they're supposed to have before they can cross the english channel we aren't being told the department for transport which is supposed to be leading on this on putting that information out to speak to kent county council which is the regional authority here they say it's the department for health matters the problem for health says paul for transport it's ring around the houses it's just very very difficult to make head nor tail of it and because of that confusion the drivers are very very unhappy and up to that miserable weather and 48 hours before christmas many of these in fact most of these won't be able to get home as they expected they would. qatar has begun a mask of a $1000.00 vaccination campaign elderly people and health workers are the 1st to receive the pfizer biotech jobs and people with chronic illnesses will also be prioritized for inoculation. reports. qatar has launched its largest ever vaccination campaign and patients need to be assured. that the for the university retiree received the 1st job and he wants people to be confident about the vaccine and institutions like the world he

the department for transport says it is happening here now so we have officials going from lorry to lorry these tests. 0ther people are being tested in hangers and people should get results back within 30 minutes but considering the number of lorries here, it is clear this is going to take several days to clear. and disruption, too, in dover where the entrance to the port has been blocked by police because there are so many protesters there, too. simon, thank you. let's get the view from brussels. gavin lee is in brussels. what is being said about this huge amount of disruption? the european commission first gave guidelines to say european nations didn't need to have a travel ban in place as long as they had testing or quarantine measures. there have been reports in the british press, including headlines in some newspaper suggesting it is emmanuel macron making this hard but the french have said all along the 48 hours, they we re said all along the 48 hours, they were the ones putting for the recommendations, they wanted to see mass testing in place and had it been anywhere else, and the

the government are taking it seriously and there will be meetings with the department for transport, e office tonight and tomorrow morning, the prime minister will chair a meeting of the cobra group to assess the situation. as for business, a lot of different reaction. holly is telling me although inbound traffic, inbound freight can still come in, if they can't get out again for 48 hours, many will think twice about coming in. the food and drink federation says this has the potential to cause serious disruption to uk fresh food supplies for christmas. however, the british retail consortium which represents the supermarket has a more measured tone, they say retailers have stocked up on goods ahead of christmas which should prevent immediate problems, where houses are bulging with food at this particular time. i was in dover myself on thursday and there were tailbacks ten to 20 miles long at some point because you had this disruption of stuff coming out of china, a bit of pre—brexit stockpiling and that busy christmas period. one chief hauliers said to mejust when you period. one chief

the department for transport says there is clear advice on travel and it's working closely with transportc london about how they're going to play the 02 next year. the band was supposed to perform there this week, but the tour was cancelled. they're hoping to stage a series of gigs next november to promote their sixth studio album. we will be here this time next year, almost to the day. we are sat where we will have the stage. hopefully we will. we are obviously keeping our fingers crossed that by november, december next year, we can go ahead with the tour. let's take a look at the travel situation now. now some good news first of all, because the tube looks much better than it did yesterday. most lines running as normal, just the ongoing closure of the waterloo and city line. this is how it looks on the a13— westbound traffic building heading out of dagenham into barking. and on the m25, there are anticlockwise delays from junction 2a for potters bar towards junction 23 for the aim south mimms— a broken down crane is blocking a lane. now the weather with kate kinsella. good morning. a ch

this area they said no it's not us it's the department for health department for health turned around and said no no it's not us it's the partner for transport the depart for transport have a ravine haven't revealed anything apart from the very basic statistics of how many trucks are stuck on the. m 20 motorway on that mountain air field they said testing has started but they haven't given us how many revelation of how many tests they've actually managed to complete or how many people have managed to be put on to the ferries it's all it's i hesitate to use the word but shambolic frankly and there is a lot of criticism coming down upon the heads of the ministers of government responsible for this and you know it's not good we've got drivers coming to us asking for information many of them for whom english is not their 1st language and we've got no information to pass on to the ball of course so we came back to you throughout the day to find out what situation is like in david thanks very much paul brennan our correspondent. well the british health secretary might hang his due to hold a briefing shortly we will be getting that live but 1st we

. >> laura: i actually worked at the department for transportation many moons ago as director of speech riding. it's a very big and complex organization. you have to know what the heck a u are doing, how to manage a huge organization to do it well. wasn't biden attacking mayor pete for his lack of experience in some of those campaign ads? >> barack obama called joe biden... >> the best vice president america has had. >> under threat of disappearing pass, >> laura: the pet chip stuff is important. rtwhat happened there? >> that was one of joe biden's better primary campaign ads. but it just shows that he's not being picked because joe biden particular respects him, neithet are any of these other candidates being picked because joe biden thinks they'll be particular good. one of the things that is dangerous is who fills all those positions underneath the cabinet secretary. a lot of the people being named are from the obama administration, but even as radical as some of them aren't like havee your becerra who trd to jail pro-life reporters in california and had to be knocked down by the su

they're supposed to have before they can cross the english channel we are being told the department for transport which is supposed to leading on this on putting that information out to speak to kent county council which is the regional authority here they say it's a department for health matter the problem for health says paul for transport it's ring around the houses it's just very very difficult to make head nor tail of ice and because of that confusion the driver has very very unhappy and miserable weather and 48 hours before christmas many of these in fact most of these won't be able to get home as they expected they would not a good situation ok paul we'll leave it there for now we thank you for giving us that up. and in the u.k. now qatar has begun a mask over $1000.00 vaccination campaign elderly people on health workers are the 1st to receive the pfizer bio and tag jobs as shipments of joe says arrived on monday people with chronic illnesses will also be among those being prioritise for inoculation dr says the head of vaccinations of the qatari ministry of health she says the goal is to

we've actuallyjust heard from the department for transport, have been talking about dover being closedver would handle about 10,000 trucks, given how busy it is at this time of year anyway. add onto that a bit of brexit stockpiling that the retailers may be doing. we've just heard they may be now preparing to open marston in kent, huge lorry park that can store around 4000 trucks so what telling hauliers to do is not going to dover because she can get in and you won't be able to get across the channel, they say go instead, when it is open to marston in kent, that huge post brexit lorry park they park they created, they are preparing to open that, 4000 lorries could be diverted there. it does give you a little sense that if dover normally handles 10,000 lorries a day, marston can hold 4000, it starts to give you a sense of where those lorries may be ending up of where those lorries may be ending up and whether there is enough space andi up and whether there is enough space and i know we've been speaking to our correspondent at dover, they are beginning operation stack to park the lorrie

of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss federal telework during the covid-19 public health emergency on behalf of the u.s. department of transportation. i am keeg washingtith washingto been with the department for 29 years. the department's longstanding support and encouragement for telework across the widespread operations proved its value and stability when we quickly and seamlessly converted headquarters and field operations in mid-march to maximum telework to meet the covid-19 public health emergency. telework has been a critical flexibility that enables d.o.t. employees to ensure america has the safest, most efficient and modern transportation system in the world. it boosts our economic productivity and global competitiveness and enhances the quality of life in both rural and urban communities. telework allows the department to achieve important performance goals and improve the department's capability to support homeland and national security requirements while supplying the work/life balance outcomes. in 2013, well before the onset of covid-19 d.o.t. implemented an agency wide policy in accordance, and the policy encourages th

. >> bill -- >> paul, hit to the department of transportation for making it official. at least on planes. we've seen a lot of footage of people kind of bringing all sorts of emotional support animals from miniature ponies to pheasants on planes they cause aft problems so department of transportation looked at it and they decided only dogs that are trained are going to be mandated on planes. the airlines will have the option of refusing others. so congratulations to the department of transportation for restoring some sanity to friendly sky. >> mary. >> paul, it hits to the great life of the great american economist walter williams who died suddenly this week at the age of 84 after last class from the semester at george mason university in virginia he grew up in philadelphia but went on to become a great intellect for economic freedom. we will miss him very much. >> thank you mary. dan. >> recent hit or miss i said i was going visit the rockefeller christmas tree to here it up because it was criticized as too scrawny easier than said did under bill de blasio rule for vis

last night the department for transport said the figure had gone up to more than 1000 but driving aroundning, there are lorries parked up pretty much everywhere, every lay—by, every car park, so the number of hdvs caught up overall in kent is likely to be much higher than the 1000 figure. at the entrance to the port of dover, still extraordinary sights as three days to christmas, one of the busiest passenger ferry terminals in the world and no traffic going to france. what is the way out of this? we are expecting an announcement from the eu today which could involve anyone wanting to cross the channel to have to have a negative coronavirus test. if you consider the number of drivers caught up in this, the operation that would take to introduce this testing to ensure eve ryo ne to introduce this testing to ensure everyone had negative results, and being able to prove it at the border to get across, that would be a massive operation. the sad reality is for some lorry drivers, they may spend christmas in their camps, rather than back home. simon jones, thank you. it's understood that people

for us, all of us. an america that is hopeful, bold, creative, inclusive. an america that can do literally anything. the department of transportation services a critical mission with a critical responsibilities, particularly in this administration. we need someone who knows how to work with state, local and federal agencies. for example, right now one in five miles of our highways are still in, quote, poor condition, according to the society of american engineers. tens and tens of thousands of bridges are in disrepair. some on the verge of collapse, presenting a clear and present danger to people's lives. we're the world's richest nation but we rank 10th, rank 10th in overall quality of our infrastructure according to the world economic forum. there is so much we can do. when i think of climate change, i think about jobs, good-paying union jobs. jobs that put americans to work. making their air cleaner for our kids to breathe, restoring our crumbling roads panned bridges, ports, making it faster, cheaper cleaner to transport american-made goods around the country and around the world. i know when you were mayor, pete, when people w

very good for a political a political campaign now but the problems are his lack of experience in transportation this is this is of $1819000000000.00 agency $55000.00 people work for the department of transportation around the world he was a former mayor of south bend indiana the population of south bend indiana is 100800 80 buses i think i read somewhere he doesn't have that experience even i can see pundits already say oh but potholes he used to fix so he's got a transportation. even his record on pot holes is about according to the south bend local newspapers not only that he has a very bad record again with the african-american community just before this announcement was made local african-american community leaders in south bend indiana said don't nominate him because what he was famous for was penalizing low income black residents. making them pay big penalties a big thing them while lavishing funding on private developers for redevelopment now again he has a lot of experience but that sort of thing is the sort of thing that actually a republican or someone might think oh that's someone else we could work with the money to be made him much will be made also about his time

joe biden has picked a former democratic rival pete to lead a judge as his secretary for the department of transportation but a judge would be the 1st openly gay person confirmed by the senate to a cabinet position in the united states. the european union has unveiled a new draft laws aimed at reining in the market power of giant tech companies like facebook and google the proposal includes fines of up to 10 percent of annual turnover and even has powers to break up noncompliance companies. canadian a fashion mogul peter nygaard has been arrested and charged with sex trafficking and racketeering crimes u.s. prosecutors are alleging he sexually abused women and underage girls after learning them into his mortgage with opportunities in fashion and modeling over the last 25 years. of sports now and a rare mid week slate of matches in the bundesliga darkman was hoping to get back to winning form after a coaching change carmen's new interim boss 18 tired search took his club on the road to braman including with the youngest player ever to start in the league. dortmund 16 year old yusuf mukoko who became the w

for us-- all of us. an america that's hopeful, bold, creative, inclusive. an america that can do literally anything. the department of transportation serves as a critical mission with a critical responsibility, particularly in this administration. we need someone who knows how to work with state, local, and federal agencies. for example, right now, one in five miles of our highways are still in poor condition, according to the society of american engineers. tens and tens of thousands of bridges are in disrepair. some on the verge of collapse, presenting a clear and present danger to people's lives. we're the world's richest nation but we rank 10th in overall quality of our infrastructure, according to the world economic forum. but there's so much we can do. when i think of climate change, i think about jobs, good-paying nion jobs, jobs that put americans to work, making the air cleaner for our kids to breathe, restoring our crumbling roads, bridges, ports. making it faster, cheaper, and cleaner to transport american-made goods across the country and around the world. i know that when you were mayor, pete, when people would come in

to end the last meeting of the year for the san francisco transportation authority, but i wanted to express my appreciation for two commissioners who will be departing this commission, commissioners norman yee and sandra lee fewer. you two have exerted leadership on transportation as well as san francisco and your respective districts while you've been members of this body. commissioner yee not only chaired this body for many years but was one of the original authors of our city's original vision zero ordinance a year after he joined in 2018. he helped create our vision zero committee, which i still serve on and served as vice chair for two years, led as chair for five years, and during this time, commissioner yee passed many pieces of legislation and led any number of traffic safety policy initiatives, including calling for the priority of safety measures over traffic and parking, expanding daylighting citywide. commissioner yee championed funding for quick bills, traffic calming, red light enforcement, and other actions to protect seniors and children and all road users. he advocated along with walk s.f. and various families for safe streets, both

langford and members of the subcommittee thank you for the oppounity to discuss federal telework during the 18 on half of the us department of transportation and the deputy assistant secretary for the administration for 29 years the department long-stding support and encouragement for telework across the widespread operation improved stability when we quickly and seamlessly converted headquarters and field operations in mid-march to maximum telework to meet the covid-19 public health emergency. this is critical flexibility to ensure america has the safest and most efficient modern transportation system in the wor it boost economic productivity and global competitiveness and passes the quality of life in rural and urban communities telework allows the department to achieve important performance goals and improve the department's capability to support homeland and national security requirements all whilsupporting the work life balance outcome.na and 2013 will before the onset of covid-19,ot implemented the policy in accordance with the telework enhancement act of 2010.19 the policy encourages the use of telework and includes notifying 100 pe

ou know, we selected pete for transportation because the department is the intersection of some of our most ambitious better. build back when president obama put me in charge of implementing the was over ct, which $800 billion, to take us from risis to recovery to resurgence, managing our roads, bridges, ports, was some of our critical investments. we invested more in infrastructure than any time ince president eisenhower and the interstate highway projects. the projects that traditionally support, thatisan forge public and private partnerships. hen we do those public and private partnerships and we invest federal money, we pull billions of dollars of private dollar we for every put in -- federal dollar. millions of americans to work, strengthening our economy, our economic competitiveness, and rebuilding the future.ies for pete's got a great perspective solves problems and brings people together. next ot a vision of a generation leader, and with experience and the temperament -- today.ange today to dig us out of this economic kriers. example -- crisis. for example, helps cities and st

joe biden has picked a former democratic rival he took you to judge as his secretary for the department of transportation going to judge would be the 1st openly gay person confirmed by the senate to a cabinet position in the united states. hungary has amended the definition of family in its constitution to limit adoption by same sex couples rights groups have attached the move which defines a family as a female mother and a male father prime minister viktor orban has worked recast hungry in a more conservative mold a since coming to power. the european union has unveiled a new draft laws aimed at reigning in the market power of tech giants like amazon apple and facebook the proposal includes a serious fines and even has powers to break up noncompliance companies brussels sees their power as a threat to competition and democracy. the european commission used in advance callender. its updated did to 2 groups along the way to a chocolate treat for many people some said this new legislation could change the internet as we know it and limits at least in some parts the enormous power of tech giants that influe

saudi arabia it is as high as 90 percent of for more i'm joined now by dawood and sari his research associate in the energy transportation and environment department of the german institute for economic research the institute that also is responsible for the study i just mentioned good to have you with us please tell me what's it take for the oil price to recover i mean opaque normally has a say in that by throttling production or by increasing supply so what it takes for the oil price to rise again. good morning thanks for having me. so eventually ultimately for the oil price to return to normal values and our production being able to do return to normal values eventually an end to the pandemic is the most important factor but other than that well opec has been doing a pretty good job since since october because the result of the last meeting of showing that stability and cohesion within opec is pretty much the next best thing they can actually do the very strong production cuts that have there are in place since me he mentioned that the pandemic is playing a big role there i mean what impact does it actually have on the economic situation and th

to end the last meeting of the year for the san francisco transportation authority, but i wanted to express my appreciation for two commissioners who will be departing this commission, commissioners norman yee and sandra lee fewer. you two have exerted leadership on transportation as well as san francisco and your respective districts while you've been members of this body. commissioner yee not only chaired this body for many years but was one of the original authors of our city's original vision zero ordinance a year after he joined in 2018. he helped create our vision zero committee, which i still serve on and served as vice chair for two years, led as chair for five years, and during this time, commissioner yee passed many pieces of legislation and led any number of traffic safety policy initiatives, including calling for the priority of safety measures over traffic and parking, expanding daylighting citywide. commissioner yee championed funding for quick bills, traffic calming, red light enforcement, and other actions to protect seniors and children and all road users. he advocated along with walk s.f. and various families for safe streets, both

to end the last meeting of the year for the san francisco transportation authority, but i wanted to express my appreciation for two commissioners who will be departing this commission, commissioners norman yee and sandra lee fewer. you two have exerted leadership on transportation as well as san francisco and your respective districts while you've been members of this body. commissioner yee not only chaired this body for many years but was one of the original authors of our city's original vision zero ordinance a year after he joined in 2018. he helped create our vision zero committee, which i still serve on and served as vice chair for two years, led as chair for five years, and during this time, commissioner yee passed many pieces of legislation and led any number of traffic safety policy initiatives, including calling for the priority of safety measures over traffic and parking, expanding daylighting citywide. commissioner yee championed funding for quick bills, traffic calming, red light enforcement, and other actions to protect seniors and children and all road users. he advocated along with walk s.f. and various families for safe streets, both

joe biden has picked a former democratic rival heated with a judge as his secretary for the department of transportation but at which i judge would be the 1st openly gay person it confirmed by the senate to a cabinet position in the united states. and staying in the us republican senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has congratulated joe biden on his victory in november his presidential election mcconnell was among many congressional republicans who had refused to acknowledge biden's defeat of president donald trump who has continued to make unfounded claims of fraud and this comes after the electoral college officially confirmed with the results of the election. its earlier i spoke to de w.'s washington bureau chief in as paul now that more republicans are accepting biden's victory i asked her why. what to expect from trump and his orders he will keep feeding the narrative that the election was stolen off him simply to keep his supporters angry and on his side illegally don't trump says no for the options to fight the outcome i think at this point his rhetoric is nothing but a p r we need to prepare

the department for transport is working with the port of felixstowe and others to make sure that theillion are expected to arrive next week, how many numbers are we expecting this week and next week? the health secretary has always been clear that there were 800,000 doses that arrived at the beginning of the week over the weekend and that there would be millions of doses arriving throughout december to in order to make sure that we can successfully vaccinate more and of course there was good news yesterday when more positive results were received from some of the trials that the oxford astrazeneca vaccine were going under. i hope that more and more people will be vaccinated as the month progresses but for the flow of vaccines this december, it is in the millions. a report in the paper saying that all of those 4 million of the pfizer biontech vaccine will arrive by next week, you don't know whether that is the case? no, i don't. i do know that it relates to the production and manufacture process and i was talking to collea g u es process and i was talking to colleagues yesterday about

for secretary of transportation, i nominate mayor pete buttigieg. >> reporter: chosen by president-elect joe biden to lead the department of transportation. rmer south bend, indiana, mayor, would have a big task ahead playing a key role in building out a major infrastructure package, a top priority of biden. >> we selected pete for transportation because the department is the intersection of the most ambitious plans to build back letter and modernizing our infrastructure and bridges and roads and ports and critical investments. >> reporter: if confirmed by the senate buttigieg would break a barrier and a historic moment not lost on the 38-year-old nominee. >> i know the eyes are on disappointment. the first time an american president has sent an openly lgbtq to the senate for confirmation. >> reporter: biden administration coming into focus as some republicans in washington finally begin to acknowledge his 2020 victory. >> the decision by the electoral college yesterday was determined. >> reporter: vice president-elect kamala harris saying her colleagues in the senate are late to the party but that it's time to move on. >> it would have be

not have a meltdown at you know the fao's and b i'm all for the final rule by the department of transportation defines a service animal as a dog that is individually trained to perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, the agency no longer considers an emotional support animal. >>to be a service animal and requires airlines to treat psychiatric service animals, the same as other service animals, the rule also limits individuals to only 2 service animals on a flight for people with dogs as emotional support animals or even cats para keys, pigs turtles and many horses. they're now forced to check them into the cargo hold pay a pet fee or leave them at home author service dog training guide jennifer hack says the ruling does make significant safety improvements but it doesn't address the core issue they're afraid to fight or dogs cargo they don't trust the airline industry to flight or putts hack suggest airlines create a set of standards to train all animals before getting on board think airline industry themselves might look at how to make it affordable trustworthy maybe even

he was over at the transportation department for a while there and is now over at the attorney general's office. we just don't know what track he will take when it comes to things that, you know, are basically some of the things that donald trump does, as we know all the time, he proposed to do things that are against the law and against the constitution. and that's why the justice department must do its job. >> senator amy klobuchar, thank you very much. >> you got to watch that january 6th. each state can put up to two hours of debate, lawrence. we may have a long day. >> but we do know the result, no matter what happens and we thank you for helping america understand that. >> exactly. but it's still going to be something. >> thank you very much, senator. >>> up next, pulitzer prize winning reporter laurie garrett joins us on the first day of the coronavirus vaccine and why she says a map of the coronavirus hot spots is now a map of the entire country. re countryney? new nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honey-licious taste. nyquil honey. the n

. >> today biden brought aboard a millennial for the transportation department who will be the first openly gay nominee ever sent to the senate for confirmation. peter budaj judge. >> lots of new faces in wilmington lately, biden is still getting the hang of names for his team and their spouses. >> jill hav and i have always enjoyed seeing them on the trail. >> pete buttigieg is trying to appeal to his train enthusiasm. >> art enthusiasts will soon have the opportunity to see brush strokes of hunter biden. a gallery in new york is going to display hunters work at a art show. bret. >> bret: peter doocy live in wilmington. peter, thank you. up next, major concern about chinese espionage from republicans. so what is next? and still ahead, we take you to a south florida senior care facility where patience are among the first in the country to receive the coronavirus vaccine. >> honey, i don't know how i feel about it. you know. ♪ from your walmart store. really fast. really perfect. let's end the year nailing it. ♪ ♪ experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list sales event.

for transportation secretary. now, he's not exactly known as an or authority on interstate highway construction or international airline regulation or other things that the departmentdoes have experience, it's true, in dealing with the daily realities of transport for some people. when he was mayor of south bend, indiana, he was responsible for the city's entire fleet of 60 buses. now, even mr. biden's own campaign mocked the mayor's little experience at a campaign ad contrasting biden's experience with that of the am establishes young man. >> both vice president biden and mayor pete have helped shape our economy. joe biden helped save the auto industry. pete buttigieg revitalized the sidewalks of downtown south bend by laying out a decorative brick. gerry: so what changed? well, it's obvious from the announcement this week that the main criterion in the selection of mr. buttigieg was that will be the first nominated openly-gay cabinet member. that fact, rather than the nation's transportation needs, dominated the announcement, with on the nominee poking a little fun at himself. >> travel the in my mind is synonymous with growth, with add have beenture, on love. so

he was over at the transportation department for a while there and is now over at the attorney general'sffice. we just don't know what track he will take when it comes to things that, you know, are basically some of. things that donald trump does as we know all the time, he proposed to do things that are against the law and against the constitution. that's why the justice department must do its job. >> senator amy klobuchar, thank you very much. >> each day they put up to two hours of debate, lawrence. we may have a long day. >> but we do know the result no matter what happens and we thank you for helping america understand that. >> exactly. but it's still going to be something. >> thank you very much, senator. >> pulitzer prize winning reporter lawyery garrelaurie gas o on the first day of the coronavirus vaccine and why she says the map of the united states is now a map of the hot spots across the country. it co, finding the right words can be tough. finding understanding doesn't have to be. together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism

accept and expand a grant from the united states department of transportation for $100,000 for participation in a program pedestrian and bicycle safety program for october 1, 2020 through september 2021. if you wish to comment call 415-655-0001. (146)622-0460. press pound twice. dial star three to speak. wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted and you may begin comments. >> today we have -- >> your volume is low. can you up the volume? [ inaudible ] >> thank you for your time and opportunity. i work as a health worker and planner with the department of public health. in october of 2020 we received a $100,000 grant from the california office of traffic safety. the grant increases safety for the communities at risk for injury with the focus of people walking, biking and disability. based on the data pedestrians were 60% of traffic deaths and one killed by bike. a fiscal disability. [indiscernable] over half in the data were 65 and older which is an expected finding as disability increases as people age. we do not have data on the primary language spoken of those injured. there is

to end the last meeting of the year for the san francisco transportation authority, but i wanted to express my appreciation for two commissioners who will be departingcommissioners norman yee and sandra lee fewer. you two have exerted leadership on transportation as well as san francisco and your respective districts while you've been members of this body. commissioner yee not only chaired this body for many years but was one of the original authors of our city's original vision zero ordinance a year after he joined in 2018. he helped create our vision zero committee, which i still serve on and served as vice chair for two years, led as chair for five years, and during this time, commissioner yee passed many pieces of legislation and led any number of traffic safety policy initiatives, including calling for the priority of safety measures over traffic and parking, expanding daylighting citywide. commissioner yee championed funding for quick bills, traffic calming, red light enforcement, and other actions to protect seniors and children and all road users. he advocated along with walk s.f. and various families for safe streets, both here and in sacra

next hour, in fact, he's going to introduce former mayor pete buttigieg as his pick for the department of transportation. our understanding is there will be a climate focus. as you rightly point out, buttigieg will be among the youngest people to serve in the cabinet and also the first openly gay person to be nominated to a permanent cabinet selection. beyond that, although the transition hasn't announced it formally, our team confirmed joe biden is expected to elevate former michigan governor to be energy secretary, jennifer granholm. the other thing about that governor is she has a personal connection to joe biden. as is the case with so many of his cabinet designates. they've known each other a long time. in 2008 she played sarah palin in debate prep ahead of the debate between biden and palin. beyond that selection, we're also told that gina mccarthy who led the epa under barack obama will become the white house domestic climate coordinator. she'll work with secretary john ker kerry. the both of them that pair will also drive joe biden's climate agenda. that's sort of the personnel and the policy. r

transportation department. we learned that former indiana mayor, pete buttigieg has been selected for u.s. transportation secretary. if confirmed, he would be the first openly l.g.b.t.q. person in cabinet history. >>> nancy pelosi announced all lawmakers will have to wear a mask on the floor at all times, no exceptions. she said lawmakers will no longer be allowed to remove their mass when speaking. if they do take it off, their speaking time will be denied. there has been concerns about the spread of the coronavirus on capitol hill. >>> the chair wishes to emphasize the importance of safe practices during house proceedings. accordingly, masks will now be required at all times in the hall of the house, without exception. >>> the order comes after 36 members of the house and senate have tested positive for covid 19. 15 of those cases were in recent weeks, during the last national surge. >>> a san francisco lawmaker introduced legislation that would end mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. he authored the legislation, giving judges the option of sentencing nonviolent, drug offend

describe an america that's best for us, all of us, an america that's hopeful, bold, creative, inclusive, an america that can do literally anything. the department of transportation services a critical mission with a critical responsibility, particularly in this administration. we need someone who knows how to work with state, local, and federal agencies. for example, right now one in five miles of our highways are still in, quote, poor condition, according to the society of american engineers. tens of thousands of bridges are in disrepair, some on the verge of collapse, presenting a clear and present danger to people's lives. we rank tenth among the world's nations in quality of infrastructure, according to the world economic forum. there's so much we can do. when i think about climate change, i think about jobs, good paying union jobs, jobs that put america to work, making air for our children breathable, making it faster, cheaper, and cleaner to transport american-made goods across the country and around the world. i know when you were mayor, pete, people would come in to try to decide whether to build something, they would say, where is the nearest railroad a

for information about chinese espionage amid the controversy involving east bay congressman eric swalwell. >>> president-elect joe biden has picked a onetime political rival the transportation department. former indiana mayor, pete buttigieg, has been selected for the transportation secretary. if confirmed, he would be the first openly can remember in history. uc berkeley professor, jennifer granholm will be selected as the energy secretary. she is the former governor of michigan. she served two terms and was the first woman to be elected to the office back in 2002. she has long taken a deep interest in energy issues. >>> mitch mcconnell is now acknowledging joe biden as president-elect, weeks after the election. >> i want to congratulate president-elect joe biden. the president elect is no stranger to the senate. he has devoted himself to public service for many years. i also want to congratulate the vice president elect, senator harris. beyond our differences, all americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice resident elect for the very first time. >>> he made his comments on the senate floor this morning, one day after the electoral college formally sealed the victory.

transportation fit into this demand for shipping? we also want to know if the witnesses have the necessary guidance and resources to transport the vaccine, particularly following the department of transportation's notice last week that the guidance and waivers were in place for the vaccine transport. finally, we want to hear about near and long-term plans to transport an increasing number of vaccine doses through the spring and summer of 2021. i look forward to your testimony and i would now like to invite my colleague and the ranking member, senator duckworth, to offer her opening remarks. i believe senator duckworth is speaking to us remotely. sen. duckworth: thank you, madam chair. thank you for holding this hearing. this is likely our last hearing of the 116th congress. thank you for your leadership and partnership to address pressing transportation and safety issues facing our nation. at our first meeting as to your ranking member in 2019 we discussed issues of mutual interest and agreed to work on legislative matters such as passing a pipeline safety reauthorization. today we are close to finalizing that legislation. i hope we are able to complete that with our house c

for 33 years. the department of transportation ruling on service and emotional support animals. upport animals such as birds, rabbits, and others will no longer be considered to be service animals and will not be able to fly for free in an airplane cabin. that designation will now strictly be for individually trained dogs while the rule eliminates so-called emotional support animals, it does consider trained psychiatric service animals to be service animals. and those are today's headlines. a former employee accuses her of mismanagement and retaliation. >> these new questions about past behavior, appointed to be on the biden council of economic advisors who is here in wilmington a few days ago, heather boushey. >> through the organization i cofounded, i pursued solutions to reduce the dangerous march of inequality. >> now somebody who worked at the washington center for growth, a think tank says a new pick to be a biden advisor retaliated against her when she wrote a lengthy and personal blog detailing racism and sexism in the ranks at that think tank. a former employee wrote fur