Thanksgiving, the coronavirus pandemic is reaching record levels of cases and hospitalizations across the United States. The danger of spreading the disease causing some to downside their celebrations or even spend the day alone this year. But millions of others chose to ignore warnings from Health Experts not to travel. With the tsa reporting more than 6. 8 Million People have flown through u. S. Airports in the week before thanksgiving, this black friday, retailers are encouraging shoppers to go online. This year its a lot less people. But some customers are still going inside stores, even waiting outside in lines for bigticket items. One Health Expert saying the Holiday Season could fuel the surge. Its not just postthanksgiving. Its black friday and the runup to christmas and new years. This is our Holiday Season. And every day from now on can add to the toll. Our hospitals are almost full to capacity. In some communities, they are full to capacity. Theres no more rooms in the icu. 1,232 people in the u. S. Were reported dead thursday from the coronavirus. More than 90,000 people are hospitalized with the disease, a record, with many hospitals already running low on beds and resources, one doctor says shes fearful of whats to come. Our hospitals are already at the breaking point. Many of us are already talking about opening field hospitals next week. Many of us have colleagues who are out sick reporter a Virus Outbreak among the Baltimore Ravens forcing the nfl to postpone their thanksgiving matchup between the pittsburgh steelers. He protects jackson who launches to andrews reporter espn and the nfl network citing League Sources reporting the teams quarterback, lamar jackson, and three other players have tested positive. And the pac12 cancelling a game between the university of Southern California and university of colorado boulder due to coronavirus, making it the 11th College Football game canceled or postponed this week. Coronavirusrelated deaths are on the rise in at least 27 states this morning, and one Health Expert reminds americans that its crucial to keep following safety guidelines, even during the holidays. It is a real test of maturity and also of safety to see whether or not we are able to keep our distance, continue to wear masks, because we are so close, given the vaccine candidates and where things are headed. Reporter now, here where i am in miamidade county, florida. There is mounting frustration by local leaders who say that they want Florida Governor ron desantis to do more to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Why . Theyre looking at the latest numbers. Here they are. This is according to data released by miamidade county. In the past two weeks, the number of hospitalizations has increased by 26 . The number of icus has increased by 37 . And ventilators, by 48 . John, you and i have talked about the state of florida a lot throughout this pandemic. And i can tell you that when Florida Governor ron desantis reopened the state in one swoop in late september, the other thing that he did was he clipped the powers of local leaders from being able to impose other mitigating measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus and these leaders, ive been in contact with mayor Frances Suarez and dan gelber, they are waiting to hear back from Governor Ron Desantis and he hasnt returned either their phone calls or the letter that mayor gelber sent him. I can add that ive been contacting his office to ask about why he hasnt contactedma heard back. Blocking the ability of local leaders to handle the pandemic in the way they think best, thats something. Rosa flores for us in miami, thanks very much. So President Trump taking questions from the press for the First Time Since losing the election. Its going to be a very hard thing to concede, because we know there was massive fraud. Just to be clear, if the Electoral College votes for joe biden, will you concede . Well, if they do, they made a mistake. Because this election but will you concede . Was a fraud. I cant say that at all. I think its a possibility. Between you people dont talk to me that way. Youre just a lightweight. Dont talk to me that way. Im the president of the United States. Dont ever talk to the president that way. How small, and im not just talking about the desk he was sitting at, but what a small moment for the presidency. Joining us now, cnn political analyst toluse olorunnipa, a White House Reporter for the washington post. Also with us, cnn Global Affairs analyst, susan glasser. A staff writer at the new yorker. He was yelling at jeff mason, one of the most mildmannered reporters youll find in america. I dont mean mildmannered in terms of how good he is as a reporter, hes just a calm guy. He doesnt attack anyone. The president sitting at that tiny desk is a metaphor at the moment. Like the desk you sit at during a Parent Teacher conference when youre sitting at a third graders desk. Thats what the president looked like, a large man at a small desk in a small moment spouting lies that were filled with rancor on thanksgiving. Well, thats right, john. I mean, i have to say, like many people, i was having my thanksgiving dinner when this was all playing out and its just so discordant to have a president of the United States who not only is refusing to concede the election, but is so selfobsessed at this moment during the pandemic, when people are separated from their loved ones, probably in many cases, for the first time in their lives, not having the holiday together. Instead, the president continues to be so selfabsorbed, and one thing i think thats been very striking. And yesterdays appearance underscored that, there doesnt seem to be Anyone Around him who can, you know, give him unvarnished advice about what this looks like. The president has always prided himself on appearing to be strong, to be a tough guy. Hes writing a new entry in the dictionary for sore loser. This does not project strength, needless to say. It doesnt project confidence in any way. And of course, it really seems so divorced from what the role of the president of the United States is in any other context. It tells you a lot that the main Headline News from that performance was the president saying he will leave the white house if he is voted out by the Electoral College on december 14th. This is not supposed to be a suspenseful outcome, folks. You know, this is just supposed to be how american democracy works. And yet, maybe its another reminder of what weve been watching for the last four years. We know donald trump does things his own way. But to your point, susan, that were now at this point where its, you know, a headline that he will leave the white house. Toluse, as we look at this, too, you know, susans point that theres no one there to tell him how weak this looks, theres also no one, apparently, to tell him, and likely he wouldnt listen, to tell him what you should do on thuanksgiving if youre addressing the country. Its not about your sour grapes. Its not about being concerned. If youre going to talk about the coronavirus, which is ravaging the country, its not about the concern that maybe joe biden would get credit for the vaccine. Those were the only two things he could bring up. Railing on the election and dont let biden get credit for the vaccine. Thats exactly right. We talked about how this is a small display of the presidency. This was a big this is a big moment in american history. We are having a major holiday in which so Many Americans have an empty seat at the table, in which many people cannot be with their families, so many people are being infected at this record rate of infections that were seeing with this disease. And the president didnt speak to any of that. He didnt actually try to level with the american people, show any empathy about the kind of loss, the immense loss that the country has seen over the past several months, which is really hitting home for a lot of people, as they sit around the table without their family members this holiday period. And he didnt really speak to that. Instead, he talked about his own personal grievances, talked about these baseless charges that there was fraud during the election, which happened three weeks ago and things will be coming to light very soon and hes been promising that for the past several weeks, and we havent seen anything other than a slew of court cases in which all of these allegations are being tossed out right and left by judges. So this is a small moment in the presidency, even though the country is going through a very big moment in its own history, with not only the holiday but the pandemic reaching record highs and so many people suffering and to have a president who is really checked out and not really focusing on the major issue facing the country is quite a stark moment in american history. And i think historians will look at this moment with a very questionable eye as they look at why the president did not decide to show leadership. He did go to the golf course. It wasnt just lashing out at reporters and lying about the election. He also did golf yesterday, so there is that. Susan glasser, one of the things he said was that joe biden should not be selecting his cabinet, which is obviously ridiculous. Any president elect has to do that during a transition, so you can begin your administration as quickly as possible. I wonder what challenges you now think that biden has. Hes named part of his cabinet, hes got to name his Economic Team and fill out the rest of the appointments and the area of health, which is obviously very important now with the pandemic. Ron brownstein observed before, that hes picked people who have experience, competence, relationships with him, but so far, not as much of the bridge to the future, which is something that he explicitly campaigned on. So how much of a challenge do you think that will be . Well, i think absolutely, when i look at this cabinet so far in the making, you see people who are biden loyalists, not only veterans of the obama administration, but even that subset within it, who worked very closely with the Vice President , as he was at the time. I also think, politically, he seems to be emphasizing picks that will essentially bridge any divide within the Democratic Party. He definitely seems to be wanting to avoid intramural disputes at a time when trump is insisting on prolonging the election itself and the rift in the country, biden continues to talk about unity in his messages to the country. And also, i think, hes aiming at unity within the Democratic Party, right . You know, the janet yellen pick is a very interesting example. She had been, of course, the first woman head of the Federal Reserve by picking her for treasury, he avoids any open conflict between the two camps inside the Democratic Party, i think, you know, both of whom seem like they will embrace her. So ill be looking for that, as you go forward in seeing what additional picks. I think its interesting that biden has not yet announced or settled definitively on the defense secretary. Michele flournoy had been widely expected to be the first woman secretary of defense under the Hillary Clinton administration if clinton had won. Shes been seen as the frontrunner all along in a Biden Administration, so i think thats interesting that that has not been finalized. I also think its really remarkable coming out of four years of the sort of leaking, backstabbing internal intriguefilled trump world that weve had so little of that kind of information and rumor and gossip come out from the Biden Administration in the making so far. It is fascinating, you think about all of the families who, you know, may have been looking forward to less politics at their thanksgiving dinner, because that didnt have to happen. Whats remarkable, i have to say, that came up a couple of times in the family zooms that we had, about people kept saying, oh, its so much quieter in what you do now as youre moving into this next administration. I wonder, toluse, do you think that will last . We know that this is what biden is going forward. We know that this is what he campaigned on, right . A little bit more normalcy, a little bit more quiet and its been that way, because youve got the contrast of the president and trying not to give that oxygen. But what is that feeling moving forward, as we start to see more of these picks. And perhaps people who voted for joe biden may not be happy with the direction that hes going in some of those picks. Right. Biden has been wellknown for making gaffes. But i will say over the past three weeks in the aftermath of the election, he has really avoid a lot of the mistakes and gaffes and sort of headlinemaking statements and actions that dogged him during the early part of his campaign. His picks have been largely wellheralded within the party and even republicans have not slammed these picks, mostly, or said that they would not be able to get confirmed. But i do think when biden says that hes considering maybe thinking about adding republicans to his cabinet or to his to belevel officials, that may cause some angst within his own party. There is sort of this bubbling angst on the left wing of the progressive base of the Democratic Party that says that if biden does not, you know, add more proigressives to his cabinet, if he chooses republicans or people who are seen as not progressive enough, then he may, you know, stir up some of that base that is really raring to go and really upset over the past four years and wants to have progressives in the government after having four years of watching President Trump. So it has been relatively calm over the past three weeks, especially with trump creating so much drama, but, you know, events happen to, you know, force themselves on president s and i wouldnt be surprised if the drama increases as we get closer to january 20th and definitely as he takes over, he will face a lot of cries ases a lot of challenges, which automatically means there will be drama and infighting and intrigue in his administration. It comes with every presidency and i dont think this one would be any different. Toluse, susan, thank you both for being with us this morning. Hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving. Thank you. So coronavirus hospitalizations in the United States have doubled in the last month. Cases continue to skyrocket. What does this moean for the net few weeks . Well ask a member of the president elects coronavirus advisory board, next. May your holidays glow bright and all your dreams take flight. Visit your local mercedesbenz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedesbenz winter event. See yourself. Welcome back to the mirror. And know youre not alone because this. Come on jessie one more. Is the reflection of an Unstoppable Community in the mirror. Research shows people remember commercials with nostalgia. So to help you remember that Liberty Mutual customizes your Home Insurance, heres one thatll really take you back. Wow whatd you get, ryan . Its customized Home Insurance from Liberty Mutual what does it do bud . It customizes our Home Insurance so we only pay for what we need and what did you get, mike . I got a bike. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. At walmart. This morning, more than 90,000 americans hospitalized with coronavirus. This is the 17th day in a row that the United States has set a record for hospitalizations. Joining us now, dr. Celine gounder, shes an Infectious Disease specialist and a member of the biden transition teams coronavirus advisory board. You know, i hate to say it, but i think that we know, it doesnt come as a shock, sadly, that we are now in the 17th day of these record hospitalizations. But were also seeing deaths rise. We are seeing more cases. We know the concern over the holidays. What is your focus this morning, dr. Gounder . Well, what concerns me is that hospitals are full already. Icus are full. In places like el paso, weve been talking about accessing military hospitals. In other parts of the country, you know, were standing up field hospitals to increase our capacities. And so we already have this massive surge across the country. And its sort of like pouring gasoline on that, with thanksgiving and then the holidays after that. I think you also have to remember, Health Care Workers are really, really tired. Theyve been fighting this for months. They, themselves, would like some time off for the holidays. And we are functioning often with skeleton crews at the hospital over the holidays. So, all of that combined means this is going to be a very difficult stretch for patient care. In the breadth of where its taken place, weve spoken with exhausted Health Care Workers in texas and wisconsin and iowa and that makes it so much more challenging. I wonder if youve been seeing any bright spots as youve been pouring over the data as part of the president elects transition team. I havent seen the data from yesterday, but as of wednesday night, michigan had been reporting fewer new cases that they had the previous week. Of course, things have been terrible there. But im wondering if some of the states that have been awful the last few weeks like michigan and wisconsin, youve seen any evidence that they may be a slight reduction . Its a little bit too early to say. I do think the pattern that weve seen is once cases start to surge, people do get scared. People do start to listen to the Public Health advice. The problem is that that often happens too slowly. So you still have far too many preventable cases and deaths as a result. You know, some of the information that came out earlier in the week, there was talk about perhaps shortening the quarantine period. You know, you talk about how a spike in cases could sort of scare people into acting. If we hear about a shortened quarantine period, a, what are your thoughts on that . But b, what do you think impact that has on people as theyre right to navigate the next few weeks . This has been studied on oil rigs, to see, could you shorten the quarantine . And obviously, thats a really explosive situation, where you have a lot of people working in tight quarters on an oil rig. You dont really want to have a case of coronavirus, an outbreak there, because you would shut down the entire rig. And what they have found is you could probably shorten your quarantine period to about seven or eight days with a test at the end of that quarantine period oh, we may have lost dr. Gounder are you still there . Yes, so, just to reiterate, you know, there is data that would indicate that you probably could shorten your quarantine period to about seven to eight days with a test at the end of that quarantine period, as long as its negative that you would be able to shorten the quarantine. So hopefully, you know, that that data bears out, that we can more formally make those recommendations, but science evolves. We learn over time and that allows us to adjust our recommendations and hopefully those recommendations can be less onerous on people as we make those adjustments. Dr. Celine gounder, we hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving. Thanks so much for being with us this morning. Happy thanksgiving. We want to remember some of the more than 263,000 americans lost to coronavirus. Lieutenant don bushayne was a member of the Fire Department and a man with tremendous love to give. He leaves behind a wife and 11 children. Colleagues said he had a heart of gold. He was 54 years old. Army reserve sergeant Calvin Ogletree did active duty tours in iraq, bosnia, and germany. The tampa bay, florida, man worked latter as a robotics expert for amazon. His mothers tells wtsp that he was friendly and courageous and an avid bucks fan. He was just 45 years old. Tony semphart was the heir to take over a restaurant after his mother died recently at age 93. The virus, however, killed him just a month later. He was the bars mischievous social ring leader and also a dedicated father, named parent of the year twice at his daughters school. He was 63 years old. Well be right back. Since pioneering the suv in 1935, the chevy suburban has carried many things. Nothing more important than family. Introducing the most versatile and advanced chevy suburban and tahoe ever. To high quality Computer Science and stem education. I joined amazon because i wanted to change education and i am impatient. Amazon gives me the resources to change the world at a pace that i want to change it. We provide students stem scholarships and teachers with support. Im a fighter and im fighting for all students. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is blasting the u. S. Supreme court for striking down coronavirus restrictions on blas of worship, calling the ruling more symbolic than of substance. Why rule on a case that is moot and come up with a different decision than you did several months ago on the same issue. You have a different court. And i think that was the statement that the court was making. Joining me now, Bishop Nicholas of the diocese of brooklyn, who the Supreme Court sided with on wednesday. Good to have you with us this morning. I know you were gratified, you said, by the Supreme Courts decision. The governor there saying that he not only, a, thought it was a statement from the court, but also that really, it was a moot point, as the states restrictions were no longer in place. Im just curious your thoughts on the response from governor cuomo. Well, its true that the restrictions are no longer in place. They can be put back in next week, but the Supreme Court and its former decision at the beginning of the pandemic, the south bay decision, didnt know what was happening with the coronavirus. None of us knew that. We didnt know how to deal with it. And in a very cautionary way, they said, no, that government had the ability, went back to a 1906 decision, as a precedent. So, yes, i could understand that, it is a change, but looking at whats happened, is that it would be restricted to 10 to 25 people and at churches that can seat 500 to 1,000 people. So it will look unreasonable when we dont see that businesses deemed essential like Liquor Stores or box stores or other places dont have any limit on the number of people, when the space, perhaps, is even smaller. So thats basically its a change of opinion, but the Supreme Court many times reverses itself. Do you see a distinction in i know you bring up Liquor Stores and that was brought up, as well. In some of the in what we saw from the Supreme Court, if you just go into a liquor store to buy something versus going into a church, do you see a difference with someone who will spend time at a mass in terms of the amount of time that theyre there, and how they may potentially interact, versus going into buy something in a store . No a store, you could be there for an hour and usually our services are 45 minutes. So we also that you cannot enter the Church Without a mask. We have the little saying, no mask, no mass. We make it clear to people that we are social distancing within the church. Thats why our capacity is already cut in half, because we use every other pew and then we have all of the other safety features of disinf fekdisinfect church, disinfectants for the people themselves, their hands. So its safe. We have had no incident where anyone said that they felt that they got sick because they went to church. Justice roberts basically cited the Science Behind decisions that Public Officials are using to make these Public Health decisions. The pope, of course, wrote an oped in the New York Times yesterday, and part of what he seemed to signal was support for some restrictions. So he writes this. Yet some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marring as travel restrictions, as if measures i think we can put it up on the screen for folks at home as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people impose some sort of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom. Im interested in your response on the popes words and how you strike that balance . We have accepted restrictions. We believe we have to be very careful. Were not looking for absolutely freedom to do whatever we want in our church buildings. We want to follow the guidelines and we have. Except that when we got to the red and orange zones, the limiting us to 10 to 25 people seemed very unreasonable. And so, again, we are trying to have the ability to make sure that the safety of things are taken care of. I recognized at the beginning of the pandemic, we didnt know what we were dealing with. I wanted to protect people. Thats a preeminent goal. The safety and health of our people. But at the same time, their Spiritual Health is important. They should be able to come to church if they wish. We have an end all in Effect People right now so people are not obliged to come to church, as catholics are, to come every sunday. So we have accommodated that issue. If brooklyn slips back into a red or an orange zone, what measures would you take and what will influence that decision . Well, again, we have to go to the second circuit. This is not completely decided. So we have a hearing on december the 18th. Im thinking about for you personally, because you have taken these measures. As you said, no mask, no mass, in addition to other Health Measures for your parishioners. So as you look at it, if you do slip back in there, from your perspective, what would be the best measure to keep folks safe if they are continuing to come in person for mass . What influences that decision and how you make it . Well, again, we have to make sure that everything is followed properly. And then we know were safe. We have not had any incidents saying that we were spreading the virus there. After people leave church, theyre asked to go home directly, not to mill around, not to talk to one another. So i dont know what more we can do. Again would you limit in a different way for capacity . I know you said a number of your buildings are very large, so they can accommodate, in your view, safely accommodate more than ten people. So what would that look like for people who arent familiar. Well, because we would be 50 usually is whats happened now. Because were using every other pew. And keeping 6 feet between people. And the same pew, only a family can be in the same pew, unrelated individuals go to different pews, at one end or the other. So theres plenty of space between them. So we will continue those Safety Measures and make sure that were not crowding the church. Yes, we understand that the transmission now basically is through the droplets from people talking to one another or coughing. So this is the main way that it has been transmitted. And we i think we check for that. Bishop nicholas dimarzio, thank you. President trump is planning to campaign for candidates in two Georgia Senate runoffs. He confirmed that, so the question is, that will that drive more questions to the polls in a state that joe biden just flipped and which voters will it bring to the polls . Well ask lucy mcfadden, next. children laughing music swells dog barking music fades exhales experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list sales event. Sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down, zero due at signing, and a complimentary first months payment. But you can work out anything wowith comcast business. W. Get fast, reliable, and secure internet on the nations largest gig speed network. Flexible tools like wifi you control. Voice solutions that connect you from anywhere. And expert advice here, here, or even here. Be fast. Be flexible. Bounce forward with comcast business. Get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just 64. 90 a month. Plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a 500 prepaid card when you upgrade. Switch today. Speaking of georgia, ill be going there. When . I spoke with the two great senators. Theyre great senators. Were looking for a site. Well have a tremendous turnout. Maybe ill go twice. Its very important that we win those races. These are two great people. And i want to tell my people, dont be disappointed yet, because this race is far from over. President trump announcing overnight that he is heading to georgia next saturday. Thats a month before the two Senate Runoffs that will determine control of the u. S. Senate. Joining me now is democratic congresswoman, lucy mcbath of georgia. She just won her election to a second term there and shes the author of standing our ground the triumph of faith over gun violence. And well talk about that book in a minute and also this week, which is an emotional time for you. First, though, politics. The president announcing hes on his way to georgia next week to campaign. How much of a difference do you think that will make . Well, you know, georgia delivered the presidency to president elect biden, so were so excited here in georgia. We have been so energized in this state, and nothing that the president does is going to change the fact that jon ossoff and reverend warnock are really going to win those seats. The president also last night attacked the republican secretary of state of georgia, brad rachbsbuffensperger, and i to play this for you. I read this morning where Stacey Abrams has 850,000 ballots accumulated. Now, thats called harvesting. Youre not allowed to harvest, but i understand the secretary of state, who is really hes an enemy of the people. Zp all right, two things, hes lying about Stacey Abrams. She said, 750,000 people had applied for absentee ballots, which is legal and not harvesting, so he was lying about that. Second of all, to call a public official who has been trying to safeguard the elections in this state and whos safety has been threatened, an enemy of the people, which is something the president has sort of done throughout the country with election officials, whats the impact of that, not just in georgia, but across the nation . Of course, when we heard those statements, you know, we had no idea what the president was talking about. And the president s attacks on our democracy continues to be appalling. Georgia has been very upfront. Weve run clean elections. Weve had clean politics, particularly after what we saw happen with our june 9th primary. And so the secretary of state, we do have to give him some applause for making sure that he ran clean and safe and Fair Elections and that the president is not happy with that, you know, weve done what we were called to do and weve done it fairly and now we have a new president elect and that is president elect joe biden. You are, in some ways, the embodiment of the new politics in georgia. And to illustrate what i mean by that, and just so people understand, you represent the district that was held in part by Newt Gingrich for 20 years. You, when you ran for election the first time, won by a smidge. You just won by nine points. We can throw it up. You just had an easy, in a way, reelection bid there, 9 . It just shows in a way, where georgia is headed and how its drifted. How do you explain the change in your district . Well, as ive often said, that this is the new south. And that i really believe that georgia would be on everyones mind. And i have to say, it was not easy to win by this margin, but weve been very, very invested in our district. Very invested in the people of georgia, and i showed voters how i would work for them. Health care, protection for our veterans, gun safety. Protecting our children, our small businesses. We just worked on behalf of the people, and i think at this point, at this juncture, politically, people not only within my district, but across the nation, just want people they recognize who are going to go to bat for them in washington. And i know that people you know, of course, not maybe everyone voted for me, but the thing that i do recognize is that my politics is not partisan. I have always reached across the aisle to work for everyone in my district, whether they voted for me or not, because thats what democracy truly looks like. And thats how it really works. I shouldnt have said the election was easy. I know that no election is easy when youre in it. So thats a fair statement right there. So you have a book out, standing our ground, which is about your personal journey. And it was eight years ago this week that your son, jordan, was killed, was murdered at a gas station. And thats what vaulted you into this political life. And youve written about it in the book. And what i didnt realize, until i was reading your twitter account, was that every year at this time, which has got to be such an emotional time, you actually write a letter to your son. You write a letter to jordan. How does that help you . Well, its very cathartic. And it helps me with my healing. You would think that each and every year that it gets easier, but it really doesnt. And this is my way of just kind of reconnecting with jordan, as i continue to evolve, as the work that we do continues to evolve. Because i truly do believe that everything that i have been become is somewhat what i expected or was hoping my son would do and be. And so this is a way of me just kind of giving him a snapshot of where we are, who we are together now, and what we still have to do going forward, for the sake of the people that we love. What did you tell him this year . This year, i just basically said, you know, we never expected that we one, would have been in this seat the first time, but now the second time. But theres still so much more work for us to do and that i miss him and that i know that his spirit i carry with me everywhere and thats what truly allows me to be able to work on behalf of the people that i love and care about in my community and the nation. Youre such an advocate for gun Safety Measures. The fact that the democrats lost seats in the house and the fact that the senate is up for grabs, it might make it very difficult, maybe even unlikely for joe biden to be able to get some of the gun Safety Measures that i know that he wants and campaigned on and that you want and have campaigned on. Whats your plan . Well, of course, were going to continue to work as hard as we always have, my colleagues and i with this new administration. And we do know that this administration has said, candidly, that gun safety is a top priority for them. Red flag laws, of course, the charleston gun show loophole. Federal background checks with gun sales. There are a lot of pieces of legislation that we have actually on the books and on the floor in committee right now that we really have to champion moving forward. Well continue to work as hard as we can. There are so many people around the country, over 90 of the American Population believe in gun safety legislation. And so i know that we will make a difference. I know it will happen. Its going to take time. But we know its the right thing to do. Just preserving life, saving lives, and keeping people safe so that no one has to be me. Congresswoman lucy mcbath, thanks so much for being with us. Congratulations on your noteasy reelection. Congratulations on the book. And we really appreciate you being with us. And like i said, i know this has got to be an emotional time for you every year this woke. And just reading those letters, it was moving. It was very moving to see the things that you write to your son every year, so i appreciate it. Thank you so much. Happy holidays. You too. The pandemic changing the way retailers are trying to attract consumers this black friday. Details in a live report, next. vo sigh. dear 2020, you had your time. Now, its our time. Time to get away to a place where we can finally be free. Free from boundaries. Limitations. Even virtual backgrounds. Today, we break free. Ready to break free . Plan your future getaway with norwegian cruise line. Sail safe. Feel free. Did you know liberty cemutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need . Just get a quote at libertymutual. Com. Really . Ill check that out. Oh yeah. I think i might get a quote. Not again aah, come on rice. Do your thing. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. So the Holiday Shopping season officially under way on this black friday, but what exactly does that mean this year in the middle of the pandemic . Are consumers going to shop in person . Alisyn could say sick live at the palisades center, the second largest Shopping Mall in the new york area. Really interesting to see or interested to see if its starting to fill up behind you. Reporter it is a little bit, john, but im not seeing the black friday frenzy that ive seen in previous years. What i am seeing, though, are those safety protocols put in place almost in front of every store inside this mall you see here the stickers, out in front, just in case big enough crowds come and theres a line outside the door they will stay 6 feet apart. Once you go inside you have to wear a mask if you dont have one. At this store they will provide a mask for you and there is a limit on how many can enter the store, in this store its 65 people so there is a big adjustment for consumers when they go shopping this black friday not just an adjustment for consumers but for retailers as well because its a balancing act. They want to keep their workers safe, keep customers safe and they still need to bring in revenue at a time when the economy is struggling as it is and many businesses are struggling as well. Weve seen black friday turn into not just one day of shopping in previous years, weve seen it extend out to one week, and thats a transition thats really being accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. Weve seen retailers extend those deep sis counts over the past couple months. So october, november and december, theyve all become black friday, both to bring in revenue but also to keep that trush of crowds that we usually see come into malls and surprisingly enough thats one of the reasons that people came in here into this mall early, early this morning to avoid crowds. Listen to what some shoppers had to say. Im not really in a risk category, usually like older people, but i would say its not really worth it for some people, but for us it doesnt really make a difference. I feel good. I feel safe. I feel comfortable. I like t theres nobody out here. Its perfect. Perfect for a shopper like me. I figured the earlier you go the less crowd you are going to have to face, and i dont know about you, but i think im right in terms of the crowds here, theres very few crowds here. And the expectation is that this Holiday Shopping season will be a good one. The National Retail federation predicts that we will see an increase in sales in november and december anywhere from 3 to 5 versus last year, erica. So it seems like where people didnt spend op entertainment or travel, theyre spending on holiday gifts. Thank you. Communities across the country are bracing for the Ripple Effect of College Students returning home, most campuses have now closed for the remainder of the year and Health Officials fear this could compound the already surging cases that were seeing in terms of coronavirus. Cnns Bianna Golodryga joining us now with more. I guess just holding their breath in some cases at this point. We anticipated this last week we visit id colleges across the country. Remember, without federal guidance, without a universal plan each school was on their own in debating how they were going to handle students leaving campus. Many mandated testing, many did not. So when we visited colleges we came across one student, elliott boss who said he was going to take extra precaution going home because his grandparents were going to be at home. This week we decided to visit him at his family in california to see what those precautions are. Reporter university of michigan sophomore elliott boz took an extra test before leaving campus and reuniting with his family in san matteo, california, for thanksgiving. A negative covid test. We first met elliott on campus last week. My family is home and grandparents are back so i want to make sure im cleared before i come back home. Reporter despite a late plea from the cdc advising people to stay put, he is one of the hundreds of thousands of College Students who traveled home for the holiday because staying put wasnt an option. The university of michigan and many other universities nationwide ended all inperson classes for the semester this week. I think everybody is kind of being in the same situation, im not unique in any way in that sense, its just an extra level of thoughtfulness so i had to go out of my way to get the test, be diligent about wearing a mask, washing my hands and so on. Reporter these are the scenes Health Experts desperately wanted to avoid, some 4. 8 million travelers passing through tsa check points since the cdc guidance came out last week. Its pretty tough because i think students kind of around the country are are might be thinking differently about this and everybody wants to see their family, so i think in terms of travel, everybody is trying to do their best about how to travel safely. Reporter universities across the country set their own covid testing protocol before students left campus. There are no federal guidelines in place, leaving Health Officials frustrated. Young, asymptomatic individuals, the socalled silent spreaders, are fueling the epidemic in this country so colleges have a responsibility to ensure that they dont unwittingly unleash ticking time bombs into the nations airports, train stations and thanksgiving dining tables. Reporter elliotts dad mike says the family is comfortable with their sons decision to come home. He is a responsible kid and he got tested and so that negates the concerns. There is always a risk, but the risk is minimal as much as possible. Reporter elliotts parents and his 81yearold grandparents will be together this thanksgiving, but his older brother, a College Senior in los angeles, is not coming home from school. So what is this thanksgiving going to be like for you . I bet a little bittersweet having your younger son home but obviously the full family cant be together. Its going to be kind of a partial family. We had other family members who were going to come and theyre not coming anymore because of the spike in covid. So its not just just my older son, its our family members. Reporter its exactly the kind of holiday precautions dr. Fauci and other experts are pleading with americans to make. To the extent possible, keep the gatherings, the indoor gatherings as small as you possibly can. We all know how difficult that is because this is such a beautiful traditional holiday, but by making that sacrifice youre going to be prevent people from getting infected. Reporter sound advice that will extend far beyond thanksgiving for families with College Students home for the rest of the year. In terms of the grandparents, its really being thoughtful about when i see them and how i see them, talking with them, sitting apart, you know, or when giving them a hug just being thoughtful. Reporter so, erica, thats the real complicated situation, right . Thanksgiving is past but these College Students will be home, many for them for the rest of the year through midjanuary before they doing back to campus so the focus will be on them remaining vigilant about controlling their behavior, about being extra cautious around elderly and famdly and loved ones and remaining in that family bubble, its not just a couple of days, its going to be a couple of months now. Thats for sthur and thats the hard part as we know. Bianna, i appreciate it. Thank you. New day continues right now. Announcer this is new day with Alisyn Camerota and john berman. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, this is a special edition of new day, alisyn is off, erica hill in this morning. Great to have you here. Nice to be with you. On this morning after thanksgiving hospitals from coast to coast are stretched to capacity with more than 90,000 americans waking up in hospital beds. This is a horrifying graphic youre looking at right there as the hospitalizations have doubled in the last month. The number rising to record highs every day over the last 17 days. The u. S. Averaging 165,000 new cases of coronavirus every 24 hours. President elect joe biden spent part of his thanksgiving thanking Health Care Workers on the front lines of the pandemic. His National Security briefings begin on monday. As for the defeated president , for the First Time Since losing