Staff, who says the reliefan who speed up vaccine distribution. The enemy within. Speaker pelosis extraordinary warning about violence in congress, and calls for a Freshman Member to be expelled after her old social media post indicates support for executing prominent democrats, including former president obama. Californians hit with a firehose of rain. Neighborhoods evacuated as levees break. Gamestop chaos. The st reried. The et wride. And, this incred Story Ofthinurn doses about to expire. L se thedt from the nations capital. Odonnell good evening to our viewers in the west and thank you for joining us. Were going to begin with Breaking News on two fronts tonight. As we come on the air, two cases of that highlycontagious South African Variant Of Coronavirus have now been found in the u. S. The first evidence that another dangerous mutation may already be spreading nationwide, and could soon lead to a surge of new infections and deaths. The c. D. C. Says it discovered the cases in South Carolina in two people who havent traveled and havent interacted with each other, so scientists are now worried they were infected by others in their community who may be carrying the new variant and not even know it. Theres also Breaking News out refrigion bro,re at least Sixht Leakliquid ngen into foodpacking plant there. More than 100 workers were forced to flee the plant as it filled with what victims described as a chemical fog, choking off oxygen and burning their skin. All of it in an area already hardhit by coronavirus. So weve got a lot of new reporting to get to tonight, including our interview with the new white house chief of staff, and our team of correspondents is standing by with all of the news. Cbss Jessi Mitchell is going to lead off our coverage from the scene of that deadly accident in gainesville, georgia. Good evening, jessi. Reporter norah, the deadly chemical leak at this plant sent shockwaves through the community, locking down a nearby school and highway as workers here ran for their lives. Chaos broke out shortly after 10 00 a. M. At this gainesville poultry plant. Weve got an active nitrogen leak. Weve got multiple d. O. A. S reporter Officials Say the Liquid Nitrogen Leak killed six people and sent 11 others to the hospital. Outside, shaken Family Members were looking for loved ones. I am just prang h okay. And he wont answer his phone. Reporter among those taken to the hospital, several firefighters responding to the scene. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the deadly leak. What does happen from here in the investigation . Well, therell be theres a lot of steps to it right now, of course. It will be a lengthy process. It is not something that is quick. It may take a while, especially with this type of facility. Reporter gainesville is home to the nations largest chicken processing plants, which often rely on Liquid Nitrogen for refrigeration. It goes to shows you how quick, in the blink of an eye, it can change, life can change dramatically. I just pray for the folks. Reporter eight people remain in the hospital tonight, including one firefighter. The sheriff is now working to notify the families of those victims. Norah. Odonnell all right, thank you. And more now on that Breaking News about that highly transmissible covid variant. It was only detected here in the United States today, but were now learning the two South Carolina patients who had it were actually infected earlier this month. Heres cbss mola lenghi. Reporter tonight, South Carolinas governor is telling residents not to panic after two cases of the highlycontagious covid strain, first identified in south africa, were detected in the state. South carolina now ranked second in the nation for new covid cases per capita. Its yet another reminder that the fight against this deadly virus is far from over. Reporter two adults with no recent travel history and no connection to each other tested positive for the variant in different parts of South Carolina. Former c. D. C. Director dr. Tom frieden. Here is the bottom line the more uncontrolled spread of virus there is, in this country or anywhere in the world, the more likely it is that strains will emerge and spread which are either more infectious or potentially even more lethalorhg but tonight, reports that an additional dose can be squeezed out of pfizers vaccine vial are it. Es needed to were solving for problems as we go. Reporter pharmacist Jessica Daley is Vice President of premier, a Healthcare Company that streamlines medical supply purchases for thousands of hospitals and health systems. Within the pfizer vial, the expected number of doses is five, but if you have the right equipment, you are able to pull out a sixth dose. Were continuing to see challenges for our members in securing those specific supplies. Reporter and now this researchers from the National Institutes of health found that expectant mothers who experience severe covid symptoms had a higher risk for complications during and after pregnancy, including cesarean delivery and preterm birth. And we learned today, Nursing Home Deaths in new york may have been 50 higher than reported, according to an Attorney General report. And the toll the pandemic continues to take on families was illustrated in this tweet by phoenixbased surgeon arghavan salles. The caption, here are the folks ive cared for with covid who have died big stack and survived little stack in the last two months. Reporter when we see statistics like 3,000 people have died or 4,000 people have died honestly, i think at this point, people are pretty numb to that, and i thought it might be helpful for people to see what happens when patients are in the i. C. U. Odonnell incredibly powerful. And mola lenghi joins us now from new york city. So mola, what do we know about if these vaccines protect us against this new variant . Reporter Pharmaceutical Firm Novavax say their new vaccine works well, but has tested less effective against that new Soutriviruchntlly Thgifid moa ae saying about their respective vaccines. Norah . Odonnell good information. Mola lenghi, thank you. The Vaccine Shortage is just one of multiple issues the Biden Administration is trying to tackle during the pandemic. Well, today, the president took action to get Health Insurance for more americans. We get more now from cbss nancn announcing a special threemonth Enrollment Period for the Affordable Care act on healthcare. Gov, starting in two weeks. Pandemicrelated job losses have pushed the number of Uninsured Americans who would qualify for coverage to an estimated 15 million people. I would like to terminate obamacare, come up with a brand new Beautiful Health care. Reporter the Trump Administration cut funding to promote healthcare. Gov, which lead to a drop in new enrollments. Made it more inaccessible, more expensive and more difficult for people to qualify for either o those two items the Affordable Care act, or medicaid. S uted its moves to boost weekly Covid Vaccine immunize 2 u. S. Ults eek n you give the american pelehopn we will all continue to push, but the issue is not just. We will all Vaccine Supply. A big issue is vaccinators and the abili the capacity to have people who can put the vaccine into the arms of americans. Reporter the main issue is supply, isnt it . It is one of the issues. You know, we will be in a place by this summer where we will have enough supply for the public. Reporter white house officials havent said how avidly theyre pursuing a strategy similar to the one thats now emerging in europe, where pharmaceutical giants like sanofi and novartis are now stepping up and offering to produce vaccines that were developed by their rivals, like pfizer. Norah . Odonnell nancy cordes, thank you. Joining us now is president bidens chief of staff, ron klain. Ron, thank you so much for being here. Thanks for having me, norah. Odonnell let me ask you, how much power does the president have in order to increase the Vaccine Supply . Can he do anything . Vcine companies to try to ramp up production. Its a slow process. We inherited a process that had some flaws in it. We are trying to fix them. Vaccine production is part of it, norah. The other part is getting people to give the shots, and getting to places where people can get the shots. Fema is working with the Department Of Defense to use 10,000 troops and open up 100 centers around the country to increase the availability of the vaccinations. But the production of the factories where the vaccine is made, that is a limiting factor that were just going to have to continue to work through each Week Nisttion has repeatedl touted the Defense Production Act. Can you give me a specific example of how the act is being used . We have used the Defense Production Act Authority to order the production of Special Syringes that allow us to extract six doses out of a vial instead of five. Those Special Syringes, by doing that, increase our supply by 20 . We are also using the Defense Production Act to speed up the production of n95 masks. Those are those spma that give people extra protection that we think is going to be especially important as this new variant begins to spread in the country, during march and beyond that. Odonnell lets talk about schools. Why cant we get schools open . The president wants to open as many schools as possible, as quickly as possible. It is important not just to open schools, but to keep them open. I think one of the most frustrating things to parents has been the yoyoing of schools open, schools close, because as the virus gets more strong, people close schools. So we want to open schools with the safety gear so they can stay open, even as this virus gets woe ine places. Op1. Lion wateef bill looks dead in the its just too what parf it is hardly dead in the water. I think it is gaining a lot of momentum on capitol hill. Advance thll in seven days than any administration in history. So i absolutel in the water chacterization. And i think well let the legislative process prove that. Odonnell but given that urgent need for covid relief, why include Something Like a 15 federal minimum wage . Well, norah, as the president said when he was running for president , it is great that People Bang Pots and pans for Essential Workers we shouldnt just praise them, we should pay them. There are people risking their lives right now to deliver groceries, to stock shelves, to deliver packages to peoples houses. Those people, people working hard, putting their lives on the line, should be able to work for 40 hours a week and not be in poverty. Odonnell ron klain, the president s chief of staff, thank you so much. Thanks, norah, appreciate it. Odonnell well, today, House Speaker nancy pelosi made an extraordinary statement, saying more money is needed to protect members of congress because of threats from an enemy within and she made it very clear who congress because of threats from an enemy within. She was talking about. Cbss Kris Van Cleave reports from the capitol. Reporter tonight, growing outrage at newlyelected representative Marjorie Taylor greene. The noted Conspiracy Theorist and ardent trump supporter from georgia is facing calls to resign and a longshot bid to expel her from congress, after a review of her social media found in 2018 and 19, she repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent democrats, including speaker nancy pelosi. Not only is the president of the United States inciting an insurrection, but keeps fanning the flame, endangering the security of members of congress, to the point that theyre even concerned about members in the House Of Representatives being a danger to them. Reporter separately, dozens of greenes House Colleagure now assuntal fe secuty for members, when the enemy is within the House Of Representatives. Why are you supporting redflag gun laws that attack our Second Amendment rights . Reporter and controversy is swirling over this video of greene heckling Parkland School greene has called the shooting that killed 17 a false flag. Fred guttenberg lost his daughter in the massacre. She is a depraved person. She serves no purpose in being in congress. The idea that she got elected is a a stain on our nation. Reporter but greene has no plans to resign, telling cbs news, democrats want to take me out because i represent the people, and they absolutely hate it. The uproar comes as minority leader Kevin Mccarthy tries to end the republican infighting since the impeachment vote, toay meeting with former president donald trump, who pledged to help republicans in capitol. Tell us about these additional Security Concerns there. Reporter well, norah, the Capitol Police came out today c. And that doesnt necessarily sound controversial, but there are already some lawmakers saying they dont want the fences to stay. This as cbs news has learned, at least 17 of the people arrested during the attack on the capitol had ties to the u. S. Military, and three others allegedly started plotting their role in the violence as far back as november. Norah. Odonnell that investigation is still ongoing. Kris van cleave, thank you. Tonight, deadly storms continue to pound the west. More than a foot of rain has drenched some areas, while the mountains have gotten four feet of snow. Mud slides have damaged dozens of homes and powerful winds have knocked down trees and power lines. Cbss carter evans reports tonight from the storm zone. Reporter tonight, california is still getting slammed by an inundate Water Overflowing from a nearby river. And there are mandatory Evacuation Orders as Emergency Crews race to stack sand bags. Just a few miles away, a massive cleanup, after a mud slide struck dozens of homes. You could see where they have ilva atotect tm couslen owns th. His wife was one of two people sent to the hospital. We have so much time to get this stuff out, and im trying to get tractors out and everything else. Reporter brian garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather service, surveyed the damage. Only a couple of people were injured in that slide. It is incredible that nobody died. Reporter in sacramento county, nearly 70mileperhour wind gusts blew this barbecue into a pool, and a trampoline into a tree. Crews are still restoring power to thousands of customers. And tonight, there are Blizzard Warnings in the sierra nevada, where the storm is now dumping several feet of snow. This wall of sand bags is essentially now protecting all of these homes against the pacific ocean. Neighbors tell me it was kneedeep here earlier today, and this storm is still on the move, with heavilypopulated Southern California bracing for the next hit. Norah . Odonnell carter evans, thank you. And there is still much more news ahead right here on tonights cbs evening news. Gamestop got hit with a dose of reality today, but the wild ride may just be getting started. And, there is a new term in the dictionary, inspired by the Vice President s husband. 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