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More Americans Suffering And Dying Of COVID-19 Than Ever Before; Dr. Fauci: Parts Of U.S. Could Postpone Elective Surgeries As Hospitals Face Overwhelming Amount Of COVID-19 Patients; Bipartisan $908B Stimulus Deals Gains Support On Capitol Hill; Source: Trump Administration Blocked Biden Transition Team From Meeting With Pentagon Intelligence Agencies; Black, Latino Leaders Raise Concerns About Diversity In Biden Cabinet; PA Airport Acting As Receiving Area For COVID-19 Vaccines. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired December 05, 2020 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:00]

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The U.S. facing an unprecedented and devastating crisis as the coronavirus pandemic reaches new heights. Hospitalization, cases and deaths are all at levels not seen since the pandemic began.

More than 100,000 Americans are suffering in a hospital right now. 227,000 were infected on Friday alone with another 2500 Americans losing their battles with the disease. It's getting so bad, the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci said some parts of the U.S. could be forced to postpone elective surgeries as hospitals fill to capacity.

And it's not just sickness that had people in dire straits. Millions of Americans are facing financial hardships. There are new hopeful signs that Congress may finally be on the cusp of passing a new stimulus package with leaders from both parties now willing to negotiate over a bill, Democrats had previously said was too small to consider.

But we begin with breaking news now in California. The state is now poised to issue a strict new stay-at-home orders for the two regions or for rather two regions in the state, regions populated by nearly 23 million people. That's more than the total population of New England.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is tracking all of this from Los Angeles, one of the affected areas. So Paul, walk us through this time line here and what's meant by these regions.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK, so if basically the Intensive Care Unit capacity in any of these regions drop below 15 percent which it has in southern California as well as the San Joaquin region, then if it does so again today then tomorrow at 11:59 PM so that's basically midnight Sunday, we will see the new stay-at-home order go to a effect and that order includes a ban on all dining at restaurants.

It includes shutting down movie theaters, nail salons, museums and playgrounds. Some of this order is already in effect in some counties and parts of counties here in Los Angeles but on a similar front, we're now seeing the hospital's girding for what they think will be yet another massive surge of patients.

I'm going to bring in Johnese Spisso. She is the president here of UCLA Medical Systems, one of the largest hospitals in the county and right now hearing that this order is likely to go into effect, how does that help you in your fight?

JOHNESE SPISSO, CEO, UCLA HOSPITAL SYSTEM: Well, we're pleased with the order. We saw those measures work early on in the pandemic to help us really flatten and curtail some of the rising cases that we're seeing.

VERCAMMEN: And so you also on a different front have the capacity to store 1 million doses of the vaccine in seven freezers. How soon are you going to get those?

SPISSO: Well, we've been actively working on our vaccine planning, coordinating very closely with LA county and the state. We're hopeful to begin getting those vaccines in the next few weeks.

VERCAMMEN: And as we look behind you, we know your doctors and nurses have been going through long days. Their legs have got to be heavy, mentally exhausted, physically exhausted, how are they holding up and what is the sense of anxiety going into this next wave?

SPISSO: Well, our staff has done amazing throughout this pandemic, not only supporting our patients and families but supporting each other. I will say though in the past few weeks, the fatigue factor has begun to set in so we're looking at many additional ways to continue to support them.

We know we can expect more patients in the next few weeks and we want to support them with wellness activities and resilience so that we can continue to serve our community.

VERCAMMEN: And not only that at this hospital, you have situations where staffers who are not doctors and nurses are jumping into this fight.

SPISSO: Yes, we've had such a great response from the community. It's been wonderful to see even people who weren't working clinically, volunteer for other activities that they could do or to support staff. We had volunteers make wellness baskets for the nurses who were working long shifts and needed some rest and relaxation.

VERCAMMEN: Well, it's great to hear that people have stepped in and helped them out. I appreciate your comments and let us know when that vaccine arrives. We hope to see you know that sooner than later and there you have it here from Los Angeles, UCLA, right at the forefront of this battle in so many ways. We really appreciate you taking time out Johnese. Back to you now Fred. WHITFIELD: All right Paul Vercammen, thank you so much for that.

Appreciate it. I want to bring in now Dr. Robert Wachter. He is the Chairman for the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Three members of his staff were just named to the Biden admin's COVID advisory board. He's also the author of the book, 'The Digital Doctor.' Dr. Wachter, thank you so much for joining us.

[12:05:00]

DR. ROBERT WACHTER, CHAIRMAN, DEPT OF MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right so let me begin with these new developments out of your state. Two regions now on the verge of new stay-at-home orders. You heard from the doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles who is happy to hear that. In your view, is this necessary right now?

WACHTER: I think it is. You know one of the interesting things about COVID is you're always behind the curve because what you're seeing today is a result of what happened two weeks ago so the trend lines we're seeing our really disastrous. They're just heading straight up in terms of the number of cases, the number of hospitalizations so it really is time for us to pull back on the activity and see if we can turn this thing around before hospitals get overwhelmed.

If they got overwhelmed, patients are going to get harmed and die because we simply will not have the ability to take care of them in the way we want.

WHITFIELD: So we are seeing a rise in cases and hospitalizations quite frankly across the country, breaking records in so many cases. Should more states be considering these kinds of new stay-at-home orders that California is soon to exercise?

WACHTER: I think so. I mean California has actually had a better than average performance over the course of this pandemic. If the country had mirrored California's per capita death rate, there would be about 100,000 fewer deaths.

If it has mirrored San Francisco's per capita death rate, there would be about 200,000 fewer deaths so California's actually done relatively well but the reason it's done relatively well as we've been somewhat conservative about this and you know the things that we're doing now seem prudent.

We have to get through the holidays, we have to get through the winter and vaccines are just around the corner so it feels like the things that we're doing here are prudent and I see other parts of the country. They're still open even though the case rates and hospitalization rates are far worse than here.

So I think we're acting correctly.

WHITFIELD: All right, vaccines soon to be available to some but then there a lot of parents out there who are wondering what about their children. Might they be able to get a vaccine and if ultimately it will help lead to more students returning to the classroom. This is what Dr. Anthony Fauci said last night about that during a CNN Town Hall. Listen.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NIAID: I am hoping and I think it's not an unreasonable hope that by the time we get to the full term, we can do that with a good degree of impunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What are your thoughts on whether it is reasonable to think that enough children will get vaccinated in order to return to school even say by next fall?

WACHTER: Well, the children are going to be relatively late in in the line here because we haven't tested the vaccine on them yet. We wanted to be sure it was safe in adults before moving into kids but the kids actually if we can get everybody else vaccinated, if we can get all the adults vaccinated and get the virus to die out because we reached - get somewhere near herd immunity, the kids may be less important.

So I think it's reasonable to expect that the kids will be back in school in the fall, not so much because all of them have been vaccinated although I hope they will but that everybody around them has been vaccinated and the rate of virus in their communities has fallen to a point that is perfectly safe for them to be in school.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Robert Wachter, thank you so much.

WACHTER: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right, experts say up to 13 million American households could be facing eviction at the end of the month unless Congress acts to extend eviction protections. CNN's Natasha Chen joining me now from Atlanta so Natasha, you know what kind of impact is this looming deadline having on families?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people are very anxious Fred and talking to tenants and housing advocates yesterday, the only thing that's clear is the lack of clarity. They don't know if there's going to be more assistance for the unemployed and whether there will be any tenant protections in the New Year.

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CHEN (voice over): 2020 has been a year of firsts for Victoria Giddens and none have been cause for celebration. In March as the pandemic forced much of the economy closed Giddens, who had just accepted a job with the rental car company at the airport had that offer rescinded, a first for 30-year-old Gidden who lives with her boyfriend and their two-year old son.

VICTORIA GIDDENS: We knew we had this two-year old to take care of everything so I was so depressed at the moment.

CHEN (voice over): Two incomes in January became one by March. Then as she struggled to find work and stay on top of some bills, another first. An eviction notice on her door telling her she had to be out by January 6.

GIDDENS: I was - I'll be stressed every day. I just try not to let it show.

CHEN (voice over): Especially not in front of her son who can sense when something's wrong. This year was also her first time ever asking for financial assistance just to pay their past due rent.

ESLENE RICHMOND-SHOCKLEY, FOUNDER, CARING FOR OTHERS: Where does this put this client if we clear up the past due rent?

CHEN (voice over): We followed get in to see Eslene Richmond Shockley, founder of the organization Caring for others.

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RICHMOND-SHOCKLEY: During COVID-19 era, you have seen the rules change so much towards the clients and everyday is a fight.

CHEN (voice over): The check for more than $4400 came from donors she found in the last few days preventing Giddens from being thrown out of her home at least for now.

GIDDENS: I'm blessed and thankful.

CHEN (voice over): For Shockley who says her organization has run out of financial assistance funds, the issue strikes a raw nerve.

RICHMOND-SHOCKLEY: And I understand what it is to sleep at a greyhound bus station on Christmas Eve night in Washington DC. But no one would open their doors for me and I was a student. And I have to continue helping till the day I die.

CHEN (voice over): But even helping tenets with past due rent won't solve the problem of what's ahead. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a temporary order to halt evictions nationwide but that expires at the end of the month so Georgia Legal Services' Susan Reif says housing attorneys are bracing for the first Monday in January.

SUSAN REIF, GEORGIA LEGAL SERVICES: I think every legal service's housing attorney in Georgia has that date circled in red because that is the date that the courts will open and landlords can go in and begin filing dispossessory for non-payment.

CHEN (voice over): The CDC would not answer a question about whether the order would be extended citing ongoing litigation and anything a new administration may do won't happen until President-elect Biden takes office in late January. I asked Reif what tenant protections there are in the meantime?

REIF: I have no good answer for you or for my client to call with those issues and it is a painful position to be in as a lawyer.

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CHEN (on-camera): Susan Reif also told me that she compares this to the foreclosure crisis which really affected people of all incomes. She says this time around it more adversely affects low income people and people of color. She said also foreclosures takes take months to complete and this time and talking about evictions, that can happen in days and weeks.

So she says it's just a faster paced, more urgent situation Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow, yes, it is bad and seemingly getting worse very fast. Natasha Chen, thank you so much. All right, joining me now to discuss is Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Mayor Suarez, good to see you so I mean this is heartbreaking. What goes through your mind as you hear about just you know one of the millions of Americans who are facing eviction?

MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ (R), MIAMI: Oh, it is heartbreaking and you know a lot of people focus on the health component of this pandemic which of course is at the forefront of our minds but there's a tremendous economic impact.

So many people are suffering economically so you know a particular during the holidays, we just did today food giveaway, we're giving away public gift cards with a federal CARES Act money that we received just a few weeks ago. There's so much need - the need is so much greater than the supply that we have to meet the needs so it's just devastating.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I mean Congress's inching you know closer to possibly passing this $908 billion stimulus deal that would extend eviction protections into the New Year but do you believe congressional lawmakers will be able to make a deal this time? I mean it's going to have to happen really, really soon because the first of the year is barely three weeks away?

SUAREZ: I sincerely hope - I sincerely hope so. I mean we obviously need it. It's you know it's a bipartisan call forward. Today I had a press conference with Democratic mayors as second vice president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, our conference is coming together with our Vice President, Mayor Nan Whaley from Dayton and mayors from the Republican side, urging our Republican and Democratic Congressmen and women to do the right thing and to get a bill passed immediately.

The need is so stark, it's so devastating what's happening right now and our federal government needs to step up. There hasn't been any funds flowing through to people off for many months.

WHITFIELD: You released an Op-Ed on CNN business with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti earlier in the week, touting a renter stimulus plan being pushed by a bipartisan coalition of mayors and local legislators on the local level. The plan would allow renters to claim back you know their security deposits, then give them 90 days to buy insurance policies to protect landlords. The piece also notes and I'm quoting from the piece now, "while the

federal government continues to delay, we're bringing about the single largest rent relief initiative in the country." So where is it you know in the process of being able to solidify it? How significant will this be?

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SUAREZ: Oh, it can be extremely significant. There's $45 billion worth of rental deposits that in Escrow right now just not doing anything to help renters. What this would do would be to essentially allow renters to reclaim your own money, many of which we know, an average a positive $1400 which is greater than their first stimulus check that all Americans received a few months ago.

So this would allow them to substitute that money which is not doing anything for anyone to help them in a short term basis and as you indicated and your guest have indicated previously on the show you know, we're just trying to get to the point where we have mass inoculations and vaccinations so that people can go back to a sense of normality.

So what many of us mayors are trying to do across the country is buy time and so that's why you know coalition of bipartisan mayors throughout the United States is looking at implementing legislation that gives renters the option, the ability to take advantage of this program and at the same time it protects landlords.

So it's just a common sense solution and stimulus and injection of funds to help people that are in dire need.

WHITFIELD: What's it going to take to get that adopted,? To get that plan in place?

SUAREZ: It's going to take the will of mayors across the United States. This is a local ordinance in the case of Miami, we're actually going to the Attorney General of the state of Florida to make sure that it conforms to state landlord tenant law and all it does, again is give them the option, it gives them an option to be able to reclaim that money, put it to use as opposed to have it sitting in a bank account collecting interest for someone else and then it also protects the landlord.

So it's really, it's a no harm, no fall out type of solution.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Be well. Thank you.

SUAREZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right next, President Trump's conspiracy theories about a so-called rigged elections may have just backfired in the key Senate runoff race in Georgia. The president will be in the state in a matter of hours to reenergize voters but can he make a difference?

Plus the Trump administration under fire for a blocking key intelligence from the Pentagon from getting to president-elect Joe Biden. What is the hold up? And Joe Biden called out for lack of diversity in the top cabinet positions and then so far will he keep his promise to build an administration that will "look like the country?"

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WHITFIELD: For the first time since his election loss, President Trump is preparing to hit the campaign trail. Soon he will have to Georgia to hold a rally for two Republican senators facing runoff elections, one month from today. The races will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

The President's trip has some Republicans worries that he could do more harm than good. This after sowing doubt about the integrity of George's voting system with baseless claims of election fraud. For more on this, let's bring in Sarah Westwood at the White House.

So Sarah, the president has been claiming without evidence that the election was stolen from him in Georgia and blasting the state's Republican governor for not overturning other results so what kind of message is expected from President Trump while in Georgia today?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Oh yes, Fred, today as a significant moment for President Trump with his first rally since losing the election and this is a setting where the president is the most unpredictable. When he is most likely to go off script.

That's what has Georgia Republicans really nervous today as President Trump heads to the peach state. There has been growing anxiety among GOP officials about the president's election fraud message. Now there's fears that he could potentially depress turnout among Republican voters that are Trump supporters.

The Republicans need to turn out on January 5, maybe persuaded by the president's debunked claims but it's just not worth it to go cast their ballot because the fix is in according to what Trump has been saying.

But despite those concerns the present is showing no signs of backing off this message and in fact just moments ago, he tweeted fresh attacks on the Republican Georgia governor and the Secretary of State claiming falsely that he somehow won Georgia. That is not true.

He was advocating for stricter signature verification requirements but again, there's no evidence for any of the president's claims and others around the president are starting to acknowledge the reality of what occurred in this election.

Vice President Mike Pence was campaigning yesterday in Georgia for Purdue and Leoffler and he said that those two senators could be the last line of defense for Republicans. An acknowledgement there perhaps that a Democrat will soon be in the White House.

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MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm here on the president's behalf because we need Georgia to send two great senators back to Republican majority in Washington. We need to send them back because the Republican Senate majority could be the last line of defense, preserving all that we've done to defend this nation, revive our economy and preserve the God-given liberties we hold dear.

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WESTWOOD: Now we've otherwise heard very little from the president's allies about what the future of the Republican Party looks like after the president leaves office next month, just a little over a month from now but there is a lot of concern among Republicans that the president is making it much harder for his party to hold on to the Senate, heading into this runoff in January, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sarah Westwood, thanks so much from the White House. All right, next, the Trump administration blocks key defense intelligence from getting to Joe Biden's transition team. The national security concerns, next.

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WHITFIELD: The Trump administration blocked president-elect Biden's transition team from meeting with Pentagon Intelligence Agencies this week, a source tells CNN. Rear Admiral John Kirby joins us now in Washington.

Admiral Kirby, always good to see you so what's causing the slow down? What is the transition team missing?

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY & DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Well look, into any transition, even in the best of circumstances Fred, it's a tough time and there could be sensitivities and certainly we've seen efforts by the Trump administration to not exactly be as open as they can but in this case, it's hard to tell.

I think it could just come down to some process and communication problems. The main thing is though Fred that it looks like they've worked their way through this and that those kinds of meetings with the intelligence agencies on the defense side anyway are going to start happening this week and that's a good thing because to your second question, the incoming Biden team really does need to get the intelligence lay down of all kinds of issues all around the world in which our troops and our intelligence operatives are working.

[12:30:06]

Whether it's in the Middle East, or in the Pacific region or throughout Europe and Africa, there's a lot of ground to cover here. And you want the incoming team to have as much access to the classified information and the developments in those areas as soon as they can.

WHITFIELD: We're also learning that the Pentagon and the V.A., Veterans Affairs, will be getting COVID vaccines directly. What do you think the distribution plans will be like for those entities?

KIRBY: Early reports are that in both the Pentagon and the V.A., they're going to be prioritizing their health care workers and more importantly their frontline health care workers. And I think that makes perfect sense. You can see that happening on the civilian side as well. They want to make sure that they can provide the best medical care and the safest medical care they can.

On the Pentagon side, one concern that they have is, of course, giving it to frontline troops. So they're going to be prioritizing the troops at some point and making sure that the ones that are most involved in key national security missions are able to get that virus so they can say stay healthy.

But they also have to worry about the side effects and whether or not there's any side effects with these vaccines that could render those troops even temporarily sick. So, lots of planning that's going to go into this, Fred. I'm sure they're going to do a good job of sort of structuring it out over time so that they can continue to preserve our national security interest to the best means possible.

WHITFIELD: All right. Admiral John Kirby, thanks so much, and thanks for your optimism on all that. Appreciate it.

All right, still ahead. Joe Biden facing mounting criticism as the early picks for his Cabinet lack diversity. Why he's walking a tight line, next.

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WHITFIELD: As the Biden Cabinet begins to take shape, questions about its diversity are beginning to mount. But Biden and the Vice President-elect is sure it will be diverse. Kamala Harris saying, quote, we're not done yet.

Joining me now, David Swerdlick who is an Assistant Editor for The Washington Post and CNN Political Commentator, and Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter for The Wall Street Journal and a CNN Political Analyst. Good to see both of you.

All right, David, let me begin with you. Let's take a look at the choices thus far for the Biden-Harris administration Cabinet. And among them we've see, you know, five women, three men of those five women, three are of color. And among the men, you've got a Cuban born, who would be the first Latino and immigrant to run DHS. So is this looking like a picture of diversity thus far? DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon, Fred. So, I think it's shaping up that way but it remains to be seen. And I think voters and Democratic Party operatives and supporters will make that decision when the whole Cabinet is named. Let's set the level at the top. Remember, as Vice President Joe Biden served the first black President as President, his Vice President will be the first black, Asian American and woman Vice President. So you got diversity right at the top level there.

You do have some picks, I still think you'll still see some diverse picks. I know -- I couldn't see your graphic. But I know that there are American Indian groups who would like to see Deb Haaland let's say as Interior Secretary, I would expect to see someone like Jay Johnson, African American former DHS Secretary in the administration.

But I think we're in a situation here where when all the Cabinet officials and all the White House senior staffer pick, then people are going to make a determination whether there's racial and gender and sexual orientation diversity as well as ideological diversity. There are a lot of old Washington hands in this Cabinet. And we'll see if they pick some outside of the box people.

WHITFIELD: So Sabrina, some black and Latino leaders are voicing disappointment about, you know, the diversity, or the picture of the people chosen so far. How important will it be for Biden to keep his, you know, the critical part of the Democratic support, happy and at the same time trying to appeal to people who may have been on the fence about his election?

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think that's precisely the balancing act before President-elect Joe Biden as he considers who to name to his Cabinet. He campaigned on assembling a Cabinet that looks like America and reflects its diversity. And I think, you know, obviously, we've talked many times before about how he is very much in the White House because of black voters, especially black women who supported him in significant numbers in the election.

And so, I think he is having conversations and his transition team with some of these outside groups, whether it's civil rights leaders. He met last week with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, his team, his -- or his, sorry, his transition team met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and he -- they have also held talks with their Congressional Black Caucus. And a lot of those conversations are to try and shape this Cabinet and hear the different voices who are in his ear.

And I think that, you know, the concern that I'm hearing is not that there aren't a number of historic first for both women and people of color in his Cabinet. It's that some of the top remaining Cabinet positions are what they're more focused on like attorney general, like defense secretary, and that's where they would like to see at least a black and or Hispanic candidate put forward.

But, you know, one thing that the transition team pointed out in the incoming White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday is that, look, we've only named eight out of 23 Cabinet positions, and we very much remain committed to diversity and that will likely reflect as they named more candidates in the coming weeks.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder, David, how much is being assessed in terms of what the balance of power might be in the Senate meeting, what kind of groundwork is being laid for confirmation hearings and if the Biden- Harris, you know, team is taking a wait and see to see how, you know, what kind of response may come from perhaps other nominations and at the same time appointments on Cabinet?

[12:40:19]

SWERDLICK: Yes, Fred. And I do think that has something to do with it. Look, you've seen like when Biden named Neera Tanden as his designee for OMB Director, Republicans from -- you know, started taking pot shots at her, a few Democrats as well, because there is a concern among the Biden transition and others that there will be some hard fought confirmation fights.

I think there are some other names that didn't wind up getting nominated to certain positions, because they were deemed too hard to confirm if Democrats don't wind up getting control of the Senate by winning those to Georgia runoffs. It absolutely has to be a concern.

WHITFIELD: So Sabrina, how do you see this? It's, you know, less about short term but even, you know, long game planning here.

SIDDIQUI: Absolutely. And I will say that, you know, when I've spoken to the transition, what they've told me is that the balance of the Senate does not have any bearing on the kinds of nominees that President-elect Biden is choosing for his Cabinet.

But the reality is that control of the Senate very much hinges on the runoff elections on January 5th in Georgia, and he's looking at either in a best case scenario of 50-50 tie where Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be the tiebreaker or perhaps a slim Republican majority. And so, he will potentially need Republican votes in order to confirm some of these nominees.

And I think, again, kind of taking a step back. You know, the Democratic Party is an incredibly diverse party, not just in terms of race and demographics, but also in terms of ideology. So, on the one hand, those are some of the calculations that President-elect Joe Biden is taking into account as he assembles his Cabinet.

On the other, he also campaigned as a consensus builder. He said he would work with Republicans. And if he needs Republican votes to confirm his nominees, then of course, that is going to be something that the transition has to take into account. And we'll find out a lot more in the coming weeks as his administration takes shape.

WHITFIELD: And David, on that issue of ideology, how important is it going to be for Biden to be looking outside Washington for that kind of leadership or possible appointments or nominations? That, you know, perhaps all the brainpower, you know, and the representation of ideology is not necessarily within the Washington beltway?

SWERDLICK: Yes. So let's take one step back there. What mainlines sort of centrist Democrats and more progressive leaning Democrats and everybody in the country will have to remember is that for sure, the first hundred days, if not the first year or beyond of this administration is going to be consumed with addressing the pandemic. Progressive priorities or more centrist priorities or foreign policy priorities will all weave into that. But the pandemic is going to be topic one from day one.

Once you get beyond that issue, I do think progressives are in a position to demand that some of their issues and some progressives do make their way into the administration. But, you know, an interesting article was written in "The Washington Post" in my section by Matt Yglesias last week, who explained that look, progressives should remember that the cost of beating Trump very likely was picking a moderate centrist Democrat like Joe Biden. And now you're seeing the results of that a lot of these nominees are very standard, very mainstream Democrats.

WHITFIELD: All right, David Swerdlick, Sabrina Siddiqui, we'll leave it there for now. Thanks so much.

SWERDLICK: Thanks, Fred.

SIDDIQUI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And this programming note, the new CNN film "President in Waiting" takes a very personal look at the role of the Vice President, that's tonight at 9:00.

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[12:48:19]

WHITFIELD: As the federal government gears up to distribute COVID-19 vaccines this month, temperature requirements to preserve the vaccine present distribution challenges. The Pfizer vaccine needs to be kept extremely cold at negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the Moderna vaccine, negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit. In Pennsylvania, a massive area at Philadelphia International Airport is expected to be a receiving area for the incoming COVID-19 vaccines.

For more on how airlines are stepping up to help, here's CNN's Pete Muntean.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: This is American Airlines cargo cold storage facility in Philadelphia. Pharmaceuticals only and essentially what is it one big refrigerator, 25,000 square feet. You can see the fans back there blowing cold air into here. You know, it is about 50 degrees in here right now according to this thermometer.

Although I have to say it feels a lot colder, the idea is to keep the specialized containers for vaccines that need to be super cold extra preserve the Moderna vaccine negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit. The Pfizer vaccine needs to be negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

They would probably sit on the shelves in here but the idea is to not keep them here for very long. This is only a pit stop albeit a very critical one that airlines say in the quest of getting the vaccine from manufacturer to you to be administered. I just want to show you one more way that airlines are helping keep the vaccine cold while it is in transit. This is a portable, battery powered, refrigerated shipping container. You can set the temperature on the side of the container here, 32.8 degrees right now.

[12:50:05]

If the temperature is off by only a quarter of a degree, alarms go off in this, it is the infrastructure like this, that airlines say makes them ready for a mission of a lifetime. American Airlines says it has a plan in place that as soon as the FDA approves the vaccine, it can begin shipping it within 24 hours.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Philadelphia International Airport.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead. A crisis in California nearly 23 million people could be ordered to stay home as hospitals begin to run out of space for coronavirus patients.

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WHITFIELD: This year's CNN Heroes is focusing on the fight against the coronavirus and the battle for racial equity and social justice. We're making it easy for you to help by highlighting eight organizations doing important work to help on both fronts and make the world a better place.

Anderson Cooper tells us more.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): The Center for Disaster Philanthropy provides strategies to help donors increase the impact of their contributions during global crises like COVID-19.

Chef Jose Andres and his World Central Kitchen feed the needy in times of crisis, using the power of food to heal and strengthen communities.

JOSE ANDRES, CHEF, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: We need to be part of the solution.

COOPER (voice-over): AdoptAClassroom advances equity and education by giving teachers and schools access to the resources they need.

GLENN CLOSE, ACTRESS: I challenge every American family to no longer whisper about mental illness behind closed doors.

COOPER (voice-over): Co-founded by Glenn Close, Bring Change to Mind is working to end the stigma surrounding mental illness and encouraging dialogue and raising awareness, understanding and empathy.

The Make A Wish Foundation provides life-changing experiences for children battling critical illness. Restoring in them -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

COOPER (voice-over): -- a sense of childhood and giving normalcy to their families.

The Equal Justice Initiative fights to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States by challenging racial and economic inequity and protecting basic human rights in the prison system.

Water.org has helped change the lives of millions of people with access to safe water and sanitation in 17 countries around the world. And, finally, Issue Voter is increasing civic engagement beyond the voting booth, helping people share their views on new bills with their elected officials in just one click.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can create the world that we want to live in through representative democracy by making all of our voices heard on the issues.

COOPER (voice-over): Want to learn more? Go to cnnheroes.com and click Donate beneath any of this year's organizations to make a direct contribution to their GoFundMe charity campaign. You'll receive an e- mail confirming your donation, which is tax deductible in the United States.

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WHITFIELD: And don't forget to tune in to the 14th annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute on Sunday, the December 13th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration must reinstate the DACA Dreamers program. The Obama-era program is meant to shield undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children from deportation. President Trump has been trying to end DACA since 2017, but in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration.

This latest order builds on the judge's previous ruling last month that Chad Wolf was not legally serving as Acting Homeland Security Secretary when he issued a memo limiting DACA applications and renewals.

A rapidly intensifying nor'easter is set to bring heavy rain and snow from the Mid Atlantic through New England this weekend, triggering winter weather alerts for more than 10 million people in several Northeastern states. There are also high wind warnings for coastal regions of Massachusetts where wind gusts could reach 50 miles per hour.

Live pictures right now from our affiliate WHDH in the Boston suburbs, where you can see the snow already coming down. Some areas could see up to a foot of snow.

Hello again, everyone, thank you so much for joining me, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right, the U.S. facing an unprecedented and devastating crisis as the coronavirus pandemic reaches new heights. Hospitalizations, cases and deaths are all at levels not seen since the pandemic began.

More than 100,000 Americans are suffering in a hospital right now. 227,000 were infected on Friday alone with another 2,500 Americans losing their battles with the disease. It's getting so bad.