we're just so excited. i mean, we're watching on the news and we jumped in the car, and said we're going to get down here right now. >> all coming from west michigan. >> excitement builds over a historic moment. coronavirus vaccines are on their way, expected to be delivered across the united states in the next few hours. making official, the electoral college meets to affirm the results of the u.s. election and seal donald trump's defeat. the outgoing president is still in denial. the u.s. commerce department says it's been the victim of a

data breach, an attack believed to be from russia. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta. welcome to our viewers in the united states, canada and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber, this is cnn newsroom. we're now just hours away from the delivery of the first doses of the pfizer biontech vaccine in the u.s., before the day is done the vaccine should be distributed to locations in all 50 states. we saw shipments arrive by fedex at los angeles international airport and ups says its first deliveries are expected four hours from now. the hope is health care workers can immediately beginning administering the shots later today. the developments come one day

after the u.s. marked a new record for hospitalizations, more than 109,000, and the u.s. is now nearing 300,000 covid-19 deaths as states brace for continued surge in new cases. cnn's pete muntean has more from a vaccine distribution center in michigan. >> reporter: what a moment, especially considering the fact we only first learned of this virus less than a year ago, and now the vaccine is leaving from here. this spot is critical to the vaccine distribution network, the largest facility outside kalamazoo, michigan. the trucks carrying the vaccine left here 8:30 sunday morning in those trucks, 189 boxes of the pfizer vaccine, 975 viles to a box, five doses per vile, now hundreds of thousands of doses are being delivered throughout the country. the lion's share begin on monday morning. the bulk of them on tuesday.

they're going to 600 individual locations like hospitals, pharmacies, cvs and walgreens and pfizer's head of global supply says this was months in the making. >> i couldn't be more confident in the distribution of the vaccine. we have worked incredibly hard over many months doing test shipments, improving our shippers, making sure that they can maintain temperature during the entire journey, and we're very happy with the solution. >> reporter: this is not just a ground game. trucks left here bound for airports. flights took the vaccines to larger hubs where it could be distributed throughout the country. we saw some of the flights land at ups headquarters in louisville, kentucky. this is just the start of a massive movement, it all begins right here. pete muntean, cnn, michigan. >> and polo sandoval is in new

york where hospitals are preparing for the vaccine to arrive. >> reporter: hospitals across the united states have been preparing to receive, store and north korea sho administer shots of this ground breaking vaccine. they have been preparing before the food and drugs administration issued the emergency use authorization over the weekend. i had an opportunity to speak to a director of pharmacy at lennox hill telling me that the plan is to have security receive the shipment of the vaccine at the front door. they will escort it to the facility's pharmacy where it will be stored appropriately. not long after that, they expect to begin many members of their staff here. obviously those who have close contact with patients, and even also those support staff, those who deliver the food, for example, those who clean hospital rooms will also likely be eligible for this first allotment of the vaccine. that particular facility going to be handling things in a

specific way. they're going to stagger the vaccinations over three weeks. the example i got from the hospital officials at that facility is the concern is if they were to vaccinate the entire er or icu staff in one day, there's always the possibility that some of them could experience minor side effects. the concern is if that does happen they could encounter staffing issues, and that's something they do not want to see with hospitalizations on the rise, not just in new york city but throughout the country. for now, we have hospital i facilities preparing for the first round. the office saying they expect to have 170,000 doses of the first vaccine possibly by the middle of the week with many more to come. polo sandoval, cnn, new york. the head of operation warp speed said the hope is 100

million americans can be immunized by the end of march. jake tapper spoke with the commissioner of the food and drug administration about that time line. >> we're working very hard to help the manufacturers in the supply chain to get as much supply as possible up and running and assessing the quality manufacturing. i have heard public reports from the department of health and human services that the expectation is in the next several months that there will be enough supply of vaccines to vaccinate 100 million americans. >> hhs secretary azar also said that the u.s. in his view was on track to have doses ready for 20 million americans by the end of the year. 20 million, that's just 18 days away. you have 2.9 million right now. that doesn't seem possible, does it? >> i think it's possible. you know, certainly heard those discussions and i think that's a reasonable prediction, and i have confidence around that.

>> dr. sagu matthew is a primary care physician and public health specialist and joins me now from here in atlanta. are doctor, thank you so much for speaking with us. >> later today, it starts in earnest, shots will be going into arms. as someone who regularly sees covid patients in your office here in georgia where cases have been skyrocketing, seeing those, you know, cases of the vaccine rolling on to trucks, what's your reaction? >> kim, thanks for having me on your show. listen, i never thought if anybody told me i would be so excited to see trucks with vaccines, loaded, leaving the pfizer headquarters, months ago i would have been shocked. it was such an incredible sense of relief and joy when you talk about so many people that are dying, like you mentioned, we're going to be hitting 300,000 deaths in the u.s., over 3,000 people dying a day, and 2,000

cases. this pandemic is getting worse, so this is light at the end of the tunnel. we need to be patient. we cannot take the masks off. a lot more people will unfortunately die but there is hope. >> there's debate over whether white house officials should be among the first to get the vaccine. president trump tweeted people working in the white house should receive the vaccine later in the program unless necessary. i have asked this adjustment be made. i'm not taking the vaccine but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time. is it good that it will set an example and give confidence, or is it bad as it can be seen as jumping especially by members of this administration who have sought to down play the severity of the virus in the first place? >> ultimately we're not going to

have enough vaccines, the first shipment is 2.9 million doses, 1% of the u.s. population. on the other hand, it is important for the white house to set an example and say listen, here's my arm, give me the vaccine. this is safe, all americans should get it. there's also a little bit of a bigger issue in that if you think about a lot of people in the white house have definitely gotten covid-19. we have been hearing about that in the news over and over again with the white house official, so the question as a scientist, if you had covid recently, should you really be first in line to get the vaccine because we know there is some protection, at least to the five months. another question for you. it's a two-dose vaccine. as you said, there's a debate brewing about whether it's better to give one dose to as many as possible, or two doses to a fewer number. where do you stand? >> the way the studies were conducted was straightforward. it was two shots three weeks

apart, and if you look at all the parameters, which is exciting, 95% protection, in patients over 65. that's huge. they form, if you will, a bulk of the population with a lot of illnesses and comorbidities, so in order to get the protection you have to follow the two dose regimen. i have fallen in the group of doctors and physicians that we think we should follow the protocol which is two shots. one last thing about that to complete the answer is after the first dose, you do get 50%. you don't get 95%, and 100% of people are protected from getting severe covid illness. i think everybody should follow the two dose schedule. >> there are concerns about the federal plan to gather information about the vaccine

patients, everyone wants the data to track the vaccination efforts to make sure people get both doses. some worry that will discourage people to get the second shot, especially from minority communities and those who would naturally be suspicious of vaccination. why do we need this information, and should we worry about how that data will be used? >> i think we need that information. if you think about it, you're three times as likely to be hospitalized, five times as likely to die from covid if you are in the minority population, specifically the african-american population. all of that data is going to be key. the good news is if you look at the pfizer vaccine trial, 9% of the population studied was black. it's going to be important for people like me, people of color physicians to roll up the sleeve and get the vaccines, so we can deal with issues in the minority communities regarding vaccine hesitation, and the fear of getting a vaccine that may be

more of an experimental vaccine. >> thank you so much for joining us on this exciting day. we appreciate it. dr. sagu matthew. appreciate your time. >> thank you. canada is preparing to roll out the pfizer biontech vaccine. it's giving hope after recent lock downs have failed to curb the spread. justin trudeau tweeted a picture of the plane with the doses. the vaccines are arriving amid increasing cases, despite restrictions on movement, canada's two largest provinces, ontario and quebec logged record setting case numbers in the past week. after failing for weeks to pass a covid relief bill for the american people. a group of bipartisan lawmakers have finally made a decision. they plan to split the bill in two. leaders from both sides of the political aisle have been negotiating on how to get a stimulus passed in both chambers of commerce.

house speaker nancy pelosi, and treasury secretary steven mnuchin spoke on sunday. the first relief bill will be worth $748 billion, for small business loans, jobless benefits and vaccine distribution among other things. the second package would be for roughly $160 billion for state and local aid, one of the biggest sticking points, would include liability protections for businesses and others. it's uncertain how many senators and house members would sign on to the second proposal. the first bill is expected to get wide bipartisan support. joe biden and kamala harris are about to be one step closer to making history. a milestone moment is coming up today as the electoral college gets set to cast their votes for the next president and vice president. we'll have the details next. stay with us. we do it every night.

every night. i live alone, but i still do it every night. right after dinner. definitely after meatloaf. like clockwork. do it! run your dishwasher with cascade platinum. and save water. did you know an energy star certified dishwasher... ...uses less than four gallons per cycle. while a running sink uses that, every two minutes.

that means even small loads can save water. so why not do it? run your dishwasher every night with cascade platinum. the surprising way to save water.

today marks a major step in finalizing joe biden and kamala harris as the next leaders of the united states. in just a few hours, electors from each state will formally

vote for president and vice president in the electoral college. biden is expected to speak later in the day. cnn's boris sanchez walks us through what happens next. >> the electors of the electoral college will gather in their respective states to cast their ballots and certify president-elect joe biden won the 2020 election. here's how it's going to work. this is going to be happening all throughout the day. the electors that have been selected since earlier in the summer and spring, they're going to gather and record their votes in writing on actual paper ballots, individually for president and vice president. once they cast their ballots and count them, they're going to sign six copies of a certificate of the vote. those copies are the actual official documents that certify their votes. they're going to wind up going to their respective secretaries of state. to the u.s. senate, to the national archives, et cetera. the most consequential tickets

are those that go to capitol hill. ta that's where they will be counted on january 6th, an event vice president pence will be presiding over, and there is a chance in that process for some drama, for republican lawmakers supportive of the president, president trump, to raise an objection. ultimately, though, to sustain that objection for it to be consequential, they will need both chambers of commerce to sustain that objection, to agree to it, and because democrats control the house of representatives that appears extremely unlikely. there may be moments rife with drama. ultimately, the big thing to watch for tomorrow as the electoral college certifies the results of the election, certifies that joe biden won the election, how many republican lawmakers, how many senators will finally come out and acknowledge the reality that joe biden won the election, that there was no widespread electoral fraud. that of course is something that president trump is not ready to

do. >> maria cardona is a cnn political commentator and democratic strategist, and joins me from washington. thank you so much for being here with us. later today, the electoral college meets, and sunday president trump said his legal team will keep pursuing challenges. very few republicans, bar some who have lost their seats or aren't running for reelection, are acknowledging that joe biden won in a fair election. trying to maintain the fiction that biden's presidency isn't legitimate, is this just as some people are arguing the new birtherism and is there anything that biden can say in his speech tonight to change that? >> sadly, i don't think there's anything that biden can say in his speech tonight to change it, tloo at least to change it immediately because what's going on, and let's just say that this is and should be completely unacceptable for any elected official to turn their back and

to turn away, not just from reality, not just from the truth, not just from the facts but to do something that is in essence doing harm to our democracy, to our democratic institutions and to our electoral process. these republicans understand that what they are saying makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. i don't know if donald trump knows that, and that he is just playing everybody because you know he's raised millions and millions of dollars off of this from his own supporters that i just think he is just cleaning out and taking to the bank, completely taking advantage of them, but to me, it is a pathetic of read of where the republican party stands today that they are not able to stand up to this bully after four years, that donald trump still has sup ch an incredible choke

hold, that he continues to keep the republicans hostage in an attempt to continue to control them. >> i want to turn to the transition now. biden has a very different problem than president trump had, having to bring together so many disparate coalitions, each claiming a share of his cabinet. what do you make of it so far, who are the winners and losers? >> what he's doing with his cabinet is a true reflection, not just of his coalition that helped him win the white house but what this country truly reflects as a robust mix of so many incredibly diverse backgrounds and that is what he is representing in the cabinet. the other really important thing that he's doing in the cabinet is that he is bringing in people that actually know how government works, that actually respect and are committed to public service, and that want to do this for the betterment of

the american people. >> while i have you here, i wanted to take advantage of your expertise on this topic. much has been made in the post election analysis of the president's relatively strong showing among latinos, even beyond the cuban american community in florida but across the country, you know, to be clear, biden still won the overwhelming majority of the latino vote, but looking forward, is this a one off, is this tied to trump or a new strength that you think republicans can mobilize in the coming years? >> as a latino, and i have been working on the latino vote, and mobilization of the latino vote for three decades now here in the united states. and i have always contended with and advised the democratic party that the latino vote should not be considered a base vote. they should be considered a swing vote. they have swung for more

presidential candidates. having said that, it is true that a republican president has never won the latino vote. there have been presidents who have gotten more or less percentages of the latino vote, depending on who they are. george bush in 2004 got 40% of the hispanic vote, and that's what helped him get to the white house. donald trump did a little bit better this time around than he did in 2016. to say that he did overwhelmingly well with the latino vote is a complete overexaggeration because there's no question if you look at the exit polls that the reason, one of the reasons why joe biden is in the white house today is because of the overwhelming support that he got with latinos in arizona. he would not have won arizona if not for latino vote. in nevada, he would not have won nevada if not for the latino vote. in colorado, he would not have won colorado if not for the latino vote. in georgia, michigan, wisconsin and pennsylvania, he got a huge margin of the hispanic vote,

which is incredibly important. >> maria, thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. and don't miss our special coverage of the electoral college vote starting at 11:00 a.m. monday in new york. 4:00 p.m. in london right here on cnn. now to a stunning security breach in the u.s. government. the commerce department confirms to cnn that it's been hacked, the victim of a data breach believed to be linked to russia. "the washington post" reports russia government hackers targeted the treasury department. u.s. authorities are racing to investigate. cnn's alex marquardt has the details. >> the u.s. government has been hit with a cyber attack, which looks like the latest in russia's hacking campaign against the united states. the u.s. commerce department said to cnn that one of its bureaus saw a data breach. "the washington post" is reporting that the treasury department was also targeted. it's unclear what data was

accessed. commerce said that the fbi and department of homeland security cyber arm cisa have been asked to assist. there was recent activity. the former head of cisa, chris krebs, called today's news in a tweet, a pretty large scale attack, and he said that it's still early. "the washington post" reported that the russian hacking group, apt 29, which is known as cozy bear is behind today's reported attacks as well as a recent stunning attack on cyber security form fire eye in which they stole hacking tools. well beyond the u.s. elections, russia is known to be carrying out significant broad online attacks against the united states and others, both government and private targets. alex marquardt, cnn, washington. >> germany is getting ready to

enforce tough new coronavirus restrictions. coming up, we'll find out how it's cracking down just ahead of the holidays to stem an uptick in new infections. stay with us. ♪ after a night like this, crest has you covered. crest, the official toothpaste of santa. follow us @crest to celebrate the 12 days of crest smiles. 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.

call today or go online to understandhf.com to all the businesses make it through 2020... thank you for going the extra mile... and for the extra pump of caramel. thank you for the good food... and the good karma. thank you for all the deliveries... especially this one. you've reminded us that no matter what, we can always find a way to bounce forward. so thank you, to our customers and to businesses everywhere, from all of us at comcast business.

and welcome back to all of you, our viewers in the united states, canada, and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber and you're watching cnn newsroom. in just a few hours from now, the first doses of the pfizer biontech vaccines are set to go to locations in the u.s., and health care workers will begin administering shops today. we have seen shipments make it to several states, including california where the first batch

arrived earlier at los angeles international airport. a recent surge in coronavirus cases is forcing germany to take drastic action to stem the spread. it will go into a hard national lock down this week. beginning on wednesday, all nonessential shops, services and schools will close until january 10th. christmas gatherings will be limited to five people from two different households. this comes after germany reported its highest death toll in one day on friday, nearly 600 fatalities. for more on the restrictions let's bring in fred pleitgen, who joins us from berlin. angela merkel has been advocating this shut down for a while. how will the holidays be different this year, and how are germans reacting to this? . >> a lot different than the years past. that's not just generally because of the coronavirus, but especially because of the hard lock down measures. the german government is going to put in place by wednesday. just to give you an example of

one of the things that will be completely different, church services are going to have to be registered and approved. they have to happen with masks and there's not going to be any sort of singing. that's just for christmas itself, even the run up to christmas, obviously, it's really going to be a lot different than most people here tha thought, most politicians thought and shop owners thought. right now is a big christmas shopping season, and come wednesday, all of those stores are going to have to close. the german government has acknowledged that's going to be a big issue for a lot of shop owners, going to put them under a lot of financial stress. the german government has said there's going to be widespread and large scale compensation for all of that. of course it is something that does have a lot of people extremely concerned. you're absolutely right. the german government simply felt it had no other choice. you had several days with record numbers in the past weeks, last friday, with 30,000 round acbou,

new infections in a single day, and 600 people dying in a single day. that's really one of the moments where you could feel the mood here really start to change. it's about the equivalent of 2,400 people dying in a single day in the u.s. the german government said at that point this can't continue. something needs to be done. the german frovederal governmen met on sunday with the state authorities and decided on lock down measures going into place a lot quicker than people would have thought. >> thank you so much for that, fred pleitgen in berlin. cities in italy are coming back to life. risk levels were downgraded over the weekend. most of the country woke up sunday in the yellow zone, which is the least restrictive. bars and restaurants can open, but have to close by 6:00 p.m. a curfew remains but none of these regions are in the red zone. to asia where several

countries are seeing spikes in covid cases. south korea's infection total has climbed past 43,000, following a record over the weekend. officials will be looking at stricter distancing measures and more schools in seoul will go virtual. officials confirmed 180,000 cases since the pandemic began? our christi lkristie lu stout i kong. let's start with south korea. i take it's test and trace system isn't working as it was early in the pandemic. is that because, you know, they're just overwhelmed with too many cases? >> they're overwhelmed with new cases and cluster, particularly in the seoul metropolitan area. that's the case for south korea. for japan, they're overwhelmed by cluster all over the country, tokyo, osaka, nagoya and in hokkaido. much of east asia managed to

keep the coronavirus in check but given this new wave of infection, we're seeing these two countries, japan, and south korea post these new records in daily coronavirus cases. over the weekend, japan posted and surpassed 3,000 new daily cases for the first time in the punishing pandemic. 6:30 local time in tokyo, the government is holding a task force meeting where it's discussing a number of counter measures to control the outbreak. meanwhile in south korea, over the weekend, it recorded 1,030 new cases of the coronavirus, a new record for south korea. on saturday, the president of south korea, moon jae-in mobilized the military, police, and medical workers to contain the outbreak. on sunday, president moon said it was quote an emergency situation, and if the country did not bring the outbreak under control, south korea would issue its first ever level three alert. take a listen. >> translator: it is a very

serious and emergency situation. there is nowhere to back down. it is a desperate time to devote all efforts to stop the spread of corona by focusing administrative power, unless the outbreak can be contained now, it has come to a critical point to consider escalating the social distancing measures to the third level. >> reporter: if south korea enters a level three alert, that would mean a ban on social gatherings of more than ten people, and only essential workers allowed in the workplace. south korea this afternoon announced the closure of schools in seoul and in neighboring areas, and students will have to move to online learning. >> big move there. thank you so much, chriskristie stout, appreciate it. . new zealand is ready for a travel bubble with australia, expected to go in effect early next year. new zealand prime minister

jacinda ardern made the announcement earlier and explained what needed to happen to make it official. >> the cabinet has agreed in principle to establish a travel bubble with australia. we anticipate in the first quarter of 2021. pending confirmation from the australian cabinet, and no significant change in the circumstances of either country. officials have been working on a range of matters and good progress has been made. there has been some public focus on the requirement of 28 days free of community transmission, but that is just one of the criteria, and areas where preparation needs to be done before opening. >> the bubble has been discussed for months and would allow quarantine free travel both ways. still to come, hope is fading for a trade deal between the uk, and eu. leaders aren't giving up yet. what we need to know about the tough talks coming up next. stay with us. we do it every night.

like clockwork. do it! run your dishwasher with cascade platinum. and save water. did you know certified dishwashers... ...use less than four gallons per cycle, while a running sink uses that, every two minutes. so, do it with cascade. the surprising way to save water.

you're choosing to get connected to the most to xfinity mobile, reliable network nationwide, now with 5g included. discover how to save up to $400 a year with shared data starting at $15 a month, or get the lowest price

for one line of unlimited. come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. you can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store.

the uk prime minister is managing expectations about reaching a trade deal with the european union. >> we're very far apart on key  things. where there's life, there's hope. we're going to keep talking to see what we can do. the uk certainly won't be walking away from the talks i think people would expect us to go the extra mile. let's see what we can achieve, but in the meantime, get ready with confidence, january the 1st, trade on wto terms if we have to. >> the european commission president have agreed to extend trade negotiations again but both parties are warning there will likely be no deal agreed when the brexit transition period ends. nic robertson joins me live from london. the fact that they have extended the deadline, is that a sign that they're close to a deal or that each side doesn't want to be seen to be the one walking

away, kind of as boris johnson said in that clip there, just because there's so much at stake? >> i think it's that what's at stake. the reality starts stacking up, the maneuvering, the public sound bites which create a narrative of extreme scenarios. everyone knows there's no deal, there will be backlogs of traffic at the borders, as a potential shortage for food and medicines and all of these sorts of things. everyone has known that going into talks. when you're sort of staring down the barrel of this happening skpand you know, the british, for example, the prime minister has the navy on stand by to put into the english channel to protect british fishermen from the potential of french fishermen. when the rhetoric goes up like that, it sharpens and focuses people's minds. these talks are going on without a set deadline. we have heard the irish prime

minister speaking to an irish media outlet saying, yes, there's no deadline, but, you know, the real deadline really would be the end of the year, 31st of december, so can the talks really go right up to the wire because there will be no time for ratification, but that's how long this piece of string is, but he said what the eu and uk hope to do is clinch a deal in the next few days. what does that actually mean, again, the string analogy, each time that it's possible to stretch this out further, it happens for those reasons. no one wants to blame. everyone knows the cost of getting this wrong, and i think that's where we're at now, so if there's going fob movement and i think we're in a period of invigorated glue, rather than the glue where we were going into the weekend, now is the time it's going to take shape, and be possible. so you know, the prime minister saying be ready for no deal, but

i think also there was a real hope. both sides want it, will pull this together. when, we don't know. we don't know what's going on inside the meets. >> invigorated gloom, well said. nic robertson, appreciate it rj. >> in the day ahead, the ivory coast after winning a highly disputed election marked by violence and political unrest. scott mcclain has our report, and a warning, it does contain graphic images. >> reporter: this video shows people in ivory coast blocking a major highway last month to protest the reelection of the country's president. and sometime after the video ends, shots are fired. this was the after math of what was supposed to be a peaceful protest, victims lying motionless on the pavement.

witnesses told human rights watch there were three people killed after security forces opened fire. the government says investigations are underway but president al asan watara who spoke exclusively to cnn. >> i have given strict instruction to the defense forces not to use fire, guns, and no one shot along the defense forces. >> it's premature at this point to call that research a lie. >> reporter: the shooting capped off a string of pre and post election violence. 8,500 people killed on both sides, hundreds -- 85 people killed on hundreds injured, that brought the president to power decades ago.

oppositi opposition says he should not have been allowed to run for a third term. >> it's a decision i'm glad i took today because the country would have been in a mess if i had not been a candidate. >> do you understand why some of your opponents and the lot of people in your country were upset by your decision? >> no, i think they just know they could not win. if they want to grab power without election, they're not democrats. >> while the supreme court allowed the president to run, the electoral commission barred 40 others from challenging it. >> does that sound like democracy to you? >> let me tell you, democracy does not mean anyone should come and run. we are a young countries, fragile countries, should be able to say what they're going to do for people and for the count country. >> reporter: those candidates who were allowed to run boycotted the election and set up a government to organize a poll.

one exiled candidate went further. >> mr. watana, is a con artist and liar, and he is behaving like a culprit, and a culprit should be jailed. >> reporter: but it was one of his main rivals that was jailed, another put on house arrest. >> donald trump decide to form a government because biden has won the election. he would be sent to jail right away. and this is what we're doing. >> reporter: election observers from the american carter center found serious concerns about restrictions on civil liberties, freedom of expression, and the right to vote and be elected, which threatened undue democratic progress. but it seems the rest of the world is unwilling to make a fuss, not even france which has strong ties to its former colony. >> with the relatively recent

instance of civil war in 2010 and '11 in the country, and before the election there being a real possibility of returning to that, i think it was kind of seen as better to just accept what is and what people know. >> democracy has been sacrificed in the name of -- >> i think it's fair to say, yes. >> the real war may be with democracy itself, scott mcclain, cnn, london. it's max strength formula coats your throat and provides powerful relief. new dayquil cough and congestion. the maxcoat daytime power through your cough medicine. - [child] what is a wish? (submarine rings) - [man] captain, we're ready to dive. - [child] it's adventure in seeing the unknown. (dolphin chatters) it's imagination! - [man] we're ready to surface.

and coming up for air. but really, deep down, a wish is hope. and right now, we need hope more than ever. that's why we need your help. by giving $20 a month, 67 cents a day, or any amount to make a wish, you make wishes real. (hopeful music) wishes provide hope and give strength to children and their families. wishes change lives. - [narrator] call the number on your screen, or visit wish.org to grant wishes today.

latonight, silence it with newd byzzzquil night pain. - [narrator] call the number on your screen, because pain should never get in the way of a restful night's sleep. new zzzquil night pain. silence pain, sleep soundly.

last night, cnn heroes, an all star tribute showcased remarkable individuals who have stepped up a year riddled with turmoil. people who have offered help and solace to people in need, special guest, megan, the duchess of sussex, a proud supporter of feeding programs around the world, joined cnn heroes to honor communities that came together to make sure that food is available to those struggling amid the current hunger crisis. >> back in march, the covid-19 crisis hit hard and overnight, everything seemed to change. for many families, the impact of the pandemic has been

catastrophic, and far too many were faced with a heartbreaking question, how am i going to put food on the table for my family. but in the face of this devastating reality, we also saw the power of the human spirit and the remarkable ways that communities respond in challenging times. we saw the good in people, in our neighbors, and in entire communities coming together to say they would not stand by while our neighbors went hungry. we saw communities standing up and taking action. when kids' lunch programs came to a halt, we saw our neighbors make sure that those children received the nutrition they need and when those who are immunocompromised or most vulnerable couldn't leave their homes, we as a community showed up to deliver the feed they needed to their door steps. we know the value of food, as nourishment, as a life source, and in moments of crisis, the warmth of a meal can feel as comfortable as a much needed hug.

especially in the absence of human contact, due to the social distancing we're all experiencing. these moments reminded so many that they're cared for. >> cnn correspondent max foster joins us live from outside london with more. max, so this is the first time we have seen her since she revealed her miscarriage. she did that in a "new york times" piece, and there's a reference to the same theme in this video. what more can you tell us? >> she finishes off her video saying we will be okay. which was a reference to the times piece, which focused ultimately on the duchess wanting to encourage people to go out and ask people if they're okay be during this very traumatic year. itst playi is play into a theme. it was interesting how she described herself as a mother, feminist and advocate, as

opposed to to a royal, how she's better known. she is defining herself in a different way now that she is back in the united states. i think this video felt quite states person like, it was professi professionally filmed by cnn in los angeles. she wrote that speech about a subject that's very close to her heart, she has with prince being out and about, in and around los angeles, delivering food aid during the pandemic, so it's a topic she cares deeply about, but she's tying it into a bigger theme which is just making sure people are okay, which is something that it feels like she's going to keep coming back to in this sort of new role that she's carving out for herself in the yoiunited states and the wo, based in los angeles, instead of where i am in the uk. >> thank you so much, max foster, appreciate it. that wraps this hour of cnn newsroom, i'm kim brunhuber. "early start" is up next. [♪]

every time you touch a surface, bacteria is left behind. now, consider how many times your family touches the surfaces in your home in 24 hours. try microban 24. spray on hard surfaces to kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria initially, including the virus that causes covid-19. once dry, microban forms a bacteria shield that keeps killing bacteria for 24 hours, even after multiple touches. try microban 24. this has been medifacts for microban 24. we doevery night.ght. i live alone, but i still do it every night.

right after dinner. definitely after meatloaf. like clockwork. do it! run your dishwasher with cascade platinum. and save water. did you know an energy star certified dishwasher... ...uses less than four gallons per cycle. while a running sink uses that, every two minutes. that means even small loads can save water. so why not do it? run your dishwasher every night with cascade platinum. the surprising way to save water.

you're choosing to get connected to the most to xfinity mobile, reliable network nationwide, now with 5g included. discover how to save up to $400 a year with shared data starting at $15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. you can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store.

welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is "early start." i'm christine romans. >> great to see you back, christine. i'm laura jarrett, monday, december 14th, 5:00 a.m. in new york. so much to get to. we start with the biggest vaccination effort in new york city expected to start today. eleven months after the first documented case of covid-19 in the u.s., pfizer's vaccine will arrive today in all 50 states. the director of the cdc giving the final signoff sunday on emergency authorization for people 16 and older. almost 3 million doses will leave