Updated: 6:32 PM EST Jan 31, 2021
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COMMUNITY. TONIGHT, THE PUSH CONTINUES TO GET PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS AND GET VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19 EVEN AS WE’RE STARTING TO SEE THE NUMBER OF CORONAVIRUS CASES GO DOWN. ABOUT 4900 NEW CASES WERE REPORTED SINCE YESTERDAY IN NORTH CAROLINA. THAT’S DOWN FROM MORE THAN 6,000 YESTERDAY. SINCE THE PANDEMIC STARTED IN NORTH CAROLINA, MORE THAN 750,000 CASES HAVE TURNED UP. SOME HAVE RECOVERED WHILE OTHERS HAVE LOST THEIR FIGHT. SADLY, 48 MORE NORTH CAROLINIANS HAVE DIED FROM THE VIRUS THE FAMILIES OF 9,335 PEOPLE HAVE LOST LOVED ONES BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC. TONIGHT, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN NORTH CAROLINA HOSPITALS WITH COVID-19 IS ALSO GOING DOW 2,782 PEOPLE ARE NOW IN THE HOSPITAL MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS SAY WE ARE SEEING A SLIGHT INCREASE IN THE PERCENTAGE OF POSITIVE TESTS, TO 8.5%. OFFICIALS ARE COUNTING ON EVERYONE TO DO THEIR PART TO GET THAT NUMBER BELOW 5%. A GROUP OF SENATE REPUBLICANS WANT PRESIDENT BIDEN TO WORK WITH THEM ON A DIFFERENT COVID-19 RELIEF PLAN TEN GOP SENATORS SENT A LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT, WITH A COUNTERPROPOSAL TO HIS $1.9 TRILLION PACKAGE. MELISA RANEY GIVES US A LOOK AT THE NEW PROPOSAL. MELISA: A COUNTER-PROPOSAL TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S COVID-19 RELIEF PLAN. TEN GOP SENATORS SENT A LETTER TO MR. BIDEN ON SUNDAY ASKING FOR A MEETING AND THE CHANCE TO WORK TOGETHER ON DRAFTING THE COVID-19 RELIEF PACKAGE. >> IT SPECIFIES THE PROPOSAL WE THINK IS MORE TARGETED AND MORE APPROPRIATE FOR THE TIMES WE’RE IN. AND MY HOPE IS THE PRESIDENT WILL MEET WITH US AND WE’LL WORK OUT SOMETHING BIPARTISAN WE HAVE DONE IT FIVE TIMES. WE HAVE HAD COVID-19 PACKAGES FIVE THAT ARE ENTIRELY BIPARTISAN AND LET’S DO IT AGAIN BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT WOULD BE BEST FOR THE COUNTRY. MELISA: THE REPUBLICAN PLAN INCLUDES A TOTAL OF $160 BILLION FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION, TESTING AND TRACING, AND TREATMENT AND SUPPLIES. THE FRAMEWORK ALSO INCLUDES A NEW ROUND OF DIRECT PAYMENTS, BUT NOT FOR EVERYONE. >> IF YOU LOOK AT THE ADMINISTRATION’S PLAN, YOU COULD HAVE A FAMILY WITH THREE KIDS MAKING ALMOST $300,000 A YEAR GETTING A CHECK. MANY OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE HAD NO IMPACT FROM COVID AND IN FACT, SOME ARE DOING QUITE WELL. OTHERS ARE STRUGGLING. LET’S FOCUS ON THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING. MELISA: THE PROPOSAL DOESN’T HAVE AN ESTIMATED COST JUST YET, BUT SENATOR PORTMAN SAYS IT WILL BE LESS THAN THE $1.9 TRILLION PLAN. REPS FROM THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAY THEY’RE OPEN TO SOME OF THE GOP SUGGESTIONS. >> WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THE PRESIDENT’S PLAN, THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN WERE CALIBRATED TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS THAT WE FACE. WE’RE CERTAINLY OPEN TO INPUT FROM ANYWHERE WE CAN FIND A CONSTRUCTIVE IDEA TO MAKE THIS PACKAGE AS EFFECTIVE AS POSSIBLE BUT THE PRESIDENT IS UNCOMPROMISING WHEN IT COMES TO THE SPEED WE NEED TO ACT AT TO ADDRESS THIS CRISIS. MELISA MELISA RANEY REPORTING. TALITHA: TALK ABOUT A ROUGH START TO SUNDAY MORNING. A BUS SLAMS INTO AN APARTMENT COMPLEX. IT HAPPENED IN THE 300 BLOCK OF SOUTH DAVIE STREET IN GREENSBORO. THE BUS RAN INTO THIS BRICK BUILDING AT THE LOFTS AT GREENSBORO COURT AROUND 8:30 THIS MORNING. THANKFULLY NO ONE WAS HURT BUT YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. IT IS BEING INSPECTED AND THERE’S NO WORD YET ON WHAT CAUSED THE CRASH OR THE ESTIMATED COST OF THE DAMAGE. ALSO NEW TONIGHT, ONE PERSON IS IN THE HOSPITAL AFTER A SHOOTING IN GREENSBORO. POLICE SAY IT HAPPENED JUST AFTER 1:30 THIS AFTERNOON ON FIR PLACE, NEAR WEST WENDOVER AVENUE AND SPRING GARDEN STREET THE CONDITION OF THE VICTI