courtney kealy is in new york with more on all of this for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. with covid cases surging, there are hours' long lines here in new york city for testing. the omicron variant is spreading, and covid-19 cases are rising. the situation is likely to get worse in the days and weeks ahead. >> it is just, you know, raging through the world really. >> reporter: federal health officials don't know if the new strain causes more serious illness, but they say it's clearly more contagious. >> when you have so many, many infections, even if it is less severe, that overcomes this slight to moderate diminution in severity. >> reporter: francis collins who retired as nih director believes the u.s. could be seeing over a million cases a day. >> the question is are those million cases going to be sick enough to need health care and especially hospitalization. >> reporter: this latest surge is hitting as millions of americans prepare to travel somewhere for christmas. >> if you're not vaccinated, i would say travel

courtney kealy in new york. thank you. >>> despite the surge in covid ms of americans will be traveling for the holidays between now and the new year. mark strassmann reports from 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: six million will fly. many of them skittish, pack -- packing their omicron trepidation with their toiletries. >> we also have hepa filters on our airplane which really keep the air quality a high quality there. emergency room equivalent. >> reporter: maybe so, but the airlines' top medical adviser warns with omicron's high

courtney kealy is tracking the latest developments from the courthouse. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, tom. ghislaine maxwell was found guilty on all but one count, and guilty on the most serious count of trafficking. ghislaine maxwell sat silently as the judge read the verdict. the former girlfriend of accused sexual predator jeffrey epstein was found guilty of five of the six charges she faced including the most serious -- of grooming and trafficking of young girls for epstein's alleged sex abuse ring. she faces up to 65 years in a federal prison. >> the road to justice has been far too long, but today justice has been done. i want to commend the bravery of the girls, now grown women, who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. >> reporter: maxwell did not take the stand. the defense argued unsuccessfully that she was being made a scapegoat for epstein who killed himself in jail in 2019 before standing trial for his own federal sex trafficking charges. >> obviously we are very disappointed with the verdict. we have already st

>> all right, courtney kealy in new york. thank you very much. >>> the nhl will reportedly announce that it will not be sending players to the beijing olympics due to surging covid cases. a source tells the "associated press" the league informed the nhl players association that it was making the decision over concerns the pandemic will disrupt the league's ability to complete a full season. more than 40 games have already been postponed in the past week. >>> and ahead on "cbs mornings," cdc director rochelle walensky joins us to talk more about the administration's plan to battle a winter surge of covid cases and why we're still seeing a shortage of at-home testing kits. >>> and this morning, jurors resume deliberations in the trial of a former minneapolis police officer who shot and killed daunte wright. there are concerns that they may not reach an agreement. the jury is weighing the fate of kim potter. she's charged with manslaughter after she killed wright in april during a traffic stop. potter has said that she meant to

courtney kealy has the latest from new york. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, tom. the covid pandemic is disrupting the holiday season for the second straight year with the omicron variant surging, infecting thousands daily, straining hospitals and causing chaos. just a day after christmas, holiday travelers were left stranded amid a surge in covid cases among airline crews. >> it's stressful. absolutely stressful. but we're just trying to take it as it comes, and that's all you can do. >> reporter: more than 3,000 flights were canceled between friday and sunday. a trend that's expected to continue today. >> it was supposed to be, you know, a nice family vacation. so it's been upsetting. >> reporter: this cruise ship that left san diego for mexico last week returned to port sunday due to a covid outbreak among a small number of vaccinated crew on board. a new group of passengers boarded the ship later on. >> no concerns. i'm careful, and we're fully vaccinated. >> reporter: at least a couple preliminary studies suggest that people infected by the fast-moving omicron

courtney kealy in new york. thank you. >>> an investigation is under way into a shooting at a mall full of holiday shoppers in suburban chicago. police say it started with two men involved in a shoot-out yesterday in oak brook. one was wounded and taken into custody. three bystanders were wounded. the other gunman remains at large. one shopper said it was a chaotic scene with people running for cover. >> there was a woman, she actually ran in. at first people were running in to run through. she runs in, and then -- and then she goes, guys, like, you know, there's a shooter. she's like, there's an active shooter. we all panicked. everyone panicked. everyone's running outside, everyone's going awol at that point. >> witnesses told police as many as 15 shots were fired. >>> a former police officer now faces a maximum of 15 years in prison after being convicted in the shooting death of duante wright. kim potter was found guilty of two counts of manslaughter in the april shooting. she's now being held without bail at

courtney kealy is tracking the latest developments from new york. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, tom. now omicron and delta are spiking cases across the country, packing a one-two punch, while school administrations are trying to decide how to get classes open after the return after the holiday break. lines for covid-19 tests sometimes hours long continue to surge across the country leaving testing sites scrambling to keep up. >> we've staffed up and really moved vaccinators into testing today because that's the high demand. just knowing the neighborhood, at a certain pint the police department does have to shut off lines for traffic safety. >> reporter: many are checking to see if their holiday gatherings and travel have been completed without passing along the virus. >> we came because we were at a family gathering for christmas and one was concerned that he had it. we figured we'd get ourselves covered. >> reporter: particularly hard hit, washington, d.c., virginia, and maryland, eclipsing the rest of the u.s. in massachusetts, a

>> courtney kealy in new york. thank you so much. >>> so one of the first lawsuits could be filed in connection with the deadly tornadoes in kentucky. the "courier journal" reports three employees plan to sue the candle company that was destroyed in friday night's storm. many workers have come forward saying that they were not allowed to leave before the tornado hit. a company spokesperson denied those claims. eight of the 110 employees at the factory were killed. >>> and a panel of cdc advisers is reportedly meeting today to discuss possible limits on johnson & johnson's covid vaccine. according to "the washington post," there's concern about more blood clot issues linked to the vaccine. the paper says the panel will be presented with new data appearing to show the rate of clots in people who got the single-dose shot has increased since april. the panel is expected to vote on whether to update its recommendations for the vaccine's use. >>> meantime, there's a new sense of urgency to vaccinate americans or convince

courtney kealy there with cbs news.begun giving a fourth shot of the coronavirus vaccine, in a clinical trial to find out whther it is safe and effective in containing the spread of covid. the trial in tel aviv includes 150 health care workers who received their third shot no later than august this year. israel is considering approving a fourth dose, or second booster, for vulnerable people as 0micron infections surge despite a comprehensive vaccination programme. there have been more covid—related flight cancellations today, more than 1,400 flights cancelled around the world. destinations in the united states and china have been the worst hit, with us airlines saying the disruption is due to crews testing positive or isolating. in all, since christmas eve, more than 8,000 flights have been grounded. now, away from covid and to our other edger story here. —— other major story. the end of the first day of a week of events in south africa to commemorate the life of the anti—apartheid leader archbishop desmond tutu. he die

courtney kealy, cbs news, new york. >>> coming up on "cbs mornings," a followup on tony dokoupil's exclusivenew scrutiny over the fruit-flavored vaping products. >>> maggie gyllenhaal stops by the times square studio to talk about her directorial debut for the netflix movie "the lost daughter." >>> and comedian jordan klepper from "the daily show" tells us about his latest comedy sketch. >>> that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm elise preston. have a great day. ♪

cbs correspondent courtney kealy is in new york and gave us the reaction to the new mandate.york, people are adhering to that, but with this quadruple rate of children in hospital since the 0micron variant came here, a lot of those children are not fully vaccinated. in fact, between the ages of five and 11, none were vaccinated. so the department of health right now in new york city is really warning parents to make sure that their children are getting vaccinations. children over 12 have to have both vaccinations to enter public areas like restaurants. so each state and each city does do things differently. new york state has definitely been in the forefront. bill de blasio, the current mayor, has said he doesn't want to see new york go back to the dark days of the early pandemic when the city essentially shut down. so there is a definite surge, but there are all sorts of mandates and rules in place here in new york city. that is the latest from new york. an israeli hospital has begun giving a fourth shot of the coronavirus vaccine, in a clinical trial to find out whther it i

let's speak to cbs correspondent courtney kealy who's in new york. thank you forjoining us.,., ., reaction has there been to the verdict? , ., ., ., verdict? the person who gave no reaction was _ verdict? the person who gave no reaction was ghislaine _ verdict? the person who gave no reaction was ghislaine maxwell, | verdict? the person who gave no i reaction was ghislaine maxwell, she looked impassioned and she glanced at her siblings when the verdict was read out. definitely found guilty on all but one count, this came out late yesterday evening, we will have to see this morning what other reaction there is. but her defence is saying they are already going to contest this, they don't think this was fair. they tried during the trial to make her out as a scapegoat forjeffrey epstein, that was unsuccessful but they immediately said they will appeal. and the prosecution is saying this is a victory for all victims of sex trafficking. victory for all victims of sex trafficking-— victory for all victims of sex traffickin-. ~ . ., , , , ., trafficking. what happens now in terms of

let's get more on the covid situation in the us from cbs news correspondent courtney kealy.ong lines everywhere for testing ahead _ we're seeing long lines everywhere for testing ahead of _ we're seeing long lines everywhere for testing ahead of the _ we're seeing long lines everywhere for testing ahead of the holidays, l for testing ahead of the holidays, and also — for testing ahead of the holidays, and also of— for testing ahead of the holidays, and also of people _ for testing ahead of the holidays, and also of people we _ for testing ahead of the holidays, and also of people we know - for testing ahead of the holidays, and also of people we know thatl for testing ahead of the holidays, - and also of people we know that have gotten _ and also of people we know that have gotten this— and also of people we know that have gotten this new — and also of people we know that have gotten this new omicron _ and also of people we know that have gotten this new omicron variant. - and also of people we know that have gotten this new omicron variant. 1- gotten this new omicron varian

well, more on the situation in the us, cbs's courtney kealy gave this update to my colleague kasia maderant biden will speak today, again urging americans to get vaccinated and their booster shots, but according to the white house he will adopt a sterner tone, a more negative tone, a dire warning, actually, because the omicron variance is hitting so hard in the us, especially here in new york, it is making up at least 70% of coronavirus cases in the us. imilli coronavirus cases in the us. with cases so high _ coronavirus cases in the us. with cases so high in _ coronavirus cases in the us. with cases so high in new _ coronavirus cases in the us. with cases so high in new york, our hospitals concerned they will not be able to cope? hospitals concerned they will not be able to cape?— hospitals concerned they will not be able to cope? absolutely, since last week we had _ able to cope? absolutely, since last week we had seen _ able to cope? absolutely, since last week we had seen a _ able to cope? absolutely, since last week we had seen a complete - able to cope? absolutely, since last i week