. breaking overnight, 41-year-old congressman-elect has died from covid complications days from being swarn in we've got reaction and the latest details. president trp says the vaccination efforts are falling behind, this as many americans may wake up to find $600 in their bank accounts. the boeing 737 max is back off the ground following two deadly crashes. a man tasered by a park

ranger speaks out on camera. a major storm barreling down on millions of us. plus a look back at the heroes and some of those we lost during the pandemic. "early today" starts right now good morning i'm phillip mena. >> i'm paul gehrke thanks for joining us. a republican congressman who wasset to take office next month has lost his battle with covid-19 according to his spokesman, the congressman-elect from louisiana has died on december 18th he announced in a tweet he had tested positive for the virus. in a facebook post his rep said he was placed in intensive care on the 22nd. john bel edwards expressed his condolences as well as josh

edwards and nancy pelosi the louisiana governor has ordered the flags to be swosh half-staff he's survived by his wife and two young children. so far more than 11 million doses have been delivered but ohm about 2 million people have gotten vaccinated. mr. biden is expecting to have 100 million vaccinated by the time of his first day in office. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell shot down a democratic bid to increase payments to $2,000 nbc's chris pollone joins us now from our nation's capitol. good morning mcconnell has teed up a new way to pass $2,000 but with strings atta attached, right? >> that's right. he says, oh, you want a vote to

increase stimulus payment? then you're going to vote on a couple of the president's other legislative priorities he's introduced a repeal of section 230. that's the law that protects internet sites and says websites cannot be held responsible for posts they place on them president trump has said the sooilts are unfair mcconnell also calls for a voter fraud commission president trump has insisted that it's caused him to lose several swing states it's unlikely the democrats would allow on this. they would ultimately keep the payment at $600. the good news is the treasury saelkt has said the $600

payments have already start. direct deposits were supposed to start last night and paper checks would go in the mail so that people would have them by the end of the week. if congress somehow passes the stimulus money, the treasury secretary said people who get $600 initially will get a second payment to make up the difference >> that is good news. as the vaccine rollout continues, the uk has gotten another shot of hope the vaccine by astrazeneca is about to roll out and is cheaper to make and'sier to store. military and civilian health care workers as well as the command team have received their first doses. back here at home the number of infections has soared past 19.5 million and nearly 340,000 lives have been lost to the virus.

>> the epicenter is in los angeles county stay-at-home orders have been extended where icus have reason out of beds. they're, of course, hard on local businesses nbc's jake ward has been speaking with some restaurant owners there jake, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, paul. the ppp portion of the new relief bill is, restaurant owners tell us, not suited to their industry the improvisation of trying to keep it going especially when it comes to dining makes it just too complicated for a one size fitz all solutions this is an iconic spot that's been here since the civil war. in the last year it's not been able to go forward even though it survived two world wars and an earthquake and

1918 pandemic, it couldn't make it across this you have 15.5 million persons working in the restaurant strichlt a 4% gdp -- that's about how much it accounts for -- and yet over 110,000 restaurants have already closed during the pandemic. and nearly half of the owners say they're not coming back to the industry standing here in front of an iconic piece of history like this it makes you realize how much we stand to lose from this pandemic paul >> that's exactly right, jake. thank you. now to an update on a highly h publicized police-involved killing. six years after tamir rice was shot, there will not be charges brought against the officers at the scene. the state department says it does not support the officer's actions but it there was not enough evidence.

they say the video of the shooting was too poor of quality to confirm what happened the mere was playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center when he was shot. nearly two years after it was involved in two deadly crashes, the boeing max 737 returned to the sky. how did the passengers feel? sam brock was there. sam, good morning. >> reporter: paul, good morning. it's exactly how airline executives would like it after two horrific crashes they're trying to restore confidence in and reputation of the aircraft. >> you're fleeiying on a boeing7 max. >> reporter: applause. as the first domestic departure roared off the runway. >> we've been engaged with faa, with boeing, with everyone associated with the aircraft to

ensure that safety is held at the highest level. >> reporter: groundedfor nearl two years after catastrophic crashes in ethiopia and indonesia leading to 346 deaths, the 737 max returns domestic skies with major overhauls new flight control software and sensors and intensive pilot training many passengers encouraged by what they saw. others learned of flight from the pilot's p.a. announcement. >> i googled and then i panicked after the fact i would fly on it again. >> reporter: on this plane it's going feel like the 737 maxes you've been on, but american airlines has put in 764,000 hours just to get to this point. united and southwest plan to relaunch the max early next year too. families who lost loved ones are

questioning it it's inconceivable to me that this airplane would be allowed to fly again without a thorough outside review by a panel of experts. >> reporter: a sense of trust. the aftermath of devastation the 737 max had actually flown already in brazil and mexico a few weeks before the united states as for american airlines, they'd conducted over 18,000 flights before its grounding in 2019 >> sam, thank you very much for that update. i know some passengers are uneasy about it, but at least they have a right to change their flights. >> they let them know at several points in the process. all right. we have some nasty weather moving across the country. duo winter storms across the country affecting millions

meteorologist janessa webb tracking all of that for us. janessa, good morning. >> good morning, guys. good morning, everyone this is a tricky system combined with another keeping us busy for the rest of the week chicago is the bull's-eye zone right now. you never like to see pink on our radar. that means freezing rain on top of the 3 inches of snow the metro area has already seen. some warmer air is coming in and behind the snow is going to be widespread rain, making for very sloppy conditions this morning. now, winter weather alerts continue to expand across the great lakes, finally expiring for iowa now winter storm watches are in place across texas could spark up a few system

thunderstorms and bitter cold across the upper midwest and finally sunshine today tricky system here we'll have more impacts coming up. >> all right, janessa. thanks. coming up, an adorable wish for a happy member from the newest member of the royal family. a park oicffer repeatedly tases a man, and it's all caught on camera. andrew: we had to stay in the hospital for 10 weeks, 1000s of miles from family. our driver kristin came along in our most desperate hour. suzanne: bringing us home-cooked meals and gifts. andrew: day after day. we wanted to show you something. kristin: oh my god! andrew: kristin is the most uncommonly kind person that we've met. suzanne: thank you so much. vicks vapopatch. easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her,

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>> reporter: what happened before and immediately after the recording is unclear but the park ranger repeatedly tased a man. the man said he was out on a hike to pray at the ancient petrogly petroglyphs. >> i go there regularly to burn my sage. he said he briefly left the group to avoid social distancing after refusing to comply with the officer several times he was eventually hanscuffed and said he was issued three citations for interfering with agency function, giving false information, being off trail he said he's been practicing this practice for years.

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the cheez-it bowl gave college football fans a gouda time -- got it fans cheered on miami and okay state. mike gundy got it. hopefully the team will brie back next year. >> the unsung hero of that particular stoirk speak of which, 2020 was sort of for the unsung hero, all the essential workers, grocers, teachers you kept our country moving during the most dangerous moments. here's nbc's jay grey. >> reporter: empty cities, jobs and lives put on hold, haunting

images from the start of the pandemic with a number of lockdowns growing across the country as the deadly virus spreads. for more than a quarter of a million families, the heartache will never go away. >> i don't know what else to say. i lost the love of my life i'll never get over it i'm never going to get past it. >> reporter: covid-19 claiming more lives than any modern war an unseen enemy targeting many moms and dads, sons and daughters, many forced to die alone, families pushed apart at a time when they're desperate to be together in a nation desperate for any sign of hope the first signals were sirens, a promise that help was on the way. >> it's taking a huge toll, but

we're getting through, and we will still be here we'll still be coming back. >> it's been hard. it's been overwhelming it's been scary. >> reporter: medical teams fighting together putting their lives and families at risk. >> those are my brothers and sisters. all of them we're all together trying to work toward one goal. >> reporter: saving hundreds of thousands of lives communities reaching out any way they can to say thank you. >> i think it's just a way that everybody can get involved and do something and show some solidarity right now there's hope and something we can all do. >> reporter: delivering food to frontline workers or place to sleep for medics, fearful of taking the virus home. >> thank you for allowing me to be with my family. >> i cannot express how much it

means to my family and myself. >> well, i don't consider myself a hero. >> reporter: but those who work in groceries, markets, along with so many other essential frontline workers are heroes. >> we take it down to our hearts they need us to be here and get the job done and we're very proud of it. >> reporter: when the country called, when it kicked off, we as drive irs were absolutely there. >> it absolutely is a special mission knowing we're making a contribution to keeping our country running. >> i'd rather save lives than sit at home. >> reporter: selfless fighters who refuse to give in or give up. >> i'm not giving up because we want the best for our students. >> this is what america is all about. when things go down, push comes to shofl, we all rally around to thinks going on. >> reporter: we rally around our heros. y aynbnejagr, c ws

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welcome back as we say good riddance to 2020, people are hoping next year will be better than the last. some say luck might actually be bolstered by certain foods or carrying out rituals nbc's dan schenamen has more. >> reporter: to say this past year was full of challenges is putting it mildly. there's no wonder people are ready for a new year this chef say s food is the way to good luck >> collard greens are put in a

bunch on your front door to ward after spirits. >> reporter: some have a splashing good time. >> in denmark it's tradition to go to your naib's home, take an old plate and smash it at their doorway, and the more shards you get, the more luck you have in the coming year. >> reporter: soba noodles are the food of choice. >> it's tradition to slurp those noodles and to make sure you do not break off the noodle because that adds to your good fortunes. >> reporter: spaniards prefer grapes, popping one at each stroke of midnight. >> be careful not to get one that's bitter. >> reporter: one includes a peppermint pig for prosperity. >> the member of the household takes the peppermint pig, puts it in a beautiful velvet bag with a hammer and passes it around and each takes a hammer

at it. >> reporter: while you may not want to clean on new years, it may help. >> in mexico, they sweep with the broom every corner of the room in the house to get rid of all of the bad energy. >> reporter: whatever tradition or traditions you may choose, the new year is almost here. dan schenamen, nbc news. >> some cultures, they just get blind drunk. >> i was just going to have a glass of champagne. >> forget blackout and look ahead to the new year. for the first time we're hearing from the newest member of the british royal family. >> after me, really? >> happy. >> happy. >> new. >> new. >> year. >> year. >> yay. >> if you don't recognize that voice it's because you've never heard it before. >> who is that >> that's 19-month-old archie saying happy new year. prince harry and meghan markle's

first podcast. they thanked health care and frontline workers as well as others who made sacrifices during a very challenging year. >> that was a very impressive archie impreion. >> happy newss y

who knows what will happen in the next couple of months. it's really frustrating. right now at 4:30 help is on the way. the temporary relief set to roll out for restaurants and small businesses across the state who are struggling to stay afloat. in crisis mode. a look inside southern california hospitals that are already dealing with an overflow of covid-19 patients. the solution doctors are trying to find in meeting that demand. clear skies for now. vianey arana is