2,000 only to introduce new legislation with strings attached. The question is, when will americans get the relief they so desperately need. Plus the United States confirms its first case of the new coronavirus strain thats been spreading rapidly across the uk. The question is, how will this impact infection rates . And president elect joe biden criticizes the Trump Administration for the pace of its Coronavirus Vaccine distribution. The question is, will things pick up after inauguration day. Its way too early for this. Good morning. And welcome to way too early, the show that thinks that 2021 has a real nice ring to it. Im kasie hunt on this wednesday, december 30th. Were almost there. And well start today with the news. President trump is lashing out at his own party in the fight over increased Coronavirus Relief payments. On capitol hill yesterday, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell blocked an attempt by democrats to pass a standalone bill that would boost stimulus checks from 600 to 2,000. Will Senate Republicans stand against the house of representatives, the democratic majority in the senate and the president of their own party to prevent these 2,000 checks from going out the door . Were about to get the answers to these questions. Is there objection to the modification . I object. Objection is heard. After mcconnells objection, President Trump ramped up the pressure on his own party, tweeting, quote, unless republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the 2,000 payments asap. 600 is not enough. But before adjourning the senate yesterday, mcconnell appeared to move his strategy moving forward facing democrats. Mcconnell introduced a bill that would boost the size of the checks, repeal Liability Protections for Technology Companies like facebook and twitter, and create a commission to study election fraud. The legislation would meet many of President Trumps recent demands which are, of course, unrelated to Coronavirus Relief. But Many Democrats would almost certainly vote against the measure. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer criticized mcconnells attempts to package all of these in one bill by calling it a blatant attempt to deprive americans of a 2,000 survival check. Basically, mcconnell is saying, well, the president put the issues together, and im going to put them together and the effect may be that this dies in the senate. Meanwhile, some people could be waking up to more money in their bank account. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin tweeted that the amounts brought into law could be available next week. Those paper checks are being mailed out tomorrow. Payments range from 600 for individuals who made less than 75,000 last year, or 1200 for married couples who made less than 150,000. While parents will receive 600 for each child. For more on where the fight for more relief money stands im joined by reporter sahil kapoor. Talk about the strategy for mcconnell. You and i were talking about this as it was happening. He basically said, well, the president put these issues together for him. Theyre the same, but the effect is likely to torpedo a plan that gives americans more money that frankly has broad support in both parties . Right, caseyie, a president demanding the 2,000 checks, he faces a conference that is highly resistant. Most republicans been want any direct payments in the bill. Democrats negotiated it up to 600 after republicans said no dice on state and local aid. So mcconnell is trying to balance that with the fact that six days from now there is a crucial election in georgia where two are facing runoff, Kelly Loeffler and david perdue, two of the wealthiest members of senate saying we cant give 2,000 to americans while we ourselves are multimillionaires is basically risky. He appears to be doing all of this that predicates the president s desire for a vote and allowing it to pass. As we counted out, kasie, if you package two contentious items with another contentious item theyre probably not going to pass together. And Chuck Schumer presenting this as a gam bugambet that mak fail. Mcconnell clearly recognizes that the base in georgia is looking for payments. The people need help and they want this money from the government. And yet, there are still sort of this old school, fiscal conservatism, i suppose, thats been aside in the Trump Administration but is coming back as they face a biden administration. I guess the thing im struggling to get my head around, the new base, the trump base of the Republican Party isnt going anywhere. Its not going away. And their priorities, the things theyre demanding from their government are different than some of the things mcconnell seems to be setting up. How does that play out . Theres a lot, kasie, whether on trade, health care and taxes, you talked about the health care campaign, everybody forgets that. He talked about raising taxes on the rich. People forget that. He ended up doing the opposite. In many ways trump has acquie e acquiesced to his own party to things that big donors want which is a more fiscally conservative part of government. Pat toomey, the senator from pennsylvania is an incredible vanguard. And he has made clear he will block any attempt to raise the value of direct payments from 600 to 2,000. Ron johnson, another purpose stater from wisconsin is also on the same page, he does not support government providing additional assistance in the form of direct payments. He was resistant to the unemployment payments also. They will continue to be improved in the senate caucus. A large one that supports more fiscally conservative policies. The big question is, with trump gone, does it make it easier for them to say no to his wishes. Francely, the house has been successful in saying no to his desires on this front, specifically in the last four years. Good points. Nbcs sahil kapur. Appreciate you being here. Next, for the first time in the u. S. , a new case of the coronavirus variant has been reported and an effort to get americans vaccinated. The variant was reported in colorado after being found in a man in his 20s who is in isolation in elbert county. Scientists say the strain is more contagious. And sparked ireland, france, belgium and germany, as well as continents outside of the continent. Thats tricky, its already here. We also have this shocking development. A newly elected member of congress has died from complications relate to the coronavirus. Luke rentlow a republican just 40 years was set to be sworn in on sunday. The entire delegation as well as Speaker Pelosi all offered condolences. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. He was diagnosed less than two weeks ago on december 18th. A few days later he was hospitalized and later transferred to another hospital. It is not believed that letlow had any underlying conditions. Meanwhile, President Trump is criticized as joe biden called him out. The Vaccine Distribution is falling far behind. This will take more time than liked and more time that the Trump Administration has suggested. This is going to be the greatest operational challenge weve ever faced as a nation. Were going to get it done. The Trump Administration had said that 20 Million People would get the vaccine by the end of the year. But with less than two days to go, the cdc says just over 2 Million People have gotten the vaccine so far. President trump took to twitter to complain about the Vaccine Distribution, once again, trying to put the blame on states. Biden meanwhile said hell invoke the defense production act to try and speed things up. Cannot get out fast enough. Still ahead here, it has been more than eight weeks since the 2020 election, and a new audit in georgia confirms again there was no fraud despite President Trumps claims. Plus, new details relating to the Christmas Day explosion in nashville. And a Warning Police received last year from the suspects girlfriend. Well have those stories and much more when we come right back. Back are we turning our cameras on for this . My smile cant compete. Anyone . Mmm. Nope for a smile thats always camera ready. 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Uncover clearer skin that can last. Janssen can help you explore cost support options. Welcome back. Time now for sports and last nights action on the nba court in miami where the bucks put up an nba record, 29 threepointers. And the teams biggest road win in franchise history scorching the heat 144nerv97. The only milwaukee player on the floor who did not score from beyond the arc is reigning mvp Giannis Antetokounmpo with nine fewest in two years. The Memphis Grizzlies announced that star point john morant is expected to miss the next three to five weeks after a sprain on the court against the nets leaving him in a wheelchair. He was to the start of the year on his rookie of the year campaign. Morant launched a career high 44 points scored in last weeks Season Opener against the spurs. We wish him well. And in college hoops, the university of arizona announced yesterday that it has selfimposed a oneyear postseason ban on its mens basketball team. The decision comes following nine ncaa allegations into College Basketball and recruiting that saw a former arizona assistant coach sentenced to three months in prison after being accused of steer i steering agents. The decision is an acknowledgement that the ncaas investigation revealed certain former members of the mens basketball staff displayed serious lapses in judgment. And a departure from the universitys expectation of honest and ethical behavior. And as fans await kickoff on the College Football playoffs on new years day, also continued last night in san antonio, texas, despite missing sam ehlinger. They deeded colorado in the alamo bowl, with four touchdowns thrown by sophomore signal caller casey thompson. Texas ends its season at 73 after that 5523 blowout. Yikes. And in atlanta and florida, number 21 Oklahoma State held off miami for a 3734 victory in the cheez it bowl. Players celebrated by dousing mike gundy with you guessed it a cooler full of cheez it. Saying, quote, the cheez it bath is better than gatorade at my age. I love it. Still ahead here, nearly two years after a worldwide grounding, the boeing 737 max is back in the sky. Well take a look at what it was like inside the first passenger flight. Well be back in just a moment. Itchy . Squirmy . Scratchy . Family not getting clean . Get new charmin ultra strong. Go get em. It just cleans better. With a diamond weave texture, your family can use less while still getting clean. Goodbye itchy squirm hello clean bottom we all go. Why not enjoy the go with charmin. Welcome back. An audit of georgias absentee ballots has found no evidence of fraud. More than 15,000 randomly chosen absentee ballot envelopes in Metro Atlantas cobb county were reviewed for the report. Ten ballots were initially flagged as being unsigned or having mismatched signatures but investigators later confirmed they were legitimately cast by the voters who returned them. The audit ultimately confirmed a 99 confidence level in the president ial results after two recounts both by hand and by machine. Still, President Trump continued to rail against georgia republicans tweeting last night, quote, i love the great state of georgia, but the people who run it from the governor to the secretary of state are a complete disaster and dont have a clue. Nobody can be this stupid. Just as a reminder, both of these men were defended the integrity of the elections in georgia. The secretary of state Brad Raffensperger family has endured threats for his life. Thats where we are. Meanwhile, were learning new details about the nashville bombers checkered past with police. The tennesseean saying that officers were tipped off to the suspect reportedly making bombs. On august 21st, 2019, police visited the suspects home after his girlfriend said, quote, he was building bombs in an rv at his residence. After findi ing the evidence, t officers forwarded to the fbi. The fbi ran his name through a database. But in the aftermath of last weeks destruction, the Tennessee Bureau claimed that the suspect was, quote, not on our radar prior to the bombing. And two Louisville Police officers tied to the deadly raid that killed Breonna Taylor both received notice that the Department Plans to fire them. Detective joshua james who prepared the search warrant of the raid were notified of their departments intentions yesterday. The officers still have a right to a predetermination hearing. Before they are officially fired, according to the Louisville Metropolitan Police department. It is the latest in a series of disciplinary actions to try to hold more officers accountable in the deadly cases that sparked riots across the u. S. The 737 boeing max returned to the skies for its first commercial flight. Nbc correspondent sam brock takes us on board. Reporter in this American Airlines cabinet, applause for a new chapter in 737 max safety. As the first domestic departure roared off the runway. Weve been engaged with the faa, with boeing, with everybody associated with the aircraft to ensure that safety is held at the highest level. Reporter grounded for nearly two years after catastrophic crashes in ethiopia and indonesia, leading to 346 deaths, the 737 max returns to domestic skies with majorover hauls. New Flight Control software and sensors and intensive training many passengers encouraged from what they saw. Others learned of the max flight from announcement. I googled and i panicked. I probably wouldnt bat an eye towards it. Reporter on the plane, this is going to feel an awful like the 737 maxes youve been in but American Airlines have put in 64,000 hours of maintenance on the max fleet for the last 20 months to get to this point. United states and southwest plan to launch the max early next year also. Families are saying it is inconceivable to me that this airplane will be allowed to fly again without a thorough review. My hearts go out to those involved in the incidents. This is an opportunity to learn about the incidents. Reporter a test of trut, the aftermath of devastation. Our thanks to nbcs sam brock for that report. Still ahead here while President Trump pushes on with lastditch efforts to try to overturn the 2020 Election Results it seems some of his supporters are ready to move on. Well get to that reporting. But before we go to break, we want to know why are you awake . Email your reasons to waytooearly. Com. Drop us a hash tag and well read them coming up later in the show. Designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke, while washing away dirt and oil. So youre ready for the day with a clean shave and a clean face. Birds flyin high you know how i feel breeze drifting on by you know how i feel [man coughing] its a new dawn, its a new day. 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Crest 3d white removes 95 of stains in just 3 days. Welcome back to way too early. It is 5 30 here on the east coast. 2 30 out west. Im kasie hunt. As