six, five, four, three, two, one. [ cheers ] and not a moment too soon. a handful of frontline revelers across the world welcoming 2021 with open arms and putting 2020 in the rearview mirror and looking to brighter days ahead. lines only seem to get longer for the vaccine as

president trump returns to the white house focus on the georgia senate race and furthering his election challenges. 20 was a year of incredible change as racial justice was sparked by george floyd's death and shook the world. a bowl game required the police to separate the teams. and meteorologist janessa webb is tracking some wicked weather that could impact tens of millions on this first day of january, 2021. let's get you started. "early today" begins now glad you're with us. i'm frances rivera, and welcome to 2021. from australia to america, everybody celebrated, or at least they did in part with fireworks and cheer as they rang in the new year. but in many cities the celebrations looked and felt different than in years past. >> five, four, three, two, one [ cheers ] ♪

>> time square played host to a few pods of mostly frontline workers, a far cry from hundreds of thousands who usually gather to watch the ball drop the pandemic reshaped the new year's eve norms, but that wasn't the case everywhere in new zealand, covid cases have been virtually eliminated and large crowds not wearing any masks were able to enjoy the fireworks. now to the first full week in the new year. president trump is back at the white house after cutting short his florida vacation he's preparing for a key date in his last-ditch effort to try to overturn president-elect joe biden's victory. nbc's kelly o'donnell has the latest. >> reporter: skipping the mar-a-lago party to ring in the new year, but president trump's resolution has been all too clear, fighting to overturn joe biden's win with a republican

recruit drawing new fire missouri senator josh hawley. >> 74 million americans have concerns about election integrity. we're supposed to sit down and shut up? somebody has to stand up here. >> reporter: congress has to certified the electoral win by next week, but hawley says he will object to force a vote on each state's electoral tally, turning a ceremonial event into another flashpoint. >> this is my opportunity to stand up and say something. >> reporter: some fellow republicans called the ploy undemocratic ben sasse writes in a blistering post, they're wrong. adults don't point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government. democrats, confident the outcome won't change, find the protest alarming. >> i think it's outrageous more than that, it borders on sedition or treason. >> reporter: senate republican

leader mitch mcconnell has discouraged senators from objecting to the electoral college certification next week but will give senator room to vote their conscience according to sources familiar. this all creates drama, and that drama puts senators who are up for re-election next time at some political risk. frances? >> thank you. our nation has now reported more than 20 million infections, and according to our nbc news tally, half of those cases, over 10 million, were confirmed since november 8th, and there are still questions when the vaccine rollout is going to pick up speed. c kerry sanders is tracking the latest challenge kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frances. there are hopes and problems that we've seen with the rollout that they hope will get resolved now that we've hit 2021.

those in florida exacerbated by the vaccine rollout here those who are eligible for the first round of shots waiting up to eight hours in first come first serve lines. >> i wholly blame our government, that this is not what it should be. >> i've not expected to be sitting here since 3:45 this morning. >> reporter: in florida many are 65 and older officials in ft. myers defending their plan of first come, first served. >> could it be more efficient? you betcha we're the first to admit that. it gets better every day it willbe better next week tha this week. >> reporter: broward health announced anyone 65 or older could get a shot and then the phone lines crashed. there was a traffic jam of people waiting for the vaccine

state officials blame the federal government "operation warp speed" passed the responsibility of administering the vaccine to state and local health departments which are underfunded and for the last five months have been focused getting people tested for the virus. the commissioner in new jersey. >> if we're not able to get through the first phase as fast as possible, we're going to push it down the chain. every day that means lives. >> reporter: and in wisconsin, an employee fired for taking doses out of a refrigerate ir. a democratic member out of florida's cabinet which is mostly republican has called for the national guard to clean up what they call chaotic mess, but the governor here in the state republican, ron desantis says the national guard right now is tasked with strike teams to deal with the testing and the swabbing of people, not the

distribution of the vaccine. and at this point he's not responded to a call to get them on the front lines, giving people injections. frances. >> kerry, thank you. some parts of texas are waking up to a snowy new year's day as a winter storm warning is in effect in the region. the area got more than an inch of snow and the city after san angelo got a hit of sleet and rain they could get up to 2 inches. forecasters say up to 18 inches could accumulate in some parts we're talking texas, janessa, where they're not used to driving and dealing with all of that, especially as the new year kicks off. happy new year, janessa. >> happy new year, frances yeah, this is a rare event we're seeing across texas. 60 degrees yesterday in houston, but 34 in dallas so we have a divide in texas but this storm system is starting to pull out, and it's really the midwest we need to

keep our eye on this afternoon we have an ice storm that is going to form across the ohio valley to the northeast. new york city, d.c., to philadelphia, tonight you'll start to notice the ice accumulation you co today, 41 for philadelph with rain by midafternoon. frances, that weekend forecast, it's coming up. >> all right can't wait to hear, janessa. thank you. for now, we've got your college bowl roundout up colluding a big brawl with the police and an in-depthooat lk the incredible change sparked by george floyd's death that shook the world. [phone rings] "hello, how can i"

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players from tulsa and mississippi state threw punches and kicks after the matchups with coaches unable to control the situation. one play heard to be helped off the field after the scuffle. in other guys virginia took the liberty bowl from army and ball state flew off with the lead from southeaan jose and dit look back after that 34-13. there are four more games. notre dame versus alabama and ohio state versus clemson. when we come back, a special look at the year of black mlive matter protests and where the protests go next spray on hard surfaces to kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria initially, including the virus that causes covid-19.

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57d i thank you for buying me my first car. i van opportunity to tell you now this is your new car. >> oh, my god. >> no, no. i got the tags ready for you. >> dwayne "the rock" johnson gifting kindness to his longtime friend and manager. switching gears now, george floyd, breonna taylor, and

ahmaud aubrey have brought about protests across the country. we take a look back at the year of racial injustice. >> black lives matter. >> reporter: in 2020, america was on fire. from milwaukee to miami, los angeles to louisville, the fires of racial unrest burned furiously, exploding with the police killing of george floyd in minneapolis the cellphone video begins with a man restrained on a minneapolis street. >> later died after a white officer kneeled on his neck, a

man hearing him say, i can't breathe. >> when i watched that officer taking the life of george floyd with his hands in his pockets looking out in that way, it was apparent to me he did not think anything would happen to him. >> reporter: in the seven minutes and 46 seconds that it took for floyd to take his last breath, a movement was born and grew into the largest protest for racial justice, the u.s. and perhaps the world had ever seen. >> george floyd's story has been the story of black folks because ever since 401 years ago the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to being is you kept your knee on our neck. >> reporter: soon after floyd's death on memorial day, cities across the country began debating policy changes and limits to police power

there's a new call for deep structural reform of policing across the country many are now demanding departments be defunded, dismantl dismantled, out outride abolished. the names of other black people killed by police or white vigilantes drew fuel to the fire. >> you can still bullet holes on the front of breonna taylor's apartment. her family told me if anybody else had barged into her apartment and shot and killed her, they would have been charged. >> it's sparking a lot of discussion tonight about officer protocols. >> amplifies for justice, this time in kenosha, less than 24 hours after police shot jacob blake in the back, causing serious injuries. >> reporter: two days later, a white 17-year-old, kyle rittenhouse of illinois shot go

protesters, killing two of them. >> rittenhouse walked by police with his hands up without being arrested. >> they literally let him go home there are two justices in america, and that's why people are protested. >> reporter: he claimed self-defense and later was charged with other offenses such as endangerment and illegal gun possession 2020 reshaped how we saw american policing, our politics, and even ourselves did we ultimately get the kind of policy change that you think can effectuate real movement in terms of racial justice? >> no, we haven't gotten the policy change that's going to be a multipforce multipler yet. >> reporter: two congressmen

both dedicated their lives to justice and both died on july 17th during the height of the protest. >> when we do form a more perfect union, whether it's years from now or decades or even if it takes another two centuries, john lewis will be a founding father of that fuller, fairer, better america. >> reporter: the push for equality kept expanding. it crossed racial and class lines and elevated the voices of women and members of the lgbtq community as americans from all walks of life demanded change. but the movement for black life also spurred account of the action with a wink and a nod from president trump. >> stand back and stand by. >> that exchange immediately picked up by the proud boys, one proud boy organizer basically

saying the president told them go eff them up. >> reporter: you had the 2020 campaign and the virus and killing of black peel expose ed structural racism. >> do you believe it's killing more these th. >> racial inequality and the rise in america were key voting issues. >> the african-american community stood up you always had my back, and i'll have yours. >> black lives matter. >> reporter: hollywood and america's multi-billion-dollar professional sports leagues were forced to confront racism too. >> we, the national football league, admit we were wrong for not listening to nfl players earlier, and encourage all to

speak out and peacefully protest. >> reporter: nascar took down confederate flags. baseball and soccer players stood in solidarity with black players. the women of the wnba helped lead the way nba players forced the cancellation of games to protest the ongoing killings of black people by police, and the league joined them, adding black lives matter to nba hardwood and allowing players to add pro-black justice to their game jerseys. >> i think they felt much more empowered. the whole mask came off in this country. you can't unsee what you've seen. >> reporter: the fires in 2020 burned hot, but the question remains will you still feel the heat in 2021 and beyond. >> and our thanks to trymaine lee for that. we'll have the fect thoraswi janessa webb and a tribute from the frontlines and their new year's wishes.

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l'eggo with eggo as we say good-bye to 2020 and hello to 2021, it seems only fitting to give it to the health care workers on the front line this is their wish for the new year. >> my wish for 2021 is for all of us to be happy and covid-free. >> we've learned so much from 2020 that now we can face 2021 with renewed hope and promise. >> i just know this time next year, we will all be healthier. >> may 2021 be a year of unity,

love, and compassion for everyone in honor of all those who have given so much. >> i look forward to telling my grandkids about the day i got the shot and how things changed and hopefully for the better. >> i'm looking forward to paying back some of the precious time i've missed with my family due to the demands from coronavirus. >> my wish for 2021 is to be able to travel without restrictions. >> to be able to take my kids to the park and for there to be a lot of kids for them to play with. >> to visit friends and family. >> do more fly-fishing and sign less death certificates. >> see my grandma and give her a big hug. >> my children to return back to school. >> my wish is to get married in vegas. >> my wish for 2021 is we can all spend the holidays with our family. >> despite the trauma this year, i've seen how much beauty there

is and the human strength in the lives of others. 2021 is full of a lot of hope, and so am i. >> things will get a little bit brighter i hope everyone stays happy and healthy. stay strong and stay safe. >> never surrender, never quit, continue to fight, to save as many lives and heal as many broken souls as possible. >> let's do it all we can overcome this pandemic and together we will win this batt battle happy 2021. >> we're all hoping for that in the coming year. very basic things, really, that a year ago we wouldn't have asked for, but what a year it's been, and the small things we'll appreciate now, janessa. >> yeah, frances they're the real heroes, selfless souls, and hopefully we're on an upward trend. >> we say thank you to them. remember that mysterious monolith that was discovered in

a can union? another one popped up and a group of snowboarders had some fun with it. they used a bungee cord to perform a few tricks how cool is that picture. from our family to you evrser since you've been hanging out with jack there's something... different about you. ♪ everyone's feeling the late night vibe with my $4 sauced & loaded tots- with cheddar bacon or jalapeño ranch.

babe, are those the tots we ordered? ♪ everyone's feeling the late night vibe with my $4 sauced & loaded tots- with cheddar bacon or jalapeño ranch. times square at the stroke of midnight on new year's eve. a sight, the likes of which we may never see again in our lifetime around the globe, subdued celebrations with an overwhelming, universal optimism for a return to normalcy, ahead. the u.s. passes 20 million positive cases of coronavirus, as americans wait in long lines. plus, dr. fauci speaks out on the slow rollout tens of millions in the path of a big, winter storm, from texas all the way to the east