if you're living with hiv . . . . . . keep loving who you are. and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. welcome to all of our viewers joining us from all around the world. you're watching cnn. i'm robyn curnow. staggering and sobering numbers in the u.s. the coronavirus is spreading faster than ever before. on the front lines, imagine being sent into pandemic hot spots one after another, saving lives in unfamiliar settings. we'll speak to a nurse doing just that. then the u.s. president rallies supporters ahead of a pivotal senate runoff, but resorts to another tactic, trying to hold on to power.

great to have you along this hour. so there are many ways to measure the explosive growth of coronavirus now raging through the united states. there's the daily tally of new cases. take a look at this. new records are being set almost daily. a staggering 1 million americans have now tested positive in the first five days of december. and then there's the soaring death toll. each day it's enough to fill every seat in the kennedy center in washington. a frontline doctor in minnesota describes the crushing emotional burden being shouldered by nurses and physicians. >> sometimes when you hear statistics like that, you become numb to what the numbers mean. for us taking care of patients,

every single number is someone we have to look at and say, "i'm sorry, there's nothing more we can do for you." another family we have to call to tell them their loved ones are going to die. >> the career's picture of the crisis is hospital beds filling up all over the u.s., filling up fast. as of now, a record 100,001 americans. millions of people in california are facing new stay-at-home orders, as paul ver cammen reports. >> reporter: the number of new cases in california just alarming. shocking, really. let's go right to a graphic and show you. 25,000 new cases in california. more than 10,000

hospitalizations. more than 200 deaths. and all of this helping contribute to these new stricter stay-at-home orders. people cannot go to wineries, nail salons, hair salons, playgrounds, and the rest, and they must wear a mask. let's look at where this is being impacted. in southern california and the san joaquin valley, 27 million people. one minute before midnight sunday, the order goes into effect. it's not being embraced throughout california. in fact, let's hear from the sheriff of riverside county, who calls these strict regulations ridiculous. >> while the governor's office and the state has threatened action against violators, the riverside county sheriff's department will not be blackmailed, bullied, or used as muscle against riverside county residents in the enforcement of the governor's orders. >> reporter: these stricter rules also affect other parts of california. some bay area counties joining in on the new regulations. and the order is being applauded here by top brass at ucla medical center.

they say they need something to help bend this curve somehow, some way, with all these doctors and nurses facing a tsunami of new patients. also, ucla playing another huge role in the fight against the pandemic. it can store 1 million vaccines in seven freezers. it expects to be able to put shots in people's arms in about two weeks. reporting from los angeles, paul vercammen. >> dr. larry brilliant as cnn medical analyst and joins me from mill valley, california. doctor, good to see you. lockdowns like you're seeing in california. of course a lot of criticism because of the damage to the economy. is it such a binary choice? lives, or livelihood? >> thanks for having me. no, it's not binary. well, first of all, i don't think you can solve the problem of the economy until you throw

covid into the dustbin of history, which we will be doing as the vaccines come on board. until then, we're going to have two or three or four months that's going to be catastrophic. so the lockdown is prompted mostly by overrunning hospitals with the covid cases. we now have 100,000 hospital beds occupied by covid patients in the united states. there's some communities that just don't have any more icu beds. so what i like about the california stay at home, not lockdown, what i like about it is that they're allowing retail stores and other community activities to stay open, but reduced to 25% or 50% of capacity. and the trigger for closing down more is when they exceed 85% of the icu beds being used. once you get to only 15% of beds left, then it's just too

dangerous. you're almost forced to do a lockdown. >> i mean, the death toll also is just staggering. you talk about hospital beds. we're seeing over 2,000 people dying every day already this month. we're in the early days of december. i think the calculation is that one person is dying every 30 seconds in america. with that in mind, we're seeing california deal with it in a different way, to atlanta where we are here. i mean, how important is it for the biden administration to perhaps make sure that everything is on an equal level, that there is some consistency in terms of response? is that possible in america with all the states? >> you're asking exactly the right question. we are having and will have soon the equivalent of one 9/11, the deaths from one 9/11, every day. it's incomprehensible. it's tragedy. and i think part of the problem is that we have this hop-scotch

pattern of governance. county health officers, state health officers. we need to have a concerted federal plan. a strategy that everyone knows what it will be, what the targets will be, what excellence looks like, what success looks like. until we have that, then as you see, the virus moves from place to place. for one season it's in the northeast, then it's in the south. now it happens to be in the upper midwest, and of course i heard the other day that the virus, there's an epidemic in every single county in the united states except one, and that's in hawaii, and that's a county that previously was a leper colony. for all intents and purposes, there's epidemics in every county, so we need to have a uniform set of guidelines for the whole country. >> but until that happens, i mean, the 20th of january just feels like many, many years away, particularly for people who are sick or vulnerable.

so we're looking ahead, there's one estimate that four months from now, there will be almost double the amount of deaths in this country. i've said it already, nearly 540,000 people could potentially be dead. that's the equivalent of taking a city the size of atlanta and wiping it off the map. so the question is, how can that be lessened in the next four months? how do we save lives with those kinds of numbers already projected? >> today we had a terrible statistic. we passed 100,000 deaths in nursing homes in the united states. those are all somebody's mothers or grandmothers or fathers or grandfathers. we know what to do. we're face masks. practice social distancing. don't congra gate especially indoors, in large gatherings. stay away from people who are not following those practices. and when there is a case, test, trace, and isolate.

follow the cdc guidelines of isolation. and soon, when there's vaccination, let's move to using vaccine as part of the response to outbreaks. so testing, tracing, and vaccina vaccinating. we know what to do. we just -- i think because we haven't had national leadership, because it's been ignored or denied, it's been really difficult. i think the polls that i see are that most americans don't know what the right thing to do is. other than face masks and social distancing. we need to be much more crisp and careful, and i hope a biden administration and this excellent task force that they have will help us to have one concerted national policy. >> dr. larry brilliant, thanks so much for your perspective there in california. >> thank you for having me. despite the worsening pepd, u.s. president donald trump held a packed, largely maskless rally here in georgia on saturday.

now the aim was to give republicans a boost in the upcoming runoff elections that will determine control of the senate. as ryan nobles now reports, the president mostly focused on himself and his baseless claims of voter fraud. >> reporter: president donald trump came here to georgia seemingly with a goal of helping support the two candidates running in the runoff election here to the united states senate. but he spent far more of his time here in georgia talking about the election that he has just lost than he did supporting those two candidates in their upcoming fight. president trump went through a laundry list of perceived grievances that he had about the electoral process, specifically the electoral process here in georgia, while at the same time trying to convince his supporters they need to vote in january. take a listen to this one excerpt of the president's speech where he talked about how he feels that this election was stolen from him. >> they cheated and they rigged our presidential election.

but we will still win it. we will still win it. we'll still win it. they're going to try and rig this election too. >> reporter: president trump spoke for more than 90 minutes in valdosta, georgia, which is along the florida border. it was just a speech filled with lies. he talked about evidence of fraud, malfeasance in elections, not just in georgia but wisconsin, arizona. much of these claims have been debunked. he played clips from the conservative news networks newsmax, oan, that claimed to show evidence of voter fraud which those examples have also been debunked. he did it to the glee of this crowd, which said repeatedly through this speech they wanted the senate candidates to stop the steal. they also asked them to fight for trump. it's not necessarily the message that republicans were looking for here tonight. they wanted the president to

focus on kelly loeffler and david purdue, those two candidates running for the senate. but as is often the practice with president trump, this speech was all about him and his hope of trying to overturn an election, a hope that really is not based in any kind of reality. ryan nobles, cnn, valdosta, georgia. joining me is judy norman, a lecturer in politics for university college, london. we heard ryan lay it out. there was a campaign rally, a laundry list of perceived grievances. the president's trip was supposed to get voters mobilized for the georgia runoffs. could he have accomplished the opposite? he says the electoral process is a fraud, but go vote anyway. >> that's certainly a concern for many republican officials in georgia right now, that voters will be hearing this message from trump that the election system is flawed and be discouraged from voting.

in reality, i don't think that will be the case. we see from trump that it's really the momentum that he brings even more than the message. he is quite clearly still a very strong political force. even if his messaging is more in the fact that votes to support me, defend me, that is still a very gallivvanizing message fors base and one that will still get a lot of his supporters out to the polls or to vote for him by absentee. so i think some of his concerns will be downplayed as we move forward. >> despite the fact that joe biden won georgia, this is still very much the heart of the bible belt. i live here. there's still a clear devotion to guns, church, conservative values, deeply rooted. how likely do you think it is these senate seats will flip blue? >> of course georgia is an interesting state right now in the sense of how the demographics are changing with the old south and the new south.

we saw so much of that come together in the presidential election and with biden's slim victory there. but i do think that this is going to be a very close race for both of the senate races. we know that a lot of it is going to come down to voter turnout. of course voter turnout is always lower in what's just a senate race, rather than a presidential race. but we see both parties really trying to get voters to register before the deadline on monday. stacey abrams and many democratic organizers trying to get first-time voters to come out again, at the same time really going up against, as you said, a state that is historically republican, has not sent a nonrepublican member to the senate in over 20 years. and that is still going to be a challenge for the democrats to overcome. democrats are also, of course, aware that many of the votes for biden were from individuals who would still probably identify as republican, but just didn't want to vote for trump, especially in

some of those suburbs. it will be hard to flip both those races. >> so what we do know is what happens in georgia will have a significant impact on how the biden administration could get things done in congress. so whoever wins, it's also clear that mr. trump will continue to cast a long shadow over this administration. >> that's exactly right, and we've heard from both parties that they really see this vote and who will control the senate as being quite decisive for how the biden administration will move forward. as you noted, however, trump is not going away. whatever happens with the senate races. we've seen that he still holds a very strong control over gop voters as well as many elected officials in both the house and the senate who see how strong of a resonance he still has with his base and with republican voters. so i don't think we'll be seeing trump go away regardless of how the senate races turn out.

>> also, we've had so many developments just here in the last 48 hours. when it comes to georgia, mr. trump pressuring the georgia governor, a republican, to overturn the election result. just saying that is mind boggling. just because he wanted him to, even though the count has been three times so far here. how much credit do you give georgia republicans to holding the line under this very direct pressure from the president? >> this is really quite notable. we've seen pretty relentless attacks from trump on both governor kemp, secretary of state rattens berger, pretty strong resolve from that republican leadership in the state to defend the integrity of the elections, first and foremost. and also to really be among the few to push the president to calm down his rhetoric. not only because of the damage it might cause the party in terms of votes but also real threats of violence that these individuals and their families are getting. and that is a reality that is

manifesting from a lot of trump's messages. and it's something that i think is very important for republican leaders to be calling out, as we've seen from these georgia leaders. >> thanks so much. great to have your analysis, judy norman. still to come, a vaccine rollout picks up speed. we'll take a look at why scientists are still cautious of a spike in coronavirus numbers in parts of europe. plus a look at how hungary is opening its doors to recovered coronavirus patients and why some say that should not be a good idea. t tis key.t options today, we are redefining how we do things. we find new ways of speaking, so you're never out of touch. it's seeing someone's face that comforts us, no matter where. when those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care.

the first steps of checking in, the smallest moments can end up being everything. there's resources that can inform us, and that spark can make a difference. when we use it to improve things, then that change can last within us. when we understand what's possible, we won't settle for less. the best thing we can be is striving to be at our best. managing heart failure starts now with understanding. call today or go online to understandheartfailure.com for a free heart failure handbook. laso you can enjoy it even ifst toyou're sensitive. se. e.com yet some say it isn't real milk. i guess those cows must actually be big dogs.

sit! i said sit!

as countries prepare for rollout of vaccines the world health organization warns the pandemic is far from over. there are over 66 million cases around the globe, more than 1.5 million have died. germany has been especially hard hit recently. it's reported more than 17,000 new cases and more than 250 deaths the last day, a day after it reported nearly 500 deaths. for more on this and other coronavirus developments in europe, cyril vanier. what can you tell us? >> robin, germany had done

better than most of its european neighbors during the first wave of the pandemic. in the second wave they thought they could get by late october when cases started rising with a light lockdown. that meant restaurants closed, yes. but schools open, shops open. and it turns out that that was -- that allowed germany to cap the exponential rise in the coronavirus but it hasn't actually decreased the number of new infections, which is what they're really looking for, which is what any country fighting the coronavirus is looking for. they've plateaued, leveled off at a fairly high number of new daily infections. two weeks ago when we saw germany with more than 20,000 daily infections, you know it is guaranteed, when you have a high number of infections, two weeks later you're going to have a high number of deaths. which is why this week we saw a high number of deaths, almost 500 wednesday, almost 500 in the 24 hours from friday to saturday. so in the face of that, germany

has extended restrictions that were supposed to end late december. those have been extended to early january. may be extended even beyond that day. >> cyril vanier, thanks for that update. travel during the coronavirus pandemic is full of challenges, but if you can prove you've recovered from the coronavirus in the last half year, hungary is rolling out the welcome mat. scott mcclain explains how it works and why it's raising concerns. >> reporter: with miles of electric fencing and barbed wire along its border, an open government hostility to migrants, hungary isn't the first country you'd expect to loosen entry requirements. since the pandemic, budapest international airport has been mostly empty. hungary essentially closed its borders to most foreigners. but if you can provide credible evidence that you've recovered from covid-19 in the last six months, come on in you might call the privilege an immunity

passport. >> if you've had the virus before, does that mean you're immune? >> so far from what we can see in the studies, it's encouraging that if you have antibodies, especially at high levels, that most people would be protected from getting this again. >> reporter: dr. an yeah weinberg led a massive study in new york that shows more than 90% of people with mild or moderate symptoms have enough antibodies to kill the virus for at least nerve months. while there have only been a handful of cases of reinfection, it's not clear how long immunity does last. >> it's theoretically boss that i believe some people with antibodies might not be protected, but i think the majority of people who test positive for antibodies will be protected for some time. >> reporter: the world health organization came out against immunity passports in april saying there wasn't enough evidence of immunity from antibodies alone. >> at the moment, w.h.o.'s recommendation has not changed, we do not recommend immunity passports. >> reporter: hungary's policy has been in place for months.

>> is that a good idea? >> i think hungary's idea is well intentioned but it raises concerns. we don't want to create incentives for people to feel, oh, i need to get this potentially deadly virus so i can travel to see my loved ones. >> reporter: a warning shared by experts in leading medical journals. >> you could see it especially if more and more countries adopt a similar scheme. >> reporter: now iceland will also soon allow tourists who beat the virus to skip mandatory testing and quarantine on arrival. >> aren't you just giving people an incentive to get infected? >> well, i'm not sure, exactly. that is possible. but on the other hand, i think it's also unfair to people who have had the infection. why should they not be allowed to travel freely? >> reporter: icelanders with antibodies are even exempt from the nationwide mask mandate. >> i think it's a question of justice, basically. if you have the medical

condition that you are not spreading or having the virus, you're not a risk to the environment, then you should be recognized for that. >> reporter: the hungarian government ignored interview requests and told cnn it doesn't keep statistics on how many have used the exemption. critics of immunity passports warn they may erode personal privacy and exacerbate social inequalities. proponents say they could boost the economy and restore freedom to millioned. with a vaccine on the way, the airline industry is developing a secure digital record for passengers to show proof of vaccination. what about those who already have antibodies? iceland plans to give them the same freedoms as those who get the vaccine. scott mcclain, cnn, london. the government of venezuela seems to have been largely spread the ravaging effects of covid, but if you scratch beneath the surface the reality is much darker than the government in caracas wants to admit.

inside the 1 trcountry's hospit >> reporter: in one of the biggest hospitals in caracas in venezuela, we've been allowed in this hospital accompanied by medical staff. they want to show us what they have been facing, the conditions these hospitals are in. they've been in dire states already prior to covid-19. but medical staff saying it's getting very desperate. have a very quick look at this. this is one of the medical staff's units they use for medication, washing hands. as you can see, there's nothing here. there's no water. just dead rats. it gets much, much worse. >> watch the full report on monday at 10:00 a.m. in new york, 3:00 p.m. in london. still to come on cnn, health care workers under pressure amid surging cases and hospitalizations. morgue workers now also feeling the strain as well. sara sidner reports.

also, one of those frontline workers will join us live. he's a nurse who travels to hot spots where additional medical help is needed after the break. [ whispering ]

what's this? oh, are we kicking karly out? we live with at&t. it was a lapse in judgment. at&t, we called this house meeting because you advertise gig-speed internet, but we can't sign up for that here. yeah, but i'm just like warming up to those speeds. you've lived here two years. the personal attacks aren't helping, karly. don't you have like a hot pilates class to get to or something? [ muffled scream ] stop living with at&t. xfinity can deliver gig to the most homes.

welcome back. it's 31 minutes past the hour. i'm robyn curnow live here in atlanta. the coronavirus pandemic soars to new levels here in the u.s. with more than 1 million new cases reported during the first week in december alone. that's accordingly to johns hopkins university. saturday was the fifth consecutive day with more than 2,000 people in the u.s. dying from the virus. those surging cases can lead to surging hospitalizations. saturday, more than 100,000

people were hospitalized because of the virus for the fourth straight day. hospitals are approaching capacity, health care workers are really feeling the strain. not just because of the numbers, but because they're also providing emotional support for patients who are isolated from their families. listen to this emergency room nurse talk about what her life has been like. >> as an e.r. nurse, i haven't cried a lot on the job. you hold that back. you want to stay stuff for the family and stoic. and there's been a lot of tears shed in e.r. rooms during covid. because we are treating that person dying like our loved one dying, because they don't have anyone else, and they need that grace, they need that human touch, they need someone to be there when they're taking their last breath. the holidays have been rough for a lot of us. we're not seeing our families. we're doing everything we can to keep the public safe. so it's extremely frustrating for us when people are not doing that. >> sara sidner spoke with other

americans carrying the weight of the pandemic, from the hospitals to the morgues. >> my business tripled. >> reporter: imperial california, county, 18% unemployment rate. that would normally be great news, but this is a funeral home inundated with bodies. >> how much worse can this get? >> we're afraid. when the first wave hit, our hospitals were sending patients out of county to other hospitals. because they were at capacity. that's not going to happen this time, because nobody has room anymore. >> reporter: the covid-19 summer surge overwhelmed her staff, going from an average of 55 deaths to 135 in one month. sheila kruger frantically bought and filled three new refrigerated containers with the dead. they are filling up again. >> so we can put two or three -- we're backed up four, five weeks out now. and we've had married couples that die within a day of each other. parents and children die within

a week of each other. it's heart-wrenching. >> reporter: even with all the new treatments helping bring deaths down and a vaccine on the way, covid-19 is killing one person in america every 30 seconds. in kansas, one patient says the politicization of masks is killing people. >> i'm convinced that there are going to be so many people that are going to die just because of what i'm going to call political. >> reporter: for months, throngs of health care workers have been working to exhaustion battling to save as many lives as they can, but seeing more deaths than ever before. >> i don't want to say it's been harder for us than it has for everybody else, but the truth is, it has. >> reporter: from a doctor in colorado, where 1 out of every 41 people are contagious, according to the governor, to a covid nurse in kansas where icu beds in one part of the state are at capacity, no respite. >> two to three weeks, we're

going to be swamped. >> reporter: one health care system with hospitals in 21 states is reporting a 70% increase in hospitalizations over the past three weeks. caring for highly contagious coronavirus patients is taking its toll on everyone. in a newly released survey of 1,100 health care workers, 76% reported exhaustion and burnout. >> i think we're past the breaking point. so the staff is here, but they're broken. but they still continue to come. >> dr. edward runs el centro regional medical center in california. this hospital has just two icu beds left before they're at capacity. working nonstop since the summer surge, they're facing another surge, a second field hospital with 50 beds erected, a medical tent mimicking a familiar scene to this air force veteran. >> this takes me back to when we were in the middle of baghdad. >> are we in a war zone? >> we are. we used to shy away from using

the term war zone. we're in a war zone against covid. >> reporter: signs of battle across the country. on staten island, an emergency hospital reopened. coronavirus hospitalizations there have nearly tripled. in rhode island, a field hospital erected. another put up by the national guard in massachusetts. a terribly familiar plea we heard at the beginning of the pandemic now repeated. >> if you have the skills, the ability, the can-do attitude, and have time to work in a hospital, we need you. >> reporter: experts say what we really need to put the disease on ice? the vaccine. here in el centro, they took part in the astrazeneca trial and now have one of the precious super-cold refrigerators that hold the delicate vaccine. >> this refrigerator, i call it my life right now. every night we come in to make sure everything's okay with it, that it has what it takes that we're prepared to take to it the next level. >> thanks to sara sidner for that powerful report. i'm joined by another one of those frontline health care

workers. our next guest is a travel nurse. he goes to hot spots around the country and helps boost staffing at hospitals in need. grover street comes to us live from california. thank you, sir, for joining us. before we get to what you're doing in various hospitals around the country, i understand you've just tested for covid yourself and you're in isolation. how are you doing? >> i'm actually doing pretty good right now. i tested positive back on november 3rd. the only symptoms i had was loss of taste and smell. >> okay, so you're okay now. i want you to talk about what you've been doing the past year, the last few months. unlike most of us, you're actually chasing the virus around the country, following the surges. what has it been like? >> it's been a very unusual experience. since march of this year. and it's a great opportunity to

learn more about the virus and about the way people act, you know. different treatment modalities that we're experiencing. you know, it's also interesting to me that some of the hospitals, you know, they approach it differently than other hospitals. not everybody has the same approach. i think if they were to develop an algorithm that could be used for the treatment of covid, in health care it's always based on evidence-based practice. when you get an algorithm, then i think that would help treat some of these patients in a better way. >> are you saying there needs to be more consistency? i understand you started off in new york with the surge there, then miami, now in california, you're helping out at different hospitals. are you saying there needs to be more consistency across the u.s. in how to manage it? >> yes, ma'am. more consistency in the way they

treat it and the approach that they do it. now, it's different based on the patient. you know, not everybody has the same symptoms. and you can't approach it the same treatment modalities or regime in one patient versus another. it just depends on the patient. >> you started your career, your medical career, as a nurse in the air force. we've got pictures of you on the front lines with your military training. how has that helped you? i know our previous guest on sara sidner's piece said this is like a war zone on the front line. does it feel like that? >> yeah. it's interesting. it is that simple fact that people are making that comparison, that it's sort of like -- it is a war. and the weapons that we have to use is not guns or grenades or ammo or bombs, it's actually wearing a face mask.

that's the weapon we use. and that's what we're going to have to do and get better at doing in order to be able to contain this and have more control over what's going on in our society. >> from a personal perspective, what's it like, what's been hardest about having to parachute into many of these hospitals where the staff need you so much? what is one of the most difficult things? >> well, i've seen several things with other employees and staffmembers. there's a lot of job burnout in different facilities. and you see nurses quit and doctors walk off the job, and they just can't handle the stress level. with me, however, i mean, i've learned to adapt to change. i think that's something the military taught me. i'm always ready to take on a challenge. and it actually motivates me to see somebody get better.

and i've had patients that actually have gotten better, but the majority of the patients that i've taken care of have not gotten better. >> and what is that like, to be with people, particularly if they're dying, and you know they're alone? >> you know what, these people are alone in the hospital. they have families on the phone, letting family members know, your mother may not make it tonight, your father, your loved one. they have people on the outside, but it's hospital policy and the cdc recommendations that we control the population of well people that are coming through the hospital and to limit visiting hours. there's actually no visiting hours right now. and to know that their loved ones may go into the hospital one day and not come out. they'll never see them again. this is happening. >> what do you tell those people

who might not leave the hospital and they can't say good-bye properly or have a hug with their loved ones, and you might be the last person they speak to? what do you tell them? >> well, if -- if they're in a position -- it depends on the patient, now. i work icu. if they're intubated, they really don't have any reference. you can't really talk to them in that manner. but if they are on bi-pap or treatment -- if they're not intubated, you talk to them and just give them a level of confidence that, you know, we're here for you. we are your family. and that's just like working in every hospital, when nurses and doctors get together, respiratory therapists, cnas, all the medical professionals that are working together, we're like a family. we have to bring it together like a family. and not just us as workers, but with the patients as well. we have to accept them.

it becomes emotional. there's a lot of emotional things involved with this kind of disease. >> grover street, thank you very much for joining us. thank you so very much for all the work you've been doing, and no doubt all the hands you've held over the past few months. i hope you keep up your strength and have a beautiful christmas. >> thank you, you too. >> all the best. you are watching cnn. still to come, post-brexit trade talks between the eu and uk will resume soon in brussels. the latest on those negotiations that have so far produced no deal. that story and much more on the covid pandemic ravaging the u.s. and the world. up at 2:00am again?

tonight, try pure zzzs all night. unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. fall asleep. stay asleep. ♪

♪ heart monitors that let your doctor watch over you, just like you watch over your best friend. another life-changing technology from abbott, so you don't wait for life. you live it. the negotiators from the european union and uk are hoping to break the deadlock on a post-brexit trade deal. they're meeting in brussels today to resume talks and key differences remain.

the european commission president says no agreement is possible if they're not resolved. while our international diplomatic editor, nick ribbon son, joins me from london, this is neverending in many ways, but certainly it's being described as the last roll of the dice? >> yeah, that's the quote being bandied around at the moment. one of the things i think, the takeaways you might make, if you're a glass half full type person, from that statement, it was a joint statement from downing street. they put it out again this morning as the negotiator hops on the euro star or the plane, whichever way it's going to go, to get to brussels, to continue those negotiations. a joint statement, a joint recognition. much to disagree about, but the statement mentions progress has been made. the reality is, as you say, time is running out for one simple reason, that the deal has to be concluded before the end of the year. but in concluding that deal, it has to give time for both the

parliament and uk and european parliament as well to ratify it. and the technical time for that to achieve is running out. the issues are those core issues we've been talking about for days and weeks and months and everyone's known about. so you get the sense, the reason that the -- that boris johnson and ursula von der layen had the call yesterday is because the negotiators got as far as they could go, so it's up to political leaders to make some compromises. they'll have another phone call monday evening. we just don't know what sort of political ground has shifted there, but it's clear that that's this roll of the dice, if it doesn't shift that political ground, then there isn't going to be a deal. that's very clear, robyn. >> what about the criticism coming from some quarters the europeans are playing too hardball, that they've not been willing to compromise? >> yeah, and that's certainly something that you'll read about

in the british press. i think perhaps if you read other european newspapers and you look at the view and perspective that's being expressed by french fishermen who fish in the english channel, so called because it's the channel between england and france, but at the moment it has eu regulations on it where both french and english fishermen can fish, and sometimes there are contested moments when there have been over the past few years, decades actually, in those waters about who's fishing where -- these are very, very contentious and heartfelt issues by communities on both sides of the channel. and actually all around the uk. it contributes to a very tiny fraction of the overall uk gdp br but when you read in british newspapers that the french are holding out, french fishermen have pressure, perhaps, on emmanuel macron and his holding out, i think what you're getting to when you hear those narratives that the europeans are moving the goal posts, that tells you one very simple thing,

that this is absolutely an emotive issue, and that the two sides, because there is this deep division, are drifting apart. and perhaps not in terms of negotiation, but in terms of how they feel about each other. and this speaks volumes to the thinness of the deal that may be constructed here eventually, maybe. and also the difficulty to negotiate going further forward. because in this negotiation, you're getting into an area where emotional frustrations are coming to the fore. >> and of course, it's such uncharted territory as well, in the midst of a pandemic. nic robertson, it's going to be an interesting few days. thanks for bringing us up to date on it. you're watching cnn. still to come, the u.s. northeast is getting pounded by severe winter weather. take a look at these images. we're going to talk about a bomb cyclone and what triggered it after the break. ng me lately how to get their dishes as clean as possible.

i tell them, you should try cascade platinum plus the power of oxi. cascade platinum + oxi breaks down food soils some detergents can leave behind, cleaning up to 99% of visible and invisible food residue then washing it away so it doesn't redeposit on your dishes. and oxi is cascade's most powerful clean, formulated with no chlorine bleach. for a deep, hygienic clean you can see and feel cascade + the power of oxi. i wasn't sure... was another around the corner? or could things go a different way? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didn't experience another. -and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial

heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily- and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. what's around the corner could be worth waiting for. ask your doctor about eliquis.

understanding how to talk to your doctor about treatment options is key. today, we are redefining how we do things. we find new ways of speaking, so you're never out of touch. it's seeing someone's face that comforts us, no matter where. when those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care. the first steps of checking in, the smallest moments can end up being everything. there's resources that can inform us,

and that spark can make a difference. when we use it to improve things, then that change can last within us. when we understand what's possible, we won't settle for less. the best thing we can be is striving to be at our best. managing heart failure starts now with understanding. call today or go online to understandhf.com for a free hf handbook. so a powerful, powerful winter storm is barreling up the u.s. northeastern coast into canada's eastern coast as well. meteorologists say the storm has become a bomb cyclone with some

areas under nearly a foot of snow. more than 190,000 homes and businesses are without power in the state of maine alone. and more than 2 million people in new england alone are under winter storm alerts. with more on all of that, derek van dam with more. hi, derek. >> hey, robyn. the term bomb cyclone, meteorologists don't throw that around loosely. it has a certain set of characteristics for a low pressure system to be defined thus. what we look for to measure the strength of the storm is central pressure, measured in millibars. it has to drop 24 millibars in 24 hours, a rare feat, but this particular storm, it did, so it's classified as bomb cyclone. you don't need a meteorology degree to see there's a storm system moving up the coast. nova scotia, new brunswick getting hammered. the majority of the precipitation coming to an end

quickly across new england. there's the wind. that still gusting through the course of the day. 25, 35 miles per hour in places like boston as well as portland into bangor, maine. you can see the winter weather advisory still in place. about 2 million people being impacted by the storm. the snow that managed to fall, there were some locations that received over a foot, less than that for other locations closer to the coast where the beginning of the storm actually began as rain. the temperatures were well above freezing. so had this been a colder system to start with, this could have been a debilitating snowstorm for the northeast. but that just wasn't the case. you can see the snow ending in boston. we've got another 12 hours of snow for northern maine. back to you, robyn. >> thanks so much. folks really need to keep warm. so i am robyn curnow. "newsroom" continues after this quick break, stay with us. it's down to the wire,

the team's been working around the clock. we've had to rethink our whole approach. we're going to give togetherness. logistically, it's been a nightmare. i'm not sure it's going to work. it'll work. i didn't know you were listening. ♪ ocean spray works with nature every day to keep you healthy

welcome to all of our viewers joining us in the united states and around the world. you're watching cnn. just ahead, the president back out on the campaign trail. donald trump takings his unfounded election grievances to georgia. we'll look at whether his message can help the republican senators. plus stay at home. in just hours tens of millions of californians will be ordered to do just that in a bid to slow the pandemic spread. and what it's like to actually get the coronavirus vaccine. dr. sanjay gupta shares one man's story.