welcome to a new week. and we've got the latest on rudy giuliani's covid condition, plus hospitalizations soaring across the nation as states crack down even harder. coronavirus vaccines will be distributed in the uk this week, but how safe are they and should people trust them? our dr. john torres weighs in. with just 18 days to christmas, it's being called ship-ageddon >> caught on camera, a really life grinch busted in the act of stealing dozens of christmas trees but what happened

afterwards is, well, just what the christmas season is all about. "early today" starts right now good morning i'm valerie castro. >> glad you're starting your week with us i'm frances rivera the start of this week brings new hope the u.s. may soon see the approval of a coronavirus vaccine, but as the country anxiously waits, cases and deaths continue to climb as of today, there have been over 14.8 million infections, and over 283,000 deaths, according to an nbc news tally. >> the pandemic isn't stopping pope francis from spreading an uplifting message this holiday season at his sunday blessing, the pontiff said the christmas season provides a sign of hope in this difficult time his words come as most of california enters a new virus lockdown nbc's meagan fitzgerald has the latest. >> valerie, good morning millions of californians are waking up to some of the most restrictive measures we've seen

since the beginning of the pandemic all while state officials do what they can to try to stop hospitals from being overwhelmed. >> reporter: 33 million californians hours away from a lockdown people told to stay home, stop gathering, no more in-person dining and reduced retail as health officials try to save hospitals in crisis. the governor's orders in effect at least through the holidays. >> the bottom line is if we don't act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed >> reporter: fear turning to frustration for restaurant owners. >> i'm losing everything everything i own is being taken away from me and they set up a movie company right next to my outdoor patio >> reporter: and for so many other workers forced to close down, desperation. >> we've been taking one for the team, and there is nothing left to give. like, nothing left >> reporter: in some parts of southern california, defines the sheriffs of orange and riverside counties saying they won't enforce the state's new stay-at-home orders. >> riverside county sheriff's

department will not be blackmailed, bullied or used as muscle against riverside county residents in the enforcement of the governor's orders. >> reporter: even as the virus surges to unprecedented levels in both counties, conflicting messaging and patchwork enforcement causing confusion. >> it adds a lot of confusion to who's right, who's wrong >> reporter: desperate pleas from the nation's top doctors for americans to take this seriously. >> i want to be very frank to the american people, the vaccine's critical, but it's not going to save us from this current surge. only we can save us from this current surge. and we know precisely what to do >> reporter: across the nation no region spared more than 100,000 americans now hospitalized new orders out to contain the crisis eight states adding restrictions in the last week alone families like barbara's who have lost loved ones know far too well how serious the pandemic really is. the pain of losing her father

will never go away >> a lot more families are going to be in my shoes. and it didn't have to be this way. >> reporter: officials say it takes two weeks to see the effects of new restrictions that were put in place, so here in los angeles county, it's been 12 days since outdoor dining was banned, so it's likely we could see the effects of that by the end of this week valerie? >> okay. meagan, thank you. across the pond, the uk is gearing up for massive covid-19 vaccinations brits are becoming among the first in the world to receive that vaccine and the world is watching joining us from london is matt bradley. so, matt, lots of questions here who will get them first and will the queen be vaccinated as well? >> yeah, well, actually, the queen will be vaccinated a lot of people saying that's the big first step ensuring celebrities in the u.s., former presidents are doing it, to ensure that people know this vaccine is safe. one of the challenges in issuing the vaccine is ensuring people

they can get it, they won't get sick from it the rollout is expected to start here tomorrow in britain and, again, there's been some criticism with which the speed britain has taken up the new virus and basically approved the science behind, but that is still not settled. even though this information is embarking on the largest vaccine effort ever in its history it's going to start tomorrow, mostly for people over 80, and that will include care home workers. and those who are on the front lines of the national health service, britain's prized national medical service so that effort is going to start rolling out tomorrow the big challenge for reaching people who are so old, people who are over 80, the first target, is that those people are going to have to probably not be able to take the vaccine at the hospitals. they might try to break up that vaccine and distribute it to individual care homes and other places where people can reach it, elderly people can reach it. the problem is, of course, is that this vaccine isn't very mobile it has to be stored at nearly

negative 100 degrees favorite, and -- >> all right matt, we lost you at the end of that, but glad to hear the update a pivotal moment in this pandemic thank you. meanwhile, here in the states, health officials are working on a big plan to help build public trust in the vaccine. our dr. john torres has more on how denver is stepping up to the challenge. >> once the covid vaccine is approved, the rollout will be a massive challenge. but one of the biggest hurdles, trust. >> what they're going to shoot it directly into you so i don't want it. >> it may work, it may not work, but i'm not going to be a guinea pig. >> that's why denver's health department created an ambitious program to connect with underserved communities who need the vaccine most we've been following their progress since september >> who are the people you're hoping to reach by doing this? >> the people we're trying to reach are people that don't usually access health services

or go to retail pharmacies so if we think about it, our essential workers which are often black and indigenous people of color. >> a challenge, experts say, since many minorities distrust the medical community. dr. judith and her team mapped out the city's covid hot spots and spent months building relationships by bringing flu vaccines into those areas. >> is this a test run for what you're anticipating doing with the covid-19 vaccine >> yes, this is a test run. >> the goal? make it safe, free, fast and friendly the team created local partnerships with leaders and social media bringing pop-up clinics to shelters, community centers, food banks, even firehouses. for leslie williams, convenience was key. >> it was super easy and i want to make sure we continue to have these resources in our community. >> we just checked back in with the team. >> how did it go >> we have given over 3300 vaccines mainly flu vaccines in the

community. >> what did they learn host clinics later in the day when people are home from work and school spread the message in many languages. and create trust by pairing the same health teams with local neighborhoods. >> what's next for you and this program? >> what we want to do is take that work, build it out for the covid vaccine and then mitigate this pandemic and get people back to work and feeling comfortable about society again. >> a commitment to building bridges for better health. dr. john torres, nbc news, denver another member of president trump's inner circle is battling coronavirus. the president tweeted that his personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, has tested positive for covid-19 "the new york times" reports the 76-year-old was admitted to georgetown university medical center in d.c. in a tweet, giuliani said he is getting great care and feeling good nbc's jennifer johnson has the latest from d.c. >> reporter: at a campaign rally for two georgia senate candidates, president trump ramped up his pressure and

publicly shamed georgia's republican governor brian kemp to call for a special legislative session to override the election results >> your governor should be ashamed of himself >> reporter: the president reiterated baseless claims of voter fraud. his campaign lost legal challenges in six states and georgia is apparently ignoring his demands. >> we're certainly not going to move the goal post at this point in the election. >> reporter: the president spoke before a mostly maskless crowd as covid-19 deaths rise and the president's own personal attorney rudy giuliani tests positive on thursday an fda advisory panel is expected to grant emergency use of a vaccine. >> i would say, within 36 hours from approval, potentially the first immunization could be taking place. >> reporter: health care workers and nursing home residents will be vaccinated first, but federal officials say vaccine for the general population will take months and the death toll will mount. >> the vaccine's critical, but it's not going to save us from this current surge

>> reporter: birx calling on all americans to wear masks and physically distance while acknowledging mixed messages from the white house congress, meanwhile, is still debating a $900 billion coronavirus aid package to help struggling americans. >> we have a lot of work to do and just a few days to do it. >> reporter: as lawmakers race to pass the bill, 12 million americans risk lose their unemployment benefits the day after christmas. a gritty day on the gridiron capped off a big afc west showdown the broncos had the chiefs' numbers in the first half and held patrick mahomes out of the end zone for much of the third quarter, but the former mvp found travis kelce for of the 20-yard score to take the lead kelce became the first tight end to record his fifth 1,000-yard season kansas city wouldn't look back, getting the hard-fought victory. the jets just five seconds away from their first victory,

but derek carr burst their bubble this pass to ruggs soared right over the defense as they sneak by the jets 31-28. and in seattle, the giants overcame a slow start and a blocked punt big blue's offense clicked in the second half and the giants upset the seahawks on the road 17-12. so after all that, what does new york's path to the playoffs look like our very own steve kornacki was on "sunday night football" to break it all down. >> the giants to 5-7 you see the playoff probability jumps from about 1 in 3 to 45% for the giants and that number, by the way, could grow soon because, look, washington, they still got to play pittsburgh this week, and if washington loses that game, the giants then move a full game ahead of washington and, by the way, they have the tiebreaker over washington as well a nor'easter brought heavy rain and strong winds and snow to parts of new england over the weekend. the impacts from the storm caused more than 200,000 people to lose power.

power outages were reported in massachusetts, maine and new hampshire. by yesterday afternoon, power had been restored to more than 50,000 people in the region. central maine power, which accounts for many of the outages in that state, said their crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power to customers. >> that is no joke seems like those winter temperatures are here because we are feeling it let's check in now with nbc meteorologist janessa webb hi, janessa, good morning. >> hi, ladies. good morning, everyone we are over that storm system that impacted northern new england over the weekend now we're just in a quieter pattern, but the southeast still dealing with a few rain showers that will move out this afternoon. i think the bigger weather story is the fire danger that is big time across the west into southern california we're under an elevated risk throughout your afternoon, but it's the santa ana winds that are going to pick up once again. at least up to 20 to 35 miles per hour northeastoo

sunny skies for the southeast into the south this afternoon. ladies, we'll take a look at that week ahead coming up. >> all right looking forward to it, janessa thank you. when we return, a longtime trump loyalist could be stepping down right before inauguration day. and get ready for ship-ageddon inside the billions of packages going out before christmas entresto helped people stay alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems,

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announcement that the justice department found no widespread voter fraud. the sources told "the times" barr has yet to make a final decision and could stay on through january 20th. the holiday delivery deadlines are approaching with a staggering number of packages to ship by christmas. companies are now taking extreme measures, with some even turning to grocery and food delivery companies for help nbc's jo ling kent has details >> reporter: with christmas around the corner, the shipping rush is on, and experts say this year there will be 250 million more packages than delivery systems can handle >> we will be having 3 billion packages to be delivered between thanksgiving and christmas, and that is not counting the millions of packages that will come starting middle of next week for covid-19 vaccine. >> reporter: u.p.s. stores across the country feeling the strain >> we've been impacted by huge

crowds very long lines. and stressed out employees as well but we've been pushing through. >> reporter: to meet unprecedented demand, u.p.s. is hiring more than 100,000 seasonal workers on cyber monday, the company hit their max capacity and told drivers to stop package pick up at these big-name stores u.p.s. telling nbc news it has imposed specific capacity allocations throughout the holiday season so it can be reliable for all customers with carriers bracing for 800 million more packages this holiday season than last year, major retailers are taking unprecedented steps, turning to grocery and food delivery companies. instacart now offering same-day delivery for major brands like the disney store, bed, bath and beyond, sephora and more. >> customers don't have to worry when they pick up an instacart app. your gift's going to show up on

the same day. >> reporter: experts say if you want free shipping, order by december 11th and to make sure your packages arrive on time, major carriers say order by december 15th. because if you leave your shopping to the last minute -- >> procrastinating your orders this year is going to be very expensive. >> reporter: shipping fees will only increase as we inch closer to christmas jo ling kent, nbc news >> got to knock out that list. all right. a quick break and then spacex blasts off into the 100 club with its falcon 9. in search of a musk-needed tack break, tessa's ceo sets his sights on texas. the ones you couldn't be more ready for, and even the ones that take you by surprise. these are the moments you'll remember, the ones that are impossible to forget.

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spacex launched the falcon 9's rocket's 100th successful mission carrying a supply ship that includes gifts and a holiday meal for the astronauts on the mission the 24th launch of the year. now, according to cnbc spacex's ceo elon musk has told friends and associates that he plans to move to texas he put his california properties on the market this year, though there hasn't been an official move yet texas has no state income tax while california's is the highest in the country so musk is used to being in and out of texas, as spacex started operating there in 2003. next on "early today," janessa with your weekly

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power through your day medicine. a real-life grinch in washington attempted to steal christmas by robbing a local hardware store, taking a total of 50 christmas trees. nbc's jose diaz-balart has the story. >> reporter: thanksgiving dinner had just come and gone when a holiday thief was out well before dawn. he took and he took on this holiday spree, stealing one after the other, a coveted christmas tree some big, some small, like a real-life grinch, taking 50 in all. >> when cindy lu hoo was in bed

with her cup, she crept to the chimney and stuffed the tree up. >> reporter: larry meyers just bought the batch to sell from his store, river ridge hardware. >> it's starting to look a lot like christmas. >> reporter: a local shop in business for almost 70 years >> down here, i'll show you. >> reporter: spokane police soon caught the crook who put christmas on pause, bringing back all of larry's trees. >> merry christmas we get our trees back. >> larry, then tell me what you decided to do when you got those 50 trees back. >> well, with covid, you know, a lot of these first responders have had to work tons of hours, and we just wanted to give back to them. and i thought, you know, let's do a donation, just to thank them. >> reporter: and so he played santa. writing on facebook "i want to give 50 trees to any first responders" and "thank you for putting your life on the line

every day and helping small businesses like us when someone takes advantage" but in the spirit of the season -- >> all right christmas tree delivery. by spokane police department >> reporter: the officers decided they'd also keep the giving going >> with covid, the need has actually increased in our community quite a bit, and we see it every day and it's so much more important now than it was before that we help each other out. >> reporter: paying it forward this week delivering one of larry's trees to sara and her two boys >> so as a father of two boys, to be able to help two other boys set up and decorate a christmas tree, it was just really a nice moment it's great to have those conversations and to be human. with people. >> and our thanks to jose diaz-balart for that report. and what a great way to turn a negative into a positive. >> yeah. it's like 50 giving trees all in one right there. as for that grinch, i tell you what, heart two sizes two small,

perfect example. it's going to catch up with him one day. >> thanks for waking up with "early today." i'm valerie castro. >> and i'm frances rivera. have a terrific monday be safe out there and we'll see you right back here tomorrow this is "early today."

it's monday, december 7th. coming up on "early today," a record number of hospitalizations in the u.s. takes hold as the uk is set to begin mass distribution of a coronavirus vaccine. we're live in london. while on capitol hill, a covid stimulus package is one step closer to reali as looming deadlines with dire economic consequences for millions are fast approaching. a big weekend for the nfl as the playoff picture gets a little more clarity, and introducing election stats guru steve kornacki to your pro football sunday. things just got