year. i'm anna cabrera in for jim and poppy. i know many of us are happy 2020 has come to an end. unfortunately we have to hang tough a while longer because the worst of the pandemic can be ahead. in the last three days of 2020, more than 10,000 americans died from covid-19. all told nearly 346,000 have lost their lives since the pandemic began. and cases are soaring, hospitalizations are setting new record highs. it was the fourth day in a row just yesterday and we are seeing new cases of the uk variant here in the u.s. at the same time, officials are scrambling to get more people vaccinated. so far only a fraction of the 12 million doses distributed have been administered. in washington the president is back at the white house as republicans gear up for a chaotic show down on capitol hill. cnn is learning 140 house republicans are prepared to join president trump's push to

overturn the election results. let's begin in atlanta, nick valencia joins us from a convention center being converted into a field hospital. that hospital is really a reflection of what we are seeing nationwide. >> anna, it is sobering when you put it like you just did. the worst of the pandemic could be ahead of us still. you look at the latest numbers from johns hopkins university and it's hard to look at where we are right now, the last three days of 2020, over 10,000 americans died just the last three days. and 2020 is behind us, but the pandemic is still very much so raging. here in georgia, the governor is so concerned with the latest surge of the winter months here that they've opened up this temporary field hospital here. 60 temporary beds for covid infected patients. he spoke about this and gave a certain message to the youth of atlanta before the ball dropped he put out a message to those 18

to 29 saying they're responsible for spreading the virus now. >> the largest percentage of cases we're seeing in the state are on coming from 18 to 29 year olds. they have not been hit hard in most cases by the virus but if they infect others that's where we see problems and the risk of someone being in the hospital or worse. >> reporter: the georgia governor's office told me earlier they are expecting to receive patients later today. there's been just such a strain here because of the surge in cases on the health system in georgia, nearly 5,000 people hospitalized in the state right now. anna. >> nick valencia, thank you. more on the spread of the uk covid variant here in the u.s. health officials in florida say they may have identified that state's first case of the new strain and in california three new cases have been detected in san diego. that's on top of one, possibly two, cases in colorado.

experts say there are likely many more cases across the country that haven't been detected yet. elizabeth cohen has more on this. let's start with this new possible case in florida. what more do we know? >> so we heard a tweet from a florida health official about this. let's take a look. what they said is florida has evidence of the first identified case of the uk covid-19 variant in martin county. the individual is a male in his 20s, with no history of travel. this department is working with the cdc on this investigation. we encourage all to continue practicing covid-19 mitigation. so two important things in there i really want to point out. this man had no history of travel. that's what we're seeing with the uk variant cases in the u.s. they didn't go to the uk, they didn't go anywhere. they caught it here in the u.s. and that tells us that it is probably widespread. it's not just the one or two or four or six that we're finding. it is probably widespread.

this is a variant that spreads more quickly than other variants do. all the more reason, practice social distancing, wear your mask you don't want to get sick and be a burden on the hospital system. you don't want to get someone else sick so they would be a burden on the hospital system. let's look at what's going on in california, which further proves this point. in san diego, two men in their 40s, one man in his 50s were found to have this variant. two men had no known travel outside the county, just like in florida. the third man they're not sure, they haven't talked to him. no known interaction with each other. they didn't know each other, they just caught it out in the community. that's why county health officials believe the new strain is, quote, widespread in the community. it's not just widespread in the community in california, it's widespread around the country. look at this list of countries where the uk variant has been found. it's too long i'm not going to read it.

it's 29 countries and counting. once you get to a list that long, you know that it is widespread around the world. anna. >> 29 countries now reporting cases of the uk covid variant. but there's also the south african variant. you spoke with the scientist who discovered this strain and he had some concerns. >> yes, he says that we need to test and make sure that the vaccine will still work against this variant. he thinks it will, but he said look we have to test it, because there are many mutations. there's 22 mutations in this south african variant. 22 things that make it different. and some of them could affect the way that the vaccine works. and so, he said we need to do some testing to find out if the vaccine will be just as effective, maybe a little bit less effective, maybe a lot less effective, he said we just don't know. let's look at the list of countries where the south african variant has been found. it's found so far in eight countries, including south

africa. when you see it's in switzerland, france, the uk, it is extremely likely that it is already here as well. anna? >> already the vaccine process is not going as smoothly as we hoped. elizabeth cohen, thank you for that reporting. we're starting 2021 having to play catch up on coronavirus vaccinations. federal officials pledged to administer 20 million cases before the year's end but the latest data shows just 2.7 million americans have been vaccinated so far. joins us is a pathogen preparedness expert and the senior director of the new york city special pathogens program. good to have you with us. experts say it will be months before vaccines are widespread enough to turn the course of this pandemic. in that last report it was still fewer than 3 million americans having received the first shots. where is the hold up right now? what needs to change? >> there's multiple different

factors holding up the distribution and administration of the vaccines. first it's not as easy as having a vaccine available and giving it to the states. this is a different ball game than normal vaccination campaigns that healthcare facility systems and public health tend to do like for the seasonal flu. the game changer here is the supply, second we're in the time of the covid-19 where you have additional measures you have to take on top of just having folks come in and get the vaccine and then you have the ultra cold storage requirement. and on top of that, what you're seeing is a lot of the facilities are receiving some of the vaccines just last week. and with all -- you know, the strain of top of health care systems and public health already, they need more resources. they're already bootstrapped with what's going on. so we need to send in reinforcements if we want to accelerate the vaccination administration. that has to happen now,

especially with the urgent situation we're currently in. >> on that note senator mitt romney just blasted this vaccination plan he called for using retired medical workers to help administer vaccines and establish vaccine sites throughout states, perhaps at every school. what are your thoughts about that in. >> that's important. we need to look at how we can extend our vaccination campaign but it's not as easy as setting up the sites and having people administer it. you need to make sure people understand the requirements to the vaccine. there's a screening and intake process that happens behind the scenes and when individuals come to get their vaccine they go through counseling because this is an emergency authorized vaccine and then you get the dose and there's a follow-up that happens along with that. there's a lot here at play that happens behind the scenes. so we need to continue to provide more resources to our health care facilities, our public health partners to try to

accelerate, you know, our vaccination campaign generally. right now we're in a dire period as you mentioned earlier. the projections we're seeing you'll see about 88,000 americans more that are going to die in the next three weeks. and that's just a given. we're seeing record number of hospitalization and death cases over the past few weeks. we're in a grim milestone here and it's a very crucial period. on top of that the variants everyone is hearing about is going to get a foothold here in the united states, probably has. it's circulating widespread, we just haven't detected it yet. we need to increase surveillance and double down on all the measures because what this new variant is going to do is probably expand our current epidemic for an additional few weeks. so that's really important to understand we need to do everything we can now to alleviate some of the pressures we're going to see in the weeks to come. >> are you confident the vaccines currently authorized will work against this new

strain of the coronavirus in the uk, and a new strain first discovered in south africa? >> i am. right now based on the data and information we're seeing it seems the vaccines are certainly effective against these new variants. this is a learning curve, a learning process. we're learning more every day so as things change, things may continue to evolve. but right now, these vaccines do work. so we want to make sure we have more vaccines in individuals' arms to make a dent in the current epidemic. we know the vaccines aren't going to have an effect until a long term gain. if we're more strategic about how we deploy the vaccine and administering them, especially the vulnerable population like nursing home residents where you see a record number of deaths, seeing about 60,000 nursing home residents getting infected on a daily basis, we want to

administer the vaccines there as a priority. >> that's where the priority has started in terms of the administration process. thank you. appreciate you joining us. still to to come, election backlash on capitol hill. at least 140 republicans could object to certifying the results of joe biden's victory. and we know that mitch mcconnell is raising red flags. the pentagon is on alert one year since the killing of iran's top general, qassem soleimani. the possible retaliation against the united states. and the fight over the $2,000 stimulus checks. it isn't over yet. why one columnist says expanding these direct payments isn't such a good idea. ♪

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more chaos looming on capitol hill. two house republicans say at least 140 of their colleagues plan to challenge joe biden's electoral college win next week. cnn's susan malveaux is on capitol hill for us. boris sanchez is at the white house. and jackie joins us as well. hello to all of you, happy new year. we're picking up where we left off. what are you hearing on capitol hill this morning?

>> reporter: happy new year. it starts to feel like ground hogs day after a while but there is going to be drama, fireworks and political theeatre going ino the new year looking at january 6th with the joint session of congress. we have actually heard now from many lawmakers who will be objecting to certifying the election results what is mundane is now full of drama. the list is getting bigger now on the house side at least 140 members who will be objecting to the election results calling for it to be turned around. you see the patterns if you look at those who are signing off on this, it is very clear there are various groups. some who are closely aligned with president trump, his allies when you look at jim jordan, as well as mo brooks who is leading in the effort. there are others who do not want to be primed and challenged potentially in two to four years they're putting their names on the list. you have people like jeff van drew, who left the democratic

party, very uphappy, upset, frustrated with the games he's sees being played. the freedom caucus as well. eight republicans from pennsylvania they're looking to see where their constituents and their voters want them to challenge this election, where there's some sort of what they believe a case for this. and then more than not, what you have people like mark greene, representative mark greene and his statement is pretty milk toast. it is simply, well, hey, why not do this, because let's let the voters. let's let the american people look at the evidence and make up their own minds, their own determination. kind of ignoring if you will the fact that this has played out in at least 60 court cases, the justices, the homeland security department. that's why you see the folks getting in line. >> and boris, the president is

clearly fix sated on this, he cut short his vacation in mar-a-lago, didn't even show up to his own party on new year's eve. what's the vibe coming from the white house as the next week gets closer? >> reporter: with this white house there's always been a sense of drama and uncertainty and the potential for chaos. with just 19 days left in his presidency, that uncertainty is heightened for the folks around donald trump. just that cutting short his trip to mar-a-lago came as a shock to a lot of advisers who expected he may stay beyond his originally returned -- originally planned return date. there's also a sense of frustration with aides around the president. he's repeatedly had to have the process of the electoral college certification explained. asking repeated questions about the role that mike pence might be playing in this because he's still fixated on the idea he's going to overturn the results of the election. there's still a question of how

the president is going to react to january 6th when thousands of his supporters merge here on the p capitol to protest the certification. but also what he says about republicans that do not go along with the fantasy. >> these republicans who will object to the certification of joe biden, it's hard to believe there's 140 of them, according to these representatives talking to our colleagues here at cnn. but when you break it down, do all these 140 lawmakers really believe that joe biden did not win this election? >> i think it's more that they believe that they need to support president trump. this has everything -- this has turned in to a loyalty test, much like that bogus lawsuit that came out of texas by the texas ag, a bunch of them signed on to that. and that, obviously, was

dismissed by the supreme court. so this has everything to do with the president not choosing -- choosing not to acknowledge the results of the election. that members of congress said we should let the american people decide, the american people decided, they voted. president trump did not win. joe biden did. and all of this, the president is keeping track of who is leading these efforts, who is signing onto this and they want to make sure that -- ben sasse pointed this out in that lengthy facebook post yesterday that a lot of them are just scared of their voters and they don't want to feel like they're going to pay for the fact that trump lost and they didn't support him. >> susan, what does that say, then, about the president's power over the gop? even as he's, you know, just days from being out of office? >> reporter: well, it gives them a stark choice, really. it's an opportunity to decide which side are you going to be

on? the kind of party, the republican party that aligns with president trump and continues with his agenda and his requirements for loyalty and then also if you take a look at the other republicans who make, you know, fiscal conservatives, limited government, senator john thune, for instance, or senator majority leader mitch mcconnell who are making it very clear that this is a vote that they did not want. that it will not be beneficial to them to raise their hands and go on record with this vote. but they are forced to do so now. and so, this is something that is going to set up clearly the alliances moving forward in the republican party which side, which party are you a part of? the trump republican party, or the other traditional republican party? it's a divided one and people will have to go on record saying which part they are part of. >> all the experts that we've spoken to said this is going to result in the same outcome, regardless if they create the drama, it may delay the outcome

but ultimately joe biden will be certified as the president-elect and will be sworn in on january 20th. will trump ever fully accept the results of this election, boris? >> reporter: i wouldn't bet on it, anna. if you speak to people close to the president, they do not think he will ever concede. further, i think as an observer it's too profitable for him. since the election the trump campaign has sent out more than 500 fund-raising emails. the president animating his base through the idea the election was rigged and lining his pockets with the donations as well. notably this animates his supporters going forward and gives him a degree of control over the republican party going forward. it's really ironic that the trump presidency is bookended by him denying the legitimacy of both his predecessor and now his successor as well. >> thanks to all of you. up next, tensions building

with iran just days before the anniversary of the death of their top military general. how credible is talk of a potential attack on the u.s.? we have the latest when we come back. stay with us. force veteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. ♪ usaa - hey kaleb, what's up? how you doing? - hey, i'm good, guess what,

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without breaking a sweat. now that's simple, easy, awesome. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today. this morning a u.s. official is warning iran has raised their readiness levels in the maritime

forces in the gulf over the last 48 hours. it comes days ahead of the one year anniversary of the american drone strike that killed top commander qassem soleimani. barbara starr joins us from the pentagon. do we have any idea what iran's intentions are with the move? >> reporter: good morning, that's what the u.s. is trying to figure out right now. they do know they have signs, signals that iran's mer time forces have increased their forces in the persian gulf but what are the insentencintention? there's a couple possibilities, it could be defensive because they think the u.s. is preparing to attack them but it also could be some preparation for some kind of operation against the united states, u.s. policy is very much to try to deter iran and show them that would be a bad idea, that retribution, retaliation would be very, very

swift. a lot of concern about this because these moves come at the same time intelligence is showing that iranian backed militias inside iraq have increased their preparations and planning for some kind of potential, again we don't know, attack against u.s. forces in that country. so you have a lot of concern all the way around. why the timing on all of this? well, we are coming up on the one year marker of the assassination ordered by president trump against qassem soleimani, the iranian general who headed their cuds force. and just a short time ago, in the last hours, his replacement made a statement that was equally concerning about all of this, saying, and i quote, our path in resistance will not change according to u.s. mischiefs. with the extent of the crimes that you have committed, people from your own house may end up being the ones who retaliate. so a vailed waeiled warning pert

some kind of action could be coming and all of it seems to be tied to this one year marker of the assassination of qassem soleimani, something the iranians still feel deeply about and a lot of signs and signals that concern the u.s. a great deal. >> barbara starr, thank you. let's bring in samantha vingrad. you've been behind the scenes in discussions when it comes behind the scenes of national security. what's your assessment of the current threat level from iran? >> we have to do some multitasking here. it is a fact that iran represents a threat to u.s. national security, particularly during this period of heightened risk due to the upcoming anniversary of the qassem soleimani assassination. but we have to acknowledge the fact that we can't trust a lot of what the administration tells us when it comes to iran. when we look at the threat from

iran, anna, which is clear that iranian aggression has increased across every theatre, on land, at sea, cyber space and their nuclear program is progressing. at the same time, president trump and members of his team, have fabricated or twisted intelligence, including on iraniiran, to suit personal or political objectives. it's no secret that striking iran has been on president trump's bucket list for some time and with 19 days to go, he could want to go out with a boom. that's why, u.s. officials are monitoring and redirecting assets to monitor threats associated with iran in and around this period. and at the same time this public, and i hope members of congress, are questioning any intelligence that the administration is pointing to about a purported iranian

attack. in terms of the attack, anna i think that iran will calibrate any attack associated with the anniversary because they do not want to box themselves in ahead of biden coming into office and restarting nuclear negotiations lifting sanctions. >> we have this threat from the head of iran's force suggesting the retaliation for killing qassem soleimani may come from within the u.s. discuss this specific threat. >> again, there's a lot of saber rattling going on, the war of words is not unexpected particularly from the commander of the force. in terms of potential threats from within the homeland, it would be malpractice for the fbi and other members of the intelligence communities not to be monitoring the social media space, online chatter to see if

the irgc is trying to inspire, direct, any kind of attacks here in the homeland. they've done this around the world before. and according to the department of homeland security, in terms of foreign terrorist organization attacks, inspiring attacks is the most likely scenario. and we have to acknowledge that iran has launched cyber attacks against the united states, including during the election. so i think those are primarily the two buckets of issues. but i think an attack overseas is more likely because we're exposed in the region when it comes to our assets and interests. >> all of this will be inherited, of course, by president-elect biden once he takes office but his transition team continues to accuse the trump administration of withholding information that could damage national security, allegations the trump officials have denied. what do you make of this? could it undermine our national

security? >> the sabotage of the tr transition process by trump and his team could undermine security on day one. it makes it look like trump wants to disadvantage biden on day one based on some personal vendetta, i suppose because biden won the election. that said, biden and his team, including the folks he's nominated at the pentagon do have a lot of experience but biden will have to play some degree of catchup on day one, his predecessors have not been in that position before. so he'll have to play a degree of catch up, he'll be faced with at tre feed departments. so there will be a number of challenges facing our 46th president. >> good to have you here. happy new year, my friend. >> happy new year my friend. a shot in the arm is giving

hope after children are being e reunited with parents after getting the vaccine. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪

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some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. once-weekly ozempic® is helping me reach my blood sugar goal. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ you may pay as little as $25 for a 1-month or 3-month prescription. ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. the vaccine rollout is now reaching some of the nation's most vulnerable. about 350 children and adults with autism and other complex medical conditions are receiving the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. and for some, it ends months long separations from their loved ones. gary tuchman reports. >> reporter: in new york state's

cat skill mountains it's a landmark day for these young people. all of them who have severe medical issues and comorbidities, today is the day. >> one, two, three. awesome. >> good job. >> reporter: they get the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. >> that was awesome. >> awesome, bud. >> reporter: this is the 1,500 acre center for discover where hundreds of vulnerable childrens and adults with complex medical conditions live and visit for clinical treatments and educational, social, nutritional and recreational experiences. 24-year-old kaditra has cerebral palsy. >> that's a beautiful hat. i couldn't make a hat. >> reporter: for months the residents here were not able to see their parents and families in person because of covid.

now with proper precautions they can and parents are with their children as they get their vaccines. >> good job. >> so good. >> reporter: rj has severe autism. his mother said his grandfather died from covid in april. >> i know that my dad would be so proud of how well rj has done through this entire ordeal. and particularly today. you saw how much of a trooper he was getting his shot. >> reporter: jody also has pro found autism and seizure disorders. >> looks like a boo-boo. >> yes. >> reporter: her mother says not being able to see jody in person for months was extrusion kuwacr. >> getting the vaccine today it's the beginning of the end of the nightmare. >> reporter: residents and employees here have tested positive for covid, there have been no deaths. credit is given to the diligence

of the employees here, about 1,700 of them. they too are getting the vaccine. after all, it's the employees who can bring the virus in. >> their courage and efforts keep us moving forward but we have to stay with it. it's not a mic drop yet. we have to get through this still. >> reporter: the parents visiting realize this frightening time is not over and the relief on this day is palpable. >> it's so emotional. and he knew in his gut this is something he wanted to do. i can't tell you how emotional it is to watch someone you were so worried about for so many months, you might see hope on horizon. >> reporter: remember the hat maker we met earlier. >> good job. >> reporter: she said she is most grateful that she too has now been vaccinated.

gary tuchman, cnn, monticello, new york. up next, president trump touts a banner year on wall street as millions of americans struggle to make ends meet.

welcome back. republican senator lindsey graham is adding his voice to calls for a stand-alone vote on the $2,000 stimulus checks.

he says with seven republicans already supporting the idea, just five more would be needed for the measure to pass. the house already approved the higher stimulus checks last week, but there's little sign that a stand-alone bill will get a vote in the senate. joining us to discuss, cnn economics kmcommentator katheri rand paul. happy new year. good to see you. in your recent op-ed, you say simply put, sending money to nearly every american family to ensure help gets to the tiny fraction that needs it is not efficient use of resources. whether it is $600 or $2,000, you say it is not really the issue. what is? >> the issue is getting the aid to people that need it most. look, there's a portion of this country that has borne the brunt of the economic crisis as well as frankly the public health crisis. if we're just talking about jobs lost, hunger, evictions, et

cetera, it is a relatively small fraction of the country. it is tens of millions of people but it is not the majority. they need help. they need food. they need unemployment aid, they need rent payments, et cetera. we absolutely need to give them the assistance they need. there's also a portion of this country in what i would call and others called a two track recovery that's doing at least financially relatively fine. these are people that haven't lost their jobs, still working from home, asset values, whether you talk about 401(k) or value of the house has gone up. they're doing fine. unfortunately this $2,000 check proposal doesn't really differentiate between the two. it phases out, but benefits 94% of households, including households that make more than $300,000 a year. i would much rather see that funding targeted upon the households who really need it, rather than giving a few dollars to $300,000 households for whom

it is a pittance, they may save the money, spend more on the households for which the checks will be insufficient, do it through more weeks of unemployment insurance, for example, generous food stamps, that sort of thing. i really love to see congress aim more at fiscal fire power at the needy. >> where are you getting the $300,000 number? my understanding was, and correct me if i'm wrong, i thought checks went to people making $75,000 or less and couples who are making $150,000 or less, so double the $75,000. >> this is a good question. the threshold that you mentioned are maximum, thresholds for maximum check amount. the check continues at lower levels going much higher up the income scale, so it phases out gradually. for every additional 100,000, you get $5 less in checks. because it is a bigger check, that means it takes longer for the check to phase out and as a

result there are households that make $300,000, 340 thousands, depending how many kids they have, who would still be eligible for some money. they wouldn't get the full $2,000 per person but would still get some money. do they need that money? you know, the law doesn't differentiate. some may have lost jobs, may need some assistance. the law doesn't differentiate. that's why i say there's misconception there's a sharp cutoff at $75,000, which is not that much money if we talk about the middle class, for example. $300,000, that's like at the top or close to the top of the income distribution, it is not clear if those households are going to do much with that money. it will be much better to reallocate the need to those that do need it. >> i hear you. it is interesting to hear how you laid that out. i don't think all of us knew the details. it is important that we give those details out to our

viewers. i want to read a tweet from the president who is, you know, championing what is happening on the stock market. finished the year with the highest stock market in history, setting records with your 401(k), like i said you would. congratulations to all. the dow and s&p 500 started and ended this unprecedented year at all-time highs. a lot of volatility along the way. reconcile this with millions of americans that are barely able to pay bills, struggling to pay rent and mortgage, can't put food on the table, they're trying to figure out do i pay my electric bill or can i feed my child dinner. >> again, this is a two track economy. some called it a k shaped economy. for those who have a lot invested in the stock market who are, or maybe in white collar jobs, work remotely. >> which is only 50% of people invested in the stock market, right?

>> right. it is not everybody. but those people are doing well. and stock markets are doing well for a number of reasons, including much more forward looking, now that we have a vaccine available. investors are pricing in the fact that the economy will eventually recover but we're not there yet. there's still a lot of suffering and that's not reflected in the equity values. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. and thank you for joining me today. happy new year again. ana cabrera. newsroom with alison kosik after a quick break.

hello, everyone. i'm alison kosik. welcome to cnn "newsroom." happy new year. it is a new year. the country is facing the same crisis we have been dealing with for ten months. instead of getting better, the pandemic is only getting worse. the u.s. is fast approaching 20 million cases with more than 125,000 people currently in the hospital with the virus. that's a new record. and if that's not horrific enough, the u.s. reported more than 10,000 deaths from the virus in the final three days of