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 a whole lot more interesting. a major recall to warn you

about. engines that could catch fire. that nor'easter may be out to sea, but it did sure pack the first winter punch of the season buckle up. "early today" starts right now good morning i'm valerie castro. >> glad you're with us to start the week i'm frances rivera the coronavirus is not taking a holiday break as it continues to ravage the nation. as of today, there have been over 14.8 million infections, and over 283,000 deaths. meanwhile, over the weekend, the u.s. reported more than 200,000 covid-19 cases saturday. for the fourth day in a row. >> the virus is soaring to dangerous new heights in california which is now under a new stay-at-home order in an effect to curb spiraling coronavirus infections and hospitalizations the state reported over 30,000 new cases and 85 deaths on sunday more than 33 million californians are affected by the order and are being told to stay home and stop gathering.

the mandate also shuttered in-person dining, salons and reduces retail, as health officials try to save hospitals in crisis. president-elect joe biden is readying his key allies to battle the pandemic. three sources tell nbc news the president-elect will nominate california attorney general xavier becerra to lead the department of health and human services and politico reports that this doctor is his pick to lead the cdc. she is a harvard medical school professor and the chief of infectious diseases at massachusetts general hospital let's get right to our capitol hill correspondent traci pots pot for the latest on stimulus talks. time is running out. >> reporter: time is definitely running out, frances lawmakers this week will try to get some traction. the how theis set to leave thi week, the senate next week, so they're trying to get this relief bill done that would include help, $908 billion of a compromise for people who need

immediate relief we're talking about people who are hungry millions facing eviction at the end of the month and losing unemployment the day after christmas. so that work is happening. on thursday, an fda panel will look at emergency approval for pfizer's vaccine the government admitting that manufacturing is a bit more difficult than they expected that they're running behind. but they're hoping to be able to get millions of doses of this vaccine out, starting friday >> we have a vaccine there is light at the end of the tunnel, but we will not all have the vaccine in our arms before may or june. so we need to be very cautious and vigilant >> 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. >> keep in mind, it will be next spring before most of us have access to shot vaccine and we've learned over the

weekend that president trump's lawyer rudy giuliani tested positive for covid-19. he just met with several members of the arizona legislature the "arizona capitol times" reporting at least 15 current or future members, republican lawmakers, who met with giuliani, may have been directly exposed. frances? >> giuliani being treated at a hospital in d.c. tracie, thank you. across the pond, the uk is gearing up for massive covid-19 vaccinations brits becoming among the first in the world to receive that vaccine and the world is watching joining us live from london is matt bradley matt, who will get these vaccines first and will the queen be vaccinated, too >> yeah, i mean, it's a good question, valerie. we're hearing this is all going to be starting tomorrow in this initial rollout, which is supposed to be going, you know, basically nationwide or covering every spot in the british isles and we don't know exactly how many people are going to be

vaccinated in the end, but first, again, starting tomorrow, we're going to see people who are over 80, residents of care homes, those who work in care homes, and employees of the national health service. this is basically the first part, the front line workers and even though we're just starting to see this rollout happen, this is really the most logistically challenging part of the rollout because a lot of these people who will be receiving the vaccine are so old, so infirm they can't make it to central hospitals where they can be distributed with that vaccine now, the way this is going to go, this pfizer vaccine has to be stored at nearly negative 100 degrees favorite now, that means that actually getting it out to patients to those who would receive it is really difficult when you're keeping it stored at those temperatures and in big chunks of vaccine and that makes it so that actually bringing it out is going to be a real challenge and the first major hurdle that the government is going to be trying

to jump in what is, as you've described, the biggest vaccination effort ever in uk history. valerie? >> all right interesting to see it all roll out. matt, thank you. the pandemic is pushing the nation's hospital system to the brink. as some hospitals are full and/or out of icu beds and now some cities are taking desperate measures by opening field hospitals to handle the overflow patients. nbc's kathy park has a look inside one in massachusetts minutes before the first patients arrive. kathy, good morning. all right. we don't have kathy's story for now. working on that. hope to get it to you a little bit layer. georgia is the center of the political university verse right now. the two senate run-off elections will decide control of congress. over the weekend, the president held a rally for the republicans, and last night candidates squared off in a debate nbc is in atlanta with the latest shaq, good morning >> reporter: good morning, frances. today is the voter registration

deadline for any georgian who wants to participate in that january 5th senate run-off election, and it comes after what was a fiery and intense debate sunday night. we saw senator kelly loeffler go after raphael warnock and we saw the two spar on very personal terms. senator loefflersaying that warnock was a radical liberal. we saw warnock going after loeffler, saying that she profited from the pandemic there was also another debate scheduled last night jon ossoff was supposed to go up against senator david purdue purdue did not accept the invitation for the debate, so we saw ossoff on stage next to an empty podium today is that registration deadline and one week later will be the start of early voting in the state of georgia frances? >> all right shaq, thank you. now back to that story earlier in the pandemic pushing the nation's hospital systems to the brink, and let's get right to kathy park. >> reporter: hey, frances, good morning to you

here in boost, massachusetts, approximately 1 in 5 residents are testing positive for the virus, just one sign that the crisis is worsening, and that's why they are turning to the dcu center for help once again hospitalizations surging in massachusetts. triggering an emergency response >> sometimes i wish they could see what we see in the hospital to really have it hit home >> reporter: worcester's dcu convention center turned field hospital is now ready to receive coronavirus patients nbc news given access minutes before they arrived. >> the ambulance bay is over here they'll come through that door, and the moment they come through, this entire facility is a hot zone until the day that we close. >> reporter: in the spring they treated approximately 160 patients they can now take up to 220. but the growing fear is that the space will fill up by the end of the month. front line workers are gearing up for the post-thanksgiving surge. >> we're ready to go again. >> reporter: respiratory therapists and covid survivor

jeff russel came from north carolina fully prepared to help. >> yeah, maybe eight weeks, maybe 12 weeks, maybe longer, yeah we'll see. >> reporter: armed with critical ppe and new treatments, the team is going into battle with the virus with a stockpile of more resources, including a space where patients can interact with each other >> and how much does this effort to bring a sense of community among the patients help in their recovery >> i think it makes all the difference in the world. i think we truly had people, you know, dying of loneliness. >> reporter: tackling the second surge, better equipped than before meanwhile, health care staffing is being challenged once again a lot of workers are getting sick with the virus and need time to recover. plus, with coronavirus cases climbing all across the country, they're not able to call on the doctors and nurses out of state like they did in the spring. frances? >> all right thank you, kathy a nor'easter brought heavy

rain, strong winds and snow to parts of new england over the week 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 sunday 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. >> you know firsthand how tough that was driving through it in rhode island. >> scary drive, yeah. let's check in now with nbc meteorologist janessa webb to see if things are turning around and going to stay calm hi, janessa. >> hi, good morning, ladies. yes, things are going to calm down for northern new england into maine that storm system is starting to push out of the area, and now our attention is focused on the southeast and into mid-atlantic. just for early this morning, this system is going to push offshore and then we're going to see a lovely day i think the bigger weather story, though, is these santa ana winds.

red flag warnings across southern california all the way into half moon bay this afternoon, where relative humidity is down to the single digits look at these winds, they're going to be picking up, at least 20 tfeel-like temperature in the lower 30s. need to get to the south and southeast if you need that warmth, 71 for san antonio ladies, we'll take a look at that week ahead coming up. >> all right we'll check in with you then thank you, janessa. time now for today's quick hits hawaii is offering people the chance to work from home on the island of oahu the aloha state will pay for the flight, but you have to volunteer with a charity a few hours every week to benefit local communities. indian jewelers broke the

record for the most diamonds in a ring, over 12,000. floyd mayweather announced he will step into the ring to fight youtube personality logan ul the exhibition bout is set to take place in late february. we'll be back in two minutes of possibilities. 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, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. or high blood potassium. but these days, i'm not getting out as much as i'd like to. that's why i take osteo bi-flex. it helps with occasional joint stiffness, while it nourishes and strengthens my joints for the long term. osteo bi-flex. because i'm made to move.

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cut through grease on contact, without water. just wipe, and rinse. get dishes done faster dawn powerwash dish spray. spray. wipe. rinse. a gritty day on the gridiron capped off with a big-time afc west showdown. the broncos had the chiefs' number 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 the 20-yard score to take the lead. kelce became the first tight end to record his fifth 1,000-yard season kansas city with a look back, getting the hard-fought 22-16 victory. in seattle, the giants overcame the 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. at lambeau field, aaron rodgers

had a reason to celebrate. this time davante adams gave him his 400th career touchdown he is the fastest in league history to that feat and just the sixth qb to ever reach 400. the packers flew by the eagles 30-16. and the browns got up to a comfortable lead against the tightens at the half jostling for position in the afc playoffs tennessee put on a furious comeback in the second, but it was too little, too late cleveland gets the win, 41-45. and in the meadowlands, the lowly jets were just five seconds away from their first win of the season, but derek carr burst his bubble with his pass to henry ruggs. kept the playoff hopes alive as they sneak past the jets 31-28. >> with just four weeks left in the regular season, the push for the playoffs is constantly updating in that spirit, nbc "sunday

night football" enlisted steve kornacki for some touch screen analysis for the race to the postseason. >> let's start with two teams on the line in the afc, the indianapolis colts, number one they were up against it late in this game. you saw houston had a chance to go in and beat the colts had that happened, the colts' playoff chances right now might be somewhere in the 30s. instead, they came into today with a 56% shot of making the playoffs they come out of today by hanging on with a better than 60% shot of making the playoffs. remember, they were in the final spot coming into today talking about -- speaking of late-game heroics, what about the raiders against the jets this afternoon the raiders came into today with a 47% shot now they took care of business in the end with that miracle it gets them to a 49% shot at making the playoffs. so not a big difference by winning, but, really, what this means for the raiders is it averted catastrophe. had they lost, had they not pulled it out in the final second,they'd be look at something like a 10% to 15% shot

at making the playoffs instead, they are very much in the mix. it sets the stage for next week. they play the colts. those teams go head-to-head last week sitting right on the line in the afc when it comes to making the playoffs and not making the playoffs huge game there next week. let's take a look here big picture at the afc playoff situation. call up those afc playoff standings, and you can see it, indianapolis and vegas right there on the line. the other thing i think your eye is drawn to is miami, they beat cincinnati today they're sitting there with a 51% shot of making the playoffs. look down here, the ninth spot way out of the playoffs at this point, but baltimore almost the same chance as miami >> he nailed it. i think the country, the entire country is going through kornacki withdrawal after the election great to see him back on here talking football now. all right. still ahead, is there a new queen of christmas >>pl, eang bris.> usbrkiarer bad bunny makes history with his all-spanish album.

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♪ i just want you for my own ♪ more than you could ever know ♪ ♪ make my wish come true ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ what a classic the holiday 100 has returned to billboard's charts and mariah carey's "all i want for christmas" is you sits right at the top yet again. it even went to number one in the uk for the first time ever on their biggest chart show. there have only been four songs ever to take over the top spot

of that 1994 hit, and that hasn't happened since 2014. >> what a weekend she's having you get this milestone and then her special debuted over the week all right. everything's christmas when it comes to mariah carey. tribute to chadwick boseman during the mtv movie and award special. >> the way he lived his life united people behind a higher purpose and that will be his legacy. >> mr. bozeman truly embodied what it meant to be a superhero. his impact is a groundbreaking -- >> posthumously named hero for the ages during the special. mtv said, quote, the award honors a star whose heroism on screen was only surpassed by the true hero they were off screen. and bad bunny is making history. ♪ [ singing in spanish ]

>> his album is the number one album in america this week, marking the first time an all-spanish language album reached number one in the 64-year history of the all-genre chart. all right. still to come, a major recall for a popular carmaker. plus, the largest chicken chain ruffling feathers after foul play from its poultry producer erate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. psoriatic arthritis wasn't going to change who i am. when i learned that my joint pain could mean permanent joint damage, i asked about enbrel. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop permanent joint damage. plus enbrel helps skin get clearer in psoriatic arthritis. ask your doctor about enbrel, so you can get back to your true self. -play ball! enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace

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in today's top stories, automaker kia is recalling 295,000 u.s. vehicles over an engine fire risk the recall covers the 2012 to 2013 sorento forte and forte coupe. optima hind. 2014 to 2015 soul and the 2012 sporj. the company says an engine compartment fire can occur while driving. kia will notify owners starting in january dealers will inspect the edgngis for fuel leaks and replace them in necessary

attorney general william barr is mulling whether to step down before president trump's term ends next month three people familiar with the matter told "the new york times" that barr could announce his departure before the end of the year the report comes a week after the president lashed out over barr's announcement that the justice department found no widespread voter fraud according to "the times," barr has yet to make a final decision. since this outbreak began, we've heard of cases of pandemic price gouging and chick-fil-a just became the biggest plaintiff. the atlanta chicken chain is accusing poultry producers of price fixing to drive up prices. we're talking about billions of dollars in purchases the lawsuit named several poultry power companies, including tyson foods, purdue farms and pilgrim's pride. representatives for tyson and purdue say chick-fil-a's claims are unfounded the. after a baseball season like no other, the mlb and all 30 of

its teams are suing their insurance providers, saying they lost billions of dollars playing during the pandemic. unsold ticket sales, merchandise and concession sales at home stadiums and local and national media losses just a handful of games allowed fans into the ballparks, all of which had a limited capacity. an openly gay high school senior in texas created a change.org petition demanding boys be allowed to wear nail polish saying hi w saying he was suspended for violating the school's dress code the school said in a statement questions with the dress code are reviewed individually. wilkinson said he believes the dress code is discriminatory he said he will stay in suspension, quote, because it's completely wrong the petition currently has over 65,000 signatures. all right. a pair of the world's smallest monkeys were unveiled at the chesty zoo in england.

these twin monkeys born in september and only 2 inches long and weighed 1/3 of an ounce at birth. that's about the size of a ping-pong ball they're so small it will be a while before they can determine the gender they

new week, new records. hospitalizations soar in the u.s. as coronavirus shows few signs of slowing down. california tightening even more. our tracie potts is live in washington where rudy giuliani has been hospitalized with covid. vaccines will begin to be distributed in the u.k. this week our sarah harmon reports from london. is congress one step further to getting a stimulus plan. a big week for the nfl a