Just the magnificence of your artistry. What the two have in common, plus, his new president ial portrait unveiled. Black friday blowout. Shoppers falling all over each other to get the best deals. Couch surfers ruling the day shattering online records. The hopes for Small Business saturday and a possible boost for the bottom line. And goal for it. College soccer star sarah fuller ready to become the first woman to participate in a power five football game. What shes saying about the opportunity to make history. Hey, good morning. Were going to start here with the latest on the surging pandemic. The u. S. Has now surpassed 13 million confirmed covid19 cases, adding more than a million cases in just six days, and that comes during a holiday week when some results and reporting are expected to be delayed. Hospitals from coast to coast are feeling the strain. This week, 24 states hit a Record Number of current hospitalizations with the number of patients across the country increasing nearly 12 and experts are warning Holiday Travel could lead to another surge in coronavirus cases with whats expected to be the busiest travel day since the pandemic hit. Still ahead. And all of this as a potential ray of hope looms on the horizon. A panel of cdc advisers will meet tuesday to vote on how the limited initial doses of covid19 vaccine will be distributed once a vaccine gets emergency use authorization. Abcs trevor ault is outside a new york City Hospital with the latest. Trevor, good morning. Reporter good morning, whit. So ahead of that emergency use authorization, we know pfizer has reportedly started chartering flights for the first batch of their potential vaccine so at least some doses could be available as early as december. But officials fear even by that time the holidays could substantially ramp up this pandemic which in many areas is already out of control. This morning, the coronavirus accelerating through the Holiday Season. Another million more infections added in the past six days, bringing the total number of confirmed cases above 13 million. But a report from a cdc researcher says the actual total may be as much as eight times higher. All but one of these patients have covid. On this unit. Its a 13bed unit and we are completely full up here. Reporter officials hoping to slow the rampant pace of the virus are rolling out major new restrictions, los angeles is now issuing another stayathome order, a threeweek ban on gathering with anyone who doesnt live with you. In washington states snohomish county, the site of americas first confirmed case, First Responders say theyre receiving far more covid calls now than ever before. The things were used to expecting from your First Responders wouldnt happen if things continue to spirm oal ouf control. Reporter officials are concerned thanksgiving gatherings are going to amplify an already overwhelming problem. I would say if you have had one of those gatherings yesterday, that you shouldnt send your kids to school next week. Reporter and while black friday crowds are noticeably down from years past, there are still plenty of shoppers out there potentially ramping up dangerous viral spread. That, again, is a very risky proposition. We have a lot of people on top of each other getting those black friday specials. Reporter but even without a holiday spike, icus around the country are being tested to the point of fracturing. This week nearly half the u. S. , 24 states, set new record highs for hospitalizations. So you walk down that hallway and you get a sinking feeling. Reporter and several more prominent figures have joined the list of the infected, including ohio state head football coach ryan day. The team now canceling todays game against illinois and the nfl announcing overnight all Team Facilities will be closed to inperson activities monday and tuesday except for the teams scheduled to play. It comes after at least a dozen Baltimore Ravens players came down with the virus including reigning mvp lamar jackson. Their thanksgiving game now postponed to tuesday. But as millions see their lives upended, either sacrificing holiday traditions or even worse losing loved ones, Health Care Workers like florida nurse teresa poi say if we stay disciplined theres hope at the end of the tunnel. We will wake up one day when this is all behind us and we will be more grateful and more thankful for what we have. Reporter now all eyes on the cdc Committee Hearing scheduled for tuesday. They havent yet said specifically what theyll be discussing beyond a covid19 vaccine in general. But, guys, we know that the agency in charge of the emergency use authorization is the fda, but the cdc will be in charge of determining who should get a vaccine and when. Eva. So many people waiting to hear that information. Trevor ault for us, thank you. And this weekend is the postthanksgiving rush to return home for all those who decided to travel for the holiday. Abcs elwyn lopez is at atlantas Hartsfieldjackson International Airport with what you can expect at the airport and on the roads. Good morning, elwyn. Reporter good morning, eva. The airport here seeing up to 35 less traffic compared to this time last year. But across the country the busiest travel day is expected to come tomorrow and with it some worry a surge upon a surge. This morning, the nations airports bracing for whats ahead. Going against cdcs warnings to stay home, more than 6 million americans already hit the skies this holiday week. Now theyre on their way back. Is this your first time flying during the pandemic . Yes, during the pandemic, yes. Arent you worried about flying . I was worried more about the mask situation. But everything was pretty good. Reporter while most wore masks, some say there was little to no social distancing once the plane hit the tarmac. Everybody is getting up as you normally would. Everybodys standing up on top of each other. That was on the flight going out. On the way back, they were a little bit more compliant. Reporter others concerned about a potential uptick in covid19 cases. I mean, definitely. Im sure with people getting together and everyone traveling its not great. Reporter this, as sunday is expected to be the busiest day of travel this week. With more than a Million People projected to land on that day alone. What were asking is for passengers to come prepared with patience and be prepared for spacing out in the airports. Reporter tsa opening as many checkpoint lanes as needed. Those lines thought to be one of the riskiest parts of flying. We ask passengers not to bunch up leading up to the checkpoint. Theyre going to notice some new technology in a lot of airports. Reporter so far the busiest airports this thanksgiving week l. A. X. , orlando and here in atlanta. And its not just the skies, a lot of people traveling by road. An estimated 48 million, down just 4 from this time last year. Whit. All right, elwyn lopez, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Joining us now from massachusetts is dr. Todd ellerin, an abc news medical contributor and Infectious Disease expert. Dr. Ellerin, always great to see you. Good morning to you. I want to jump right to it. As elwyn just pointed out in her story, the cdc warned americans not to travel for thanksgiving, millions did anyway. What do people need to do now to protect themselves and their families as they head home from the holiday . Good morning, whit, and happy holidays. I think what we need to remember is that increased mobility, which weve just seen, is going to lead to a surge in cases. We dont know how high that will reach, but we do know thats going to occur, so the best thing to do now is for anyone who has traveled and, you know, crossed bubbles, you want to go out and you want to get tested. We know probably getting serial tests are good, because single tests can sometimes lead to false negative results. Remember, we have to pick up the pieces from where we are so we want to continue doing the covid19 Infection Prevention measures that weve heard about. You know, time and time again. Speaking of the testing, should people get tested right away, or is there a period of time when people should wait . So thats its an important question. You know, generally what we say is that when youre tested the day that you get infected, you test negative. We know that from studies. So we generally recommend being tested maybe four days after the last contact youve had but, again, single tests can, you know, have false negatives. Were still recommending it but, if you can get more than one test over time that increases the accuracy and the likelihood that youll pick up infection. I want to switch gears and ask you about some of this hope on the horizon when it comes to a vaccine. Were told the fda could give a vaccine an emergency vaccine use authorization. You and your colleagues treating patients on the front lines could be among the first to receive that vaccine. How are you and the hospital youre working with preparing for this . Whit, this is such exciting news as dr. Fauci has said, the cavalry is on the way. When you think about having vaccines with 95 effectiveness in preventing disease that is huge. So we are, you know, number one, im very lucky because my partner, dr. Wilds, whos also an abc medical contributor, shes actually on governor bakers vaccine task force. So were in close communication. Our pharmacy, we have the freezer that can accept either vaccine and so were getting ready for those shipments to come and to, you know, we need to roll up our sleeves and get injected to make this work. As you have heard before the vaccine is great but that doesnt prevent infections. Its vaccination. Getting all the pieces in place. I do want to ask you quickly, looking ahead, christmas, hanukkah, for those people hoping to see their families then, is there any indication the numbers could improve making it safer to travel . Theres been such an onslaught of infections across the country, its so diffuse right now. We just had thanksgiving as you heard, a lot of mobility and a lot of travel. We know theres going to be more surge and, remember, whats just happened is built in. Were going to feel those effects in two or three weeks, increased cases, increased hospitalizations and increased deaths. Its very hard for me to think that were going to be okay before the christmas holiday. I hope we are. I know these holidays are so important to get Families Together but, unfortunately, as you know that leads to, you know, spreading transmission. Again, so much riding on those vaccines. Dr. Todd ellerin, always appreciate it. Thank you so much for your time. Dan. Thanks, whit. Lets turn now to the white house transition. President trump has lost some new battles over Election Results in his ongoing fight to push the unfounded claim of massive voter fraud. White house correspondent rachel scott is in washington with much more on this story. Rachel, good morning to you. Reporter dan, good morning. With every case, with every recount, the president is not only failing to overturn the results of the election, hes actually proving to back up what state and local officials have been saying now for weeks that the 2020 election was safe and secure. Overnight, election workers in Milwaukee County finally wrapped up the recount the president s Campaign Paid millions for and it did nothing to change the outcome of the results. In fact, joe bidens lead only increased. This recount demonstrated what we already know, that elections in Milwaukee County are fair, transparent, accurate and secure. Reporter for weeks the president has been trying to overturn an election he overwhelmingly lost, making baseless claims about widespread voter fraud. Youre going to see things happening over the next week or two that are going to be shocking to people. Reporter President Trump focused on challenging votes in predominantly black cities tweeting, when you see what happened in detroit, atlanta, philadelphia and milwaukee, massive voter fraud. But his legal team has presented no evidence to back up any of his claims. At least 30 cases have been tossed out of court. Judge after judge calling their arguments meritless and speculative. The latest in pennsylvania, the federal Appeals Court handing the president yet another defeat, and this time the scathing opinion from a judge the president appointed himself. Stephanos bibas writing, calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here. Adding, voters, not lawyers, choose the president. And bidens team tells me those lawsuits are desperate and meritless. They are moving forward with the transition and the president elect has a busy week ahead, hes expected to receive his first president ial daily brief monday and roll out members of his Economic Team next week. Eva. Rachel scott for us, thank you. Now to the death of a Top Iranian Nuclear scientist. Abcs Julia Macfarlane joins us from london with reaction to the apparent assassination and what it could mean for the future of a nuclear deal. Good morning, julia. Reporter good morning, eva and this was a brazen attack. The iranian president this morning vowing to exact revenge, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was shot and killed in an ambush as he was traveling through the iranian countryside. His bodyguards rushed him to the hospital where he later died of his wounds. Describing the assassination as an act of state terror, serious indications that israel was to blame. Mohsen fakhrizadeh was the driving force behind irans atomic weapons program. He was the countrys most Renowned Nuclear scientist as well as a senior officer in that elite force known as the irgc and in 2018 he was even named by israeli Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu. In a presentation of Irans Nuclear program. And about on the years ago, iran said that israel was behind the assassination of four other of their Nuclear Scientists who were killed between 2010 and 2012. Now, israel has never publicly confirmed or denied involvement, but has always said they will never tolerate a nuclear iran. Julia, this assassination comes in the final weeks of the trump administration. What is the significance of that . Reporter right, well, remember two years ago President Trump withdrew the United States from the Iranian Nuclear deal. That agreement which lifted sanctions in exchange for iran to dismantle their Nuclear Program and since then, iran has gone back to ramping up their enrichment program. Now, president elect joe biden has signaled that he wants to rejoin that accord. But this brazen assassination may make that political maneuvering all the more difficult for the incoming administration. Meanwhile, the former cia director john brennan overnight on twitter describing it as a criminal act, saying that iranians would be wise to, quote, wait for return of responsible American Leadership instead of responding against their perceived culprits. Whit. All right, Julia Macfarlane for us, thank you so much. We do appreciate it. We want to talk about the weather. Rob marciano is joining us from new york. With the weather headlines this morning. Rob, good morning to you. Good morning, whit. If youre traveling or have friends or family might be, a storm develop along the gulf coast. It did have some issues or brought some issues to houston yesterday in the way of flooding. That city likes to flood easily. They have three to four inches in some of the outlying counties, and that was enough to fill the streets there. The low itself will wave along this front and we threw the interstates on there to give you an idea of travel issue, i10 is going to be a problem. 3 to 6 inches potentially as the wave lifts up into mississippi and alabama tonight and tomorrow, georgia and carolinas tomorrow night. Then really begins to spin up across western pennsylvania and new york during the day on monday, windy, rainy, miserable conditions along i95 monday afternoon. On the back side of this some cold air. Well see some significant snows, especially near the lakes, anywhere from an inch to maybe a half a foot of snow in some spots as cold air drives all the way down into the deep south. Good saturday morpg, im lisa argen, nice and clear and cold across the valleys this morning, with temperatures in and around freezing, but then were going to have a lot of sunshine, with once again mild afternoons. Not only for the weekend but the pattern does look dry for the first week of december. So highs today ranging from about 60 along the coast, some light winds, warming you up to about 65 over in oakland. With upper 60s in the north bay. I dont know about you guys, but im just starting to feel normal now after the gluttony and the guilt that comes along with it from two days ago. Grateful to have that food on the table and to be able to gather with at least a small group. Well talk more weather in the next half an hour. Back to you. Thanks, rob. I actually ate more food yesterday. I still feel the same way. Im still aching. Leftovers still loom large in my house. Im glad you feel better, rob, thank you. College football history is poised to be made today when Vanderbilt University kicker sarah fuller is expected to take the field against the university of missouri. Fuller is set to be the first female ever to play in a power five football game. Fuller is actually the goalkeeper on the Championship Soccer Team but she was added to the football roster this week after several players had to go into quarantine because of coronavirus. Fuller taking to twitter saying, quote, lets make history. History indeed. Meanwhile, a young artist from ca