it's wednesday, december it's wednesday, december 8th, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." fighting omicron. a new study is giving a first look at how the covid variant fares against the pfizer vaccine. high stakes meeting. president biden goes face to face with vladimir putin. his stern warning as russia stages troops on the border of ukraine. billionaire blastoff. a japanese fashion tycoon is launching into space overnight. his bigger galactic mission taking place two years from now. well, good morning, and good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with the coronavirus

pandemic as the u.s. closes in on 50 million cases. this morning a new study is shedding more light on the omicron variant. early results show the pfizer vaccine offers some protection, but it's not 100% effective. scientists call the results worrisome, but no cause for panic. laura podesta is in new york with the latest. >> reporter: the south african study had a small sample size and scientists put it together fast to understand omicron's threat. its results showed omicron has the ability to break through, but if a vaccinated person comes down with it, their symptoms are likely going to be less severe than if they'd contracted the delta variant. concern over the omicron variant is driving americans to get vaccinated against covid-19. 12.5 million people got a shot in the past week, the most since may. >> we also have a lot of vacations planned, going to italy, to hawaii. it's like why not? extra layer of protection. >> reporter: an early study out

of south africa shows omicron's ability to evade the pfizer vaccine is robust but not complete, bubut it a booster sh could help stop infection. >> it appears that with the cases that are seen we are not seeing a very severe profile of disease. in fact, it might be, and i underscore might, be less severe. >> reporter: officials say americans should be more concerned with the delta variant now. cases are rising in 33 states. >> all of our hospitals are critically strained. >> reporter: more than 95% of wisconsin's icu beds are in use. the hospital president says most patients have one thing in common -- >> unfortunately the vast majority of our covid-19 admissions are patients that are unvaccinated and could have prevented their need for care if they had taken action earlier during the pandemic. >> reporter: pfizer's ceo sold a "wall street journal" conference the company could have a vaccine for omicron by march if one is needed.

pfizer's ceo said they'll know in a few weeks if di vaccine is necessary, but that sticking with the current shot is preferable. anne-marie? >> that sounds good. laura podesta in new york. thank you so much, laura. now to the january 6th capitol attack. the leaders of the house committee investigating the attack are threatening to hold mark meadows in contempt of congress. the former white house chief of staff reversed course and said he will not cooperate with the panel. meadows had agreed to appear at a deposition today. his lawyer said the panel is not respecting boundaries concerning questions former president trump has claimed are off limits due to executive privilege. committee leaders blasted meadows' aboutface. and a suspect is under arrest in the killing of "washington post" columnist jamal khashoggi. a french official said the saudi national was arrested near paris as he attempted to board a flight to riyadh. he is accused of being part of the team that murdered khashoggi.

khashoggi, who wrote critical articles of the saudi crown prince, was killed in 2018 at the saudi consulate in istanbul. the saudi government admitted to the murder under intense international pressure. for more than two hours, president biden met virtually with russian president vladimir putin. mr. biden threatened economic sanctions yesterday if russia invades ukraine, but there are signs the kremlin may not be backing down. nancy cordes reports from the white house. hello -- >> greetings. >> good to see you again. >> reporter: it was a rare two-hour face to face with an urgent agenda -- to talk russia out of invading a u.s. ally. national security adviser jake sullivan was with president biden for the call. >> he told president putin directly that if russia further invades ukraine, the united states and our european allies would respond with strong economic measures.

>> reporter: this is what has the white house concerned -- close to 100,000 russian troops now amassed at the ukrainian border. ukraine, a large former soviet republic, wants to join the u.s. and most of europe in the north atlantic treaty organization. in a statement the kremlin argued it is nato that is making dangerous attempts to expand into the ukrainian territory. putin is calling for legally fixed guarantees excluding the expansion of nato in the eastern direction. president biden said no. >> president biden made that point crystal clear to president putin today that the issue of who joins nato is an issue for nato to decide. >> reporter: testifying on capitol hill, under secretary of state newland warned the ukrainians themselves may rise up if russia attacks. >> i think the russians will have a very big fight on their hands, that there will be severe casualties for them.

>> reporter: what was putin's demeanor over the course of the two hours? did he signal any willingness to back down? >> i would say that his demeanor, like president biden's demeanor, was direct and straightforward. president putin was deeply engaged, and i'm going to leave it at that in terms of trying to characterize where he is. >> reporter: among the other threats president biden made in that call, he said that the u.s. might send more troops to eastern europe, and he told putin that any russian aggression could spell doom for the nord stream two gas pipeline which runs from russia to germany, a project crucial to russian leaders. nancy cordes, cbs news, the white house. closing arguments are expected to begin today in jesse smollett's trial in chicago. the former "empire" actor finished his second day of testimony. he again denied staging a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in january of 2019.

he said the brothers that were saying they were paid by him to carry out the assault are lying. he faces up to three years behind bars if convicted. this morning, about 1,400 kellogg's workers remain on strike. the union employees at the company's four u.s. cereal plants rejected a deal that would have provided 3% raises. workers have been on strike for more than two months now. the president of the union says they want to keep fighting corporate greed. kellogg's says that it will now move forward with plans to start hiring permanent replacements for the striking workers. and coming up, space tourism. a japanese billionaire blasts to the international space station overnight. his more ambitious trip already scheduled for 2023. and what would you like -- would you like fries with that, i should say. actor chevy chase takes on a new role at a fast food restaurant. >> this is the "cbs morning news."

nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette why give your family just ordinary eggs when they can enjoy the best? eggland's best. the only eggs with more fresh and delicious taste. plus, superior nutrition. which is now more important than ever. ♪♪ do i need to pretreat my laundry? nope! with tide pods, you don't need to worry. than ever. the pre-treaters are built in. tide pods dissolve even when the water is freezing. nice! if it's got to be clean, it's got to be tide. one role of a lifetime...one sore throat. but she had enough. she took new mucinex instasoothe sore throat lozenges. show your sore throat who's boss. new mucinex instasoothe.

works in seconds, lasts for hours. is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis, stelara® can provide relief, and is the first approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. janssen can help you explore

cost support options. for the first time the ceo of instagram will testify on capitol hill. adam losari is set to appear before a senate panel today that's investigating the negative impacts of instagram on young users. it comes after leaked internal documents revealed the photo-sharing app was aware that the platform may cause depression and anxiety among children, especially teenage girls. yesterday, instagram unveiled new measures aimed at protecting teens from harmful content. the latest space tourist blasts off this morning, and why scott peterson will be back in court. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." cbs san francisco reports convicted murderer scott peterson will return to a california courtroom today to be resentenced. in 2004 peterson was found guilty of killing his pregnant wife lacey and their unborn son. he was sentenced to death. last year the california supreme

court overturned the death sentence saying some jurors were improperly dismissed from a jury pool. >> the california supreme court said there was sufficient evidence of his guilt, so they weren't concerned about whether or not there is any issue with the guilty verdict. their concern was with the sentencing. >> peterson is expected to be sentenced to life without parole today. he's due back in court early next year for a hearing to determine if he should get a new trial based on a claim of juror misconduct. the "associated press" says there's a threat of more flooding in parts of hawaii after a slow-moving powerful storm drenched the islands with heavy rain. the storm caused havoc across hawaii for several days, swamping dozens of homes, sending creeks and streams surging, and knocking out power to more than 40,000 people. the honolulu fire department said it responded to nearly 100 storm-related incidents within 24 hours. the governor issued a state of emergency for all of hawaii's islands.

and "reuters" says a japanese billionaire blasted off this morning from kazakhstan on a mission to the international space station. yusaku maezawa and his assistant who is filming the mission were joined by a russian cosmonaut on board the soyuz spacecraft. the two tourists will spend 12 days in space and will be the first self-paying tourists since 2009. maezawa has booked a trip on spacex with a mission to fly around the moon in 2023. still to come, an oreo cookie snack for adults only. a new red wine that's blended with flavors of the iconic sandwich cookie.

he here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪

fire crews overnight rushed to put out a burning christmas tree located outside of the fox news building in new york city. the thick black smoke and flames were spotted shortly after midnight. police say they arrested a man in connection with the incident. a motive has not been released. on the cbs "money watch" now, an update on amazon's cloud outage, and a new wine that pairs with oreo cookies. naomi ruchim is at the new york stock exchange with those stories and more. good morning. >> reporter: anne-marie, good morning to you. stock futures are indicating a higher open after a strong day during the regular session. investors were able to overlook concerns about the omicron variant and a potential policy pivot by the federal reserve. the dow rallied 492 points. the nasdaq gained 461, posting its best day since march. and the s&p 500 gained 95. most of amazon's cloud service network is back up and running after a major outage

disrupting popular sites. netflix was among the major web-based services affected. people also trying to use venmo, roku, and disney-plus reported issues. the outage mainly impacted people in the eastern u.s. including some banks. yesterday amazon said the root cause had been identified, and it was working toward recovery. it did not exactly say what prompted the outage. facebook's parent company says it will allow employees to delay their return to the office. meta platforms says it plans to fully reopen offices across the nation in january, but the company's new office deferral program could enable some workers to come back as late as june. it's designed to give employees flexibility in returning to the office and determining how they work. the company previously offered most of its employees the option to work remotely full time. oreos and milk make a good combination. what about oreos and wine?

oreo thins and barefoot wine are teaming up for a small batch release. company officials say the red blend will include -- get this -- and cream, along with notes of oak. it will be on sale starting tomorrow while supplies last. anne-marie, the price tag, about $25. i feel like wine and cookies independently are very good. i would have to try this, and i will report back. >> well, you know, do your research. you are a serious journalist, and i expect a full report. >> yeah. >> if you can get your hands on it. i bet it will sell out quickly. >> true. >> right? naomi ruchim at the new york stock exchange. thank you so much. up next, clark griswald works the drive-through? actor chevy chase surprises some fast food customers when he decides to lend a hand at a raising cane's. decides to lend a hand at a

raising cane's. pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. and now get relief without a pill with tylenol dissolve packs. relief without the water. today we're kicking off breakfast with heart-healthy quaker oats! -good call! -good call! real good call! brees, pass the oats! apples and cinnamon! still got it, baby! hey, wait for the bus! [whistle] unacceptable, bus! what i do? illegal use of window! he gets fomo, fear of missing oats. penalty reversed! the result of the play is... breakfast. quaker oats, a super trusted super food.

always a good call. there are many reasons for waiting to visit your doctor right now. but if you're experiencing irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue or light-headedness, don't wait to contact your doctor. because these symptoms could be signs of a serious condition like atrial fibrillation. which could make you about five times more likely to have a stroke. your symptoms could mean something serious, so this is no time to wait. talk to a doctor, by phone, online, or in-person.

here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ the 2021 people's choice awards were handed out last night. ♪ when i die i wanna come back

as a country boy ♪ ♪ no there ain't no better life if you ask me ♪ >> that's singer blake shelton performing "come back as a country boy" before accepting the award for country artist of the year. actor dwayne johnson of presented with the people's champion award by amazon founder jeff bezos. johnson then invited the people's choice make-a-wish recipient to the stage for a special moment. >> i want to give you this. [ cheers ] because you represent everything that it means to be a people's champion. so this is for you. >> thank you to make-a-wish in general. i just never expected that something this big could happen. [ applause ] yeah, thank you so much to you and to make-a-wish. >> one of the night's biggest

winners was the boy band bts. they won three people's choice awards, group of the year, as well as song and music video of 2021 for their smash "butter." customers at a south carolina fast food restaurant were doing double-takes when chevy chase jumped behind the counter. chase was in charleston last week for a special screening of the holiday classic "national lampoon's christmas vacation." he stopped by a raising cane's chicken restaurant to grab food before putting on a santa hat and surprising customers. and a pro hockey player had some fun with a young fan before start of last night's game. detroit red wings defenseman danny dekiser played a game of rock, paper, scissors with a boy in the stands. he lost and handed over one of his hockey sticks to the fan. that's not all he lost. the red wings were also beaten by the nashville predators. coming up on "cbs mornings,"

michael j. fox talks about his book "no time like the future." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. talks ab you get advice like: book "no time like the future." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." ! run a marathon. instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette. motrin works fast to stop pain where it starts. like those nagging headaches. uncomfortable period pains. and disruptive muscle aches. you can count on fast, effective relief with motrin. feeling sluggish or weighed down? you can count on fast, it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at it's best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and morelows sugar absorption ts energetic

cil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day.

our top stories this morning -- a new study suggests the pfizer vaccine may offer less protection against the omicron variant. but scientists say booster shots could help prevent people from getting infected. health officials say people should be more concerned about the delta variant right now. and president biden met virtually with russian president vladimir putin for more than two hours yesterday. mr. biden threatened economic sanctions if russia invades ukraine. the kremlin argues that nato is making dangerous attempts to expand into the ukrainian territory. food insecurity continues to be a problem for military families nationwide. federal help is now on the way. mark strassmann reports.

i make sure my kids have food on the table. >> reporter: navy wife abigail kids are too young to know why they're going to a food giveaway. >> we go to events like these so they help build our stock for when times are rough. >> reporter: near norfolk air station oceania, you're looking at an american shame. families who can't feed themselves. the military family advisory network, a nonprofit, gave each family frozen chicken and produce, 60 pounds worth. >> our kids would eat cheerios some days because that is all we had. >> reporter: feeding america estimates 160,000 military families fight hunger. >> thank you for your service -- >> reporter: especially vulnerable, junior enlisted ranks. almost 30% of them need help. >> how can they focus on the mission when your family can't even survive? >> reporter: we first spotlighted the u.s. military's food insecurity in february. along the causes -- low wages, frequent moves, high unemployment among military

spouses, and a stigma seemingly born of denial. >> i would never go to my husband's command ever. >> reporter: that's changing slowly. for the first time, the department of defense just commissioned a 90-day battle plan, identify hungry military families, connect them with help. >> our men and women in uniform and their families have enough to worry about. basic necessities like food and housing shouldn't be among them. >> reporter: kennedy is skeptical. >> how long do you think that will take to trickle down to service members and families? i would be very, very surprised if we see anything within the next year. >> reporter: this giveaway fed 680 families. most will need help again. you can only live so long on resilience. >> happy holidays! >> reporter: mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. coming up on "cbs mornings,"

year-end money-saving tips. jill schlesinger reveals what you can do in the next few weeks to save money on taxes next spring. plus, michael j. fox talks with nate burleson about his latest book "no time like the future." and the washington ballet's "nutcracker" is back. vlad duthiers talks with some of the performers. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. ♪