this is a direct quote, it had saved christmas, meaning fears of empty or nearly empty store shelves simply haven't materialized. president biden said store shelves are at 90% capacity and he said americans should have no trouble finding whatever they need for the holidays. yet inflation persists and the omicron variant at some level is stalking the u.s. economy. so the administration said today it was giving some 40 million borrowers a bit of a break, extending for 90 days a long-running pause in student loan repayments. that pause, jamie, will now continue until may 1st. >> major, i also want to ask you about an update tonight on the president's scare with covid last week. what can you tell us? >> reporter: we have two important negative tests at the top of this administration. president biden tested negative today, as did vice president harris. this is important because on friday president biden was in the presence of an aide who later tested positive and on tuesday vice president harris was in the presence of someone who later tested positive. their negative tests, though, have reassured everyone here at the white house. jamie? >> that's good news. major, thank you. the congressional

investigation into the deadly assault on the u.s. capitol is entering a new phase, with lawmakers now looking to question fellow members of congress. we learned today the committee wants to speak with republican jim jordan of ohio about his communications with president trump on january 6th and the efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election. tonight a u.s. congresswoman is a victim of the surging crime that's being seen in so many cities. representative mary gay scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint by two men at fdr park in philadelphia. she was not hurt. the robbers, though, took off with her 2017 acura, her personal and government cell phones, her purse, and i.d. philadelphia has recorded more than 500 homicides this year. tonight, still no verdict in the trial of the former minnesota police officer who shot and killed a young black ma after reaching for her gun instead of her taser. we get the latest from david schuman of our cbs minneapolis station wcco. >> reporter: the jury in the

trial of ex-cop kim potter pushed through a third day of deliberations after indicating last night it could be deadlocked. potter's charged with two counts of manslaughter in the shooting death of 20-year-old daunte wright. the former minnesota police officer claims she mistakenly fired her gun thinking it was her taser during a traffic stop in april. >> [ bleep ]. i just shot him. i grabbed the wrong gun. i shot him! oh, my god! >> reporter: the prosecution argued potter, a 26-year veteran, acted recklessly when she killed wright. >> this was no little oopsy. this was a colossal screw-up. a blunder of epic proportions. >> reporter: on the stand last week potter broke down when asked why she didn't help wright after the shooting. >> you didn't run down the

street and try to save daunte wright's life, did you? >> no. >> you were focused on what you had done because you had just killed somebody. >> i'm sorry it happened. >> reporter: the jury has asked the judge what they should do if they're unable to agree on a vertical. verdict. legal analyst joe tambourino says if there is a mistrial potter could be tried again. >> now, that new trial would not happen next month. there could be a whole host of motions and things that would happen from now till then. bt she could be tried again. >> reporter: tamburino says the judge will only declare a mistrial if the jury says it cannot reach an agreement even with more time. deliberations are coming up now on 24 total hours. jamie? >> david, thank you. there's a lot more news ahead on the "cbs overnight news."

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should not be present unless a woman is lactating. >> once we've established that we can produce an immune response, we want to rapidly move it earlier to the disease process, again, to the prevention setting where we think it will have an even greater impact. >> reporter: dr. vince touhy and dr. thomas budd are leading a trial still in the early stages. if successful, the vaccine would be given to young healthy women at higher risk for triple negative breast cancer. how is this different from anything that we've seen before? >> it's prophylactic. we need a 21st century vaccine program to develop immune defenses and -- primary immune defenses against diseases we confront with age. >> reporter: these types of studies offer hope to women touched by cancer. when did that diagnosis happen for you? >> i was 35 years old. >> reporter: kristi blair was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer just four years after her own mother died from the disease. >> my mom was fighting it, and

that was our daily life, and my aunt was diagnosed. of course i was diagnosed later. so it's part of our family now. >> no hot flashes. >> reporter: after her diagnosis she participated in a vaccine trial at the university of washington. blair hopes that her four daughters will benefit from advances in science like these. >> it's an jibl hope. you are participating in advancing the research that does ultimately affect patients in the future, and if not right now. >> reporter: a medical achievement unimaginable 50 years ago, now a possibility. dr. tara narula, cbs news, new york. >> incredible. still ahead, a young afghan girl missing in texas. the latest on that search. google is dethroned as the wrld's most popular website. and what is inside a 134-year-old time capsule?

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has stepped up and i hope other people do too. and if we all pitch together and band together, hopefully we'll find her soon. >> the girl and her family are refugees from afghanistan who came to the u.s. two years ago. if you watched a tiktok video this year, you helped the viral video website become the most popular on the planet. according to the tech security company cloudfare tiktok jumped from seventh place last year to number one in 2021, even topping the search giant google. in september alone tiktok had 1 billion active users. in virginia today workers carefully opened a 134-year-old time capsule found last week in the base of a statue of robert e. lee. the container, made of lead, held an 1875 almanac, two other books, and a silver coin. old newspaper articles suggested it might contain a rare photo of

abraham lincoln in his grave, but that didn't turn up. up next, instead of snacks or soda, these ending machine

tonight, we have the story of an elementary school in harlem where reading, writing and arithmetic are not the only subjects on the curriculum. cbs's meg oliver reports. >> good morning. i need abigail and amelia. >> reporter: at mosaic prep elementary in harlem, new york -- >> you ready? >> yeah. >> beautiful. let's go. >> reporter: getting pulled out of class is a good thing. 5-year-old king ortiz knows he has earned something special. what did you do so you could earn those coupons? >> so i learned being nice. >> reporter: being nice here is rewarded. >> excellent. your turn. >> reporter: 25 coupons scores you a shiny token for the vending machine. no chips or candy. only books fall.

>> what book do you like? roblox? >> reporter: why did you want a book vending machine? >> during the pandemic i noticed that they were leading less and less online. >> reporter: principal lizette cesar. >> i saw in kansas and texas they had a book vending machine. i said you know what? i'm going to get that for my school. so i started writing letters and begging people to support. >> reporter: when the vending machine arrived, what happened? >> so the vending machine arrived, and it couldn't get through the door. >> reporter: the determined principal dug into her own pocket to retrofit the machine. 95% of students here are low income. a third live in shelters. >> i just really believe in making sure all my scholars have books at home. >> reporter: how does it make you feel when you read a book? >> excited. >> reporter: what do you want to say to your principal? >> thank you. >> reporter: meg oliver, cbs news, new york. >> and that's the overnight news for this thursday. for some of you the news continues. for others check back later for "cbs mornings" and follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm jamie yuccas.

this is cbs news flash. i'm bradley blackburn in new york. the u.s. supreme court will hold a rare special session in january for two cases about covid-19. one challenges the biden administration's vaccine mandate for large employers. the other focuses on a mandate for health care workers. president biden is saying again that he will run for re-election in 2024, this time adding he'll do so if he's in good health, which he he says he is right now. mr. biden also says he'll be more likely to run if former president trump is the republican nominee. and the u.s. navy has a new program for sailors who are expecting. a pilot program will hand out maternity uniforms to pregnant sailors starting next year. usually pregnant military members have to purchase

maternity uniforms themselves. for more news download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm bradley blackburn, cbs news, new york. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." good evening and thank you for joining us. i'm jamie yuccas in for norah o'donnell. we begin tonight with a major milestone in the fight against covid. the fda has authorized the first anti-viral pill to treat the virus. though the white house warns it will not be widely available for months. the milestone comes as u.s. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising. and now health officials are warning of a possible tsunami of new infections from the omicron variant that could overwhelm hospitals. the variant has been found in

all 50 states as well as washington, d.c. and puerto rico. and think about this. it has only been 22 days since the first case of omicron was detected in the u.s. covid has shut down professional sporting events, broadway shows, and concert venues. now a major college bowl game is in jeopardy following an outbreak among players. all this as millions of americans crowd airports and plan christmas gatherings, which could cause the next big surge. we have lots to get to tonight. and cbs's nancy chen starts us off in new york city. good evening, nancy. >> reporter: jamie, good evening to you. here in new york average daily new covid cases are up nearly 500% in just three weeks. the demand for testing is so great that city m.d., a major health care provider here, has temporarily closed nearly 20 locations because of staffing issues. pfizer's covid pill is the first at-home treatment for coronavirus, and it's a promising one.

it's aimed for those who are at risk and shown to be nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths if taken within five days of experiencing symptoms. >> as quickly as pfizer gets the pills manufactured and delivered, we will immediately provide them to states and jurisdictions for distribution. >> reporter: but there are also snags as two of the most common monoclonal antibody treatments that doctors have depended on are unlikely to be effective against omicron. israel is now trying to get ahead of the omicron surge by approving a fourth vaccine dose for those over 60. but even as the biden administration promises to send out 500 million at-home testing kits it's not soon enough. with walmart and amazon limiting the amount people can buy. there were long lines today outside libraries in the nation's capital for take-home tests. washington, d.c. is also implementing proof of vaccination requirements for indoor venues like restaurants and bars. california is mandating boosters

for all health care workers. this as the omicron variant continues to rise exponentially. the dramatic increase of omicron in just the past week is seen here. not only taking over as the dominant strain but creating a surge engulfing the entire northeast, midwest and much of the southwest. it's also leading t me holiday chaos. florida's gator bowl is the first major new year's bowl game in jeopardy as texas a&m dropped out because of a covid outbreak. still up in the air, new york city's ball drop. >> i want to encourage everybody to be smart. this is an outdoor event. it is something that i don't see a reason why it couldn't go on. >> can you take a deep breath for me? >> for those on the front lines new dread. what is the fear of what could happen? >> it's really the unknown. we are in a perfect storm. >> reporter: mary ellen kochis-rouillard is the chief nursing officer at michigan's

beaumont dearborn hospital where the icu's capacity remains at 98% and the u.s. military has deployed a team to help with staffing. >> to be here now it really gets us down. i think if we can get more people vaccinated and with their boosters that that will help us get through this surge as well as any future surges that come. >> reporter: and the first federal covid emergency testing site opened today in new york city. meanwhile, some good news from overseas. in south africa where the variant was first detected about a month ago, cases are now starting to drop very quickly. but jamie, it's still too soon to tell if that will happen here. >> we hope it does. nancy, thank you. despite the surge in covid cases, more than 100 million americans are hitting the roads and crowding airports at near pre-pandemic levels. cbs's mark strassmann reports from a busy hartsfield jackson international airport in atlanta. >> reporter: bundling up with ppe for the holidays. it's beginning to look a lot like our first covid christmas. everywhere you go.

>> i'm wearing two masks because even though i'm vaccinated that doesn't mean that i can't get covid. >> reporter: an estimated 110 million people will travel this holiday season. nearly 30 million more than last year's season. aaa says traveling's almost at 2019 pre-pandemic levels. >> without a doubt people have more confidence with the vaccines and the boosters. >> reporter: 6 million will fly. many of them skittish, packing their omicron trepidation with their toiletries. >> we also have hepa filters on our airplane, which really keep the air quality a high quality. they're emergency room equivalent. >> reporter: maybe so. but the airline's top medical adviser warns with omicron's high transmissibility airline passengers are two, even three times more likely to catch the virus than with delta. but overall, the plane's cabin remains a low risk environment. long lines of covid test takers include the holidays hosting

families. >> family coming in from california. we're all vaccinated, but we just want to be double safe. ive.eporter: most travelers,le 0 mi gas prices a gallon. more than a dollar above last year. the highest holiday price atpum. despite paying up to gas up. and whatever the viral risk. one theory for this surge in holiday travel -- >> people being cooped up for a year and a half. they need to see family and friends. >> reporter: atlanta's airport, america's busiest, will process thousands of passengers heading to the most popular holiday destinations. theme parks, vegas, hawaii. it's also one of five u.s. airports that for international travelers will offer on-site optional covid testing as soon as they land in this country. jamie? >> good plan there. mark, thank you. the congressional investigation into the deadly assault on the u.s. capitol is entering a new phase with

lawmakers now looking to question fellow members of congress. we learned today the commitment wants to speak with republican jim jordan of ohio about his communications with president trump on january 6th and the efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election. tonight a u.s. congresswoman is a victim of the surging crime that's being seen in so many cities. representative mary gay scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint by two men at fdr park in philadelphia. she was not hurt. the robbers, though, took off with her 2017 acura, her personal and government cell phones, her purse and i.d. philadelphia has recorded more than 500 homicides this year. the "cbs overnight ne"

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♪ >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." i'm christina ruffini in washington. thanks for staying with us. there are now just two shopping days until christmas. and if you haven't finished your holiday shopping, well, you might be out of luck. and you're not alone. one poll found americans are planning to spend just under $900 on christmas gifts this year, but only a third say they got an early start on that shopping. that will be driving a lot of people into the malls today and tomorrow. janet shamlian braved the crowds for this report. >> reporter: many last-minute shoppers are now hearing these words. "out of stock." >> there's a lot of us

explaining to people that you know, we don't have a lot of what they might be looking for. >> reporter: this is houston's fundamentally toys. where supply chain issues mean many of manager cliff moss's orders never arrived. >> there's a lot of things that we're expecting, that were expected two months ago. we get e-mails daily about, you know, sorry, it's still in the water. >> reporter: despite the backlog the national retail federation expects record growth. predicting an 11% increase in holiday sales this year. all in the face of the omicron variant. >> does the national retail federation not believe that the new variant will have an impact on these last few days? >> there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the new variant. it's impacting different parts of the country in different ways. >> reporter: with many online retailers now unable to deliver in time for christmas -- >> happy holidays. thank you. >> reporter: -- shoppers are looking to physical stores, even as omicron surges.

>> they're really involved with the holiday season and not thinking about the pandemic so much anymore. >> reporter: for those hoping to get it all done before christmas, long lines and the fingers crossed attitude. >> right now i'm at usps and they really helped me get my last-minute shopping sent out. i'm praying, keeping my hopes up, keeping the holiday spirit alive. >> that was janet shamlian reporting. supply chain problems have kept a lot of products off the store shelves this holiday season. much of that is linked to a backlog at the nation's ports. well, one of the busiest ports in the nation, savannah, georgia, has come up with a partial solution. they've been sending shipping containers inland to help clear out the docks. kris van cleave dcued t tnsport secretary p eporuleyner furniture business is feeling the pinch of sflie chain delays. his savannah, georgia warehouse has about half its usual inventory. so if i said i want this sofa

today, when could i actually have it in my house? >> i would actually give you this sofa today. but if you wanted one special ordered in a different color or whatever it was, i'd have to tell you at least six months. >> six months. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: that sofa is made in dallas but has components from china. >> where you had a seamless timeline before and something that was predictable is now unpredictable. >> reporter: as your costs go up, what you charge your customers goes up. >> absolutely. i have to if i'm going to stay in business. >> reporter: joyner thinks the kinks in his supply chain would be worse if he wasn't a 15-minute drive from one of the nation's largest ports. how out of whack is the supply chain right now? >> what we're dealing with is completely unprecedented. we're still catching up as a nation to what happened a year and a half ago when asia shut down. >> reporter: give lynch is the executive director of georgia ports, which runs the port of savannah. >> what really has to happen is we've got to grow all of the pipeline. that's going to take a long time to fix. en are working 24 tough year agi

hours a day to clear a backlog of shipping containers. in mid october the port had 31 ships waiting offshore. that's down to 6. at its peak containers were sit heer ing here for nearly two weeks. it's down to seven days, but that's still 75% longer than normal. the port set up to what amounts to four inland pop-up ports like this one. they were unused rail yards that expanded the port's container capacity by 10% while putting cargo closer to retailers. for trucks delivering to home depot in atlanta a round trip becomes 70 miles instead of 440. >> at the end of the day we're all dealing with a parking lot. and when the parking lot is full it's full. so the race for us is to keep the parking lot as empty as possible and keep the cars moving out. >> reporter: but keeping things moving isn't easy right now. the nation is dealing with a shortage of truck drivers. the chassises that transport cargo containers are in short supply and a lack of sufficient warehouse space. >> do you feel like you're

playing whack-a-mole? >> sometimes it can feel that way when we're trying to solve theen administration is enpe ov studying whether similar pop-up ports could help ease congestion elsewhere. >> at the end of the day for folks who want to know when these most severe disruptions end the answer is simple. they end when the pandemic ends. >> reporter: until then the port of savannah is expanding adding more ships for ships and scargo. >> knowing there's a shortage of truck drivers the savannah port focused on expanding its rail services. these containers are all loaded on rail cars that are going to head to big cities like charlotte, atlanta, chicago, dallas, that's one step closer to getting products on store shelves. for rule joyner getting products back on the shelves will mean furniture sitting in people's homes, not his warehouse, delivered without further delay. i'm kris van cleave in savannah, georgia.

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opera legend christina diaz was recently named a kennedy center honoree. one of five artists honored this year for their contributions to american culture. over more than 60-year career his remarkable bass baritone voice has taken diaz to the stages of the world's greatest opera houses. vlad duty yooer traveled to puerto rico and spoke to diaz at the school where it first began. >> reporter: do you remember your first day of school? >> i remember my first year of school. it was third grade. >> reporter: take operate rate justino diaz back to his old school in san juan, puerto rico and the memories come alive. it was here in the small chapel of the robinson school where diaz as a young student first sang in front of an audience. >> and i remember it was the most natural thing in the world to stand here and -- ♪ gone are the days when my

heart was young and gay ♪ ♪ >> reporter: from that voice of a young boy developed the booming bass baritone of one of opera's most celebrated stars. >> i took to it like a fish takes to water. >> reporter: from the moment you sang in the chapel to -- >> you don't become an opera singer. >> you don't become an opera singer. >> no, no, no. every human being does two things before they can realize what they're doing. they dance. they react to music in their mother's arms. and then the mother sings. ♪ la da dee ♪ ♪ da, da dee dee dee dee dee ♪ the first thing you hear in your life, remember, is a song. music, art. let it make you cry.

let it make you laugh. let it make you think. let it make you love. ♪ >> reporter: diaz, who says he was born to entertain, is best known for playing escamillo in bizet's "carmen." his role was in verd cy's rigoletto. ♪ and as iago in "otello," the operatic adaptation of shakespeare. ♪ along with his powerful voice he brings his gifts as an actor to every role. >> there are some singers unfortunately, in opera it happens also, they sing everything with the same color voice. ♪ i love you ♪ ♪ i hate you ♪

>> it's boring. >> you said the word. you took it right out of my mouth. two sins in music, in opera as a singer. never sing out of tune. and never bore your audience. >> so how would you emote those very different sentiments? >> well, it depends on the notes. i hate you, it's inside and -- ♪ i hate you ♪ or -- and usually love is in the higher tone. ♪ i love you ♪ ♪ da, da, da, da dee ♪ ♪ i love you ♪ ♪ dee da da ♪ ♪ i love paris in the springtime ♪

♪ >> reporter: diaz has been an important part of opera history. he played opposite liatine price in antony and cleopatra when new york's metropolitan opera opened its permanent home at lincoln center in 1966. >> all of the ghosts that were in the old met they moved to the new theater. >> they do? >> oh, yes. from 39th street to lincoln center. they moved. >> reporter: now diaz joins a small handful of opera singers honored by the kennedy center. joining modern giants beverly sills, liatine price and luciano pavarotti among others. >> opera is the greatest form of entertainment. >> you believe that? >> oh, yes. 100%. ♪ you have to give it a chance. it's not easy. just give it a chance. you'll learn. and you will learn to appreciate

it, and it will change your -- your being forever. it will change you. ♪ >> what would you want your legacy to be? >> oh, i don't think about that. >> you don't think about legacy? >> legacy -- no. i just hope that you liked what i did and got something out of it. i hope it inspired other people. it doesn't matter one iota what you do. just do it with care. do it with love. and give your all. ♪ i hear those gentle voices calling ♪ ♪ old black joe ♪ >> that was vladimir duthiers

reporting. the "overnight noews" is back i two minutes. 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.

supply chain issues and bad weather this year have christmas trees in short supply. whether you were looking for a real tree or an artificial one. well, there's another option. roxana saberi has a story from england. >> reporter: at primrose farm in england this christmas tree has waited all year -- >> looking good. >> reporter: -- to reunite with dee campling. for the second year in a row the interior designer is renting the living potted tree for around $60. why did you want to get a rental christmas tree? >> every year i hate seeing the used christmas trees left on the side of the road. people just jump them. it seems that renting a tree is the most environmentally

friendly way of celebrating christmas. >> reporter: environmentalists say a chopped tree can leave a heavy carbon footprint unless it's recycled and that plastic trees can be even worse. that's one reason rental trees are a growing trend in the uk. manager paul keen says nearly all of his farm's 1,000 firs and spruces for rent were reserved long before christmas. >> i think people love the idea of keeping a tree alive, of not killing it for christmas. >> reporter: after christmas the rental trees will be brought back here. they'll be replanted in these pots in the ground, where they'll live to see another christmas. that's what campling plans to do, decking her halls year after year with the same tree. roxana saberi, cbs news, gloucestershire, england. >> and that's the overnight news for thursday. for some of you the news continues. for others check back later for "cbs mornings." and follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm christina ruffini.

this is "cbs news flash." i'm bradley blackburn in new york. the u.s. supreme court will hold a rare special session in january for two cases about covid-19. one challenges the biden administration's vaccine mandate for large employers. the other focuses on a mandate for health care workers. president biden is saying again that he will run for re-election in 2024, this time adding he'll do so if he's in good health, whichch he says hes mr. biden also says he'll be more likely to run if former president trump is the republican nominee. and the u.s. navy has a new program for sailors who are expecting. a pilot program had hand out maternity uniforms to pregnant sailors starting next year. usually pregnant military members have to purchase

maternity uniforms themselves. for more news download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm bradley blackburn, cbs news, new york. it's thursday, december 23rd, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." omicron surge. americans rush to get tested for covid ahead of christmas. the worst could be yet to come. when we might see a peak in new infections. four more years -- president biden reveals what it will take for a second white house term. missing 3-year-old girl. the mystery surrounding a young child who seemingly vanished from her apartment playground. good morning, i'm wendy gillette in for anne-marie green. with just to days before christmas, there's alarming new data about the omicron variant and its rapid spre a