Good morning. I'm James Holman from the Washington Post and this is the Daily

2002 for Tuesday, January 5th. In today's news, ambulances are starting to ration oxygen as America shatters its

COVID hospitalization records.

The EPA finalizes a devastating rule that will make it much harder to safeguard public health.

And the pandemic is badly widening the achievement gap.

Homeless kids suffer the most.

But first, the big idea. President Trump tried to reach Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffinsberger at least 18 times before he finally

got through to him on Saturday because get this the previous calls were always

patched through to interns in the press office who thought it was a prank.

They didn't realize it was actually the president on the line yelling at them and demanding

to be put through to their boss.

Finally, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows

arranged Saturday's conversation

after collecting all the participants' cell phone numbers

and linking them up directly himself.

Trump is effectively sabotaging the Republican Party on his way out of office,

obsessed with overturning his election loss and nursing pangs of betrayal from allies whom he had expected to

bend the instruments of democracy to his will and some are certainly trying.

Trump has created a divide in his party as fundamental and impassioned as any during his four years as president.

A chorus of Republicans spoke out yesterday about Trump's shocking call to Raffinsberger over the weekend in which he pressured

his fellow Republican on tape to quote find just enough new votes to put him over the top.

Liz Cheney, the number three house Republican,

...