Odonnell good evening, odonnell good evening, and thank you for joining us. We are going to begin with breaking news and another sign of how dramatically and quickly a new wave of Coronavirus Infections is sweeping across the country. Tonight, the nations Largest School system, new york city, says its closing all of its schools, sending more than a quarter of a Million Students who had been in classrooms back home for Virtual Learning tomorrow morning and creating chaos for working parents. That abrupt decision comes as the infection rate in new york again. Nce the epicenter of the and while clo pandemic, is rising once again. And while closing schools might be one of the largest indications of just how dire the crisis is becoming, it is far from the most devastating. As we come on the air, coronavirus has now killed more than 250,000 americans. Tonight, a recordshattering 76,000 more americans are hospitalized because of it. And one out of every five hospitals now says there just arent enough doctors or nurses to keep fighting this daily onslaught of new cases. There is some big news on the vaccine front tonight and it is good news. The drug maker pfizer says its vaccine is 95 effective. That is even better than when it was first announced just last week. Pfizer now says it is days away from seeking emergency approval from the f. D. A. To start giving the shot. So we have a lot of new reporting tonight that you and your family may need to know. Cbs mola lenghi is going to lead off our coverage from new york city. Good evening, mola. Reporter well, good evening, norah. As you mentioned, new york city Public Schools has canceled all inperson classes beginning tomorrow. Asats after the city has reached a 3 positivity rate. Reached a 3 positivity rate. Now, you remember, it was just eight weeks ago that Public Schools here reopened. Today, students received a less than24hour notice about tomorrows closing. As you can imagine, leaving working parents in an incredibly tough spot. A painful aboutface for new york city. We do need to close our schools for the coming days. No one is happy about this decision. Reporter new york city was the first major city to reopen schools this fall, and the decision to close is not sitting well with the parents of the nearly 300,000 children affected. School is closing tomorrow for an undetermined amount of time. Why . Reporter this woman has a firstgrader. Its really disappointing for parents who are constantly scrambling. Every day it feels like were waiting for the shoe to drop. Reporter adding to the confusion bars, restaurants, and gyms will all remain open. It was a bitter pill to swallow on a day when one of the leading vaccines got a huge boost. Drug maker pfizer says it will apply for f. D. A. Emergency approval within days after late stage trials found its vaccine to be 95 effective with no serious side effects. This vaccine looks extremely promising to help us end this pandemic. Reporter dr. Edward walsh headed up one of pfizers phase three trials at the university of rochester. The benefit is enormous, and the risks are very small. Reporter u. S. Healthcare workers, the first in line for a vaccine once its approved, could get their shots in about a month. And if we can hang on and implement the Public Health measures, that help is really on the way. Reporter other big news is the f. D. A. Approval of an at home selftest that provides results in 30 minutes or less and costs less than 50. You do need a prescription, and its not widely available until spring 2021. With a week to go before the thanksgiving holiday, Public Officials are not taking any chances. You dont want to be the turkey on thanksgiving. Reporter americans are looking for the allclear, lining up by the thousands across the country to get tested. Im nervous about, like, if i get, like, sick. I dont want to get my family sick. Reporter the c. D. C. Says the safest holiday this year is the one celebrated with your household. But if you are hosting, gatherings should be outdoors with a small group. Guests should bring their own food and wear masks. Around the country, governors are continuing to sound the alarm. Arizona and our nation remain in a Public Health emergency, and getting back to normal isnt in the cards right now. Reporter there are growing fears that hospitals in the hardest hit areas will be overwhelmed, as doctors and nurses speak of nightmare situations now unfolding. I think a lot of us now are in kind of. For lack of a better word, siege mentality. It is fatigue beyond fatigue. Reporter and tonight, a comprehensive new study shows that most coronavirus patients maintain significant immunity for at least eight months. That time frame is the only data theyve had to work with. But it suggests that if you had the virus and youve recovered, you could be immune from reinfection for a considerable amount of time, longer than those eight months. Now, norah, this is still needing to be peer reviewed, but, of course, promising news out of that study. Odonnell very promising. Mola lenghi, thank you. Tonight, the White House Press secretary says that President Trump is hard at work, though again today, he had nothing on his public schedule. Thats the 11th time that has happened since the election. And while he has sent hundreds of tweets, purged several top officials and played several rounds of golf, sources say behind the scenes, hes mostly focused on keeping his job. Heres cbs paula reid. Reporter even as Top Health Experts warned the pandemic is spiraling out of control, President Trump made no mention of it today, had no public fpearances, and tweeted only falsehoods about the election. The president hasnt attended a Coronavirus Task force meeting in several months. We mourn for every life lost to the china virus. Reporter and the last time reporter and the last time he offered his sympathies for the dead was october 31. Nearly 19,000 have died since then. Cbs news has learned Vice President pence was directly told by Health Officials that he and the president must publicly address what they called a dire situation. The u. S. , they said, could see up to 2,000 deaths a day by christmas. You know, were up to a quarter million dead. Reporter president elect biden told frontline healthcare workers that mr. Trump is blocking his Transition Team from getting up to speed on the pandemic. Weve been unable to get access to the kinds of things we need to know about unless its made available soon, were going to be behind. Reporter an emotional i. C. U. Nurse from minnesota pleaded for help. I, myself, have held the hand of dying pat of dying patients. Crying out for their families that they cant see. Reporter that caused mr. Biden to wipe away tears. You got me emotional. Reporter President Trump, meanwhile, has continued to fire people. Chris krebs, the countrys top election official, let go after disputing the president s false president s false election claims. I was ve election claims. I was very disappointed when i found out that he had been terminated. Reporter even republicans condemn the move as krebs oversaw a safe and secure election, one the president s campaign is still trying to reverse, now seeking a recount in two counties in wisconsin as a georgia recount wraps up tonight with little evidence of wrongdoing. This is a disgrace reporter there was outrage from the public in michigan last night as wayne county republicans initially blocked certification of mr. Bidens win, before later relenting. Shame on you shame on you reporter the Trump Campaign is strapped for cash, and that is part of why theyre focusing on just two counties in that wisconsin recount. It will cost them around 3 million, whereas a statewide recount would have cost them nearly 8 million. Either way, the recount is not expected to change the outcome in that state. Norah. Odonnell paula reid, thank you. Today, a former green beret pleaded guilty to spying for russia. Peter debbins divulged military secrets to russian intelligence over 15 years starting in 1996. Debins, who has family connections to russia, told his handlers he thought the u. S. Needed to be cut down to size. Debins faces up to life in prison when hes sentenced in february. Tonight, boeings troubled 737 max has been cleared to fly again in the u. S. The jets were ground more than a year and a half ago following two deadly crashes overseas. Since then, Critical Software was redesigned, and the flights could resume by the end of the year. We get more now from cbs kris van cleave. Reporter tonight, u. S. Airlines and flight crews are rallying around the 737 max. American is moving ahead with plans to resume Passenger Service as soon as december 29, following the f. A. A. s order ungrounding the plane. F. A. A. Administrator steve dickson, a pilot, flew the max last month. I can tell you now that i am 100 comfortable with my family flying on it. Reporter the 737 max was grounded for 20 months after two deadly crashes killed 346 people. The f. A. A. Will now require updates be installed in all max aircraft to address design flaws with the planes Flight Control system. Pilots will need additional training before they are cleared to fly. Laura einsetler is a 737 captain. When you see the experienced pilots coming on board and confidence and our training and our mastery, you can know that its safe. Reporter michael stuma lost his daughter in a max crash. He remains concerned. Passengers should look to fly on a different plane than the boeing 737 max. Reporter and there are critics on capitol hill, too, where both the house and the senate are working on measures that would change the way the f. A. A. Approves new airplanes. Boing says it will never forget the lives lost in those two crashes and the events have reshaped the company. Reshap odonnell kris van cleave, thank you. Tonight, the u. S. Army is responding to our exclusive cbs news investigation into Sexual Assault in the military, and acknowledging they must do better. Over the past year and a half, we spoke to nearly two dozen survivors from all branches of the service who say their allegations were brushed aside or even met with retaliation. Well, tonight, we talk with four soldiers who say the militarys program to combat Sexual Assault is broken and that the pentagon shouldnt be allowed to police itself. Were supposed to feel safe with our brothers and sisters in the military, and theyre the ones hurting us. Odonnell meiling jerez was among nearly two dozen survivors who spoke to cbs news about their alleged assaults. She was raped the first night in her barracks, and she reported it. Did they take it seriously . No, they didnt. They said that i was a distraction that came into their platoon. Odonnell you were raped a second time a year later. This officer arrived at my home and said he needed to search my home, and after i let him in i was violently raped. Even though i was bleeding, i had bruises, the proof was on my body. And, yet, i didnt think it was going to be enough. Reporter Sara Joachimstaler says she was sexually assaulted trainingexercise last year by during a Training Exercise last year by a soldier who outranked her. Were you afraid at first to report it . Yes, if youre a specialist and you report a commander or even just a senior sergeant, then its really just then its really just point blank like you dont have the rank to put forth the fight. Odonnell only one in four Service Members who are sexually assaulted actually report the crime. Many, like armando perez, dont. This leader of mine took me under his wing. Under his wing. He groomed me so that he could abuse me. He also was the prevention officer who i would have to report it to. O report it to. Odonnell the person you would have had to report it to was the person who was doing it to you . He was the prevention officer, so i had to sit there and whenever he would do the presentations for prevention and just be embarrassed and ashamed that he was the person who was doing it to me. Odonnell we took a look at the militarys data since 2015. Despite an increase in reporting, fewer Sexual Assault cases are being sent to court martial, and convictions are dropping. Shawna culp says she was raped in 2010. She reported it, but her case didnt make it through the military Justice System until this year. By the time it finally got to a courtmartial, your rape kit had been destroyed. Yes. Im sorry, it was just frustrating because you put up with all this, and you try to get something done, and by the time that it finally gets done, its like just close enough. Odonnell and just close enough because at the court martial, your assailant was acquitted because only five said he was guilty, and you needed six . That was still the majority of the people. So i feel like everything is set up against you, no matter what. Odonnell survivors told us what came after the assault was often worse than the assault itself. I faced immediate and consistent retaliation. Odonnell after you reported your assault, you were stripped of your rank. Yes, maam. They were trying to break me down. They go after you because youre the victim and youre the problem. Odonnell how many of you think there needs to be something massive to happen, like the Metoo Movement for the ault, you were stripped of your rank. Yes, mar maam. They were trying t all branches across the berd, all of us need to be able something massive to happen, to feel like we can speak up and that youre never alone. When you compare it to other traumatic events that happen to people, whether its a shooting or combat, youre experiencing that with other people. Hat yo know visually and physically that you are not alone. When a rape or a Sexual Assault occurs, its happening to you alone. And when i saw more people reporting it and more people speaking on it, i stopped feeling as alone. Odonnell that was so beautifully said. Its like the loneliest trauma that you can experience. Its the shame that you carry, and its this anger and embarrassment that you carry with yourself. But its not yours to carry. It belongs to the abuser that did it to you. Odonnell well, after declining our request for an interview, the u. S. Army is just tonight responding to allegations made by survivors and their families. In a new video, Army SecretaryRyan Mccarthy says if we do not have the trust of america, nothing else matters. I am deeply saddened and concerned at the recent news reports of how Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment have plagued our force and brought harm to our soldiers. This topic has captivated the attention of america and our army leaders. It is abundantly clear we must do better. Odonnell and that is new just tonight. Mccarthy promising to unveil a new plan of action by december 8, and admits that the armys Current Program to combat Sexual Assault isnt working. Well, tomorrow on cbs this morning, well hear from victims advocates hired by the military who agree and say the pentagon ignored their concerns as well. There is still much more news ahead here tonight on cbs evening news. 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Well see you right back here tomorrow. Good night. Announcer this is the cbs overnight news. Im jan crawford in washington. Thanks for staying with us. For more than a decade the pentagon has vowed to eradicate Sexual Assault from its ranks. But in year and a half investigation, survivors told cbs news the military has fallen short. Focusing on this soldier. Militarys handling of her daughters assault ultimately led to her death. She spoke with Norah Odonnell as part of exclusive investigation. Reporter knew from a young age she wanted to join the military. When she turned 21, she said mom, i got to talk to you. Told me then she had joined. Reporter in Army National guard for six years when sent on first deployment to kuwait in 2016. What happened to morgan . In kuwait, she was sauexuall assaulted and continually harassed by one of her superiors. Reporter did she report it . Yes. Reporter what was the response . Nothing. She got nothing. Reporter on the same deployment, sent to afghanistan, sexually assaulted again, alleged gang rape involving multiple soldiers. Do you think she was too scared to report what happened in afghanistan . Yes, she was very scared. Reporter why . They threatened her number one and number two knew wouldnt go anywhere. Nothing happened in kuwait with the Sexual Assault and harassment, so why would they do something in afghanistan. Reporter in april 2017, then secretary of Defense James Mattis said there was zero tolerance. Battlefield casualties are a matter of war, we accept no casualties in our family. Reporter died from suicide. It wasnt a matter of if but. When. Reporter the Army Launched an investigation into her death. I tried to look at copy of the investigation you got. Here it is. Thats it. Thats what im getting. Blank page after blank page. They gave you