Deadline. The government would also be forced to shut down on monday and eviction protections will expire on new years eve if the president does not act. Cnns Sarah Westwood joins us now. Sarah, President Trumps 2,000 proposal is getting a new key endorsement from senator Lindsey Graham, just days after he initially opposed it. So why the flip flop to saying 600 is no longer adequate . Reporter why, fred, is the Million Dollar question here. Its one republicans themselves are still trying to answer. Because the 600 amount for individual checks is what the white house brought to congressional leaders and said this is what we want to see in the bill. So when republicans, like Lindsey Graham, voted for that bill earlier this week, they believed they were doing so with the backing of the white house. Trump came out and opposed the amount for the individual stimulus checks after that bill had already passed both chambers of congress with a vetoproof majority, putting republicans right now in a really difficult spot. Many gop lawmakers were kind of hoping this would blow over and the president wouldnt bring his opposition to the level of a veto threat. But its really unclear at this moment what the white house plans to do. I want to read you what senator graham tweeted after he came off the golf course with President Trump, because its really the First Insight what weve had into the president s mindset as he engages in this flip flop. After spending some time with President Trump today, i am convinced he is more determined than ever to increase stimulus payments to 2,000 per person and challenge section 230 big tech liability protection. Now, both of those demands are ones that congress has overwhelmingly rejected, the latter of the section 230 big tech protections. That was rejected when lawmakers refused to put a repeal of section 230 in the defense spending bill. Trump already vetoed that. And the other demand for the higher stimulus checks, that hangs in the balance as the bill sits at maralago. Unclear if the president will put his signature on it. We asked the whus wiite house we be signing or vetoing, still no direction from those around the president. But as you mentioned, there are key deadlines associated with this bill, including today, the expiration of those enhanced Unemployment Benefits for millions of americans. On monday the 28th, as if this wasnt complicated enough, the governor wi government will run out of money, so were looking at the prospect of a Government Shutdown in two days, and then on the 31st, the Eviction Moratorium will expire if the president doesnt put his signature on this legislation. So a lot riding on this and were still waiting to hear what the white house might do when it comes to this bill, fred. Sarah westwood there in florida, keep us posted on that. Appreciate that. Let me bring in virginia congressman, a democratic and member of the house ways and means committee, and house cochair of the joint economic committee. Good to see you. Merry christmas. Boy, it is not a Merry Christmas for so Many Americans really being hit from all angles of bad stuff. So if you could, help me tackle this bill and the president , whether hes going to read it, sign it, veto it, and your district is one that is filled with a number of government workers right outside of the Nations Capital and they could likely be furloughed on monday if the president doesnt sign this bill to keep the government funded. What are your concerns and worries . It is a perfect storm. Theres so many complicated things going on. There is a nice glide path out of this. If the president would sign the bill today, which is both the covid relief package, 900 billion, and 1. 4 billion to keep the government running for the rest of the income year, through september 30th, thats a great first step. That means the Unemployment Insurance which runs out today get to keep it and it also means that we keep all 12 weeks of the 300 Unemployment Insurance. That ran out last july 31st. And if its not signed today, that we lose one full week. It doesnt get added on in march. And the way forward is if he signs this, on monday the house will take up his 2,000 check, direct check, which weve been for all along. And i think well pass it in the house. We were less optimistic that Mitch Mcconnell would take it up. But if senator Lindsey Graham says lets do it in the senate, that could pass the senate, too. All right. So somewhere down the line you may be hopeful about this 2,000 figure. But really in the end what is your thought about why this is happening . The president had ample opportunities to be involved and so many of your colleagues have said he has not been. And now, you know, on this hour and on this eve of all of these deadlines, he would place this demand of 2,000. Do you believe the president s objective is to get the 2,000 for americans or is the president s objective simply to disrupt and cause more hardship . There are not compatible. I dont think hes trying to cause hardship, but he is naturally a great disrupter. But i think he wants the 2,000. He think he was always eager to have another check with his name on it going out to the American People, even if its just his last gasp as president or if he wants to come back in four years, it wont be a bad thing to have said my last act as president was to give you 2,000. We think its needed to lift so many people out of poverty. Theres like 11 Million People who arent going to be able to make their rent payments in january. It also means more republicans nancy pelosi was negotiating with secretary mnuchin all along and it wasnt clear that the president really was paying attention because he had a lot of other things going on. The president hard and fast on this 2,000. You heard from my colleague, Sarah Westwood, that republican senator Lindsey Graham is now calling on congress to increase direct stimulus payments to 2,000. What about the other republicans, and namely Mitch Mcconnell . Is the president going to be persuasive enough in these few hours before deadlines are met to be able to negotiate a 2,000 payment to americans . I suspect not in the senate. Certainly in the house, yes, we will do it on monday. Im pretty confident about that. But the senate requires 60 votes so hes got to move Something Like 12 senators to the 2,000. I dont know whether the president can do that. I would like him to be able to override his defense veto. I dont know what mood that will put him in. And we may have to pass another continuing resolution sometime late on monday night, which the senate would take up tuesday just to keep the government open if President Trump doesnt sign the big bill today. Are you hopeful that the president would sign today, that even though hes not getting his 2,000 offer for americans that because so much more is at stake i mean, its a domino effect of so many other things, that will be in trouble as well, that he is likely to sign it . Are you optimistic . I am optimistic. I cant imagine that what he wants as his final set of acts is to shut down the government and deny all these benefits to people that are deeply in need. And he can have his cake and eat it, too. We can pass the big bill today, fund the government, do covid relief and still have another chance to pass the 2,000 on monday. So congressman, how do you summarize what 2020 has been like for you and your constituents as we now move ahead to 2021 . How do you reflect and then how do you help people also remain hopeful . Well, i think its been an incredibly difficult year for almost every american. Our grandparents who may have lived through world war ii or the Great Depression might imagine, remember worse. But its been with 330,000 deaths, with all of us afraid, but i do think that next year is going to be a lot better. The first two vaccines, pfizer and moderna, seem to work really well. Im optimistic that as Anthony Fauci says that by september the football stadiums will be full, by may or june well be beginning to get life back to normal. And then as the Service Industry comes back, specifically the restaurants, were likely to see 4 and 5 Economic Growth next year. All right. I think we have a lot more deaths to come in the next couple of weeks, sadly. Right. Its bittersweet. The immediate forecast is very dire, but it is nice to be able to remain hopeful and i think people will try to be hopeful with you for 2021 and beyond. Thank you very much. Virginia congressman don beyer. Appreciate it. A new strain of the coronavirus in the uk is rapidly spanning across the globe. Will the new screening help protect americans . Plus, an explosion in downtown nashville with a warning from a loudspeaker just moments before the blast. Were live next. On the subway® app did i just get picked off by Deion Sanders . You sure did now in the app, get a free footlong when you buy two. Because its footlong season™ and through the woods this Holiday Season. Remember, safe drivers save 40 with allstate. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. Investigators are calling an explosion in nashville an intentional bombing. An rv parked on a downtown street exploded, damaging several buildings. We also now have sound, a recording that warned people near the rv to evacuate. Evacuate now. If you can hear this message, evacuate now. If you can hear this message, evacuate now. Natasha chen joining us live from nashville. What is the latest on the investigation . Reporter fred, its still a very active scene. Thats why were all the way back here on 2nd avenue where the blast happened, but the perimeter is set up several blocks away from us. You can see police cars there flashing their lights and blocking off with tape. Theres actually a curfew right now to keep people away from this area. That started the afternoon of christmas day. That will go into sunday afternoon. It means that some of the residents who live right by where the explosion happened, the people who heard the first gunshots, called 911 and then heard the ominous recorded message from the rv. They evacuated when this happened and they really havent been able to go back in. Heres one witness who told cnn just how terrifying those moments were. Today were starting to look for our animals. I was not able to get my cat out. I barely made it out myself. There was glass everywhere, there was large objects, there was wood, there was stuff to climb over and i was unable to get my cat. Today weve got a Little Organization together of people that are going to be going to take a walkthrough and were going to see what is left and if theyre okay. Reporter and the reason that we are seeing three people hospitalized, three civilians with nonlifethreatening injuries and we havent heard of worse injuries or deaths is because city Officials Say the great work by six officers who responded to the scene, helped people stay away from the area and evacuate. I think we have the photos of those six officers who, each of them, you know, most of them really havent been on the force for that many years with Metro Nashville pd. One of them having 11 years of service with the department. But these are folks obviously working christmas morning, got the call and really helped to save a lot of lives. Now, the police chief last night did confirm that tissue which they believe belongs to human remains was found at the scene. I asked where that might have been found, if it could be potentially related to someone perhaps in the rv. The police chief said its too early to answer those questions right now. Those human remains are with the medical Examiners Office to do some more investigation, keeping in mind that there is a lot of debris there thats scattered about and its going to take some time to comb through and investigate, fred. And every little piece of evidence they uncover is going to be potentially impactful in their investigation. Natasha chen, thank you so much, in nashville. Next, experts blast the cdcs new testing requirements for travelers after a new strain of coronavirus is discovered in the uk. Why experts warn the new requirements are like a, quote, chain link fence to keep out a mosquito. E 2 system, a continuous glucose monitor, you can check your glucose with a painless, onesecond scan. And now with optional alarms, you can choose to be notified if you go too high or too low. And for those who qualify, the freestyle libre 2 system is now covered by medicare. Ask your doctor for a prescription. You can do it without fingersticks. Learn more at freestyle libre 2 dot u. S. Finding the right words can be tough. N it comes to autism, finding understanding doesnt have to be. We can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. Go to autismspeaks. Org. The tsa says it screened more than 600,000 travelers passing through security checkpoints on christmas day. Nearly 850,000 were screened on christmas eve. Holiday travel, again, raising concerns the u. S. Is weeks away from another surge in covid19 cases. Cnns alison kosik joining us now. Three weeks after the thanksgiving holiday, we saw a devastating spike and there are expectations that the spike could be returning after this Christmas Holiday and new years celebrations. Reporter you are right about that. We are coming off of the holiday, it is a holiday weekend, but the coronavirus obviously not giving us any break any time soon. Were seeing cases spike from new york to california, and now theres this travel requirement looking to keep a more infectious variant of the virus from coming here to the u. S. But even dr. Anthony fauci believes that variant could already be here. Starting monday in the uk, all passengers must have a negative covid19 test within three days of boarding a flight to the u. S. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo praised the decision by the cdc for passengers to be tested who are flying from the uk. Testing people for covid19 before they get on planes is common sense. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past and we must continue to do everything we can to keep new yorkers and americans safe, cuomo said in the statement friday. The centers for Disease Control and prevention announced the new testing requirements for travelers, but research by the agencys own scientists shows the rule may only have a small impact on the spread of the uk strain of the coronavirus. According to researchers on the covid19 response team, testing three days before a flight might reduce the risk of spreading the virus by just 5 to 9 . Pfizer and moderna are testing to see whether their vaccines work against the new variant, which thus far has not been detected in the u. S. Southern california is grappling with surging covid19 hospitalizations and deaths as the state passes another grim milestone, reporting more than 300 new covid deaths for a Third Straight day. In los angeles county, a person dies every ten minutes from covid19, the countys Public Health director says. I think people dont think coronavirus will happen to them. They think coronavirus will happen to another family. But there is no safety other than the Public Health measures that we have been preaching from the mountaintops. Reporter as christmas comes to an end and we head into the new year, experts say the safest way to celebrate is at home with the people you live with or online with friends and family. For those that host a new years sell br celebration, the cdc suggests staying outside, limiting the number of guests, wearing and making extra masks available, and keeping background music low to avoid shouting. Weve just seen the amplification events and thats what happened at the end of this year in the u. S. We had thanksgiving, we had labor day, we had halloween, and each one of those events brought lots of people together and just gave the virus more fuel to move through the population. So christmas is going to do a similar thing. Reporter and in the days leading up to christmas, the tsa says more than 1 Million People passed through security checkpoints at airports across the country. Thats stoking concerns from Health Experts that we could see yet another spike in coronavirus cases on top of the number of cases we already have now. Fredricka. Alison kosik in new york, thank you so much. I want to discuss this further with an emergency medicine physician and medical director at Baylor College of medicine. Good to see you and happy holidays. Hi, fred, happy holidays. Its not that happy, its pretty scary, isnt it . And now weve got talk of this new variant of this covid19. We now know that it has moved from the uk to france, spain. Pfizers ceo says he is optimistic that his companys vaccine will work against it. Are you optimistic as well . I am pretty optimistic. Fred, vaccines mutate by nature. Thats what theyre designed to do. So theres no surprise that we found this new variant in the uk. As a matter of fact, back in april there was a variant of coronavirus discovered in india that people thought could potentially hamper the race to develop a vaccine and that hasnt proved to be true. Vaccine experts and virologists are not worried about this new variant, and heres why. The vaccines that have been developed thus far attack multiple different places on the spike protein of the coronavirus, so a chang