hello and a very happy new year to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm aceisa soares and you are watching cnn newsroom. ♪ i see trees that are green, red roses, too ♪ ♪ i see them blue for me and you ♪ ♪ and i think to myself, what a

wonderful world ♪ the world says a not so fond farewell in 2020 and welcomes 2021 with a hearty hello. well, while we celebrate the passing of the year that was, the pandemic remains, infections and hospitalizations are surging everywhere it seems. and in the united states, the problems are particularly acute. the u.s. set a new record for hospitalizations on new year's eve day, more than 125,000. but president donald trump who returned to washington from florida on thursday remains focussed on his election loss. late on thursday he tweeted support from josh hawley who plans to object when they count electoral votes next week. cnn is told others oppose the counting of those votes. now let's get more.

natasha linstead joins us. let's start with the developments out of washington. first republican josh hawley would object. now we're hearing 140 others will do the same. how dangerous is this even if it's just a delay tactic? >> well, you're right that it is going to delay the outcome, but it's not going to change it. but it does set a very dangerous precedent for our democracy. you hear about contested elections happening in newer democracies in ukraine or in mali or in ivory coast. you don't really hear about it happening in an established democracy like the u.s. now, in newer democracies where you have weaker democratic institutions and where democratic norms haven't been established yet, these types of things can happen. but it's unheard of in the u.s. because we have a commitment to democracy. we wouldn't have ever thought of

this happening in 2008 or 2012 when obama won because he was running against mitt romney and john mccain. but it appears there is a very different type of republican now. the party is almost mutated into something that is unrecognizable and it really seems to be attacking democratic norms. i find it to be highly dangerous because at the end of the day, it's really about our belief in democracy and the elite play an important role in cultivating these types of believes. but a recent poll from quinnipiac university reveals only 60% of registered voters thought that the election was unfair. that is so, so problematic. this could happen again where baseless claims are laid out there and we decide, okay, we might overturn an election. that really will be the end of our democracy if that ever does happen. >> and like you said, president donald trump has virtually zero chance of changing the results. there have been no credible allegations of any issues with

voting. so my question is why actually pander to president trump or whatever this game is? >> well, it's definitely a very dangerous game and i think senate majority leader mitch mcconnell did not want this to happen, was trying to convince senators to not engage in these types of antics because it is very dangerous. there is a real gamble here. i think some of these republicans either think that their republican voters don't care about what they do, or will be punished severely if they go against trump. so they're making a bet here that if they do this, they're going to gain the favor of trump and that trump is so important to the republican party and to their future chances that this is something they need to do. >> but he's leaving in three weeks or so, office. loyalty, perhaps it's a bit late at this stage. how much of this is personal gain or are they trying to tap into president trump's base? >> yeah, that's the question.

and i think it's a little bit of both. they think that this is going to curry the favor of trump, who can be very ruthless on twitter if you decide to disagree with him. they think maybe the voters approve of these types of actions, but you are also seeing in the republican party there are some cracks. i mean, not a lot, but you have republican senator ben sass of nebraska criticizing josh hawley, the senator from missouri, who decided to do this, protest, criticizing this move. there are other republican senators who disagree with this. of course, it's not going to lead to anything because the outcome is already determined because you have to have a vote, a majority vote in both chambers, and the democrats have majority in the house. so all these antics, all these ploys, as ben sass mentioned, is a very dangerous ploy and it's something these republican senators may find will bite them in the end, and the republican house members who are agreeing to do this as well. >> yeah, i think you're right.

it's a dangerous tactic. it might be to delay, but president trump definitely has the support, growing support now of many allies. so the question, then, is in terms of long-term damage what does this do? not just the democrats, but the republican and as well to democracy in the united states. how do you have see this playing out in the next few weeks or so? >> well, i think what will be critical is whether or not the republicans can come together and decide to support the electoral outcome. that is really, really important. in any kind of transition, whether it's a newer democracy, weaker democracy, any democracy, these elections are so critical to our democracy. i mean, that is basically what distinguishes democracies from authoritarian regimes. so democracies need their elite to get behind the results and the outcome. now, in terms of the long view, it's really interesting for the republicans because they have about 20 of them that are up for

reelection in the senate in 2022 and only 13 democratic senators. so it really is a gamble that they are taking by challenging the very outcome of this election where biden won by over 7 million votes. >> yeah, what we're hearing as well is the president is demanding that his vp mike pence fight harder for him. that puts him in a tight spot. thank you very much and happy new year to you. >> thanks for having me. happy new year. >> now, you are watching cnn. do stay with us. we'll be right back. happy new year if you're just joining us.

it is a new year and the u.k. is waking up to a new reality. brexit is finally a done deal. at 11:00 p.m. london time on new

year's eve, the united kingdom and european union officially went their separate ways. there are still a lot of details to iron out, but prime minister boris johnson said it's time for a celebration. >> pioneered in the u.k., that is also free to do things differently and if necessary, better than our friends in the e.u. free to do trade deals around the world. and free to turbo charge our ambition to be a science super power. from biosciences to artificial intelligence. this is an amazing moment for this country. we have our freedom in our hands, and it is up to us to make the most of it. and i think it will be the overwhelming instinct of the people of this country to come together as one united kingdom. england, scotland, wales, and northern ireland. working together to express our

values around the world. >> joining me via skype, pro first of european politics, well known face on the show. professor, good morning to you. >> good morning. thank you. >> we're still talking brexit after all these years. but while it may be done and dusted, i don't think, correct me if i'm wrong, this is the end of the conversation between both. there are plenty of loose ends still. >> absolutely. and it's far from done and dusted for a few reasons. i mean, firstly, there are still decisions that are pending on financial services, on access to data from the european union, the e.u. going to make decisions in the next few months. there are issues that will be revisited. fisheries are key. fisheries open up in five years. the whole deal itself is reviewed every five years. so the u.k. and the e.u. are going to be sitting around the negotiating table for the foreseeable future. >> and, of course, it is way too soon to really see the impact of

brexit, especially because of covid and restrictions we have in place. do you see major bumps ahead? and if so, in what areas in particular? when do you think we'll start seeing this? >> well, the way i think this will play out is perhaps into next week -- remember, it's a holiday today so there won't be as much traffic as normal at the ports. as we get into next week we'll see a sign of some disruption, i think, simply because some people who trade either from the e.u. to the u.k. or the other way will have to get used to a whole new set of paperwork. they'll get turned around, called tail backs. the other thing we're saying is the impacts of brexit beyond that destruction will be relatively sober and relatively subtle. and they will be swamped by the he c economic of covid. the public health aspects of the pandemic are brought under control of the vaccine, we will run smack into the economic outcome of the pandemic which is very high unemployment. and that will essentially

disguise any economic impacts of brexit for the short and medium term. >> you read my mind. i read your piece in the guardian, and in it you said, i'm going to read it for our viewers. you said, even with the deal, the impact of brexit on the economy will be significantly greater than that of the pandemic. i mean, the u.k. are suffering a deep recession, gdp shrunk by, what, 20% or so in the second quarter. how much worse do you think it can get? >> well, i think what will happen with the pandemic is we'll have this economic sort of aftershock of lockdown in the spring around easter time. most people expect the economy to bounce back strongly from that. the difference with brexit is brexit, if you like, is like a slow burn, medium to long-term process of attrition. over ten years, i fully expect the economic impact of brexit to exceed that of covid. though the interesting question politically is, how noticeable that brexit effect is because it will be slow burn and long term.

>> and, of course, the threats are not just economic. the dangers, i'm thinking of the union here. i want to show our viewers this tweet from nicolas sturgeon, scotland's first minister, she tweeted overnight. scotland will be back, europe. keep the light on. do you think we'll be seeing further calls for scottish independence and where does that put boris johnson, do you think? >> we'll certainly see further calls for scottish independence. the snp, the party, scotland has been dragged out of the e.u., as you put it. the scots voted to remain in. they want a referendum. the scottish parliament is next may and nicolas sturgeon will go in on a referendum. if she wins the majority, she will claim she has a democratic mandate. the problem they have is to have the referendum, the british government has to say yes, and boris johnson has said he will not say yes to a referendum on scottish independence again. we face something of a standoff

in this year to come. >> professor, it's always great to get your insight, from kings college london. thank you very much. happy new year to you. >> happy new year. >> thank you. now, croatia is strupging gglin bring earthquake relief. we'll talk to a doctor who helped rescue people from the epicenter. we'll bring you that story after a short break. even hanging with your dogog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood.

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a convoy of aid rushes near the epicenter of tuesday's 6.4 magnitude earthquake. it's been followed by a series of powerful earthquakes. the main quake killed at least seven people and the country's prime minister said they expect that number to rise.

dozens more were injured. rescuers are still digging through the rubble looking for survivors. the mayor of the worst-hit town says residents are going through hell. the images from the town about 50 kilometers south. you can see the devastation of homes. residents left homeless and living in tents. electricity and water cut off, and patients from the town's hospital have been evacuated to other cities. let's get more on this. dr. alden helped evacuate 200 patients. he is an ent specialist and joins us in croatia. doctor, very good morning to you. happy new year. >> hello. good morning. >> give us a sense of what's happening where you are. have the aftershocks finally stopped? >> no, not yet. some 200 aftershocks after the big quake. we are feeling them every like

15, 20 minutes here. the ground won't stop shaking. >> so it continues to shake every ten to 15 minutes, and i imagine that that makes it so much harder with search and rescue. >> yeah, it's really stressful. our hospital is some 15 kilometers away from the epicenter. it consisted of six buildings. four of those are in complete ruins and one is semi functional and one is functional. and i must say, one good news, one minute in this new year, a baby was born in that complete building that wasn't ruined. >> that's wonderful news. we all need some good news after all the tragedies we have seen. doctor, were you saying that aftershocks are still happening every 15 minutes? so where are people staying? i'm guessing many people don't want to return to their homes if there are any homes left

standing. so where are they staying? >> people are staying around their homes. we have a lot of good people who brought mobile homes and some of those people are in those mobile homes. some are in city stadiums, and something like that. from 400 beds that consisted in our hospital, we have around 20 to 30 left in that building. and other patients are in tents. so it looks a lot like mesh, but only with quakes and deadly wires around us. >> yeah, and i suspect with covid-19, like you said, the deadly virus, everything is so much harder. talk me through the challenges you are facing. what do you need now most, doctor? >> most we need medical equipment.

luckily we have one building in our hospital that is under construction. it is almost done. it is a big building, but we need medical equipment for that building so we can put all the patients there, beds, i.c.u. units, all stuff like that. >> yeah. >> when the quake happened, we had to carry those -- we had around 100 covid-19 positive patients in our hospital. some of them were in intensive care units, so it was really hard to evacuate them towards our capital. we had to carry them because the elevators weren't working and there was no time to mind the safety and to address safely. we had only masks and gloves and everybody helped. doctors, nurses, other staff.

so it was really stressful. >> i can't even imagine, doctor, with everything going on as well with covid-19, the stress and really the anxiety for so many people. doctor in crow asiatia. we're thinking of everyone in croatia. we hope you get all the help you need. >> thank you, bye. >> i want to take you to italy where new year's mass is getting underway at the vatican. there are a few noticeable changes this year. there is social distancing, if you can imagine, as well as masks. but pope francis isn't leading the service. cnn's senior vatican analyst john allen explains his absence. >> reporter: pope francis on thursday was forced to withdraw from the vatican's traditional new year's eve liturgy singing the great hymn thanksgiving to god. and new year's day mass, mary the mother of god, the vatican

designated world day of peace. now, all of this because of what the vatican described as a painful bout of sciatica. that's a nerve condition that generally affects the back and the legs. pope francis disclosed he suffered from the condition in 2013. in the year since it has occasionally got in his way. we know he got treatment for it offer the summer of 2017, but there is no indication here that it is in any sense a life-threatening, and certainly no papal health scare in the vatican. for cnn, this is john allen in rome. >> and that does it for me. thanks very much for watching this hour. cnn newsroom. i'm isa soares live from london. i'll be back with you in the next hour. but first we can't wrap up the first show without taking another look at how the world welcomed 2021. here's a look at celebrations from new zealand to new york. ♪ ♪

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want to sell the best burger add an employee.ode? or ten... then easily and automatically pay your team and file payroll taxes. that means... world domination! or just the west side. run payroll in less than five minutes with intuit quickbooks. hello and a very warm welcome to the viewers right around the world. i'm in london where it's just gone 10:00 in the morning here. huge crowds may have been absent but around the world, people really couldn't have been happier to see 2020 come to an end. ♪