March over concerns of the new, s strain of the strain of the coronavirus. And that variant, now discovered in new york. New covid outbreak. Big box stores under siege. At one costco, nearly 200 employees test positive for the virus. And in the epicenter of los angeles, look at dodgers stadium. Five hours to get a test. As the u. S. Barely makes a dent in its vaccination target. Why the f. D. A. Will consider this week giving halfdoses. And some exciting news tonight. The First Americans to get their second dose. I now have body armor. Odonnell dangling by her jacket, the incredible rescue tonight of a skier holding onto a chairlift. And with puzzles having a moment in the pandemic, the brother and sister team who set out to find the missing piece. The missing piece. This is the cbs evening news with Norah Odonnell, reporting from the nations capital. Odonnell good evening to our viewers in the west, and happy new year. Thank you for joining us. Were going to begin with cause there areecause there are growing demands for federal and state investigations into President Trumps unprecedented hourlong phone call with georgias top election official. Tonight democrats on capitol hill are asking the f. B. I. To open a probe, saying the president s request for georgias secretary of state to find him thousands of votes was not only an unprecedented attack democracy, itemocracy, it violated federal and state laws. Ill ask georgias secretary of state Brad Raffensperger about that call in just a moment and about georgias highstakes runoff tomorrow for two u. S. Senate seats. And those races will determine which Party Controls the u. S. Senate. And tonight were learning investigators are looking into threats that have been made against that election. And as we come on air, there are several major headlines about the worsening coronavirus pandemic, including the highly contagious new strain of the virus. Tonight, new yorks governor says its now been found in his state. And with millions of americans returning from traveling over the holidays, there is real fear that hospitals already at their breaking point wont be able to handle the new wave of infections experts say is coming. Now, all of that is putting a lot of pressure on states and the federal government to speed up the rollout of those vaccines, which has fallen behind schedule. We have a lot of new reporting for you and your family tonight and our team is standing by to cover it all. Cbs weijia jiang will lead off coverage from the white house. Good evening weijia. Reporter good evening, norah. Cbs news has learned President Trump called georgias secretary of state 18 times since election day before finally getting through on saturday. Tonight, the white house is not commenting on the growing calls to investigate whether the president s demands on that call were illegal. Tonight, democrats are calling for a criminal investigation after President Trumps bombshell phone call, as outrage grows from a member of the president s own party in georgia. Nobody i know whod be president would do that to a secretary of state. Reporter during the remarkable call, President Trump demanded that georgias republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, produce something that does not exist additional ballots that would change the States Election results. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Reporter georgia has re counted ballots three times, and each time, mr. Trump lost to president elect biden. Theres nothing wrong with saying that, you know, uh that youve recalculated. Well, mr. President , the challenge that you have is the data you have is wrong. Reporter many legal experts concluded the president broke both federal and state election law. Theres a strong case that the president did commit a criminal act here by making a request to the secretary of state to fabricate election records. Reporter in court, the Trump Campaign has failed dozens of times to prove allegations of widespread voter fraud. The Justice Department said there is no evidence it happened. Still, President Trump insisted otherwise and even accused raffensperger and his general counsel of a coverup. You know what they did, and youre not reporting it. Thats a you know, thats a criminal thats a criminal offense. Offense. And, you know, you cant let that happen. Thats a big risk to you and to ryan, your lawyer. Thats a big risk. Vote reporter mr. Biden campaigned in georgia today ahead of tomorrows special elections that will determine control of the u. S. Senate. He criticized mr. Trump for making his own Political Goals a priority. I dont know why he still wants the job, he doesnt want to do the work. Reporter republicans are worried the president s focus on fraud and attacks on state leaders could cost them the senate. And after a campaign full of heated rhetoric, the Georgia Bureau of investigation said late today theyre investigating specific threats regarding tomorrows runoff races. President trump is promoting protests planned for wednesday when congress is set to certify the Election Results. The Election Results. Cbs news has learned that the leader of the proud boys, a pro trump group, was arrested today after leaving a d. C. Airport in connection to the burning of a black lives matter banner in d. C. Last month. Norah. Odonnell alright, weijia jiang with that breaking news, thank you. Joining us now is the man President Trump pressured to find nearly 12,000 new votes, the republican secretary of state, brad raffensberger. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for joining us. Good evening. Odonnell let me ask you, in that phone call, the president said to you, i think its pretty clear that we won the state of georgia. Is there any truth to that statement . No, its pretty clear that, unfortunately, he did not win. I say that as a republican. But as a secretary of state, i can say with confidence that President Trump did not win the state of georgia. Odonnell why do you think the president wanted to speak with you directly . Probably to see if he could influence me to change my decisions, but in the way, im not really making a decision, what im doing, im following the law and im following the facts. The numbers are the numbers and the numbers we reported are factually correct. Odonnell you just stated that you believe the intent of the president s call was to get you to change the result of the election. Is it a criminal offense to ask a secretary of state to change a vote . We get complaints all the time and we investigate those. We looked at their data. Their data is not correct, and we can go down that line point by point and show what our data shows. Odonnell we looked at the federal code and it states clearly that a person including an election official who in any election for federal office knowingly and willfully intimidates, threatens or coerces or attempts to intimidate threaten or coerce, do you think thats what the president was trying to do is coerce, threaten or intimidate you . I didnt feel intimidated. I can stand on my own two feet. I know what were going to do. Were going to follow the process. Odonnell tomorrows a big day for georgia. Are you concerned the senate races will be questioned . Theres no reason to be. We have all the failsafes in place. Odonnell President Trump said in that phone call with you, we heard it, that its your fault, in his words, that republicans arent going to go out and vote tomorrow. No, actually, the fault really lies at the people that disparaged, you know, the whole process of voting. The machines are safe and secure ing to have ang to have an accurate election count. Well know who won this race. Odonnell mr. Secretary, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Odonnell tonight, the d. C. National guard says it plans to activate more than 300 troops to support police ahead of pro trump rallies planned right here for wednesday. Thats when congress meets to certify joe bidens election victory even as President Trump and many republicans refuse to accept that he lost. We get more now from cbs nancy cordes on capitol hill. Reporter new yorks Elsie Stefanik was the latest republican today. I plan to object. Reporter to join a controversial effort that now includes at least a dozen senators and many more house members. I believe there are serious questions with respect to the president ial election. Reporter the g. O. P. Lawmakers plan to object wednesday to Electoral College tallies in up to half a dozen battleground states that were won by president elect joe biden. But the lack of any evidence of fraud has led other republicans to dub the effort unconstitutional, even dangerous, arguing it undermines the voters and has zero chance of success. Thats not stopping tennessees marsha blackburn, though she acknowledged today that the president s leaked phone call did hurt the cause. This call was not a helpful call. Reporter republicans dont have the votes to prevent biden from being certified the winner, which makes it even more surprising that senators like indianas mike braun and wisconsins ron johnson are now jumping on board, weeks after they acknowledged bidens victory. He will be the next president , i accept that reality. Reporter but they are all facing pressure from the contesterinchief who today used the term surrender caucus to describe republicans who dont back the move. He even warned one of them tom cotton of arkansas that g. O. P. Voters will never forget his decision. The courts have spoken. Reporter democrats seem determined to downplay the whole thing. Wednesdays clash could last all day, but it wont alter the outcome. Were not looking backward. Forward to theforward to the inauguration of joe biden on january 20. Reporter even mr. Biden himself has had little to say about the g. O. P. Plan, preferring to let republicans fight it out among themselves. And tonight, on the eve of her runoff election, georgia senator Kelly Loeffler says she, too, will challenge the Election Results on wednesday, including possibly the president ial Election Results from her own state. Norah . Odonnell nancy cordes, thank you. Well, the new year is bringing new fears about the coronavirus. Right now, one american is dying from covid about every 30 seconds. A new variant of the virus spreading in britain and dozens of countries has now infected people in colorado, california, florida and, we learned today, new york. Hospitalizations are at an all time high, with 125,000 americans being treated in covid wards. Another 70,000 are projected to die in this country before the iesidential inauguration in 16 days. E now from cbs from cbs jonathan vigliotti. Reporter Southern California hospitals are so overwhelmed, one doctor calls it world war iii. The emotional toll, off the charts. This is the worst medical disaster that i have seen in over 30 years of practicing emergency medicine. Reporter Los Angeles County now averaging 133 deaths a day. It was 25 on thanksgiving. Bodies now stored in refrigerated trucks. Were losing on average a person every 15 minutes. Reporter and cases skyrocketing, over 800,000 since the pandemic began. Nearly half of those since december 1. Tonight the first confirmed case in new york of that variant strain from the u. K. , at least 50 more contagious. The Saratoga County resident had no known travel history. California today seeing at least five more cases of that strain amid concerns of a wider u. S. Spread. Tonight, british Prime MinisterBoris Johnson extended his nations lockdown through mid february. Its been both frustrating and alarming to see the speed with which the new variant is spreading. Reporter the virus also spreading quickly among some major u. S. Retailers, including 174 employees of this Washington State costco store who tested positive. But even as cases and hospitalizations keep soaring, d re americans packed airports on sunday than on any single day since the pandemic began. Since the pandemic began. I dont want to let covid kind of, like, stop us from, like, enjoying life or having something to look forward to. Reporter Health Officials g christmascrushing christmas and new years surge, with thousands of more deaths, and more grieving family members, like those of millie rivera, who would have turned 55 this month. Her sister wrote, i watched you through the glass door. To not be ableart to not be able to be there. This is so unbelievable and not right. And rivera had nine grandchildren. Tonight, across los angeles, long lines of people waiting to get tested. No line longer than here at dodger stadium, more than 13,000 people getting tested every single day with wait times up to up toours long. Five hours long. Norah. Odonnell incredible to see those lines. Jonathan vigliotti, thank you. Tonight, with u. S. Vaccination numbers far behind schedule, the f. D. A is considering cutting doses of one Covid Vaccine in half to double its supply and speed up distribution. Well, so far, more than 4. 5 million covid shots have been given out, but thats just a fraction of the 20 million initially expected by the end of 2020. More now from cbs manuel bojorquez. Reporter long lines in florida, tennessee and texas are where overburdened systems meet overwhelming demand. I have high blood pressure, i have diabetes, i have susceptibility to pneumonia. Ill wait a whole day for this if i have to. Reporter floridas governor pinned the problem on some hospitals. Hospitals that dont do a good job of getting the vaccine out will have their allotment transferred to hospitals that are doing a good job. Reporter but the governors decision to open up vaccination to anyone over 65 ahead of some essential workers has added to the crunch. Doctor Robert Goldszer says mt. Sinai Medical Center in miami beach has 10,000 people pheduled. So, youre going as fast as you can right now. Were going full tilt, were going to 7 00 p. M. At night, saturday and sunday. Reporter the debate is now turning to giving half doses of the Moderna Vaccine to people between 18 and 55, doubling the amount of people who can take it. We know it induces identical immune response, and therefore we are in discussion with moderna and with the f. D. A. Reporter in britain today, another first oxford and aztrazenecas vaccine started to roll out. Roll out. It likely will be months before that can happen in the u. S. Meanwhile, vaccine sabotage is adding to the problems. This afternoon, Steven Brandenburg appeared before a judge in wisconsin, accused of attempting to spoil hundreds of doses at a hospital outside milwaukee where he worked as a pharmacist. Prosecutors say brandenburg believed they were unsafe. There is progress in queens, nurse sandra lindsay,a lindsay, who famously received one of the first doses of pfizers vaccine, got her second dose to complete the vaccination. The burden feels definitely much lighter today, and i am very, very grateful. Reporter new yorks governor is threatening to fine hospitals up to 100,000 for not using up their supply of vaccine within one week. Here in florida, the governor said he is looking to turn some covid testing sites and places of worship into distribution centers, and hire 1,000 more nurses. Norah . Odonnell manuel bojorquez, thank you so much. And there is still much more news ahead on tonights cbs evening news. High anxiety for a skier left dangling from a chair lift. How did they get her down . And covid forces a new twist on march madness. This is hal. This is hals heart. Its been broken. And put back together. This is hals relief, knowing hes covered by medicare from blue cross blue shield. And with coverage you can trust, backed by over 80 years of healthcare expertise, well be there when it matters most. This is medicare from blue cross blue shield. This is the benefit of blue. You power through chronic migraine15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more. Botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. 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Puzzles are Jigsaw Puzzles are having their moment during the pandemic, but a few pieces were ssing g until now. Heres cbs omar villafranca. Reporter it takes sharp attention to detail to put together puzzles something William Jones and ericka chambers have been doing since they were kids growing up in north texas. A lot of our puzzles that we ended up picking were like cartoons. It wasnt, like, anything particularly that represented us as you know, as people of color. Reporter that sparked an idea puzzles of color, which finds artwork depicting black culture, created by artists of color, and puts them on puzzles. Just push it through here, and then hit the little green button. Reporter corporate offices are in erickas garage. Whoa there you have a puzzle. Reporter darryl hill just bought one of the puzzles for his three year old son micah. Do you like doing puzzles . Yeah. Reporter darryl lets micah be a kid, but feels its also important for his son to see other people who look like him when he plays. As he is growing up, i need him to know that he is represented in culture. Its all about that representation. You dont feel like an other, you feel like you are part of the world that you live in. Reporter 5001,000 pieces at a time . Yes, 500 pieces of culture. Reporter in little elm, texas, omar villafranca, cbs news. Odonnell and well be right back. Impleghts well be right back. Odonnell on tomorrows cbs evening news, well be live in georgia for the high stakes runoff elections that will determine control of the u. S. Senate. A reminder if you cant watch live, dont forget to set your d. V. R. So you can watch us later. Thats tonights edition of the cbs evening news. Im Norah Odonnell here in the nations capital. Well see you right back here tomorrow. Have a good night. Captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wg. Org we have the power to harness californias Abundant Solar and wind energy, but its not available all day long. Use less energy from 4 to 9 pm for a cleaner california. Right now, at 7 00. New revelations tonight about the man accused of hitting and killing two women on new years eve, and his connections to the da overseeing the case. Plus, californias new plan to help ramp up its covert vaccine rollout. And, why this christmas costume is being blamed for dozens of covid19 infections at a san jose hospital. Plus, the rain is moving out, but will it be back soon, a look at when the next showers hit the bay area. Right now, on the kpix 5 news at 7 00 streaming on such cbsn, two women dead after he new years eve hit and run in san francisco. Good evening, i am