that has higher transmission, this is a strain more difficult to deal with, it is still relying on human behavior to spread it, kate. >> good point. wonderful to see you. thank you very much. thank you for joining us. hello, beand a gold reeg a in for brianna keilar. welcome to viewers in the united states and around the world. we begin this afternoon with a warning, new variant of covid may already be in the united states. now dr. fauci says it is probably in the u.s. as well. >> when you have this amount of spread in a place like the uk, you really need to assume that it's here already. it may not, certainly is not the

dominant strain. i would not be surprised if it is already here. >> the new variant spreads more quickly, more contagious, but not more dangerous. quick spread is what we're seeing. the united states passed the 18 million case mark yesterday and took just four days to get from 17 million to 18 million cases. that's the quickest jump yet. there's some relief on the way. vaccines are getting where they need to be. health and human services secretary today joining more than 600,000 others that received their shots. economic help is coming after congress passed a new relief bill. hear some of what's in the $900 billion package. there's a $600 direct payment some people will receive. there's also increase in unemployment benefits for 11 weeks, an extension of eviction protections until end of january, and 15% increase in the snap program for six months.

dr. anthony fauci also had his chance to get the vaccine today at the same event where we saw the hhs secretary, alex azar, director of national institutes of health, dr. francis collins, all received the moderna vaccine which was developed as part of the government's operation warp speed. >> i feel extreme confidence in the safety and efficacy of this vaccine and i want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so that we could have a veil of protection over this country that would end this pandemic. >> alexandra field is in new jersey where front line health care workers are set to receive the moderna vaccine today. alexandra, what are you seeing out there today? >> reporter: about 30 front line workers were able to get the vaccine. they got the moderna vaccine. the shipment was sent yesterday. one of 4,000 from moderna and pfizer vaccines going out

yesterday and today, massive movement of vaccines. most critical now, getting the front line workers vaccinated. this is the first opportunity for front line workers from three hospitals in southern new jersey to get their shots. first up, renee stevens. she's a nurse who works on the covid floors. she volunteered to do it. she said she felt blessed to get the first shot and said a big part of the reason she volunteered was because she wants to set an example for others. >> never in your mind's eye could anyone imagine what health care professionals have been going through the last nine months. we were not winning the war and it is not even close to being over but i feel like the vaccine is an essential part of this. >> stevens says she witnessed devastation and despair in the last nine or ten months when she's been working directly with

covid patients in the hospital. she says at the same time while she is here, she's eager to get the vaccine and knew it would give her much greater measure of protection. she said she heard hesitancy. she hopes they see her getting shot in the arm on tv and that they'll rethink this, follow the science. says if they do that, it will lead them to where she ended up today. >> we are thankful for work she and her peers are doing through the year, the example they're setting being public about the vaccinations. thank you so much. new study released today looks at the efficacy of masks and stopping the spread of coronavirus. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins me now. we're all wearing our masks. what are we learning about the new data? >> first of all, we need to say masks work. this data shows that masks work. what they show is that they don't work perfectly and you

need to pair it with social distancing. think of the two as always going together. wear your mask, practice social distancing. what they found is when they tested masks from surgical to cloth masks to n95s, everything except the n95 would let some germs through. these are physicists, they made the machine that simulates coughing and sneezing, and what they found was that some things did indeed seep through. unless you're wearing an n95, you should assume some things are seeping through. if people around you aren't wearing n95s, which they probably are not, you're not completely protected and need to keep your distance. the two need to go together. >> masks and distance, hand in hand. great advice. bring in dr. grace lee, associate chief medical officer

at stanford children's health. thank you so much for joining me. i want to start with the new variant. dr. fauci said he wouldn't be surprised if it was already in the united states. dr. peter hotez said this morning the cdc should already know if the new variant is here because they have a program called spheres that should be tracking these types of changes. so what is your take? is this likely something officials knew of, just didn't make public yet? >> i think the surveillance systems that are available will be able to pick up on variants and it will be important for us to make sure that we take a look at that information closely before making judgment about how to manage that from a clinical and operational perspective. i think it is super helpful to have data from the uk coming in, allows us to more efficiently look for this particular variant in the u.s. >> the uk tracks this data

arguably better than anyone else in the world, people are asking why this was happening in the uk first, they've been on top of this throughout the year. let's move on to another question. as somebody that works in pediatrics, i want your thoughts on something that jumped out at me as i was reading about the new variant, that it may actually make children as or equally susceptible as adults. that's alarming. we know children for the most part have been spared so far with coronavirus. what more can you tell us about this? >> you know, it is important to remember that data we hear about that in vitro is different than clinically. we are waiting for the data to come forth. there are suggestions this is possible. we need to be making decisions on best possible data. full impact on the variant needs further study. hopefully that will come along in coming weeks. >> coming at a time there are more advocates for reopening

schools after children have been out so long. you are on the cdc advisory board that voted on the new vaccine guidelines about who should be next in line to be vaccinated after front line health care workers and people that work and live in nursing homes. local reports say that texas is not going to follow the cdc recommendations and will vaccinate everyone over 65 years old and people of any age with underlying medical conditions next in line before essential workers. what effect will that have if states are sort of going their own way? >> well, i think that's a challenging situation. first, i'll say that the rationale for acip prioritizing vaccines in phase 1-b to front line essential workers and those 75 and older were to balance the need to prevent or protect those at greatest risk of infection

and those at greatest risk for hospitalization and death. the intent is to vaccinate the u.s. population with safe and effective vaccines. these are short term recommendations, hope will support efficiency and equity in every phase of vaccination. clearly it will be challenging if every state has its own unique approach to it. i will say national recommendations are national and intended to be adapted at the local level, but the hope is that we have nine public meetings, over 28 covid meetings, and have reviewed thoroughly. the recommendations from acip will be considered. >> i read one board member said it was the most difficult decision he would have to make in his life. this is not something easy at all. nothing we expected prior to this year. i understand the frustration so many had making these decisions. also seeing members of congress

getting vaccinated, including joni ernst who onlily questioned how dangerous the pandemic was. she's 50 years old. others like ilhan omar foregoing shots so other risk groups are vaccinated first. no surprise, it is becoming political as well. should members of congress be at the front of the line here? >> again, hard to answer that question. what i will say is vaccine allocation is hard for all of us, national, state, local levels, none of this is easy. we have to adopt principles put forth and make sure that we are focused on reducing disparities that are important in the allocation plan. we know certain populations are disproportionately effected. i will say if lawmakers are contracted front line essential workers, i would argue that some

may consider that essential, the important thing is that we are going to be able to get vaccinated, focus on that message, vaccines are coming soon, we anticipate being able to vaccinate everybody in fade 1-a in the next few weeks, move to phase 1-b soon, and after that, phase 1-c. hope is on the way. >> you could make the argument politicians are doing it publicly because there are many skeptics out there. anytime they see a public official they trust getting the vaccine helps. that argument is a valid point to make. thank you very much for the expertise. appreciate it. >> thank you. just ahead, we have all of the details who qualifies for a covid relief check, when you can expect to see that money. concerns inside the pentagon about what president trump may do in his final month in house. how senior military officials are planning. and cnn is at the uk border where travel bans tied to the covid variant caused chaos.

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a message from a conservative icon and trump supporter aimed at an audience of one. pat robertson says the american people have spoken and the result is definitive. >> with all his talent and the ability to raise money and draw large crowds, the president still lives in an alternate reality, he really does. has done a marvelous job for the economy but at the same time he is very erratic and he has fired people, fought people, insulted

people, keeps going down the line. it is a mixed bag. i think it would be well to say you've had your day and it's time to move on. >> it's time to move on. move on is something the president seems unwilling to do. r robertson's plea comes amid anxiety in the white house and pentagon over what president trump might do on his way out. nearly a dozen military officers in senior roles say the unease ramped up in recent days after the president hosted an off the rails white house meeting in which his former national security adviser floated the idea of invoking marshal law. joining me, jeremy diamond and barbara starr. welcome to you both. barbara, begin with you and the new reporting. you're hearing officials uncertain how to navigate the president's final few weeks. tell us more. >> i think what you said is exactly right, how to navigate it all.

look, if the president were to issue some order to the military, it has to be legal or they will not do it. there are only legal orders to the united states military. that said, they are watching so many of them this conversation, michael flynn, the retired general, fired national security adviser, talking about using military capabilities to change election results in swing states. the military has been adamant from the beginning they have no role in the elections. we are even now seeing the head of the army, civilian head and four star general chief of staff of the army putting out a statement that the military has no role in election outcomes. they are adamant about making this point. are they concerned? absolutely. i think the undercurrent here at the pentagon is they want to focus on national security threats, not on partisan politics, and they are counting,

there's no way around it, they're counting down the days until this commander in chief leaves office. >> and of course, reminder that shortly after the election is when the president fired his defense secretary, mark esper. last week we heard acting defense secretary abruptly cut off any sort of transition meetings with the biden team as well. this is even more alarming. jeremy, we have seen the president turn to a fringe group of advisers in the west wing and away from others, including the republican senate majority leader who trump now claims won his state's re-election because of him. of course, that's not true. he won in a landslide. >> that's right. you're seeing the president send over that slide via personal assistant to republican senators, essentially accusing mitch mcconnell of disloyalty. seems to be a shot across the bow and warning to other republican senators that haven't come to grips with reality to not do so, and stand by the president as he continues

sometimes outrageous efforts to contest results of a democratic election he lost. what you are seeing is the president turning away from anybody that tells him no, who tells him he lost the election, and turning towards the fringe of the fringe who will still indulge many of his fantasies about trying to overturn results of the election. that's why he is leaning on folks like conspiracy theorists, sidney powell, disgraced former national security adviser michael flynn and steve bannon who was indicted over the summer on money laundering and fraud charges and is also perhaps seeking a presidential pardon. and this is alarming folks around the president. you're seeing, including folks who have been around the president a long time inside and around the white house, people close to the president who are concerned about what these next 29 days will hold in terms of how the president comes to grips with the end of his presidency, and whether he will do so in a manner that many of them hope he

will. >> when trump sycophants are worried, that tells you something. thank you very much for the reporting. joining the conversation, from "the washington post," thanks for joining us. a lot to cover the last few weeks of the administration. cnn and others are reporting deep worry in the pentagon as you heard and west wing over the president's actions in recent days. rudy giuliani, sidney powell both at the white house again last night. the president reportedly lashing out at anyone that won't support his nutty, dangerous ideas. what more are you hearing with your reporting? >> we're hearing just that, that the president wants people around him that will give him a path to victory, even though no pathway exists. people try to level with the president, saying you have a month left in office, try to squeeze out final gains you can get, try to have a victory to reflect on what you accomplished during four years in office and

end this mad attempt to stay in office beyond your term. those people are being tossed out of his orbit, he is in vieding fringe elements into his orbit to figure out if there's a way to stay in office. we know he lost the election. he is still in denial, looking for people to help him. looking at the january 6th date where congress is supposed to certify the election. normally proforma set of events, but the president is trying to sort of stage some mutiny where republicans and congress will sabotage the attempt to certify the election, rise up against the results, see if they can overturn results. the most the president is likely to be able to do is delay the inevitable. he is focused on this, seizing on this as a final last stand to get republicans to side with him against the democracy and will of the voters.

that's how he is spending his final days in office. >> for someone who hates the word loser, he is having to be reminded of that through actions that he did lose the election. you're seeing a number of house republican lawmakers say they'll try to overturn the electoral college results. this will fail. the white house chief of staff tweeting they're prepared to, quote, fight back against mounting evidence of voter fraud. this is getting a more tepid response in the senate, but ted cruz, tommy tubberville haven't ruled out challenging the results. how serious is this possibility and how is this going to play outcome january 6th? >> this is a huge loyalty test, the president is trying to see who is willing to be loyal even as he sees his political power starting to evaporate. he will be out of office soon, won't have power to pull the levers of government to get things done. fewer and fewer senators are starting to stay with the president. they're essentially realizing it

doesn't make sense to delay the inevitable. the process of trying to contest results is going to fail. the house is controlled by democrats who will pass this. overwhelming number of democrats in the senate that believe the results of the election were fair and free, no reason to gum up the works to ultimately overturn the will of millions that chose joe biden over donald trump. the president is trying to get a loyalty test. may be able to get a handful of senators or ultra right wing republicans in the house to side with him, but he is not going to be able to reverse his fate. it is a futile effort at this point. what he is doing is delaying the inevitable, undermining democracy and trying to say that millions of voters that voted against him were fraudulent while millions that voted for him are the only ones that should count. >> undermining democracy and undermining the leader. senator mcconnell warned them not to do this. you have at least a couple of senators saying they're going to do it, defy him anyway.

it is mind boggling. you wrote this week about the chr crises the president is leaving for the biden administration, and the ways he is trying to undermine the president-elect. talk about that. >> yeah, look at all of the crises facing the country. president trump is not pushing forward a smooth transition to help his successor succeed in facing crises, instead he is undermining everything from trying to push forward foreign policy on an abrupt basis, withdrawing troops from the middle east without a lot of forethought in a way that will lead joe biden to have to deal with aftermath that comes out of that. also looking at making it hard for people to believe biden is a legitimate president. there are tens of millions of americans that don't agree biden is legitimate in part because the president says biden stole votes and stole the election. president trump is undermining peaceful transfer of power, making it harder for his successor to do what is

necessary to protect the country. quickly to mention the russia hack the president hasn't really spoken out against, this is a huge thing facing the new president, and the current president is not even speaking out against it. >> largest hack in u.s. history. he could be taking a victory lap. the fact that joe biden is congratulating operation warp speed publicly and the president is not doing the same is striking. thank you so much. we appreciate it. just in to cnn, the governor of california has named a replacement to fill senator kamala harris' seat. alex padilla, secretary of state of california, will be the first latino to hold a senate seat from that state. he is a former state senator and l.a. city councilman. he said he is honored and humbled in the trust placed in him by governor newsom. popular ski area hit hard from coronavirus. we talk to the mayor of aspen,

colorado to put red level restrictions in place. going inside a california hospital running out of icu beds. the nurse in charge says it's a disaster. ♪ the only thing a disaster can't destroy is hope. donate now at redcross.org

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pitkin county is under red level restrictions. that means no more gatherings with people outside your household. restaurants remain at 25% capacity, can only see groups living in the same household. no indoor events travelers have to complete an affidavit. half the cases throughout the pandemic have happened in just the last month. joining me, aspen mayor. mayor, thank you for coming on with us today. 50% of the county cases occurring in the last month, what's happened? >>. >> great question. good morning to you, good afternoon where you are. thanks for having me on this morning. we've seen a doubling and tripling of incidents, other metrics are holding firm. we're trying to figure out where transmissions are happening.

we have some data we are getting regarding some of the underserved population, and a lot of transmission is coming from informal gatherings and people trying to do their best staying home. they're getting the virus nonetheless. >> coming at one of the busiest tourist times of the year. tourism is important to the economy for the ski season and holidays, restaurants are a key aspect of the economy as well. they're not being restricted like other businesses. why is that? >> well, what we have seen from data across the different business sectors is that restaurant transmission is not high on the list of where we need to be spending energies and opportunities. we also feel in some ways we are eliminating some informal gathering opportunities if we have some of the safe outlets available for people. we're trying to make the decision based on what's best for health and safety of residents and visitors alike.

>> and like many mountain areas, aspen has one hospital. how is staff there handling, how are doctors and nurses preparing for the surge in cases? >> amazingly well. not without our caution and definite concern, but hospital rate now is doing very well and that's just all credit to the staff and administration that's out there. they've done a great job. they are prepared for any new surges we might see but as i said before, our hospital is maintaining very well right now, those great servants out there are just amazing with the energy they're giving to the community. >> we are just thankful and thinking of all the first responders, doctors, nurses there that are preparing and currently handling the surge in cases. the county is nearing the season's peak. we know new restrictions have testing and quarantine rules for

travelers. is there an enforcement plan in place or is this more just guidance you're putting out? >> at this time we're learning about how to get that enforcement and compliance in place. i've got good news, bianna, we're seeing a lot of guests filling out the affidavit, getting tested before coming to the community, but not only that, we have robust testing program going on here now in schools and for the general public. and that includes visitors. if anybody is having a difficult time fulfilling that affidavit, we are making every opportunity available so they can do that once they're here on the ground. we have some penalties in place. we don't want to get there. we hope this is a community collaborative effort. we have that buy in from residents. i think we're getting that from visitors as well. >> i know this is an important part of the economy, the tourism season. hopefully if people heed warnings, next year will be

better, safer, healthier for everyone there. mayor, thank you so much. >> we're all looking forward to that. >> yes, we all are. happy holidays to you and your family. >> thank you. to you too, bianna, thank you. still ahead, congress finally passes a $900 billion pandemic relief bill. how long before you see the second stimulus check. we live in a world of fees. airlines, hotels, food delivery, and especially car dealers

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months long back and forth, now it is over. congress passing a pandemic relief package late monday. the bill goes to the president's desk and millions of americans hope they'll see cash show up in bank accounts soon. cnn's manu raju on capitol hill. manu, americans didn't have to read the bill, you were reading and going through it for us as well. secretary mnuchin said checks could go out as soon as next week. this bill took far too long. let's be honest. some americans in desperate need of help are not getting that help when they needed it months ago. what's the reaction on capitol hill. >> a lot of folks dissatisfied with the process. some believe it didn't go far enough. it is about half the size of the last rescue package that passed back in march, benefits are cut in half as well. still, it is enough that some folks on capitol hill say it is at least a life line for people

that are seeing unemployment benefits dry up in the coming days. next congress there's a push to do more, even though not everybody is in agreement what needs to be done or if anything needs to be done. one of the things that will kick in for some folks, depending how much money they make, those direct payments you mentioned. $600 in direct payments for individuals who make $75,000 a year or less. that amount of money will decrease based on your income threshold, people that make more than $99,000 won't get a check. income is double if you're a married couple filing jointly, there would be another $600 per person, depending on the income level you're at. in addition, people that are filing for unemployment benefits will continue to get those under this law. when it becomes law, it would include $300 of weekly unemployment benefits, but small businesses, too, that have been hurt during the pandemic could

see loans from small business administration paycheck protection program which will be replenished under this legislation in addition to money for school, vaccine distribution, aid for farmers, so many sectors of the economy aided in some way or the other. the question is will it be enough, how long will it take to get in the system. it is not signed in law yet. they have to finish paperwork, send it to the president's desk, he has to sign it, then time for all of this to be implemented. >> president-elect biden suggesting it is not enough, saying and tweeting work is far from over. what kind of road blocks will he be getting as far as getting additional relief later after he is inaugurated? >> there's not much consensus how to move ahead. saw it play out for months, led to enactment of the latest piece of legislation, will republicans agree with democrats. they're simply not there yet. there could be yet another fight over this when the

president-elect biden is sworn into office january 20th, especially if republicans keep chrome control of the senate. >> we'll have another eviction moratorium days after he is inaugurated as well. manu raju, thank you so much. coming up next, cnn is inside one of california's overwhelmed icu units. not a single bed available and staff, they're at a breaking point. >> they're not wearing masks, saying it is a hoax. i have to say i am a glass half full kind of person. my glass is empty right now. get a freshly made footlong, from subway®! you can even order on the subway® app! did i just get picked off by deion sanders? you sure did! now in the app, get a free footlong when you buy two. because it's footlong season™! special guest flo challenges the hand models to show off the ease of comparing rates with progressive's home quote explorer. international hand model jon-jon gets personal.

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98% of california is under stay at home orders. governor gavin newsom says he will likely extend it because monday marked another record high day of hospitalizations statewide. intensive care units in southern california are now at zero capacity. they're so overwhelmed in fact they've had to expand covid wards, bring in refrigerated trucks for mobile morgues. sarah sidesner went inside one of those icus. >> reporter: a colleague fighting for months.

coronavirus sending so many to the hospital in california, no more intensive care unit beds are open here at the medical center. so they've moved coronavirus patients into the emergency room. some so sick hooked up to no less than eight i.v.s. >> they're exhausting. a never-ending struggle. really tough right now. >> reporter: before his shift started, he learned one of his covid-19 patients had died. the patient had no family ves i visits and no breath to say good-b good-bye. >> did see them. very sad around the holidays. >> reporter: everyone here has been exposed to the trauma of loss over and over again. but the patients just keep coming. >> what's it like right now for yourself? >> it's a disaster right now for

our staff. the patients are extremely sick. this is a horrible disease. i hope i won't cry, because it's been ten months of this, and we are inundated. >> reporter: they can't send patients out to other hospitals in los angeles county because in the most populated count any america there is not a single licensed icu bed open. all 2,500 are full. at last count all of southern california had zero icu capacity. zero. >> there's no break. there's absolutely no break. even during july it wasn't so bad. but this time, we're seeing large numbers. >> reporter: nancy blake says this is so much worse than the first two surges of the virus, because now they're getting their normal amount of emergency patients plus a large number of coronavirus cases. in the past two weeks, california has seen a 63% increase in hospitalizations, and in just one day, around

40,000 new infections were reported. this as 98% of the state is under 0 stay-at-hom order. that is clearly not what is happening. >> what affect does it have on your staff? >> they're angry. at the very beginning it was people were, you know, saying nurses are heroes. great job. now not listening to us. they're not wearing their masks. they're saying it's a hoax. and i have to say i'm a glass half full kind of person. my glass is empty right now. >> reporter: remember in new york beginning of the pandemic when they is refrigerated trucks because they needed space for bodies? now this hospital, same thing, and this one just turned on. >> reporter: amidst signing of suffering, signs of hope. health care workers lining up to get their first dose of the vaccine. each sending a message as to why they're getting inoculated. the first day it arrived the mood soared, but soured by the afternoon as more patients

crushed into the emergency room. >> are you okay? >> no. it's the worst i've ever seen it. been a nurse 40 years. and it's the worse i've ever seen. and some of the things these nurses are seeing, patients are dieing, there's no family member. they're holding that patient's hand or on the other side of an ipad while the family's crying. >> reporter: ultimately, we are failing each other, and we're failing the people who make it their business to save us when we're sick, when we're hurt, or when we're dieing. and that is the message that these nurses and doctors want people to know if they could just follow the guidelines that sbrn set up. the simple things, wearing a mask. not gathering even though it's christmastime. it is a lonely time for a lot of people but far more lonely if you end up in the icu. or the e.r. >> a small ask for those people

not taking this xaers lseriousl should listen to the sound of the mobile morgue. gives you goosebumps. unbelievable what the heroes have been going through. thank you for bringing us that report. coming up next, thousands of long-haul truckers stranded. unsure if they'll make it home for christmas as travel bans kick in for the uk. all because of that new covid variant spreading there, and cnn is on the ground. nobody understands the meaning of home like a veteran.

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dozens of countries banned travel to the uk after the announcement of a new variant of the coronavirus. sudden border closures left thousands of trucks at a standstill and supply chains disrupted just before the christmas holiday. we're in the english port city of dover. selma? >> reporter: brianna, more chaos and confusion here. hundreds of truck drivers and their trucks and their goods have been stranded along the port city of dover since sunday now with no instruction. today they're being told to come to a disused airfield. essentially a massive air strip turned into a parking lot for all of these truck drivers you see behind me here and think goods. there's a coronavirus testing on site but we don't know they'll be tested. british and french officials

talking about coronavirus testing as part of the agreement to reopen the border between the two countries. meanwhile, while all of this political back and forth goes on, there are people caught in the middle. most drivers don't think they'll make it home for christmas and goods kauts s caught in the mi. this country could look at food shortages, medical shortages and empty grocery stores during this time. >> that's it for me. "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. brianna, thank you. hi there. i'm brooke baldwin. you're watching cnn. fau thank you for bewith me. and joe biden will speak in a few minutes. his message, help is on the way. help both in economic stimulus and to effecti