twitter and instagram @wolfblitz a instagram @wolfblitzer. you can always tweet the show @cnnsitroom. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. outfront next, record deaths and hospitalizations and dr. anthony fauci warning too many americans still think the pandemic is a hoax. how many lives have to be lost for many in this country to take it seriously? plus the daunting job of delivering hundreds of millions of vaccines. drivers in one state expected to log 11,000 miles a day just to get the doses to the places they're going. we'll give you an inside look at this unprecedented national effort. and florida police with guns drawn raided her home. she says it's because she accused state of covering up the pandemic. rebecca jones is my guest. let's go outfront. good evening, i'm erin burnett. outfront tonight, sounding the alarm. from coast to coast, the

nation's doctors holding back tears as they warn americans that the worst is ahead. the health director of l.a. county which has seen its hospitalization rate and fatalities triple over the past month and just had deaths top 8,000 in the county spoke about the toll from the alarming spike. >> the more terrible truth is that over 8,000 people -- sorry. over 8,000 people who were beloved members of their families are not coming back, and their deaths are an incalculable loss to their friends and their family as well as our community. >> those words as dr. fauci says the u.s. still has not come to grips. we have nearly 300,000 americans death, with how serious this pandemic is. >> well, i think everybody uniformly needs to admit that we

have a real problem. we've got to own the problem. if you don't own the problem, you're never going to fix the problem. >> and it is a deadly problem. so far today another more than 2,000 americans have died from coronavirus and it's only 7:00 eastern. and the president does not want to talk about it. instead, today choosing to take down another country for the toll the virus is taking there. tweeting, quote, germany has consistently been used by my obnoxious critics as a country we should follow on a way to handle the china virus. so much for that argument. he attached a tweet that noted germany recorded 590 deaths in one day. it is true germany hit a record in covid deaths in one day, just like the united states, which has nearly hit record deaths for eight days running. hospitalizations setting daily records. germany's numbers pale in comparison to the country that trump is running the pandemic response for. when you break down the number of deaths per 100,000 residents,

here are the numbers. 24 for germany, 87 for the united states. four times worse. it is not even close. amid trump's denial of a problem, he's got his holiday parties, he's ripping off his own mask. it is hurting america. it is having a very dangerous effect across this country. again, dr. fauci. >> we're seeing in some parts of the country what would be equivalent of almost denial, katty, where people don't think it's a big deal, they think it's fake news or a little bit of a hoax. >> denial. nearly 300,000 people, and the number is going to go above that. that mindset of denial and hoax thinking on display, sadly, in two of the states with the worst pausetivity rates in this country, one out of two people being tested are testing positive. in idaho this was the scene outside a health board meeting in boise last night. >> we will not comply, we will

not comply. >> the chant "we will not comply." the signs reading no lockdown and no masks. protesters went and surrounded the homes of a few board members and the protests escalated so quickly that the meeting had to be shut down because some members feared for their safety and the safety of their family. >> my 12-year-old son is home by himself right now and there are protesters banging outside the door. i'm going to go home. >> in south dakota, the town of mitchell recently held a meeting to discuss a mask mandate after losing so many people to covid. and what you're about to hear is just one of the many arguments against a mask mandate in mitchell. >> i will stand against the government stripping us of our freedoms, liberties, rights and livelihoods all because of a fabricated pandemic. the bare face is the yellow star of nazi germany allowing discrimination, segregation and fear of individuals.

>> nearly 300,000 people are dead and she says it's fabricated. where do those kinds of words come from? well, in a moment i'm going to speak to a republican councilmember from south dakota who was pushing for that mask mandate because so many of her friends were dying. unfortunately, the woman you just heard a moment ago in mitchell is not alone in saying this is fabricated. where does this come from? how can people still be saying this? well, it is because the president himself who just last night retweeted a post with a picture of a doctor in reno, nevada. this doctor took a selfie, this is in a makeshift covid unit in a parking garage. the president retweeted along with a picture a message from a conservative blog that read here is the fake nevada parking garage that our moron governor tweeted proving it's all a scam. no patients, folded up beds. they spent millions on this scam and have never seen a single patient in this fake hospital. so the president of the united

states retweets this. that doctor who tweeted that picture after losing five patients in 32 hours came on this show and said this. >> we have since seen over 200 patients in a parking garage, a place i never thought i would take care of a human being. i was disgusted. and it's about time that all of our elected officials view covid as a humanitarian crisis. >> so those are the facts. those facts, though, don't break through the noise all the time of the conspiracy theories being put out by the president. and too many in this country are taking the president's lead when it comes to covid because they trust the president. you remember the i.t. contractor for dominion voting system. she was rudy giuliani's controversial witness in that michigan hearing on voter fraud. she told "the washington post" she has no plans to quarantine even though she was sitting

inches away from giuliani all day. he has tested positive for coronavirus. her quote, i would take it seriously if it came from trump, because trump cares about american lives. she added that if trump friendly networks like one america news or newsmax told her to go get tested, she would. she trusts trump. and as awful as that may be, he is violating that trust and putting lives at risk. kaitlin collins is live outside the white house. kaitlin, the president, none of this breaks through. he just does not care. and the president is essentially ignoring the virus and the toll it is taking as the death toll climbs to 300,000. he ignores that and tweets about germany. >> reporter: yeah, erin, when i asked sources where the president's head is on the pandemic, they said he's basically completely consumed by his election loss. we saw that play out yesterday at the vaccine summit where the president turned it instead into talking about their achievements with the vaccine development and instead into a venting session

about what happened in these states, similar to that tweet about nevada that he tweeted earlier this week as well. when he was asked by a reporter this vaccine news is amazing, but what is your message to americans right now that we are seeing record numbers of deaths, cases, hospitalizations. and the president said, well, their goal was the vaccine. he then talked about immunity being developed in the united states, even though that's not what we're hearing from medical experts. then he also blamed the amount of cases in the united states on the number of testing that we're seeing, something that the president has repeated for months, claiming that we have more cases because there is more testing, even though, erin, we know the medical experts have said that is not the case. it's because the virus is surging across the country. that's the concern among people is what's going to happen over the next few weeks while the president is in office not taking this seriously or taking the same message that other health officials have. that comes as he is also denying the fact that the transition is happening, but you're seeing other officials like the hhs secretary, alex azar, say he has met with the biden transition team. that's the first cabinet

official so far to confirm on the record that they have met with the transition team. >> kaitlin, thank you. at the white house tonight. i want to go now to ross duke who was leading that meeting that you saw get shut down in ida idaho. he is the director of the central district health board and susan sharks, a member of the mitchell, south dakota, city council. she proposed a mask mandate there. i appreciate both of you very much coming on to talk about this. director duke, you hear dr. fauci today saying that too many americans still think the pandemic is a hoax. how much of that sentiment are you facing? >> you know, i would say here in idaho that most of the members of our communities that i am responsible for, it's about 520,000 people, do support what we're doing. they understand the seriousness of it. and they're behind us all the way. however, we do have a contingent in our community who do not believe the virus is dangerous

or do not believe it exists at all. that's really created some real challenges for us. as you saw with the video last night with the board meeting we tried to hold. >> yes. and in that board meeting i just want to follow up with this. there were protesters outside the board meeting but i know some of them went outside the homes of board members and we saw one of your members obviously quite distraught about that. someone home alone as people were surrounding the house. are you concerned at all for your safety or the safety of other board members? >> yeah, i actually am. you know, i guess i would have never thought it would come to this. and when people start going to someone's private home and harassing their families, that's over the line. to me it's unacceptable. you know, our job here is to make decisions to protect the health of our communities, and we're going to continue to do that. we know what we need to do. unfortunately, the meeting was

disrupted and we're working on rescheduling it. >> councilwoman sharks, you were initially ridiculed when you proposed a mask mandate, and i know you did it because you knew the science and because, sadly, you knew people dying. and it took a lot of death in your town before you were able to change minds there. how hard was that? >> you know, it was surprisingly -- it was surprisingly hard, quite frankly, because we were -- i feel like we were in a little bit of denial. i knew that it wasn't a popular stance to propose masking. but i have to say that once the proposal was made, it did make it so that the people came forth. i mean we had the people from the hospital, the medical community, and all of these agencies across our community that stepped forward and encouraged us to adopt a masking mandate. and so really it was a grassroots effort that really led to that. but the initial push to get it

out there to propose a masking mandate absolutely was challenging. >> so, director duke, why do you think it is that the protesters in your area are so against any restrictions? >> you know, what they describe is it's about individual rights. that's what we hear. we're taking away an individual's right. clearly it's an individual responsibility to help our communities through this pandemic right now, and we know the mask debate that's raging on around the country, that's one of the very few tools we have to protect our communities and keep the disease in check. so i -- you know, it's just really difficult to know that these are our neighbors that are coming out and pushing so hard against what we're trying to do for the greater good. >> it is hard on communities and, you know, councilwoman, as

a conservative republican, your governor also of course is a conservative republican, kristi noem. she's been staunchly against restrictions. she said the same thing the director said, it's about her freedom. she's been traveling the country maskless. we all know about the event she held at mt. rushmore july 4th as the virus was raging in your state. dr. fauci said we're seeing in some parts of the country what would be the equivalent of almost denial. do you think your governor is in denial, and how powerful are the actions of people like her and people like the president? >> well, i want to start by saying in my mind this isn't a political issue, it's not a democrat virus and it's not a republican virus. and so for me it's not a political issue at all. i will say that as a council, i think that a lot of the councils probably across the state of south dakota have longed for

more leadership from governor noem. we would have loved to have had a statewide mandate put in place but that wasn't going to happen. and so as a result we have a piecemeal patchwork of different ordinances throughout the state. so the leadership would have been really nice. and why, i can't speak to that. i don't know why. i assume that it's because she believes that we need to exercise our personal freedom and she always says she trusts the people of the state. but i think that at some point you need to stop and say, look, what we've been doing isn't working and maybe we need to take another look and do something different. >> councilwoman sharks, director duke, i appreciate both of your time. thank you very much. and as you hear that conversation, i want to go to dr. jonathan reinner who advised the white house medical team under president george w. bush. doctor, what's your reaction to

that? you heard councilwoman sharks there, that she longed for that leadership from governor noem. why do you think these protesters in idaho, in south dakota, and by the way in many other places across this country are so violently and virulently against these restrictions, still thinking it's a hoax, a fabrication as dr. fauci said. is this because of the president? >> yeah, it is, erin. on april 3rd the president came before the country and told the country that he wasn't going to wear a mask. so what would his supporters get from that? if the president doesn't need to wear a mask when he meets with kings and queens and dictators as he said, then why should i wear a mask? we saw today that in deep red wyoming, the governor, mark gordon, imposed a mask mandate and i was glad to see that, but i think we need to get down to the grassroots, down to the street level. we need people to understand

from the people that they respect in town. you know, the nurses and the firefighters, the local high school football coach, the marine sergeant, let's hear from them why they wear a mask. i want to hear who they're wearing a mask for. i wear a mask all day for myself and my patients and my colleagues and my family and my community. let's hear from the grassroots. we need a massive public service ad campaign around the united states with local people, our local heroes. >> yes. so, you know, i always think when we have these conversations, and i've now been thinking this for months so a lot of people have died. but tonight there are people watching who are going to die of coronavirus, and they don't think they're going to die of coronavirus. they don't think that. a lot of people are still going to die that don't need to die. and people are so entrenched in their points of view right now on certain basic things. how do you at this point change

minds, dr. reiner? we are eight months in. you have people protesting about masks. people who probably have had people in their lives die. they still don't believe it. what do you do to change their minds? >> you change their minds by letting the people who understand the consequences of their actions explain what happens. let's have the icu nurse explain what happens when someone gets infected because you didn't want to have your freedom infringed upon, so you didn't wear a mask. let's have the ems workers explain what it's like to have to intubate a patient in the field. let's have their community explain to them. that's where it comes from. people want to hear from the people in their community why this is important. they don't want to hear from the leaders anymore. i don't think they trust the leaders. we've heard too many "i." we want to hear about us. this is now only about us, so let's hear from us about this. >> all right, dr. reiner, i appreciate your time. >> my pleasure. as cases surge and

hospitalizations are at records and deaths are at records, as they will continue to be, no matter what with the vaccine that is going to continue to be the case for quite some time here, the vaccine is going to start, though. the united states may start injecting people with the coronavirus vaccine in the next week as the uk tonight has a new warning that people with a history of allergic reactions should not get that pfizer vaccine, which is the one that's coming out. plus republicans focusing most of their attacks on just one of the democratic candidates in the runoff elections in georgia. these crucial elections the whole world is watching. raphael warnock, why him? and the president may be fighting to stay in the white house, but that is not what she wants. what we're learning about the first lady melania trump's thinking tonight. ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo-hoo! great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein,

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are custom formulated for different hair types. find the right dove care for your hair. ♪ think it ♪ solve it ♪ try and crack it ♪ breathe it ♪ calm it ♪ and renew it aarp staying sharp is part of renew active. get medicare with more. tomorrow a pivotal fda advisor advisory committee meeting which could lead to the pfizer vaccine shipping as early as friday. those in the uk say those with severe allergic reactions should not take the vaccine. this came after two health care workers had symptoms after receiving a shot yesterday. dr. fauci said that news is concerning but he adds allergic reactions are likely rare. out front now rick wright, a

member of president-elect biden's advisory board and the office charged with developing a vaccine. thanks for your time, i'm glad to have you back. how concerned are you about these allergic reactions, which, granted, may be unusual and rare but happened on day one and weren't anticipated? >> erin, thanks for having me on. i'm not too concerned about the allergic reactions that we saw on day one. it is concerning that something that we should watch very closely. whenever we introduce a new vaccine into the population, we usually find out there are some extra adverse events or allergic reactions in some people. what i think is really remarkable is how quickly those were identified on day one, how quickly they were reported and investigated. so that tells me the system is working. that when we start vaccinating people, we will get those early signals and we can react to

those so we can change our behavior or change the subgroup getting vaccinated if needed. >> okay. so there were over 43,000 people enrolled in that pfizer trial. according to the trial protocol, you know, people with a history of severe allergic reaction of the vaccine were not allowed to participate, right, so they didn't want them in there to begin with, which i understand. but in a trial of 43,000 people, we now know only 170 got the virus and only 8 of those were in the actual vaccinated group. these are numbers. i understand you've got vaccine math going on here, but the entire process has moved very quickly and a lot of americans who trust vaccines are looking at all of that now, at a level of detail they didn't before. if you are a person that trusts the system, rick, how do you wrap your arms around this? such a small number of people even getting it, that they're so sure. >> well, i would put a lot of faith and confidence in the scientific process and the experts who are going to review the data from pfizer.

tomorrow is a really big day and it is a big day for science. it's a big day for transparency and to build that trust. we get to see a number of external experts, nongovernment employees, no political pressure on them whatsoever, who have reviewed the thousands of pages of data and they'll be able to look at every aspect of the vaccine in terms of safety and efficacy that is known today and you'll see a really interesting debate. it's not going to be an open and shut book tomorrow. i'm expecting and anticipating there will be a discussion on every little detail so they can make a strong recommendation to the fda based on the data they have so far. >> so you mentioned that meeting tomorrow, right? i know it's going to go all day and they're going to have it broadcast out there. people can watch it if that's important. all that leads to the united states possibly injecting people with the vaccine over the next week. literally we could be hours away because once this meeting is done and they recommend, this could move forward very quickly.

your colleague on the biden coronavirus advisory board, lloyd pace, told me president-elect biden would get the vaccine if it's approved if dr. fauci recommended he do so. dr. fauci will be working with the president-elect. what has dr. fauci recommended? >> i think dr. fauci is going to wait to see the discussion tomorrow. he's going to see all the details on the data on safety and efficacy and he'll be paying close attention. i believe president-elect biden said that once dr. fauci says that it is safe and effective, then he'll take the vaccine. i believe he'll follow through with that. >> so the pfizer vaccine obviously is just the first vaccine coming out. pfizer and moderna use a messenger rna technology. there's another technology the

a adenovirus factor. professor hazeltine has done ground breaking research on hiv and aids and he told me he would take the vaccine that's not the adenovirus factor. it's a controversial statement but that's how he feels. do you agree? >> erin, i think we need a variety of vaccines. some vaccines will work in different populations and we clearly are already seeing that we have a shortage of the vaccines if we rely on only manufacturer to make the vaccine. so that's all the more reason why we should continue to investigate a variety of vaccines. i believe if the science from the clinical studies, these large clinical studies show that the vaccine is safe and efficacious and it works and protects people from getting infected and getting severe illness, i don't think you should be worried about taking one of those vaccines that's gone through such scientific rigor. i'm more concerned at this point of making sure that we get

enough vaccine out to the people. it's a very complicated process to make vaccines and make enough of them to cover our population. it's going to take many, many months still to have enough vaccines and to vaccinate the people across our country, so we want to make sure that everyone is doing everything they can to wear their face mask and reduce the spread of the virus while we have to wait for the vaccines. >> rick bright, i appreciate your time. thank you very much. and when rick is talking about the complicated process of distribution, it is that. that's an understatement in many ways. the pfizer vaccine has to be stored at about minus 70 degrees celsius. this makes it incredibly difficult to transport and very few places can store it. omar jimenez is outfront. >> when the backdrop is windmills and open fields, you can see how getting a covid-19 vaccine to actual people turns into a challenge. it involves literally loading cold packs into a minivan that

eventually will be part of keeping this vital medicine cold as it travels tens, even hundreds of miles to clinics and hospitals that need them. >> each state will receive its own allocation of vaccine and we plan for that accordingly and strategically place freezers like this across our footprint. >> reporter: in sioux falls, south dakota, they're ready for whatever amount of vaccine they get. >> that's inside and then there are inner doors as well. >> this is for the pfizer vaccine? >> this is for the pfizer vaccine. >> reporter: months ago they bought these ultra cold freezers, at least negative 70 degrees celsius or negative 103 degrees fahrenheit. >> right now the freezers are empty. >> reporter: the pfizer vaccine can only survive up to five days in typical refrigeration. >> normally we get orders from our clinics to distribute that vaccine. we'll pack it in coolers on ice and monitor that temperature to make sure it's at that point

maintaining refrigerator temperatures until it is given to the patient. >> reporter: but the actual distribution is complicated. sanford's coverage area encompasses more than 200,000 square miles over multiple states. that's almost comparable to the size of texas. they have to rely on hubs that have the ultra cold storage facilities in key regions of these states. that's because each state gets its own allocation of the vaccine. so sanford can only take supplies across state lines, not the vaccine itself. and then from the hubs, they transport just enough vaccine to even more remote locations to get people what they need but not leave anything wasted in clinics or locations that can't store it properly. >> our courier network delivers thousands of miles a day to deliver the vaccine. we will continue to do that rather than moving big portions of vaccine to a small clinic or a critical access hospital.

>> reporter: what is the most difficult part about administering and distributing a vaccine in a rural setting versus a city setting? >> the geography itself, just the miles that separate us, making sure the resources can reach all of those areas. >> i think worrying about when you're going to give a vaccine within, you know, six days of taking it out of the freezer and within six hours of reconstituting it is really something we hadn't -- i don't think anybody has done before. >> reporter: omar jimenez, cnn, sioux falls, south dakota. outfront next, two democrats are running in georgia's special election, but republicans are focusing it seems on just one of them. why? >> radical liberal raphael warnock is a socialist. >> raphael warnock is a radical. plus armed florida police raid the home of rebecca jones, a former covid data scientist. we're learning that the person who signed off on that raid has ties to republicans in the state. rebecca jones will be my guest. (b

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million in tv ads have already been spent for the georgia senate runoff elections. now, those elections will decide the balance of power in washington, they are crucial. but just to give you context, it sounds like a hell of a lot of money and it is. the amount that was spent on the most expensive senate race of all time until this runoff. much of the republicans' firepower has been trained on one candidate, raphael warnock. ryan nobles is outfront. >> reporter: reverend raphael warnock is a political newcomer. >> i'm not in love with politicpolitic politics. strange thing, i'm running for the senate. >> reporter: warnock never had his name on a ballot until november. now in the georgia runoff, republicans are working overtime to define him. >> radical liberal raphael warnock. radical liberal raphael warnock. >> reporter: his opponent, republican senator kelly loeffler, zeroed in on the tag

of radical liberal roughly a dozen times in their debate. the gop ad campaign has worked to tie him to progressive leaders in washington like bernie sanders, alexandria ocasio-cortez, and chuck schumer. >> raphael warnock is dangerous. >> reporter: spliced with images of the riots and protests around the police and deaths of african-americans, critics say they have racial undertones. warnock acknowledges his back ground is part of his message. >> there's no question that representation matters. when we bring diversity to the table, i think we create better public policy. but none of that happens unless we show up. and so i intend to represent all the people of georgia. >> reporter: warnock emerged largely unscathed during first round of voting last month which

featured a large field and a intraparty fight between loeffler and doug collins. now republicans are unloading a barrage of attacks, including highlighting some of his past sermons. >> america, nobody can serve god and the military. >> reporter: warnock says clips like those are taken out of context. >> it was about priorities and about how one orders your priorities so you can live a moral life. and i think it's unfortunate and shameful that they are trying to distort not only my message, but the message of scripture. >> reporter: the all-out blitz is not just from loeffler but her republican allies, including national republican groups who are pouring millions into the race. >> raphael warnock attacks our military. >> reporter: the strategy is part of a broader effort to convince republican voters that democratic control of the u.s. senate coupled with joe biden as president will lead to an agenda

out of step with georgia voters. an argument some republican voters are buying. >> i'm going to vote for both of these two people because the alternative is chuck schumer. the alternative is aoc and these people that wanting to change america. this is -- this is ridiculous. >> reporter: but democrats are shaking off the attacks. they believe georgia's politics are changing and warnock's historic candidacy will resonate with voters of color who could play a significant role in determining the results of the runoffs. as he travels the state, including rural counties, warnock is pledging to represent all georgians. >> i'm 100% with the people of georgia and i will absolutely stand up to whomever i need to stand up to to represent their interests. >> reporter: and if elected, raphael warnock would be the first african-american to represent georgia in the united states senate. and it would be significant if he were elected through georgia's runoff system, because

that was something that was passed during the jim crow era of georgia politics. warnock was asked about the historical significance about his run this week, and he acknowledged that race is a big factor in this race, but he said that representation matters and that ultimately his goal will be to represent all georgians. erin. >> all right, ryan, thank you. so i want to go now to congresswoman-elect williams. she will be taking the seat of late congressman and civil rights icon john lewis, and she is also currently chair of georgia's democratic party. congresswoman-elect, i appreciate your time. you just heard that report from our ryan nobles detailing these relentless attacks that have really been focused on raphael warnock. what do you think that's about? >> i mean it's unfortunate. i think we see a man of character and a man of integrity. he is the preacher in the pulpit that dr. king used to preach in at ebenezer baptist freedom church and he represents exactly what this election is about,

people claiming their voices and just looking at where we've come in this state building cycle after cycle and republicans are scared. they're scared of losing power. they saw what happened on the november 3rd election when donald trump lost not once, not twice, but three times after each iteration of the recounts of the votes. donald trump has lost the state and we are in a really good place moving towards january. this is a turnout election. we're turning out our voters. they see the same things that we see on the ground, the energy is palpable and we're continuing to do the work talking to voters about the issues that matter. >> so some of the words republicans have used to paint warnock is an extremist, socialist, radical, marxist supporter. these buzz words have worked against democrats in the past. here's just a small example of what we have heard in recent days in georgia. >> radical liberal raphael warnock is a socialist. >> raphael warnock is a radical. >> you've repeatedly praised

marxism. >> congresswoman-elect, we keep hearing that. our kyung lah is in georgia and she talked to many voters and they all were just saying, look, they're sick of it. they're getting inundated. the numbers, the math on how much money is being spent on this election, it's just too much for a lot of people. they only want to watch the media. how much impact do you think all of these ads and things are even having at this point? >> erin, we're having conversations one-on-one with voters. we know that direct voter contact matters. we're having conversations with voters talking about issues that matter to them like how do we get our children back to school safely, how do we get this pandemic under control, how do we get our economy back working for us where we have two republican senators in the state who have enriched themselves instead of looking out for everyday georgians. that what's we're focused on and what voters want to talk about. >> marcia fudge is expected to be named secretary of housing and urban development which comes on the heels of cedric richmond accepting a senior role

in the biden white house and that gives democrats a five-seat majority which would be the smallest since 1893. you're about to go to washington and try to push a legislative agenda. are you worried that you're not going to be able to get anything done with a very tiny five-seat majority? >> a five-seat majority is still a majority, erin, so i'm looking forward to getting to washington and getting to work on behalf of the people of the fifth district. we need to pass things like the john lewis voting rights act so that we can stop some of the things that we're seeing here in georgia in this election cycle and things that we know will come up in january with republican control of the state house and the state senate. a majority is still a majority and i'm excited about the opportunities that we have before us. >> all right, thank you very much, congresswoman-elect. i appreciate your time. >> thank you. next, police raid the home of a former covid data scientist and she claims it's because she

blew the whistle on the cover-up. she'll be up next to tell you about it. and then, even as her husband fights to stay in the white house, a source familiar with melania trump's thinking says she not only wants to go home, but she wants to know how much of her post white house life taxpayers are going to pay for. hot?...or cold? introducing the new sleep number 360 smart bed. now temperature balancing, so you can sleep better together. can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable can it help with snoring? i've never heard snoring. exactly. no problem. and... done. so you can really promise better sleep? not promise. prove. and now, save up to $700 on new sleep number 360 smart beds. plus, 0% interest for 48 months on all smart beds. only for a limited time.

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tonight, new details about the judge who approved the controversial raid at the home of the former coronavirus data scientist fired after she claimed florida governor ron desantis was trying to manipulate virus data. the judge's ties to republican politics amid questions over this armed raid caught on tape.

>> come outside. outside. >> who else is in the house, ma'am? >> my two children and my husband. >> where's your husband at? >> calm down. >> you want the children down? >> call them all down. >> mr. jones, come down the stairs, now! >> police, come down now. >> search warrant. >> come down. >> my children. he just pointed a gun! >> drew, what are you learning tonight about the judge and this raid? >> reporter: you know, it's the judge that had to sign off on the search warrant and, you know, what amounts to, erin, is a fairly low-level kind of information hacking, not even really a hack, illegal use of a state messaging system. but the judge who actually signed off on what you just saw

had been judge for barely a month. in fact this was probably one of the first search warrants he had ever signed ever. he had been a lawyer only a couple of years before that, but he does have very deep ties with republicans in the state of florida. his name is joshua hawks. his father, a big-time well-known republican lobbyist and former judge himself. he had been appointed by governor ron desantis. as we said, this was perhaps the first time that anybody came to him to ask to have a search warrant signed. he did that. he was on call when he did that, so that was his job, even though the search warrant wasn't actually executed until a few days later. the judge would not comment to us about any of this, but it certainly has raised more questions about just exactly what was going on here. in the meantime, a setback in another court for rebekah jones, erin. she faces a misdemeanor count of stalking against a boyfriend. there was a plea deal that was

on the table. that apparently has been rescinded by prosecutors, taken off the table and that case is going to have to be litigated again in some form or fashion. so rebekah jones facing a setback in another case against her. >> all right, drew, thank you very much. i appreciate your time. rebecca jones is up front. i want to give you a chance to comment on the judge. it is the first time he signed off on a warrant like this for the first time. >> yes, actually found out that he had been sworn in less than a month before he signed off on that. i don't personally know the man. i am not a connective person. to be the most recent to sign to family court and have this be the first thing you sign off on, i think it speaks for itself.

>> your computer were received in this raid and retailuatiliat what you saw here, are there any of the sources afraid that they could be next in the matter of days could be exposed. >> i had several risk reaching out to me to ask me if emily is okay and knew nothing about what was going to happen and just to check in which was brave of him considering any communications with me is not secure as it was before. i kind of issue that morning that if you have been talking to me or you thought our conversation is confidential because i promised that to you may be at risk. >> very brave of them to reach out and they did because how terrifying it must have been for you to open that door.

that video was disturbing whith the gun and all of your children were there. how scared were all of you and all your children? >> we are trying to push through the next day, the everyday. it kind of felt the same way for my husband and i. i went downstairs anticipated being arrested, i had no idea what it was for. i received a tip from somebody from the previous night that something was going to go down soon, didn't know what it was. i opened the door and i put my hands up, i was signature reurr. i never expected them to storm into my house and point guns at my children. police released my private number online and address which feels further retaliation for

releasing the video in the first place. >> governor desantis as you know said touted his response to the virus says the reality show you don't need restrictions or lockdowns or anything to fight the virus. here he is. >> we have seen cases increase but look at other states seeing the increase way, way more. people are coming here at a higher cliff than a year ago. i think part of the reason is you know we have schools opened and we have people employed. >> so rebecca from what you have seen and know and your sources are telling you, you hear what the governor's saying, what do you think the reality is in florida? >> the reality is as of today there are 201,400 cases confirmed of students and staff. there were 9,592 new cases today

and nearly 100 deaths reported every single day. we'll hit 20,000 confirmed deaths in the next week. that's an under estimate because florida never tracked or report report reported probable cases and deaths. we are looking at additional deaths that are not being reported according to the cdc. research that i published was my first publication related to covid-19 and academic outlet showed that the percentage of students attending face-to-face in school increases with the number of cases and the case rate in school shows that basically the case rate of the community contributes largely in the case rate of schools. cases do spread within schools and within their communities which is exhibited by the dramatic increases in cases of

the age group. the state is not doing well. opening school is a bad idea. a lot of major academics have been calling for schools to be closed until the spread is under control. i am one of those people in that camp. this is not listening to science. it has not been since the day that i was asked to chak ange a the numbers to make it look nice. >> before we go, i want to ask you about what drew ended his reporting on of a plea deal that you had an unrelated case off the table. why do you think that got rescinded, days before the raid took place. do you think there is a connection? >> i think my lawyer laid that out clearly in the hearing that it was further state retaliation. you know prosecuting somebody who's writing about abuse they suffer from an ex-boyfriend years ago when they were in college is not a case to begin with.

by trying to rescind that offer which we hope they'll honor their word on that is not something that's ever going to happen for them. every move of this has had the governor o governor's stamp on it. just leave us alone. we we are trying to do science and research, give us the chance and leave us alone. that's all i would say to this man. let us do the work. if you are doing the good job, there is nothing to hide. >> rebecca, i appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> next, there is a last one person inside the white house who's ready to move on. it is melania trump. he want s to know of the perks f being a former first lady.

>> sounds like she's pretty eager according to my reporting. at least she's realistic. she's already begun a few days after the election was called for joe biden. he was asking around about what may or may not be available for her in terms of budget to set up an office and hire staff and sort of how that transition works. they'll publicly forward facing

she's been by the president's side and align with him but behind the scenes, she's packing up and let's go to mar-a-lago which where her and the president will be living. she's taking those steps to leave the white house. >> you mentioned an office and how that's done. she asked about whether there were taxpayer funds at kallocato the former first lady, it is incredible to many people given the wealth that the president had. >> the first lady the only thing they're allocated to have is 20,000 pension if their person passes away. no, there is nothing allocated

from taxpayer's funds that would help establish herself should she want to do that in her post white house life. >> incredible. kate bennett, thank you so much. with that reporting i know so many of you interested in. thanks so much for watching. it is time for anderson. good evening for the covid-19 vaccine hours away and the pandemic, you would think a president's first priority is preparing for a roll out. you may think the president is doing all he could to help those at home at the medical frontline and stay safe and strong until the vaccine and others become widely available. you may think that's what the president would do. by now that's not something this president considers doing and is certainly not doing. he shows again that he only cas