VIRUS TODAY: Deaths to set record, consumer confidence down

FILE - This Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020 photo provided by the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) shows hospital beds set up in the practice facility at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, Calif., that is ready to receive patients as needed. This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths topping 3 million for the first time. It's due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 320,000 Americans. (California OES via AP, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020 file photo, people walk past the window display of a store in Skokie, Ill. A closely-watched gauge for U.S. consumer confidence released on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, tumbled to a reading of 88.6 in December as rising coronavirus cases tamped down American optimism to its lowest level since summer. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Rei Alvarez, of Richmond, picks out a tree at Frank Pichel's (not pictured) tree lot, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, in Richmond, Va. A Virginia man has found a way to use Charlie Brown-style Christmas trees to benefit a middle school that provides scholarships for students from an impoverished area. (AP Photo/Will Newton)