your star gazing curiosity. and t t's the overnight . it's tuesday, december 22nd, 2020. this is the "cbs morning news." relief deal passed. congress approves a $900 billion package to boost the economy. how soon americans will start receiving their stimulus checks. hack attack. for the first time a u.s. senator is giving details on a massive breech affecting dozens of government agencies. celebrating freedom. a jamaican couple spent more than two years in a philadelphia church. why they're finally stepping out of sanctuary. well, good morning and good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. breaking overnight, after months

of gridlock, congress passed a new coronavirus relief package. both the house and the senate overwhelmingly approved the deal sending it to the president's desk. it will give a majority of americans another round of checks plus businesses hurting from the pandemic will also get help. debra alfarone is in washington. deborah, it was a late night but what other aid does this new package deliver? >> reporter: so many different things, anne-marie, but the number one thing most people are going to be so happy about is a $600 stimulus check and that's going to go to people who make $75,000 a year or less. >> the most to concur is agreed to. >> reporter: congress passed a $900 billion coronavirus relief package last night. >> the ayes are 359, the nays are 53. >> reporter: the bipartisan measure includes $600 direct stimulus payments to many americans and $300 per week in federal unemployment benefits. >> it doesn't go all the way, but it takes us down the path, a

first step. >> none of us think any of this legislation is person, but a big bipartisan majority of us recognize the incredible amount of good it will do when we send it to the president's desk. >> reporter: included in the package is a sweeping $1.4 trillion spending bill that keeps the government funded. >> the numbers are mind boggling. it's hard to conceive of what a billion dollars is, much less a trillion dollars. >> reporter: president trump is expected to sign the legislation. stimulus checks could go out as soon as next week, but many americans say this relief package is not enough. >> so these band aids and these little stopgaps are not acceptable. >> reporter: the price tag of the covid relief bill is half of what congress passed last march. >> not what we got last time but something is better than nothing. >> $600 is the amount of money that rich people think poor people think is a lot of money. >> reporter: democrats will look to deliver more aid when

president-elect joe biden takes office. >> so getting back to that $00 check. that means potentially a family of four could end up getting $2400, anne-marie. >> all right. well, you know, every little bit helps and it's been a long time coming. debra alfarone in washington. thank you so much, deborah. so with growing concern about a new strain of covid sweeping through the u.k., at least 40 countries have now banned or restricted travel from there. the u.s. is not one of them. delta, virgin atlantic and u.s. airways are requiring passengers to test negative. yesterday president-elect joe biden rolled up his sleeve to get the first of two vaccine shots. he's encouraging americans to do the same thing. >> reporter: doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it's available to take the vaccine. there's nothing to worry about. i'm looking toward to the second shot. so is jill.

she's had her shot earlier today. >> more than 600,000 americans have received a covid vaccine since its rollout one week ago. ahead on "cbs this morning," alex azar discusses the new coronavirus strain and the potential impact on the development and distribution of vaccines. president-elect joe biden could name his education secretary this week. there are reports that he will nominate connecticut education commissioner miguel caroda. he strongly supports sending kids back to school saying too many students are falling behind during virtual learning. attorney general william barr broke with president trump again and says he does not plan to appoint a special counsel to investigate hunter biden, the son of president-elect joe biden. yesterday bar says the current assessment is being handled by regular prosecutors. barr's last day on the job is

tomorrow and he disputed mr. trump's false claims of election fraud. major garrett has more on that. >> reporter: sequestered in the white house, president trump received several rebukes from outgoing attorney general william barr, first on the fact that they would investigate voter fraud, something barr found no evidence of. >> if i thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool and it was appropriate, i would do -- i would name one, but i haven't and i'm not going to. >> reporter: the president was considering naming sydney foul that role, a conspiracy theorist so off kilter she was dropped from the trump campaign legal team. powell and the president reportedly discussed seizing voting machines to search for voter fraud. that was knocked down. >> i see no basis for seizing machines by the federal government. >> reporter: meanwhile, the president's re-election campaign is still fighting asking them to

nullify results from pennsylvania, a full week after the electoral college certified him the winner. david becker. >> the merits of it is laughable. >> reporter: what isn't laughable, the president's on section with the election and the dangerous notions how to subvert it. >> for the first time we appear to have an american president who is detached from principles, from reality. this should be very frightening. >> reporter: mr. trump met here monday with a handful of house republicans to see if they would challenge certification of the electoral college on january 6th. senate republican would have to endorse such a maneuver, but even if one did, that would merely delay, not prevent congressional validation of president-elect biden's victory. major garrett, cbs news, the white house. u.s. lawmaker is offering new insight into the massive cyber attack against government agencies. senator ron wyden said hackers

broke into high ranking officials at the treasury department. he called the hack significant and said there's no sign that taxpayer data was stolen. at least 40 government agencies were affected though in the breach. u.s. defense officials blame russia for the attack. obama era program for immigrants facing -- is facing its toughest challenge yet in court today. a federal judge is set to renew the legality of daca. it shields hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to this country illegally from deportation. the hearing is a continuation of a 2018 lawsuit brought by texas and eight other states that aims to end daca. they argue the program violated the constitution by going around congress's authority on immigration laws. coming up on the "cbs morning news," west point is hit by a cheating scandal involving dozens of cadets and celebrating freedom. an undocumented couple walks out

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cadets cheated on an exam. the cadets are accused of cheating on a math exam taken online in may. that's when they were studying remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. a spokesman at the u.s. military academy says 55 cadets admitted cheating on a calculus exam. most of them will be on probation for the rest of their time at west point. the cheating was exposed when instructors noticed irregularities when grading the test. the tallahassee democrat said a former florida department of health employee is suing the state over a search warrant on her home earlier this month. rebeckah jones is seeking in excess of $100,000 claiming that the police search was a sham and violated her constitutional rights. the search came after investigators identified a message sent from a computer at her address to health department employees. jones, who was fired in may,

argues she was retaliated against for not altering florida's covid da in a more favorable light to justify the governor's plans to reopen the state. the philadelphia inquirer reports a jamaican couple emerged from sanctuary after hiding out in a basement of a philadelphia church for 843 days. oneita and clive thompson got information that the federal government agreed to drop the deportation case against them. they came to america 15 years ago fleeing gang violence. oneita says the ordeal was tough. >> some days i wanted to hide deeper in the walls of the church and other days i felt bad and just wanted to kick the walls down, not just physical walls of the church but the walls of injustice, the walls of racism, the walls of lies, the walls of a black woman don't have a voice. >> the couple, who has seven

kids, is now pursuing permanent residency in the u.s. on the "cbs moneywatch" now, tesla has a rocky debut on the s&p and walmart is making online returns easier. naomi ruchim is here in new york with those stories and more. good morning, naomi. >> reporter: anne-marie, good morning to you. stock futures are indicating a lower open even after congress approved a coronavirus stimulus package overnight. it comes after a mixed day on wall street. the dow gained 37 points. the nasdaq slipped 13 points and the s&p 500 dropped 14 points. tesla got off to a slow start on its first official day on the s&p index. shares from the electric car company tumbled more than 6% yesterday. the selloff accelerated at the end of the day after reports of possible competition with apple in the future. tesla is the most valuable company ever admitted to wall street's main benchmark accounting for more than 1% of the index.

just in time for christmas. walmart is making it easier for customers to return items. the retail giant has teemed up with fed ex for the new service, and it's free. walmart will pick up items shipped and sold by walmart.com from customers' homes. you start the process on walmart's website or app and schedule a date for pickup. you also have to print out a label or stop by a fed ex office location. and 2020 may be ending on a good note if you like doritos as much as i do. the company is bringing back 3d crunch starting december 28th instead of the flat triangle you normally see, these doritoss are cone shaped. they'll come in two flavors, spicy ranch and chili cheese nacho. the last time these were on store shelves was about 17 years ago, anne-marie. i remember it well. they're good. not as good as the original. have you tried them?

>> i have not but with an endorsement like that, i think i might have to. >> you have to try it. something new in the chip world. >> first the christmas star, now 3d doritos. such a magical season. >> naomi ruchim in new york. so up next, a sneak peek at the new year. 2021 arrives in times square ahead of the big countdown. this year, we learned anything's possible. even fast delivery on the perfect last minute gift from your walmart store. really fast. really perfect. let's end the year nailing it. ♪ let's end the year nailing it. just between us, you know what's better than mopping? anything! at the end of a long day, it's the last thing i want to do. well i switched to swiffer wet jet and its awesome. it's an all-in-one so it's ready to go when i am. the cleaning solution actually breaks down dirt and grime. and the pad absorbs it deep inside.

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. the supports world is remembering nfl hall-of-famer kevin greene. the former linebacker died yesterday. his cause of death was not released. greene spent 15 years in the league playing with four different teams, including the pittsburgh steelers. he's considered one of the best pass rushers ever with the third most sacks in league history. kevin greene was 58 years old. the "star wars" galaxy is expanding. disney announced the new spinoff series, the book of boba fett. its star is the clone bounty hunter. the show will be set in the same time line as the mandelorean.

they can watch it in december of next year. with the grammy awards right around the corner, iconic music items are going on the auction block next month to benefit charity. you can bid on a jacket that david lee roth wore for a van halen reunion tour. there's also a signed lithograph frombillie eilish and others. it goes online on julien's auctions on january 31st. that is the same day you can watch the awards on cbs. see ya later 2020. the numbers stand 7 feet tall using more than 500 energy efficient bulbs. it will be a virtual celebration this year because of covid, of course, but there will still be live entertainment. >> it will simply be a broadcast

stage for the entire country to see, j. lo, billie porter to gloria gaynor who will sing "i will survive." >> the 2021 numbers will be on display on times square and then they'll be relocated in preparation for next week's countdown. coming up on "cbs this morning," actor george clooney talks about his new movie "the midnight sky." i'm anne-marie green. this is "cbs morning news." this is the "cbs morning news." still fresh

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our top stories this morning. congress approved a new covid relief package overnight ending a months long standoff. it includes a new round of $600 checks for a majority of americans. it also gives aid to businesses and the unemployed and renters struggling to make ends meet. at least 40 countries are banning or restricting travel from the u.k. as a new strain of the coronavirus sweeps through the country. the u.s. is not one of them though, but delta, virgin atlantic and british airways are mandating that passengers test negative if they are flying from the u.k. to new york's jfk airport. with temperatures dropping and covid cases ticking upward, the homeless can be especially

vulnerable. natali brand shows how cities are working to provide relief from the cold while protecting against the virus. >> anybody home? >> reporter: as the coronavirus pandemic enters the cold winter months, the need especially on the streets is taking on new urgency. >> do you have warm blankets? >> teams are providing daily outreach making sure the homeless know about resources available. down the street, central union mission is still without a single covid case nine months later, and they're not taking any chances. >> you have to go into this for about 20 seconds. >> reporter: mission has received donations to pay for a special technology to keep the virus out. >> this uses far uvc light. >> reporter: president and ceo of central mission joseph m mettimano says they have been here since march. >> they've had to be very diligent. >> reporter: darryl craighead is

not complaining, grateful for a safe place to stay. >> i don't take my health for granted the way i used to. >> reporter: craighead said covid has changed his priorities and he wants those on the outside to know help is available. >> come on inside. >> reporter: the mission is making room adding new residents in groups of five after a strict two-week quarantine. cities all around the country are stepping up. officials in st. paul, minnesota, plan to lease an old hospital to shelter around 100 homeless individuals. in oregon, portland's three outdoor emergency shelters are replacing regular tents with heated housing pods. nationwide the need is expected to extend well into next year. >> we don't believe that the full negative impact of covid-19 has hit the economy yet, which means we're going to see more people put out of jobs permanently and probably more people on the street. >> reporter: joseph mettimano worries the worst of the economic pandemic is not over.

natali brand, cbs news, washington. coming up on "cbs this morning," cbs news has exclusively obtained video that's raising questions about a gear shifter blamed for a deadly accident. we'll hear from nba players, coaches and the commissioner about keeping safe from the coronavirus as the season tips off tonight. actor george clooney talks about his new movie "the midnight sky" in a preview with an interview with cbs sunday morning. that's the "cbs morning news" this tuesday. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day.

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