electoral showdown a bitter battle is brewing and will come to a constitutional head when the electoral votes for president-elect joe biden are presented to vice president mike pence. >> i hope mike pence comes through for us, i have to tell you. i hope that our great vice president, our great vice president comes through for us he's a great guy of course, if he doesn't come through, i won't like him quite as much. >> a live report on what we can expect is just ahead. today voters in the state of

georgia will determine the power in the u.s. senate under president-elect joe biden. britain blocks extradition of wikileaks founder julian assange. this morning they speak to his fiancee. where is alba be jack ma reports he has not been seen in two months we're going go to the latest on a busy tuesday "early today" starts right now we do say good morning to you. i'm kendis gibson. >> and i'm frances rivera. the day has arrived. on the eve of the georgia senate runoffs both president trump and president-elect biden rallied their supporters in the peach state. >> the radical democrats are trying to capture georgia's senate seats so they can wield unchecked unrestrained absolute

power over every aspect of your life. >> the power -- the power is literally in your hands unlike any time in your career. one state. one state can chart the course not just for the next four years but for the next generation. >> democrats would need to flip both seats to take control of the senate and the latest poll shows that the two races are incredibly tight. let's bring in nbc's priscilla thompson for us who's on the ground in georgia. good morning, priscilla. >> reporter: it's officially election day in georgia where we will soon know who will win in the crucial races in the state most of these candidates were on the trail on monday delivering their final message to voters, and, of course, president trump and president-elect biden both in town rallying supporters one final time ahead of today, and this election day is happening on the backdrop of the audio of that extraordinary call between the president and the secretary

of state here being released where the president essentially asked the secretary of state to find some 11,000 odd votes that would lead to a donald trump victory here, so continuing to relitigate the november election meanwhile many people are looking to turn their attention to these senate races that are going to be decided, and we'll soon know who has won here and what that could mean for the balance of power in washington, d.c. frances? >> all right, priscilla. thank you. the longest election in our lifetime may be over soon. americans have cast their ballots, the results state certified. they've been certified by the states, and the electoral college cemented biden's win tomorrow the final step as congress officially counts the electoral votes. tracie potts joins us with the latest this process is usually drama-free, but not this year. >> hi, kendis.

normally it's pretty routine it usually takes three minutes this time it could take all day, possibly all weekend it could take all day tomorrow with dozens of republicans planning to object but not enough really to change the outcome. and it puts vice president pence in a bit of a tight spot normally presiding over the senate, his role is largely ceremonial, but president trump has different ideas about pence and the role he may play in announcing to the world that president trump lost this presidential race. >> i hope mike pence comes through for us, i have to tell you. i hope that our great vice president, our great vice president comes through for us he's a great guy of course, if he doesn't come through, i won't like him quite as much. >> let me just tell you something. we're going to be inaugurated,

period >> reiterating there's no indication that there are enough republican votes to change the outcome of the electoral college, but it could slow down the process of certifying p. meantime while that's happening inside the capitol, outside there will be protests, the so-called stop the steal march has been planned, the national guard already called out to keep order, to keep the peace while that ceremonial count is happening inside kendis >> yeah. some 350 members of the national guard expected on the streets of d.c. tracie, thank you. for the new year, getting out with a swing one major problem from last year remains, and that's the pandemic covid-19 has now infected 23 million americans and killed over 354,000 people.

as the nation picks up the pace on the vaccine rollout, experts are warning a post-holiday covid surge could be on the way. here's nbc's sarah dallof. >> reporter: on the eve of a holiday season, the country bracing for a surge of new covid cases. >> unfortunately we're going to be seeing a situation of rationing, making the difficult decisions of who gets what care across the country. >> reporter: adding to concerns, a new case of the virus strain detected in the u.s., the latest in new york. just days into january, the situation is dire. icus maxed out, ambulances and cities like l.a. and memphis lining up for up to eight hours to offload patients.

>> there are sinai resources there are so many icu beds, so many ambulances. >> reporter: it comes as some health care works are starting to receive their second doses of the vaccine including queens, new york, nurse sandra lindsey, 21 days after becoming the first american to get the pfizer shot. >> i feel like i've completed the marathon i've closed the loop. >> reporter: mass vaccinations kicking off in other areas including louisville and florida. long lines and eager recipients as the u.s. works to speed up a slower than projected vaccine rollout. sarah dallof, nbc news >> and the masked protests continue to pop up across the country, including some from an l.a. mall. a group wear nothing mask were

spotted walking through a crowded mall and a grocery store which one witness said led to angry confrontations >> wear a mask. >> i don't wear a mask. >> wear a mask. >> i don't wear a mask. >> a violent altercation was captured on camera between a woman and a customer in california 2rks 2,000 are in the hospital and hospitals in california are on the brink. nbc's erin mcglof lilaughlin jo from burbank, a dire situation there. >> reporter: good morning. officials here in l.a. county are bracing for the worst, one top hospital telling me the entire system is on the brink of collapse it's a surge away from that

that event yualeventuality doctors are rationing care, taking the decisions away. it's an eventuality no one wants to see a person becomes infected with covid-19 here in l.a. every six seconds. frances? >> erin, thank you now, to breaking news that we're following from overseas, the british foreign minister announcing a new and extensive national lockdown, this as the uk agains giving people the first shot s of the vaccine developed in london. chapman bell has more from

london they just got done with a tier 4 lockdown and now this increases the situation. >> reporter: that's right, kendis the front pains say it all return to lockdown, and "one last push. this is the third national lockdown here in england it's like the first one in march. there's only a handful of reasons you're meant to leave the house. that's work if you really have to go to your place of work. exercise, medical attention, and also shopping for essentials but the prime minister addressing the nation saying a lot of this is down to this new variant of this new strain that is up to 70% more transmittable and it's really caused havoc on the health services here they're trying to stop hospitals from being overwhelm and schools are once again closed, but unlike the first national lockdown, boris johnson had this to say. >> of course, there's one huge

difference compared to last year we're now rolling out the biggest vaccination program in our history. so far we in the uk have vaccinated more people than in the rest of europe combined. with the arrival today of the uk's own oxford astrazeneca vaccine, the pace of the vaccination has accelerated. >> reporter: the prime minister basically saying the only way out of the lockdown is the vaccine and they're hoping to stay on target with their goals for vaccination, but as we understand it, they'll be on lockdown until the middle of february at the earliest >> chapman bell joining us from the uk you have to think about that transmission of the new variant when it gets here. >> and it's been popping up in several states already, the latest one here in new york state. all right. nbc meteorologist janessa webb is with us and what she's

watching weather-wise. good morning >> good morning. i have good news the east coast is very quiet we're watching a small system across the pacific northwest, but this will just be the beginning. we have a series of storms that will be impacting the area it will be mostly for the higher elevations you can see right now our forecast calling for at least 9 toclouds, they won't split apart from new york city to boston highs in the lower 40s possible north carolina snow we'll talk about that coming up. after the break, can you tell us what tops the list of shows in 2020?

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you expect me to search the galaxy and deliver this creature to erase enemy source. >> this is the way. >> so while baby yoda stole hearts, a dubious honor for the popular disney show "mandalorian." it was named the most pirated series of 20 the uk has blocked efforts to release julian assange to the u.s. to face espionage charges his fiancee speak out about his battle and life in hiding.

>> dragged from seven years in asylum from 2019, his supporters celebrated as a british judge ruled julian assange has suffered enough and could take his life in a u.s. jail. his fiancee determined to fight on. >> i ask you all to shout louder, lobby harder until he is free. >> reporter: speaking to nbc news before the stunning outcome in an exclusive interview. >> it's a frontal attack on our right to know, on holding the governments accountable. >> reporter: he exposed american war secrets including this video of killing civilians in iran the u.s. accuse him of helping chelsea manning who had computers, which they claim put lives at risk, his family telling nbc news he's close to broke snoon what are your worst

feelings >> that he just collapses under the strain. >> while it's very hard for him, he's isolated most of the time lr last year, they say, he hardly saw his children. >> i tell him that he's a hero and that he's special. >> reporter: this morning julian assange could be with his children within days on wednesday his defense will argue for bail while they appeal. still ahead, an international mystery. one of the world's richest men hasn't been seen in months stru? you have a powerful partner. new aveeno® restorative skin therapy. a unique formula with a rich complex of aloe, vitamin b5 and our highest concentration of prebiotic oat. it intensely moisturizes over time to improve skin's resilience. and nothing feels better than that. aveeno® healthy. it's our nature™. try the dermatologist-tested body wash and balm, too!

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slack, the communications platform used by millions had a massive outage on monday morning when most people say is a con extremely difficult time they say they could not send messages, load channels, make calls, or even log in. the service began to restore around 12:12 p.m. let's turn to wall street and the wrbhereabouts of jack m of alibaba steve sedgwick has been looking into this. good morning >> good morning and happy new

year i hope you had an extraordinary 2021 this is the founder of alibaba no one's seen hide nor hair of this gentleman since october he hasn't tweeted since the t10h of october he criticized the regulations of the authority and since then the ipo was abandoned that was a $37 billion deal no one has seen hide nor hair of them there are questions of where jack ma is elsewhere back to home matters, the pandemic is moving south and west americans are looking closer to homes where their families are and jobs are it's significantly up such as moving to south dakota or oregon and arizona as well. it seems the draw of family is proving a lot for americans an proving very natural, i guess, amidst this pandemic back to you both.

>> and square footage, i'm sure. >> what is that? outdoor space? all right. much more ahead including the new netflix series that's becoming a streaming giant. plus jeff bezos takes on climate change with a record donation the mind-boggling amount on "early today." become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream... ...it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable... ...with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, ...otezla is proven.... to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an... increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts.... ...or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss.

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pardon me. >> fasten it come here, old friends. >> this is my sister. >> i would recognize him anywhere. the drama set in terrell 1800s is on page to be one of the biggest hits the series debut ed debuted 8 m. makes it the fifth largest debut. we can tell you firsthand it's so good. it's beautiful

>> it's a sound track and too fo good it's too bad they don't have better bodies. there is a new covid hot spot in the united states according to the website arizona has become the highest it shows arizona has surpassed california with a daily case rate of more than 121 per 100,000 people, california currently tracking an average of about 97 per 100,000 tennessee, south carolina, kansas, all in the top five with the highest rate of new cases. >> georgia is at the center of the political universe today voters will soon head to the polls to have their final say in two extremely important runoff session. if the democrats win both seats, they'll take control of the

senate republicans hope strong voter turnout will help them hold onto power. more than 3 million people have cast their ballots early. the richest person in the world made the largest contribution according to a left of top donations, amazon's founder jeff bezos contributed $10 billion to launch his bezos earth fund which supports non-profits involved in the climate cry sichlts's paid out about $97 million to 16 groups so far. >> more sharing, rock and roller kid rock is lending a helping hand to struggling small businesses kid rock tweeted he plans to donate $100,000 to the barstool fund saying he hopes it will inspire others to give as well the barstool fund was created in december by dave portnoy to help small businesses devastated by the pandemic the fund has raised over $189

million and currently supports 74 businesses including some in the detroit area where kid rock is from. so we've heard all about that ending 20 and starting 2021 sharing as well. >> hey f we win the lotto an

right now at 4:30, in a dire state. icus filling up across california and doctors warning the worst is yet to come. plus -- >> we have not yet received enough vaccine to cover the very first tier of folks who are supposed to receive it. >> the vaccine rollout still far too slow. what many say needs to happen in order for more people to get those covid-19 shots. and help is on the way for struggling restaurants and businesses. the extension being given for those looking to apply for assistance. "today in the bay" starts right w.