pressure brought to bear an hour-long phone call between president trump and georgia state officials with the president seeking to overturn the state's vote totals. >> there's nothing wrong with saying that, you know, that you've recalculated. >> we'll tell you what else was on that hour-long recording and how you can listen to the entire call. dozens of staffers testing positive at one major hospital plus fears of a post holiday coronavirus surge as lines for the vaccine grow even longer. this morning a british judge is set to rule on whether to

extradite wikileaks founder joseph a advantage. a swimmer in distress. a pro surfer who jumped in. and the nfl playoffs are set. we'll bring you up to speed as we kick off the first week of 2021 "early today" starts right now. >> it has started with a busy week as well i'm kendis gibson. >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera. the white house in unchartered waters after a brazen bid by president trump to overturn the results nbc news obtained the full audio of a saturday phone call where the president spent over an hour pressuring the republican secretary of state in georgia to find votes and reverse his loss. from capitol hill correspondent tracie potts joins us. many ways truly unprecedented. >> reporter: unprecedented and some legal experts say questionable you will hear a portion of this call for yourself that lasted, as you said, about an hour with

president trump, his chief of staff, advisers and the georgia secretary of state and his general counsel with the president putting the pressure on to change those numbers >> the people of georgia are angry. the people of the country are angry and there's nothing wrong with saying that you've recalculated so, look, all i want to do is this i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state they're going around playing you and laughing at you behind your back, brad, whether you know it or not, they're laughing at you. and you've taken a state that's a republican state and you've made it almost impossible for a republican to win because of cheating, because they cheated like nobody's ever cheated before and i don't care how long it takes me, you would be

respected if -- really respected if this thing could be straightened out before the election you have a big election coming up on tuesday. and, therefore, i think that it really is important that you meet tomorrow and work out on these numbers. >> democrats condemning the president for this call and avoiding questions about it. the president tweeted it was the secretary of state who wouldn't answer questions and brad raffensperger responded on twitter that the truth will come out. meantime, here on capitol hill the new congress is getting ready to certify those election results on wednesday but about a dozen republicans are planning to oppose that and they're facing some opposition from within their own party other republicans who say this process needs to play out like former house speaker paul ryan in a new statement he's saying that it's antidemocratic and anticonservative to try to change these election results.

he says that his colleagues, his republican colleagues need to think about the precedent that would set. >> consequential days ahead of us this week tracie, thank you. >> so much happening in georgia this week. tomorrow is election day and more than 3 million votes have already been cast in those historic runoffs democrats are hoping to win both of the seats in order to take control of the senate, but polls right now show that both races are incredibly tight republicans are banking on strong election day turnout tomorrow morning president trump and president-elect biden will each be in georgia today holding competing campaign rallies. let's turn to the latest in the coronavirus pandemic the united states is quickly approaching 21 million confirmed cases and more than 352,000 lives have been lost to the virus. the concern now is that there those numbers could grow much higher after all of the holiday travel this season let's go to nbc's meagan fitzgerald outside of lax in

california good morning >> reporter: frances, good morning. top health officials say there will be a second holiday surge the question is how much will it impact hospitals that are already in crisis. airports packed with people heading home from holiday travel from large crowds in la to long lines in new york as some travelers decided to get tested. scenes the nation's top health officials say will trigger another surge but americans willing to roll the dice with nearly 1.2 million people hitting the skies on saturday. doctors say the christmas surge could be a week away. >> the chances of you coming into contact with someone is just so much higher, no matter what you're doing. >> reporter: now more than 350,000 americans have died from the virus. in california there are now more than 4500 patients in the icu. that's double from the past month. as the hospital in northern california is battling a major outbreak of its own. officials saying 43 staff

members tested positive for coronavirus in the last week. >> the front lines i can tell you that this thing is completely out of control. >> reporter: the state now confirming two new cases of the highly contagious variant first discovered in the united kingdom. the strain was detected in two people in the popular ski town of big bear. one came in contact with a traveller from the u.k. >> the stream of patients doesn't stop there doesn't appear to be an end in sight. >> reporter: in los angeles county nearly half of the covid cases were reported in the month of december alone. while much needed medical supplies are running dangerously low. the army corps of engineers has been called in >> we're trying to assess how we can reduce the strain on that facilities and their mechanical spaces and o2 oxygen distribution as well. >> reporter: so overwhelmed that many doctors say they are days

away from rationing care. >> we shall extremely worried we will not have enough capacity to take care of sick patients in los angeles. >> reporter: the nationwide surge also hitting the nfl again. possible covid exposure forcing the new orleans saints to shuffle players. playing is proving to be a gamble as teams push towards the playoffs at the height of a pandemic some airports across the country, like here at lax, offer rapid testing. it will have an impact, but they can only accommodate 1,000 tests a day and that's just a small fraction of the people that pass through the airport daily. frances? >> meagan, thank you from testing to the vaccine and administration officials are defending the vaccine rollout. despite falling behind on operation warp speed's initiative of 20 million vaccinations by the end of 2020, there are some states like florida expanding their program to help try to cut down on those long lines and frustrated

patients here's nbc's sam brock >> reporter: in florida a sea of cars stuck in stand still. many of the passengers seniors eyeing their first chance to get vaccinated. >> it will all be worth it if we get our shots and close the door have a lot of unhappy people if they don't get their shots. >> reporter: the gates close at 4. the state has not yet confirmed that hundreds waiting in broward county the line stretching around corners and underneath bridges. >> you're okay waiting in hours long lines to get the vaccine. >> what else are we going to do? it's covid we're sitting home not doing too much. >> reporter: booking appointments is not a requirement. not everyone was successful. >> we live in another area and the website is down. now in broward it's not. >> reporter: the vaccine site coming on and offline all day. those in line say the stakes couldn't be higher.

>> reporter: what would getting a vaccine today mean to you? >> oh, everything. i'm compromised and if i ever get the covid, i'll probably die. >> reporter: the cdc updated the vaccination picture sunday the agency now reports more than 4 million people have received shots, still well below projections. dr. anthony fauci remains encouraged. >> the goal of vaccinating 100 million people in the first 100 days is a realistic goal we can do 1 million people per day. >> dr. fauci said in the first three days of the new year, 1.5 million people have been vaccinated or about half a million a day. houston just opening the first clinic saturday. >> i'm a cancer patient myself and i've been truly blessed to get it. >> reporter: the city's mayor announcing 1,000 people getting vaccinated that day. >> we love to see a megasite set up in fact, we need to do even more in order to really speed this process along.

>> reporter: as rates continue to mushroom from texas to tennessee and of course florida where one in five residents 65 or older. >> high risk. >> i haven't seen my kids in almost -- over a year actually and, yeah, it's pretty important. >> reporter: this public site will do 500 first dose vaccines and 500 second dose vaccines a day. if this weekend was any indication, there are some rough patches to smooth out first. in coconut creek, sam brock, back to you. >> a good sign so many people want the vaccine thanks. this morning a british judge is expected to rule whether to extradite julian assange to the united states to face federal charges of violating the espionage act. nbc's matt bradley joins us from paris with those details good morning >> hey, good morning, frances.

this judge is going to be ruling again, as i mentioned, not on whether or not julian assange is guilty of 17 counts of violating the espionage act but whether or not he should face trial in the u.s. important difference means basically if she decides to extradite julian assange to the u.s., he would face trial there. he does not face any charges in brittain or anywhere else outside of the united states but he could face 175 years in prison if found guilty in the u.s. now for those who are watching the case, for those who are involved, this is no less important than national security versus freedom of the press and julian assange's own health is at stake he's apparently suffering from major psychological trauma and many people are worried that he could take his own life. now stella morris, who's his several years long partner and fiance and the mother of his two children, wrote in the daily mail on sunday and said it would

rewrite the rules of what it is permissible to publish here. overnight it would chill free and open debate about abuses by our own government and many foreign ones too those supporting assange saying he's simply defending freedom of speech what he published exposed crimes by the u.s. and it's important he be allowed to do that the united states an those who are pressing against mr. assange, they say julian assange revealed the names of intelligence officials and other operatives in dangerous places and, therefore, he should be found guilty in the you states guys >> thank you, matt riley, for that update. let's get an early check on your weather with nbc meteorologist janessa webb good morning >> hey, good morning, you two. good morning, everyone we are seeing the storm system across the northeast finally pushing off shore. it was kind of a dicey sunday but lingering snow showers currently for northern new

england. i think the bigger weather story is going to be for the northwest all the way into california where we have a big-time weather maker coming out of the gulf of alaska coastal areas could see at least two to three inches of rain through your tuesday afternoon and then we watch the rockies to boise to yellowstone they could see up to four to five to green bay below the freezing marks. a high of 31. warm january air is moving back in. i'll show you when coming up. >> let's take that thank you, janessa. parents, this is for you a major recall from target that's next. and making a splash. ome jaw dropping career high fr warriors superstar steph curry.

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we have two consumer alerts to tell you about, both from target the retailer is recalling a combined 480,000 units of infant rompers. the company says it's received over 40 reports of the snaps on the rompers or swimsuits breaking or detaching which can pose choking or laceration hazards. pope francis has condemned people who traveled abroad during the pandemic to avoid covid-19 lockdowns in his weekly sunday address the pope stated those people are good people but didn't think think of those who stayed home to the economic problems of many people who have been knocked down by the pandemic to those who are ill? pope francis said they thought only to go on vacation to have fun. warriors steph curry had a

historic night on the hard wood. he scored 62 points. it is the first time this season a player has scored over 50 in this game. that's a fete curry reached six times in his career before this game this outing breaks the splash brothers previous career high of 54. much more ahead including the amazing worker a surfer saves a swimmer from bngei swept away. the nfl playoff picture is set. we have your sunday highlights that's next. ret you're unstoppa. no sweat. try it and love it or get your money back. secret. ♪ all strength, no sweat for people with heart failure taking entresto, it may lead to a world 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.

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to the end zone. reaching up and making the grab with a touchdown logan thomas. >> washington football team just needed a win in philadelphia to punch their ticket to the postseason the eagles try to play spoiler early, but the team turned to backup qb nate sudfeld in the fourth that's a decision coach pedersen said was his alone washington didn't look back and they got the 20-14 win. and on a wild final week to the nfl season the nfc east is set. washington's win clinched them the division despite going 7-9 they are the fifth team in nfl history to make the playoffs with a losing record. >> the nfc lease it is. the afc, dirk henry had a monster game for the titans battling for their lives in houston. henry ran for 250 yards on the day becoming the eighth running back ever, by the way, to run

for 2,000 yards in the single season they kept themselves in the game but this field goal right here, missed it by just a little bit the titans would win 41-38. and in cleveland the browns fended off a late steelers comeback to secure the team's first trip to the playoffs since 2002 they take care of business and beat pittsburgh 24-22. miami's loss and the colts win puts indy in as the final wild car team in the afc. tom brady and the bucs visiting the washington football team and the browns/steelers rematch this weekend. we have a preview. >> and the daring rescue caught on camera. the pro surfer who dove in to save a woman from being pulled out to sea what happened next try cascade platinum plus the power of oxi.

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in just 16 days president-elect joe biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the united states, and due to the coronavirus pandemic organizers have switched things up a bit planners of the event have announced that after mr. biden takes the oath of office he and the incoming first lady jill biden will get a presidential escort to the white house following the ceremony the escort will include representatives of every branch of the military. a virtual parade will be televised and will feature various performances the inauguration is set for january 20th. >> just to show you that

president trump isn't still hanging out. a professional surfer is being called a hero for quick thinking helping to save a woman from being pulled out to sea off the hawaiian island of oahu. it was caught on camera. anne thompson has the story. >> reporter: seeing a water rescue mikey wright picks up his camera. >> this is going to turn bad i had a beer in hand i said to my wife, take this. >> he can't save you. >> want to make a bet? 24-year-old is a pro surfer, he jumps the fence and makes an all-out sprint to the struggling person, a woman jumping into the hawaiian surf. >> i met her on the other side of the raft. i do i have straight in. went straight for her. >> the waves as high as 15 feet in the rough winter conditions

on the north side of oahu. >> pretty much as soon as i got her in my arms i just told her, i said, hey, you're going to be okay >> reporter: the ferocious surf had other ideas. wright's sister helping for sure. >> if it wasn't for my sister i wouldn't have known to grab her, throw myself into the wave. >> reporter: finally wright with help brings the grateful woman to the beach and meets her son. >> she was hugging me so close saying thank you i thought she was gone and he was in tears. >> wright now adding hero to his resume, nean thompson, cbs news. >> new perspective for 2021. on new year's day two base jumpers caused a scene at the grand hyatt hotel. that's after they leapt from the

hotel rooftop bar. they parachuted 25 flights down. they were guests from the hotel and banned from the premises so far though no arrests have been made. >> that will do it for us. thank for starting your week off with us.

right now at 4:30, a deadly covid outbreak at the kaiser hospital in san jose. now the focus is turning to patients as questions arise about how the virus spreads so quickly. plus, the number of infected nationwide continues to grow out of control. doctors say we haven't even hit the post holiday surge. some california hospitals can count the number of available beds on one hand. plus, a live look outside in san jose and san francisco. nbc bay area storm ranger tracking the rain moving through as "today in the bay," your monday morning, starts right now.