mary bruce, thank you. this all comes down to the electoral college, that path to 270 electoral votes. so, let's get right back to tom llamas, back at the big board for us again, where he will be all night long. with a viewers guide tonight, which states to watch for early. and tom, if we could, let's start with the map in 2016. take us through what happened if joe biden can rebuild that so-called blue wall that collapsed for the dems four years ago. >> david, here is how it ended up four years ago after election night. you can see president trump well past 270. if joe biden is able to win back that blue wall, remember, all these states were decided by less than a percentage point, you can see the number right there, 278, he's well on his way. >> in the meantime, if he builds the blue wall but can't pull off pennsylvania, give pennsylvania to the president, just for sake of seeing what it does for the math. >> let's flip back that to the president. if he holds the rest of the states, look at the number, 280

>> all right, mary bruce tonight. mary, thank you. >>> and as you heard mary say there, president-elect joe biden trying to lower the temperature on all this, but it's not been easy. late word tonight of those three more officials at the pentagon now out. just 24 hours after the president fired his defense secretary in that tweet. let's get right to martha raddatz tonight. and martha, what have you learned tonight about who is out? >> reporter: well, david, the names may not be familiar to people, but the jobs they held at the pentagon are key. policy, intelligence and their replacements controversial, including a retired brigadier general whose nomination for a pentagon job this summer was withdrawn because of islamophobic tweets. this, of course, follows the abrupt firing yesterday of secretary of defense mark esper. he was replaced within an hour by chris miller, a former special operations soldier who had been director of the counterterrorism center, but only for a couple of months, david. >> well, martha, you cove

there's questions whether it's even legal. >> mary bruce asking the questions late today. let's get to mary in wilmington tonight. there was news today about michigan where the president lost by about 148,000 votes. we've learned the president has called republican officials in wayne county, home to detroit, we know sometime after that call they tried to rescind their vote to certify the results there. now there's word the president invited some republican law makers to the white house. >> reporter: this is all part of a shockingly bold, last ditch attempt by the president to somehow change the election results. today his personal attorney, rudy giuliani held a lengthy press conference laden with false statements and, again, no evidence of any voter fraud. tonight the government official tasked with ensuring election security, chris krebs, the one trump fired earlier this week for stating there was no voter fraud, he's calling that giuliani press conference the most dangerous hour and 45 minutes of television in american history. david? >> mary bruce, thank you. >>> we cont

there's questions whether it's even legal. >> mary bruce asking the questions late today. let's get to mary. there was news today about michigan where the president lost by about 148,000 votes. we've learned the president has called republican officials in wayne county, home to detroit, we know sometime after that call they tried to rescind their vote to vert fie tcertify the vote. now there's word the president invited some to the white house. >> reporter: this is a last ditch attempt by the president to somehow change the election results. rudy giuliani held a lengthy press conference laden with false statements. tonig tonig tonight chris krebs, he's calling that giuliani press conference the most dangerous hour and 45 minutes of television in american history. >> mary bruce, thank you. >>> we continue to report on where this virus is hitting hardest and why what kind of care you get could depend on where you live. tonight our abc news investigation continuing this looking at the 100 u.s. counties with the highest death toll. here's steve osunsami. >> let them know that a

it's clear joe biden tonight is already looking ahead. >> mary bruce leading us off tonight. thank you. >>> president trump out of sight today, but late today in a tweet saying joe biden should not, quote, wrongfully claim the office of the president. here's our chief white house correspondent jonathan karl tonight. >> reporter: 24 hours after falsely declaring democrats were trying to steal the election -- >> they are trying to rig an election, and we can't let that happen. >> reporter: president trump tonight is pondering his next move. his party is divided. house republican leader kevin mccarthy is echoing the president's false claims of voter fraud and declaring himself ready to fight. >> president trump won this election. >> reporter: but the senate's top republican, mitch mcconnell, is refusing to back up the president's unsubstantiated claims, only tweeting, quote, every legal vote should be counted. any illegally submitted ballots must not. today mcconnell made it clear he did not want to talk about the president. >> i've already covered the subject. i told you. i sen

americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart. >> all right, let's get right to mary bruce tonight, with us live from wilmington, delaware. and mary, we showed that path just a few moments ago, the biden camp very confident if they can win where joe biden leads there in arizona and nevada, that that's their path to 270? >> reporter: that's true, david. and tonight, they are also confident that they have a strong showing in pennsylvania, too. and while they have been careful not to declare victory, they are moving ahead with their transition plans. today, officially launching their transition website, buildbackbetter.com. david? >> mary bruce, thank you tonight. >>> president trump was behind closed doors at the white house today. he did come before the cameras overnight. after 2:00 a.m. in the morning, declaring, we have already won it. with millions of ballots still being counted in this country. today, his campaign taking legal action now. and here's our chief white house correspondent jonathan karl with what he's learning tonight. >> reporter: tonight, president trump is

>> all right, mary bruce tonight. mary, thank you. >>> and overseas tonight, new reporting at this hour on the alleged assassination of iran's top nuclear scientist. a news agency close to the iranian revolutionary guard claiming it with us a remote controlled machine gun that fired at the man. israel has not commented and abc news has not confirmed the claims. iran has vowed retaliation. >>> back here at home tonight, and the major storm battering much of the east, as millions head home from work and the tornado watch for a time today. heavy rain and damaging winds really from tb tn straight up through maine. look at this image. even crossing the street was tough in queens new york today. and on the back side of all this, snow and cold coming in. chief meteorologist ginger zee tracking it all for us. ginger? >> reporter: david, these rocking winds have gusted to 66 miles per hour already on long island. we've seen two to three inches of rain and i've seen lightning, just standing here. so, you know we've got a late se

and that biden's team wants to be ready to declare victory if they hit 270, david. >> all right, mary bruce tonight. mary, thank you. >>> and now to the president's strategy. as we said at the top of the news tonight, we are expecting to hear from the president during this hour. we'll bring that to you when we hear from hip. he's been out of sight since he came before cameras at 2:00 a.m. wednesday morning in the wee hours of the morning after election night. and so jon karl with what he's learning tonight. >> reporter: today at the white house, the marine guard was at his post outside the west wing, a sign donald trump was back in the oval office. but we haven't seen much of the president since the wee hours wednesday morning, when he angrily and falsely declared the election was rigged. >> we were getting ready for a big celebration. we were winning everything and all of a sudden, it was just called off. >> reporter: the reality then, and now, the votes are still being counted. today, the president was still out of sight, calling supporters and tweeting furiously. twitter slapping warning

>> all right, mary bruce with us tonight, as well. thank you. >>> and tonight, the lawsuits brought by president trump and his campaign after the election, what are judges saying about them? tonight, from michigan to pennsylvania to nevada, the judges have been clear and the messages in emails sent out to the president's supporters saying we're closer than ever and it's happening? where is that money going? here's terry moran. >> reporter: for all the sound and fury on twitter and tv from president trump and his allies about election fraud -- >> then we have proof that i can't disclose yet. >> reporter: in the courts, where evidence gets scrutinized, authenticated and tested, they're getting hammered. more than two dozen cases have been brought and no finding of fraud from any judge state or federal, republican or democratic. case after case tossed out and the judges strikingly dismissive of the claims. in michigan, republicans claimed they had evidence that the count should be stopped. the judge wasn't having it. >> i heard somebody

mary bruce, a new statement now from former vice president biden?ave the first reaction from the president elect. i'm going to go ahead and read this statement in full. joe biden saying, i'm honored and humbled by the trust the american people have placed in me and in vice president elect harris. in the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of americans voted, proving once again that democracy beats deep in the heart of america. he says, with the campaign over, it is time to put the anger and harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. it is time for america to unite and heal. he concludes by saying, we are the united states of america, and there is nothing we can't do if we do it together. >> mary bruce -- >> it is a statement -- >> thanks very much. i want to bring that to rahm emanuel. you said that should be the lead message coming out of the president elect. it's time to heal, bring the country together again. you've also served in presidential elections. appointed chief of staff to president obama just days after his ele

david, they have a lot of work to do. >> all right, mary bruce with us on a monday night. mary, thank you. >>> president trump offering no signs of conceding, pushing ahead with legal challenges, golfing over the weekend as the race was projected. and today, he fired his defense secretary mark esper in a tweet. here's our chief white house correspondent jonathan karl. >> reporter: the only glimpses we've seen of donald trump since joe biden was projected president-elect came over the weekend on the golf course. >> don't give up! don't give up! >> reporter: he is still not willing to accept defeat, fighting his battle in court and on twitter. but today, he also announced on twitter he had "terminated" his defense secretary mark esper. esper was with the president during the infamous photo-op at st. john's church, where protesters were cleared out with tear gas and flashbang ge nads. he then infuriated the president by suggesting he would object to an order to deploy the military to crack down on the demonstrations. >> mark yesper? did you call him yesper? oh, okay, some peop

abc's mary bruce in pittsburgh tonight. >> reporter: joe biden heading out for his last frenzied day of campaigning, ready to go. >> one day! >> reporter: biden starting the day in ohio, a sign the campaign thinks the red state is up for grabs. >> tomorrow! tomorrow, we have an opportunity to put an end to a presidency that's divided this nation. >> reporter: then the boy from scranton off to the state that could decide this election -- pennsylvania. from the beginning of this campaign, biden's played up his roots here, but the race is tighteni tightening. biden with a steady, but slim lead. >> how are you feeling, mr. vice president? mr. biden, do you feel like you can win ohio? >> tell me, pennsylvania, are you ready to vote? >> reporter: today, the biden campaign spread out in every corner of the keystone state. >> we're all here. and this is biden country, isn't it? >> reporter: the candidate holding three back-to-back drive-in rallies near pittsburgh. >> we're going to win pennsylvania and we're going to show the world what america stands for. >> reporter: trump won pennsylvania

mary bruce with the biden campaign. mary, the biden campaign waiting for projections like everyone else, but we will hear from the former vice president either way? >> george, i am told we are still expected to hear joe biden come out and speak tonight, but that he is not likely to declare victory until this race has been called. so that means it is possible we could be getting another status update from the former vice president. i suspect in that case you would hear him continuing to project that growing confidence that we've been hearing over the past several days and continued calls for calm and patience. there's a sense within the biden campaign tonight that this is really just a matter of when and not if. they are completely confident that joe biden will be the next president, but the win of all of this is clearly taking much longer than they had hoped. george, they really don't want to get ahead of this. you have heard the vice president over the past several days urging his supporters to keep the faith as all of

let's get the latest on what's happening inside the campaigns from jon karl covering trump and mary bruce covering biden. j jon, start us off. >> the president is in an all out sprint to election day. he's in michigan, iowa, north carolina, florida and georgia. tomorrow another five rallies in four different states. the last in grand rapids, michigan. that's where he had his last rally in 2016. for a guy who was literally in the hospital with covid-19, on oxygen, this is something of a marvel. there's talk, george, he may do one last rally on election day. he pulled off a massive upset victory four years ago. he's doing everything he can physically do to do it again. although this would be a bigger upset. >> these huge rallies in the face of warnings from public health officials. >> no doubt. because of that, these rallies are outdoors. he's drawing people by the thousands, in some cases bone chilling temperatures, facing the threat of getting infected of coronavirus. it's a reflection of how deep his support is. how fur fervent his support is. yesterday in pennsylvania four different ral

mary bruce back with us live from wilmington, delaware, again tonight. mary, we were watching that all together, joe biden seemed to be trying to signal if he's elected, and he's feeling confident, i know the campaign is, doubling down on his first priority, which he has said all along would be the pandemic. >> reporter: david, it is clear that joe biden is eager to project leadership in this moment and that he is looking ahead to the massive challenges that he may be inheriting if elected. first and foremost, how to tackle this pandemic and guide the country out of this crisis, david. >> and mary, in the meantime, i know you have many sources inside this campaign. i wanted to talk a little bit about the stage behind you, the biden/harris signs, we were seeing teams working on the equipment today. that's another sign of confidence of this campaign. i know they want to be ready at any moment if and when the math turns their way, if it turns their way. >> reporter: they certainly do, and david, i have to tell you, we have seen a flurry of activity here beh

. >> let's go to mary bruce. she's with the biden campaign in delaware. mary, i know that the biden camp has been having increasing confidence through the night. they believe they have this? >> reporter: george, they did. they believe this is inevitable and imminent. we heard joe biden come out yesterday and all but declare the race is over. they're extremely encouraged by what they see in georgia and all eyes are in pennsylvania. they're continuing to urge patience and urging everyone to remain calm. you heard joe biden keep the faith, democracy is messing and urging americans despite what the president is saying this is the process playing out as it should. that stark contrast with the white house is one that has been extremely notable, despite the president's remarks last night. joe biden not responding directly to those. his team feels the more the president comes out and makes baseless accusations about voter fraud, they feel it underscores their argument they're winning. >> cecilia vega, are we getting a statement from the white house? >> reporter: i

mary bruce, thanks very much. robin? >>> we are going to bring in cecilia vega who is at the white house. and, cecilia, we just heard in mary's piece there about the tweet from president trump claiming there could be violence in the streets in pennsylvania. what does this is say about the mood inside the trump campaign? >> reporter: yeah, robin, it tells you that the president is relying on using fear right now to sow doubt about this election as we head into election day. now, listen to what sources are telling us, they're saying the campaign is particularly worried about what they're seeing, that tight race in pennsylvania, and potentially gearing up for what could be some kind of late night legal fight if it isn't as close as it looks like it's going to be. behind the scenes hearing from sources that the president is becoming increasingly -- talking more and more about these conspiracy theories about fraud and the election being stolen from him. of course, there is no evidence of that at all. as for tonight, the presid

what our team is learning, mary bruce standing by joe biden also winning in georgia, not one by a democrat since bill clinton in 1992. that state bracing for a recount and what could mean for control of the senate. where this race stands in nevada and arizona tonight. theres movement there, too. while inside the white house, president trump's next move, vowing to pursue this process through every aspect of the law.

back to mary bruce in washington with the latest. ident was beginning to recognize his defeat, but it did not last, and this morning there's now a growing chorus warning that the president's refusal to concede is damaging the the country. as president trump refuses to concede, this morning former president obama is urging trump to live up to his own motto and put america first. >> if you want at this late stage in the game to be remembered as somebody who put country first, it's time for you to do the same thing. >> reporter: in his first interview since the election obama says trump is denying reality describing his behavior as a danger to democracy. over the weekend the president seemed to recognize joe biden's victory briefly acknowledging on twitter sunday, biden won the election, only to walk it back, trump tweeting, i concede nothing. we have a long way to go. the president continues to falsely insist he actually won, claiming without any evidence that the election was somehow rigged against him. but nearly every lawsuit his tea

mary bruce is with the biden campaign in wilmington, delaware. good morning, mary. >> reporter: george, good morning. while joe biden right now is confident he is on the cusp of victory while president trump is not ready to throw in the towel is digging in. he is trying to put a stop to vote counting in some states while calling for every ballot to be tallied in other places where he is behind, demanding that officials take another look. this morning, the white house is within reach for joe biden. >> i'm not here to declare that we've won, but i am here to report when the count is finished we believe we will be the winners. >> reporter: eking out an apparent victory in wisconsin, and now projected to take michigan, biden now just 17 electoral votes shy of the presidency. he says he's confident he's flipped arizona and is feeling good about pennsylvania telling the country he believes once every vote is counted the results will be clear. >> of special significance to me is that we've won with the majority of the american people and every indication

mary bruce is with the biden campaign in wilmington, delaware and starts us off. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george. well, this unprecedented campaign culminated in a very unprecedented night and this is not over yet. this morning this race is still very much up in the air. but that is not stopping president trump from coming out and prematurely and baselessly declaring victory threatening legal action while biden's team this morning is promising to fight and guarantee that every vote is counted. this morning, the white house hanging in the balance with the race in several key battleground states still too close to call. but even though millions of votes still need to be counted, president trump falsely claiming he won. and telling the country he'll call on the supreme court to end the election. experts say that would be an illegitimate move. >> we were getting ready to win this election. frankly, we did win this election. we did win. we'll be going to the u.s. supreme court. we want all voting to stop. we don't want them to find any ballots at 4

our mary bruce is in washington with new developments. ry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. well, as the president continues to stonewall this transition, the president-elect, joe biden, is plowing ahead moving to fill pivotal posts in his administration starting with what is often known as the second hardest job in washington, his chief of staff. overnight, joe biden making his first major decision as president-elect naming his right-hand man, tapping longtime adviser ron klain to be his chief of staff. biden praising klain as invaluable saying in a statement, his deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what i need as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again. klain, who already served as chief of staff to biden while he was vice president, brings valuable insight into combating the coronavirus having led president obama's response to the ebola outbreak. biden now moving ahead to fill critical posts in his administration. >> we're go

here's mary bruce. >> reporter: two weeks after election day and the transition in limbo, president-elect joe biden today briefed on national security issues by outside advisers, because president trump is denying him access to anyone inside the government. >> you know that i've been unable to get the briefings that ordinarily would have come by now. >> reporter: trump also blocking biden's team from briefings on the pandemic, frustrating not just for the president-elect, but for dr. anthony fauci as well. >> it's important at every level to have a smooth transition. >> reporter: but holed up in the white house, president trump confuses to concede. tonight, he fired his administration's top security election official in a tweet, for insisting the election was the most secure in the country's history. the official, christopher krebs, has publicly rejected the president's claims of widespread fraud. and because of that, tonight trump announced credibles was termina krebs was terminated. it comes as georgia is ongoing, and the republican secretary of state brad raffensperger says he's gettin

here's mary bruce. >> reporter: two weeks after election day and the transition in limbo, president-elect joe biden today briefed on national security issues by outside advisers, because president trump is denying him access to anyone inside the government. >> you know that i've been unable to get the briefings that ordinarily would have come by now. >> reporter: trump also blocking biden's team from briefings on the pandemic, frustrating not just for the president-elect, but for dr. anthony fauci as well. >> it's important at every level to have a smooth transition. >> reporter: fauci is eager to bring biden up to speed on everything from vaccine distribution to supply shortages and hospital space. >> it's easy to hear about it in the news and to read about it, but when you sit down with somebody and talk about what went wrong, what went right, that's important. >> reporter: but holed up in the white house, president trump refuses to concede, instead fighting legal battles that are going nowhere. today, yet another court defeat, this time in pennsylvania. in georgia, where the manual rec

mary bruce is covering it all from washington. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george. well, in his most blunt assessment yet, joe biden is really upping the pressure on president trump to coordinate and get this transition going, warning that there will be dire consequences if he doesn't. joe biden this morning says the president's refusal to concede and allow the transition to begin is a matter of life and death. >> more people may die if we don't coordinate. >> reporter: biden warning the distributing of a covid-19 vaccine could be more difficult. >> if we have to wait until january 20th to start that planning, it puts us behind over a month, month and a half. so it's important that it be done, and there be coordination now. >> reporter: with trump refusing to admit defeat, biden's team is being blocked from receiving sensitive information and coordinating with agencies. it doesn't appear the president is going to come around any time soon and admit defeat. so what are you going to do? what options do you have to

mary bruce is with the biden campaign in wilmington, delaware. good morning, mary. >> reporter: george, this race is still very much up in the air right now and as more of this vote is tallied, the margin between the candidates in key battleground states is only growing tighter, none of that prevented the president coming out baselessly declaring victory threatening that legal fight, while the biden team is promising to fight this morning and guarantee every vote is counted. this morning, the white house hanging in the balance with the race in several key battleground states still too close to call. but even though millions of votes still need to be counted, president trump falsely claiming he won. and telling the country he'll call on the supreme court to end the election. experts say that would be an illegitimate move. >> we were getting ready to win this election. frankly, we did win this election. we'll be going to the u.s. supreme court. we want all voting to stop. we don't want them to find any ballots at 4:00 in the morning and add them to

joe biden is forging ahead and mary bruce is back. all of this uncertainty. today he is forging ahead, meeting with his transition advi advise advisers, but there are serious concerns that as the president continues to refuse to reckon with reality that there could be serious repercussions. trump insists he will win this race even though he's yet to put forth a single shred of evidence of widespread fraud but that isn't stopping senate republicans and even some top trump administration officials from perpetuating this false narrative. now, those close to the president tell us that privately he knows this race is over. that he has no pathway to win through litigation, but he still is undermining our electoral process and a peaceful transition of power so it's not clear what his real strategy is here except to try and sow doubt about the legitimacy of a biden presidency, george. >> okay, mary bruce, thanks very much. robin. >>> george, turning to history being made at the u.s. naval academy. sydney barber, make that midshipman first cla

i want to go to mary bruce in wilmington, delaware. mary, the -- i was going to say trump campaign.r wish. doesn't look like they're going to get projections tonight, but we're still going to hear from the president? >> we're told we're likely to hear even if there's not a call in this race, but he's not co coming out to declare victory. instead he'll project confidence they are on track to hitting 270 and they're optimistic about what they're seeing in pennsylvania, georgia, and nevada, and arizona. but to the conversation we were having earlier, there is a fine line the biden team has to walk. this will be the fourth time in as many days biden has come out and addressed the nation in one way or the other. it's an opportunity to urge the country to be calm and patient but also stress the system is working. there is some concern on the campaign that the longer this goes on, that is more time for the president to try to sew doubt about the electoral process as we have seen him do and for trump to create a cloud, which is how the biden campaign has been describing his efforts. they do

mary bruce starts us off in pennsylvania. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george.l, with 20 electoral votes the candidates have been spending a lot of time here. now it is crunch time. they are both out in full force today taking their last stands in the critical battleground states that could decide their fate. this morning, the finish line now just hours away. >> we're going to win four more years in the white house. our beautiful white house. >> it's time for donald trump to pack his bags and go home. >> reporter: president trump on an all-out blitz holding nine rallies in six states over the weekend and planning five more today hitting many of the same states. he's playing defense sweeping through areas he won in 2016 with polls showing he has a narrow path to victory, trump is banking on a large turnout on election day. >> we have a giant red wave that's formed. it's formed. >> reporter: while joe biden is flooding the zone in pennsylvania, his entire team today fanning out across the critical state. polls show him still slightly ahead in the keystone state. p

mary bruce has the story. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george. well, joe biden is promising americans that he can get this pandemic under control. he's trying to plow ahead, but as the trump administration blocks him from critical data and resources, the president-elect is growing increasingly frustrated saying it's time to put politics aside and save american lives. this morning, with effective vaccines on the horizon, joe biden says the only thing standing in the way of a speedy rollout is president trump. >> there is a whole lot of things that we just don't have available to us which unless it's made available soon we're going to be behind by weeks or months. >> reporter: during a virtual roundtable with frontline workers, the president-elect warning, if the trump administration doesn't give him team access to government resources soon there's more at stake than immunization like getting badly needed protective equipment to hospitals. >> we've been unable to get access to the kinds of things we need to know about the depth of the stockpiles. w

mary bruce is in washington with the latest. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, robin. well, after a weekend of celebrating, this morning it's time to get down to business. never before has a president-elect faced so many urgent and complicated problems. from the pandemic to the economy, to trying to unite the country, joe biden has a very long to-do list in front of him, and this morning he is making it clear he's already getting started. after celebrating their historic win -- >> this is the time to heal in america. >> reporter: and finally, shattering that glass ceiling. >> while i may be the first woman in this office, i will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. >> reporter: this morning, the biden/harris team is getting to work. their first priority, getting the pandemic under control. the president-elect today announcing his team of scientists and experts to tackle this crisis. >> our work begins with getting covid under control. i will spare no effort, none, or any commitment to turn around this

we heard mary bruce talking about this. this is where joe biden's path comes through. all president trump needs and his campaign acknowledges this is one of these states. look at his totals 260 now and wins pennsylvania and goes to 280 and picks up michigan and he picks up wisconsin, 270 right on the nose. but you have to hold all three of those states. >> you can watch the full explainer coming up at 7:00 and you'll want to keep watching abc7 as election results start pouring in here. many polls will start closing around 4:00 p.m. pacific time. reggie? >>> if you're eligible to vote in california whether you have registered or not, you can cast a ballot today at your polling place. when you do so, you'll join the majority of voters who have already had their i voted stickers handed to them. julian glover live for us at levi stadium. good morning, julian. >> goodern morning to you, reg. voters energized and many taking advantage of their voting by mail options and also coming to vote centers like here at levi stadium and the bottom line is that the turnout already is s

leading all the action, george stephanopoulos including david muir and mary bruce at biden bid campaigng on all the breaking news. our team of correspondents fanned out across all the battleground states covering every angle and our ballot watch teams. these are our legal eagles looking out for any regularities in the voting patterns. plus our political strategists right over here including governor chris christie and raum emmanuel and our chief correspondent jonathan carl and myself over here on the set. i'll be operating the big board tonight. this is where we're watching the votes come in in realtime. which states go to joe biden or president trump. when we have a winner, if we have a winner, we'll see it right here on the board. >> so, if you missed it, our complete election day coverage begins with the abc news team followed by a special edition of abc news which airs at 8:00 which includes a check on all the bay raria races ae iie iiei. you can watch that at abc7news.com as well as on all our connected tvapps and, of course, we will have a full wrap on abc7 news at 11:00. >>> hi,

mary bruce has the latest, good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, michael. while the president-elect is eager to show that he's ready to roll up his sleeves and navigate this crisis, he is urging americans to put their political differences aside and come together to tackle this common enemy and beat this pandemic. as the u.s. passes 10 million covid cases, joe biden is welcoming the vaccine breakthrough but warning there's still more work to be done. >> the challenge before us right now is still immense and growing. there's a need for bold action to fight this pandemic. we're still facing a very dark winter. >> reporter: after the president spent months downplaying masks, biden is now trying to reset the conversation. >> i want to be very clear. the goal of mask wearing is not to make your life less comfortable. it's to give something back to all of us, a normal life. >> reporter: urging americans to come together and do their part. >> we can save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months. not democrat or republic

mary j. blige. joe biden walked out to bruce springsteen.ys of the campaign bruce spring teen narrated a commercial for joe biden and there was a great line that says, "this is more than where he's from, it's who he is for," speaking to the blue-collar people that signed on to vote for joe biden this time. i think that speaks volumes of how hoe made that shift and turned it around. >> o'donnell: you think bruce springsteen may have been the deciding factor. >> reporter: i think bruce springsteen-- you can't go wrong with anything bruce springsteen. don't get me started. i'll start belting out "dancing in the dark" soon. i don't think that hurt. they played that commercial during the ohio state-penn state game the week before voting. i don't think that hurt. >> o'donnell: absolutely not. we will have more from cbs news election headquarters right here re.times square. online last night ♪ ♪ and body wash, just for men ♪ now, i think we're gonna buy new shoes, again! ♪ ♪ rakuten cash back on the things all in our home ♪ ♪ rakuten i shop on raku