at ross. yes for less! good morning, america. massive mission. pfizer's vital covid-19 vaccine ready to roll. the distribution plans in places across the country. where the first doses are going, and who will be first in line. a top fedex executive joins us with the latest on this complicated operation. hope on the horizon. the vaccine arriving not a moment too soon with cases climbing to new highs. some hospitals in america at capacity. >> we're going to go from 21 patients to 50 patients within a matter of today. we have no more room. >> the new numbers this morning as the health care system is pushed to the limit. d.c. demonstrations. the clashes in washington. thousands of trump supporters rally ahead of tomorrow's

electoral college vote. president trump reacting to the supreme court's new rejection. >> i am so disappointed in them. >> plus, the sharp rebukes from other judges this morning. shipping deadlines earlier than ever this year. why you might only have days to get those packages in the mail to arrive by christmas. plus, the plans procrastinators need to know about. and historic moment. sarah fuller becoming the first woman to score in a power five football game. the vanderbilt senior kicking away any doubters. what she's saying this morning about this epic achievement. and good morning. as we come on the air, the packages containing the vaccine are beginning to move from pfizer to u.p.s. and fedex. the first step on a journey that will deliver 3 million doses to

americans this week. it's a historic moment for the u.s., and gustave perna, the army general leading "operation warp speed" says the mission won't be done until every american has access to this vaccine. >> still one recent poll suggests 6 in 10 americans would be uncomfortable being the first to try this vaccine which has been developed and produced at unprecedented speeds. while today's events do not signal the end of the crisis, it could be a turning point and a sign of hope after ten months in which nearly 300,000 americans have died of covid-19. >> and by wednesday, 336 sites across the country could have received vaccines. so the first round of people can get the shots. our team coverage begins at pfizer's plant in michigan. abc's alex perez is there once again this morning with more on this massive operation. alex, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, whit. i want you to take a look behind me here.

you can see that loading dock. the first trucks carrying the vaccine left just moments ago. this is the moment employees here and so many others have been waiting for. the rollout of the vaccine is under way delivering not just the treatment, but also hope. this morning, a historic moment. the pfizer covid-19 vaccine finally on the move. from freezers to special boxes to trucks destined for airports, these first shipments rolling out of the facility just outside kalamazoo, expected to arrive monday at 145 sites. 425 sites on tuesday, and another 66 sites on wednesday. these locations, all hospitals and other major hubs with ultra cold freezer capabilities. >> i am absolutely 100% confident that we are going to distribute safely this precious commodity, this vaccine. >> reporter: the vaccines will be paired with kits containing syringes, alcohol swabs, a solution to dilute the vaccine, safety gear and vaccine reminder cards, like these shipments arriving on thursday in

kentucky. separate from the fda authorization, the advisory board at the cdc voting unanimously saturday recommending the pfizer vaccine for those 16 years of age and older. >> the american public should feel confident that this vaccine is efficacious, that it works. >> reporter: rush university hospital in chicago preparing to receive the vaccine for their employees. vaccination bays lining this hospital hallway ready to go within 24 hours of the vaccine's arrival. >> not only do we have to figure out how to get so many people through, but we have to do it in a socially distanced manner that's safe. >> reporter: cedar sinai in los angeles, one out of seven hospitals in california selected to distribute the vaccine. and at the university of maryland medical center in baltimore, ultra cold freezers arriving just days ago to arrive for distribution. >> d-day in military designates the day the mission begins. >> reporter: general perna in charge of "operation warp speed"

giving credit to the people he calls true american heroes like pfizer trial participants, ashley nealy. >> everyone was just trying to figure out how they could help in this pandemic and for some of us, it was raising our hands to be part of the clinical trials. >> reporter: so the delivery process now officially under way. it's important to point out that production of the vaccine has never actually stopped. employees continue to fill more of those vials here, a process that's expected to continue for many months to come. dan? >> alex, thank you. let's talk now about the mammoth challenge of delivering this first batch of nearly 3 million vaccine doses. it falls to fedex and u.p.s. abc's victor oquendo is with us this morning from the u.p.s. world port. victor, good morning to you. >> reporter: dan, good morning. this is the moment of truth we have been waiting for. that's how the president of u.p.s. health care put it. in just a matter of hours, one of these planes here behind me will be taking off for michigan empty, and when it returns, it

will be loaded with the first shipments of the covid-19 vaccine. that is just the beginning of the operation. once that vaccine is back here on the ground, the shipments will be unloaded and placed on a very long conveyor belt for sorting, 155 miles of conveyer belts at this facility. that might be the most amount of time the vaccine will spend on the ground because vaccine packages will immediately go out this afternoon for delivery on monday. months of preparation and coordination with u.p.s. and their rival, turned teammate here, fedex and pfizer for "operation warp speed." this is an air and ground game with destinations determined by "operation warp speed." the goal, safe delivery of this precious cargo. abc news can report that u.s. marshals are working hand in hand with personnel to provide security for those vaccines from facilities to distribution sites and in the air, the faa saying planes carrying the vaccine will be given priority clearance. one last note because so many people are asking why wait one more day. the ceo of fedex explained it's best to do this on monday

instead of sunday to ensure these sites of administration will not only be open, but fully staffed to receive deliveries. eva? >> thank you, victor oquendo. let's bring in the chief clinical officer of yale health. good morning to you. thanks for being with us. >> good morning. >> when do you expect the vaccine to arrive at your hospital, and how soon do you think you will start vaccinating people? >> well, we've heard that pfizer's received our order, and they will tell us when it's shipped, and we will be tracking it, and as soon as it arrives within hours, we'll be ready to vaccinate. >> so starting out it's a limited number of doses. who will get this first round of vaccines in your hospital system? >> so we've determined that anyone who cares for patients should get this vaccine, and so for in our institutions, that's about 26,000 people. so we're going to have a

priority to the individuals that have been caring for covid-19 on the front lines. folks in our emergency department -- and i mean all folks. whether you're a technician, whether you're checking people in, a nurse, pharmacist, if you come in contact with one of these high risk areas, you get the vaccine first. a little bit like the travel line where, when you're going through screening at tsa, there's the precheck line, and there's the regular line. we're going to put the folks that are in these high risk areas in that tsa precheck line. >> so the logistics of all of this are very complicated, the transportation, the storage, the distribution of this vaccine are complicated to say the least. what has your hospital done to prepare for this moment? >> you know, we were involved in the pfizer clinical trial. so we have experience in the freezing, the thawing, the dilution, the transport of this particular vaccine. we have other drugs and things we keep at ultra low temperatures. so we've got folks that are

skilled in this. we've got the equipment, and we think that there's really no insurmountable challenge here for us. >> and just to be clear, do you think you'll start that vaccination process this week? >> absolutely. >> i'm curious. hospitalizations are up across the country. it's also flu season right now. >> yes. >> what are you seeing in your hospitals? is it busier than normal or is it similar to years past? >> absolutely different than years past. i mean, this vaccine is so long awaited. it's so appreciated that we're getting it now because we need it. we have right now in our health system about 450 patients with covid-19 which is a little more than half of the surge that we saw in late spring, but still we also have all of the other kinds of conditions that we treat. and, you know, unfortunately a lot of people delayed care in the spring so we're still playing catchup with a lot of stuff that wasn't done in the spring when people stayed home. and it's important for folks to

know that they need to get the care they need. they shouldn't delay seeing a physician if they have symptoms or concerns that they want to check out. >> that domino effect of this pandemic. dr. balcezak, thank you so much for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. whit? >> eva, thank you. as the vaccine moves, the number of hospitalizations and deaths keep climbing. let's get the latest from abc's trevor ault. >> reporter: this morning, america's health care system pushed to the limit as we head through the pandemic-ridden holidays, setting new weekly records for cases, hospitalizations and deaths. >> health care workers, you know, we get it. we have to fight. this is a battle. this is another stage in the war against this disease. >> >> reporter: california again shattering its records for all three categories saturday. hospitals in the san joaquin valley reporting icus are at 100% capacity, and near the border, el centro regional medical center setting up an overflow tent outside.

>> we're going to go from 21 patients to 50 patients within a matter of today. we have no more room. >> reporter: nationwide, more than 108,000 americans now being treated for the virus in the hospital. a 10% increase since the start of december. >> and that was the holidays and activities around the holidays, travel and the gatherings. we could see potentially a superspreader event. >> reporter: but already families are being torn apart by the virus every day. in ohio where a statewide curfew has been extended through the new year, 42-year-old nurse gave birth while infected, dying before she could hold her newborn leaving her husband and their seven children behind. >> just take it serious, and be careful because it's real, and it can -- strikes without warning. >> reporter: and in georgia, the manzano-tiendo family losing 41-year-old father of four roberto. his 18-year-old son cesar says he has to quit school now to take care of his mother and siblings.

>> i'll actually have to move on and make my dad's hopes and dreams come into reality like he wanted it, and everything he wished for. i'm going to do it in the memory of him. >> reporter: the u.s. has now surpassed 16 million confirmed coronavirus infections and we could see more restrictions roll out for the winter. new york governor andrew cuomo, says the vaccine can end this pandemic, but even with it, he said he doesn't believe we'll start to see a return to regular life until june. whit? >> still a ways to go. trevor ault for us. thank you so much. a quick programming note here. a special edition of "20/20," "the shot: the race for the vaccine" will take a closer look at the safety, access and timing of this vaccine. that's monday, 10:00 p.m. eastern here on abc. now to politics. tomorrow, the electoral college takes the formal constitutionally-required step of electing a new president.

overnight, thousands of people took to the streets of washington, d.c. to support the president's attempt to block joe biden's election. for the latest, let's go to abc's rachel scott in d.c. good morning, rachel. >> reporter: eva, good morning. those demonstrations turning violent overnight. the electoral college is 24 hours away from officially cementing joe biden's victory, and it will bookend a week's long legal effort by the president that has been rejected by state and federal judges and even the supreme court. overnight, tense clashes in washington as thousands of trump supporters rallied ahead of the electoral college vote. violence erupting between pro and anti-trump demonstrators. leading to dozens of arrests. here a female officer being assisted as she limps away from the protest zone. four people reportedly stabbed. earlier in the day, demonstrators marched from the white house to the supreme court, calling for the election results to be overturned. but the president's legal fight has failed. just days ago, the supreme court rejecting a second lawsuit aimed at tossing out millions of votes.

president trump outraged. >> no judge, including the supreme court of the united states, has had the courage to allow it to be heard. >> reporter: in the five weeks since election day, the president and his allies have lost nearly 50 cases in court. a judge the president appointed himself in wisconsin adding one more defeat saturday in a decision writing, he has lost on the merits. a justice on the state's supreme court calling the president's efforts un-american. >> what you want is you want us to overturn this election so that your king can stay in power. >> reporter: the president left the white house to attend the army/navy football game, taking part in the opening coin toss. later spotted in a face mask. as marine one departed washington, supporters erupted in cheers. but as president trump makes baseless claims about a rigged election, his party is also trying to drive voter turnout for two runoff elections in georgia. those races will determine control of the senate, and with

early voting starting tomorrow, the republican secretary of state with a message. >> the senators have to get out there and energize their base. the one that has the message that resonates the most, those people are going to win. >> reporter: president-elect joe biden will be campaigning in georgia on tuesday. republicans are calling those races their last line of defense. democrats say the course of biden's presidency will depend on which party takes control of the senate. dan? >> rachel, thank you. let's bring in abc's martha raddatz who will be hosting "this week" later this morning. martha, good morning. let's look ahead to the electoral college vote tomorrow. do we expect any surprises here, and, if that goes as planned, are there other arrows that team trump still have in the quiver? >> i don't think we expect any surprises from the electoral college. that really does end it. it should end it. does president trump have any more arrows? not really legal arrows. when you come back, and congress

comes back, they could have any kind of election security committees. they can look into this. they can investigate it any way they want. i think the real issue here, i think the real issue here, dan -- and you look at those protesters, and you look what president trump keeps saying, he is going to continue to say that, and his supporters -- and this is really the very dangerous part. his supporters are going to continue to believe this is a rigged election. and i think going forward, that's what all of us have to keep our eye on because it's not so much -- joe biden will be in the white house in january, absolutely. he won that election, but it's what happens afterwards with president trump's supporters and how he continues to rile them up even out of office. >> that's a big challenge for the country going forward. let me ask you on the show this morning you've got the head of the fda. there's a lot of excitement

about the initial shipments of the vaccine, but there's a lot of work left to be done here. so what's next in this process? >> there's so much work left to be done. we're all so excited that this vaccine is out, but it's really 6.4 million doses and that's half of that. that's just a little more than 3 million people who will be vaccinated because they need those two doses. so these other vaccines will start coming into line. but, as you heard, it's going to be june before americans are vaccinated. so it is still a very, very perilous period, and i think one of the things that people really worry about is that people will feel so good about the fact that these vaccines are coming that they will be irresponsible. they won't wear masks. they won't do social distancing. boy, i went out yesterday and i saw people so crowded together. it's worrisome in that sense that they will start feeling too good about the fact the vaccine is coming. people want to wait until they have had the vaccine to feel good about it. >> we are not out of the woods yet. it's important to wear those masks and keep social distancing as uncomfortable as that is.

martha, we really appreciate you joining us on a sunday morning. i want to remind everybody tune into "this week" later this morning. martha will go one-on-one with the fda commissioner stephen hahn for the latest on the covid vaccine. she will speak with the governor of new jersey, phil murphy, about vaccine distribution efforts and spikes in covid cases. that's all coming up on "this week" later this morning right here on abc. all right, dan. let's shift gears and get a check of the weather. rob marciano watching some of those snowstorms across the country. rob, good morning. >> hey, whit, good morning. we have a couple of systems we'll be dealing with. some fog across parts of the east. waking up to that, mild there, but there's cooler air that will be rolling in for much of the country, and we're starting it off with the winter storm warnings for the central plains. we could see 3 to 5 to 6 inches of snow in parts of western oklahoma with this system. we have another one right behind that. a very active pattern shaping up, and this one from houston to i-10, like charles, lafayette,

even new orleans will see some strong thunderstorms with the cold front. the northern part of this, a little sliver of snow there in d.c. and jersey. this is mostly a rain event. there will be snow mixing in there to get the kids excited, but it looks like 2 to 3 inches of rainfall, maybe a dusting on monday. wednesday and thursday, more potency. we'll talk about that in a second. in the meantime, here's good sunday morning. i'm abc 7 meteorologist frances dinglasan. widespread rain over the next couple hours, then turning into scattered showers this afternoon. temperatures will be in the 40s and 50s. but lunch time it will be lighter. a pop-up shower is possible throughout the afternoon hours. by this evening, mostly dry with some lingering chances especially in the south bay, and then it's looking dry monday and tuesday. and when i say just enough snow to get the kids excited, i'm referring to dan harris now that he lives in the suburbs. >> that's right. >> are you ready, dan?

>> do you think dan is really shoveling snow? >> he does a lot of shoveling of his own. >> there's a reason there's no calluses on these hands, marciano. >> i love it. let's bring in janai. she has some scary moments on a college basketball court in florida yesterday afternoon. hey, janai. >> hey, yeah. so florida basketball star keyontae johnson is recovering after collapsing on the floor at florida state. we have to warn you this video is difficult to watch. the gators were coming out of a time-out on saturday and johnson collapsed on the court. you can see the other players were visibly shaken as johnson received medical attention. before falling, johnson had just finished an alley-oop on a pass from tyree applebee. the reason for his collapse is still unknown, but it comes months after johnson and most of his teammates tested positive

for covid-19. he's just 21 years old. well wishes have been pouring in from around the country. this morning he's said to be in critical, but stable condition. so scary, especially for his teammates who saw all of that happen. we're wishing him well as well, guys. >> we are sending the best to his team, to him and his family. janai, thank you so much. really appreciate it. coming up on the show this morning, the big shipping challenge. we'll be talking live with a top fedex executive about the massive effort to deliver the coronavirus vaccine. and get moving. if you want those gifts to arrive in time for christmas. why the deadline is so early this year. plus, one time just wasn't enough. sarah fuller makes history again on the football field. you got to see this. we'll be right back. "good morning america" is sponsored by the u.p.s. store. sponsored by the u.p.s. store.

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help the world believe in holiday magic. and this year was harder than ever. and yet, somehow, you all found a way to pull it off. it's not about the toys or the ornaments but about coming together. santa, santa, you're on mute! just wanted to say thanks. thanks for believing. building a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc 7 news. >> good morning, everybody. i'm liz kreutz. the first doses of pfizer's covid-19 vaccine will soon be on the way to california and the bay area. earlier this morning the first doses of the vaccine were loaded into pboxes at the facility in

kalamazoo, michigan. first shipment will be going to all 50 states. an army of medical personnel is ready to take delivery in california. frances dinglasan has a check of the weather now. hey, frances. >> hey, liz. we've seen the heaviest rain pass through the north bay and move to the peninsula and east bay over the past couple hours. i'm showing you live doppler 7 looping and showing you some of moderate rainfall. right now some of the heaviest rain falling near san francisco, turning into scattered showers. liz? >> all right frances, thank you. thanks for

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during our holiday safely sales event. ♪ you've got to kiss an angel good morning ♪ ♪ and let her know you think about her when you're gone ♪ hey, welcome back to "gma" on this sunday morning. this morning, we're celebrating the life of charley pride. he made history as country music's first black star, and was also the first black member of the country music hall of fame. the three-time grammy award winner died from complications of covid-19. charley pride was 86 years old. >> another sad loss in what has been just a painful year altogether. we do want to get a look at some of the other top stories that we're following this morning. happening right now, pfizer says the loading process for the first packages containing the covid-19 vaccine has begun. this is the first step on a journey that is expected to deliver close to 3 million doses to americans this week.

and the army general leading "operation warp speed" says the mission won't be done until every american has access to the vaccine. also right now, one person was shot as violence erupts in washington state between pro-trump demonstrators and counter-demonstrators. olympia police taking a person into custody for that shooting. authorities declaring the competing gatherings in the state's capital riots, saying people were seen carrying guns and mace. we're going to lighten the mood a little bit with a sports story, guys. this is one i actually care about. sarah fuller making history yet again just a month after becoming the first woman to play in a power five game. now she's also the first woman to score in a power five game. whit, do you know what a power five football game is? >> dan, are you really going to school me on sports? >> i actually don't know what it is. >> it's one of the big college football conferences. >> one of the top conferences. >> i was calling the lifeline there. she's a vanderbilt senior and she kicked an extra point saturday against tennessee.

fuller is a soccer player who was recruited as a kicker by vanderbilt's team last month after members of the team couldn't play because of the coronavirus. congratulations to her. >> absolutely. >> and she's pretty good. >> she is. >> congrats. we start this half hour with hospitals preparing to receive their shipments of pfizer's covid-19 vaccine getting ready to deliver those doses nearly as quickly as they can get them. abc's kaylee hartung joins us from houston with more. good morning to you, kaylee. >> reporter: good morning, eva. within the hour of delivery, one houston hospital tells us they will give the first five shots to volunteers from its staff. they are wasting no time. pharmacists here tell us they're hitting refresh on their computers every few minutes, hoping for more details on when exactly the vaccine will arrive. this morning, hope is on the horizon for this texas hospital. >> this is like the bright light at the end of that long, dark

tunnel. >> reporter: memorial herman, the largest health system in houston has treated more than 12,000 covid patients to date. now they're preparing its ultra cold freezers for the precious covid-19 vaccine. even practicing the delivery process. their first delivery of 16,500 doses, expected as soon as monday. >> we want to use our experience as health care professionals to make sure that we've got it right so when we start administering it to the general public, we do it well. >> reporter: at houston methodist, this icu nursing director will be among the first health care workers to receive the vaccine. we first met riley in june in this emotional interview with tom llamas. >> when they don't survive, you know, knowing we did everything we possibly could to restore their -- okay. you're going to make me cry now. i have a hard time talking about it. this is the hardest part about the whole thing. i'm sorry. >> reporter: six months later, she says her job hasn't gotten

easier, but now believes we're turning a corner. >> it's like a relief because, over and over, you know, we're waiting impatiently for something, some kind of change. >> reporter: riley says it's taken some convincing for her to be comfortable getting the shot, but with a little research, she says the decision was easy. >> we work in a critical care area. we are in the thick of all of this. knowing that we can get this vaccine is kind of like an outlet for us. i think overall it gives us hope again. >> reporter: so after more than nine months of suffering, relief is on the way. we're at texas medical center. this is the largest medical center in the world. among the 27 hospitals here, they'll receive more than 30,000 doses of the vaccine, and that first shipment could come within 24 hours. whit? >> that's right. it's a massive operation. kaylee, thank you so much. we appreciate it. joining us now to get more details on the enormous logistic challenges of delivering the vaccine is richard smith, the regional president of fedex express.

good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i want to jump right to it because we have been getting word and video showing those first shipments being loaded up. when do we expect those first vaccines to go out, and when will they arrive at their destinations? >> those first vaccines will go out tonight, and they'll arrive at their destination tomorrow morning. >> and i do understand there were some delays here. we were told repeatedly by officials at "warp speed" that the vaccine would be shipped out within 24 hours of that emergency use authorization. that came friday evening. some places aren't accepting shipments until monday. why the delay? >> well, the decision was made by the planning team "operation warp speed," pfizer, mckesson, the logistics companies involved that monday would be a better first day for the launch because it's a regular business day. so you can ensure that all the administration sites were fully staffed and all of them are open. there was some fear you might

try to attempt deliveries on a sunday and some of these administration sites may not be open or fully staffed to receive. >> forgive me for following up on that, but i mean we have been waiting for this vaccine for nine months. were there really facilities that weren't going to be fully staffed on a sunday? >> well, we just didn't want to take any chances. we felt that monday was a better day. again, it's a normal business day, weekday. so the planning team opted to -- to pack out sunday and deliver on monday. >> well, everybody is standing by here, and we know this pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at minus 94 degrees fahrenheit. there will be tracking devices used to follow every shipment. walk us through some of the major logistical challenges here, and how confident are you that you can pull this off without error or delay? >> well, i'm incredibly confident in our planning. i'm incredibly confident in our capabilities. the cold chain capabilities and the advanced monitoring and

tracking technologies that you mention, and, of course, in our expertise and know-how in this area. we handle vaccines every year, and temperature-controlled shipments every day. including things that have to be kept at deep frozen temperatures. now remember that most of the -- in transit, all of the protection on the product is really on the packaging. so pfizer is shipping it out in a special box that will keep it at that temperature for many days. so our job is to transport it rapidly and reliably. this is where the monitoring technology comes in because it's really critical that these shipments get there and arrive when they're expected on an overnight basis. so we're using a patented solution that we call censor i.d., and we rolled it out earlier this year. it's the latest and greatest in positive control. our couriers will affix this to every box and our entire network is set up to monitor the shipments as they move through the system with our priority alert agents in a 24/7, 365 command center. they can jump in if there's any unforeseen delay. weather related, on-road traffic

dl delays, you name it. they can get it expedited and ensure it still gets delivered. >> crucial and important technology. thank you so much again for your time. richard smith of fedex express. we appreciate it, and good luck as these shipments go out. >> thank you. appreciate you having me on. >> dan, over to you. >> great to get educated on this process. let's get schooled now on some of the latest developments in the nation's weather. let's go up to professor rob marciano who's got the elbow patches. he was wearing an ascot and a monocle. we asked him to remove those, but take it away. >> you don't want to push it. you don't want to shock the viewers on a sunday morning. good morning again, guys. fedex and u.p.s. may have some weather delays here now that we're getting into the throws of winter. if you are a pig, you're typically happy in mud. these pigs are happy in snow in parts of colorado and the farmland there. the midsection of the country, more in the way of snow. active pattern shaping up. this storm, that storm, this one not so bad. the next one coming through, that one's going to produce some impacts. how much snow we get here in the

northeast? north and west of i-95, you have some potential to see heavy snow, and some power outages and along the coast line heavy rain and coastal flooding. more on that in the coming days. time now for your loca good sunday morning. i'm abc 7 meteorologist frances dinglasan. we'll start off the morning with some rain, turning into scattered showers this afternoon and then monday and tuesday, look pretty dry, our next chance of rain moves in thursday. this weather report has been sponsored by weather tech. you see how i went from professor down to really where i belong, with the pigs? >> of course, and we like the elbow pads. you're like a member of the dead poet society. rob marciano, thank you very much. coming up here on "good morning america," the delay in santa's sleigh. the shipping deadlines you need to know about to get those gifts under the tree in time for christmas.

but you can work out anything wowith comcast business.w. get fast, reliable, and secure internet on the nation's largest gig speed network. flexible tools - like wi-fi you control. voice solutions that connect you from anywhere. and expert advice here, here, or even here. be fast. be flexible. bounce forward with comcast business. get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just $64.90 a month. plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a $500 prepaid card when you upgrade. switch today. welcome back to "gma." welcome back to "gma." it's crunch time for gift givers, especially those who want to have their presents under the tree on time this year. the shipping deadlines are a lot earlier than usual, but there

are workarounds. abc's faith abubey joins us this morning with more on that. faith, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan. shipping services are facing a challenge like no other. the pandemic, vaccine deliveries and now a surge in holiday packages. u.p.s. and fedex adding 170,000 more workers just to meet that demand. from the latest video games to the must-have consoles and gadgets, the challenge this holiday season may not only be in getting your hands on the hottest gifts. the ultimate task, getting those gifts to that special someone in time for christmas. ♪ i'll be home for christmas >> reporter: the covid-19 pandemic triggering a holiday shopping and shipping season like no other. analysts at emarketer predict shoppers will spend more than $190 billion on holiday gifts online. more than a 35% increase over

last year. that potentially translating into 86.3 million packages to be delivered by christmas. >> we're calling it the ship-a-thon because the obstacles are bigger than they've ever been. >> reporter: for ground delivery before christmas, you have until this tuesday, december 15th to buy, box and ship via u.p.s., dhl, fedex and the u.s. postal service. retailers like apple, best buy and amazon giving shoppers more wiggle room, extending their deadlines to the 22nd and 23rd. >> if that's not a win, i don't know what is. >> reporter: for the last-minute shoppers, same-day delivery and curbside pickup by major retailers like target could save the day. and guys, as with everything else this year, delivery by christmas day is not guaranteed. so bottom line here, get those shipments in the mail right away.

eva? >> and, faith, we have to welcome you. this is your first time with us on weekend "gma." >> reporter: yeah, and i'm so happy to be here, and be here working with the entire "gma" team. thank you, eva. >> up early on sunday morning. >> exactly. >> you killed it. thank you. >> thank you, faith, and welcome. we'll be right back with "pop news."

♪ welcome back to "pop news." janai norman who dan just called the grinch who stole christmas from young children. it's a long story. >> a whole story about how we celebrate or maybe don't celebrate christmas. >> we all celebrate differently. anyway, it is time for "pop news," and we begin by sending a big congrats to miss blue ivy carter.

the 8-year-old scoring a grammy nomination. you may have heard of her parents, beyonce and jay-z also in the music industry. blue is a featured artist in her mom's video, "brown-skinned girl" which is up for a best music video grammy. ♪ skin just like pearls she begins her performance that opens and closes the song. they've updated the site to include her name making blue one of the youngest grammy nominees in award show history. what do you expect when your mom is queen bey and your dad jay-z? more buzz about taylor swift if that's even possible. late last week she surprised fans with "evermore," and there may be another surprise up

taylor's sleeve. they point to the word woodville. the superstar known for leaving clues and easter eggs. some think it could be the name of a third album. we will have to wait and see. finally 14-year-old tyler gordon just made the cover of "time" magazine. the young artist's portrait of lebron james will be used as the cover naming king james athlete of the year. if his name sounds familiar, we told you about tyler two weeks ago after getting a phone call from vice president-elect kamala harris praising his work. he tweeted out a time lapse of the portrait he made of her. she noticed it. he's painted many celebrities and famous folks. now tyler is becoming quite famous himself. so inspiring, this kid. >> well deserved. >> two kids that are inspiring. and i have to say being called the grinch by a man with soft hands, dan, i will not take it. >> good point. well played. yeah. >> why is everybody ganging up on me? >> you said, no callouses here. >> maybe you need some hard labor. >> it's called delegation. >> oh, geez. we'll be right back. oh, geez. we'll be right back. how i fee♪

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all right, everybody. all right, everybody. we want to thank you very much on behalf of my teammates, including professor rob marciano. we want to thank you for watching the show this morning. >> yeah. >> we're always online at gma.com. we'll see you next weekend, guys. building a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc 7 news. good morning everybody. i'm liz kreutz. the san joaquin valley has no available intensive care beds for the first time according to public health officials. . comes just two days after available capacity 'twas at 4.5% across the region of 12 counties. the san joaquin valley had been under california's most stringent stay-at-home

restrictions due to plunging icu bed availability. locally, parents of san francisco public school students are going to hold a rally calling on mayor london breed to reopen schools. some parents argued that children are safer in schools than out of them and schools are not drivers of covid-19. they also say remote learning is harming children through missed socialization, lack of attention and unreported child abuse. let's get a check of the weather now frances dinglasan. good news about the rain, frances. >> kef definitely, liz. widespread rainfall over the past few hours over most of the bay area, and that will continue to be the case over the next few hours. live doppler 7 looping over the last hour. we're seeing heavier rain fall along highway 4 in antioch, moving towards oakley in the next 15 minutes. here is your day planner. widespread rain 9:00, temperatures in the 40s and 50s.

the system slides south and we'll see more rain start to move in from the north bay, bringing scattered showers throughout the afternoon to the bay area, with a lingering chance continuing in the evening. high temperatures top out at mid to upper 50s. in addition to that, we've got a coastal flood advisory until 1:00 tuesday, so we could see some flooding with high tide over seven feet each morning, localized flooding in addition to that high surf advisory as well, so look out for very large waves, if you're headed to the beaches. liz? >> all right, frances, thank you. we're going to find the perfect tree. we're going skating. we're going to nana's. wherever you go this holiday, chevy can help you get there. which is why we're making our chevy... ...employee discount available to everyone. the chevy price you pay... ...is what we pay.

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>> announcer: "this week" with george stephanopoulos starts right now. breakthrough. >> today we can begin to turn i] millions of americans' hopes into reality.e1 >> the fda authorizes emergency use for the pfizer vaccine. >> we could be seeing people getting vaccinated monday, tuesday of next week.i] >> now the massive mission to get vaccines into the arms of americans. >> make no mistake. distribution has begun.q >> i will get vaccinated, and i will get vaccinated publicly. >> an historic moment, in a ray of hope in the midst of darkness as we mark the country's most devastating week since the pandemic began.xd dire warnings about the months ahead. >> probably for the next 60 to 1 90 days, we're going to have 'c