it's it's tuesday, december 15th, 2020. this is the "cbs morning news." fighting back. the first health care workers in the u.s. get vaccinated against the coronavirus as a vaccine rolls out across the country. making it official. the electoral college chooses joe biden as the 46th president. his message to the nation and to president trump. no jail time for ghislaine maxwell? lawyers presented a $28 million deal to free her as she awaits trial. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. it's being called the weapon

that will end the war against the coronavirus. u.s. vaccinations against the virus have begun and will continue today across the nation. two health care workers in new york were the first in the country to receive the shots yesterday. they urged others to feel confident about the vaccination. this all happens on a dark day of the pandemic. the u.s. passed more than 300,000 covid deaths and the number of people hospitalized topped 110,000 setting a daily record in the u.s. for the ninth day in a row. so debra alfarone is in washington. debra, you know, what is the latest warning from health care workers, the ones that are getting vaccinated now, they're still warning us. >> absolutely, anne-marie. they're saying when a vaccine becomes available, to go get it. until then, wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands and with the upcoming holidays, don't plan on doing what you normally do. you could save lives.

>> 3, 2, 1, vaccinate! >> reporter: monday was an emotional day for the health care workers who received the first vaccinations against the coronavirus. >> i want to inspire people, especially the patients that look like me and i take care of every day that it's okay to get vaccinated. it's safe. >> the energy in that room as we were all waiting to get the vaccine was the most excited i've seen anybody in so long. >> reporter: nurse sandra lindsey has been battling the pandemic since the virus first hit her hospital in hard-hit queens, new york. >> i hope this marks the beginning to the end of the very painful time in our history. >> reporter: more than 300,000 americans have now died from covid-19, and since much of the general public is not expected to get the vaccine until the spring, those who got vaccinated say public health measures are still a must. >> continue to social distancing, to wear a mask, wash your hands.

2.9 million pfizer vaccines will roll out this week and 20 million by the end of the year. >> you have the option to get the vaccine, do it. do it for your mom, your dad, your grandma, those people who are vulnerable. >> reporter: 96-year-old world war ii vet margaret clessons was the first vaeb to receive the shot. >> she's quite courageous. >> reporter: nursing homes will receive the vaccine next week. >> reporter: nursing homes have lost 110,000 people in the country. that accounts for 40% of the death toll, anne-marie. >> it is a staggering number. debra alfarone in washington. debra, thanks so much. so, over seas a flare-up of the coronavirus in london is forcing tougher restrictions starting tomorrow. under the rules, england's strictest, people are not allowed to socialize indoors, meaning bars and restaurants must shut down.

most outdoor venues must be closed. coronavirus cases in london and nearby areas are rising rapidly, possibly due to a new variant of the virus. president-elect joe biden is urging the country to move forward after the electoral college affirmed his victory. last night he attacked president trump for claiming the election was stolen. he says democracy has been pushed, tested and threatened. as michael george reports, mr. biden hopes a formal victory will help to unify this country. >> reporter: the electoral college has made it official formally choosing joe biden as the nation's next president. the vote took place in statehouses across the country on monday, including in hotly contested states like georgia. >> i am pleased to announce that joseph r biden has received 16 votes for president of the united states. >> reporter: there were no so called faithless electors. the threat caused michigan to

close the capitol to the public. >> we today, the electors, have cast 55 votes, more than any other state, for joe biden as president and 55 votes for kamala harris as vice president. >> reporter: in the end biden received a total of 306 electoral votes. president trump, 232. congress will count the votes on january 6th. after the electoral college, president-elect biden addressed the nation from here in wilmington, delaware. he urged the country to move forward from the election. >> we the people voted. faith in our institutions held. the integrity of our elections remains intact. now it's time to turn the page as we've done throughout our history. >> reporter: advisors to president trump said he would continue to challenge the election results until the inauguration on january 20th. >> we have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result and certify donald trump as the

winner of the election. >> reporter: michael george, cbs news, wilmington, delaware. moments after the electoral college made mr. biden's victory official, president trump announced attorney general william barr resigned. mr. trump said barr will leave his post next week after the pair met yesterday at the white house. barr in recent weeks had fallen out of favor with mr. trump after acknowledging the justice department found no evidence of voter fraud in the presidential election. the president downplayed their differences though tweeting our relationship has been a very good one. and early in-person voting is underway in georgia for georgia's senate runoff races. people were spotted lining up in savann savannah. one woman told us she wasn't going to miss her chance to vote. >> i came out here for the primary and i almost passed out in the heat. >> first time. >> they had to call an ambulance

for me. i still voted. i'm going to vote today. i don't care if it pour down rain, i'm still going to stand in this line and i'm going to vote. >> the january 5th runoffs will determine whether republicans can keep their majority in the senate. lawyers for ghislaine maxwell, jeffrey epstein's former girlfriend, are urging a judge to free her to await trial under a $28.5 million bail proposal. maxwell's attorneys filed a request last week in manhattan federal court. the proposal includes armed guards to keep her safe while she stays in a new york city residen residence. maxwell is scheduled to face charges in july on charges she recruited teenage girls for epstein to abuse in the 1990s. coming up on the "cbs morning news" now, a michigan congressman quits the republican party. we'll tell you why. and in search of a new name. cleveland's baseball team announces plans to drop its

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people in parts of south america were treated to the spectacular site of this year's only total solar eclipse. as we told you yesterday, the total eclipse was only visible over parts of chile and argentina. thousands gathered in argentina to watch the moon briefly block out the sun and plunge into darkness. the next total eclipse will take place in a year. the cleveland indians announced plans for a name change and a lawmaker quits the gop. those are some of the headlines on the morning newstand. the detroit news says mitchell is quitting the republican party. yesterday the two-term representative criticized republican leaders for tolerating unfounded conspiracy

theories. he said he's becoming an independent. last year mitchell announced his plan to retire blaming frustration with political gridlock. a republican businesswoman won election last month to replace mitchell. the albany times union reported new york governor andrew cuomo is warning of another statewide shutdown. if the rate does not improve he will be forced to dloins businesses. >> if we don't change the trajectory we'll go to shutdown and your business will close. that, my friends, is a real problem. worry about that because that is a real worry. >> the statewide positivity rate was more than 5.5% yesterday. cuomo said a shutdown could be done regionally if the number of occupied hospital beds is projected to reach 90% within three weeks. and the cleveland plane

dealer said they will drop the name indians after the 2020 baseball season. after listening to native americans and others the team gained a better understanding of how tribal communities feel about the name indians. the team will remain the indians until a new name is chosen. earlier this year the nfl's washington team stopped using the name redskins. still ahead, a strange day at the beach. a woman searches for her pet dog who got lost in a sea of foam. a woman searches for her dog who got lost in a sea of foam. it may lead to a world of possibilities. entresto is a heart failure medicine prescribed by most cardiologists. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. heart failure can change the structure of your heart so it may not work as well.

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try new white chocolate caramel squares. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. well, a woman raced to find her dog hazel swallowed by a sea

of foam. this wild scene played out on byron bay on the east coast. the woman was heard calling out for her pup as she waded through the foam. hazel emerged and was scooped up and taken to safety. on the "cbs moneywatch" now, an update on covid relief talks and google employees will be working from home a little bit longer. diane king hall. stock prices indicating a little bit higher this morning. wall street ended mixed yesterday following stimulus talks out of washington. the nasdaq gained 62, the s&p 500 slipped 15. regarding the latest coronavirus relief talks, a bipartisan group of relief workers unveiled a $908 billion bill. the legislation is split into two parts and aims to provide

economic health to workers and small businesses. the proposal does not include a round of direct payments to americans. congress has until the end of the week to strike an agreement. you may recall critical pandemic-related programs are set to expire at the end of the year. apple is becoming more transparent when it comes to your personal data. the tech company is now identifying what types of personal information is being displayed in the app stores. apple announces the changes were coming six months ago as part of an effort to help customers understand how apps monitor their habits and whereabouts. a new report reveals google employees will be working from home a lot longer. "the new york times" says the tech giant pushed back the date for employees to return to the office until next september. the paper also reports google ceo is set to test a flexible

work week once conditions are safe for people to return. under the new plan, employees would work three days in the office and the rest of the week at home. anne-marie? >> i think it's really going to be interesting to see how things emerge and change in the business world after the pandemic. >> yeah. >> hopefully some of the things that worked for people we will keep from this troubling era. there may be a silver lining, you know? >> i do. the tech sector has been a leader with regard to this work from home. i see that shifting how they operate in general in the workplace. you had google and amazon extending their work from home until july. at the time it was, whoa, what are they doing? now it makes sense. it's interesting to see if they can continue to do this. >> yeah. we'll see. diane king hall in new york. thanks so much, diane. >> you've got it. so up next, coronavirus artifact. an empty vaccine vile is the

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here's a look at today's forecast in here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. actor and director tyler perry is coming to the aid of

breonna taylor's boyfriend. walker was in taylor's apartment when she was shot and killed by louisville police when they burst in during a botched raid. walker says he fired one shot at the officer with a legally licensed gun because he thought they were intruders. an officer who was shot and wounded is now suing walker. the world's first collection of coronavirus artifacts is getting a new addition. an empty vile that once held the first dose of pfizer's vaccine to be injected into someone outside of a trial is heading to london's science museum. the historic dose was administered last week to 90-year-old margaret keenan in england. the museum is documenting the pandemic's impact and response. top musicians are coming together for a benefit concert tonight airing on cbs. ♪ so, baby, hold onto the thing that you love ♪

>> british musician yola is joining other artists including l.l. cool jay, bruce springstein, machine gun kelly and john legend for play on. it will raise money for the naacp legal defense and education fund and the nonprofit why hunger. kevin bacon helped organize the special. >> we just started saying how can we do this? and the challenge is clearly to get somebody to come out and play, to do it safely, to juggle all of these schedules and logistics was really unbelievably hard. >> the concert airs tonight at 8 p.m. eastern right here on cbs. and coming up on "cbs this morning," anthony mason interviews machine gun kelly ahead of tonight's concert.

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our our top stories this morning. coronavirus vaccinations will continue around the country. two health care workers in new york were the first in the country to receive the shots yesterday. this comes as the u.s. passed more than 300,000 covid deaths and the number of people hospitalized topped 110,000. a new record. and the electoral college officially voted to affirm joe biden's victory in the presidential race. in a speech last night mr. biden attacked president trump for claiming the election was stolen. mr. biden said democracy has been pushed, tested and threatened. today is the ground shipping deadline with most major carriers to guarantee package delivery by christmas.

more packages are being shipped this holiday season than ever before. as elise preston reports, there are still options for last-minute shoppers. shoppers are scurrying to ship holiday gifts at the time. >> i am dropping off christmas gifts for my sister, nephew and soon to be niece. >> there's still enough time. i think it should be fine. >> with increased online shopping, industry analysts say this year about 3 billion packages are being shipped between thanksgiving and christmas. >> i've never seen the demands that is that high exceeding the capacity no matter which carrier you are. >> november 22nd through december 5th fed ex, ups and the u.s. postal service all received high on time performance ratings and all up from the same time period last year, but now it's crunch time. the deadline foreground shipping for major carriers is tuesday, december 15th.

greeting cards have to be mailed by the 18th. from the 19th onward there are pricier options for priority mail and select and express overnight services. >> reporter: some have extended hours and added sundays for people who need all the time they can get. >> reporter: and for the procrastinators, there are still ways to gift in time. >> number one, consider buy online and pick up curbside. number two, don't rule out your local stores. think botiques and even grocery stores. last but not least, consider an egift card or evirtual experience. >> experts say be prepared for possible inventory issues and shipping snags. if your gift is late, remember, it's the thought that counts. elise preston, cbs news, new york. coming up on "cbs this morning," we'll speak with nurse sandra lindsay and eve deroso, the first health care workers to receive a pfizer coronavirus vaccine yesterday.

plus, we'll hear from senator mitt romney about the electoral college vote and president trump's legal problems and anthony mason talks with machine gun kelly who's taking part in the concert play on here on cbs. that's the "cbs morning news" for this tuesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. part in the concert play on here

. live from the cbs barry studios. this is kpix5 news.