what'd i miss? but you can't sleep through my breakfast. because it's served all day, every day! thanks, jack. try my $4.99 french toast sticks jumbo breakfast platter. part of my all day, everyday breakfast. . breaking overnight, the united kingdom is the first country to approve the use of pfizer and the vaccine to prevent covid virus. we're live in london this morning. >> while here in the united states, the cdc says health workers and those in nursing homes will be the first to receive the vaccine for the virus in two weeks that's not all. this morning in a new interview, president-elect joe biden says he feels like he's done something good for the country by making sure mr. trump

will not be president for another four years >> speaking out for the first time, the sailor who was clinging onto his sinking boat for dear life talks about his improbable scar. the hollywood star with a major announcement i love that i am trance. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. breaking this morning, this is a truly historic moment as the uk becomes the first western country to license a vaccine they'll now be able to start mass vaccinations for most at risk joining us live from london is chapman bell good morning how soon can we expect this vaccine to be rolled out >> reporter: well, phillip, this is great news for the uk and

hopefully the catalyst to get it out to the rest of the world they expect 800,000 doses of the vaccine next week and they plan to start vaccinating the most vulnerable, those in nursing homes as wellascii frontline health care workers. there is a slight drawback to this vaccine in that it has to be stored at very cold temperatures, however, they seem to have plans in place to make this work and get this christmas present early for many people in the uk, particularly the most vulnerable now, they have bought 40 million doses of this vaccine. that's enough for 20 million people, and we'll see about 10 million of those shortly, and then they'll start rolling out more in the new year now, the prime minister tweeting earlier calling this fantastic saying ultimately vaccines are going to be what allows us to get back to our normal lives an get the economy going again. great news for the uk and hopefully great news for the rest of the world as soon as

this vaccine becomes available in more places, particularly over there, phillip. >> that's what we've been waiting for. with that hope, here the race is on to approve a coronavirus vaccine. right now more than 13.7 million americans have been infected and that number continues to rise. and across the country hospitalizations have been doubling since november 1st. florida reached its own grim milestone surpassing the 1 million mark it's now the third state to reach that number along with texas and california the cdc is easing quarantine restrictions from 14 days to seven to ten days. our miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: on a cdc livestream, some of the nation's top doctors voting which americans should get vaccinated. frontline workers like doctors, nurses, and support staff caring for the infected are the top priority those living and working in nursing homes are facing it.

they're likely exceeding the number of potential doses available by the end of this month. >> as you get into january, february, and march, you'll get the second, third, fourth level of people, people essential to society. >> reporter: with six vaccine candidates aiming for fda authorization, the cdc has not voted on who gets the next round of doses perhaps those in the medical field, those in the food supply system, and seniors. many americans will likely have to wait until spring. >> when the vaccines arrive for distribution, ultimately it's up to each individual state to desight who gets the first doses. >> reporter: the record number of americans are infected and hospitaliz hospitalized several states are planning or have opened field hospitals.

>> a lot of grief for us as healthar ce providers when there's nothing more you can do for somebody. >> reporter: as one american dies every minute from covid, new york city is now advising older adults and those with underlying health conditions to limit outside activities. >> that was the last thing ier said to my dad was i love you, stop criming >> reporter: in chicago erica lopez's father lupe could have been among the early americans who could have gotten the vaccine. >> my dad taught me so much about life, but never how to live without him. >> reporter: heartbreak and hope as more americans die, millions could soon be saved. miguel almaguer, nbc news. thanksgiving may be behind us, but a surge within a surge may be in front of us. experts say they're starting to see a post-holiday rush to get tested for covid just as millions of americans who

traveled for the holiday return home here's nbc's sam brock. >> reporter: after millions of americans jumped on planes over the holiday weekend, they're jumping in line for covid pretesting in illinois, 40,000 new cases since thanksgiving in miami, these women hoping to protect hundreds in their church community. >> you know what you're doing in your own home, but you don't know what everyone else is doing. >> reporter: the best thing you can do is get tested for covid-19, but a lot of people wonder do i come in after one day, five days, ten days cdc says gets tested within three to five days from returning, stay away at least six feet from those who didn't travel with you. a second test is also not a bad idea as the virus can appear eight days later. >> even after testing in four days, you'll have to retest if

you want to make sure you're truly negative. >> reporter: the stakes, sky-high. >> we're not going to see the repercussions for two weeks from now. >> reporter: sam brock, nbc news. president trump may soon wield the power of the pardon in unprecedent ways multiple sources say the president is deciding whether to pardon family members and associates tracie potts joins us. this could prove a controversial move. >> hi, frances they're discussing it. the president said to be concerned that the biden justice department may target his family and some of his closest allies,

and a source telling nbc the president feels embattled but doesn't think that his family and others have actually done anything wrong or done anything legal, the white house not commenting on this meantime a judge has unsealed documents that reveal federal investigators looking into what was described in those documents as a potential bribery for pardon the documents were heavily redalkted, so there was a lot that was blocked out no names, no mention of the president, no mention that the white house knew anything about this again, the white house not commenting here, and the president tweeted that it's fake news frances. >> all right thank you, tracy. now to a man in florida who's grateful to be back on dry land after spending more than 30 hours clinging to a sinking boat he was pulled from the water by a cargo ship back on shore he's opening up about the experience

nbc's kerry sanders has his story. >> reporter: the cargo ship angel lease pulling into port in delaware the man who they saved forever indebted to the crew who they found clinging to his boat in the ocean 86 miles from the shower. >> it was pretty dire. thanks to the crew of the "de angel lis" who picked me up. >> that's classic stuart bea, also understated he had a gps but it was under water in the boat. >> three or four times i swept back into the boat to try to retrieve it. >> reporter: he said the first thing he'll do is enjoy a peanut

butter and boyne sa banana sand credit to the boat who rescued him. the roads were dangerous for plows. more than 50,000 power outages are being reported in ohio this morning. the cold front stretched all the way into the south look at this individual from from northern georgia. there are concerns about black ice on the road this morning >> you don't usually see that there. nbc's janessa webb joining us with the latest on that winter weather. good morning >> good morning. good morning, everyone these dots i'm showing you this morning. there are local storm reports that stretch from georgia all the way into ohio. hundreds and hundreds of reports. we saw 22 inches of snow in parts of northeast ohio. it's going to be digging out this morning that lake machine continues to roll in across pennsylvania, now into interior new york

that lasts until mid-afternoon today, and then it will start to push offshore. also watching our next storm system, we'll get a nice break and this one will swiftly make its way into the mid-atlantic and the northeast. right now severe weatherapids. it will certainly warm up to the mid-40s. look at the highs ford across the south. it's in the 70s. and it's a big night at 30 rock. we'll have the tree-lighting forecast coming up. >> sure is we're looking forward to that. janessa, thank you. some excite penguins at the london zoo got into the spirit by cracking open a very fishy advent calendar. a keeper placed fish into each of the compartments as a treat

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and now i'm back on top... with koala kai. hey! more mercy. save over 30 hours a month with intuit quickbooks. the easy way to a happier business. lieding the news, a san francisco grandmother stood her ground against an angry customer a woman was upset her order wasn't ready here's what she did. she jrue a 5-pound bottle of hand sanitizer toward the owner's daughter and grand dart. she used the table like a battering ram to get her out the door they would like an apology no one was hurt. see that little kid watching it all? i would have been terrified. >> over an order ludicrous. two north texas police officers are being hailed as heroes after they saved a family

from a late-night house fire they were driving down the road when they saw flames coming out of the roof of the house this is body camera footage. they pounded on the door to alert the family who was asleep. their quick actions helped save two adults, two kids, as well as their dog. no one was injured no word on the cause of the fire. now a personal announcement. elliott page who was nominated for an oscar has announced to the world he's a transgender person here's his important mench. >> vanya has unparalleled superpowers. the actor found power. hi, friends. i want to share with you that i am trance, elliott page began on twitter. i feel lucky to be writing this, to be here. >> i'm pregnant. >> oh, god.

>> formerly known as ellen page. the star expressed gratitude i can't begin to express how remarkable it feels to pursue my authentic self but he said he's scared, citing hate and violence against trance people. last weekend actress laverne cox posted about an attack in an l.a. park. the number of those killed has increased dramatically over the past few years with a record of 40 deaths the majority people of color. clara taylor lost her child in october. >> they need to know they have somebody that's willing to fight for them a lot of them are so scared. >> reporter: across social media, an outpouring of support. elliott page will continue to play vanya in season 3 netflix tweeting, so proud of

our superhero. for those who deal with sect-loathing and abuse, his message ended, i see you, i love you, and i will do everything i can to change this world for the better kate snow, nbc news. still to come, starbucks brews up something special for frontline workers. >> and the reaction after the coronavirus vaccine by pfizer wins approval in the uk. the first fda-approved medication of its kind, tremfya® can help adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis uncover clearer skin that can last.

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starbucks is showing its appreciation to frontline worker this holiday season with free coffee for the month of december the coffee giant announced that through december 31st any customer who identifies as a front line responder to the covid-19 outbreak will receive a free tall brewed coffee hot or iced know official i.d. is necessary. it's just the honor system. a tech titan sales force is making one of the largestet deals ever in the software stru industry but before we get to that, let's get to the breaking news in london with steve sedgwick good morning great news. >> good morning. the uk is the first country in the world to approve the pfizer biontech covid-19 vaccine in the world. it's going to be rolled out next week we understand that 800,000 doses will be available for next week. the uk has preordered in

anticipation of getting approval tens of millions of doses and the bulk of it will be available in the new year. but the program would begin early next week. hospitals are all ready to receive it and that's very good news indeed. elsewhere as you say, salesforce making a $27 billion-plus. they're going to bolster the amount of product they go head to head with microsoft they're trying to take on some of those microsoft markets back to you. >> the latest from london. thank you always. a quick break, and then janessa will have tonight's rockefeller christmas tree-lighting forecast. >> dolly partomin ght pour herself a cup of ambition. whew she could soon be up for a medal of presidential freedom.

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we can build a new american economy that works for all americans. our message to everybody strug right now is this. help is on the way president-elect joe biden staying laser focused on battling the pandemic. in a new interview he told the new york tooichls the new administration is going to fight like hell to help memberships. he's felt no elation to becoming president compared to his granddaughter who's graduated from college but can't have a

real celebration >> reporter: in wilmington, delaware, president-elect joe biden nursing a fractured foot and a shattered economy. >> our message to everybody struggling right now, our message is this. help is on the way. >> reporter: raising taxes on the wealthy paying for health care, education, and infrastructure. >> we can build a new economy that works for new americans not some, but all. >> we will be an institution that wakes up every morning thinking about you, your jobs, your paychecks, your struggles. >> reporter: biden's picks tying policy to personal stories like budget director neera tanden raised by a single mother, an indian immigrant who was raised on subsidy and food stamps.

>> i'm here today because of my mother's gribut also thank fos a country who had faith in us. >> reporter: stillanden is facing criticism from republicans and some democrats for her outspoken views. the need for action is urgent with long lines for giveaways with more than 50 million americans expected to experience food insecurity this year. a bipartisan group of lawmakers propose a compromise president-elect biden says anything that passes will be just a start fl frances? former president barack obama made a mistake by not awarding dolly parton the presidential medal of freedom. during a show he found out she had not received the award under his administration he said she deserves one she's been a pop culture icon

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right now at 4:00, breaking news for you this morning in the race for a vaccine. what the government is saying about the new critical decision in the fight against coronavirus. plus, stricter restrictions may be coming to san francisco and soon the city's mayor announcing new measures could be coming as early as today. why she and other bay area mayors are now under fire. and a heads-up for anyone who loves the slopes. why the state says you might have to say ski you later unless you plan ahead. we'll talk about that. "today in the bay" starts right now.