the backlash after hate mail arrived. >> this man? he ain't coming down. >> diaz: and later, the inn is closed; the faithful locked out. how bethlehem is keeping its christmas cheer. >> merry christmas! this is the "cbs weekend news," from chicago. here's adriana diaz. >> diaz: good evening. tonight, pfizer is packing boxes with thousands of its covid-19 vaccine, getting them ready for shipment. they're expected to begin arriving in states early monday. shots will soon follow. the f.d.a. gave the nation's first covid vaccine emergency authorization late last night, and it could not come soon enough. this has been the worst week yet of the pandemic, record hospitalizations and deaths. more than 3,300 friday. a new daily record. overall, nearly 300,000 lives in this country have been lost, the economy devastated. the vaccine's development has come in record speed, and cbs' manuel bojorquez is outside pfizer's plant near kalamazoo, michigan, where it's being made. >> reporter: adriana, the massive logistical operation that will get the vaccine to more than 600 sites across the country will begin right here, the pfizer facility near kalamazoo, michigan. ka officials say the boxes are being packed right now, set to being packed right now, set to depart tomorrow morning. the first of nearly three llion n doses of the vaccine will ship in just a matter of hours. today, f.d.a. commissioner dr. stephen hahn denied there was political pressure to grant the emergency authorization for pfizer and biontech's vaccine, and says the process has been clear. >> this transparency should also help assure the public that this vaccine met the f.d.a.'s rigorous standards for quality, safety, and efficacy. >> reporter: frontline medical workers most at risk will get the first of two required doses, but getting it there is a delicate process. the vials must be stored in ultra-cold freezers. shipping giants fedex and u.p.s. will split the deliveries, with u.p.s. handling the nation's east, and fedex the west. >> it really is a team effort, you know, two competitors teaming up for the good of humanity here. >> reporter: richard smith is the c.e.o. of fedex. >> they're the highest priority of anything that we're carrying in our system. >> reporter: while the vaccine's approval is a first for the u.s., five other countries have already signed off on it, and while it may signal the beinning of the pandemic's end, a vaccine may not be widely available to the general public until next spring or early summer. general gus perna is chief operating officer for "operation warp speed." >> while this moment is extraordinary in time, we have a lot of work to do. we are not taking a victory lap. >> reporter: one unanswered question is whether people who are vaccinated for the virus can still spread it. so right now, officials continue to stress that everyone should follow c.d.c. guidelines for stopping the spread, including mask wearing and physical distancing. adriana. >> diaz: manny bojorquez in rtrtage, michigan, thank you. cbs news medical contributor dr. david agus is here with more. dr. agus, now that it's official, what happens next? >> w >> well, it's certainly a big, exciting moment. right now, vaccines are being distributed, literally as we speak, across the country, minus 94 degrees fahrenheit in special containers are being delivered to hospitals and pharmacies for hopefully beginning administration of the vaccine on monday. you know, i as a health care professional actually had to sign up, and so hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, i'll be getting my own vaccination. >> diaz: i hope so. so if this vaccine was developed in less than a year, which is record time, how do scientists know what the long-term effects are? >> you know, this is one, i think, misunderstanding. this is a decade of science. it's "record time" because science has really improved over the last many years. every vaccine in the last many decades, the side effects are seen in the first couple of weeks. in this vaccine, we haven't seen anything in terms of serious adverse events, outside of the first day or so. and so i am very optimistic. can i say "no chance"? no, but it is much more likely a side effect from the virus than anything from the vaccine. >> diaz: now, dr. agus, we asked for questions for you on social media, and a recurring theme was, once other vaccines are approved, how should americans choose which to take? >> you know, i get this all the time, and the bottom line is, w,self, i will take the first vaccine that's available. all three of the lead candidates-- pfizer, moderna, astrazeneca-oxford university-- are amazing vaccines. each have their own merits. and all of them are 100% efficient in terms of blocking hospitalization and serious illness. so take whichever you can get first, and the sooner you will be protected. >> diaz: dr. david agus, thank you. despite the vaccine's arrival, the pandemic is getting worse. hospitalizations and deaths setting devastating new records. cbs' danya bacchus is in los angeles. >> reporter: americans are now feeling the pain of gathering over thanksgiving. hospitals nationwide, overwhelmed. hospitalizations this week up in 28 states, 19 of them setting records. tonight, there are no i.c.u. beds left in mississippi. the morgue is doubling capacity in fort worth, texas. new york city will end indoor dining beginning monday. restaurant owners are frustrated. >> this is not because you're getting sick in the restaurants. this is because we cannot control people to stay away from each other. >> reporter: covid triage tents are going up in california, the state reporting its highest number of new cases ever, more than 35,000. l.a. county's public health director warning the healthcare olstem could collapse with a winter holiday surge. >> we're on a very dangerous track to seeing unprecedented and catastrophic suffering and death. >> reporter: elizabeth linden is the chief nursing officer at indiana university health, which has the most covid patients in the state. >> the team members, they're tired, they're disheartened and they're afraid. >> reporter: more than 200 of her staff is in quarantine because of community exposure. >> it has, you know, tormented us for nine months and it's going to continue through the holidays, so really not knowing what to expect. >> reporter: here in southern california, i.c.u.s are nearly 95% full, the highest since the pandemic started. l.a. county set another record friday with more than 13,000 new cases. adriana. >> diaz: danya bacchus in los angeles, thank you. president trump is praising the vaccine as a "medical miracle." he also spent much of the day tweeting his grievances and attacking republicans, in addition to attending the army-navy football game. here's cbs' chip reid. >> reporter: on his way out of town today, president trump said "thank you" to his supporters by flying directly over a crowd protesting the outcome of the presidential election. the president's destination: west point, where he did the coin toss and at times wore a mask while watching the first army-navy game played there since 1943. but even that didn't distract him from his deep frustration over losing the election. "i won the election in a landslide," he falsely tweeted today, adding later, "we have just begun to fight." a fight that will be hard to continue after the u.s. supreme court's refusal friday to even hear arguments in a case challenging the election results. >> the supreme court has made a terrible, terrible mistake. >> reporter: but some republicans now say it's over, including nebraska senator ben sasse, who wrote, "every american who cares about the rule of law should take comfort that the supreme court-- including all three of president trump's picks-- closed the book on the nonsense." the president also lashed out at attorney general bill barr today over a report that joe biden's son is being investigated for possible tax law violations. mr. trump tweeted, "why didn't bill barr reveal the truth to e pupublic before the election about hunter biden?" he also reposted someone else's tweet that said barr "should be fired by the end of business today," yet again putting barr's job security in doubt. the electoral college meets monday, and it's expected to make joe biden's victory official. but here at the white house, the expectation is that the president will still refuse to concede. adriana. >> diaz: chip reid at the white house, thank you. it was billed "the million maga march." today, thousands of president trump's supporters gathered in the nation's capital, many of them refusing to accept that president-elect joe biden won the election. cbs' jeff pegues was in the crowd. >> reporter: today, president enump's supporters... >> we demand the truth! >> reporter: ...including the recently pardoned former national security adviser michael flynn. >> the courts do not decide who the next president of the united states of america will be. we, the people, decide. >> four more years! four more years! >> reporter: this is the president's loyal base. not only do they still believe in him... you still believe he won? >> absolutely. no doubt. >> reporter: ...they also believe, without presenting evidence, that he was robbed of an election victory. >> we felt the supreme court should have at least heard the case. >> reporter: among the protesters today, this group of proud boys. they say they're anticipating about 700 people here, and the possibility of clashes with other groups. some members of the far-right group raised confederate flags while others flashed a hand signal associated with white power. before the march, enrico tarrio, one of the group's leaders, visited the white house. a white house spokesman denied that there was a meeting with the president, insisting tarrio took a tour that was open to the public. are you going to meet with the president? that's the rumor. >> no, i'm not going to meet with the president. >> reporter: there were counter- protesters today. the police say the trump rally remained mostly peaceful. this is the second largest rally here by trump supporters since election day. jeff pegues, cbs news, washington. washington. >> diaz: and this programming note: the latest politics from washington and the vaccine roll out, tomorrow on "face the nation." margaret brennan's guests include health and human services secretary alex azar, and former f.d.a. commissioner dr. scott gotlieb. we learned today that the great charlie pride has died of complications from covid-19. ♪ you've got to kiss an angel good morning ♪ >> diaz: born the son of a sharecropper, pride became country music's first black superstar. he had 52 top-10 country hits, including 29 number ones. su he was 86 years old. now, to arkansas. the outrage is spreading after a racist incident prompted a black family to consider moving. the incident involved, of all things, santa claus. in north little rock, arkansas, the subdivision of lakewood is a tranquil place, but that peace was shattered when a letter arrived at chris and iddy kennedy's house. it was signed by "santa." >> "please remove your negro santa claus yard decoration. you should not try to deceive children into believing that i am a negro. i am a caucasian white man to you." the first word that stuck out to me was "negro." my first thought was literally of my wife and daughter. it was, have i been doing the wrong thing by putting these inflatables out there? this man? he ain't coming down. >> diaz: isn't that incredible, that one of your first thoughts was, "did i do something wrong?" >> because of the times we live in. then i have to start thinking about, are people actually going to believe me? >> diaz: his neighbors did. black santas started popping up all over town. >> we ordered the same one, and so did the joneses. >> diaz: chip and cheryl welch proudly display theirs. >> i think you have to speak out against racism, and i think the letter is very, very racist. and it really kind of hurt my heart that someone in our neighborhood was sending something like that to one of our neighbors. i read the letter, and i was like, get the biggest one you can find. ( laughs ) >> diaz: for the kennedys, all that matters is their four-year-old, emily. has she noticed the new santas in town? >> she's really grown up and santa has always been black. >> santa looks like her, in her environment. we've been intentional about that. >> we have santa right here. we want her to grow up seeing herself represented as much as possible. possible. >> diaz: hi, emily. >> hi. >> diaz: emily is what christmas is all about. >> what do you want for christmas, dad? >> diaz: and no grinch can steal her joy. >> merry christmas! >> diaz: merry christmas! a big moment today for women's sports. it's up and it's historic. vanderbilt's sarah fuller became the first woman to score in a power-5 football game. fuller's teammates congratulated her after she kicked an extra point to tie the game against tennessee. straight ahead on the "cbs weekend news," meet the next americans to walk on the moon, including at least one woman who will take the next giant leap. also, this giraffe gave some tourists a run for their money. so, what upset the gentle giant? ts a run for their mon christmas in bethlehem, with joy, peace, and a pandemic. demic. >> diaz: nasa made strides nasaweek to put a man back on the moon-- a man and a woman, that is. and if all goes according to olan, it will happen by 2024. plan, it will happen by cbs' mark strassmann has more on the mission. >> jessica watkins. >> reporter: make way, apollo era. in 2020, this is what the right stuff looks like. ke.the artemis generation. >> reporter: nasa's 18 artemis astronauts range in age from 32 ey 55. they include flight test pilots, geologists and a former navy seal. half have never been to space. half are women. and nasa intends for one of them to become a space first. >> i'm either going to walk on the moon or one of my friends is going to walk on the moon, and both of those scenarios are beyond my wildest dreams when i was a kid. >> it really just took my breath away. >> reporter: we talked to artemis astronaut nicole mann. she's currently training to fly boeing's starliner spaceship to the international space station next year, and now the moon is on her horizon, too. would it be important for you to be the first woman to land on the moon? >> you know, i would love to be the first woman to walk on the moon. but in reality, it's the bigger mission that's more important. it's important that we get there as americans, that we get there as a human race. >> reporter: to get there, nasa is developing a new mega-rocket and crew capsule called orion. but congress has yet to fully fund the trump administration's 2024 landing goal. and the incoming biden administration has to agree with these excited artemis astronauts that this moon mission matters. >> one of the important things for a huge program and a huge endeavor like this is to have that continuity across administrations. and i feel confident that we have that. this is the future of human exploration. >> reporter: but if the goal here was to create moon excitement, mission accomplished. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. >> diaz: good luck, nasa. look to the night sky for a special show this weekend. the geminid meteor shower, seen here in years past, peaks tomorrow night and should produce fireworks all night long. meteor watchers say you could expect up to20 yellow shooting stars per hour. still ahead on the "cbs weekend news," a scary chase by four very long legs. >> diaz: an angry giraffe surprised a truckload of tourists at a kenyan game preserve this week. the chase was on after the giraffe took an apparent dislike to a photographer. it was neck and neck there for a while, and giraffes can run up to 40 miles per hour. eventually, everyone parted peacefully. a miami animal services worker went below and beyond the call of duty to rescue two stranded dogs. she found brenda and bianca treading water in a septic tank, and pulled them to safety. the grateful, fragrant pair were soon happily reunited with their owner. next on the "cbs weekend news," the holy land's covid christmas. the lights are on, even if the faithful are few. are few. >> diaz: finally tonight, christmas is supposed to be a time of comfort and joy. but in this pandemic, even the historical birth place of jesus is hurting. still, they're keeping the spirit alive. here's cbs' imtiaz tyab. >> reporter: it has all the trimmings of a holiday wonderland. and while the tree is up and the ornaments are on, the crowds are gone. bethlehem's major square is bracing itself for a christmas like no other. >> christmas will be a bit sad. but we know that maybe, we are praying that things will change and coronavirus will disappear. es reporter: in march, the gates to the biblical city were slammed shut after the israeli-occupied west bank's first major outbreak of covid-19 erupted here. according to the ministry of health, there have been over 65,000 cases in the palestinian territory, and more than 620 deaths. the eerie silence isn't just found on the streets. it's also in the churches. here at the church of the nativity, where it's believed jesus was born on this very s,ot, there are no crowds, no choirs singing, and just a precious few of the faithful. but for carmen ghattas, who speaks for bethlehem's local government, it's an opportunity to get closer to the teachings of christ. >> we think and we feel with our beloved ones having family and friends safe is christmas, especially in this situation. >> reporter: it's a really beautiful thing to say that the spirit of christmas is keeping each other safe. >> true. >> reporter: with coronavirus infections still rising across bethlehem, midnight mass has also had to be scaled back. >> merry christmas! >> reporter: and the closest most were able to get to the annual tree-lighting ceremony was to watch it online via a live feed, a digital burst of s.ght in a year that's seen so much darkness. imtiaz tyab, cbs news, london. >> diaz: that's the "cbs weekend news" for this saturday. later on cbs, "48 hours." and don't forget "sunday morning with jane pauley," first thing tomorrow. i'm adriana diaz in chicago. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by bay area first vaccine doses are expected within days. oakland reached 100 murders this year. i will tell you where they are happening, why the increase in what's being done. we are only about halfway through this as far as the rain is concerned. here's round two, and you will notice this one more than round one. we will talk about that, coming right up.>> another day, another record report from the state health department. the state confirmed more than 35,000 new cases of covid-19 in the past 24 hours and 225 new deaths. on average more than 10% of people who were tested in the past two weeks came back positive. tonight, more than 13,000 patients are in the hospital. earlier today santa clara county sent out more sobering statistics saying one out of every 10 people diagnosed with covid-19 in our county have needed to be hospitalized. more than a third of those people needed in icu bed. >> those intensive care beds are filling up fast tonight there are just 1400 available statewide. in the bay area available capacity is hovering just above 17% area that is good compared to southern california which is sitting at 5% and the san joaquin valley is out of icu space altogether. at the stroke of midnight sonoma county joint five other bay area

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