Believe . Plus, drawing down troops from International Hotspots and asking about options for attacking iran, two major headlines this morning. The question is whether President Trump is hurting u. S. National security on his way out of office. Its definitely way too early for this. Good morning, and welcome to way too early, the show that is with all of you 64 days from the president ial inauguration. Im kasie hunt on this tuesday, november 17th. Well start with the news. President elect joe biden is turning up the pressure on President Trump and his administration for failing to move ahead with a peaceful and orderly transition of power. Speaking at a News Conference in wilmington, delaware, yesterday, biden warned that more americans will die from coronavirus if his Team Continues to face delays in working with government agencies. What do you see as the biggest threat to your transition right now, given President Trumps unprecedented attempt to obstruct and delay a smooth transfer of power . More people may die if we dont coordinate. If we have to wait until january 20th to start that planning, it puts us behind, over a month, month and a half. And so, its important that it be done, that there be coordination, now. I am hopeful that the president will be mildly more enlightened before we get to january 20th. Were moving along knowing what the outcome will be, and as i said earlier, i probably shouldnt repeat it, but i find this more embarrassing for the country than debilitating for my ability to get started. A pretty dire warning, that if they cant start figuring out how to operate the machinery of government that more people will die from coronavirus than have to. Theres also, of course, concerns about vaccine distribution. Incoming Biden White House chief of staff ron klain tells the associated press, quote, we now have the possibility of a vaccine starting, perhaps, in december or january. There are people at hhs making plans to implement that vaccine. Our experts need to talk to those people as soon as possible so Nothing Drops in this change of power. The Trump Administration pushed back in a statement, saying in part, the cdcs distribution playbook is publicly available and state plans were produced by governors weeks ago and published online. Meanwhile, the president s vaccine czar says he hopes the Trump Administrations work isnt disrupted by the biden transition. Why has there not been engagement with biden and his advisers . And whats that going to look like when everyday counts here, more than 1,000 americans are dying every day . Listen, since day one, our objective has been to go fast, and absolutely, every day and everywhere, our counted, and thats why we are where we are. Our focus is to save american lives and peoples life in general, and thats what we will continue focusing on. Were not going to be distracted by circumstances of context. Were going to continue running as fast as we can, as well as we can, always looking after safety and efficacy of the vaccines. And clearly, we would hope that there is no disruption because of the transition. I guess well find out. Also during his speech yesterday, biden reaffirmed his support for a coronavirus stimulus deal that was passed by House Democrats earlier this year, but he acknowledged that getting anything big done is going to require cooperation from republicans. Heres what he had to say about reaching across the aisle. What is your message to republicans who are backing up the president s refusal to concede . You clearly need to work with them going forward. My message is, i will work with you. I understand a lot of your reluctance because of the way the president operates, but ive been in contact with and will be in contact with more of them as we move along. And if it has to wait until january 20th to get, actually become operational, thats a shame, but maybe thats the only way to get it done. Hes been in contact with a lot of them. They certainly arent talking about it at this phase, which we can also talk about later on. Meanwhile, were learning new details about who may be joining the incoming Biden Administration. Two sources confirm to nbc news that congressman Cedric Richmond will join the administration in a senior position. One source described it as a valerie jarretttype role, referring to one of president obamas top aides and confidantes. Biden is also expected to name jen omallctionz mal yemalley deputy chief of staff. Hes been bidens Campaign Manager and gotten a lot of praise and credit for that. And according to the New York Times, biden also plans to announce that steve ricchetti, who is one of his longtime confidantes, will serve in the white house as a counselor to the president. Joining us now, Senior Writer at politico and coauthor of the playbook, jake sherman, an msnbc political contributor. Jake, good morning its always great to see you. Why dont we start with what we heard from biden yesterday about the consequences of them not moving forward on this transition, namely, that more americans will die from coronavirus . Whats your reporting say about where republicans are on this . Because weve seen them inching toward an acknowledgement of reality, but the fact is that every day that goes by, this transition gets harder and harder, and we do have, you know, the biggest crisis in a generation to deal with here. So, kasie, i think a few things. I think that republicans are inching closer to that reality, that joe biden has won this election, and i think theyre going to get even closer to that after thanksgiving, because its just undeniable. The president is pulling out of the legal contests he needs to be involved in if he wants to you know, hes not going to overturn this election, but hes not even pretending to try anymore. So, yes, they are inching closer. But unfortunately, as we know probably better than anyone, kas kasie, the president doesnt really listen to anybody. So, whether republicans on capitol hill are saying it or not is not material because this administrations noll really interested in what anyone has to say. So, i imagine this reality will become more public, lets say, in the next couple of weeks, but its up to the administration to let the biden team in and let them talk to people and let them get set up. So, lets talk about covid relief talks for a second and how they may move forward here in the next couple of weeks. I mean, first of all, the president is incredibly unpredictable. I know ive heard a little bit of concern from people on both sides of the aisle about what he may do when we get to funding the government. That, of course, runs out on december 11th. And ive also been hearing that any covid reliefrelated items may be in that funding fight instead of being a standalone package. What are you hearing in terms of how this may play out . And i mean, big picture, i think were all hoping to avoid another shutdown standoff over this, but what does your reporting say about where we stand and how this might play out . Well, there are no talks right now over covid relief, zero, none, which is disheartening for the many people who need covid relief to survive, because covid relief is running out. So, thats number one. Number two, the best option strategically for congress to get a covid relief bill is if they do it through a government funding measure that comes up december 11th. Thats right, kasie. Thats a mustpass bill going into a Christmas Season. So, thats the best way to thats the best legislative item to twin this with. I dont see any evidence at this point that congress is going to do that. But in playbook this morning, kasie, we lay out a whole list of items that expire at the end of the year, items that have been key to allowing the country to kind of survive in the covid era, and those will go unupdated, unrefreshed, unextended, if congress doesnt do anything. At this point, im pretty bearish about a covid relief bill before the end of the year. I just dont think its going to happen. I dont see any evidence of any negotiations that are rowing toward that end. So, i think people should have their expectations in check. Its going to be a rough Christmas Season for so many, rough holiday season, i should say. Politicos jake sherman, thank you very much, my friend. Always good to see you. Well be reading playbook in just a couple of minutes. And still ahead here, georgias secretary of state says republican leaders, like Lindsey Graham, have pressured him to throw out legally cast ballots. What senator graham is saying about that. Plus, well take a look at where wall street stands this morning after positive news about a potential Coronavirus Vaccine pushed stocks to record highs yesterday. Those stories and a check of the weather when we come right back. Here . Nah. Introducing the all new chevy trailblazer. Here . Nope. Here. When the middle of nowhere, is somewhere. The all new chevy trailblazer. Making lifes journey, just better. The all new chevy trailblazer. Honey honey . New nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honeylicious taste. Nyquil honey. 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It gave the bears a brief lead before the vikings tie the game with a pair of field goals in the Third Quarter and then go ahead in the fourth with the second touchdown reception of the night. Vikings hang on to beat the bears, 1913. And it gets worse for chicago, now headed for a muchneeded bye week after quarterback nick foles was carted off the field in the final minute. Foles was thrown to the ground on the first play of the bears final possession last night, staying down on the turf for more than a minute before being transported to the locker room with a suspected leg or hip injury. Thinking about him. And speaking of injuries, the new Orleans Saints are going to need to turn to one of their backup quarterbacks for sundays matchup against the falcons after medical evaluations yesterday reportedly revealed that starter drew brees has multiple rib fractures and a collapsed lung. According to espn, the three fractured ribs on his left side are believed to have occurred in the saints week nine win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but did not show up on the xray at the time. While the two broken ribs on his right side occurred in first half of new orleans victory over San Francisco this past sunday. Doctors believe the rightside fractures may have punctured brees lung, explaining his difficulty breathing and early exit from the game. It is unclear how much time brees is going to miss. Yikes. The nfl more broadly will make history next week with an allblack officiating crew working monday nights matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The sevenman unit will be headed by referee jerome boger, a former Morehouse College quarterback who refereed super bowl xlvii and is in his 17th year as a league official. The nfls executive Vice President of Football Operations told usa today in a statement, quote, this historic week 11 crew is a testament to the countless and immeasurable contributions of black officials to the game, their exemplary performance, and to the power of inclusion that is the hallmark of this great game. Time now for weather. Lets go to meteorologist bill karins for a check on the forecast. Bill, good morning. Hey, good morning to you, kasie. So, last night, we saw what was 155mileperhour winds, strongest you can get for a category 4. Hurricane iota made landfall on almost the exact same spot as hurricane eta did as a category 4 two weeks ago. Theyre not even going to be able to tell which storm did which damage when you look at towns hardest hit. Its now moving inland. Its going to weaken quickly. There are really tall mountains in honduras and nicaragua, so the storm will fall apart quickly, but the part were most afraid of was now, not really the landfall because it was iars spa e sparsely populated area, but now over the high terrain, dumping 2 to 3 feet of rain over the next 24 hours. Thats where well have the issues with the flash flooding, once it gets into the valleys and population centers. Taking it into the lower 48, its going to be a chilly, windy day in the great lakes. Were going to see some snow showers and some lakeeffect snows in areas of western p. A. , in through new york, and in some occasions, it will be the first lakeeffect snow of the season. Then by this evening, we should watch that ending in most areas, the exception being there around erie, possibly buffalo and rochester. And its going to be chilly after the storm system goes through. Todays highs only in the 30s in detroit, 40s through the ohio valley. New york only 46 degrees. And wednesday will be a very cold day, too. The coldest of the season in many cases, especially in new england. But heres the good news as we head towards the weekend things warm up nicely. Chicago 64 thursday, baltimore is in the 60s by the time we get to friday and saturday, so kasie, its a brief cold shot for areas of the east, and then were going to warm it up through the next weekend. And heres the best news, kasie. Towards thanksgiving, it looks warm almost coast to coast. Many people may be able to eat safely outdoors. That is very good news for all of us, because for anyone who well, we know there will be people gathering. Everybody is so isolated and missing their families, but if we can do it more safely, i think that, obviously, will protect so many people. Bill karins, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Still ahead here, a small but growing number of republicans are beginning to acknowledge joe bidens election win, even as President Trump still refuses to concede. Well show you the latest republican to call biden president elect. Were back in just a moment. Iden president elect. Were back in just a moment. Ever wonder what retinol dermatologists use to fight wrinkles . Its neutrogena®. Rapid wrinkle repair® visibly smooths fine lines in 1 week. Deep wrinkles in 4. So you can kiss wrinkles goodbye neutrogena®. Diabetes and raised triglycerides,. Vascepa can give you something to celebrate. Vascepa, when added to your statin,. Is clinically proven to provide 25 lower risk from heart attack and stroke. Vascepa is clearly different. First and only fda approved. Celebrate less risk. Even for those with family history. Dont take vascepa if you are. Or become allergic to icosapent ethyl or any inactive ingredient in vascepa. Serious side effects may occur like heart rhythm problems and bleeding. Heart rhythm problems may occur in more people. With persistent cardiovascular risk or who have had them in the past. 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Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. Welcome back to way too early. Lets take a look at whats driving the day today in washington. It is now becoming news when republicans refer to joe biden as the president elect. Heres the reaction when Floridas Marco Rubio answers a question about a possible Biden Administration pick. Senator king is rumored to be up for dni under a Biden Administration . Well, that will be the president elects decision, obviously. I think, you know, ive worked well with him during our time on the intelligence committee, and i havent had a chance to