♪ i'm like you on-demand glucose monitoring. because they're always on. another life-changing technology from abbott. so you don't wait for life. you live it. hello, everyone. i'm kate bolduan. thank you for joining us this hour. there is some striking perspective today. it took the united states three months to hit its first 1 million coronavirus infections. but there have now been 1 million new infections in the past five days in the united states. that is breathtaking. and when you look across the country, almost every state is showing an increase in the number of covid deaths compared to the previous week and half of the states we're looking at are seeing increases of more than 50%. this is not new infections which

is often what we talk about in this week-to-week comparison. this is the number of people dying from coronavirus from week to week with the sea of red lighting up the country. a vaccine is likely to be approved soon, possibly this week, health experts say the dangers right now could not be greater. >> i think it could be more of a challenge than what we saw with thanksgiving. so i hope that people realize that, and understand that as difficult as this is, nobody wants to modify, if not essentially shutdown their holiday season. but we are in a critical time in this country right now. we have to not walk away from the facts and the data. this is tough going for all of us. >> we need you to hang on just a little bit longer because we have vaccines coming but we want as many people to be alive to get them as possible. and a lot of that is going to depend on your behavior. >> that is such a sobering statement of reality right now

coming from the outgoing surgeon general. president-elect joe biden announced this morning his inning health team. tapping javier bazier. he would be the first latino to head the department of health and human services if it is confirmed. it is no surprise this is not where the president's focus is today. yet another person in his close orbit has contracted the virus. his personal attorney, rudy giuliani has contracted the virus and is now in the hospital. first we need to turn to california where 30 million people are facing new stay-at-home orders as we speak. stephanie elam is standing by, tracking all of this. what's happening there right now, stephanie? >> it's what we're seeing across the country, kate, as we are seeing these coronavirus numbers just rise. and really, when you look at all

of the records being set, not just in california, but in many states across the nation, this is a problem that now the states are trying to fix. the alarming surge in new coronavirus cases has medical experts more concerned than ever. >> we're not likely to see a peak in the number of infections until the end of december, into january, so things are going to get a lot worse. >> reporter: the united states has added 1.2 million new coronavirus cases in the first six days of december alone. >> the gatherings that we saw at thanksgiving will lead to a surge. it will happen this week and next week. and we cannot go into the holiday season, with this same kind of attitude. >> reporter: hospitalizations continue to rise. more than 101,000 americans are hospitalized with the virus nationwide. >> hospitals are getting full. and it's just hard to find spaces for people.

so that's actually another crisis situation. i'm very worried about what's going to happen over the next three to six weeks. >> reporter: this morning, some 33 million people in california are under new stay-at-home orders as icus in parts of the state are rapidly filling up. on sunday, california's department of public health reporting more than 30,000 cases, a new daily record. the new restrictions order bars, hair salons, museums and movie theatres to close. but retail stores are allowed to remain open at 20% capacity. restaurants are limited to take out and delivery services only. some restaurant owners pushing back on the new regulations. one restaurant owner frustrated that her outdoor dining patio has been forced to shutdown, even though, she says, a video production company set up an outdoor eating area for its employees right next to her own parking lot.

>> tell me that this is dangerous, but right to me is a slap in his face, that's safe. >> reporter: this week the food and drug administration will meet to discuss authorizing emergency use for pfizer's vaccine. president-elect joe biden saying friday his team has seen no detailed plan from the trump administration to deliver a vaccine to americans. but the trump administration is assuring the public they are ready. >> we have comprehensive plans from the cdc, working with 64 public health jurisdictions across the country as our governors have laid out detailed plans that we worked with them on. >> we haven't had the chance yet to sit down with the transition team and explain in detail everything that has been planned and done. we look forward to that happening. i think we have a meeting planned later this week. >> reporter: and dr. anthony fauci telling our john berman earlier this morning that he's

been in touch with california officials and believes this was the right thing to do, to start the stay-at-home orders because the numbers are rising so much. and he has concerns about the fact that december has so many holidays and they're longer than thanksgiving. and we haven't seen the surge from thanksgiving that many health officials are expecting, that's concerning to them because that means we could see a larger number of people reporting sick from this virus as we get further into december. it's staggering. >> thank you for your reporting. it's great. while this is happening in california, joe biden is rolling out the team -- his team that will be leading the efforts against the virus, just 44 days from now. let's get to jessica dean, she has all of this. what are you hearing for there? >> reporter: well, the biden team will tell you, kate, this team shows the contrast with joe biden and kamala harris, how they're going to handle and tackle the coronavirus pandemic versus how president trump and his administration have tried to

get their arms around the coronavirus pandemic. you see, if you take a look at the announcements that were made early this morning, this is made up of a lot of doctors, scientists, experts, it will be led by california's attorney attorney general, he is also -- he has been responsible for leading the fight to preserve the affordable care act, which was key, he was a member of congress when that was passed. and we know behind the scenes, the biden team has been getting pushback, or pressure like the congressional hispanic caucus to put more diverse nominees. we know dr. murphy will be reprising his role as surgeon general. he was the youngers and first indian american to serve in that position. also been a member of the

covid-19 advisory board for biden and harris as they have gone through the transition. all of these people together have quite the task before them. here's what dr. fauci said about the team, of which he's a member. >> i worked with all of them before. they're excellent choices. i mean, all of them. baccera had been in the congress for a considerable period of time. i've had considerable interactions with all of these individuals and they're outstanding. >> reporter: we also saw a tweet from dr. walinsky, she's been tapped to head the cdc. she said, we are ready to combat this virus with science and facts. kate, again, that's the contrast they really believe they are showing between how it has been handled so far by the trump administration and how a biden administration an tticipates to

tackle this virus, that's science and facts. we expect joe biden to introduce the team tomorrow. >> the jobs they have, the numbers they'll be facing when they come in is enormous. joining me now is dr. megan riley. it's good to see you again, doctor, what do you think of joe biden's health team announced today? >> i am thrilled by the announcements about the health team. he couldn't have chosen three better people to help lead our nation out of this horrific pandemic and to build our health system back truly to be better. to move us from a reactive system where we're trying to pick up the pieces to a proactive system where we're using science and facts and data to help drive a great public health infrastructure that not just makes up for covid-19, not just stops the transmission of this virus, but also helps americans to achieve full health

in so many other ways. they're really just three wonderful, science driven leaders. >> what they're going to be facing coming in is just -- it's a huge task. i don't know the correct words to use to describe what they're up against. not just the numbers we're seeing in the virus but also the rollout of the vaccine, the logistics they're going to be dealing with coming in. and the fact the country just saw a million new infections in five days. something that took three months to happen at the beginning of the pandemic. what should that mean to people sitting at home today? >> so the first thing is that the biden/harris administration is not taking over for another month and a half yet. we have a long and dark winter to get through before those new picks are put in place. for the next month and a half it is still up to us to maintain mask wearing. to maintain physical distancing,

to avoid indoor get togethers with people who are not part of our household. that is the only way we are going to survive, literally, the next 50 days. the second thing is we cannot expect that the new administration is going to come in and there's going to be a magical disappearance of covid. trump has said multiple times in the pandemic it's going to disappear. it's not going to disappear on january 20th. it's going to take time for us to get the virus under control, take time for us to distribute the vaccine. and i'm worried about the vaccine distribution plans. i have not seen evidence from the trump administration that they have the stuff together to get it out into the arms of all americans in a timely manner. so there's going to be a lot of planning and we still have to hold on for a bit longer. just to buckle down through january 20th. cnn did an analysis of states' vaccine data and found that none -- i think the 27 states that they were able to get the data on, none of them

would be getting enough of the vaccine in the first shipment in order to vaccinate all of the people that are in this first priority group. which then leigh leaads to that wrenching horrible decision you have to make how do you ration first doses. which health care worker gets the vaccine when there isn't enough, which nursing home resident gets the vaccine when there isn't enough for all of them in that shipment? >> that's a great question. we have specialists who are weighing in, i'll tell you the thing that concerns me isn't just that they're not going to come through on the shipments as promised but also there's no plan for the distribution. the administration has put a lot of money into creating vaccines in record time but they have not invested the money in preparing the states and counties for distributing these vaccines. the pfizer vaccine has to be kept at these ultra cold

temperatures. once it's thawed, it has to be used in four or five days, that requires a data infrastructure. we're talking about an administration that can't get us testing supplies and ppe. and somehow the states are going to be able to appropriately distribute the vaccine with no funding? there's a lot of holes in the plan that make me concerned to get the vaccine in the arm of all americans as quickly as the administration is planning. >> the way you're putting it is something more people need to pay attention to. doctor, thank you for your time. >> thank you. coming up for us, the white house's reaction to the president's personal attorney, rudy giuliani now hospitalized with coronavirus. later, an arizona er doctor begging at this point for more public safety rules in his state. what he told the president-elect when joe biden called him directly. you can earn your degree faster and for less with relevant life experience

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this morning, president trump's personal attorney, rudy giuliani is in the hospital after testing positive for covid-19. the 76-year-old was on tv just hours before he entered georgetown university hospital 37 and he says via twitter he is feeling good. he joins a growing list of people in the president's team, his orbit, who he's close with that have contracted the coronavirus. look at the list. but his diagnoses also means there's a potential of a ton of people needing to quarantine now as last week rudy giuliani was traveling around the country trying to fight the election results on the president's

behalf. cnn's john harwood has been watching all of this. he joins us right now. what are you hearing? >> reporter: nothing more than the giuliani tweet that he's in the georgia medical center, getting great care, recovering quickly. the president tweeted out the news of his diagnosis and said get better, well, and all of that sort of thing. it's extraordinary the extent to which people, including donald trump and those around him, have been careless about the virus, not just with the nation but with their own health. the president, of course, got it, got gold plated treatment, came out of it. ben carson, his cabinet member. melania trump, a couple of his kids. many top aides. this has been going on for months and it's the legacy that donald trump will leave when joe biden takes over on january 20th, the pandemic is still going to be raging and the proof

can be found not just what's going on in the midwestern states and other states with surging rates of infection but with those close to donald trump. >> look, we wish giuliani well but the amount of people he encountered without a mask in the days prior to his positive diagnosis is really scaring. there's new reporting that attorney general bill barr is considering resigning before the inauguration. is it he wants to or he's being pushed to and what's the point at this point? >> reporter: well, there's not much of a point. you know, there's six weeks to go in the administration. so everybody is going to be out of a job in terms of people like bill barr at that stage. but i think this is a you can't fire me i quite type of situation. bill barr has done the president's bidding time after time after time. but one of the things you see with people around donald trump is donald trump is a bottomless well of needy. there's not enough you can do to

gratify him when he wants support, wants assistance, asks people to do more and more extraordinary things and bill barr has decided that asking him to help him overturn the results of a democratic election with a clear outcome is simply too much so bill barr said no we haven't seen any evidence. president trump responded by saying he hasn't done anything, he hasn't really looked into it and the suggestion is he's going to fire barr and barr is suggesting, through associates, you know what, i don't need this, i may leave early. so it's not going to matter for the governance of the country. it's more about a dispute between those two men and who's going to save face and who isn't. >> fragile egos all around. thank you, john. still ahead, a u.s. veteran and e.r. doctor says treating patients is worse than being in a war zone. what he said when he talked to the president-elect directly.

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today is december 7th, the anniversary of pearl harbor, 2,403 americans were killed in

that attack and the country is now facing another war against this virus where that same number of americans is essentially dying from covid on a daily basis. some of the country's health care workers have been on the front lines of both kinds of battlefields we're realizing more and more often. president-elect joe biden spoke to one of them as he prepares to take the lead in the fight. >> dr. gillman, this is joe biden. i just called to thank you for your service. you're an iraqi war veteran, i understand you'll do whatever it takes to get the pandemic under control. i want you to know how much i appreciate what you and others like you are doing, risking your rear ends and others to help people. >> thank you, sir. i grew up with a speech impediment and did not have opportunities until i joined the military. i'm fortunate to come out unscath unscathed. i was in new york on the front lines, lost three colleagues out there. i lost my 27-year-old cousin,

who was really healthy, trying out for the nfl. i'm really looking forward to you becoming president, sir. >> joining me right now is dr. cleveland gillman. an emergency room doctor at envision health in ewe arizona. thank you for your time. i want to ask you about today. today is the anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor as i laid out. you served on the front lines in iraq. you're an iraq war veteran. you've seen war. why do you say that this pandemic and what you've seen in the hospitals and what you've been up against is a lot worse than the war that you've seen? >> thank you, kate. it's a lot worse than being in iraq because we're losing 2,500 people almost every day.

it has no boundaries, it's everywhere. we're on multiple fronts in the u.s. and there's also this aspect of the trojan horse. you can be at your job, get infected and bring that home to your family and infect them as well. we've seen this happen time and time again. and there's also this like hidden war, right. the war is not being waged on the streets, it's being waged in the hospitals and you have no access to the hospitals. you can't see what's happening. there's no support for us at all here in the u.s. >> you were caring for patients in new york in the spring at the height of the first surge. you're now in arizona. how do you describe what you're seeing in your hospitals now there? >> we, you know, the war out here is not the same as it is in new york. in new york, there was a large surge of patients, which just overwhelmed the hospital. here in arizona we're having a

kind of slow drip, ten sick, critical patients per day in the hospital. and they're being admitted to the icu and the floors. they're not getting outside the hospital. and the big problem, the big problem here in arizona is that our governor fails to help us. everything is open. there's no mask mandates, schools are open, indoor dining. there's large gathering sizes. trump rallies. from the standpoint of the hospitals, i think like all around in arizona we're hearing the same thing, lack of ppe. we have people who have on n 95s for a whole week, increased nursing ratios. can't transfer sick patients to the icus. we have had over 2,000 health care workers who have been killed by this virus. and, you know, the big problem that we are having on the front

lines, if you say anything, if you speak out, your job with likely fire you. and then, after you're treating the patients, intubating them, seeing loved ones die, you get to drive home, pass the gym that's crowded with people, people eating inside maskless. it's just a slap in the face here over and over again. that's how come it's important to support front line health care workers. we are trying to pass an act called the lorna breene health care provider act. lorna breene was a colleague of mine in new york who died on the front lines, committed suicide, so we are really trying to support our front line health care workers. >> can you talk to me quickly about the call you had with the president-elect? what did you want to tell him,

do you think you were heard? >> yeah, look, i love president-elect joe biden. he is an excellent man. we just kind of talked about the lack of support here. we talked about implementing a unified planning. unified message. wear masks, avoid large gathering sizes. and he truly supports health care workers. he gets it. you know, on the other hand, you know, we talked about trump holding the rallies as well. a kind of -- also increasing ppe and n95 masks for everyone. >> the needs that you're going to have on the front lines is not going to magically go away when the biden administration comes in. but thank you so much doctor for coming on. thank you for what you're doing day in and day out.

>> i really appreciate it, thank you so much. >> thank you so much. coming up next, the one question republican senator kelly loeffler repeatedly dodged, why georgia republicans are worried. ght... i'll be eating roasted cauliflower tacos with spicy chipotle sauce. [doorbell chimes] thank you. [puck scores] oooow yeah!! i wasn't ready! you want cheese to go with that whine?? the annual enrollment period is here. the time to choose your coverage... begins october 15th and ends december 7th. so call unitedhealthcare... and take advantage of a wide choice of plans... including an aarp medicare advantage plan from unitedhealthcare. it can combine your hospital and doctor coverage... with part d prescription drug coverage, and more, all in one simple plan... for a low monthly premium or in some areas, no plan premium at all. take advantage of $0 copays

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georgia has now counted the ballots from the presidential election three times and later today, georgia's secretary of state is set to recertify the result after the second recount. and the results remain unchanged. president-elect joe biden beat president trump by 12,000 votes in georgia. so there is that. this is also the last day for georgia residents to register to vote in the upcoming runoff senate election. last night the candidates mostly faced off. i say mostly because democratic challenger jon ossoff faced an empty lectern as david purdue refused to debate him. and senator loeffler and warnock also debated. on the question of if loeffler believed the results, the senator sadly dodged it

repeatedly. >> do you stand by his narrative the election was rigged and support his demand of governor kemp to call a session to overturn the results. >> it's vital that georgians accept our process. and the president has every right to every recourse. >> do you believe the election was rigged? >> it's clear there were issues in this election. there are 250 investigations open. >> are you concerned his comments could alienate some republicans in georgia ahead of the runoff. >> the president has the right to pursue every legal recourse to make sure this was a free and fair election in georgia. >> now in terms of dodging, she's not alone. "the washington post" surveyed all 249 republicans in congress and only 27 acknowledged joe biden's win. a vast majority wouldn't even respond to the post's requests. that's an important perspective. this isn't a hard reality to acknowledge but what is the

denial doing to the republicans' efforts in the state of georgia. joining me now is former republican senator buzz brockway. loeffler made clear she's sticking with president trump on this one. what do you think this is doing to republican chances in this race? >> i think it's sending mixed messages. you saw the president came to town and he, among the many, many things he said, one thing he said was that all republicans should go vote and vote for loeffler and perdue but the undermining of the election results sends a contrary message to people. >> absolutely. you actually even heard from republicans that they're not going to vote because they've bought into or just have been inundated with this maej thessat we're hearing from the president about a rigged election? >> yeah, i have. i think it's getting a little bit better and i'm hopeful the president's comments saturday

night will help with that, but it is very contentious out there and people are saying if it's rigged, why should i bother? >> doesn't that get to the core of it, how do you square those things? if it's rigged but only for one thing, that can't make any sense to anybody in georgia. >> unfortunately, this is now -- we -- two years ago here in georgia we had a hotly contested governor's race and stacey abrams became nationally famous for saying that she didn't accept the results of the election while she acknowledged brian kemp was ahead, she felt like she was cheated through suppression. now we have this where republicans are saying, well, elections were stolen through fraud. so the constant undermining of results is dangerous to our country. >> what kind of damage does it do, part of the president's message on saturday was he directly attached the republican governor, governor kemp, and

also continued to do so on twitter this morning and cnn is reporting that he actually called the governor to try to force him to help in trying to bring back the legislature to overturn the vote in georgia. this is real. this isn't just talking points of what he's doing. how worried are you what this means in georgia? >> well, i -- i'm hopeful that once the legal process winds down, which just moments ago a federal judge tossed out sidney powell's lawsuit here in georgia, that's one fewer to worry about challenging the election results here in this state. i'm hopeful when it winds down and the electoral college votes next monday that things will calm down. this really worries me. i think, quite frankly, the calls for a special session in georgia and other states to toss out the election is a very dangerous thing. you know, you want people marching in the streets, that's

a way to get it. we have court processes to handle these things, fight it out in the courts. >> look, you ran against the secretary of state for the job back in 2018, you did not win that race. i'm curious, is there a part of you that maybe for the first time in your entire career are happy you lost a race. because -- i say that, but also, he's facing very real threats to him and his family. he's now faced these multiple recounts. are you proud of what you're seeing from republicans in the state? >> well, you know, i joke with folks that i thank the lord i lost. you know, god spared me being in this position. i've texted with him a few times to let him know that i support him. i think he's doing the right thing. anybody can sit back and throw stones at this decision or that decision that he made.

but the bottom line here is, this was a very close election here in georgia. this was a close election across the country, and people are upset about it. and that's the bottom line. >> buzz, one more thing just on that -- i just wanted to ask you really quick. as you're saying like he's doing his job but what kelly loeffler did last night, where's the spine there? >> she's in a tough spot politically. because she sees the polls and she's hearing from people, i mean, i've never seen anything like this. the outrage that people supporters of president trump are directing at anyone who dares suggest that there was -- that this was not a fraudulent election. so she's trying to thread that needle hoping, as i mentioned before, after the electoral votes maybe things will calm down, that's what she's hoping. it's really unprecedented, what's going on.

>> thanks for coming on. really appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. coming up next new reports on the assassination of iran's nuclear sign test. we're live in tehran. at aetna, we take a total, connected approach to your health and wellness to help you age actively. with medicare advantage plans designed for the whole you. we offer monthly plan premiums starting at $0. hospital, medical and prescription drug coverage, in one simple plan. plus dental, vision and hearing. aetna medicare advantage plans. medicare annual enrollment

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investigations are still ongoing cnn gained rare access to the sight of the killing. nick peyton walsh has the story. >> reporter: amid tehran's holiday hopes, by the snowy roadside is where the man whose work iran says must go on was fatally shot in front of his wife reportedly.

he was iran's repository of nuclear bomb knowledge, israel claimed, not saying they were behind the assassination. a lot of the debris is being cleared. you can see the soot from the explosion on the curve and damage to the road below. there are so many versions of events of what happened here, but one witness we spoke to says first they heard an explosion, a wood truck they say that detonated here. then there was exchange of gunfire that lasted 8 to 10 minutes. you can see over here the damage still done to the side by the bullets. from the orchard nearby, possible vantage points for a low tech ambush, even though iranian security officials tell state media this was a high tech plot, involving an ai facial recognition robot machine gun into whose bullets he stepped when he got out of his bulletproof car. one of the many reasons offered for a lapse insecuri security.

his son told state media his father ignored warnings from his security detail the day before. my father said he had a class, the son says, one he could not teach virtually and an important meeting, so they could not persuade him to turn back. deep inside the defense ministry sunday they remembered him, again at the highest levels, among iranian's critics louder and louder the question does this, another lapse in security make a race towards a possible nuclear weapon a good idea or worse one. officially iran says it does not want the bomb, but parliament last week demanded they enrich uranium to 20% in first weeks of the biden administration. that could make a weapon a lot closer. yet there remain two versions of iran, a bit visible here, hard hit by sanctions and wants to talk or has resisted and will

hit back. >> we know our campaign is working because now the iranians are desperately signaling their willingness to return to the negotiating table to get sanctions relief. >> the regime if it feels it can continue carrying out acts of terror, iranians will pay an unnecessary price. the only way to stop these acts of terror is for them to pay a price that makes it not worthy. i have no doubt the iranians are going to respond. >> reporter: iran has been here before, at this museum of blown up cars, test models going back in the ages, nuclear scientists assassinated in iran's pursuit of what it says is peaceful nuclear technology that it needs alongside its huge oil reserves. we may never know what knowledge perished with him or what impact it will have on iran's critics, the hawks that claim it could be as little as four months away from a possible nuclear weapon.

deals, scientists, assassins come and gone, with mounting tension. joe biden has a huge diplomatic task to ease in a matter of months. has about 40 days left to build. another wrinkle over the nuclear deal. the european, three, france, germany, united kingdom, reports that they're putting things in the facility. joe biden, the president-elect and seems germany want a slightly bigger deal than the 2015 nuclear package, they want it to include missiles and other things. iran says simply no. it is the old deal or nothing. a lot of that is bluster certainly. but there's a lot of a clock ticking. they have a couple of weeks into the administration until the iranian hard liners want sanction relief or becomes harder to see how negotiations go forward, kate. >> great reporting, nick, thank you so much for being there and bringing this to us. i appreciate it.

turning back to the united states to capitol hill, lawmakers face immense pressure to pass three critical bills before leaving town. defense authorization bill, a bill, critical bill to keep the government funded and the long awaited next round of covid relief. lauren fox is tracking this. lauren, what's going to happen? >> reporter: kate, it is december on capitol hill. that means lawmakers are running up like you said against three critical deadlines. first, the bill that sets pentagon policy for the next year, essentially we expect the president is going to veto what is a bipartisan bill on capitol hill. then we will wait and see if congress can override it. we have a government spending deadline coming up on friday. we expect a one week extension of that deadline with a continuing resolution as lawmakers try to get a bigger omni bus deal for the end of the year. and of course, we are all watching whether the bipartisan group of lawmakers can come up with any agreement on an

economic stimulus proposal to help families and businesses effected by coronavirus. we expected that today, learned we probably won't see final bill text, but we will be watching whether or not they can get those three things done in the next few weeks, kate? >> that's a lot of legislative text for you or anyone with your level of expertise. thank you so much. huge week on capitol hill. coming up, as the federal government is about to authorize a covid vaccine, cnn finds the first shipments will fall short. we'll be back.

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from unitedhealthcare. the we have to find just nosomething else.it. good luck! what does that mean? we are doomed. [laughter] that's it. i figured it out! we're going to give togetherness. that sounds dumb. we're going to take all those family moments and package them. hmm. [laughing] that works.

hello, become to viewers in the united states and around the world. i am john king in washington. thank you for sharing your day with us. sobering coronavirus reality check today. numbers continue to break records. we have not yet hit the pandemic bottom. 175,663 new infections, highest total for sunday. more than 196,000, daily average by which the case count is growing now. 1,113 deaths, deadliest sunday since back in april. the scope of the thanksgiving spike will become more clear this week. we already know that it is pushing cases and hospitalizations to nightmare scenario levels. this morning, dr. fauci warns