for now, nbc's carol lee in washington and ali vitaly at rehoboth beach, delaware. thank you both. >>> the pandemic continues to infect members of president trump's inner circle. most recently another lawyer for his campaign. according to "the new york times," that makes at least 45 people closely connected to the white house who have tested positive. meanwhile, 13 states still do not have a statewide mask mandate. each is run by a republican governor. so even though the election is over, the politics of this pandemic may be around for some time. one "washington post" reporter who endured covid-19 wrote about her experience. jackie alamani noted the differences in what some of her gop sources were saying publicly and what they told her privately. jackie writes the "washington post's" "power up" newsletter and joins us now. also dr. vin gupta, assistant professor at the institute for health metrics and evaluation. he is also an msnbc medical contributor. good to see you boeith. jackie, you wrote in percent that one hill -- one hill staffer encouraged you to share you

cnn's arlette saenz live at rehoboth beach where the president has a vacation home. we've heard from the president-elect. he's moving full speed ahead with the transition. eagles now named his chief of staff, a huge move forward. tell us more about why he chose ron klain? >> well, brooke, president-elect joe biden is making it clear he is pushing forward with his transition plans even as the trump administration has tried to prevent roadblocks. he's doing so making first decision naming chief of staff and longtime adviser named ron klain. they have an incredibly long history today as klain worked with him in the senate years ago and served as chief of staff when biden was vice president. klain also led the obama's administration response to the ebola crisis, which could make him critical in a moment like this when the country is still battling coronavirus. biden has made it clear that one of his top prirlgts priority. his appointment welcomed across the party. senator warren, represent alexandria ocasio-cortez both praising klain in recent days as this west wing lead

ali vitali is covering the biden transition from rehoboth beach, delaware. it's as if we're spending thanksgiving together, but not really. carol, i'll start with you on this one. so let's talk about pardon here. overnight the president announcing flynn's pardon in a tweet. what is the white house saying about this at this very moment and the decision that he came to here? >> this is a decision that has long been in the works, yasmin. this is something the president has talked about publicly, mused about. there was a brief time where it looked like the president was going to allow the court system to run its course. michael flynn had been awaiting sentencing and the justice department came in and asked the judge to dismiss the case. that was still pending. but with the president losing re-election, they were running out of time. we saw the president step in yesterday and make this move. as you said, we're expecting more of this, more pardons from the president of potentially some of his allies, potentially some people who have been in his orbit for some time

nbc's ali vitali, our political reporter, at one of rehoboth's famed outlet malls early this morning.nk you, ali. good to see you. >>> let's turn now to communications strategist ashley pratte and political analyst rashad richey. good morning to both of you. ashley, we'll start with you. you're also a board member with republican women for progress, and you write that president trump's efforts to delegitimize and call into question the integrity of the voting process, probably the most dangerous threats to democracy we've seen by the president to date. so, what do you say to republican leaders who haven't spoken up? >> i say over the last four years, i have yet to see them exert common sense or a spine. they have basically cowtailed to trump this entire time and made sure that they remade the party in his likeness and image. the best thing they can do moving forward is dissociate from trump and this administration and rebuild the party. as a board member for republican women for progress, we endorsed clinton in 2016, so none of us ever voted for trump, and endorsed biden in 2020, know

plastics, bio gas to rehoboth shoes are by reeds are an example of a plant that can be harvested sustainably without damaging the gulf war. there are already many ideas about what can be cultivated in bugs in hand. housing, in western germany, knowledge, areas of mosques are being cultivated for the 1st time on the regretted blog. after all, most is that the natural vegetation on people oaks can they be grown and harvested like any other fields crop. the search for the best most is for agricultural cultivation is underway on the edge of the trial area. and here, paga and her team grow muscles from all over the world here they aim to find the ones that grow as well and just quickly as possible in this way. they also absorb c o 2 and turn the bugs into sinks with greenhouse gases. however, it will take more for most is to become a profitable product. so how long is a direct payments to support and subsidies for farmers are not yet established. it's almost everyone why dear. but we can show here on the demonstration farm and this is actually feasible, was much as well as what we can harvest int

mike.ig >> mike: kevin corke rehoboth beach, kevin thanks a lot. the incoming administration who will leave the justice department? david is here tonight with possible contenders for attorney general, good evening, david. >> mike president-elect joe biden yet to name the nation's next top law enforcement officer that he wants to run his department of justice. the complete opposite of the current one. >> i will not do it what this president doesn't use the akstice department as my vehicle to insist that something happened. >> to make those changes fox news has learned president-elect biden has a long list and considering names from california attorney general and acting attorney general sally yates to former supreme court nominee marek garland though fox news has learned some of the names gaining the most attention is normal homeland security advisor to monaco and yates, yates who once served as attorney general for the first ten days of the trumpr administration was fired for refusing to enforce the president's travel ban on muslim majority countri

nbc's geoff bennett is near biden's home in rehoboth beach, delaware, on the boardwalk there. hey, kristen, good morning. joe biden is spending the day here in rehoboth beach, his first break since becoming president-elect. look, he's adding another win on his way to the white house with nbc news projecting biden the apparent winner in the state of georgia. a state a democrat has not carried in the presidential election since 1992. now, as you mentioned, the work of the biden transition barrels forward, and they are increasingly finding ways to work around the unprecedented obstruction put forward by the trump administration. the trump white house blocking the biden team from accessing critical covid data and contacts. now, last hour dr. celine gounder, a member of the biden transition team, spoke about that. here's what she said to say. >> this is really like we're at war with the virus. if we were in the middle of a world war at this point, i cannot imagine that the current president would not be passing over, handing over the reins and providing what is really security inte

go to alli vitaly joining us from rehoboth beach with a welcome to you. quite a holiday weekend on the outside but still a lot going on inside the biden camp. >> reporter: quite a holiday weekend here in rehoboth beach, rhode island. joe biden spent a smaller thanksgiving than usual here at his beach home, but you're right. monday is a pretty significant day for this transition, because after spending the first few weeks in limbo because of the lack of ascertainment from the general services administration, the letter sent and this transition barreling forward full steam. monday joe biden and his vice president kamala harris will receive their first briefing as republicans on the hill say those are things biden and harris were getting even though they couldn't bring themselves to call them president and vice president-elect at that point. really what this does is prepares them for any eventuality going forward. information they can act on right now and pretty much the foundational reason why you have a transition in the first place. that everyone coming i

. >> it's been a relatively quiet weekend here in rehoboth beach, delaware, where president-elect joe biden has been spending his thanksgiving weekend. but the biden-transition team did announce some additional members who are going to be serving on its covid-19 advisory board. one of the new names is jill jim. she is a member of the navajo nation and also serves as director the of navajo nation health. and this is a community that has been especially hit hard by the covid-19 pandemic. you look at the numbers. some 6 -- 8,000, rather. 600 cases for every 100,000 people, in that community. and this is a community that has had to go on lockdown, through around december 6th. now, i will, also, note that we do expect a pretty busy week coming ahead for the biden transition team. on monday, for example, we expect biden to receive his first, presidential daily briefing since he became president-elect. these are classified briefings that have been on hold until the gsa could actually formally ascertain that he had won the election. we, also, expect biden to announce some members of his econo

. >> reporter: alex, a blustering day here on rehoboth beach, here because joe biden is taking the next few days down. no public events. we saw him go for a bike ride with his wife jill biden. makes sense. it's a beautiful day here. speaks to the fact the transition is doing a lot of its work behind the scenes trying to figure on the staffing front what announcement they might make next. we don't think we'll hear about cabinet picks until after thanksgiving, later into november and december even, but on a staffing front, there are conversations happening about filling out what the west wing and the other key role there's might look like. we know that last week biden announced ron klain chief of staff. it's a choice that makes sense. someone who's been around the former vice president. now president-elect, for many years. also got experience in dealing with pandemics and public health crises. he was the ebola czar under the obama administration, for example. sort of speaks, alex, to the way this biden administration in waiting is thinking about and prioritizing handling the coronavirus p

this year that's not the case, he's here in rehoboth beach, delaware, his wife, dr. jill biden with their daughter and son-in-law, not the biggest biden thanksgiving. but he mentions this is what we have to do right now. the point of the individual responsibility we're all taking in not spreading this virus. he also offered another message. listen to what he said. >> this year we're going to be staying in delaware with just a small group around our dinner table. i know this isn't the way many of us hoped we would spend our holiday. we know that a small act of staying home is a gift to our fellow americans. yes, it's a personal sacrifice that each of our families can make and should make to save somebody else's life. >> and we know over the course of the last few weeks of this transition, we have seen biden and key advisers focus on combating the coronavirus. i'm sure that's going to continue next week. but we are also expecting after the thanksgiving holiday more cabinet picks to be announced as well as biden to receive his first presidential daily briefing on monday

it happened saturday while he was spending the holiday weekend at his rehoboth beach home. they said he is getting examined by an orth pedis out of an abundance of caution. >> yuccas: the president-elect is also kicking off the week with more announcements, what do we know? >> well, the president-elect just announced his new white house communications team, it is all female lead by kate bettingfield. she was previously communications director for the campaign but will now become white house communications director. jen socci formally a spoadges person in the obama administration and held other senior roles mpg the president-elect plans to roll out his economic team this week and starting tomorrow, he and the vice president-elect will receive their first presidential daily briefing. jamie in. >> yuccas: nikole killion, thanks. >> the people of cuba are waiting to see if the incoming biden administration will mark a new tha-w in relations following an icy four years. here's cbs's manuel bojorquez. >> western union's more than 400 locations across cuba are now shut down. thous

cnn's arlette saenz is live in rehoboth beach, delaware, with more for us this morning., good morning. >> good morning and happy thanksgiving, erica. president-elect joe biden and his wife, the future first lady, jill biden, wrote an op-ed for the cnn where they kept the coronavirus front and center. biden and his wife, jill, acknowledged the hardship and sacrifice that so many people are making on this thanksgiving holiday. i want to read to you a little bit of what they had to say. "like millions of americans, we are temporarily letting go of the traditions we can't do safely. it is not a small sacrifice. these moments with our loved ones, time that's lost, can't be returned." they say, "yet, we know it's the price of protecting each other and one we don't pay alone. isolated in our own dining rooms and kitchens, scattered from coast-to-coast, we are healing together." this really builds on the message that we heard from biden yesterday, when he delivered his thanksgiving address, talking about the loss that people are facing this holiday season and also making a call

cnn's arlette saenz live in rehoboth beach, delaware. what's the latest on that? good morning, arlette? >> reporter: good morning, john. and even though it's a holiday weekend, president-elect joe biden and his transition team are preparing for those early days of their administration. and that includes biden is expected to announce some key members of his economic team as early as next week. now, we're still waiting to hear which positions will be included in that announcement, but one that is expected to come next week is his announcement that he has chosen -- as his treasure rry secretary, janet yellen. janet yellen has long-experienced the financial sector. she srverved as the chairwoman the federal reserve. and she also served during president bill clinton's administration as the head of the counsel of economic advisers. now, biden's economic team will be critically important, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take hold across the country. and biden is looking to bolster the economy, trying to get some relief to american families in the middle of this

today and ed to his home in wilmington, delaware after spending thasgiving at his vacation home in rehoboth beach. the covid-19 pandemic continues to sweep across the united states with death rates now approaching the peak numbers from last spring. "the new york times" database shows covid-19 related-deaths increasing 29% over the average number two weeks ago. last wednesday, more than 2,300 deat were reported nationwid surpassing 2,000 in one day for the first time since early may. despite a rise in cases and deaths, new york city's mayor made a surprising announcement this morning: the largest hool district in the country will begin to re-open in person elementary classrooms in phases starting december 7. >> we know that if you put a y avy emphasis on testing and you continuainforce those health and safety measures, and the situation room, we know weth can keep our schools safe for the duration and link up to that day when we ve the vaccine and all of us.he whole reality for >> hill: the new plan also phases o the goal of five-day-a-week classroom learning. globally, according to johns ho

. >> reporter: president-elect joe biden remaining low key in rehoboth, delaware, this day after thanksgiving taking time to give thanks to the nation's indigenous communities on this native american heritage day. biden expected to announce more cabinet picks early next week. meanwhile president trump continuing his twitter claims that the presidential election was fraudulent after indicating to reporters thursday, without specifics that it's not over yet. >> i think that there will be a lot of things happening between now and the 20th of january, a lot of things. >> reporter: president trump remaining mum on a potential run for president in 2024 but weighing in on the next critical election, the january 5th senate runoff in georgia. the president tweeting he will go to georgia to campaign for the republican incumbents, but some believe his rhetoric about rigged elections could keep voters from turning out. >> the best case democrats have to make in this election is to let donald trump go out there, say his insane things, say his destabilizing things about democracy. he is doing the democrats

. >> reporter: joe biden spending the day with family in rehoboth beach, delaware. his first break since winning the presidency as his transition team pushes forward in the face of an unprecedented effort by the outgoing president to block a smooth changeover. with president trump still refusing to concede, the biden transition team is shut out of the current administration's pandemic planning. >> this is really like we're at war with the virus. if we were in the middle of a world war at this point, i cannot imagine that the current president would not be passing over, handing over the reins and providing really what is security intelligence. >> reporter: until the trump administration formally recognizes biden as president-elect, outgoing trump officials can't share critical covid vaccine distribution plans with the incoming biden team >> the sooner we can get our transition experts into meetings with the folks who are planning the vaccination campaign, the more seamless the transition from a biden presidency to a trump presidency can be >> reporter: in the meantim

cbs' ed o'keefe joins us now from the president-elect's vacation home in rehoboth beach, delaware. ed, who mr. biden chooses could give us some clues about how he plans to govern, so what big names are coming next? >> reporter: well, good evening, norah. there are several people in the mix for top foreign policy roles, including national security adviser, secretary of state, among others. three people to keep in mind: tony blinken, jake sullivan, and susan rice. all three worked with mr. biden during his presidential campaign and alongside him during the obama white house years. over at the pentagon, one name often mentioned as a possible defense secretary is michele flournoy. she was a top obama defense official, and if confirmed, would be the first woman to hold the role. >> o'donnell: and, ed, what can you tell us about that call that the president-elect got from the pope today? >> reporter: that's right, they spoke this morning. the pontiff extended congratulations to the president-elect. a pretty personally important call for mr. biden, who would be the second roman catholic p

. >> sreenivasan: the bidens were near their vacation home in rehoboth beach, delaware, where they spent several days. in washington, d.c., president donald trump, who still has not conceded, took a drive through a crowd of demonstrators who came to support him as he headed off to his virginia golf course. >> four more years! >> sreenivasan: this afternoon, thousands of demonstrators-- falsely claiming mr. trump won-- marched to the supreme court. a ballot audit is continuing in the state of georgia through next wednesday. mr. biden was declared the winner there this week by about 14,000 votes. the trump campaign continues to pursue lawsuits challenging vote counts in a number of states, but it lost several challenges terday. and last night, in a close house race in southern california, the associated press called republican young kim the winner, giving republicans more seats in the house of representatives than last term, although democrats will still have a majority. >> sreenivasan: to learn more about the presidential transition and what role it might play on defense, strategy and cap

. >> reporter: meanwhile, president-elect biden took a bike ride today near his beach home in rehobothch, delaware. >> are you any closer to making a cabinet decision? >> yes. >> reporter: in a statement friday, mr. biden implored mr. trump to take urgent action to fight covid-19. "i will not be president until next year," mr. biden said. "the crisis does not respect dates on the calendar. it is accelerating right now." the biden transition said planning is proceeding, but it is hampered by president trump's refusal to authorize the usual sharing of classified information. even several republican senators have called for president trump to authorize comprehensive intelligence briefings for the biden team. in a statement, former white house chief of staff john kelly tells cbs news, "it is not about the president or about mr. biden. it is about america and what is best for our people. mr. trump should order the transition process begin immediately. it is the right and moral thing to do." jamie. >> yuccas: chip reid. thanks so much. today's rally had several names, including the "million

nikole killion is with the president-elect in rehoboth beach, delaware.ood morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, michelle. president-elect joe biden is spending time with his family here in rehoboth beach. although, it's a working weekend as he meets with transition advisers. meantime president trump's former white house chief of staff john kelly told politico he believes biden should start getting daily intelligence briefings and says the delay could impact national security. several republican senators have also issued similar calls. officials with the biden transition team says every day that biden doesn't get realtime threat informationive creases the potential for national security implications. and while they'd like access to information, they pointed out they don't want to necessarily get into a food fight with the general services administration. the agency has not yet recognized the president-elect's win, though through a process c ascertainment. a few days after naming his new chief of staff ron klain, aides say that more staffing announcem

we will hear from the president in a thanksgiving address before he heads off to rehoboth beach to celery the holiday. he's just going to be with three bidens over thanksgiving and he's also looking ahead to the first 100 days of office. trying to get peace of mind for people that are trying to they came in illegally. >> we are trying to -- i'm going to make a commitment on the first hundred days, i will send an immigration bill to the united states senate with a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people in america. >> the president-elect is also figuring out how to best prioritize covid-19 relief which may not be possible until he takes office. >> of the most important thing while we try to do all this, focus on those folks who are always, when crisis hits, it's basically minority communities. making sure that the aide doesn't get voted on in the house and passed by the senate. >> biden officials had been warning recently that the president-elect is not getting the classified presidential daily brief was potentially putting national security at risk, and now that the

we do expect him shortly to make the hour and 40 minute drive to his we can place in rehoboth beach, delaware. he told us about a week ago that the celebration would be just three people. >> john: back to president trump's legal push in pennsylvania now. let's bring in andy mccarthy, former assistant u.s. attorney in fox news contributor. a judge in pennsylvania anti-this afternoon, judge patricia mccullough scheduled a hearing for friday on the trump campaign challenge. the judge has gone so far to and say stop further for certification of the vote in pennsylvania which would be up to and including a pause in seating electors. >> i would be surprised if it's still standing by close of business. the charge would be the case as you said with the mailing ballots. the mail and procedure was approved by the state legislature which was what the u.s. constitution, basically that's our structure, the state legislatures are in charge. as far as the pennsylvania constitution is concerned, it was the state supreme court of pennsylvania that expanded and extended the use of mailing ballots so i

. >> right now, the president-elect is motor catering to the whole rehoboth beach where he plans to forgoamily traditions and celebrate a socially distanced thanksgiving with just three other people as he looks ahead and tries to figure out ways to make the u.s. government a lot more hands on fighting covid-19. >> more testing, we'll find people with cases and get them away from one another, slowing the number of infections. >> warnings for weeks about the dangers of a delayed transition. >> c lack of access to current classified operations, really put the american people's interest as it relates to national security at risk. >> officials say that daily briefing can wait. >> we expect the first briefing to take place on monday. >> and even though his cabinet will be filled with obama white house alumni. obama's book promo into the disk criticism of his panics and voted trump. >> the fact that trump says racist things about mexicans, they think that is less important than the fact that he supports their views on gay marriage or abortion. >> immigration reform is something he plans to addre

joe biden has spending thanksgiving weekend here in rehoboth beach, delaware. it's been mostly quiet today. we know there has been a lot of work under way ahead of when is expected to be a busy week. we expect more personnel announcements to come next week. and the start of classified briefings. >> we have had a long, long tradition of traveling in nantucket with our big family, a large family every thanksgiving. >> president-elect joe biden skipping his annual thanksgiving gathering with extended family as covid-19 continues to take lives across the country. >> this year, we are going to be staying in delaware with just a small group around at our dinner table. >> reporter: amid the coronavirus pandemic, biden working with his transition team from his home in delaware building out his administration and making preparations ahead of the inauguration day. on monday, biden expected to receive the presidential daily briefing for the first time as president-elect. >> we are going to do it on a regular basis. since the certification or what is it called? [ inaudible

reported tonight from rehoboth beach, delaware. >> president-elect joe biden has a number of day 1 promisesparis claimant court and making daca permanent. president biden should be receiving intelligence briefings but some are firing a warning shot over potential cabinet picks. among them vermont senator bernie sanders who progressives want as labor secretary. >> if you look at the last four years, the democrats have never allowed the trump administration to fully staff their agencies. at all. how long if you been in washington, d.c.? >> we want businesses to be able to thrive, we recognized the need for labor to be part of those discussions. >> facing thin margins in the house and the senate, biden is hard-pressed to make a selection that could deplete the democrat party ranks in either chamber or set up a tough special election. democrats acknowledge the challenge but they are still hoping george is assented to an advantage. democratic senator tom carper saying some discretion would be called for. despite the high stakes, senator elizabeth warren said to be vying for treasury secretary is

and kevin corke is live in rehoboth beach with more. hi, kevin. >> alicia good to be with you.k about in this hour. obviously she has a fairly lengthy track record. that means if you are a supporter or critic, there is certainly plenty to go over there. she is likely, however, to be once again a member of a white house administration. by the way, she has already been the chair of a federal reserve board. she has been on the council of economic advisers for former president bill clinton. she has also been the president of the fed in san francisco and she helped to guide the economy after the fiscal crisis. so, if it's experience you are looking for, she has plenty of it. still, there are concerns that she has an international economic viewpoint which is to say she is seen in some circumstance as being very pro-china. and there are some lawmakers over on capitol hill that are weary about that. and about the fact that she may support a biden tax and spend posture that could further hamper the post covid recovery so. >> she comes to this position with a lot of experience and qualif

jackie heinrich reporting from rehoboth beach, delaware. >> reporter: president-elect joe biden has ases including rejoining the paris climate according to making d's in the aca perfect but razor thin margins in congress may hamper his legislative agenda. as and for the gop senators acknowledge president-elect biden should be receiving intelligence briefings in the interest of national security some are firing a warning shot over potential cabinet pick signaling biden's most transformative choices may not be confirmed by republican-controlled senate. among them vermont senator bernie sanders who progressives want is labor secretary. >> if you look at the last four years democrats never allow the trump administration to fully staff their agency at all. >> how long have you been in washington dc? >> we want businesses to thrive. we recognize labor to be part of those discussions. >> facing thin margins in the house and senate biden is hard-pressed to make a selection that could deplete democratic party ranks in either chamber or set up a tough special election. democrats acknowledge the

alli vitaly is covering the biden transition from rehoboth beach, delaware.hat were you hearing about this trip, ali? >> reporter: not seeing very much of vice president-elect joe biden but we did see vice president-elect kamala harris. she put into focus with her stop there how this small business saturday is different from many of the ones we've seen before, because small businesses have been so keenly hit by the pandemic. the first wave of closures, and then even still just trying to stay on their feet as this pandemic continues on. while harris was touring some of these tents here, she stopped in, looked around. appeared to look like she bot some things. she likes to cook and some tents had food-related things in them. we're waiting to hear if she purchased anything but said stats that are staggering. they match what what i've been hearing covering the pandemic from an economic and a small business perspective. harris at one point highlighted one in four small businesses are closed and on the verge of permanent closure right now. that tracks with a yell b

peter doocy has more he is live in rehoboth beach. down a little bit from wilmington. >> we did. the president-elect is on his way down here to row hobby both beach where he keeping a weekend house. he spent the morning we're told on the phone with the pope and the transition team tells us that the two of them spoke about climate change. integrating immigrants and refugees into communities and caring for the poor and soon enough biden is going to start making calls to people interested in cabinet jobs. bernie sanders is saying he wants to run the labor department. >> if he asks to you join the cabinet as labor secretary, would you say yes? >> if i had a portfolio that allowed me to stand up and fight for working families, why do it? yes, i would. >> well, a few minutes ago on capitol hill republican senator mike rounds said it would be a challenge for bernie sanders to be confirmed by a republican senate. elizabeth warren so far has been slightly less focal in public. she is reportedly pitching herself behind the scenes as a treasury

now, biden arrived a little while ago here in the beach town of rehoboth, delaware, where he and his wife have a home. they will be spending time here. he is still meeting with his transition advisers as they are planning the path forward. >> arlette, the president-elect has said that addressing the coronavirus pandemic is a priority. what can he do actually before he takes office? >> that's been biden's message throughout the entire week, is that the coronavirus pandemic will be his top priority. we learned he actually spoke with congressional leaders today. he had a phone call with house speaker nancy pelosi as well as senate minority leader chuck schumer and one thing they spoke about was the coronavirus and also the possibility of passing a bipartisan package related to covid relief during the lame duck session. that is something that biden could get involved with, going forward. he also has to distance himself from some comments made by a member of his coronavirus advisory board but biden is still pushing ahead when it comes to the coronavirus. >> it would really be good if memb

ali vitali is joining us from rehoboth beach in delaware. ali, what are you hearing about this? >> reporter: well, those concerns exist but they're happening against the backdrop of this transition team that is just barreling forward, trying to make their policy priorities known while also naming some new personnel choices. we're hearing now about new jockeying behind the scenes as all of these different allies and groups try to put forward their picks and preferences for these key cabinet positions in an administration that's going to need to prioritize the pandemic response. few roles are as big as health and human services. the congressional hispanic caucus urging them to use the new mexico governor for that key role. i want to read a little bit of what he said. they praised the recent nomination of department of homeland security alejandro mayorkas saying the first latino and first immigrant to be nominated for the position as secretary of homeland security reflects your commitment to these efforts. the letter goes on to say this is a good start in ensuring that latinos, the

. >> now, biden arrived here in rehoboth beach, where he has a house and he is expected to be meeting with transition advisers again today. i just want to remind everyone, though. even as this transition process continues for the biden team, there are several important things that he still does not have access to as the president-elect. he is not receiving the daily presidential briefings, these are classified briefings that someone in his position would typically be receiving at this point in the transition. he does not have access to transition funding. and then these messages from foreign leaders that are basically stuck at the state department, because he can't access them until the president formally concedes and he is able to access those resources. so, again, the transition team continuing to press all of the noise there, ignoring for now, and they are just looking ahead to january 20th. that is, of course, inauguration day. >> that's 68 days away, though. and there are important things to do now, which is why this coordination matters so much. mj lee, thank you very much. very

ali vitali in rehoboth beach, delaware. >>> there will be a concrete step in the transfer of power.telligence briefing tomorrow. it marks a first step in trefring responsibility for the most secure secrets. it took the white house three weeks to sign off on this, even though the president-elect is typically supposed to have access to the briefings within days of the election. paul ryan and former press secretary for john boehner. and democratic strategist and host of "your primary playlist," emily. thank you for being here. we'll start with you. this move delayed for weeks. but biden's transition team has been rolling ahead with what they can do. how similymbolic is tomorrow? >> it shows that they are moving forward actively in the transition. the biden-harris transition team has been doing quite a bit, on the personnel side, staffing up to make sure they have, or getting people ready to staff up. they've announced they have been rolling out people at the cabinet level and below that. getting resumes ready and get them in place to hit the ground running. also on the policy side. the

>> president-elect joe biden is spending thanksgiving holiday weekend at his home in rehoboth beach, delaware. he is already preparing for next week. he is expected to make another round of cabinet announcements. biden is expected to unveil part of his economic team at the start at the early part of next week. that includes he is expected to name janet yellen as his choice for treasury secretary. janet yellen was the former chair woman of the federal reserve and head of president clinton economic advisers. biden previously talked about how he had chosen the treasury secretary he thought would be amenable to both progressives and moderates within the democratic party and his choices for this academic team will be critical as he is looking to bolster the economy in the middle of this pandemic as so many american families are suffering and so that is one of the points expected to come next week. biden on monday will receive his first president's daily briefing which will give him his first look at the pressing national security issues that will face him in office. >> arlette, thank you

joining me from rehoboth beach, delaware, fellow member of the av club, ali vitali. president-elect biden is getting close to making an announcement regarding the secretary of defense. what do we know about that? >> reporter: good morning, fellow aliv. and happy late thanksgiving. there are expected more cabinet picks from the president-elect right now but we're expecting in the terylly part of this week the picks are related to the economy. that being said, we have been hearing for weeks now the name michelle flournoy at the top of the list of people who could take over the defense department, someone back in 2016 rumored to be the pick if hillary clinton had won that election, and now she's the person who we keep hearing about as biden continues to move forward with rounding out what his cabinet would look like. you see her list of credentials, a former top pentagon official herself. if she were put in this role and confirmed she would be the first woman to serve as head of the pentagon and our colleague reports if she were put in that post she'd bring a lot of oth

mj lee, cnn, rehoboth beach, delaware. >>> president trump meantime observed a thanksgiving traditioncalling u.s. troops deployed overseas. but in a news conference with reporters, he remained preoccupied with a fictional view that he won the u.s. election, and can't yet accept, will not accept the will of leaving for a second term. cnn's kaitlan collins explains. >> reporter: the president has not taken a question in over three weeks, since the day of the election. and he broke that streak on thanksgiving, finally taking questions from reporters after he held a call with members of the military. and as he spoke to us, he repeated hi accusations of widespread fraud in the election, something his attorneys have been saying without evidence for weeks now. and the president really hammered it home, repeating it, talking about the secretaries of state in georgia, criticizing those officials there, and in other states. and also saying that if the electoral college certifies joe biden's win in a matter of weeks as they are scheduled to do, he says that would be making a mistake. he also cri

in the meantime biden is heading to rehoboth beach house after speaking with the pope this morning. readout of the call biden thanked his holiness and express work together on behalf 6 the poor and refugees as well as on climate change. biden also got calls from the leaders of south korea, japan, and australia today before speaking with chuck schumer and nancy pelosi about the stimulus and coronavirus, bill. >> bill: thank you, jackie, more from you in a moment as we get more details throughout the hour. there is also this today from atlanta. >> process, process, process. and following the law as written. so let me be perfectly clear on this. if it was 14,000 votes the other way, we would be doing the exact same thing. >> bill: so that from last hour in atlanta. election officials explaining the decision to recount votes in the race. they will do it by hand. five million votes to sort. republican congressman doug collins out of georgia leading the recount effort for team trump with me now good afternoon to you. thank you for your time. to be clear, by law, the vote starts tomorrow,

bio gas to rehoboth shoes are by reeds are an example of a plant that can be harvested sustainably without damaging with more shooting. and there are already many ideas about what can be cultivated in bugs in hand. housing in western germany, large areas of moss, being cultivated for the 1st time on a regretted blog. after all, most is that the natural vegetation on people oaks can they be grown and harvested like any other fields crop. the search for the best most is for agricultural cultivation is underway on the edge of the trial area. and here, paga and her team grow muscles from all over the world here they aim to find the ones that grow as well and just quickly as possible in this way. they also absorb c o 2 and turn the bugs into sinks with greenhouse gases. however, it will take more from us is to become a profitable product effect. so our lawns have been strong, direct payments to support and subsidies for farmers are not yet established. it's almost, i remain, my dear, but we can show here on the demonstration farm at this is actually feasible as much as well as what we can harve

you saw the thanksgiving address biden gave before coming up to rehoboth beach and that all americans are struggling with the same crisis right now. thanksgivings look different this year, including joe biden's. he's doing a smaller version of it and he spoke about the fact that americans are tired of the pandemic and he stressed for the need to come together and to abide by all the things that stop the spread of the virus. things like mask wearing, social distancing and yes, in the case of thanksgiving, paring it down and potentially not seeing family this year. but biden spoke to the 260,000 americans who have lost their lives to the virus. all of it paints a picture of why in these early days of the transition it has been his top priority. listen to what he told lester holt. >> i think it's important to send a message that -- of confidence and surety and let people know what i will do. give them some glimpse into what i will do. that's why i started off with the covid decision, who i appointed and put together that group. i think people are just looking, is somebody taking this ser

carol lee is covering the white house and nbc's ali vitali is covering the biden campaign in rehoboth beach, delaware. carol, what else did we hear from the president? >> reporter: good morning, ellison. what we heard from the president, the first time he's taken questions in 23 days, the longest stretch of his presidency, was a defiance. he was digging in on the notion that he somehow won this election and he may wind up, while he might leave the white house if the electoral college votes that joe biden is the next president on december 14th, he'll never concede. he tweeted moments ago saying the burden would have to be on joe biden, that biden can only enter the white house as president if he can prove he got these 80 million votes. that is not something that the president gets to decide. that's just a tweet, but that shows you a little bit of where the president's head is at. yesterday he said it would be a mistake if the electoral college were to solidify this election for joe biden and he hinted this may not be his last thanksgiving in the white house. take a listen. >> if the el

our national correspondent jason carroll is there in rehoboth, delaware. biden is the first democrat to win georgia in 28 years. how is the campaign, first of all, reacting? >> reporter: first of all, the campaign is confident about a georgia recount. and they say this is once again just another example of what happened in georgia, what happened in arizona. again, another example of why the trump administration, their president, himself, should acknowledge that joe biden is, in fact, the president-elect. again, at this point, the biden team still has not received the necessary signed paper work that they need to get from the general services administration. biden still is not receiving intelligence briefings. in fact, earlier today on a press call, team biden basically explained where they stand in terms of the standoff between themselves, the trump administration, and the gsa. >> instead of having a food fight with the gsa administrator or anyone really, we just want to get access to intelligence information to threat assessments to the ongoing work on co

jason carroll is with president-elect biden in rehoboth beach, delaware. jason, biden moving full speed ahead on his transition plans, cabinet plans, it's full steam ahead. >> reporter: it really is. the biden team is looking at everything happening in the trump world, and moving ahead with their transition efforts. for example, this weekend the president-elect is going to be meeting with his transition advisers. much of the discussion will be about those cabinet picks. they already have in mind the names of the folks they want for all the positions including key positions, defense and treasury. we're told the president-elect is going to be taking a very deliberate approach to all of this. he knows that whoever he names is going to be put under intense scrutiny by the republican gop. in terms of outreach, though, to the gop, his incoming white house chief of staff, ron klain, has basically already said that biden has already reached out to a number of gop leaders. so that is happening. in terms of also what we can tell you, there was a press call earlier t

they're here in rehoboth beach not with the full biden family we saw on stage, but just with his wife, dr. jill biden, their daughter and son-in-law. a different thanksgiving for all americans this year as we continue to contend with the coronavirus pandemic. >> and carol, in your reporting you have mentioned that we really haven't heard much from the president since the election. what is on his agenda today? >> well, today, he's spending thanksgiving in washington with his family, which is unusual. he usually goes to his estate in south florida to spend thanksgiving, but he'll be here. and the only thing on his schedule is a video teleconference with u.s. troops. that's later this afternoon at 3:00. and unlike in past years, this one is closed to the press. usually they would allow some members of the media in there. sometimes that's turned into a back and forth question and answer for more than an hour. so a little disappointing that that won't happen today, but he did speak yesterday. he called into this meeting of republicans in the state of pennsylvania led by his personal attorn

president-elect joe biden heading to his beach house in rehoboth, delaware, with his family. no public events scheduled while outgoing president trump is tweeting furiously not just falsehoods but literally deranged and debunked conspiracy theories, trump still refusing to acknowledge the plain fact that he has been defeat bid president-elect joe biden and has for the most part, mr. trump, withdrawn from public view. the coronavirus pandemic, meanwhile, is getting worse, but president trump is still refusing to develop any new plan to combat this crisis with several more of his own advisers contracting coronavirus after attending campaign events around election day. so, in essence, president trump appears to be desperately, even pathetically, fighting to keep a job that he has no apparent interest in responsibly performing. while most republican lawmakers are completely enabling this behavior, a small number are now doing the barry minimum by acknowledging the simple fact that president-elect joe biden won. let's reiterate this for viewers who might be worried because of this

he was asked yesterday on a bike ride in rehoboth beach if he was coming any closer to staffing decisions on his cabinet. he said "yes" while biking by. a pretty short exchange, but obviously, those conversations are happening. we know that biden has been down and out of public view for the most part this weekend. today in wilmington, delaware. but he is still talking with transition advisers, huddling with them, as he starts to plot out what this administration could look like from a policy perspective and a personnel perspective. that that end, we are hearing there's a new person emerging as the potential head of the department of defense, michele flournoy, who was a top official in 2016. if hillary clinton had won that election, flournoy was rumored to be the person that could have taken over the pentagon there, but now under a potential biden administration, she's still very much at the top of that list. and if she were to be chosen for that position, she would be the first woman to lead that cabinet. biden says he wants his cabinet to look like america, having gender parody will defi

mj lee, cnn, rehoboth beach, delaware. >> so, president trump, meantime, held a video conference with members of the u.s. military, thanking them for their service and sacrifice. but then, he turned his attention to the election, and more false claims about fraud. cnn's kaitlan collins has more. >> the president has not taken a question, in over three weeks, since the day of the election. and he broke that streak on thanksgiving. finally, taking questions from reporters after he held a call with members of the military. and as he spoke to us, he repeated his accusations of widespread fraud in the election. something his attorneys have been saying, without evidence, for weeks now. and the president really hammered it home. repeating it. talking about the secretaries of state in georgia. criticizing those officials there and other states. also, saying that if the elector electoral college certifies joe biden's win in a matter of weeks, as they are scheduled to do, he says that would be making a mistake. he also criticized that biden is moving ahead to transitioning with the presidency b

nicole is traveling with him in rehoboth beach. >> reporter: good morning, joe biden spent the last coupleays at his beach home. his team is dismissing the president's rejected lawsuit as desperate and embarrassingly meritless while also disputing the president's latest election fraud claims. a transition official tells "cbs news", quote, jietd won 306 electoral votes. states continue to certify those results and the electors will not suit the electors will soon meet to ratify that outcome. he will be sworn in january 20th, 2021 and will enter as a duly elected president of the united states. over the thanksgiving break, he and his wife spoke with front-line healthcare workers. they also continue to urge americans to do their part during the pandemic, whether it's wearing masks, social distancing, or limiting family gatherings. he is also gearing up to nominate more people to serve in key posts. this week he announced his national security team and next week, he will rom out his economic team. although the transition would not specify which positions mr. biden intends to fill. now, he and

kevin corke's life in rehoboth beach, delaware, with the very latest on this. >> happy thanksgiving,k this out and realize that, for joe biden, this relationship is crucial. without clyburn, as he pointed out, there is no way he earns the democratic nomination. that said, it's not as if the biden team is currently constructed complete devoid of diversity. as i show you, the cabinet, he has a vice president, u.n. ambassador, and even a secretary of homeland security all coming from communities of color. however, it is the relative paucity compared to the overall team that is what is concerning to congressman james clyburn. he said this in a conversation with juan williams. "from all the hair, black people have been given fair consideration, but there's onlye black woman so far." he goes on to say, "i want to see what the process leads to, what produces. so far, it is not good." he adds, "people ask why democrats don't do well in rural communities, and this is one of the reasons." clyburn for his part is purportinpromoting marcia fudgeo to be the new agriculture secretary. she's been a