Many New Year's Eve celebrations across the country canceled amid surge in COVID-19 cases
CBSN
Across the country, states are breaking their single-day COVID-19 case records as cities prepare for New Year's Eve celebrations. On Wednesday, more than 431,000 new cases were reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York state smashed its daily cases record with more than 67,000 new positive tests in just 24 hours — a 65% increase in one day.
The sky-high number of cases across the country has experts urging people to change their plans for New Year's Eve.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.