Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is new day. Its monday, december 21st, 6 00 here in new york. Alisyn is off. Erica hill with me this morning. We have a ton of news. We really do. Breaking overnight, an emergency meeting just beginning in the United Kingdom, where a new variant of coronavirus looks to be spreading like wildfire. Health Officials Say it could be up to 70 more transmissible than the current variant. Prime minister Boris Johnson just imposed major new restrictions. London in close to a lockdown right now. Overnight, look at this map, a growing number of countries, including canada, banned travel from the uk. As of this morning, the United States is not on this list. Why . Also as of this morning, there are new efforts to determine whether the vaccines in existence right now work against this new variant. More vaccine news this morning. The first doses of modernas vaccine expected to be administered today and president elect joe bi
Just run out. Eviction moratoriums are expiring. Having the basics, food and rent are serious concerns for many impacted by the pandemic. The bill that would have provided at least temporary relief is stalled at maralago waiting oen a president ial signature that seems less and less likely to come. The president called the bill a disgrace this week up ending months of careful negotiations and introducing a demand for 2,000 checks stretching well beyond how far republicans said they were willing to go and even beyond what the white house had its own negotiators asking for. Cnns Sarah Westwood is in west palm beach. Good morning. Senator Lindsey Graham played golf with the president yesterday and even though he voted for the bill and said it should have been passed a long time ago, now hes apparently come around to the president s view. Reporter yeah, boris, thats the kind of reversal President Trump is asking all republicans to make, to abandon the support of the bill they voted for wee
And a Record Number of people, nearly 125,000 are hospitalized this morning with coronavirus. The situation becoming so severe in los angeles that several hospitals have had to turn patients away because of a shortage of oxygen. Just alarming in america in 2020. One of the latest victims of the outbreak, republican congressman luke letlo of louisiana, he was set to be sworn in this weekend, he died just two weeks after his diagno diagnosis. Also this morning, the uk has just approved the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine with the first doses to be given on monday. This could be a game changer in the effort to vaccinate many countries, since this vaccine is much cheaper, also easier to store and transport than the two approved here in the u. S. Already. Were going to get a live report from london on the latest in just a moment. But lets begin with cnns athena jones. That on the news of the uk variant, which is more easily transmissible, now present here in the u. S. And signs that its already