thanks so much. >> sreenivasan: thank you, hari. >> sreenivasan: for more national and internationalit pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: in other news today, secretary of state antony blinken and foreign ministers from g-7 nations issuea statement today warning russia not to invade ukraine. the joint statement declared that, “russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response.” wrapping up their meeting in liverpool, england, the representatives did not specify what penalties would be issued against russia if it invades ukraine. russia has massed as many as 100,000 troops along ukraine's northern, eastern, and southern borders, but denies it has plans to invade. today, secretary of state blinken said a russian invasion of ukraine would challenge international law. >> there is something even bigger at stake here, and it's the basic rules of the road of the international system, rules that say that one country can't change the borders of another by force, one country can't dictate to another its choi

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us. more than 30 tornadoes and severe storms tore through the central and southern u.s. overght, with dozens of deaths reported in several states. kentucky suffered the worst of the storms when several tornadoes hit, leveling a candle factory in the town of mayfield, where more than 110 people were working. search and rescue efforts continued throughout the day. at least six states were hit, from arkansas, tennessee, and missouri, all the way to the illinois/indiana border, just south of the chicago area. kentucky governor andy beshear said one tornado in his state touched down for 227 miles. as of early this afternoon, he said the death toll was more than 70 people, and could exceed 100. >> this has been the most devastating tornado event in our state's history. >> sreenivasan: in illinois, police in the city of edwardsville confirmed casualties at an amazon warehouse where a roof caved in. in arkansas, a tornado hit a nursing home in the city of monette, killing one person and trapping

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us.orld health organization reported today that cases of the omicron variant are doubling every 1.5 to three days in places with community spread. omicron has now been detected in 89 countries, and the highly- contagious strain is expected to replace delta as the dominant variant in many nations. here in the u.s., confirmed cases of covid-19 are up more than 25% on average over the last two weeks, according to the centers for disease control and prevention. in europe, increasing covid cases are leading several countries to reimpose restrictions, ahead of the christmas holiday. in london, where omicron is already the dominant variant, mayor sadik khan encouraged residents to get a vaccine booster. >> over the last 24 hours, we've had the largest number of new cases since this pandemic began, more than 26,000. hospital admissions are going up, but also, staff absences are going up by massive levels. >> sreenivasan: in new york, which was an early epicenter of the pandemic, the state recorde

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us. rapid spread of the omicron variant is leading to record high covid case numbers and a return to lockdowns in some european countries, less than a week before christmas. in the netherlands, officials announced a strict lockdown starting tonight through the middle of january, hoping to contain the highly contagious virus variant. great britain's health minister would not rule out additional covid restrictions in that country before christmas, citing the rapidly shifting situation. >> there are no guarantees in this pandemic i don't think. at this point, we just have to keep everything under review. >> sreenivasan: the prospect of shutdowns and ongoing vaccine mandates led to scattered protests around europe and the u.k. this weekend. here in the u.s., cases continue to rise, including in the northeast, where new york state reported a record number of confirmed covid cases for the second day in a row yesterday. today, the n.b.a. announced it was postponing five games because of positive

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us. bob dole, who led the republican party in congress for decades and as their presidential nominee in 1996, died today at the age of 98. senator dole's political career spanned more than 50 years, from the state legislature in kansas to the u.s. house and finally the u.s. senate where he spent almost 30 years. while in the senate, he was known for his bipartisan abilities, and helped pass the "americans with disabilities act" in 1990 and reforms to social security. dole gave up his seat in the senate to make his run for the presidency in 1996. >> and my time to leave this office has come... or home. ( applause ) >> sreenivasan: after losing to president ll clinton, dole returned to private life and worked to help his wife elizabeth win election as a senator from north carolina. in 2016, bob dole was the only former republican candidate for president to endorse donald trump, and still considered himself a supporter of the former president as recently as this july. a veteran, badly injure

i'm michael hill, in for hari sreenivasan.i and the newshour weekend team have left us some christmas gifts-- a selection of some of their favorite arts, entertainment, and technology stories from this year. despite the challenges of covid-19, artists and authors tried out ideas that sometimes sprang from the need to work and communicate in new ways. hari will have those stories from the creative world, coming up. but, we begin with today's news headlines. this holiday weekend, the spread of omicron covid-19 variant led to staffing shortages and delays in airline travel, with 900 flights cancelled today in the u.s., after nearly 700 cancellations yesterday. more than 5,700 flights around the world were canceled from friday to sunday, according to flight aware. the northern chinese city of xi'an, in its third day of strict lockdown, had the highest number of flight cancellations. the united kingdom reported a record 122,000 new cases yesterday. in london, residents lined up to get vaccinated at centers where health workers some

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thank you for joining us. the parents of the teenager charged with killing four students and injuring seven others at a michigan high school were arrested and arraigned today. >> do you understand that you are charged with the following counts: count one, involuntary manslaughter? >> sreenivasan: jennifer and james crumbley appeared at a hearing via video. they each entered "not guilty" pleas to four counts of involuntary manslaughter. early this morning, authorities announced the couple was arrested, after being found hiding in a commercial building in detroit, after they failed to show up for a court hearing yesterday. the judge set a combined $1 million bond for the crumbleys. their son is being charged as an adult on counts of murder and terrorism. russia denied reports today that it is planning an invasion of ukraine in the coming months, even as u.s. intelligence agencies said more russian troops are preparing to go to the ukrainian border. ukraine has a large military presence in the region. the new u.s

i'm michael hill, in for hari sreenivasan. we will be bringing you more of our favorite stories today. the weekd newshour team has selected some of their best nature and environmental reporting from the past year and hari will have those stories coming up. but we begin with the ne that archbishop desmond tutu has died at the age of 90. tutu's passionate voice helped end south africa's brutal apartheid regime that oppressed its black majority for decades. >> we raise r hands and we say, "we will be free, all of us, black and white together, for we are marching to freedom. >> hill: archbishop desmond tutu was an anglican bishop and a leader of the anti-apartheid movement in south africa. born in 19, he followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a high school teacher. he then switched paths to become an anglican priest. tutu was on the frontline fighting for freedom and equality in south africa, where racially segregated apartheid began in 1948. >> we know, we know, we shall overco the evil. >> hill: in 1984, tutu won the nobel

captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, december 19: omicron variantinfections spread and restrictions and warnings expand. sticker shock takes on new meaning as car and truck prices soar just in time for the holidays. and a non-profit group reaches out with a guaranteed inco for people without a place to call home. next on “pbs newshour weekend.” >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the j.p.b. foundation.

captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, december 12: recovery beginser death and destruction from massive tornadoes and storms. finding a way to preserve history on michigan's shoreline as waters rise. ♪ ♪ ♪ and a guitar hero from niger becomes an international star. next on “pbs newshour weekend.” >> pbs newshour weeke is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the estate of worthington mayo-smith.

captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, december 5: tributes and honorsfor bob dole, former republican senate majority leader and presidential candidate who died today. and communities pull together to help america's newest refugees. next on "pbs newshour weekend." >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the j.p.b. foundation. the estate of worthington mayo-smith. leonard and norma klorfine.