erin mclaughlin has our joint nbc news investigation with the marshal project. >> reporter: elijah mcclainas a 23-year-old with no criminal record. walking home from a store in august 2019, aurora, colorado police stopped him following a call of a suspicious person wearing a ski mask. >> stop. stop i stopped you because you're being suspicious. >> reporter: the confrontation quickly escalates. >> stop, stop tensing up. >> reporter: officers used a now banned chokehold to restrict mcclain. >> i'm trying to go home. >> reporter: parameddings administered ketamine to sedate him and rushed to the hospital unresponsive. days later pronounced dead mcclain's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officers who denied wrongdoing and shielded legally from civil suits under a then law in california calle qualified immunity which makes it difficult to sue police for serious misconduct. >> for too long law enforcement officers have not even had to stand in front of a court or a judge and say, here's what i did and here's why i did it instead they have been able to claim qualified immunity an

. >>> i'm erin mclaughlin in los angeles. inside california's hospitals there's desperation. patients spilling into hallways, conference rooms, even parking lots. >> we are down t 1.1% icu capacity. >> reporter: now the crisis epicenter on the cusp of 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases. days before christmas a chorus of cries of help from the front lines. >> if we continue to gather indoors at th rate that we are many more of us will not see the holidays next year. >> reporter: outside los angeles dozens gather without masks to sing christmas carols, led by actor kirk cameron nationwide almost 1,000 hospital icus hitting 90% capacity nurse holly pike watches as her colleague fights for her life >> i actually had the wonderful privileg of taking care of her and being her nurs for quite a few nights, and it was hard >> reporter: after caring for covid patients utah icu nurse and mother of three jill hulker is on life support waiting for a double lung transplant. >> we're just hoping that she can come home as soon as possible. >> reporter: a christmas wish amidst real fear th

let's turn to nbc erin mclaughlin in california. that hospital has cold storage units ready to receive the vaccines. are healthcare workers ready for it? >> reporter: absolutely. one e.r. doctor who told me this is an option soon. we'll start administer here at sinai. she has two children at home and the vaccine represents a peace of mind. this offers hope and an end is near. >> the vaccine is our principle hope. we made a lot of progress and there are several medications on the market now that we can give patients who have covid really the vaccine in combination with universal masks use is really what's going to get us beyond this pandemic. >> reporter: this as california is facing a desperate situation especially here in southern california of the grasp of infection really shocking. the number of covid cases tripling within just the last month. doctors and nurses struggling to get a handle on this situation is completely full and while the months before we see this vaccine have a real impact to be distributed with the general publ

nbc's erin mclaughlin is in hard-hit los angeles with more on that. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, aig. a new poll finds nearly half of americans will take the vaccine as soon as they can. nearly double the number from october. and officials say there will be enough vaccine to give to every american who wants it by the second quarter of next year. doctors say with infections simply out of control, help can't come soon enough. two days before his 80th birthday, dr. fauci flexes with the holiday message of hope. >> i want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so that we can have a veil of protection over this country. >> reporter: this as nearly a fifth of u.s. hospitals reported last week that at least 95% of their icus were at capacity. >> our darkest days in the battle against covid are ahead of us, not behind us. >> reporter: a dangerous situation, only getting worse as americans gather for christmas. >> your choices will save lives or they will lead to more death. >> reporter: and overnight outrage after an

nbc's erin mclaughlin is in los angeles for us. good morning, erin. tell us what you're hearing about how dire the situation is but also what they think is going to happen next now they think there's a vaccine. >> reporter: the situation here in california seems to be going from bad to worse in terms of the numbers, the new records set in the state. yesterday over 42,000 covid-19 cases confirmed by county officials throughout the state of california. authorities are still struggling to get the situation under control. it's especially bleak in the san joaquin valley area where icu capacity is at a staggering zero percent. i was speaking to a doctor in fresno on the front lines. he said the situation there has been getting progressively worse. they're so overwhelmed that doctors and nurses are getting sick with the virus. the health care system in his area, more than 230 health care workers have been infected. more than 300 have been quarantined in self-isolation. it's creating a crisis situation. he told me he, himself, contracted covid-19 back in nove

erin mclaughlin is in austin, texas. also dr. christopher thomas, a pull monologist who treats critical care patients in baton rouge. erin, paint us the picture in austin. we know the country is suffering. austin, a huge city, a huge growing city. how are they in hospital capacity? >> well, it's not looking great here in austin, chuck. 83% hospital capacity for this city. that number climbs to 90% for the state of texas. and it's really a picture that we're seeing across the country. more than one-third of all americans live in areas right now that are being impacted, areas that are facing critical icu shortages, and surgeons and doctors tell me that it's having a profound impact, not only on covid-19 patients but non-covid patients as well. i was speaking to stephanie deer, her 47-year-old sister laurie's heart stopped in october. she was rushed to the hospital. needed an ecmo machine to save her life. there was not an ecmo machine available because they were all being taken by covid-19 patients. they took 3 1/2 hours for her --

vaccinations can start shortly after received erin mclaughlin has a look at the plan there good morning, erin. >> reporter: frances, this vaccine is offering hope to so many on the front lines be of this crisis. it will be distributed at cedar sinai in los angeles either tuesday or wednesday of this week that according to a spokesman of this hospital. one of a limited number of hospitals to receive the first doses of the vaccine in the state of california, chosen for a number of factors. proximity to the crisis, its ability to distribute the vaccine to other hospitals and finally its ability to store the vaccine. one er doctor told me she's relieved it's so near. she has two children at home this will provide her peace of mind going forward in what is an escalating pandemic. >>> it can't be understated, the creation of this vaccine was a scientific breakthrough that could change the course of history. >> reporter: we've had big scientific achievements before, often set off with a bang. this achievement packed in tiny viles no less spectacular, but now it's on us put this in historical p

erin mclaughlin, thank you. >>> and with so many families struggling to make ends meet, one teacher inle to make sure that her students don't go hungry this holiday season. nbc's correspondent blayne alexander explains. >> reporter: every friday, when classes end at north grade elementary school in florida, for this teacher, the work is just beginning. rebecca curry started her mission a few years ago after a chance conversation with a school secretary. >> during lunch, she would watch students stuff their faces or collect extra food on fridays because it was their last meal until monday. and when i heard that, i couldn't sleep, really. it just bothered me so much. >> reporter: so, every friday, a special delivery, backpacks filled with food, courtesy of the school pantry, delivered directly to classroom doors. but now, with the pandemic, a different destination, to the homes of students who need it the most. >> they have the same shirts with stains on it for five days in a row. when you really love those students and you start to get to know them, you see their pains, and how can we e

or should i give up a lifetime >> erin mclaughlin with those latest figures for us. erin, thanks >>> winter's especially hard on the families struggling to keep a roof over their heads. the federal eviction moratorium ends on january 31st, and it could leave 40 million americans homeless our jo ling kent takes a closer look >> reporter: derrick and brenda durham have made some tough choices. >> we had to choose a roof over our head or transportation >> reporter: derrick was a quality-control inspector for mercedes-benz, making $15.50 an hour, until he was furloughed in march. the couple lives in south carolina with their daughter relying on $216 a week in unemployment they've fallen $6,500 behind in rent. >> we're going to be out in the street that's what's going to end up happening. we're going to end up being out on the street. >> reporter: until now, the family has been protected by the moratorium on pandemic-related evictions, that was set to expire right after the holidays. congress extended it by another month. bufor t ny americans, that may not be enough. nearl

need ask themselves should i give up this one holiday, or should i give up a lifetime >> nbc's erin mclaughlin with the latest thank you. >>> more fallout this morning from that fatal police-involved shooting of an unarmed black man in columbus, ohio. earlier this week, the city's mayor called for the termination of officer adam coy who shot 47-year-old andre maurice hill now columbus' police chief is joining the growing calls for justice. on thursday, the chief also recommended coy be fired here's nbc's kathy park with more >>> the family of andre hill has nothing to celebrate this holiday. >> reporter: dramatic action out of columbus, ohio, following the shooting death of 47-year-old andre hill the city's police chief making his recommendation >> today i'm announcing action to terminate officer adam coy. >> reporter: columbus officer adam coy, who shot hill, had been placed on paid leave. the body camera footage of the shooting released this week shows the moments leading up to the deadly encounter as coy walks up to an open garage and approaches hill who's seen holding his cell phone while

erin mclaughlin is in los angeles county where hospitals are beyond strained.s a critical care nurse from west hills hospital in los angeles. give us a sense of the scenario these hospitals are in there in california. >> reporter: we've been watching the crisis unfold at this hospital in burbank. we watched as two patients were brought to the emergency by ambulance and they were stopped and triaged outside because they had no hospital beds available in the hospital itself. the patients were eventually admitted but it gives you a picture of the kinds of scenes playing out across the entire state of california. 47 million californians live in areas where there is zero icu capacity left. here in los angeles, the four busiest hospitals in l.a. county are so full, they're preparing for what's called crisis of standard of care mode which means they would be taking resources from the sickest patients and reallocating to the patients most likely to survive. doctors warning those hospitals could be days away from that eventuality. this is a crisis playing out all the wa

erin mclaughlin has the very latest on that. erin, good morning. >> peter, good morning. here in the united states, hospitalizations have more than doubled since november. many states are seeing the exponential increases in case numbers as california is the first state to surpass 2 million cases, and with christmas gatherings already happening, the officials are worrying that the darkest days of the pandemic are ahead. >> reporter: the day before christmas, health care workers are fearing that this is the days before the darkest days of the surge. >> the trend lines just continue to go up. there's no sign of a plateau. >> reporter: with cases spiking across california, icus at nearly 99% capacity. patients spending christmas eve in hallways, conference rooms, even parking lots. >> everyone is a different size, shape, age, background. we can't predict who will come in next. >> reporter: the holiday threatens to push the system further over the edge. >> this is why christmas where there are large gatherings should not happen. if it does happen, people that you love may not

hoda. >> all right, erin mclaughlin, thank you. >>> athletes and visitors at the tokyo olympic village-driving buses for the games. they run automatically on preset routes. the vehicles are also designed to stop if a pedestrian suddenly tries to cross the road. human staff members will be keeping an eye on all things from a central command center. what could possibly go wrong? >> i don't know. but i'm kind of looking forward to that. >> how about a boost? >> i've got you. we all know it's been a tough year, especially for young people. so when it came to cheering up his students, one school principal just had to elf himself. north carolina principal terry vaughn turned himself into an elf on a shelf. the kids didn't know where he would be showing up, what kind of mischief he would be getting into. he transformed himself into buddy the elf. principal vaughn says his own comfort level goes by the wayside. all he wants to do is put smiles on the faces of these kids. >> it's been really cool this year to see educators keep kids engaged in unique ways. >> yeah. >> that's a good one. >>> com

here to start us off, gabe gutierrez, erin mclaughlin and, gabe, let me start with you. there's a new statement from the da out just within the last 90 minutes, not even, saying it's going to move fast towards an emergency use authorization. explain what that means for the timeline here. we do not often see statements like that during this process. >> yeah, that's right, hallie. the head of the fda saying this morning that the agency will rapidly work towards finalization and issuance of emergency use authorization. it's important to note that does not mean for sure that this will be approved, but virtually leaves no doubt that it will happen. it's just a question of exactly when. the fda advisory panel voted 17-4 with one abstention to move forward to this and recommend to the fda to approve this. the cdc is also meeting today. hallie, as you mentioned, this is highly unusual but then again, it is highly unusual what's happening here. most vaccines take four or five years to go through this long process. this has now been shrunk to under a year and now we expect this to

nbc's erin mclaughlin is in los angeles with the latest. >> reporter: the number of hospitalizationse united states have more than doubled since november. states are seeing an exponential raise in cases. here in california, the first state to surpass 2 million total cases. as people are moving for the holidays, there's a real concern this situation is only going to get worse. the day before christmas, health care workers fear this may be the eve of yet another dire surge. >> the trend lines just continue to go up. there's no sign of a plateau. >> reporter: with cases spiking across california. icus at nearly 99% capacity. patients spending christmas eve in hallways, conference rooms, even parking lots. >> everyone is a different shape, size, age, background. we can't predict who is going to come in next. >> reporter: the holiday threatens to push the system even further over the edge. >> this is one christmas where that large gathering should not happen. if it does happen, people that you love may not be there for the next gathering. >> reporter: 11 states have seen an over 60% rise

here is nbc's erin mclaughlin. >> reporter: in texas, doctors say they're battling a forest fire of infectionscus reaching capacity, across the state. >> what i am worried about is that we can't keep up. and in some cases, you may end up denying care to people who aren't likely to make it. that's a real tough one. >> reporter: in austin, thursday, patricia perez's family held her funeral. the 70-year-old grandmother believed she was infected with covid, while volunteering as a poll worker during the election. >> she was so passionate about, you know, working the polls. >> when you hear people say that this pandemic is a hoax, what do you have to say to them? >> people don't take it seriously, until it hits their family. >> reporter: this crisis is now coast to coast. since thanksgiving, 20 states have seen covid deaths surge by more than 50%. health experts worry, with a hodgepodge of regulations, state to state, there's still no uniform response to this crisis. >> we are in the timeframe, now, that, probably for the next 60 to 90 days, we're going to have more deaths, per day, than we had in

erin mclaughlin, eye-opening. i thought we had seen everything. thank you so much.g me now, mike clark, hospital administrator in ogden, utah, a state where icu capacity is nearing 100%. thank you so much for being with us. look, when you look at utah hospitals, almost 99% capacity, i'm sure you heard what's going on in los angeles. let me just ask you first, how is your hospital doing right now? how sustainable is this situation? >> that's a good question, chris. thanks for having me on, by the way. it's not sustainable for very long. we are functioning. we've been preparing for this, obviously, since the beginning of the pandemic in march. we continue to move our patients around to try to meet their needs, but we're running double capacity of our icu. we have been for several months. but we continue. our staff are working hard, they're working together, they're working extra, and working short. but we have really good kpoop rati -- cooperation, and we see great things happening, though it is stressful for them. >> stressful. they're human. they have to be exhauste

erin mclaughlin is joining us now with the latest. good morning, erin. >> savannah, good morning, this crisis is escalating. nearly twice as many people were hospitalized as in april. doctors say care is being compromised and lives lost as a result. >> reporter: this morning, the vaccines are rolling out. giving everyone a much needed shot of hope. in an otherwise bleak battle. >> it's scary. i do think that there is a breaking point. >> reporter: at the largest hospital in mississippi, there's a waiting list to get into the icu. the entire state is out of specialized beds. >> there's no cavalry coming over the hill to save us. we have to dig in and do the best we can. >> did you ever think you'd be in this position? >> no, not in my wildest dreams. >> reporter: similar scenes in california. the state reporting another day of record infections and a new peak in hospitalizations. the governor ordering refrigerator storage units on stand by. 5,000 additional body bags. texas and michigan joining the list of states where hospitals are nea

the healthy patients without the virus is being put in jeopardy, causing delays in their care erin mclaughlin% capacity that number goes up to 90% for the entire state of texas. more than 1/3 of all americans live in areas where there are critical icu bed shortages to cope, hospitals are cutting back on care for non-covid-19 patients, making it more difficult to get treatment some cases, that can be fatal. ♪ ♪ happy birthday to you >> my sister died because of covid, and she didn't have the virus. so nobody is counting her. >> reporter: stephanie dear's 47-year-old sister, lori, is not included in the hundreds of thousands killed by the coronavirus, but stephanie insists she should be. >> this is still hard because i miss her terribly. >> reporter: she was a healthy, active wife and mother in october, her heart suddenly stopped. specialized hospital beds in utah that lori needed to survive had all been taken many by covid patients it took them three and a half hours to get lori the kind of care she needed. the doctors say it didn't come soon enough. >> she had a medical emergency that anyone

nbc's erin mclaughlin is in austin, texas, with more. good morning. >> good morning. texas is one of those states with the lowest number of icu beds available. here in austin, all over the lone star state, and across the country, there's concern. situation is only getting worse. this morning in texas, doctors say they're battling a forest fire of infections. hospital icus reaching capacity across the state. >> what i'm worried about is that we can't keep up. and in some cases, you may end up denying care to people who aren't likely to make it. that's a real tough one. >> reporter: in austin, thursday, patricia perez's family held her funeral. the 70-year-old grandmother believed she was infected with covid while volunteering as a poll worker during the election. >> she was so passionate about working the polls. she just wanted to get out to vote. >> reporter: when you hear that people say this pandemic is a hoax, what do you have to say to them? >> people don't take it seriously until it hits their family. >> this crisis is now coast to coast. since thanksgiving, 20 s