President s opposition could now trigger a Government Shutdown sending the economy into a free fall. That means even more uncertainty for American Families going hungry right now and the homeless during the holidays. Yesterday also saw the second most deaths reported in the entire pandemic, and the president s sudden opposition to the relief bill has white house aides surprised and annoyed, were told. He posted this video an hour after a top aid indicated the president would sign the measure. I am asking congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low 600 to 2,000 or 4,000 for a couple. Send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a covid relief package, and maybe that administration will be me. No, it will not be him. He lost the election to joe biden, even though he likes to live in fantasy land. It would be funny if there werent so much at stake here. Stimulus checks, which could be sent next week, extended unemployment benefits, billions of dollars for Small Businesses that are trying to survive and of course billions for vaccines and rental assistance. The president s demand for bigger checks is actually being welcomed by nancy pelosi, but dont expect the relief bill to be renegotiated in the current republicanled senate. The president already lashing out at the gop leadership for refusing to help him overturn the election. The start of the president s pardon spree. President trump granting full pardons to 15 people with five others getting their sentences commuted. Some people who have been pleading their case in conservative media, others a clear parting shot at Robert Muellers investigation. Cnns pamela brown has more now. Reporter President Trump announced 20 pardons including several of his allies and pasta soesh yates and those include George Papadopoulos who pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about his contacts with the russians. He is the fourth person the president granted clemency to in the russian probe. Also on the list, two corrupt gop allies. Chris collins and duncan hunter. Hunter was sentenced to 11 months earlier this year for misuse of more than 200,000 of Campaign Funds will not serve any time behind bars with this pardon. Collins was september to prison in october of this year for insider trading, activity he engaged in while on white house grounds and there are other controversial names on the list such as four blackwater guards, massacre of iraqi victims. And one sentenced to life in prison. And there are also two former Border Patrol agents who were sentenced to prison in 2005 for shooting an undocumented immigrant. They were heralded as heroes at the time and nearly half of the pardons are nonviolent drug offenders. So we have 20 pardons on this latest list from President Trump before christmas and we expect a flurry of more pardons before the president s term ends. Pamela brown, thank you for that. Researchers studying the new coronavirus variant in the u. K. Think it likely arrived in the u. S. In mid november and that many people in the country may already be infected with it. Scientists have searched genetic sequences in the u. S. To see if any matchup with that u. K. Variant. So far they havent found any, likely because the u. S. Surveillance system is not catching them. Meantime, another new record overnight. More than 118,000 people are currently in the hospital. Back in the spring we heard all about flattening the curve. Remember that . The original idea was not to overwhelm hospitals. Now when you look at that curve you get a sense of whats happening at hospitals and how bad the winter will be. Icu space in california diminishing rapidly. Hospitals are desperate for out of health state doctors and nurses to help out. Theyre expecting the worse is still yet to come after christmas and new years. I think right now we can safely take care of our community but as people gather for the christmas holiday, we are going to be in trouble two weeks after that for sure. Yeah. My concern is that were not near the peak and this is going to continue and that while were meeting the need now, were going to get to a point, like many other hospitals in california, where they cannot meet the need. Overnight, more than 3,000 deaths were reported. Just a staggering number, but keep in mind its the fifth time it has happened just this month. Heres president elect joe biden addressing what lies ahead. Heres the simple truth, our darkest days in the badle against covid are ahead of us, not behind us. So we need to prepare ourselves to steele our spines. As frustrating as it is to hear, its going to take patience, persistence and determination to beat this virus. In Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is reauthorizes use of the World Congress center for patient overflow beds as hospitals in that state face capacity issues. Philadelphia is extending its safer at home restrictions until january 15th. Restrictions on indoor dining, gatherings, sports. Theyre being extended statewide in maine and louisiana. In new york city, mayor bill de blasio is saying widespread vaccinations will not be completed until at least june of next year. Coronavirus is now on every continent with antarctic reporting its first days. Frustration boiling over at Truck Drivers at a stand still at border closures in the u. K. Cnn will take you there live after a quick break. Od pressure. They may not be able to take just anything for pain. Thats why doctors recommend tylenol®. It wont raise Blood Pressure the way that advil® aleve or motrin® sometimes can. For trusted relief, trust tylenol®. These days you need more or mthan an education. An. So thats what we give you. Introducing Career Services for life. Learn more at phoenix. Edu may your holidays glow bright and all your dreams take flight. Visit your local mercedesbenz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedesbenz winter event. For all the diamonds in your life. Get up to 40 off storewide and find one of a kind deals at the you are my diamond event. Shop online with a virtual consultant. Zales. The diamond store. Narrow to those with a sudden need. For a new gift. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. With pickup in as little as 30 minutes. Get 30 minute pickup at walgreens. Com moments ago in the u. K. Anger boiling over for truckers stranded at the border with france for days now. They havent been able to cross because of a new coronavirus strain in the u. K. There could finally be some movement. Were live from dover, england for us. The u. K. Recorded its highest number of cases just yesterday. What is it going to take for this situation at the border to get resolved . Clearly its not sustainable. Reporter laura, there is absolutely chaos, confusion, tension, anger, frustration here at the border this morning. I just want to lay out what weve seen and what we know. What we know is that french and u. K. Authorities have agreed to reopen this border for anyone testing positive for coronavirus. Im going to let you to pan over to take a look at the actual border. Those policemen have been instructing all Truck Drivers that they cannot cross even if they have a negative test. What theyve been doing is instructing them to go get tested somewhere. The only places they can get tested are an airport thats nearby, where over 4,000 truckers we understand are already in line to get tested. Otherwise they have to go on a website in english, nhs website, most of these drivers are from eastern europe, they have to get on that website and try to book a test somehow. Of course, this has played out very badly. Earlier this morning you saw that footage. Earlier we saw essentially dozens rushing to this border, rushing up to Police Officers angrily demanding how are we going to get in and get tested. We have one of the Truck Drivers. Greg, i know ive been speaking to you all day. Youve been here for two days now, right . Tell me what youre seeing happen. Right. So im stuck here with all of these people since monday and we have no i think there is no food, nothing here, no information when can we leave, what need to be done, where we should go, where we be tested. Do you know how youre going to get tested . Has anyone told you how to get a coronavirus test . No. No. No. You have no idea . Some information that there is testing somewhere, i dont know. But there was information that they will start test 4,000 trucks on airport, but there is information from trucks that theres nothing there. Theres nothing. I understand your family is in poland. Are you going to make it home for christmas . Am i going to make it . Are you going to get home . We still have hope that we are going for christmas, but you see dover is closed. Nobody is going to the ferries. Ferries are waiting. Youve called your family and said maybe i wont go home for christmas . They need to be prepared for that. Yes. Seeing this situation. Im very sorry. Im very sorry. I do hope you find a solution soon. Youve heard it there. Theres already about 7,000 trucks in line to get tested. We have heard two trucks have passed over to the french authorities. We just heard that this hour, crossed over to france. Thats just two trucks. There are thousands more, laura. No food since monday. Its just a mess down there. Thank you so much for staying on top of this story for us. To the middle east now. Israel is getting ready for the fourth election in two years. The government there has collapsed again. The power sharing agreement took only seven months to crumble so what comes next . Lets go live to jerusalem and bring in elliott gotgin. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. Obviously the unity government dissolving over the failure to pass a budget and now it seems for Benjamin Netanyahu there may be a difficult road to maintaining power. He may be challenged from his own side of the political spectrum. Thats right. With donald trump set to leave office, what, in january, theres less than a month to try to throw any gifts netanyahus way in a similar vain to what hes done in the past. At the beginning of this year donald trump presented his peace plan which promotes everything that netanyahu had wished for. We wont see anything in that league this time around as hes saying netanyahu has a tough fight on his hands not from the center but from his own right wing side of the political spectrum. Right now hes in full blown campaign mode. He is promoting his overseeing of the Vaccination Campaign against coronavirus. He actually went to the airport to physically oversee delivery of the first batch of pfizer biontechs vaccines almost as if he was receiving a foreign head of state. He went on Live National television when he became the first person in israel to receive the Coronavirus Vaccine as well. Today hes been tweeting charts showing israel is second in the world in terms of the number of people per hundred receiving vaccinations. Hell be focusing on that for sure and less so on the fact that israel is struggling with coronavirus and cases are rising again. Hes come in for criticism for the way he has handled that. As far as the opinion polls go, they suggest netanyahu will be ahead of the Largest Party in the next parliament but again he may struggle to form a governing coalition. We could have another stalemate. Boris . It looks like this march election is going to breed as much uncertainty as the last three have. Elliott gotkin reporting from israel. Thanks much. Still ahead, the incoming president vowing to do what the outgoing president wont, responding to a cyber attack reaching the highest levels of the u. S. Government. Sprintingk in our softest, smoothest fabric. Shes confident, protected, her strength respected. Depend. The only thing stronger than us, is you. New aveeno® restorative skin therapy. With our highest concentration of prebiotic oat intensely moisturizes over time to improve skins resilience. Aveeno® healthy. Its our nature™. Tocenbut they pack a punch. L, with over 20 essential vitamins and minerals they are the most complete mini multivitamin. So you can focus on punching above your weight. No matter how high you set the bar. Try centrum minis. Damom, look get sare you okay . . Head home this holiday with the one you love. Visit your local mercedesbenz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedesbenz winter event. Lelets get fast, accuratell range oresults. Ions. Introducing letsgetchecked Health Testing you do at home. Know your health. Know yourself. Order now at letsgetchecked dot com plus have high Blood Pressure. They may not be able to take just anything for pain. Thats why doctors recommend tylenol®. It wont raise Blood Pressure the way that advil® aleve or motrin® sometimes can. For trusted relief, trust tylenol®. That advil® aleve or motrin® sometimes can. The we have to find just nosomething else. It. Good luck what does that mean . We are doomed. [laughter] thats it. I figured it out were going to give togetherness. That sounds dumb. Were going to take all those Family Moments and package them. Hmm. [laughing] that works. President elect joe biden taking aim at President Trump for downplaying a far reaching cyber attack the United States is blaming on russia, one that has penetrated networks of key federal agencies and u. S. Companies. This assault happened on Donald Trumps watch when he wasnt watching. Its still his responsibility as president to defend american interests for the next four weeks. I see no evidence that its under control. I see none. Ive heard of none. Defense department wont even brief us so i know of nothing that suggests its under control. The president has avoided blaming russia at all costs even though secretary of state mike pompeo and the outgoing attorney general bill barr have done so publicly. Just how quickly will president elect biden get his nominees approved. Biden facing competing factions in his party as he lays the groundwork for recovery from covid. Jeff zeleny has more. Reporter president elect biden is announcing one more cabinet secretary. That is education secretary nominee Miguel Cardona later this morning here in wilmington. Mr. Cardona is the head of connecticuts school system. Hes been talking about the need to return students back to the classroom. That certainly is one of the goals of the president elect, but it largely depends on funding from Congress Next year and that was a central theme of a wide ranging News Conference the president elect had on tuesday. He was praising republicans and democrats alike in congress for passing the 900 billion covid relief bill, but he said that is a beginning, the downpayment. I asked him how thats possible to get more when this was so difficult. Do you believe you will have a honeymoon to get things accomplished . I dont think its a honeymoon at all. I think its a nightmare everybody is going through. Its not a honeymoon. Theyre not doing me a favor. You have a Different Team in town. Im not going to villain niize opposition. Reporter he said they sent a divided government to washington to try to get something done. That of course remains to be seen in the new year, but one thing everyone else is waiting for, if President Trump is going to actually sign the covid Economic Relief bill making some rumblings of vetoing it ending this year in a very tumultuous way. Laura and boris. Thanks for the recording. Less than two weeks to the Runoff Election in georgia. It will ultimately give president elect biden a sense of how much easier or more difficult it will be to govern. 1. 6 million votes have been cast. Thats 1 3 of georgias total vote in november. So what are voters and candidates thinking as election day approaches . Cnns ryan nobles is on the ground in atlanta. Reporter yeah, boris and laura, the ad spending here in georgia is off the chart. The four campaigns spending upwards of 480 million on Television Ads and we have a little less than two weeks to go before election day. Were seeing the campaigns seize on the issue of relief for the coronavirus pandemic. This vote that just passed, the republican candidates who voted for it, david perdue and Kelly Loeffler, telling them they were in washington working for them while the Democratic Candidates saying that relief package didnt go far enough. I would have voted for it because relief is eight months too late. 600 is a joke. A joke. I would have voted for the deal and on day one ill work for more direct Economic Relief for people because people have rent thats overdue, credit cards maxed out, prescriptions they cant afford, College Bills coming due and people are hurting through no fault of their own. Republicans trying to turn things back describing them as obstructionists because of their complaints about the prior aid package. Jon ossoff said he would have supported that original package, but he thought there were issues with the way money was disbursed from the c. A. R. E. S. Act. This is all continuing as voting taking place right now. We are now in the second week of early voting. Election day is on january 5th. Boris and laura . Ryan, thank you so much for that. Some states trying to stop the spread of covid19 is expanding home testing free of charge. Im omar jimenez, as the vaccines provide new hope for covid19, testing is going to cross a new threshold. These are done through saliva tests and are chaperoned by a super advisor and they are sent often to labs for results within 24 or 48 hours. Im jean casarez. Charlie baker is announcing further restrictions to try to stop the spread of covid19. This all starts the day after christmas, december 26th most industries in the commonwealth will have the capacity limit of 25 . This includes retail businesses, restaurants, close contact personal services, offices, theaters, and places of worship. Now as far as personal gatherings, inside theyre limited to 10 people. Outside theyre limited to 25 people. Im rosa flores in miami. The first Senior Citizens not living in longterm care facilities in florida were vaccinated at the villages during a press event hosted by ron desantis. He announced tens of thousands of people in the state have been vaccinated already including Front Line Health Care workers at five hospitals and Senior Citizens at 100 longterm care facilities. As for who will have priority once more doses of the vaccine are available, Governor Desantis said that the Elderly Population will. Im martin savidge. The governor of south carolina, henry mcmaster, has tested positive for coronavirus. The 73yearold republican, according to his office, is suffering only mild symptoms, including a cough and slight fatigue. The governors wife has also tested positive although she is described as asymptomatic. The couple attended a Christmas Party at the white house indoors last week. Thanks to all of our correspondents for those updates. Still ahead, the president thinks hes a master deal maker. Just when congress finally, finally made a deal on covid relief, the president wants to rip it all up. Try hypnosis. Or. Quit cold turkey. Kidding me . instead, start small. With nicorette. Which can lead to something big. Start stopping with nicorette finding the right words can be tough. N it comes to autism, finding understanding doesnt have to be. We can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. Go to autismspeaks. Org. These days you need more than an education. So thats what we give you. Introducing Career Services for life. Learn more at phoenix. Edu new aveeno® restorative skin therapy. 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But with walmarts low prices, you still know how to do it up. And keep costs down. Lets end the year enjoying more. You are all i need baby baby to get by good morning and welcome back to early start. Im laura jarrett. Good morning, laura. Always a pleasure to be with you. Im Boris Sanchez in with christine romans. After not lifting a finger to help for weeks, President Trump now out of nowhere is demanding changes to the 900 billion stimulus bill passed by congress with veto proof majorities. If he had weighed in earlier, perhaps a different deal could have been reached, but now since the measure is linked to a broader spending bill, the president s opposition could trigger a Government Shutdown sending the economy into a free fall and creating even more uncertainty for American Families going into the holidays. Yesterday also saw the second most deaths reported in the entire pandemic, but the president isnt talking about that and his sudden opposition to the relief bill has the white house aide surprised and annoyed, were told. He posted this video just an hour after a top aide indicated that trump would sign the measure. I am asking congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low 600 to 2,000 or 4,000 for a couple. Send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a covid relief package and maybe that administration will be me. No, it will not be him. The president lost the election to joe biden, and even though he likes to live in fantasy land, it would be a lot more amusing if there were not so much at stake here. Stimulus checks which could be sent next week extended unemployment benefits. Billions of dollars for Small Businesses that are trying to survive and, of course, billions for vaccines and rental assistance. The president s demand for bigger checks is actually being welcomed by democrats, including the House Speaker nancy pelosi. Do not expect the relief bill to be renegotiated in the current republicanled senate. The president already lashing out at Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell and others in the gop leadership for refusing to help him overturn the election. Also developing overnight, the start of the trump pardon spree. The president granting full pardons to 15 people with five others getting their sentences commuted. Some of these are people who had been pleading their case in the court of conservative media. Others a clear parting shot at Robert Muellers russia investigation. We have more on all of this. Reporter President Trump announced 20 pardons including several allies and pa past associates and those include George Papadopoulos who pleaded guilty in the russia probe. He is the fourth person the president granted clemency to in the russia probe. Also on the list, two early supporters, Chris Collins and duncan hunter. Hunter who was sentenced to 11 months earlier this year for misuse of more than 200,000 in Campaign Funds will not serve any time behind bars and collins sent to prison october of this year for insider trading, activity he engaged in while on white house grounds and there are other controversial names on the list such as four black water guards. The massacre of iraqi civilians including one nicolas slaten sentenced to life in prison. Those are key names. There are two former Border Patrol agents who were sentenced to prison in 2009 for shooting an undocumented immigrant. They were heralded as heros on right wing media at the time. Nearly half of the pardons are people who are abdicated by trump earlier. We expect a flurry of more pardons before the president s term ends. Pamela brown, thanks for that. The president not just busy with pardons but also apparently immunity deals. Cnn has learned the Trump Administration is considering granting saudi prince mohamed bin salman immunity. A top saudi intelligence official claims in the lawsuit that mbs sent members of that same assassination squad that killed jamal khashoggi. Researchers are studying the new coronavirus variant in the u. K. , they think it likely arrived in the u. S. In mid november and many people in the country could already be infected with it. Scientists have researched the genetic sequences of the coronavirus in the u. S. To see if any match up with the u. K. Variant. So far they have not found any but thats likely because the u. S. Surveillance system is not catching them. A new record overnight. Almost 118,000 people hospitalized. Remember back in the spring we heard a lot about flattening the curve. The original idea was to not overwhelm hospitals and now when you look at the curve, yeah, its not flat. You get a sense of whats actually happening at hospitals and how bad this winter is going to be. Icu space is diminishing rapidly expecting the worst after christmas and new years. I think right now we ask safely take care of our community, but if people gather for the christmas holiday, we are going to be in trouble to you weeks after that for sure. Yeah. My concern is that were not near the peak and that this is going to continue and that while were meeting the need now, were going to get to a point, like many other hospitals in california, where they cannot meet the need. Overnight more than 3,000 deaths were reported, a number that should be stunning. Whats worse about it, its the fifth time thats happened this month. President elect biden said dark days lie ahead. Wants to reiterate, this is not a partisan problem. Do you think republicans who are losing businesses, do you think republican constituents who cant pay their mortgage, do you think theyre not letting their republican representatives know theyve got a problem . Do you think the person who just lost a Family Member and is worried about losing another one who happens to be a republican, a staunch republican, isnt telling his or her republican senator or state representative you have a got to help . Youve got to get something done . Do you think all those people who are making judgments of whether or not i am my child will be able to go to school, i have to stay home and i cant go to work, therefore i have no income, are all democrats . Meantime, at the state level georgias governor is reauthorizing use of the World Congress center for patient overflow beds as hospitals in the state face capacity issues. In pennsylvania, philadelphia is extending its safer at home restrictions until january 15th on indoor gatherings, dining and sports as well as theaters, casinos, colleges. In new york city, mayor bill de blasio says widespread vaccinations in the city will likely not be completed until at least june. Listen to this, coronavirus now on every couldnt fwhent antarctica reporting the first outbreak at the research break. One small hospital in North Houston tells the story of whats happening all across the community. Forced to add new covid wings. Doctors are exhausted who havent stopped working since the pandemic started. Cnns Miguel Marquez reports. Reporter houstons united memorial medical center. Patient after patient on a ventilator. Their lungs devastated by covid19. This is from deep inside the lungs. This is a test . This is covid. This is covid. This is what covid looks inside the lungs. You see that growth there. The light. You can see a lot of mucus. The lungs swollen and red in this elderly patient. The sample will be sent to a lab to find out what else might be happening in their lungs. The question is, are they not healthy just because of covid or a secondary infection, which is common. Reporter we visited the same hospital in late june, then two wings of the hospital had been trans formed into covid19 wards. Today prepping for whats to come, there are three. The next six weeks will be the darkest weeks in modern american medical history. Reporter even though the vaccine is being rolled out . Absolutely. The vaccine is taking between six and eight weeks to get immunity. Christmas people are not listening. 40 of patients at the houston hospital are from other parts of the state reeling from overwhelming illness. Across the lone star state, cases reeling. Hitting records far above where they were in june. Walter was transferred here from west texas, about 500 miles away. He thinks he and his wife picked up the virus at the supermarket. She had mild symptoms. Today hes on the mend, but when he arrived he was nearly put on the ventilator. To my wife, her andible the only ones wearing a mask. Reporter bring smith moved to houston. It is the worst ive ever felt in my life. Reporter she, too, thinks she got the virus while shopping. She has a husband and three kids. She wasnt sure shed see them again. I love you very much and i miss you so much. I cant wait to come home. Reporter the staff here from dr. Verone to nurses to those who clean up are tired and stressed. What has 2020 been like for you . Its like hell and back. Its hard. Im stressed. Reporter we met icu nurse tana ingraham in june. She was a patient having picked up covid19 she thinks while performing cpr on a patient. She got it a second time. Shes not sure how. After nine months of dealing with sickness and death, shes back at work. Its like were nonexistent. You do realize were still here taking care of these people putting my life at risk, my kids life at risk, my moms. I think weve been forgotten truly. Something else new from june, says dr. Verone. Patients are coming in sicker, waiting longer than before. Our average patient has spent about 20 days with symptoms before they come to us so, i mean, even if i give them water, it will be difficult to get better. He has a wife, four kids and has two jobs. He thought he could tough it out. Isnt sure where he got it. I messed up. I should have went to the e. R. Room or the hospital right away but i didnt. I laid in bed thinking it was going to go away. Reporter for how long . For about a week. Reporter louis martinezs father, uncle and cousin died from covid 189. The last thing he wanted to do is go to the hospital. I dont want to do it because, you know, it is, they put you in the hospital, sometimes you never make it. Reporter to listen to anna corona trying to breathe is to understand everything one needs to know about covid19. Shes pretty certain she got it from her daughter at a birthday party. Several other Family Members got it. Her 26yearold niece died. She says shes scared. Like everyone we spoke to, those who could speak, they all hope for one thing, to be home for christmas. Margaret evans says ten members of her family got covid19 she thinks at a birthday party. How tough is it to be away from family right now . Its hard. Its very, very, very, very hard. She has nine grandchildren shed really like to see. Miguel marquez, cnn, houston, texas. Miguel, thank you. Well be right back. Listerine® cleans virtually 100 . Helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. Never settle for 25 . Always go for 100. Bring out the bold™ it makes our lipton leaves better. Which makes this smooth tea taste better. And time spent together. Even better. And drinking lipton every day. Can help support a healthy heart. Youre choosing to get connected to the most to xfinity mobile, Reliable Network nationwide, now with 5g included. Discover how to save up to 400 a year with shared data starting at 15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. Come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. You can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. Stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store. Heres a quick look at futures on wall street. Stock futures you can see are up slightly despite President Trumps demand to change the Coronavirus Relief bill, one that already passed in congress and one that we should point out his negotiators had a lot of input in. A very turbulent time to say the least. The last unemployment numbers before christmas come out in just a few hours. The lead writer matt egan is joining us to discuss. Matt, thanks so much for getting up early for us. Look, the u. S. Economy is hurting. Now the president is demanding a change to a stimulus bill that hes seeming to side with democrats in in demanding more money in the form of a stimulus check for americans. Ultimately as you look at this bill, the president s reaction to it and these job numbers that are coming today, what are the most important things that youre watching when it comes to the job market as it tries to recover in 2021 . Good morning, laura and boris. Talk about a lastminute high profile objection. This would be like going to an engagement party, rsvping to the wedding, buying a gift and waiting until the vows to object. Maybe youll make some good points, but couldnt you have done this just a little bit earlier. Lets also point out the 2,000 stimulus checks that President Trump is calling for, that was actually a signature issue of the 2. 4 trillion stimulus package that the democrats were pushing. Republicans, of course, they objected. Thats why we saw nancy pelosi call President Trumps bluff last night saying she wants to vote on the 2,000 stimulus check but i dont think theres any support for it from the gop. What happens next isnt really clear to me, but, listen, clearly, boris, as you mentioned, the economy needs help. Were waiting for another grim number from the labor department. Economists expect another 885,000 americans filed for firsttime unemployment benefits. To give you some context, thats about 25 higher than the worst point of the great depression. Clearly the economy is going to remain weak until the virus gets under control. Thats why one economist told me last night that he would be unconscionable if congress leaves before the holidays without doing something. If congress does something and they manage to get this passed, remains to be seen what the president will do. If this actually does get passed, matt, do you think the government has to come to the rescue again of the American People next year . You have a great piece up on cnn business about how the Georgia Senate runoffs on january 5th factor into that equation. Tell us about that. Laura, i dont think washingtons work here is nearly done. They theyre broken and theyll have a big say here. If democrats sweep both races in georgia, theyll effectively have control of the u. S. Senate with Kamala Harris breaking a 5050 tie. That could pave the way for much bigger stimulus. If republicans win one of those seats, theyre going to start to hear objections to anymore big spending. There is a return from republicans on concerns about the deficit. Weve entered this crisis with trillion dollar deficits because of the trump tax cuts. So right now theyre worried about the deficit with joe biden coming into office. The big thing, of course, is that could be one way to tackle the inequality problem in the United States. Joe biden is calling for 3 trillion in infrastructure spending. That could be in play if democrats sweep georgia. If not, the ceiling of 1 trillion on infrastructure and that could go a long way in saying how strong and how inclusive this republic is. Matt, just thinking about the position that Kelly Loeffler and david perdue are in just yesterday taughting their success on getting the stimulus bill passed and the president is calling it outrageous and dismissing it as theyre trying to get it done. I want to talk to you about comments from ray dalio. Hes addressing inequality. See what he heard cnns poppy harlow. History has taught us these things. Ive studied the last 500 years of history in cycles and these things repeat over and over again. Large wealth gaps with large values gaps at the same time as theres a lot of debt and theres an economic downturn produces conflict and vulnerability and that will be with us unless the economy is good mofor most people. Most people can be productive and effective and benefit. Your reaction, matt . Dalio is describing this toxic mix of worsening equality and polarization, both of which have gotten worse in 2020. Dalio says hes not trying to scare people, hes trying to remind everyone that while the compromise is difficult and hard and messy and not perfect, its hardly the worst outcome here. Matt egan, we appreciate it. Thank you guys. The Trump Administration is suing walmart accusing the largest retailer of helping fuel americas opioid crisis. Walmart pressured staff to fill thousands of prescriptions as fast as possible and that the company knowingly violated vetting rules and withheld information from pharmacists, information indicating some orders did not have valid medical purposes. Now walmart claims that the lawsuit is riddled with factual inaccuracies. There is something president elect biden will not be inheriting from President Trump next month. Nearly 60 million twitter followers. Twitter has decided to zero out the white house and potus accounts when joe biden is sworn in so tens of millions of followers will not automatically be retained and the biden presidency will be starting from scratch. A Police Officer in columbus, ohio, is suspended from pay after shooting and killing an unarmed black man. There is body camera footage but no sound. It happened tuesday outside of a garage and a home. Its the second time this month someone has been shot in their a yeah. The lakers pivoting with a very unique ring championship ceremony. Coy wire has the bleacher report. They look expensive. More ice, ice baby. Due to this pandemic, fans and Family Members couldnt be there at Staples Center but the lakers still found a way to make it special for them like this. Were here to present my husband dada. Marquise morris with his championship ring. I love you. Thank you for everything youve done for our foundation and congratulations. Your family. We are family. We are family. I love that getting shoutouts from his kids from his i Promise School as he gets his fourth ring. They are unveiling their 17th championship banner, but the cross town rival clippers making them party right there. They went up 22 in the first quarter. Paul george and Kawhi Leonard on fire combining for 59 in this. Leading the way. A second half surge. The lakers didnt lead once the entire game. The clippers win 116109. Opening night at barclays in brooklyn. The nets paying respect to coronavirus front line workers lifting a banner to the rafters in their honor. Kevin durant playing his first regular season game in 560 days. The former league mvp dropping 22 on his former warriors teammates. Kyrie irving leading with 26 of the nets whooping the warriors. Opening weekend continuing on tnt as yanis and the bucs battle the celtics in boston at 7 30 eastern. Keion tai johnson is heading home from the hospital ten days after collapsing on the floor. His family saying theyre amazed at the pace of his recovery and look forward to spending christmas together as a family. They also ask for patience as they try to figure out why he collapsed. Scary time for the family, gators community and the team postponed four games since that happened. Theyre going to get back on the court after the new year. Good news for keyontae johnson. Certainly glad to see hes okay. Still not over that vanilla ice reference. Coy wire, thanks so much. Thank you so much for joining us today. Im Boris Sanchez in for christine romans. Thank you for having me, laura. Of course. Im laura jarrett. New day is next. These days you need more than an education. So thats what we give you. Introducing Career Services r life. Learn re at phoenix. Edu we made usaa insurance for veterans like martin. When a hailstorm hit, he needed his insurance to get it done right, right away. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is new day. It is wednesday, december 23rd. 6 00 here in new york. Alisyn is off. Erica hill with us for what is major breaking news this morning. Just when you think it can want get bigger, here we are. A 900 billion implosion thanks to one video. Thats where we could be since the president shot democrats, republicans, and even his own staff, releasing a video overnight that signals h
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