breaking news in "america this morning," the first covid vaccine gets the green light in the uk. so why hasn't the u.s. approved it yet? what the fda is saying, plus americans in need. the new bipartisan stimulus proposal including unemployment benefits. why the senate leader is already rejecting it. also breaking overnight, pardon conspiracy. what we're learning about the new bombshell investigation into a possible scheme to bribe the white house for a presidential pardon. christmas tragedy. a child is killed, others are injured when the family car gets trapped on railroad tracks while waiting to see a holiday lights display. what police are saying. new this morning, the holiday shipping wars heating up. the new announcement from walmart. back on land. the man who held on to his sinking boat in the middle of

the ocean for hours finally gets back to shore. what he wants to do now. and the too tall bandit strikes again. the bank robber that continues to elude the fbi. good wednesday morning. everyone. we've been following two big stories overnight. one involves a potential scheme to bribe the white house for a presidential pardon. details in just a moment, but first the breaking news in the coronavirus emergency. the british government has just approved the emergency use of pfizer's covid vaccine, a landmark step in the fight against the virus being called the first covid vaccine in the world as backed by rigorous science. fda approval in the u.s. could come as soon as next week. more than 2,300 americans have lost their lives to the virus in the last 24 hours. nearly 100,000 people are in the hospital with the virus nationwide.

>> and new video overnight shows the indoor holiday party hosted by president trump with no social distancing just as more cities report covid cases are exploding. this morning, los angeles is in the midst of its worse coronavirus surge yet. the city tuesday reporting its highest ever number of cases as hospitalizations soar past previous records. and now california's governor is warning hospital icus across the state could hit 112% capacity by christmas eve. >> if these trends continue, we're going to have to take much more dramatic arguably drastic action. >> reporter: neighboring nevada has seen a new covid related death every two hours. and in maryland where hospitals are at 90% capacity, the governor became emotional talking about the new wave of victims. >> we have lost our youngest victim, a 1-year-old boy, to this deadly virus. >> reporter: in new york officials say the state is surging toward infection levels

last seen at the height of the pandemic. hospitalizations have more than doubled in three weeks. the mayor is now urging the elderly and those at high risk to stay home and only leave for work, school or essential errands. >> we need you, we need you if you're older, you have pre-existing conditions to take additional precautions. >> reporter: but overnight this scene at the white house. president trump hosting a holiday party indoors with little social distancing and only some people wearing a mask despite promises that face coverings would be required. >> a thousand dollars or 150 -- >> reporter: the event coming just hours after fda chief stephen hahn was called to the white house to explain why his agency isn't moving faster to approve a vaccine. >> we are balancing the public health emergency with the fact to get it right. >> reporter: cdc advisers recommend the first vaccines be given to health care workers. >> we're all very tired.

i'm very tired. >> reporter: officials say the first round of vaccines will be given within three weeks, but the states get the final say on who gets vaccinated when. and just days before the fda meets to consider the vaccine, president trump is holding what's called a vaccine summit at the white house with key drug makers and other officials. a bipartisan group of senators has unveiled a $900 billion coronavirus relief package. it calls for a $300 per week unemployment supplement but no second round of stimulus checks. the bill was immediately rejected by senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, who is pushing for a smaller bill. meanwhile, more than 50 million americans could go hungry this year. president-elect joe biden is calling on congress to act now. >> the full congress should come together and pass a robust package for relief to address these urgent needs. my transition team is already working on what i'll put forward in the next congress to address the multiple crises we're facing, especially our economic and covid crises. >> the two sides remain far

apart on reaching a deal before year's end. now to the other big story this morning. a possible scheme to bribe the white house for a presidential pardon. it comes as we learn about a new push to pardon president trump's family members and even his lawyer rudy giuliani. abc's faith abubey has more from washington. faith, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, kenneth. some of the president's allies have been pushing for him to pardon his family members. meanwhile, we're learning more about a federal investigation into a possible bribery for pardon scheme. this morning, a bombshell investigation into a possible scheme to illegally obtain a presidential pardon. newly unsealed court documents show the justice department is looking into allegations that lobbyists may have tried to bribe white house officials. according to the documents, the bribery conspiracy includes an offer of a substantial political contribution in exchange for a presidential pardon or reprieve of sentence. the white house is declining to comment. overnight the justice department

saying, no government official was or is currently a subject or target of the investigation disclosed in this filing. the 18-page court document is partially redacted. the names of the people under investigation blacked out as is the name of the person to be pardoned under the alleged plan and comes as sources tell abc news that rudy giuliani has discussed with the president the possibility of getting a preemptive pardon for himself. several of giuliani's associates are currently under indictment. >> it's disgraceful what happened. >> reporter: as giuliani leads the president's unsuccessful legal efforts to overturn the election results. according to "the new york times," trump has also discussed with advisers whether to grant preemptive pardons to his adult children and his son-in-law jared kushner. no member of the trump family has been accused of a federal crime. in the meantime, attorney general william barr seen leaving the white house tuesday, and minutes before his arrival, barr who is among the president's most steadfast defenders dealt a blow to his unfounded claims about the election. barr saying to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that

could have affected a different outcome in the election. the president's lawyers and trump himself have attacked local republican officials who certified election results in states. >> they had judges making deals and they had electoral officials making deals like this character in georgia who is a disaster. >> reporter: a georgia elections official is now slamming the president and his allies saying they've gone too far. potentially putting lives at risk. >> stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. someone is going to get hurt. someone is going to get shot. someone is going to get killed. joe digenova today asked for chris krebs, a patriot, who ran cisa, to be shot. a 20-something tech in gwinnett county today has death threats an a noose put out saying he should be hung for treason. all of you who have not said sad a damn word are complicit in this. >> reporter: now trump's former campaign brad parscale is speaking out for the first time since being fired before the election. he is blaming trump's response to the pandemic for his election loss.

>> i think if he would have been publicly empathetic, he would have won by a landslide there. i think he could have leaned into it instead of run away from it. >> reporter: and since election day, the trump campaign has raised $170 million while pushing baseless election fraud claims, but much of that money though has gone to paying down debt or funding a political action committee. just last night president trump indicating he might run for president again in 2024. kenneth. >> all right. faith abubey there in washington, thank you. the captain involved in one of the worst maritime accidents in recent u.s. history has been indicted on manslaughter charges. 34 people died last year when fire engulfed the diving boat "conception" before it sank off california. investigators say the fire may have been caused by phones left charging overnight as passengers slept below deck. the weather is being blamed for this freight train derailment near cleveland, ohio. fortunately no one was hurt. up to 10 inches of snow fell across the region. the same storm system brought

down trees across new england. this tree fell onto an apartment in maine where a baby was sleeping. the child, though, is okay. time now for a look at your wednesday forecast. heavy, wet snow moves from the eastern great lakes into new england today with up to a foot in some areas, and this morning that same region will see wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour. windchills will be in the 30s this morning all the way down to florida. it will feel like 19 degrees in chicago and 17 in pittsburgh. temperatures rise into the 40s today in the northeast. atlanta gets to 54 today after feeling like 20 this morning. and 70s today in southern california. coming up, the announcement overnight that could lower the cost of holiday package deliveries. but first elliot page formerly known as ellen page from the movie "juno" announces he's transgender. the outpouring of support this

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back now with the tragedy in northern california. a child is dead after a family's minivan was hit by a train. police say the vehicles were waiting to enter a popular holiday lights display in fresno when the van got stuck on the investigators are trying to determine why it got stuck. the child's mother and two other people were injured. a serial bank robber who is known for his height has struck again. the suspect dubbed the too tall bandit by the fbi has robbed 16 banks in multiple states in 2009. the most recent happened the day after thanksgiving in north carolina. agents know little about his appearance because of his disguises. they say he walks with a limp,

has a deep voice and is about at least 6'6". we turn to the announcement from oscar nominated actress elliot page known for "juno" and "umbrella academy." he's come out as tr saying his joy is real but fragile. abc's will ganss has more. >> because you're like the coolest person i've ever met and you don't even have to try, you know. >> reporter: this morning the academy award nominated star of "juno" is revealing that he is transgender. elliot page fomerly known as ellen page writing on social media, hi, friends, i want to share with you that i am trans. my pronounces are he/they and my name is elliot. i feel like lucky to be writing this to be here to have arrived at this place in my life. >> most people think that they haven't met someone who is transgender in their daily life, their workplace, their family, their school. they probably have met someone who is transgender but they don't know it. >> reporter: in fact, the human rights campaign estimates

that there are more than 2 million trans americans. page describes himself as transgendered and nonbinary meaning that their gender is neither man nor woman. >> when somebody like elliot page that people have respected and admired for years tells them that he's a transgender person it helps them understand a little bit more about what it means to be trans. >> reporter: page is currently stars in "the umbrella academy" on netflix and netflix is currently updating his past acting credits as well. page's wife of two years saying love you so much and miley cyrus writing elliot rules. eliot page saying, i can't begin to express how remarkable it is to be myself. page says i will do everything i can to change this world for the better becoming an important beacon of light for the trans community which faces an inordinate amount of poverty discrimination and violence,

kenneth and mona. >> will, thank you for sharing his story. coming up, one of the biggest telescopes in the world collapses. also back on land the man rescued after clinging to his sinking boat for hours in the ocean tells us what he can't wait to do now. and a champion for my own health. i talked with my doctor... and switched to... fewer medicines with... dovato. prescription dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. with...just 2 medicines... in 1 pill, dovato is as effective as a 3-drug regimen to help you reach and stay undetectable. research shows people who take hiv treatment as prescribed... and get to and stay undetectable... can no longer transmit hiv through sex. don't take dovato if you're allergic to any of its ingredients... or if you take dofetilide. hepatitis b can become harder to treat while taking dovato. do not stop dovato without talking to your doctor,... as your hepatitis b may worsen or become life-threatening. serious or life-threatening side effects can occur,

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observatory in puerto rico. it crashed down yesterday weeks after plans were made to dismantle it. the telescope appeared in several films including the james bond movie "goldeneye." a man who survived being stranded in the middle of the ocean is now back on solid ground. stuart bee was found clinging to his capsized boat 90 miles off the coast of florida and docked in delaware after being rescued by a container ship and says he fell asleep while stargazing and woke up when the water came gushing in. >> for a minute there i was thinking, this is very bad. there's no one around. it went from, you know, a major concern to suddenly feeling the calmness of just relief, this is over. >> the container ship was carrying bananas. bee joked that the first thing he wants to eat is a peanut butter and banana sandwich. >> hope he gets it. well, turning back now to the coronavirus and the cdc is changing its guidance on quarantine periods. also this morning, states are being told who should get the covid vaccine first. earlier i spoke with dr. alok

patel. a cdc advisory panel has voted on who should get vaccinated first deciding health care workers and nursing home, but what are the key takeaways from this decision, and what challenges do we see in the weeks ahead? >> that population represents a huge amount of people not only exposed but who died. during the pandemic. big issues or challenges ahead will be distribution and states will have to figure out how to get the doses out in a steady, responsible fashion because you have to think about how many health care workers there are who are going to want and need to get this shot. >> given that the vaccine will have some side effects, some possibly lasting 12 hours or longer, how do you think hospitals and long-term centers will manage the possibility of workers calling in sick after being vaccinated, particularly since they're already facing staffing shortages? >> when it comes to side effects i think awareness is key because this is going to help people not only manage expectations of what they're feeling after a shot is normal, it's also going to help people schedule when to get the dose. when you think about health care

workers and how many people there are working multiple days in a row, it's going to be really important for them to plan and say, hey, i might be one of the 10% to 15% that could get chills, muscle aches or a fever, so let's get the shot on when maybe i can take a day off after. >> the cdc late yesterday changed its guidance on how long people exposed to an infected person should quarantine. could you walk us through why this change has been made now and what's new here? >> the cdc is basically saying is, hey, if you are exposed to someone who has coronavirus or you think you were exposed, seven days with a negative test is probably enough for you to end your quarantine. if you can't get a test, make it ten days. now, obviously this could still miss that minority of people who could show symptoms after ten days, but what people are thinking right now is maybe a shorter quarantine would be a good trade-off for people actually sticking to it. >> our thanks to dr. patel, and as we told you at the start of the show, british authorities have now approved pfizer's vaccine for emergency use approval in the u.s. it's expected by the middle of this month. coming up, a mission to mars

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back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala. ♪ time to check "the pulse." we begin with the shipping wars heating up just in time for the holidays. >> beginning friday walmart is expanding its free shipping. the retailer is dropping the $35 online shipping minimum for walmart plus members. >> the change comes as walmart tries to compete with amazon prime, which does not require a shipping minimum. next, a selfless act of kindness that's multiplying across the country. >> it all started when 93-year-old virgil sweet decided to give away his $1,200 stimulus check to a family in need after sending the money to a single mom. virgil wanted to do more. >> so he asked others to donate

their checks, and now he's raised nearly $40,000 for families in need. >> you just have to have the patience to help people, and you can do it from sitting in your own home and people can do the same thing i've done. >> virgil says you can make a difference no matter how old you are. way to go, virgil. a pennsylvania boy is also helping people this holiday season. 8-year-old flynn is selling homemade hand sanitizers. his santa-tizer smells like candy canes. he's use the profits to buy toys for kids in need. >> don't drink it. don't drink it. finally a new time line for landing humans on mars. >> so it comes from elon musk. he says he's highly confident that his company can put humans on the red planet, get this, by 2026 and possibly as soon as 2024. >> no thanks. we're working on earth still apparently. >> after 2020 sign me up as long as it's first class and i can use my frequent flier miles. >> i'm sure you can on spacex. we'll check the top headlines next.

when you're affected by schizophrenia, you see it differently. it's in the small, everyday moments. and in the places, you'd never expect. a little sign of hope. the feeling of freedom. and once these little moments start adding up, that's when it feels like so much more. it feels like real progress. caplyta effectively treats adults with schizophrenia. and it's just one pill, once a day, with no titration. caplyta can cause serious side effects. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about fever, stiff muscles or confusion, which can mean a life-threatening reaction or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be permanent. dizziness upon standing, falls, and impaired judgment may occur. most common side effects include sleepiness and dry mouth. high cholesterol and weight gain may occur, as can high blood sugar which may be fatal. in clinical trials, weight, cholesterol and blood sugar changes were similar to placebo. so if you're affected by schizophrenia, ask your doctor about caplyta from intra-cellular therapies.

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checking the top stories, unsealed documents show the justice department is investigating allegations of a scheme to bribe white house officials for a presidential pardon in exchange for a political contribution. president trump is calling it fake news. meanwhile, sources say president trump has discussed preemptively pardoning his children and his lawyer, rudy giuliani, even though they haven't been charged with any crimes. former astronaut mark kelly will be sworn into the senate today to fill the last two terms of john mccain. he and his wife, former congresswoman, gabby giffords, paid their respects to john mccain tuesday at the naval cemetery academy. overseas, a 9-month-old baby was killed after a man drove into a crowd of pedestrians in southwest germany. police say he may suffer from mental illness. today's weather, snow moves through new england. chilly temperatures will extend into florida this morning. a new storm system brings snow to the plains and rain to the gulf coast.

and finally, the lucky parents introducing us to their miracle newborn. >> their baby has set a record being born from a 27-year-old frozen embryo. here's abc's megan tevrizian. >> reporter: this morning, a tennessee family celebrating their new miracle baby. >> we always make the joke that they've been frozen for so long, of course, they don't sleep now. >> reporter: molly everett gibson, now a healthy little girl, was a frozen embryo for more than 27 years, making her the longest embryo frozen before birth. >> hi. >> reporter: her birth, breaking the record previously held by her biological sister, emma. >> when i achieved pregnancy, i just never really thought any more about it. i was just so excited to be having a baby. and so the fact of how long that she had been frozen really to me didn't matter. >> reporter: tina gibson was only 1-year-old when her daughter's embryos were frozen back in 1992. tina and her husband, adopting

the embryos three decades later, first giving birth to emma and born in november 2017 and now her sister, molly, born in february. >> the ability to freeze these extra embryos in liquid nitrogen at minus 170 odd degrees will keep them in a state of suspended animation. >> reporter: they were thawed by the national embryo donation center in knoxville, one of the world's leading embryo adoption programs, facilitating more than 1,000 births. this week they tweeted, the gibson family has another history-making miracle to celebrate. we are so happy for them. >> i'm so glad to have this sweet little blessing. i wanted it for so long, and you know, it was worth the wait. >> reporter: gibson found out she was pregnant with molly just days before covid-19 was declared a pandemic. she calls her birth a little spark of joy for 2020. kenneth, mona. >> megan, thank you. congratulations to the family. >> so happy for that family. not one but two miracle babies. >> and that's what's making news in america this morning.

breaking news in "america this morning," the first covid vaccine gets the green light in the uk. so why hasn't the u.s. approved it yet? what the fda is saying, plus americans in need. the new bipartisan stimulus proposal including unemployment benefits. why the senate leader is already rejecting it. also breaking overnight, pardon conspiracy. what we're learning about the new bombshell investigation into a possible scheme to bribe the white house for a presidential pardon. christmas tragedy. a child is killed, others are injured when the family car gets trapped on railroad tracks while waiting to see a holiday lights display. what police are saying. new this morning, the holiday shipping wars heating up. the new announcement from walmart. back on land. the man who held on to his