourists, today, cut to covid, doesn't take steven spielberg to notice the potential. check this out, the tourists leave and the film makers show up. this is one of more than 200 films that has been started since the start of the pandemic. covid aside, what to do about flooding.

it's routinely hit by severe high tide, a massive hit to movie making. then a new flood prevention system began holding back the sea and now film makers do not need to panic. now the movies are saving the economy after covid devoured up to 90% of local revenue, says this man, the councilman who overseas film. tom cruise who just wrapped his latest mission impossible here is one of the many bringing his business here. like this luxurious hotel said the director. what would your hotel look likeif they were not shooting anything right now? >> like other hotels we would be closed completely. because i have to say that the most of the guests that we have in this time are connected to those productions. >> cut. >> reporter: productions including across the river and in to the trees, based on the

ernest hemmingway novel. today, she is stunned to see venice so empty. you are italian. what is venice normally like? >> it's crazy. super, super crowded. it was hard to walk. it's kind of sad but also nice and it's hopefully once in lifetime to see venice like this. it's magic and sad. with covid stalling productions in hollywood, venices could not be more attractive says is producer rod mcclain. >> i think it's easier to get something done here right now. they have been supportive of the film making process and allowed us to work throughout the whole period. which has been great. we have been fine, we are living in a bubble here. >> a bubble, he said, that conveniently resembles a movie set. now, more than ever. another thing that makes it easy to film here, the price tag.

the producer of the hemingway movie said that the city was so happy to have their filming here, they

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in whatever way is perfect for you. explore floor and decor's newest east bay area location march 18th. for many seniors the past year of lockdowns and stay at home orders has been the lon loneliest times. >> at st. john the baptist school, the fourth graders were writing letters. >> dearest friend, thank you very much. >> reporter: she is ten, and her penpal is 94. what's the best part of having a 94-year-old penpal? >> making her happy, she is very nice. >> reporter: grading teacher judy jenkins came up with the idea. >> wouldn't it be cool to have a bond develop between an elderly person and a child? >> that's exactly what happened

for joanne barron, who lives at brookgrove retirement village and craves the human contact missing in the pandemic. >> if you can't communicate, it's an isolation factor and it's very lonesome. >> thank you for the last letter. >> her penpal has become her friend. >> what i like about having the penpal, i can learn new things about her. >> reporter: new friendships learned the old fashion way, by handwritten words. words are power, words can heal, words can influence, words can inspire. >> and they can brighten the world of penpals of any age. >> the lost art of writing letters. the cbs overnight news will be back in two minutes.

and that's the "overnight news," for the tuesday, for some of you the news continues and for others check back later for cbs this morning and follow us online at any time at cbs news.com. reporting from the nation's capitol, i'm chip reid.

. ♪ it's tuesday, march 9th, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." post-pandemic life. the cdc gives hope to a mask-weary nation, as fully vaccinated americans can return to a small sense of normalcy. trial delay, jury selection gets pushed back for the ex-cop accused of killing george floyd. why it could be weeks before jurors are selected. border crisi the stgering number of migrant children who crossed into the u.s. under the benmira good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with a shot of optimism.