hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i am paula newton. straight ahead, on cnn "newsroom." a new year, and vaccines, giving people hope for an end to the pandemic. the covid crisis continues to grow, with cases, hospitalizations, and dehs on the rise. the uk, on the brink of adding another vaccine in its fight against the virus. but the battle there, as well, far from over. and the u.s. president hunkering down in the white house, preparing for some gop members' election challenge.

yeah, i don't have to remind you, 2020 is finally over. but so far, 2021 doesn't look much brighter. in fact, it looks worse, in some ways. especially, here, in the united states. just a litany of grim figures. from start of the year, the nation now surpassing 20 million cases. more than 100,000 hospitalizations reported, for the 31st-straight day. several states, reporting record numbers of new cases, and sadly deaths. and while the vaccines offer, of course, some hope, actually getting them into people who need them has been a major problem. one republican senator called the rollout inexcusable. now, the trump administration wanted 20 million people vaccinated, by january 1st. but, the cdc reports, just under

3 million, so far, have gotten the shot. cnn's nick watt has more details about the state of the pandemic, as this new year begins. >> reporter: from wuhan, where all this began, to new york, not much fondness in the farewell to a terrible year. >> and 2020 is gone. >> and 2020 is freakin' gone. >> 2020 was tough but -- >> we are still going to have our toughest and darkest days. >> reporter: an l.a. county official says hospitals are, quote, on the brink of catastrophe. >> it's like treading water from a hundred feet below the surface. you're already drowning but you just have to keep trying because that's what you can do. >> reporter: in atlanta, a field hospital reopens for business at the georgia world congress center. meanwhile. >> in many parts of rural georgia, both the north and the south, there's vaccine available, and literally sitting in -- in freezers. that's unacceptable. we have -- we have lives to

save. >> reporter: they're just not getting the hoped-for uptake from medical workers. in west virginia, 42 people were given antibodies, not the vaccine, by mistake. in wisconsin, a pharmacist now in kubt d in custody after destroying 500 doses, taking them out of refrigeration. the administration projected 20 million would have had vaccine dose number one, by now. the reality? not even 2.8 million reported. >> states and localities need resources, they need funding. i expected that we would see bumps in the road. but i didn't expect that we would see this lack of consistency, across the states. >> reporter: and that new, faster-spreading, coronavirus variant, now detected in colorado, california, and maybe florida. >> i think we have to assume that this strain has been in the u.s., for a long time. >> reporter: december, by the numbers, was the worst month of the pandemic. the most confirmed cases. the most deaths.

10,000 lives lost, in the last three days alone. >> we do have these vaccines. we just need to hunker down and get there. >> reporter: in 2020, 345,737 people, confirmed killed by covid-19 in america. in 2021, how many more? and here, in california, a grim start to 2021. a record death toll reported new year's day. 585 lives lost. beating the previous record, which was set on new year's eve. nick watt, cnn, los angeles. now, turkey is just the latest country to shut its borders to travelers from the uk. turkey's health minister says the country found 15 cases of the coronavirus variant, that has now been spreading, rapidly, through britain. the variant has, now, been confirmed in at least 30 countries, hong kong, and taiwan. many of those places have, now, banned travel from the uk. now, the uk is adding a new

coronavirus vaccine to its arsenal. starting monday, the country will be ready to administer the very first doses of the oxford university/astrazeneca vaccine. salma abdelaziz joins me, now. even the vaccine rollout is causing a lot of controversy right now, salma. >> it absolutely has created controversy, paula. you have doctors saying this fails to follow the science, that it violates patient consent. some very strong and harsh words but i want to paint a picture of just how dire the health crisis is to give you an understanding of why the government might have pursued this strategy. you have, for the fourth day in a row, more than 50,000 new cases, every 24 hours, for the last four days. you have record-breaking numbers of infection rates this week. you have hospital bosses essentially ringing the alarm. saying their hospitals are

overstretched, they are on the brink, they are short-staffed. they are essentially at a breaking point. so you can see when the chief medical officers of this country say, listen, we have this bold, new plan. what you can do is get that first injection, that first dose, and wait up to three months, because that first injection should give a patient significant protection from serious illness, about two to three weeks after they get it. in plain speak, paula, it keeps people out of hospital and that's the entire idea behind this strategy. give the vaccine to more people. keep people out of the hospitals. keep that health-care system from reaching a breaking point. look, yes, the uk has ordered 100 million doses of this vaccine. but it will take time, of course, to manufacture all of this. so, this is a thin resource that they are, now, using this delayed-vaccination strategy to spread out that thin resource, across as many people as possible. and hopefully, keep people out of the hospitals, paula. >> yeah. and at best, experts are split as to whether or not that's a good idea.

salma, what's the mood there like, all around britain right now? it has been very confusing. you know, one moment, christmas is on, then it's off. first, you are opening schools. then, you're not. then, you are keeping schools closed. it has been confusing. >> it's been frustrating. it's been exacerbating. there's been a great deal of controversy with how this government has handled the covid-19 crisis. there are, as you have said, constant u-turns and backtracks. the latest, of course, on schools. schools were supposed to reopen. primary schools were supposed to reopen, most of them, across london. now, they will all be shut down. and some experts saying this is not enough. they want, literally, the entire education system shut down in this country. the entire country, actually, under lockdown, some experts. and most of this is due to the new variant. that's what this government is struggling to deal with. and there is actually a new study by imperial college of london, which i think paints just how dangerous this new variant is. in that study, the researchers say that the new variant of covid-19 tripled under a lockdown, paula, under a

lockdown in november, it tripled. whereas, the original strain of coronavirus actually reduced by a third. so, you can see why they're struggling. and -- and -- and really trying to pull all the stops here, to deal with this new variant of covid-19 that's, quite simply, been spreading through this population. paula. >> yeah. it's terrifying. lockdown. cases peak. it's no wonder that there is a lot of pandemic fatigue. salma abdelaziz, for us, in london. appreciate it. senior infection prevention epidemiologist, joins me now, from tucson, arizona. you know, just when you think you've understood this virus, it tends to, all of a sudden, get so much more complicated. you know that. we should, now, know that as well. in terms of these variants, dealing very specifically with the uk variant and the south african variant, which most experts say, these are, likely, pervasive right now in certain countries. do you agree with that? and why has this happened? >> i do agree with that. you know, we have identified the

uk strain. i think that's -- or the variant, i should say. that's really the one that's been causing the most concern. but realistically, it's very likely, since these were in the community since september, that we are going to be seeing these across multiple countries. i think we're at 33, right now, that have seen the variant that was first identified in the uk. but realistically, it's a respiratory virus. so that means, where people are, it could be transmitted. and we are seeing that this is likely, you know, meaning the uk variant, more transmissible, meaning it's more adept and more efficient at transmission, being spread between people. but the good news is that it's not causing more severe disease, as we are seeing right now. and it's really not impacting routes of transmission. so, that means all of our efforts to stay home, wear a mask, wash our hands. you know, avoid crowded, indoor environments, and cleaning and disinfection, are still effective. so, i think the hard part is viruses do mutate, but really getting a handle on these variants, which just really reinforces why we need to be doing more genomic surveillance. >> yeah. and certainly, finding these

variants, as you said, is critically important. had we known, perhaps, though, i'm wondering the willingness of the public to really do something about it. i mean, look. this is new year's eve and new year's day. i have seen people out in restaurants, without masks on. it is still happening. explain why, perhaps, what we even did three months ago is not safe to do, any longer, if this variant is more transmissible. >> i think the hard part is that, sometimes, we become a bit lax, especially with the news of a vaccine. people get very optimistic, which they should be. but the truth is we might be having new variants in the community, at any given time. and they might be more transmissible, like the one that we are seeing right now. so, it's just another reminder of why we have to be so vigilant with this because, even if we find out three months from now, as you mentioned, that we have a new one in circulation, it just is a good reminder of our continued efforts to wear a mask and stay home and all of those infection-control measures. so, i think the hard part is, as

we get good news of vaccines, we are still combatting a really high surge in the united states and across the world. and the efforts that we put in three, four, six months ago even, we still need to be really, really investing in them. >> but i guess, the point is do we have to go further? conventional wisdom, especially if i am socially distant from you, outside is okay. do you think even that needs to be looked at? like, maybe you shouldn't be sitting on a park bench with your friend, maskless, if this is more transmissible? >> well, i think the hard part is that we are not seeing an impact to the route of transmission. so, we know it can spread more easily. we are still learning about what that looks like, on a viral level. but the truth is that we really struggled with communication about that risk reduction being additive. so, you mentioned the park bench. and the messaging really should have been, from the beginning, if you are interacting with people outside of your household bubble, even outside, you still need to be wearing the mask if you are within six feet. so, i think, all of those things are still effective, in this regard. so, the community really just

needs to embrace them because, sometimes, we see people masked. but, you know, they're in close proximity with a buchlk nch of others. or in restaurants, tables are six feet apart. but again, they are indoors and unmasked. especially, if we learn that variants are more transmissible. >> right. such a good point that you are making there, that everyone should really heed. before i let you go, this issue of the one dose, versus the two doses. and now, it seems that u.s. -- u.s. officials, perhaps, are doing something completely different from what the uk. the uk is saying, look. even though the british-medical association has said they think it's unfair, that they are going to try and give as many people as possible one dose. it seems, perhaps, the cdc won't be recommending that. i mean, what do you think? do you think it can be the one dose? that, that might be sound, medical advice, at this point? >> well, there has been discussion with the oxford-astrazeneca that it could be efficacious if given more time between the first and

second doses. but we don't have data to support that in pfizer or moderna. in fact, pfizer came out and said there is no data to determine how efficacious this will be if the first dose is given more than 21 days after the first. so right now, we are struggling in the u.s. with our vaccine distribution. you know, the goal was 20 million by the end of december, and we barely hit 2.8. so, i think, instead of trying to potentially go down a route where we don't really have the d data to support doing one dose and a second dose months later. we should really be focused on providing adequa providing resources for adequate vaccine distribution. >> gosh. didn't want to open 2021 this way but there you go. thanks so much. appreciate it. >> thank you. okay. for some republicans, the new year is bringing in the same, old fight. a judge tossed out his desperate lawsuit, aimed at overturning the u.s. election. congressman louie gohmert's not giving up. his latest move. just ahead. and spread germs e.

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robinwithout the commission fees. so, you can start investing today wherever you are - even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood. a federal judge has thrown out, yet, another desperate lawsuit aimed at throwing out

joe biden's victory. now, stay with me here. they sought to force pence to ignore some electoral votes, when congress meets, next week, to certify the election. the judge said the republicans lacked standing to sue. gohmert and the other plaintiffs have now appealed that ruling. kaitlan collins has more from the white house. >> reporter: president trump skipped his annual new year's eve party at mar-a-lago to cut his vacation short and come back to washington early. though, the white house never publicly explained exactly why the president was doing that. but many sources believed, it was ahead of that showdown that's expected on capitol hill next week when the house and senate do meet to certify joe biden's win as the president of the united states. given that several of the president's republican allies are preparing to dispute that. but, of course, as that is coming, the president is, also, looking to his vice president, mike pence, and what his role is going to be in that. because typically, it's just

procedural. ceremonial, largely. but, of course, now, the vice president has found himself at odds with some of the president's allies, including congressman louie gohmert, who filed that lawsuit against the vice president, that many thought was frivolous, and not going to go anywhere. because it was basically arguing pence had the authority to change the votes, which he does not. so, we are still waiting for the president, himself, to weigh in on that. though, it does come as he was at the white house, and we did not see him on new year's day. but, of course, what happened on capitol hill was that massive rebuke of the president coming from senate republicans during his final days in office as they voted to override the veto that he administered of that defense bill. kaitlan collins, cnn, the white house. so, that massive rebuke that kaitlan was just talking about was the first successful veto override of mr. trump's presidency. the bill includes pay raises for troops and funding for equipment upgrades. but the president rallied against it -- railed against it. in part, because he says the bill does not repeal section 230, which gives internet

providers, and others, some protections regarding how they manage content. now, president trump and president-elect biden will, both, be campaigning right here, in the state of georgia, on monday. ahead of tuesday's high-stakes senate runoff elections. the pressure appears to be on republicans to turn out on tuesday, because registered georgia democrats are voting at a faster-than-expected pace. kyung lah reports, from atlanta. >> reporter: we are getting new numbers from the secretary of state here in georgia that shows more than 3 million georgians have, already, voted. this is all before election day, on tuesday. democrats are welcoming that news. st stacey abrams, the well-known democrat who ran for governor in georgia, says it is an early sign democrats are doing well. >> i would say that it's incredibly gratifying to see so many turning out. we are pleased with the level of energy and excitement.

especially, given how often pundits were discounting the likelihood of democrats performing in a runoff. according to current analysis, we are running at, or ahead, of where we were in 2020 november election. but we know this is just the beginning. we still have to get to election day, and i don't count anything, until it's done. >> that early-vote number is adding pressure on the gop who, also, believes the democrats are outperforming what they did in 2020, in november 2020. they need to bring out more of their voters, on election day. and a lot of gop are pinning their hopes that president trump, when he is here the day before the election, will be able to increase enthusiasm, as long as he stays on message. kyung lah, cnn, atlanta. >> daniel strauss is a senior political reporter for "the guardian" and he joins me now from washington. good to see you, daniel. happy new year and what a cliffhanger we are going to start the week with, in

congress. january 6th. donald trump has said mark it on your calendar. it is a bit of a republican insurgence, now that he seems to have some backing. but in the end, do you think it will be sound and fury, signifying, essentially, nothing? >> i mean, both republicans and democrats don't expect this effort to actually be successful. but it's really serving as more of a litmus test for rank-and-file republicans and elected-republican officials over how loyal they are to donald trump, and donald trump's wishes. the president wants some resistance to joe biden's certification as president. and he thinks that any republicans who are resistant to that are disloyal to him. and in particular, senator josh hawley of missouri, the -- the lone senator in the chamber, who is going to object for -- to this certification, as some kind of staunch ally. there are a handful of members in the house, who are making a similar move. but again, there, too, the effort is unlikely to be

successful. >> and yet, still, they're going to go through with it, want to prove a point. >> yeah, this is about proving a point. and for someone like hawley, i want -- i want to emphasize here. he's been mentioned as a possible 2024 presidential candidate. and what's tricky there is that, anyone who is gearing up to run for 2024, could be seen as dis -- again, disloyal or against donald trump, who hasn't conceded the election and is, very much, intending on floating running for president, again. so, this way, hawley can, i guess, cement his credentials as someone who is loyal to trump and trumpism. but at the same time, also, not really -- >> right. >> -- kill chances of running for president in the next election. >> right. it's been a good way to get his name in the headlines, if nothing else. so, i want to turn to georgia. i walked past a couple of long-voter lineups, myself. i mean, early voting is --

advanced polls are -- are through the roof. what's the takeaway for america from this, no matter which way it goes? because, let's face it, no matter who wins, it will be consequential in the senate. but also, it's going to be very close. it shows how divided the country still remains. >> yeah, and look, the outcome of this isn't really going to heal that, at all. we are looking at a razor-thin majority, one way or another, in the senate. which means that everyone is going to control the destiny of any piece of legislation. there won't be one party, who can easily move it to -- toward the chamber. and what we saw in the last election is, outside of the presidential race, republicans in competitive states can win elections. they can win statewide. that's contrary to what polls were -- were projecting, going into election night, in 2020. and so, here, too, even though record turnout is -- is -- is happening right now, and we are seeing high levels of enthusiasm

among democrats. there is, also, a high level of enthusiasm among republicans. and so, i don't think we're going to see any -- any of that dissipate, in the coming months. >> yeah. and a reminder that both president-elect joe biden and donald trump will be here, in the next few days, campaigning. you wrote a really interesting article on the relationship between biden and mitch mcconnell. of course, senate majority leader. the fact, they've known each other for more than 35 years. but you are saying, look, they may have had a good-working relationship. but you are saying that may not happen now. why -- why do you say that? >> i mean, because the positions that they're in. for most of the time that they've built this repertoire of sort of tacet friendliness and collegiality, which is pretty rare between a sitting vice president or a -- a -- a committee chair in the senate and mitch mcconnell, who rose through the ranks from nrsc chair to senate-majority leader. now, they're in positions that

are directly antagonistic to each other. so, this is the president of the united states, as you said, paula, in a very partisan time, looking to move pretty liberal legislation and proposals through congress. and on the other side, there's senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, who wants to stall that. he was pretty successful, when he said that he wanted to block a fair amount of legislation from then-president barack obama. and he is likely to use that tactic, again. >> yeah. and you point out, in this article, that president obama, in his new book, was pretty scathing about mitch mcconnell. calling him single minded and dispassionate pursuit of power. we have to leave it there but i thank you for handicapping the next week of politics for us. appreciate it. >> thanks, very much. for international viewers, stay tuned for "african voices," change makers. and i will be right back, with more news, in a moment.

and thanks for joining us. you are watching cnn "newsroom." i'm paula newton. the u.s. has started 2021 with some disturbing, pandemic figures. take a look. the country has now surpassed 20 million total infections. it took 292 days to reach the first 10 million cases. but just 54 days to reach the second 10 million. that is just staggering.

several states began the new year, by breaking their records for new cases and deaths. and the number of covid-19 patients in hospital, this hour, well over 100,000, now, for the 31st-straight day. now, the surge of cases is pushing the health-care system and frontline workers to their breaking points. here, in atlanta, officials are now setting up an overflow field hospital for the third time since the pandemic began. the number of coronavirus patients in georgia has more than doubled, since mid-november. that's according to the covid-tracking project. as nick valencia explains, the state's situation is similar to what's going on in the rest of the country. >> reporter: 2020 has come and gone, but the latest numbers from johns hopkins university shows that the pandemic is still, very much so, raging. johns hopkins says, in the last three days of 2020, over 10,000 americans died as a result of being infected by the coronavirus. as it stands right now, california seems to be the center of the pandemic.

but things here, in georgia, aren't faring much better. governor brian kemp, so concerned with the latest, winter numbers of the -- of coronavirus, that he's opened up the georgia world congress center to act as a makeshift field hospital, where there will be 60 temporary beds acting as a overflow center for the health systems that have just been overwhelmed by the rising cases. the governor addressed his concerns about the rising numbers. >> and if the people of georgia will hunker down for a little bit longer, stay vigilant, and do the things we've been talking about. wearing a mask, washing your hands, socially distancing themselves, and following the health guidance in your executive orders. we can all have a safe, happy, new year. >> reporter: this field hospital is expected to be open until at least the end of january. and earlier, when i spoke to the governor's office, they said they are admitting patients, as of today. just a quick note here on hospitalizations in george geor georgia, about 5,000 georgians woke up in the hospital.

numbers here, continuing to spike. >> dr. emily porter is an emergency physician, and joins me now from austin, texas. she and her family now have the coronavirus, and i was not happy to hear this on -- when you posted it on twitter. and i'm not going to lie. i'm a bit worried, dr. porter. your -- tell me how all of you are doing, and i will preface this by saying, you have been very clear on twitter that your husband's having a hard time. >> yeah, he is. we're having a -- the kids seem to be fine. we are having a hard time, in different ways. so, we think we got it from my 5-year-old who is in kindergarten. there were nine kids in his class. they took symptom checklists, every day. they took temperatures, every day. he wore a mask. most of the time, they didn't enforce the masking, so some other kids didn't. the teachers did. we knew it was a risk. but our nanny quit, in march, because she was worried about our jobs giving coronavirus. so, we haven't had full-time childcare. you know, we took a risk. we knew it. you know, we managed to go nine

and a half months, with no problems, and then he got a runny nose and a little, 101 temperature for a day. back on december 19th, we talked to the pediatrician. there is lots of colds going around. there is, also, coronavirus. should we test him? should we not test him? well, we are not going anywhere. we are not seeing anyone. school's out. we are all going to be home for the next two weeks, anyway. and we hadn't been taking them anywhere, anyway. so, we decided not to test, yet, unless he didn't get better because it's also fever season. fever went away in a day. runny nose went away in a day. my husband got vaccinated, incidentally, on the 17th of december, so a couple days before. on christmas eve, he stayed up late, wrapping presents. started to get -- not feel well. took some tylenol, took some motrin. was shaking the bed with rigors. after that medicine, still had 101 fever. he stayed in his room all day for christmas. came out for 30 minutes, masked, to watch the kids tear open

presents. we tested him on the 26th. my daughter, also, got a fever for one day, on the 25th. and so -- but -- but two of our kids didn't have anything. and i was just fatigued, exhausted. but it's, also, christmas with four kids at home. you know? had a little headache, cedar stuff. you just don't know. i never got a fever. i never got chills. i never got rigors. i never got -- neither one of us ever got issues with loss of taste or sense of smell. so, all the things we're looking out for, and it -- you know, they call this thing the invisible enemy. it really was. the only reason we tested was because my husband had a fever, and we were like, well, we probably should test one of us now. and then, we all tested, the rest of us tested on the 28th. and four out of the five of us came back positive. i'm pretty sure my 4-year-old, there is no way he doesn't have it. you know, he licks everyone's popsicles, and is up in everybody's face. so, we are going to retest him tomorrow and we are ready to just get on with our lives. it's kind of a huge -- it's superscary, in a way.

but it is also kind of a relief. >> you have been living this at home and at work and, yet, you are in the state of texas where the governor, at new year's, tried to basically overrule the mayor of austin to say, ah, those curfews. you can ignore those. go ahead and enjoy your new year's. how do you feel when you see things like that? >> they were until 10:30. it was supposed to, also, be tonight and tomorrow. and there were lines outside the bars. it's everything that somebody does is a slap in the face. and it -- it hurts to know that people have been so reckless for nine and a half months. when we haven't had the choice but to not work, you know, to not be exposed and we got it, anyway. it's -- i feel like a failure, as a mother. i feel like a failure, as a doctor. and so many people just don't care, anymore. and it's -- it's just -- it's really upsetting. and to have our -- our leadership be that way as well is very hurtful. i mean, the whole kind of response, on a federal level, has -- has just not been

coordinated well, in my opinion. and -- and we're nine and a half months into it. i think the worst is yet to come and i don't -- i don't see -- especially, with this new, variant strain. the vaccines are great. but it's three months, best-case scenario, two months at least from your first dose, if we get a second dose. and we have used 20% of our vaccines that we have gotten in texas, so far. and texas has gotten, you know, way more vaccines than other states. we can't get monoclonal antibodies. i put in for my husband. i put in for me. past the window so that's discouraging. so, the therapy is out there. vaccines are out there. but if they're not -- if they are not in people's hands, and if we're connected and we can't get that treatment, as physicians who are on the front line, that is, also, very disheartening. >> yeah, and again, poignant when you think that we have got record hospitalizations and deaths. dr. porter, i have to leave it there. we all wish your family the best. we can assure, everyone is

looking at you like you are extraordinary. nowhere near a failure. we are going to completely keep up with what is going on with your family and -- and -- and i'm sure everyone will be well, in 2021. and try and put the whole pandemic behind us. again, dr. emily porter, thanks so much. appreciate it. >> thank you, paula. so, violence is spiking in parts of the united states. when we come back, we'll head over to chicago, where experts are linking the brutality with the pandemic. a toilet paper was a good idea, but now you've flushed it all. and it's building up in your septic tank. but monthly usage of rid-x is scientifically proven to break down waste. maintain your septic tank with rid-x.

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and i'm sure i don't have to remind anyone, that the pandemic has brought a lot of hardship to so many people. and in some u.s. states, it has contributed to a dramatic rise in violence. as cnn's adrian broadas reports from chicago, that's now been

triggered by this virus. >> reporter: as the pandemic rages, we have seen crime spike across the country, including here, in chicago. devastating. that's how one top-law enforcement official describes the latest number of homicides, as well as a former gang member. >> i normally don't talk about it. >> reporter: sometimes, talking about a painful past leads to healing. >> i've been shot ten times. and one time, multiple times. and left for dead. >> you got to do something with this second chance. >> reporter: mentoring from the bed of a pick-up truck is robert white, a former, gang member in chicago. >> the average who really get down in this city, age is from 14 to 19. >> reporter: 50-year-old white now works with chicago cred, an anti-gun violence organization. of the country's largest cities, new york, los angeles, houston, and phoenix, all, saw homicide increases of greater than 30%

compared to the same time, last year. but, chicago had an increase of 55%, from 491, to 762 homicides, through december 27th. >> 2020's been a really tough year, nationwide, for violent crime. in particular, in chicago. we've seen homicides and shootings, really at a staggering number. >> reporter: the united states attorney for the northern district of illinois. >> the shootings and the homicides are up, significantly. and if we look, just anecdotally, at what we are seeing, the offenders just seem to be emboldened. >> reporter: james ludwig runs the university of chicago crime lab. >> if you look at the gun-violence problem, that's usually concentrated among young people. say, 18 to 24. something like 70 to 75% of

people 18 to 24 are showing anxiety, depression, increased substance use in response. i think one of the things maybe people haven't fully appreciated is how much the social-service sector does to help control crime, as well. and everything that the social-service sector does has also been turned upside down by the pandemic as well. starting with the public schools, as well as after-school programs, weekend programs, job training, mental-health services. everything. >> this has been a challenging year, in that regard. i think, for a lot of reasons. you know, one, people are walking around wearing masks. you know, that -- that -- that has an impact. >> reporter: as white and his mentee, john, pledge to help, tears fall faster than both can wipe away. >> it's not tears of sadness. these good tears. i want to be able to, like, help other folks get through they pain and suffering because it's -- you know, life is too short. >> reporter: and remember, some people shot in 2020, will die in 2021 or later. and those numbers aren't

captured in this, most recent data. cnn, chicago. so new york's la guardia airport has been compared to facilities in third-world countries, in fact, by president-elect joe biden. the pandemic has just made things worse. >> deserted check-in, empty concourses. this isn't what they had in mind. finish quantum with activeblu technology, cleans without pre-rinsing. switch to finish and skip the rinse to save water.

a powerful, winter storm has left more than 100,000 homes and businesses without power, right across the central united states. this was the scene in milwaukee, wisconsin. daily records were set in several cities. and here's the thing. it's not over, yet. and that's why we're bringing in meteorologist derek van dam. it's winter, come to expect it, right? >> yeah, we come to expect deep snowfall, especially during wintertime across the northern hemisphere. but you know, there are also tornados often associated on the warmer side of the system. right where we are located, in fact, paula, in the state of georgia. where two tornados, actually, were confirmed on new year's day. check this one out. you can see it, actually, overturned one of these modular

homes. wow, this is going to leave several days, if not weeks, of cleanup across the region. now, of course, with any winter storm, we think about heavy snowfall. and we did have record snowfall, in wichita, kansas. places, like oklahoma city. let me take you to places like wichita. over half a foot of snow that fell, and that led to people snowblowing their driveways, their businesses, trying to prepare for the day. the new week, ahead. and yeah, quite a clean-up effort. that's what i think of, when i think of a winter storm. we have to remind our viewers that, a lot of times, we can get tornados with winter storms, on the warm side of the system. so, look at the snowfall totals. over a foot in texas when the sno storm was actually located over that state. just about 24 to 36 hours ago. now, it is located across the ohio river valley, spreading across the north east as well. you can see winter storm warnings for northern vermont, new hampshire as well as maine. here is a look at the latest

radar. it is active. but notice, the precipitation from boston southward, into new york and philadelphia. that's all rain. the shades of blue, yellow, and green, of course, that represents rain. snow represented with the shades of white. that pink and purple, that is a mixture of rain and snow and even some ice. this is the band of thunderstorms that created the tore tornadic development. we are still drawing moisture from the gulf of mexico. and just as you alluded to, paula, no rest for the weary. another low-pressure system brings another round of heavy snow to new england this week. back to you. >> derek van dam, really good to see you. happy new year, appreciate it. >> good to see you, too. thanks. now, new york's la guardia airport. pity us that have had to use it the last few years. often mocked like i just did as the punch line of a bad joke. but now, upgrade with new services, even art installations

and top-notch security with silence its critics. richard quest has the details. >> reporter: welcome to la guardia. long considered one of the worst airports in the united states. for decades, it's been a sore point for new york commuters. now, it's making an $8 billion bet on repairing la guardia's reputation, once and for all. >> new yorkers love to criticize. they love to hate. i think, if you looked at every single passenger survey, la guardia was always the worst. so, the challenge, first of all, was to take it, from worst, to first. >> reporter: it has one of the first on-time records in the country. travelers say it's amongst the noisiest, most outdated, that's difficult to get to. little wonder, given the central terminal building hasn't changed much, since it opened in 1964.

officials in new york gave la guardia's restoration the green light, in 2015. after a wake-up call from the then-vice president, joe biden. >> if i took you to la guardia airport in new york, you think i must be in some third-world country. >> that had ramifications. that was almost like firing starting gun. >> it was. many people were unhappy at that comment. governor cuomo took it as a challenge. and that was the impetus to create the advisory panel, and the project was up and running. >> reporter: la guardia's reopening comes at a difficult time. passenger numbers have plummeted during the covid-19 pandemic. as states impose restristrict quarantines, and many countries shut their borders to international travelers. >> at the beginning of the crisis, back in march, the passenger levels at this airport and all three of our airports

dropped 98%. there was 2% of regular passengers using these airports. we are, still, down 75 to 80%, in terms of travel through these airports. >> reporter: deserted check-in, empty concourses. this isn't what they had in mind, when they started the $8 billion reconstruction of la guardia airport. one of the most overcrowded and grubby in north america. but now, look at it. brand-spanking new, gleaming with facilities galore, just waiting for post-covid passengers. new york's port authority is doing all it can to lure travelers back to its airports. even offering free covid tests to arriving passengers here, at la guardia. but with the increased footfall comes bigger health risks. when they do return to la guardia, passengers will find an

airport completely transformed. >> that the airport should be inspiring. it shouldn't just be functional. so, our -- so, art becomes a centerpiece, and you have -- you have five major, artistic installations. >> reporter: la guardia's transformation is almost complete. the terminal won't fully reopen, until 2022. when it does, officials are hoping it begins a new chapter for both la guardia, the aviation industry, and the passengers who travel here. >> la guardia has gone from the worst airport in the country to, what we think, is best in class. and not only is best in class, in terms of function, it is inspiring, it is appealing. it has works of art, and it speaks to where it is located, which is new york, and that was what we wanted to build. >> okay.

that was our richard quest there. thanks for the tour of la guardia. this is something i didn't knowment the holiday song "the 12 days of christmas" actually refers to the period between christmas day and january 5th. now, to mark the occasion, the hubble telescope and the european space agency have been tweeting out daily, spectacular images of the final frontier that hubble captured. now, for instance, on december 25th, they tweeted, on the first day of christmas, no, i'm not going to sing this, my true love gave to me, the celestial christmas tree. otherwise, known as nebula. the next day, they tweeted out, look at this aunt nebula, looking somewhat like two turtledoves. it really does look like that. and on day five, the day of the song's five golden rings, yep, you guessed it. they showed saturn and its rings. it's quite pretty, actually. i am paula newton. i leave you in the capable hands of my friend and colleague, robyn curnow. she will have much more news, when we come back.

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hi. welcome to all of our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. i'm robyn curnow. coming up, an ominous start to the new year in the u.s. 20 million coronavirus cases and counti counting. plus, more vaccine vials in freezers than in arms. and a federal judge weighs in on the attempt to undermine the u.s. election. a