. we are closely following coach. s surroundevelopments surroundi vaccines and stimulus. after months of a bitter stalemate in congress, we're told leaders could announce a stimulus deal as early as today. in plain english, help could finally be on the way. they are said to be looking at a package close to $900 billion that would priovide relief to s

many americans that could put a roof over your head or food on your table. and meanwhile, vaccinations are rolling out seemingly without a hitch. this video was taken in boston this morning. it is unclear just how many americans have been vaccinated so far, but health and human services secretary alex azar says that he will have the numbers in the coming days. and assures us that they are being tracked. but we need many, many more companieses of the vaccine that are currently being shipped out. and thankfully, this could soon happen. the advisory panel is set to meet tomorrow to discuss authorizing moderna's vaccine. testing czar gave a promising prediction about the process this morning along with an important warning. >> i am very confident that this vaccine will receive authorization and will add tens of millions of doses to the american public within a short period of time. what people need to know, we are still at a dangerous and

critical part of this pandemic and tens of thousands of american lives are at stake. and we can flatten the curve. >> let's begin here in washington with talks over the much needed covid relief. manu raju is on capitol hill getting all of the latest details. what are you hearing about this possible deal? >> reporter: it could be announced today, but there is still a lot of details they need to sort out. i'm told that congress allege leaders have been trying to iron out some of the final dealers here in the hours.allege leaders have been trying to iron out some of the final dealers here in the hours. they thohope to get something d by friday to keep the government open. otherwise the government will shut down. so time is of the essence here. and it will take a lot of cooperation to get it through quickly. and what the bill entails roug y

$900 billion and we expect to include a new round of stimulus checks. nos not as much as the democrats wanted, maybe $600, $700. the $1200 stimulus checks went out in the spring. so obviously quite a bit less than that. but also we expect jobless benefits to be extended as well. so many americans are seeing their jobless benefits expire before the end of the month. now we expect an additional $300 a week in jobless benefits. the $600 a week benefits went around -- >> so to interrupt. we'll go now to joe biden announcing his transportation secretary. >> -- nominees to our cabinet. there are people of the highest contact, varied experiences and backgrounds, will help us beat this pandemic, keep us safe and secure and build our economy back better than it ever was. and that includes long time

colleagues and new faces, people who share my views and those who have different views. and they include people who supported my campaign from its earliest days and people who ran against me. experts in policy, leaders in crises. and by the end of this process, this cabinet bob the most representative of any cabinet in american history. we'll have people of more color, more women than any cabinet ever. we'll have a cabinet ever barrier breakers. a cabinet of firsts. i know how proud presidents are when they are able to achieve a first in their cabinet. i remember when president clinton named the first ever woman to be secretary of state. i was there when president obama named the first ever black attorney general. but compared to my predecessors, the harris/biden cabinet is first among cabinets of all the firsts it represents.

the first ever woman, the first black woman, first woman of a south asian deceaccidedescent, ever latino ahead of hhs, the first woman of south asian american descent to lead omb, the first woman and asian american to lead as our trade representative. the first black woman to chair the president's council on economic advisories. the first ever woman to hold alexander hamilton's position as treasury secretary. our cabinet doesn't just have one first, or just two of these firsts, but eight precedence busting appointments. and tonight the ninth, the first openly gay nominee to lead a cabinet department. and one of the youngest cabinet members ever.

the biden/harris cabinet will look like america, a cabinet that taps into the best of america, a cabinet that is opening doors and breaking down barriers and accessing the full range of talent we have so much of it, the full range of talent in this nation. a cabinet that is up to the immediate crises we face and we face several. and the long term challenge this nation faces are in this cabinet's hands, a cabinet that is battle tested, qualified, experienced, creative innovative and forward looking. and, yes, representative. and today, i'm proud to nominate its newest member. for secretary of transportation, i nominate mayor pete buttigieg. i got to know pete on the campaign trail. he is one of the smartest people you will ever meet and one of the most humble. a mayor from the heartland, a management expert, a policy wonk

with a big heart, a veteran, intelligence officer deployed to afghanistan while he was mayor. a new voice with new ideas, determined for move past old politics. the son of professors. husband -- his husband is an he had indicate tore. always, always a mark of good character is the way i look at it. and by the way, jill and i have always enjoyed seeing pete and his husband on the trail. they have become our close friends p friend. and pete is always clear about what he is and what he believes, how he wants to bring people in, not exclooud thude them. he can walk in any room and describe an america that is best for all of us, an america that is hopeful, bold, creative, inclusive, an american that can do literally anything. the department of transportation

serves a critical mission with a critical responsibility, particularly in this administration. we need someone who knows how to work with state, local and federal agencies. for example, rate now one in five miles of our highways are still in, quote, poor condition. according to the society of american engineers. tens of thousands of bridges are in disrepair. some on the verge of collapse 3wre7b presenting a danger to people's lives. we're the world's richest nation but we rank tenth in overall quality of our infrastructure. but there is so much that we can do. when i think of climate change, i think about jobs, good paying union job, jobs that put americans to work. making their air cleaner for our kids to breath. restoring our crumbling road, bridges, ports, making it faster, cheaper, cleaner to

transport american made goods across the country and around the world. i know that when you were mayor, pete, when people would come into try to decide whether they would build something, they would say where is the nearest railroad, what about the water access, what about -- so on. this will attract businesses. jobs that lay the lines for the second great railroad revolution which is not only slashing pollution, slash commute time, open up investments in areas connected to metropolitan areas for the first time. you know, we selected pete for transportation because it is the intersection of some of the most ambitious plans to build back better. when president obama put me in charge of implementing the recover i are act, which is over $800 billion to take us from crisis to recovery to resurge e resurgence, modernizing our transportation infrastructure, road, bridges, ports were some of the most critical investments. we invested more in

infrastructure since eisenhower. the projects that traditionally receive bipartisan support, that forge public and private partnership, when we do those partnerships, and we invest federal money, we pull billions of dollars for every dollar we put in. federal dollar. and put millions of americans to work strengthening our economy, our economic competitiveness and rebuilding our communities for the future. pete's got a great perspective of a mayor that solves problems and brings people together. he has a vision of a next generation leader and the experience and temperament to lead change today, today, to dig us out of this economic crisis. for example, helping cities and states to keep trance silts systems running for frontline and essential workers. and then helping to no modernize the ports and railways, to

attraction workers, to advance racial equity as we build back better and include even so zip code doesn't determine your access to a good job, a good school, a good education. and health care. to deal with the existential threat of climate, but for prevailing wages, union jobs paying $45, $50 an hour and benefits. helping cities in red states and blue states. red cities and blue cities. to build more resilient cities to deal with floods and super are storms. what are we faced with? the west is burning. the midwest is being flooded. the east coast is being pummeled by more tornadoes and storms than it has ever had. we're in a state that is 3 feet

above sea level. as to we ha so we have flooding. we can installing 500,000 charging stations for the next generation of clean vehicles, smart grid system, reducing energy consumption. some of you may remember i met with five leading ceos in america and five leading unions in america. and the president of general motors after our conversation, our joint conversation, i'm called he told california and said that they are dropping their suit against california. they are all in on making sure that they are a -- we're the first in the world to have switched to and be able to get to a carbon neutral economic way to power automobiles as a konsz defense of dealing with electric vehicles. we can own the electric vehicle

market and can put with those 500,000 charging stations, we can muput a million jobs back i detroit and the midwest building cars. pete will keep americans safe on our roads and in our skies. he will build back better with jobs and hope. and i'm honored he is answering the call to serve his country once again. so please welcome, please welcome the next secretary of transportation pete buttigieg. it's all your.

>> mr. president-elect, madame vice president-elect, thank you so much for entrusting me with this opportunity to serve the american people. i am humbled by your confidence. eager to do everything in my power to ensure that this administration succeeds. my hometown south breend was but by the power of american transportation. from trade along the river to the rail lines that difficult itself connected us to the rest of the country, to the livelihoods created by the good paying union jobs at places like the aeronautical supplier and auto a.m. assembly. and now climate and infrastructure innovation are helping bring my community into the 21st century. i've had a personal love of transportation. more than once as a college student i would convince a

friend to travel nearly 1,000 miles back to indiana with me on amtrak. though i know he that in this administration i will at best aspire to be the second biggest train enthusiast around. i spent a spring break in graduate school aboard a car go ship studying there. travel is synonymous with growth, with adventure, everyone love. so much so that i proposed to my husband in an airport terminal. don't let anybody tell you that o'hare isn't roman take. and i want to take this moment to thank skrchchastin for all h gives. when i first took office as mayor, in a city fighting out of recession, infrastructure was at the heart of our vision.

we reimagined how vehicles and people move through the city, unlocking new economic vibrancy in our urban core. we built up partnerships to improve rail service to public/private partnership that put our city at the cutting edge of bicycle mobility. we developed new you forms of support for lower wages workers and added electric vehicle charging infrastructure. to help prepare for a more sustainable future. we also dealt with the challenges created would generations of often inadequate federal and state infrastructure funding with just enough resources to replenish the paving of every lane mile and street of our city, only every 100 years or so. i faced a constant battle with that natural enemy of all mayors, the pothole. a community where more than a quarter of our residents lived in poverty, we worked to fill in the gaps that were created when underfunded transit resources

left too many cut off from opportunity just because they didn't have the means to own a car. at its best, transportation makes the american dream possible. getting people and goods to where they need to be. directly and indirectly creating good paying jobs. at its worst, misguided policies and missed opportunities can reinforce racial, economic and environmental injustice. dividing or isolating neighborhoods. undermining government's basic role to empower everyone to thrive. and now comes a historic opportunity. this administration can deliver policies and resources that will create jobs, rise to the climate challenge, and equitably serve all americans. all while continuing to ensure the safety of travelers and workers alike. america has given this administration a man date to

build back better. and step one in building back better literally is to build. americans shouldn't settle for less than our peers in the developed world when it comes to our road, bridges and transit systems. the u.s. some lead the way. and i know that in this administration we will. we'll bring together leaders from every corner, labor and business, left, right and center, you aurban and rural, everyone who has a stake in american infrastructure to design a better future. americans expect us to see to do that the idea of an infrastructure weak is associated with results and never again a media punch line. my view of this opportunity is also shaped by being the youngest member so far named to this cabinet. and the first millennial invited to a seat at that table. newer generations have a lot at

stake in infrastructure policy that by its nature must contemplate both the immediate and the long termg. the question of how america will look by the middle of this century, the competitiveness of our economy, the security of our climate, for me this is not academic, it is personal. and i'm also mindful that the eyes of history are on this appointment. knowing that this is the first time an american president has ever sent an openly lgbtq cabinet member to senate for confirmation. i can remember watching the news 17 years old, in indiana, seeing a story about an appointee of president clinton named to be ambassador, denied a vote in the senate because he was gay. ultimately able to serve only by recess appointment. at the time i had no aspirations of being appointed by a president to anything. at that age i was hoping to be

an airline pilot and i was a long way from coming out even to myself. but still i watched that story and i learned about some of the limits that exist in this country. when it comes to who is allowed to belong. but just as important, i saw how those limits could be challenged. so two decades later, i can't help but think of a 17-year-old somewhere who might be watching us right now, somebody who wonders whether and where they belong in the world, or even in their own family. and i'm thinking about the message that today's announcement is sending to them. so thank you, mr. president-elect, thank you for honoring your commitment to decide veersi idiversity. and thank you had dyou vice

president-elect for your e encouragement and friendship. there is no greater meaning than the chance to serve others. i felt it every time i laced up my boots in the military and everyone tie imcame to work as a mayor. and i join this team with such an historic mission. thank you. >> and we look ahead to the challenges we will inherit, we are focused on containing the pandemic and delivering relief to all who need it. we are focused on faithfully reopening our schools and responsibly reopening our economy. and as we've said many times, we are also focused on building america back better. and doing what is necessary to

lift up all americans no matter where they live, whether it is in big cities, rural areas, or anyplace in between. one of most important ways we will do that is by creating good union jobs to build, operate and maintain a safe modern and sustainable transportation system. a transportation system that will help us grow our economy, tackle our climate crisis, and connect all americans to jobs and opportunity. we will transform our roads and bridges, transit systems, railways, ports, while pow erg them with clean energy, spark a renaissance in american passenger rail that will not only connect our country, but unlock job creation and growth across our manufacturing sector. and we will expand and upgrade our transportation system in a way that is equitable, serving

communities of every size, urban and rural, across our country. the choice president-elect biden has made to help spearhead this work is simply outstanding. i got to know pete over the last couple of years, we traveled to the same states, attended the same events and shared a debate stage many times. we've had long conversations he and i about the future of our country. about the need for bipartisanship and about family and faith. and along the way, pete and his wonderful husband chasten have become very dear friends of doug's and mine. pete is an in-know straight difference problem solver. he has a sharp intellect and deep commitment suniting people. he is a trailblazing leader from

the industrial midwest who understands we need to create opportunity for people of all backgrounds. and he is of course a veteran and a dedicated public servant who represents the very best of our country and the next generation of american leadership. now, pete will bring his remarkable talents to bear not just on behalf of the people of south bend, but on behalf of the people across our nation. in 1966, upon creating the dededededement of transportati, president johnson said america's history is a history of her transportation. with pete's leadership, we are ready to write the next great chapter in that history. modernizing our infrastructure, creating jobs and opportunity. and helping to usher in a clean energy future for the united states of america.

thank you, mr. president-elect, and quell cowelcome, pete. >> thank you. by the way, i called the vice president-elect and thanked per for not getting on the highway in the middle of a storm, a storm about to come. she wanted to be here. so thank you all very much. and if you have to travel -- [ inaudible question ] >> we're working on that right now. i don't want to get ahead of the line, but i want to make sure that we demonstrate that it is safe to take. they are working on that plan right now. and when i do it, i'll do it publicly and so you all can actually witness my getting it done. [ inaudible question ] >> i'm confident. [ inaudible question ] >> stimulus package is encouraging. it looks like they are close. and it looks like there will be

direct cash payments. it is an important down payment on what will have to be done beginning the he hend of januard into february. but we weren't to -- it is very important to get it done. thank you all very much. [ inaudible question ] >> that was president-elect joe biden continuing to round out his cabinet formally announcing that he intends to nominate pete buttigieg his former rival for the democratic nomination for president of the united states as his transportation secretary. mj lee is there. and joining me now. so much to discuss. first, let's just start with the point that vice president-elect biden wanted to make at the beginning, obviously he talked a lot about pete buttigieg and his credentials, but also about what

he wants this to be seen as meaning, nominating somebody who is the first -- would be the first senate confirmed openly gay member of the cabinet. he called it the ninth precedent busting appointment. he said he has done eight so far when you look at the diversity of people that he has appointed so far. what do you make of what you heard? >> yeah, i was really struck by that riff at the top of his speech. i lost track of the number of times biden said the words first ever. he was talking about the diversity of his cabinet, but also hit torically saying that in the past, president-elects have taken a lot of pride every time that they could nominate someone and break a new barrier and he said the government that he is putting together has broken more barriers than any other cabinets that have come before this one. and of course he noted that he

is doing it again with the nomination of pete buttigieg who as you said would be the first gay lgbtq member of the cabinet if confirmed. and i thought it was interesting buttigieg position taoouttigieg it. looking back that he wanted to be an airline pilot and to be in this place right now, clearly this is a really personally important moment for him and his family. >> very much so. and you are way too young to remember, but i had just started covering capitol hill when james hormel was nominated to be the ambassador to lexumbourg and it was very controversial. and i have to ask about what he said at the very end.

[ inaudible ]. >> -- public, this is a part of their national campaign. they know that the big tasks that they have ahead of them in terms of the vaccine distribution is about earning the public's trust. they know very well that there are people across the country who have a lot of misgivings, who might be wary of, who have questions about whether it is actually safe for them to take

the vaccine. and biden feels like if he can as the president-elect right now show and demonstrate in front of the media, in front of the public, that this is safe to do, that that could go a long way in convincing people that the vaccine is safe. and as experts have been saying all week, the key to the distribution being successful, is that the majority of people across the country actually getting the vaccine. >> very interesting. mj, thank you for all of that reporti reporting. up next, a disturbing rise in cases in record-breaking hospitalizations. ♪

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for the rest of your life. with sofi it's possible to get them paid off and start new. ♪ until roughly 70% of the population is vaccinated, other protections like wearing a mask is critical to stop the spread. and right now, the situation is dire. the u.s. is on track to add 1 million new cases in less than a week. the country added nearly 200,000

cases yesterday alone. here is dr. anthony fauci. >> we should celebrate the fact that the science has come through. but it is not over yet. we have a ways to go. we have to abide by the public health measures that we talk about all the time. this is not going to just turn around overnight. we have a ways to go. and public health measures is the bridge to get to the vaccine which is going to get us out of this. >> want to bring in a member of president-elect joe biden's coronavirus task force. thank you so much to joining me. i want to start where the president-elect left off in his event just a few minutes ago saying that he is planning to take his vaccine publicly. take us inside the plans to make that happen. >> well, look, as dr. fauci has noted, he strongly advises that the president-elect and the vice

president-elect as well as the current president and vice president really should be vaccinated as soon as possible for national security reasons as well as for the fact that they are all older. perhaps with the exception of vice president-elect harris. so are at higher risk for severe disease if they are infected. at the same time, the president-elect and vice president-elect do not want to be seen as jumping the line and using their special position as elected officials to get ahead of other americans who might also be very high priority. and i get that. at my own hospital, they are starting with people over the age of 60 working in the icu and emergency room. i'm an infectious disease doctor in my mid-40s and so while i'm high priority, i'm not at the top of the list. so we just have to be patient and wait our turn. >> right. you are talking about yourself. but just back to joe biden and

kamala harris, how do you square that circle, not wanting to be seen as jumping the line to use your words and joe biden's words, but also to be an example. never mind national security, but just to be an example that this is a safe vaccine to take. >> i think that disanimit is an. we want to demonstrate that it is a safe vaccine. but we do not want to be seen as leveraging their position to get to the front of the line. >> so do you think that it could happen like this week, how quickly are we talking? >> you know, i can't give you an exact time line, but i think that you will see an announcement before too long here. >> okay. i want to talk big picture with you about the post-thanks give surge in covid numbers. christmas of course just around the corner.

and the bottom line is that it is terrible what is going on with more americans than ever in the hospital. are you and other members of the biden transition working on this issue getting the information you need so that on day one of the biden administration these trends can be addressed in an informed way? >> yeah, we are. we've working closely with the current administration through our agency review teams, the transition team more broadly as well as the advisory board. at the same time, it is important to understand that some of these trends are under way and just as they took a long time to get put in the works over months, these are not trends that will be reversed overnight. you know, i think that all i can say right now given that the administration is not yet in office is that americans themselves can take steps over the coming weeks to mask up, to socially distance. if they will be around other

people, to do that outdoors. and really, you know, this is not the time to be traveling as much as we would all love to travel and visit family. unfortunately, we are really in the worst of the pandemic right now. and this is just a time to lay low. >> and back to the vaccine but more broadly, again, the hhs secretary alex azar said yesterday that he couldn't give a precise number of how many people have been vaccinated, but that they will get those numbers. do you feel confident that this is being tracked properly? >> well, i think this is one the unfortunate things about how pin health departments really have been gutted over years now. in particular since the 2008/2009 recession, we've lost 50,000 public health workers, they haven't been able to upgrade their information technology systems for tracking. and so while i think that everybody will be making their best efforts, it is again sort of like trying to build a plane while flying it. and this is going to be a very

challenging process. >> no question. thank you so much, doctor. appreciate it. and join cnn friday night as we look deeper into vaccination skepticism and a new town hall, the color of covid, the vaccine. friday night at 10:00 eastern. up next, the president digs in and reacts to the senate majority leader acknowledging joe biden is the president-elect. for skin that never holds you back don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin - hey kaleb, what's up? how you doing? - hey, i'm good, guess what,

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president trump's resistance to any concession is unrelenting today. now targeting mitch mcconnell in a tweet after the republican and close ally congratulated president-elect joe biden. let's discuss this with laura baron lopez, national political reporter for politico. and michael shearer, white house corporate for the "new york times." michael, i'll start with you. what are you hearing from your sources about how the president reacted to the senate majority leader stating the obvious final finally? >> well, he reacts as you imagine that he would react which is to say not gray us somely. and you know, not with a sense that it is time it move on. i mean, president-elect biden made that point in a speech a couple nights ago that the

electoral college has spoken and now it is time to turn the page. the majority leader as you said essentially said the same thing, which cleared the way for i think a number of people in the republican party that gives them a little bit of cover to do the same. and yet the president is not there. and i think that his tweet directly to senator mcconnell urging republicans to learn how to fight is evidence of that, but so are the tweets today even continuing to rant about misshi million votes which ignores the fact that that is 7 million shy of the actual winner, joe biden. so i think anyone who thought that -- who is out there that thought that the president was going to somehow come rn aroundd offer a gracious concession is probably smoking something. >> yeah, some version of the tweet that we just showed was as predictable as the sun rising

this morning in the east. laura, i want to ask about what kamala harris the vice president-elect said about this theme this morning. take a listen. >> what are your thoughts on his reluctant to acknowledge the election? >> in this democracy of ours, as americans, which is our democracy is stronger than any one man or woman, its about the people. and the people spoke. >> so laura, she is staying diplomatic. and a different tone from what we finally heard from joe biden the night that the quleek toele college certified that he was president-elect. >> when do you a cursory scan of president trump's tweets, i know we're used to his statements, but it is frankly stunning that the vast majority of his tweets

have disclaimers slapped on them now saying that these are disputed, these are false claims and he has continued to on do them since the election. but joe biden and kamala harris and their new administration despite what president trump is doing, they are trying to stick with the message that they had in the general election which is we think that we can work with republicans. and joe biden has repeated that. you know, he and his staffers have said just wait and see, that biden will be able to work with a mitch mcconnell and there are plenty of skeptical democrats who think that they should take a more adversarial approach with republicans. but so far, i think what we heard from the vice president-elect harris and what we're 45 hearing from biden is a calmer teen because they want to be able to work with republicans. >> and we heard earlier this hour from president-elect biden

when he announced that pete buttigieg would be his transportation secretary nominee and he put it in a broader context of all of the diversity among the people he has appointed so far. you talk about, you know, united front when it comes to reaching across the aisle, but do you feel that that message is getting heard among the many interests and interest groups that are pushing him to be even more diverse? >> there have been grumblings from democrats. the different factions of the party, the lprogressives are st waiting to see more of the champions that they want there, though they were happy with appointments of the climate czar and the head of the energy department.

progressives were not very fond of buttigieg, but so far they are holding their fire about him. and biden saying that he had nine precedence setting appointments and there are no democrats that are really attacking him aggressively. i think a lot are still waiting to see the full slate. >> and michael, the attorney general nominee, we still haven't gotten that yet from joe biden. are you hearing anything? we have some names. but what is your sense? >> and i think that there was some reporting about governor cuomo at least under consideration. and i think that they are really struggling with that one. as lawyura said, there are tonsf competing interests. again dgender, race, ideology. that one i think that they are trying to get that one before christmas along with the cia

director. and we'll see if they can make that work. >> michael, laura, thank you both. appreciate it. and coming up, president-elect biden has a message for georgia and for the voters who are going to be voting in the senate runoff there. he says the stakes for him and democrats couldn't be higher. we'll talk about that next. from bath fitter. w ish every bath fitter bath is installed quickly, safely, and beautifully, with a lifetime warranty. go from old to new. from worn to wow. the beautiful bath you've always wanted, done right, installed by one expert technician, all in one day. we've been creating moments like these for 35 years, and we're here to help you get started. book your free virtual or in-home design consultation today.

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xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today. early voting is under way in georgia and the stakes for president-elect biden could not be higher. the outcome of the two senate

races will determine control of the senate and the fate of biden's cabinets picks and the direction of his agenda. joining me now is steven fowler. first question, about biden going to campaign for jon ossoff and raphael warnock yesterday. the question is about voter turn sxrou jut. it was record high during the presidential election. runoffs are always different. what are you seeing so far now? >> well, what we're seeing so far is that turnout is actually higher thus far compared to the general election when it comes to early voting. of course we don't expect overall turnout to surpass the general election, but we do think that this runoff turnout will far surpass the turnout rate from previous runoffs. there is a lot of interest in this runoff, pretty unpresident

dented. >> yeah, sure is. one of the other questions that i'm fascinated to return the answer to is how the president beating the drum on what he claims is election fraud is going to affect republican voters and voting in georgia. and steven, my colleague was there and she spoke to voters waiting in line to vote early. listen to what they told her. >> i would have worn more layers if i knew it would be like this. >> but you haven't left. >> no, this election is too important. >> our votes should mean something. they don't mean anything now. >> reporter: but they still voted. >> just started early voting and we're thrilled to have voted. >> so that is a great example. our votes don't mean anything, but we're voting anyway. those are the people who are actually there. the question is, who is actually not going because they areness

willing listening to the president. >> right. a lot of voters that i talk to that are still in the belief that president trump did win the election and that the election was rigged are still getting out and voting. so you can't really explain this duality of i believe the system is rigged but i'm participating in the system. but that is what we're seeing on the ground here. that is whier you're seeing mike pence come repeatedly, why you are seeing dan kren acrenshaw f videos. because at the end of the day, no matter what happened in november, there is still an election in january that people did vote their vote will still count and it will. >> yes, it will. and it does. what about the money, tia, so much money is pouring into georgia. republicans and democrats. i believe so far it has been -- there you see he die it, $460 m almost evenly split. how is that affecting things?

>> well, when you are on the ground in georgia, every ad and every tv commercial break and on the radio, and even when you logon to social media, it is ads before videos on youtube. so you cannot avoid the effects of this spending. and again, the core goal of all this spending is to turn out voters because this runoff things so much on which side can get more of its vote erns gaurs gaingai engaged and cast their vote. >> we all see tvel ads, we assume that it is being spent to getting out the vote. but because they have a lot to play with, are they doing things considering the fact that it is a runoff and an unusual date that we haven't seen? >> i think we're just seeing an unprecedented amount of attention. people said that georgia is like

the political center of the universe right now, but it feels more like a black hole just sucking in time and attention and everything. i've gotten more campaign mailers than i have christmas cards. i've watched more david perdue/jon ossoff ads than i have my favorite tv shows. and you are seeing micro targeting, you know, individual issues that you would never imagine somebody about spending a six figure ad buy on trying to get the votes out. >> that is so interesting that still coming in the way that they used to.allege mailers are still coming in the way that they used to. it seemed that it was much more virtual. but the fact that they are still coming in snail mail is quite noteworthy. that you think both to your reporting. well be talking more to you as understand, it is the political center of the universe or a black hole or both. we'll see what happens.

appreciate it. thank you so much. and thank you for joining us. brianna keilar picks up our coverage right now. i want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. we begin with a nation in anguish. the coronavirus pandemic worsening, more than 3,000 americans reported dead yesterday, the third deadliest day since the pandemic gang. and more than 112,000 are so sick with covid that they were admitted to the hospital. another daunting record there. all nearly a week from the christmas holiday. the suffering of so many americans making the race to authorize a second coronavirus vaccine all the more urgent. an fda commit the city is meeting tomorrow to consider the moderna candidate. and once authorized, it coul