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First Doses Of Vaccine Shipped As Virus Strains Hospitals, Claims Nearly 300,000 American Lives; Trump Says Bid To Overturn Election Not Over After Supreme Court Defeat; CNN Reporter Enters Vaccine Trial; Georgia's Senate Runoffs To Decide Course Of Biden's Presidency; Twelve Million Unemployed To Lose Aid After Christmas If Congress Doesn't Act. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 13, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for staying with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

At this moment, freight trucks and airplanes are carrying the first batch of the coronavirus vaccine for hundreds of facilities across all 50 states. Now, the CDC director gave the go-ahead today and the first vaccine injections could begin as soon as tomorrow morning, offering much-needed protection for the country's most vulnerable and health care workers on the frontlines.

But now, they're not the only ones who will be first in line. CNN is learning tonight this extremely limited supply will also go to high- ranking White House officials. Worth noting that quite a few of them have disregarded CDC safety guidelines in this pandemic, like masks and social distancing, including at campaign events and even holiday parties. Meanwhile, many high-risk Americans who have abided by CDC guidelines while continue to wait for their turn. The U.S. hopes to vaccinate 100 million people by the end of March.

Now, the timing of the vaccine is crucial as this massive surge intensifies. Look at how rapidly cases have exploded. It took us only four days, just four days to add 1 million new cases, crossing the 16 million mark this weekend. Hospitals in nearly every corner of this country have felt the impact as COVID hospitalizations hit record highs for the seventh straight day Saturday. And we're nearing 300,000 American lives lost due to COVID-19, an unthinkable number.

More than 30,000 of those deaths were reported this month alone. For some perspective, American COVID deaths in just the past week outnumber the total number of Canadian deaths in this pandemic. Experts warn that more holiday travel and gatherings will make things worse before most Americans even have a chance to get a vaccine.

For today, we celebrate these hopeful scenes, because earlier this year, medical experts didn't think we would be watching workers load vaccines on planes and trucks this soon. It is a welcome sight for so many, and we're covering every angle of this moment.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is standing by in New York and Pete Muntean has been in Portage, Michigan, at Pfizer's manufacturing facility all day long.

Pete, describe the process you saw play out today as trucks were loaded with these vaccines.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: What a moment here, Ana, especially considering the fact that we've first learned that this virus less than a year ago. And now, the vaccine is shipping out. This spot is so critical, the vaccine distribution network. This is Pfizer's largest facility near Kalamazoo, Michigan.

This morning, 8:30 A.M., trucks from UPS and FedEx trucks rolled out of here carrying the vaccine. In each those trucks, in both those trucks, actually, 189 boxes of the Pfizer vaccine. In those boxes, in each one, 975 vials of the Pfizer vaccine, five doses to a vial, that means 920,000 doses are now being spread throughout the United States, all 50 states involved in this.

We're learning that this is going to 600 individual locations, according to Operation Warp Speed. Those are places like hospitals and pharmacies, CVS and Walgreens. The deliveries start tomorrow but the bulk of the deliveries will not really be seen until Tuesday. Pfizer's head of global supply says this process was months in the making.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MCDERMOTT, PRESIDENT, PFIZER GLOBAL SUPPLY: I couldn't be more confident in the distribution of the vaccine. We've worked incredibly hard over many months doing test shipments, improving our shippers, making sure that they can maintain temperature during the entire journey. And we're very happy with the solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: This is not just a ground game, Ana, also a massive air operation. Trucks from here went to airports, the vaccine went on to flights, and those flights went to larger hubs. We actually saw one of those flights land earlier today at UPS headquarters Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky. This is just the start of a massive movement. It all begins right here in Michigan. Ana?

CABRERA: And I should note, we will be talking with the UPS official in our next hour, where we can ask about if they had any hiccups and what the challenges were today. Thank you, Pete, for your great reporting.

I want to turn to Polo Sandoval in New York. Polo, tell us how hospitals are preparing for the arrival of these first vaccine doses in New York.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Focusing heavily on logistics, Ana, and the preparations that have been going on already for months.

[18:05:02]

Think of it as a race. And once those vaccines are actually delivered at Mt. Sinai in New York and other hospitals across the country, it will be as if that starter gun will go off, and that's when all of these months of planning and training will kick in to receive, appropriately store and then quickly begin to administer this groundbreaking vaccine.

We all know that those frontline health care workers, those men and women that have been working tirelessly already for nine months will be the first to be eligible to actually receive this vaccine.

Now, when it comes to how this will actually happen, what are some of those logistics? I'll point you to Lennox Hill Hospital here in New York City. I had a chance to speak to their senior director of pharmacy just yesterday explaining to me how it's actually going to work. They're going to have security meet that shipment at the front door. They'll escort those precious vials to the pharmacy where they'll be appropriately stored, and that's when they'll begin to vaccinate many of their personnel in the emergency room, in their ICU.

Here is interesting, the way that particular facility is going to work. They're going to stagger these vaccinations over the next days or potentially up to three weeks. The concern, an example I got, if you were to vaccinate your entire ICU staff, there is always a possibility, albeit, slim or small, that some of them could begin to exhibit some of those minor side effects, the headache, the chills or fever, that, again, we've heard about from the FDA. In that case, then they could potentially have to pull one or two of them out of circulation, and that would lead to any potential manpower issues.

And that is something that they certainly would like to avoid just yesterday alone, or at least the latest numbers here in New York, about 5,400 people hospitalized, so manpower shortages is certainly not a challenge that they want to face or at least any worse than it already is.

Now, in terms of what can New York expect, about 170,000 of these doses by the middle of next week, according to the governor's office. In terms of long-term, not just here in New York but also across the country, we heard from the head of HHS this morning who says the hope is to have at least 20 million people vaccinated before the end of this month. Not only will that be frontline workers but also some of the elderly and, of course, those who are perhaps the most vulnerable.

So that's really what the waiting game looks like. Again, once those vaccinations arrive at this hospital and many hospitals across the country, as well as pharmacies, then the race is on to vaccinate as many people as they can.

CABRERA: Okay. Polo Sandoval, thank for your reporting. Pete Muntean, thanks again.

And I'm joined now Dr. Celine Gounder. She's a member of the Biden/Harris transition COVID advisory board and an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist. Now, I want to begin by asking, do you know when President-elect Joe Biden will receive the vaccine?

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, BIDEN COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER: Ana, I don't. But both President-elect Biden as well as Vice President Harris have publicly said that they would be willing, once Dr. Fauci says that he agrees that this is a safe and effective vaccine, that they themselves will be vaccinated and they will do so publicly so that we can all see that this is truly an endorsement of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

CABRERA: Isn't it in the public interest though that he be vaccinated as quickly as possible? I talked to Jonathan Reiner, a doctor who was a medical adviser for the Bush administration, who told me that this vaccine is part of presidential protection. He calls it biological protection.

GOUNDER: Well, I certainly agree with Dr. Reiner on this. I think the issue is that the president-elect and vice president-elect also don't want to be seen as jumping to the head of the line. One could certainly make the argument that they are phase 1b eligible as critical infrastructure workers. I can't think of more critical infrastructure workers than our president and vice president-to be. So I think it's really a question of balancing perceptions around fairness and access while also really that being the appropriate thing to do.

CABRERA: We just learned tonight White House staffers could receive the vaccine ahead of the general public. Do you think that's appropriate?

GOUNDER: Look, I think this is an incredible testament to the fact that the president and the White House staff trust and have confidence in the procedures that the FDA followed to vet the science, to review the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. I think this demonstrates that they too trust that the vaccine is safe and effective, effective in preventing disease, preventing themselves from getting sick. So I think this is actually a really strong show of confidence that many people need to see right now.

CABRERA: But is it fair that they're getting vaccinated before the general public?

GOUNDER: Well, you know, again, they constitute what I would argue are critical infrastructure staff. So, from a fairness perspective, you know, one can certainly make the argument that they should be among the first people vaccinated.

CABRERA: Dozens of people in the White House, as you know, in Trump's inner circle, have already had the virus. Do they need to be vaccinated too?

GOUNDER: Well, this is the thing. We don't even that just because you have been infected that you are immune, and if you are immune, for how long. I think that also would complicate what is going to be an extremely complicated distribution process to assess whether somebody might have been infected, whether they still have antibodies.

[18:10:09]

I think sometimes you have to weigh what is more efficient in terms of the distribution process rather than getting everything exactly right in terms of order of vaccination.

So, I think, big picture, it's really not the worst thing ever if people who have already had the infection are vaccinated at this time.

CABRERA: It can't hurt, obviously. Dr. Moncef Slaoui, he is the head of Operation Warp Speed, he says that they hope to have immunized 100 million people by April. Many of those vaccinations will take place after inauguration day when President-elect Biden becomes President Biden. He will be in the White House by then. 100 million Americans vaccinated by April. Does your team think that timeline is realistic and how might that change the trajectory of the virus?

GOUNDER: Well, I think it's important to remember that the number of doses purchased from Pfizer is 100 million doses, which means 50 million people. And the president-elect has said that his goal is to get 150 million doses into people's arms in the first 100 days in office. And we certainly are planning to make that happen. There are other vaccines, including the Moderna vaccine, that are in the pipeline soon thereafter. So, hopefully, it goes even better than currently planned.

But, you know, we do have to brace ourselves for the fact that there could be hiccups and delays and take those in stride.

CABRERA: All right. Dr. Celine Gounder, it's really nice to have you with us, as always, thank you, I appreciate it.

While President Trump falsely claims the election was stolen from him, his legal challenges keep getting thrown out of court. So, what's next for the country as the Electoral College prepares to affirm Joe Biden's victory? We'll discuss.

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[18:15:00]

CABRERA: The Supreme Court dealt President Trump a crushing blow Friday in his effort to overturn the election. This was his reaction on Fox News this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Is it over?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, it's not over. We keep going and we're going to continue to go forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: It's a stark contrast to the situation exactly 20 years ago when Al Gore came up short by a mere 537 votes and conceded following a Supreme Court loss. Today, Gore told CNN's Jake Tapper why he has no regrets about his concession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL GORE, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: No, I have not. You know, Winston Churchill once said of the American people, he said they generally do the right thing after first exhausting every available alternative. And there were no remaining alternatives after a final Supreme Court decision. The only -- there is no intermediate step between a final Supreme Court decision on a matter of this sort and violent revolution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I'm joined by CNN's Senior Political Analyst and adviser to four presidents, David Gergen, and CNN Political Analyst April Ryan. Good to see both of you.

David, do you agree with what we just heard from former Vice President Al Gore's, what he just said?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I think -- quoting Churchill, I think he was absolutely right. Apparently, alternatives are exhausted. There are still a lot of questions about what Donald Trump is going to do in the next few weeks before January 20th.

Will he, for example, tomorrow, after the Electoral College votes and it is official and it is done, that there are no alternatives at that point, will he be gracious enough to call Joe Biden and congratulate him and to pledge that he will do everything he can to support him and call for unity, as Al Gore did in his memorable farewell, really well- done farewell.

Al Gore had a life after the White House. He left well and went on to win a Nobel Prize. Is Donald Trump really going to go out as a terrible sore loser or not?

CABRERA: If Trump never concedes, will there be lasting damage, David?

GERGEN: If Trump never concedes, I'm afraid there is already lasting damage from the way he has refused to concede, the way he fights on in the face of all the evidence going the other way, and insisting that Joe Biden is illegitimate.

There was a very good piece, opinion piece in The New York Times a couple of weeks ago by recalling what happened in Germany in 1918 and in 1920, as the German Army was defeated, it was coming on the way home, it was totally -- it had lost the war. And yet people went out on the far-right, the politicians did, to claim that, no, they didn't lost the war, that it was a stab in the back by politicians like Jews, socialists, communists, think of it, that they stabbed Germany in the back and that is why Germany went down. That led to the destruction of the Weimar Republic and to the rise of Adolf Hitler.

It's very dangerous to have these (INAUDIBLE). CABRERA: April, this morning, we heard from retiring Republican Senator Lamar Alexander. He struck a very different tone than many of his GOP colleagues. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-TN): The states have counted, certified their votes. The courts have resolved the disputes. It looks very much like the electors will vote for Joe Biden. And when they do, I hope that he puts the country first, I mean the president, that he takes pride in his considerable accomplishments and he congratulates the president- elect and helps him get off to a good start.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: April, you cover the president, any chance that happens?

APRIL RYAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, let me say what some of the sources around the president, people who are in that inner circle who have the president's ear are saying, they're saying the president is angry. And tomorrow, if what we expect to happen, the fact that these states will certify that Joe Biden is indeed the president-elect, this president will still remain angry about the situation.

[18:20:04]

And, Ana, at issue is the fact that it's all the hype men around the president who keep telling him things like, yes, there was voter fraud and, you know, there were no signatures in some of the ballots in Pennsylvania. And this keeps stirring the president up to say that he has a legitimate gripe and a legitimate concern.

Now, at issue, Lamar Alexander did say that we need to have a smooth transition. The transition process has already been hampered. Weeks into the transition, GSA was not allowing resources for the Biden campaign to start -- well, the Biden incoming administration, to begin their work properly.

So at the end of the day, this president is going to hold on to his angry. His brand and his ego have also been hurt. So, even with the certification, we can expect this president to still stalk (ph) and scream about the fact that he believes he won this election and it was taken from him.

CABRERA: David, President-elect Biden is planning to deliver remarks on the Electoral College tomorrow night. What would you like to hear from him?

GERGEN: I would like to hear from him how he's going to -- the bridge between his election and reality is coming. He got off to a fast start, but I think he does need to work now with people on some issues that are starting to put clouds over him. For example, I don't think he needs to address this tomorrow night, but I do think he ought to address it to private counsel of his offices and talk to the people around him. He promised the most diverse cabinet in history. That was a major promise. He's worked his way to almost that. But he's under enormous cross-precious now from various interest groups from the left and from the right. Do you have enough blacks in the cabinet, do you have enough women in the cabinet, do you have enough Hispanics, do you have enough Native Americans? And the process is beginning to look as if people are being chosen for the color of their skin or their gender and not because their -- because, first of foremost, for their talent and for what they can bring to it.

The argument should be, we've put together a list of three or four most capable people to do this job, it happens that one of them is African-American, then we're going to put that person in that place. Put the talents and the capabilities and then the identity.

CABRERA: What are your thoughts on that, April? Do you agree with how David is seeing things right now in terms of the incoming Biden administration and this issue of diversity?

RYAN: Well, I'm thinking about what David just said. Basically, it's window dressing. I don't believe that's the case. I'm thinking about four years ago when this current president, a lot of his administration, they had no -- a lot of them had no experience at all.

I'm thinking about Marcia Fudge, who was the former mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, former head of the Congressional Black Caucus, former head of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, a group of women who are progressively working to help fix things in the communities and the nation. And also I think about people like Susan Rice, Lloyd Austin, the list goes on. Those are the African-Americans I'm talking about who have the wherewithal to do the job. This is not window dressing.

And we think about communities, let's talk about Xavier Becerra, who is head of HHS. He is an attorney general in the state of the California, the former head -- former congressman and former head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and that at a time when Hispanics are dying at a rate four times higher than white America of COVID, and blacks three times that of white America.

So I don't think it's window dressing just the sake of saying they're at the table. These are people who have experience. There are black, brown, Asian people who are just as experienced as anyone else who can come to the table.

And when we talk about special interest groups, let's talk about the Chinese-American community that's still wanting a seat at the table as right now we are in a precarious position with America and China after this president calls this virus the China virus, after this president just threatened to do some things because he's not getting his way with China. The Chinese-American community needs a seat at the table.

Latino-Americans want more seats at the table. You have all interest groups wanting seats at the table. But the question is where will it lie? But we can never say that these people that are coming to the table are not qualified. I will not, I cannot say that at all.

CABRERA: All right, I've got to leave it there, guys. I see David trying to chime in real quick, if you will.

GERGEN: Can I say one thing real quick? I'm not saying whether these are very talented people. I worry that the focus is increasingly turning to the (INAUDIBLE) people being chosen as opposed to their talent. There are some extremely talented people (INAUDIBLE), and there are more extremely talented people coming.

But I do think that there is an issue of some people feeling demeaned if they're not recognized for their talent, first and foremost.

[18:25:07]

And I do believe they are talented, that's the point.

CABRERA: I'm glad you added that. Thank you, David Gergen and April Ryan. I've got a lot of people who are coming on, so I've got to leave it there. But I agree, this is such an important discussion.

And I'm grateful we've at least begun this discussion and we'll have more time on a different day, thanks, guys, because we're covering the breaking news, the first doses of this new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine being distributed across the country this hour. We're going to take a closer look at a coronavirus vaccine trial from someone who took part, our own Stephanie Elam.

But, first, Julia Chatterley has this week's Before the Bell. Julia?

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: Hi, Ana. The Federal Reserve has called the U.S. economic outlook extraordinarily uncertain. Well, this week, investors will hear more from Fed Chief Jerome Powell. He holds a news conference Wednesday after the central bank meets.

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates at zero and continue its bond-buying program. Wall Street will be listening for any changes in Powell's tone about the future.

Investors are also still hoping Congress comes through with an agreement on stimulus, that as the gulf between Wall Street and Main Street keeps growing wider. Last week, first time unemployment case hit the highest levels since mid-September, and at the same time, stocks hit fresh record highs. And investors piled into high profile IPOs like DoorDash and Airbnb. The big question is whether the market can keep up this pace in 2021.

Some analysts think the gains have been so big this year that it could be harder for stocks to keep climbing into the next.

In New York, I'm Julia Chatterley.

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[18:31:11]

CABRERA: CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield today accepted the recommendation of his agency's advisory committee that Pfizer's COVID- 19 vaccine can be given to people age 16 and older. Now this clears the way for the first vaccine shots to begin here in the U.S. as soon as tomorrow morning. And more potential COVID vaccines are in the development pipeline.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is participating in a Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial in Los Angeles. She has more now on what she's experienced.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Everyone in this office is here in the pursuit of science.

STANTON ROWE, VACCINE TRIAL PARTICIPANT: Hopefully, I'll develop immunity over the next few weeks.

ELAM: ARC Clinical Research will administer shots to about 200 people, part of a randomized COVID-19 vaccine trial for Johnson & Johnson.

ROWE: I think that enough is known that I'm very comfortable with getting the injection.

ELAM: But not everyone is, especially since trials have been sped up to battle a coronavirus crisis that's out of control. Nationwide, some 40,000 people are taking part in this trial, including me. I'm not just reporting on this phase three COVID vaccine trial, I'm part of it.

(On camera): I wanted to do this because I wanted to see how the science worked and I wanted other black people, other people of color, to see someone like them going through this process.

DR. KENNETH KIM, CEO ARC CLINICAL RESEARCH: Generally, it's important that you study people from many different diverse backgrounds because you can have a different side effect profile or you can have different dose levels if it's a drug.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What the United States government did was shameful and I am sorry.

ELAM (voice-over): Yet America's history of unethical medical studies on people of color has led to generations of fear, most notably, the abhorrent decades-long Tuskegee experiment that began in the 1930s. It was designed to study untreated syphilis in hundreds of black men without their consent.

(On camera): What do you hear from people, from those demographics that are more hesitant?

KIM: Rather thinking of this as an opportunity to get access to a new therapy earlier there's more suspicion that this could be an unsafe program so there is definitely fear.

ELAM (voice-over): But not all are fearful. 22-year-old Conrado Perez is waiting for his shot.

CONRADO PEREZ, VACCINE TRIAL PARTICIPANT: I know a lot of people like within my ethnicity would be, I guess, skeptical of it? But me, not really.

ELAM (on camera): I signed the paperwork and they've asked me all the things that they need to know about my personal health. And I've had my blood drawn and I've been shown what I'm taking home with me and how that technology is going to work, and how I'm going to update them about any symptoms, any feelings that I have after I get the vaccine. All that's left is to get the needle in my arm.

I don't know whether or not I'm going to get the placebo or the real vaccine. In fact, no one here knows what I'm going get, it's all decided by a computer someplace else.

(Voice-over): And even though some vaccines are further along in the approval process, America still needs more doses to cover the population and there's great interest in candidates like this one from Johnson & Johnson. For one thing, it's just one shot unlike the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

UNIDENTIFIED NURSE: It does get shipped to us frozen in just a regular freezer setting and then we're allowed to store in the refrigerator for about 28 days.

ELAM: Storage lesson aside, Nurse Princess is here to give me my shot.

PRINCESS, NURSE: All right. Deep breath. Small poke.

ELAM (on camera): It felt like getting a flu shot but now I've got to sit here sit here and wait for 30 minutes to make sure that there's no adverse effects right away. But I am still feeling really solid about my decision to do this.

[18:35:05]

PRINCESS: All right, no injection site reaction, you're OK.

ELAM: And hopefully, hopefully, this will get people out there to trust science and to believe in science and medicine and how hard these people work.

After getting the shot I woke up the next morning and felt my arm and didn't feel any effects from the shot. I didn't get the sniffles. But I checked in with Dr. Kim and he told me that some people get the placebo and do get some sniffles, maybe headaches, and other people get the actual vaccine and have no effects. So I really don't know what I got.

This trial, however, is going to wrap up within the next week and then they're going to need to examine the data from at least half of the people involved in this trial so that they can move forward and try to get that Emergency Use Authorization. And that would not happen before January. But overall, I hope for other people who see me taking part in this, they will trust the science, they will trust the medicine, and get themselves vaccinated because too many people of color are losing their battle to the coronavirus.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Los Angeles. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: So cool what you're doing, Stephanie.

Early voting starts tomorrow in Georgia for the two Senate seats still up for grabs. Hanging in the balance, the control of the Senate.

Which party has the momentum? Can president-elect Biden's visit make the difference? We'll go to Georgia, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:29]

CABRERA: Welcome back. Early voting starts tomorrow in two Georgia's Senate runoff races than will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate in the next administration. And all eyes are on the state of Georgia right now especially after President-elect Joe Biden became the first Democrat to win this state since 1992.

Now the Georgia runoffs are pinning Republican Senator David Perdue against Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler facing Democratic challenger Reverend Raphael Warnock.

Joining us now is Greg Bluestein. He is the political reporter for "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution."

Greg, you know all things Georgia politics. So fill in the blank for me, the outcome of this race will all come down to?

GREG BLUESTEIN, POLITICAL REPORTER, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Good question. Base turnout. Base turnout. It's an easy answer but it's all about the base turnout. And both parties are going directly to their bases. They're not really spending much time trying to persuade undecided voters or people kind of caught in the middle. They're going to try to create as much as they can the 2.5 million or so people who voted for Joe Biden just in November and the 2.5 million or so people who voted for President Trump in November. If they can recreate that coalition, if you like, they've won.

CABRERA: Which party has the momentum right now, Republicans or Democrats?

BLUESTEIN: Well, Republicans have to battle something the Democrats just don't have to battle with, and that is a president who is repeating false narrative -- these false claims of widespread voter fraud, who's telling base supporters to vote in what he calls a rigged election. There's mixed messages or something that Democrats don't have to contend with. But at the same time, Republicans do have an advantage historically in Georgia.

They've won every statewide runoff in Georgia history. So they -- and these runoff electorates tend to be older, whiter, less diverse populations, blocs of electorate that do tend to support Republicans, although this year I've got to say all bets are off because Senate control is at stake. CABRERA: Joe Biden will be in Georgia this week to rally support ahead

of these runoffs. Greg, as you've written, it wasn't long ago that state Democrats ran screaming from national figures. Now they're embracing them. What's changed?

BLUESTEIN: Yes. This has been a sea change in Democratic politics in Georgia because, yes, just in past elections, Democratic candidates wouldn't even show up with former president Obama when he came to town and now they're not only embracing Joe Biden, who just won the state by about 12,000 votes, but they're also embracing Nancy Pelosi, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, figures that would have been, you know, cast as too extreme by Republicans not too long ago.

Republicans are still trying to drive that narrative but now Democrats are realizing that they can't afford to alienate any part of the party's left wing or central wing. They've got to go after every single Democratic vote they can in order to squeeze in enough votes to flip these seats.

CABRERA: We already see a bit of a rift among Republicans in Georgia, especially with the president's attacks against the Republican elected officials in that state, the governor, the -- you know, the secretary of state.

Greg, for Republican senators Perdue and Loeffler, what are the potential political risks/rewards of going along with the president's baseless claims about election fraud?

BLUESTEIN: Yes. So far they have gone along. They haven't echoed everything the president has said but they've said he has every legal right to go -- continue to challenge these election results. And there's a lot of risk involved. On one hand, you risk turning the base off. You risk telling the base it's not worth voting because these election results are already predetermined.

On the other hand, you can't afford to alienate President Trump at all. One stray tweet from him, one negative word from him could tell -- you know, giant core of his loyal supporters, thousands, tens of thousands, however many, not to vote. And if you're a Republican in Georgia and the president is not aligning with you right now, you're in trouble.

CABRERA: Greg Bluestein, between now and then we'll have to talk some more because this is a race that everybody is watching. Thank you for your time tonight.

BLUESTEIN: Thank you.

CABRERA: Meanwhile, in Washington, lawmakers still can't come to an agreement on a new round of stimulus and critical aid to more than 12 million Americans is hanging in the balance. An update, next.

[18:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CABRERA: New details emerging tonight on stimulus talks in Congress. A bipartisan group planning now to split a COVID-19 relief package into two proposals. One bill would be a $748 billion proposal. This includes funds for small business loans, jobless benefits, vaccine distribution funds as well.

Now the second bill would deal with what have become the sticking points in the negotiations between Democrats and Republicans providing $160 billion for state and local aid, that includes liability protections as well for businesses.

Now House majority leader Steny Hoyer telling CNN this morning it's time for Congress to act.

[18:50:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD): We must act. It is irresponsible that we have not acted to date. It is absolutely a failure of the Congress. But I spent almost all day yesterday on the phone with Senate leaders, House leaders, people who are working on the compromise, the speaker and I spent a lot of time on the phone together and I am very that next week we will be able to act on substantial relief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Millions of Americans are counting on you. Critical unemployment aid is set to expire just after Christmas for so many, for millions.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich spoke to one woman, a mother facing tough decisions this holiday season.

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ANGELA KEARNEY, FURLOUGHED FROM JOB DUE TO PANDEMIC: I would describe this as the last nice memory that I had.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Angela Kearney stands in front of her tree at home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, reminiscing with her aunt and longing for last Christmas.

KEARNEY: This was when I received the new job. I was going to be able to buy a home for my family.

YURKEVICH: The new job was as a paralegal after she put herself through school in her 40s while recovering from surgeries to fix a disability, racking up $63,000 in student loans. With a new salary of $55,000, she was finally able to provide for her children.

KEARNEY: That is more money than I've ever seen in my life. I promised them we would get a house. I promised them that they would be normal children. And then the pandemic hit, and I can't keep those promises any more. It looks like everybody's dancing.

YURKEVICH: Just four months after landing that job, Kearney was furloughed in March and her weekly unemployment of $300 does little to cover the bills for her and her three children living at home.

KEARNEY: I have to take the bills and throw them up and pick the ones and hope that they total the amount that I have.

YURKEVICH: Her unemployment is slated to run out in January, along with 12 million other Americans, and dozens of programs designed to protect them will, too.

AMY CASTRO BAKER, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL POLICY, UPENN: First, student loan, you know, payments have been halted. So once that expires, that's a new bill that's going to hit people quickly. You have local eviction bans that will expires and then of course the expansion of unemployment insurance, as that's going away, we're seeing more people not put back to work.

YURKEVICH: For years, Kearney and her family were on several government assistance programs including disability and food stamps. Last year, she finally got off them.

KEARNEY: A lot of it was determination on my part to climb this mountain and we got shoved off the mountain.

YURKEVICH: Which sent them right back on food stamps.

(On camera): How much money do you get on that card?

KEARNEY: We get $400 a month.

YURKEVICH: Does that cover it?

KEARNEY: It has to, right?

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Congress is negotiating a stimulus bill that could drastically shape the next few months for families like the Kearneys, but significant long-term relief may not arrive until President-elect Biden is inaugurated in late January.

BAKER: For a lot of families, waiting until after the inauguration is just going to be too late.

YURKEVICH: Christmas will look different for many American families including the Kearneys.

KEARNEY: What do you think of our lights this year, huh?

YURKEVICH: This year, she's prioritizing paying the electric bill just to keep the lights and Christmas spirit alive.

KEARNEY: The bills won't be paid for December because Santa's coming to town. Santa will be here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Hang in there, Angela. My heart goes out to you and your whole family. And our thanks to Vanessa Yurkevich for that report.

A historic effort is under way right now. Millions of vaccine doses are on their way to hospitals around the country. We have the latest on who will be the first to get vaccinated next.

[18:55:00]

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CABRERA: For many, this time of year is about giving back, but the 14th annual "CNN HEROES, ALL STAR TRIBUTE" salutes the people who put others first throughout this turbulent year. The star-studded show airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. That's Eastern Time. Take a look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a year of challenges and change. But it's also been a year of hope.

This year's "CNN HEROES" is a celebration of everyday people doing extraordinary acts during two of the biggest stories of 2020. Join Anderson Cooper, Kelly Ripa, and celebrity guests.

KELLY RIPA, CNN HOST, "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE": Tonight is about hope. It's about decency and it's about compassion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a salute to the people who keep our spirits lifted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to see the world differently.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone can have an impact, no matter their age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plus, the viewer's choice for this year's most inspiring moment. And a special musical performance by Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner, Cynthia Erivo.

"CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" tonight at 8:00 on CNN.