Remember, modernas vaccine is 94 effective against infection and 100 effective at preventing the most severe cases of the coronavirus. U. S. Officials say nearly 6 million doses of modernas vaccine will start shipping as soon as it gets approved. Were also get something surprise very goes nuod news ab the Pfizer Vaccine. There are more doses out there than previously reported. Doctors have found some vials that are supposed to hold only five doses actually hold as much as six or seven. That means there could be thousands and thousands of extra doses out there, and the fact is, we need them now more than ever. Lets look at the numbers. We just passed 17 million cases of the coronavirus in this country going from 16 million to 17 million in just 4 1 2 days. That is massive. In fact, the total number of cases in the United States has doubled in the last two months. Worldwide, more than 74 Million People are infected, including french president Emmanuel Macron who learned overnight that he, too, tested positive. Back here in the United States, things are particularly bad in the state of california. Where they saw a record 51,000 new cases on wednesday. Hospitals there are so overwhelmed that some ambulances are waiting six hours just to offload their patients. Maine and tennessee saw record cases as well, while nevada and New Hampshire saw a Record Number of deaths. In total, the United States as a whole, a trio of grim milestones, Record Numbers of daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths all in the same day. If you thought the spring was the worst it was not. 3,293 americans lost their lives yesterday. A week before christmas. I want to go straight to my colleague Steve Patterson in los angeles. Steve, i want to talk about this crazy situation in l. A. Before we get there, tell us whats happening in the fda meeting. Yeah, stephanie, the expectation is this committee that met to talk about the Pfizer Vaccine last week will meet much largely in the same way to talk about the Moderna Vaccine this week. The two vaccines, the technical of it, the mrna thats being used in both vaccines, the medical community is very excited about, is largely the same. So the expectation is this will go as smoothly if not more smoothly than it did last week, which is about maybe a six to eighthour discussion. A lot of scientific, a lot of technical jargon. And then that will result in a lot of questions and answers and holes being poked in both those questions and answers and the committee will come to something resembling a vote. When they do vote if they do recommend this to the fda, the fda can essentially approve this on the spot. Theyve signaled that they will that this will be a quick authorization process. Theyve already reviewed the efficacy and safety of the Moderna Vaccine. A lot of people are seeing today as a matter of process and we should have something for an answer as early as today or even tomorrow. Steph . Steve, take us where you are. What in the world is going on in los angeles . Its simple math. The infection rate in l. A. County is too high for the amount of hospital space available. Yesterday, Record Number of cases, Record Number of hospitalizations, Record Number of deaths. Right now in l. A. County, 1 out of every 80 residents has an infection of covid. You can set your watch to this that two l. A. County residents will die from covid every hour moving forward. Hospitals are overwhelmed. Theyre nearly at capacity. Theres about 0. 5 icu bed space available. Hospitalizations shot up 600 since early november. So what youre already seeing is people leaving the icu for treatment earlier than expected. What you can expect to see are essential, you know, surgeries being paused or canceled. You expect to see nurses handling three or four patients rather than the two or three theyre already seeing and were seeing pockets of nurses that are starting to talk about strikes as early as Christmas Eve because they dont feel safe in these hospitals. The situation is entirely unsustainable and if behavior doesnt change now before were on to the Christmas Holiday and the new years holiday, were probably nowhere near the bottom of what these numbers can bring over the next few weeks. Stephanie . Such an important reminder. Our doctors, our nurses, theyre not political. They are heroes, and they are in crisis. Steve, thank you. I want to turn to our colleague Megan Fitzgerald in phoenix, arizona, where drivethrough vaccinations. Not testing. Drivethrough vaccinations are set to get under way in just an hour. Tell us about it. Yeah, steph, i can tell you, honor health medical, which is doing this entire process, say not only are they excited, but theyre ready. It was just two weeks ago we were out here as they did their practice run, their dry run of this entire operation here to make sure that it goes perfectly because theyre going to be vaccinating 1,000 people a day in the next two weeks, about 15,000 people and then, of course, theyll do this again in 21 days for those folks to get the second dose of the vaccine. I want to walk you through how this operation is going to work. Its a drivethrough process. So theyll pull through here and then theyre going to go to these tents where theyll register. Theyll pull around through their cars and come into the tents just behind he here. Window goes down. Arm out the window. Theyll pull over here into the parking lot. This is where theyll sit for about 15 minutes while they are observed to make sure they dont have any adverse effects to the vaccine once theyre in the clear theyll drive off. A massive undertaking here. I want to bring in dr. Richard gray of the mayo clinic. He was instrumental in making sure this process runs smoothly. Thank you for joining us this morning. Thank you. I want to ask, what are some of the challenges you faced in trying to put this all together . This is quite a collaboration among Health Care Organizations and state and local health agencies. To identify the right Health Care Workers and First Responders get those thousands of people signed up and scheduled. And then assure they could be scheduled for that second dose as well. Weve learned a lot this year from the logistics of covid19 drivethrough testing and other high volume activities so our teams are ready. How challenging was it to find Health Care Workers to administer the vaccine . Our Health Care Workers are so excited about having the vaccine available. Theyre ready and willing to come out and volunteer their time and come out and be the ones to administer the vaccine. But right now in arizona, were facing a covid19 surge. So theyre also needed to care for those parents in the hospital and others. So we did have to balance that out. But weve got the right people and the right amount of people to be able to dhois succeo this successfully. This operation is going to get under way in a matter of hours here. 8 15 local time. 10 00 back in the east. Steph, back to you. Meagan, thank you. That will be a good day in phoenix, arizona. I want to dig deeper and bring in dr. William schaffner, a cdc adviser and professor of Infectious Disease at vanderbilts school of medicine. Doctor, i want to start on this fda meeting. Is this basically a formality . Should we have any reason to believe that modernas vaccine wont get approved . Its not a formality, but we do expect approval. This all the data from moderna are going to be examined very carefully, very critically by this external advisory committ committee. Thats what we expect. Thats whats needed. You want everything to be looked at rigorously. This vaccine is going to be given to millions of people. You want every detail examined very carefully. We think it will be. I think the vaccine will survive that examination and get a very high grade. I expect an a, and i think the fda will issue the emergency use authorization. Details are very important. And some of the reasons some people are concerned about taking this vaccine is theyre concerned its been rushed. Lets talk about pfizer. Now theres been a discovery. Some doctors are saying in vials they thought would have five doses maybe have six or seven. Is that good news or should we be concerned that maybe details were overlooked . I think it is good news. In every vial theres a little extra because as you go in each time and you know, the old thing, you put up the needle and squirt a little bit out. You want to make sure theres a little extra so that for every dose you have sufficient. And, yes, it looks as though some people got a little bit of a bonus. But its vaccine. And well use it and well use it with enthusiasm. And we will take it with enthusiasm. No squirting out a little dose. My arm is waiting. We did get word that a Health Care Worker in alaska had an allergic reaction to the Pfizer Vaccine and has been hospitalized. How concerned are you . Its, obviously, something that has been known to health care providers, and, look, that piece you just had in phoenix, they are watching people for 15 minutes afterwards. Very carefully. I love that. I was waiting for that to show up, and im so pleased. Every location across the country will watch everybody for 15 minutes afterwards. You cant just run in and run out after having received this vaccine. Were going to watch you carefully. If anything happens, were prepared to respond. You are a cdc doctor. Youre not my doctor. Just from talking to you, i wish you were. Help us understand who you think should be getting this vaccine. We know its going Health Care Workers, senior citizens. Who should go next . The Cdcs Advisory Committee on immunization practices will decide that this weekend. Should it be essential workers . Should it be people aged 65 and older . People with underlying chronic illnesses . That discussion is still ongoing. It will be resolved by the end of the day on sunday, im quite sure, and the planning can go forward. We are anticipating more vaccine every week. Were ready to give it first to the Health Care Workers. And then on to citizens out there who need it the most. Have you gotten it yet . Oh, no. Were starting it in our Medical Center today and the folks who are working in the intensive care units and the emergency departments, theyll be first. Ill be farther back in line, but thats okay with me. Theyre up close to the patients most of the time. And were also interested, obviously, in equity. We want to make sure that this vaccine gets out to the entire distribution of people whom we have in this country. People are lower socioeconomic status. People who are africanamerican, others who are of other ethnicities. Populations disproportionately affected by the virus itself. So were going to be reaching out into the Community Day after day after day to make sure that everybody has the information and the reassurance, stephanie, that they can make good decisions for themselves and their families. Well, i will tell you, dr. Schaffner, every time youre here, i feel reassured. You make us better and smarter every time we see you. Thank you for joining us this morning. Youre very kind. When we come back, weve got breaking news. There could be delivery issues this morning. Fedex and u. P. S. Facing a new challenge in delivering the coronavirus vaccine. One of the biggest snowstorms, of course. Its the reason youve got me at home today. Its hitting the northeast. The biggest weve seen in years. This one is a nasty girl with up to two feet of snow in some areas. Add to that, shipping companies are smack dab in the middle of holiday deliveries. Were actually not going to commercial. Were going to go right to that. Weve got our team spread out across the region. First, Yasmin Vossoughian at a u. P. S. Facility in queens, new york. I cant imagine what this is like for u. P. S. Right now. Mountains of holiday deliveries. Now theyve got the vaccine and a storm is here. Are we going to get delays . Yeah, i mean, steph, its tough. I actually talked to the u. P. S. Facility and folks inside as well and they feel like theyre prepared. This is their super bowl, this christmas season, the Holiday Season is really their super bowl. But on top of that you have the pandemic happening as well trying to get these lifesaving vaccines all throughout the country so theyre doing a lot right now. They issued a statement a little earlier. Im going to paraphrase this essentially. With their hiring practices they feel theyre prepared for this moment. 100,000 seasonal employees hired. 39,000 earlier on in the year to prepare for this very moment. But, of course, theyve never had to deliver lifesaving vaccines during a pandemic, especially when you have increased mail going throughout the country because people arent visiting their families and their friends during the christmas season. Instead, theyre sending them presents, sending them packages. I want to walk you through the tick tock of how these vaccines are getting to facilities. Theyre starting at the pfizer plant and when moderna gets through the checklist theyll start on the moderna plan as well. Then they go to louisville, kentucky. Theres a Health Command center there and a separate team just watching the movements of these vaccines. From there, they get on trains, they get on planes, trucks and theres a tracking system, not only that pfizer is tracking but also that the u. P. S. Command center is tracking. Its tracking their temperature to see that they stay at negative 70 degrees celsius and their movement the entire time. From there, they come to one of these facilities. Im near queens in front of this u. P. S. Facility. They are sorted at this facility and then put on trucks once again and going to where their destination is. Today, there are major distributions happening at cvs throughout the new york area. Also flushing Medical Center north of where i am. They are at 132 icu capacity. There are zero icu beds at flushing Medical Center, but the most important delivery happening today is going to those cvs facilities throughout the area in new york where shots are going to go in the arms of nursing home residents that need it amidst this pandemic. This is a total 2020 story. A wait and see moment to see how this thing progresses throughout the day, making sure they get their deliveries on time during this pandemic, steph. Nursing home residents, all they want for christmas is this vaccine. Yasmin, head inside. Its cold where you are. I want to turn to kathy park and, kathy, for anyone who doesnt have the volume turned up at home it looks like youre in alaska. Youre in boston where you are being brutally hit with this storm. Tell us about it. Hey, steph. Yeah, im not in alaska. Im definitely in boston right now. And the snow, as you can see, is pretty intense and its falling hard and fast and its piling up really quickly on the ground. At last check about 7 1 2 inches on the ground but once this system pushes out of here, the next couple of hours, were anticipating over a foot of snow. Now most of massachusetts right now is under a winter storm warning until 1 00 this afternoon. And the governor has urged residents to stay indoors. Of course, a lot of people are already working from home so thats really not an issue right now. Hes telling those people to stay inside so that crews can continue clearing the roadways quickly and efficiently. Right now this morning, in addition to this heavy snow, we are being hit with these intense wind gusts. And we had the potential for Power Outages over the next couple of hours. And the temperature right now is in the 20s, but we are told that it could drop into the teens, and we could also be facing this flash freeze on top of the snow. Here in boston, they are no strangers to winter storms. Were told this is a most significant snowfall in 19 months. And you take a look behind me. There isnt a soul in sight. Weve seen some folks Walking Around the area taking in the sights and sounds of the first winter storm of the season. Most people are in good spirit and taking it all in. Steph . Mother nature is giving us no breaks this year. Yasmin, kathy, thank you so much. I want to go deeper into this weather and bring in my colleague, meteorologist bill karins. Bill, whats in store . Here in new york city, things dont look good. Are they going to get worse . No, Rapid Improvement actually. Its still very cold. The big headline with this storm, like everyone just opening their eyes and going, wow, i cant believe it, is whats happening near the binghamton, new york, area. Weve gotten numerous reports of 40 inches of snow. A heavy bit of snow set up over the region. Were talking about 3 1 2 feet of snow that these people are shoveling out and trying to dig out. The pictures are incredible. This is newark valley. The highest at 44. Binghamton at 41 inches. Albany, new york, all along the Southern Tier of new york up to two feet. Were wait from the new report from albany airport. Central park, 10, boston, 6. My brother sent me this picture from albany, new york. Thats his vehicle in the driveway. Thats only about 18 to 24 inches. Just picture what 44 inches of snow looks like. The cleanup they have to do there in the binghamton area. We have about 37 Million People under winter storm warnings. The storm is exiting. Notice areas of blue all through most of pennsylvania and new york city. It looks like in albany, maybe another inch or two, but boston, youll not clear out probably until 2 00, 3 00 pm this afternoon. Thats when the snow will stop. Thats why we think you could get a couple of additional inches and theres the radar taking the storm out of maine by sunset today. It will be windy and cold on the back side of the storm. Maybe up to 30 in the cities. Windchills in the Single Digits in some areas. 44 inches of snow. This was an historic storm in central new york. Well, i hope your brother went to the Grocery Store yesterday. Hes not getting that car out any time soon. Bill, thank you so much. Were going to leave it there. Coming up next, negotiators worked through the night trying to hammer out the allimportant final details on a covid Economic Relief package. Well have the latest, including new information about the direct payments to americans. Think about it. Weve had over 8 million americans slip into poverty since the spring. People are in dire need of help. Later, one Frontline Worker initially hesitant to get the vaccine reveals what changed her mind. Investments, key portfolio events, all in one place. Because when its decision time, you need decision tech. Only from fidelity. We started by making the cloud easier to manage. But we didnt stop there. We made a cloud flexible enough to adapt to any size business. No matter what it does, or how it changes. And we kept going. So you only pay for what you use. Because at dell technologies, we stop. At nothing. D heals. Because at dell technologies, we stop. At nothing. Now is the time to put hands and feet to our prayers. New projects means you need to hire. Gers. I need indeed. Indeed you do. 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A new covid relief bill could be released any moment this morning as lawmakers worked overnight to hammer out details on this thing. Heres what we know now. The roughly 900 billion package is likely to include a new round of direct payments, enhanced federal jobless benefits, thats enhanced unemployment, Small Business funding and money to contribute to covid19 vaccines. Sources tell nbc news this plan does not include Liability Protections for employers and state and local funding. I want to go live to Garrett Haake on capitol hill. Garrett, negotiators were up until the wee hours hammering this out. So were you. What do you know . Stephanie, look. As far as we can tell there arent specific hangups at this point. Were merely in a position in time where negotiators want to make sure what theyre agreeing to in principle is being conveyed in the text, in the language that will make this into a law. Theyre dotting all the is, crossing all the ts and trying to make sure that roughly trillion dollars in spending does what they intend it to do. As you pointed out, lots of these provisions have been floating around and theres legislative text associated with many of them. With some of the tweaking on direct stimulus checks and some of the other programs that are getting plussed up in additional money or tightening the restrictions on how money can be used is something that takes time, even as we race toward yet another deadline to get this done. If an agreement is reached, any idea when those direct payments would actually get to the American People . Last time it took a few weeks. Theres good news here because that system is already built, secretary mnuchin has been saying since the fall that essentially if this gets passed on a friday, he can start sending checks out the next week. The bones are already there. The infrastructure is there to get those checks out. Now we just need somebody to okay them and sign this thing into law. Sign this thing into law. The American People need it. Garrett, thank you so much. I know youre going to stay on this. If there are any changes or developments, call us up. Bang on that camera. Please come back. This is youll be my first call. Were going to leave it there. And we are continuing to cover the fda hearing going on right now as we await the potential approval of Modernas Covid vaccine. First, why one frontline Health Care Worker didnt want to get the vaccine, and the reason they eventually changed their mind on why they believe everyone in this country needs this vaccine and needs to hear her message. [ engine rumbling ] [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] uh, you know theres a 30minute limit, right . Tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, theres progressive. To help you build a flexible wealth plan. 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The people with the money, theyre going to get it first. Were used to being mistreated, being experimented on, and were used to being last in any category when it comes to health care. So its going to take a whole education piece. Those are some of the fears in the minds of americans. As the fda considers emergency use of another Covid Vaccine this morning. How do we rebuild this allimportant trust . Joining us, dr. Aila stanford, a surgeon who started the black Doctors Consortium at the start of this to provide testing and care to those in the black Community Without insurance or access to Quality Health care. And darryn walker is the president of the ford foundation, a Philanthropic Organization dedicated to fighting inequities since this pandemic began. They have focused their efforts on the hardest hit communities. He is one extraordinary american. You both are. Dr. Sanford, i want to start with you. Yesterday you got the vaccine after months of testing and treating covid19 patients. What was that moment like for you . It was very emotional. It was emotional. I had some fear, but i had already made the decision that i was going to do it. And set an example because so many people had said to me, doc, when you tell me its okay to get it ill get it. When you say its all right, ill roll up my sleeve. And i realized that it was less about me and more about everyone else that doesnt have the access that i have. How and why did you have those fears, those reservations about taking the vaccine . You are the expert. When we see you take it, it gives us a lot of confidence. Why were you concerned . Because before i was a doctor, before i was a surgeon, i am a black woman. And culturally, that is almost a norm. Its how we were raised. That you go to the doctor when youre really sick and you think youre about to die. But other than that, you dont go. You dont trust because of the past experiences that have happened. And so science me was listening to the eau hearing, reading everything i could get my hands on, but black me was like, im not sure that im going to do this. When i contracted coronavirus, i had antibodies, and i still do and my doctor and i have been following it and i wasnt going to get the vaccine until i no longer had igg. And i think that was my trepidation and fear. And the more people said that to me, when you tell me its okay, doc, im there, it became less about me. And more about all the africanamericans that are dying and have a disease greater than any other group in this country. And everyone cant get their antibodies checked every four weeks like i can and then say, okay, now im ready for a vaccine. And so that may have been good for me as an individual, but it wasnt good for the masses of people that were trying to serve and provide access for. And so thats what changed my mind. Darryn, is one of the reasons there is so much mistrust in the black community simply because the system has always failed them, especially during this pandemic . Absolutely, stephanie. Thank you for your consistent coverage of this issue. Its so important. The reality for most africanamericans is a narrative, a history in this country of inequality. In all of our systems and in particular, our health care syst system. In addition to the experimentation without consent, the ways in which we have been exploited through the Health Care System, we have come to time in this pandemic when all of this has converged. The people who we just saw were saying is that we are always last in line. And we are most likely to be the very workers, those essential workers who are poorly paid, dont have benefits, dont have access to health care, and all of this has converged in this crisis with monumental detriment to the africanamerican community. Obviously, philanthropy is so important in this country. Its extraordinary the work that you do. But this pandemic has exposed inequalities that you have spent your career focused on. Is there any sort of Silver Lining, darren, that you believe that now, once we get through this, our government will finally see this as a call to action and address all sorts of health, income inequality issues . I think this year the Silver Lining is the inequality of race, the racial cast system that is manifest in our economics, in our systems of education, health care, housing and criminal justice are stark different for white americans. For africanamericans, for latinx americans, for the first time we believe that the reality of our lives is no longer deniable, the racism that exists is no longer denial, but stephanie, what we have to also recognize is what you talked about earlier. 8 Million People have fallen into poverty this year. During this pandemic. While that was happening, people like you and me who have assets, who have real estate, have seen our net worth increase significantly. Theres something wrong in a nation when in the midst of a pandemic, those of us who are privileged, our privilege is compounded. Our bank accounts, our investments have been compounded while those essential workers, those africanamericans, latinx workers who are on the front lines, their disadvantage has been compounded. You know who ought to not be in line right now or thinking about being in line right now, are people like me and you because we are privileged in this system, and as doctor stanford knows from her work, People Like Us have no reason right now to be thinking about getting in line. I am so, so glad you brought that up. We have no reason to be in line but dr. Sanford, you know people of privilege are. They are talking to concierge doctors, pulling every string they can to get this vaccine. What do we do to stop that . Ill tell you, two weeks ago when i had the Covid Vaccine it was a whole lot easier for me, a person of privilege, to get myself a rapid test than people in a different situation. Right. So i believe, for example excuse me, test, not vaccine. Yes, the vaccine Advisory Committee for Philadelphia Department of Public Health and i have to be a voice. I have to be an advocate. The american medical association, the National Medical association, the historically black college and universities and for that matter, the nonthoihistorically black colleges and universities have to be the advocates and stick to the criteria about phase 1a, b and c workers and that you dont enter that criteria until its your time. The other thing that i would say is that the phase 1a and 1b, remember, Health Care Workers of the 63 of Health Care Workers who died, most of them were of color, and the majority were africanamerican. So that does represent us being in that first group. But what hospitals have to make sure they include, and i heard your previous guest mention this is that it is the folks emptying the garbage, transporting patients, bringing people food, the security folks at the er. They are equally exposed to the coronavirus and they should get the vaccine. And darren, what you mentioned, the experience that africanamericans have had with the Health Care System being untrustworthy to them, i agree. I know the history. But we cannot allow that to impede us from receiving help that is on the way. Its here. And that is why we need people like you to speak up. We need prominent validators like you, doctor, who are respected in our community. And when we hear more people like you saying, please, get the vaccine, you will see the numbers go up. That is my fervent prayer. And i am well, i am so fortunate, and our audience is so fortunate to have both of you joining us today. Dr. Sanford, darren walker, thank you both so much. A reminder for you at home if you need help, ask for it. But if you can give help, please give it before the end of the year. If you are one of those people, someone who has assets, someone who saved more than they normally do this year. Many people actually saved more. People who work from home who werent paying to commute if you have some extra money, think about Charitable Giving right now before the end of the year. America needs it. Thank you both so much. I appreciate you both joining me. Coming up next a stark warning from president trumps former Homeland Security adviser who says we need to assume russia has control of multiple computer networks. Be worried about this. Dont go anywhere. E. Flexible we. Youll have access to taxsmart investing strategies, and with brokerage accounts online trades are commission free. Personalized advice. Unmatched value. At fidelity, you can have both. Unmatched value. Honey honey . 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Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Man 3 vo ask your rheumatologist about humira. Woman 4 vo go to humira. Com to see proof in action. Alice loves the scent of gain so much, she wished there was a way to make it last longer. Say hello to your fairy godmother alice. And longlasting gain scent beads. Part of the irresistible scent collection from gain take a deep breath. Sit down and listen to this. It could take years for the United States to get russia out of our hacked u. S. Networks. Thats according to president trumps former Homeland Security adviser tom bossert. Sounding the alarm in a new oped after what could have been the greatest u. S. Intelligence failure in recent years. Last week, we learned Russian Hackers got into multiple Government Agencies and private companies, including Cybersecurity Company fireeye. Ken dilanian has been digging into this story. We knew this hack was bad, but if bossert is saying, i want to share this quote, we must act as if the russian government has control of all the networks it has penetrated. If bossert is saying that, how scared should we be . My National Security sources say the u. S. Government is facing a long, hard slog to get these russian operatives out of their networks. These are some of the worlds best hackers from russias version of the cia and theyve buried themselves deep. What the u. S. Has to do is hire outside experts and fight a cat and mouse game because the russians will fight to stay in. This is exactly what happened when the same Russian Agency hacked the state department and the white house email servers back in 2015. We eventually got them out. If theres any good news here, its that so far theres no indication that the russians have breached classified networks. While tom bossert is calling this a cyberattack, many of my other sources say, hold on, this is really cyberespionage. This is the kind of thing the United States does to russia and china every day. But one thing is clear, theres bipartisan consensus that the u. S. Needs to raise the costs to russia of doing this because, right now, russia seems totally undeterred. Hacks, espionage, heres what we know. We know we dont want russia in our systems. Ken, thank you so much. Really important reporting. Coming up next, weve got to talk about the Economic Situation across this country. 885,000 jobless claims filed in the last week. Ill be speaking to one woman who is struggling to make christmas happen for her daughter. After the pandemic took her job and her savings. The perfect lt from your walmart store. Really fast. Really perfect. Lets end the year nailing it. We started by making the cloud easier to manage. But we didnt stop there. We made a cloud flexible enough to adapt to any size business. No matter what it does, or how it changes. And we kept going. So you only pay for what you use. Because at dell technologies, we stop. At nothing. 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 this morning, we learned that another 885,000 americans filed for Unemployment Benefits in the last week. As we enter the darkest months of this virus, it could get much worse as we have more restrictions and shutdowns in businesses. Jobless benefits for millions are set to expire january 1st, and a new study has shown that if congress doesnt extend this safety net, which hopefully it will, nearly 5 million americans will fall into poverty. 1 1. 3 million are children. This is something our next guest knows too well. Other west bronx neighborhood, the unemployment in her neighborhood went from 11 to 38 . Melissa mercedes lost her job and her savings, she joins us now. Melis melissa, thank you so much for telling your story. I know its personal. But its important for people to understand what this pandemic has done to people economically. In the beginning of this, you had saved up, you were looking for an apartment and then a couple months in, you found yourself looking for a job. Tell us what this has been like. Its been very, very very, its something that ive never, you know, would have thought that i would be going through with the pandemic, and is this a scary situation, i never would have thought this would happen that we have to quarantine and you know. For people like you in your neighborhood who didnt have savings, what is it like when you go into quarantine and you cant go to work. What is daytoday life like . Its very stressful. You go crazy at home, trying to find a way. You try to stay on a Positive Side but sometimes it gets hard with, you know, not having savings, you know, not having a job, you know, just going crazy. What has this been like for your daughter and your mom . For aubrey, its been, shes 3, so she really doesnt know much. Thank god it really didnt hit her much. We just cant do a lot of outings like we used to, cant go apple picking, cant go pumpkin picking. Its a lot. As far as for my mom, she has to quarantine at home because shes a diabetic, so its a lot of, like its a risk of her going outside. If she was to step outside so she has to stay in most of the time. Its a very scary situation for her as well. Do you feel like you got the help you needed . What would have been more helpful to get you through this crisis . What it would have been helpfulgovernment helped us out more. I feel like the government didnt do their job as much as they should have, which is why a lot of people are struggling during this pandemic. A lot of people are struggling to make ends meet because they dont have enough savings, they dont have a job, you know . What has it been like in your neighborhood, west farms, in the bronx. I mentioned it earlier, Unemployment Rate shot up to 38 . Whats it been like for folks . Its been difficult. People are struggling trying to find a job. Theyre starting by like doing things at home, things that they can make and sell, or you know, just theyre trying to make ends meet and its a sad situation, honestly. A lot of people cant make christmas happen. I was one of the people that was, you know, going through the same situation. I finally found a job. I just started my job recently so its like, you know, you have to have hope. How did you find a job . How did you find that hope and optimism through this . Its been a very dark time. Z after i contacted the compay i was working for before, somebody actually contacted me from my previous job and told me they were hiring in that same company, so i was, you know, i went to the interview and i got hired on the spot and i started last week how is it going . Going great. Got to get used to it. Its farther than where i used to work but so far, i love the team. Well im sure theyre glad to have you there. Thank you for joining us this morning. I really appreciate it and wishing you, your mother and your daughter a wonderful holiday. Okay, thank you so much. Have a good one, stephanie. Before we go, after discussing how badly the pandemic has affected so many of our fellow americans, i want to shine a light on the good, because there are great americans doing wonderful things every day and our hero of the day is 7yearold hailey orlinsky from chicago. Doctors were running low on masks, she wanted to do something good to help them so she told her mom she wanted to sell 3 friendship bracelets and donate the proceeds to the local hospital that cared for her when she was a baby. She shattered the fundraising goal of 200 bucks surpassing 22,000 yesterday. The money from the bracelets has been donated to the hospitals covid19 relief fund, provides personal protective equipment for the Staff Members and families. Hailey plans to encoup up the good work until covid is over. Get creative. We can do great things every day. That wraps up this busy hour. Im stephanie ruehl. Thank you for watching me here at home. Thanks for your patience. Youll see hall Hallie Jackson on the other side of the break. Dry, distressed skin that struggles . 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™. 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