>> no judgment. good morning, america. christmas lockdown. a new variant of covid-19 raging through britain, which scientists say can spread 70% faster than the original virus. the uk returning to its harshest restrictions of this pandemic, triggering a mass exodus as countries around the world seal their borders to britain, including canada overnight. new york's governor andrew cuomo calling for action immediately. >> right now this variant in the uk is getting on a plane and flying to jfk today. this is reprehensible because this is what happened in the spring. >> the new concerns this morning. how dangerous is this mutation? vaccine on the move. as the winter surge continues across the country, moderna getting emergency use authorization. doses already en route to

hospitals this morning. now who the cdc is saying should be next in line to get the shot, and who makes that final call, while president-elect joe biden gets his shot later today. emergency relief. lawmakers reaching an 11th hour agreement on a $900 billion stimulus package to help more than 20 million americans hit hard by the pandemic. the details this morning ahead of the final votes and when will you receive that $600 check? white christmas? the major holiday storm now on the move with a bitter arctic blast right behind it. we're tracking the very latest and where you might see snow. frightening flight. as more than 2 million people were screened at tsa checkpoints, new images inside the midair scare when a man died on this plane. did he have covid-19? now the cdc tracking down the other passengers who were on that united flight. remarkable recovery. >> go, gators. >> college basketball star

keyontae johnson speaking out for the first time after that on-court collapse. and merry christmas, love lizzo. ♪ hair toss, check my nails, baby how you feeling ♪ >> the superstar's unbelievable holiday surprise for her mom. >> oh, my god. >> that will give you all the feels. ♪ take a deep breath time to focus on you ♪ and we do say good morning, america. whit, you're not going to tell us what the surprise was? that's a tease. >> yeah, stand by. >> for mom. >> good to be with everybody. on this monday morning. in case you're counting, just four days until christmas, folks, and we have that big breaking news overnight, congress finally reaching a deal on that so needed $900 billion relief package. the house is set to vote today. we will have much more on that coming up.

this as the country gets more relief with another vaccine -- yes, take a look here, a facility in mississippi. this is where moderna's vaccine shipments originate. some 6 million doses of that second vaccine in this battle against coronavirus will be sent out this week. the first doses of that moderna vaccine are set to be administered today. >> and that is the encouraging news, but across the pond, london is thrown back into a lockdown in a desperate effort to contain a new strain of the virus. perhaps even more contagious. train stations, airports in the united kingdom packed with people over the weekend trying to get out before those travel bans took effect. >> now, get this, more than a dozen countries have banned travel to and from the uk so far. our james longman starts us off from london. good morning, and there are growing concerns there, james. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, t.j., good morning. there are growing concerns here in britain around this new variant. scientists say it does seem to move faster than the original virus and the government announcement essentially canceling christmas has provoked panic up and down this country

and abroad. a list of countries now banning brits from traveling there is growing with all eyes on the united states to see if it does the same. britain is sounding the alarm this morning over a new variant of covid-19. prime minister boris johnson with an emergency address to the nation. >> as prime minister it's my duty to take difficult decisions to do what is right to protect the people of this country. >> reporter: he had promised the uk would be back to normal in time for christmas, but now much of britain including london is locking down for the holidays. for 21 million people, only essential businesses remain open. scientists say the new variant spreads up to 70% faster than the original virus. importantly health experts warn mutations of any virus are expected, and there is nothing to suggest this is more deadly, but an increase in spread does threaten health services. scientists have been aware of a new variant for some time but johnson's announcement triggered a rush out of the capital jamming train stations and highways.

britain is slowly being sealed off. belgium, italy and the netherlands among those banning travel and canada restricted inbound flights from the uk and shut down the euro tunnel and uk's main port threatening food supplies. now new york governor andrew cuomo is calling for similar action in the united states. >> right now, this variant in the uk is getting on a plane and flying to jfk today. 120 countries demand that before you get on a flight in the uk to come to their country, you have to have tested negative. the united states does not require it. this is reprehensible because this is what happened in the spring. >> reporter: the average, six flights coming in from london every day. the epicenter of the new variant. now, this variation has been detected in a number of other countries. it is, of course, very

concerning, but i think it's really important to stress that scientists say that the vaccines currently being developed and rolled out all across the world will still work, it's thought, against this new variation. t.j.? >> important to note but as you put it this has effectively canceled christmas there with the new lockdown. james, thank you so much. cecilia. we turn now to that emergency authorization of the moderna vaccine. 6 million doses being shipped this week from that moderna facility there in mississippi. in addition to 2 million more doses of that pfizer vaccine, so the big question this morning, who should be next in line to get this vaccine? let's go to eva pilgrim at a hospital here in long island, new york, with more. good morning, eva. >> reporter: good morning, cecilia. yeah, this is one of the hospitals that's expecting to get that moderna vaccine today and those doses can't get here fast enough. hospitals in states across the country right now feeling the crush. this morning, new hope in the fight against the pandemic as coronavirus cases continue to surge to new highs. the fda granting emergency use authorization for the moderna

vaccine. the new moderna vaccine already en route to hospitals. u.p.s. and fedex began shipping the vaccine sunday. utilizing both trucks and planes to get those first doses to more than 3,700 locations in all 50 states. for todd, a u.p.s. driver of 37 years, this haul was bittersweet. his father died from covid just last month. >> this has been the most important load that i've hauled and to bring this back, i feel dad was in the truck with me today. >> reporter: the move adds a second vaccine to the arsenal in the fight against covid-19. >> it's 95% effective. as much as 100% effective at preventing severe disease and this is the way we end the pandemic, by getting 70% or 80% of the american people vaccinated. >> reporter: the cdc advisory committee now spelling out who will be next in line for that vaccine. phase 1 has been frontline health care workers.

phase 1b, people over 75 and frontline essential workers including police, firefighters, teachers, grocery store workers and postal workers. next in line, people 18 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions and essential workers in industries like food service, construction and public safety. but the cdc leaving the final call to each state on who gets the vaccine. to date, there have been at least 3 million doses of the pfizer vaccine distributed, and just over 500,000 doses administered, but the moderna authorization paving the way for more widespread vaccinations. >> we are very confident that by june anyone in america who wants to have a vaccine will have that opportunity to have a vaccine. >> reporter: and the cdc giving states that flexibility in prioritizing distribution so they can respond to the individual different circumstances that they are seeing prioritizing those people most at risk of getting covid and giving them the vaccine. cecilia.

>> okay, a lot of questions to bring to dr. ashish jha, but eva, thank you. the dean of the brown university school of public health. dr. jha, we always appreciate having you. good morning to you. thank you for being here. let's start exactly with what eva was just saying, those new recommendations by the cdc panel talking about essential frontline workers, teachers first responders, people 75 and older. when will they start to get these vaccines, and then it's going to be up to the states to decide. does that sound like the right move to you? >> yeah, good morning. thank you for having me on. i do. i think, first of all, i think those recommendations are exactly right. they're obviously targeting the highest risk people, those over 75, and people in terms of risk of dying, and then the highest risk of getting infected, the frontline essential workers. they do want to leave some flexibility to states because states have different compositions and you can imagine in certain states they may look a little different so i like the flexibility. i think this is the right approach.

>> on the moderna vaccine, we're talking about millions more doses being brought to the table. now does this change what we know about the number of people who could be vaccinated by the end of the year? >> yeah, i think we're still on target to have 20 million people potentially get vaccinated. i say potentially because i think we'll have the vaccines for it. of course, there is a lot of work that goes into administering all of those vaccines. i'm really thankful congress is going to get some money out to states to make that easier, again, i'm hoping we'll get to 20 million by the end of the year. that will be a tall order. >> i want to go back to disturbing images we're seeing coming out of the uk with this new variant spreading 70% faster than the original virus. i know that sounds very concerning on its face but you and other physicians have cautioned that it doesn't appear to be necessarily more deadly. do we have evidence of that yet? >> yes, so we're still studying this variant and there's a lot we don't know, but i think my view looking at all of the data is it does look like it probably does spread a bit faster. there's no evidence so far, and we're still studying it, that

it's any deadlier, and not at all worried it's going to somehow escape the vaccine. i think the vaccine will continue to mount a response to this so i don't think it changes anything we do but we have to study and track it closely. >> it's christmas week. a lot of people are, unfortunately, it looks like, still planning to travel if not already traveling. what did we learn from thanksgiving that we need to remember as we head into this holiday week? >> yeah, you know, thanksgiving we did see a surge in cases about a week after thanksgiving was over. i'm worried that the christmas holiday is obviously a longer holiday. people tend to spend more time together, and that means that we're going to see more surges and again, given how full our hospitals are right now, i just think it's a very, very risky thing, so if you are going to travel, limit exposure, wear masks indoors as much as possible. i know this is a tall order. this is just the time we have to get through. we get through this, vaccines are around the corner. >> right there on the horizon. dr. jha, thank you so much. in our next hour, dr. jen ashton will receive her vaccination and

talk to us live right after getting it. whit. there's also the economic impact in all of this so to washington now and lawmakers finally reaching a deal on a $900 billion covid relief package. that will help millions of americans impacted by the pandemic. our chief white house correspondent jon karl has the very latest. jon, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. well, it may be too little and it certainly is late but congress is finally on the verge of providing some desperately needed help to the millions of people and businesses struggling through this pandemic. with more than 20 million americans on unemployment, another 885,000 filing for jobless benefits just last week and lines growing longer at food banks across the country. this morning, congress is finally ready to do something about it. >> we can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time. more help is on the way. >> reporter: leaders in both parties sealed a deal on a $900 billion bill that would be the first step congress has taken to

boost the economy since april. the agreement includes direct payments for qualifying americans of up to $600. half the amount the government sent out in the spring. as well as a $300 boost in the weekly federal unemployment benefit through march. almost $300 billion in support for small businesses and billions more in funding for vaccine distribution in schools. >> make no mistake about this, this is agreement is far from perfect, but it will deliver emergency relief to a nation in the throes of a genuine emergency. >> reporter: the talks went down to the wire, bringing the government to the brink of yet another shutdown. democrats have been pushing for a much bigger bill, initially demanding three times the total dollar amount. they're calling this package a down payment. >> we consider this a first step and that, again, more needs to be done. >> reporter: for struggling

single mom renee decarlo, who was forced to temporarily shut down her business, help didn't come a moment too soon. >> every dollar matters to me. the more they give me, the more ability i'll have to get my life back in order. a little bit at a time because right now there isn't enough to support myself or my kids. >> reporter: president trump had virtually no involvement in hammering out this agreement, but the white house welcomed it saying in a statement last night, we look forward to congress sending a bill to his desk imminently for his signature. as for the incoming president, joe biden, said he was heartened by the development by congress has more work to do. >> so many desperate for relief. jon, i do want to turn to the election fight. you're learning that sidney powell, the controversial attorney was seen back at the white house last night after a tense meeting on friday. >> reporter: sidney powell is behind some of the craziest conspiracy theories about

election fraud, and she's proposing that the president seize voting machines in the key states and that she be appointed a special counsel to investigate election fraud. whit. >> another thing to watch ahead of the inauguration. thank you so much. t.j. whit, new details on that massive cyberattack on u.s. government agencies and the conflicting messages coming out of the white house. president trump publicly contradicting his own secretary of state. our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas is tracking this for us. >> reporter: this morning, president trump splitting with his own secretary of state and the senate intelligence committee on who may be behind the massive unprecedented cyberattack of the u.s. government and private industry. >> i think it's the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the russians that engaged in this activity. >> reporter: secretary of state mike pompeo and leaders from both parties officially pointing the finger at the kremlin blaming russia for infiltrating computers as scores of u.s. government agencies, including

treasury, homeland security and the energy department, which is responsible for our nuclear weapons stockpile. >> this is as broad and as deep as anything we've ever seen. >> reporter: but president trump downplaying the breach tweeting, everything is well under control and instead suggesting china could be behind it. >> the president has a blind spot when it comes to russia. >> reporter: also targeted in the attack, potentially dozens of fortune 500 companies which used the compromised software from solarwinds, an i.t. management company. u.s. officials believe that the russians hacked the software, installing secretive back door which allowed them to secretly spy on communications of u.s. officials for months undetected. >> russia came away with a big, big haul and we're still determining how extensive this attack will be. it will take us literally weeks to continue to ferret this out and then potentially months to remediate. >> reporter: the fear is that this hack is ongoing and there's deep concern that the russians have retained the capacity to

manipulate and damage those computer networks, whit. >> all right, pierre, thank you. turning now to a more pleasant story in tiger woods and his 11-year-old son charlie both dressed in dad's customary sunday red at the pnc championship, charlie showing off his tiger-like skills here from a near-perfect swing right down to that iconic fist bump. the dynamic duo came in seventh, but they managed to combine for two eagles and seven birdies, a partridge in a pear tree all in a final round sunday. tiger woods said afterwards, that it's memories we'll have for our entire lives. that was fun to watch and the similarities between the swings and everything, a special moment for the two of them. >> is it the good luck matching red shirts or genetic? >> a little bit of both. all right, we're following a lot of other headlines this morning including that midair scare, and a man dying and the cdc trying to figure out if he had covid-19. and a great update from the college basketball star who

collapsed on court, he is speaking out for the first time. we'll hear from him shortly but let's hear from rob marciano checking on our christmas storm that's on the move. hey there, rob. hi, good morning, t.j. we have a coast-to-coast christmas storm starting in the pacific northwest where they already had one storm this weekend and that created a mud slide near multnomah falls and the columbia river highway, and the gorge. four to five inches of rainfall in the mountains, also heavy snow east of there, the idaho/montana area. more snow with this next storm. colder when it comes to the northwest with heavy rain, mountain snow, maybe an avalanche or two in minneapolis, snow-covered roads potentially there by wednesday, mostly a rain event from chicago to the northeast. big time cold air coming in behind it. more on that throughout the hour. time now for a look at your select cities brought to you by amazon.

good morning. i'm abc7 news meteorologist mike nicco. looking at some of that fog moving from east bay into north bay into the bay itself. it will be around until noon leaving us a hazy sunshine. a wood burning ban and "spare the air." seasonal through thursday and waves of storms starting friday, christmas day. today mid 50s along the coast. look at all those 40s. my and we'll be right back. stay with us. ♪ should auld acquaintance be forgot ♪ ♪ and never brought to mind ♪ should auld acquaintance be forgot ♪

♪ and auld lang syne ♪ we'll take a cup of kindness yet ♪ ♪ for auld lang syne next customer please. ♪ ♪

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at target. good morning. i'm reggie aqui from abc7 mornings. governor newsom is once again in quarantine. a staff member in the governor's office tested positive for covid-19. that staff member came in contact with the governor and several other staff members. governor newsom and several other staff tested negative. the governor will quarantine for ten days and test again in a few days. emeryville celebrating the installation of a new bike and pedestrian bridge. the structure was hoisted into place saturday night saturday into sunday in four hours. that new bridge will connect east and west emeryville. this is what it will look like once completed next summer.

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good monday morning. a couple issues to talk about. one is the dense fog through 10:00, including the east bay valley, the delta and up into the north bay. the fog will be around through about noon but the visibility will improve. we've also got a chance of freezing fog. look at those areas without that visibility. so, there's some black ice out there possible, too. you can see some fog being steered into the bay, so that will also increase through about 10:00. we've got a "spare the air" today. no burning of wood today. we've got healthy rains coming friday and at least sunday. >> mike, thank you. coming up, creative ways to get those last minute gifts to your home in time for christmas. we'll have another abc7 news update in about 30 minutes.

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it. first we want to get to our top headlines we're following right now including the christmas lockdown. this in the uk returning to its harshest restrictions of the pandemic as a new variant of covid-19 rages through britain which scientists say can spread 70% faster than the original virus. more than a dozen countries around the world sealing their borders to britain and now new york's governor andrew cuomo calling for immediate action here at home with just four days until christmas. also right now, the moderna vaccine is on the move after getting emergency use authorization. this as president-elect joe biden gets his covid vaccine later today, plus lawmakers finally reaching an agreement on that $900 billion stimulus package to help more than 120 -- 20 million americans hit hard by the pandemic. the house is expected to vote today. and take a look at this. santa getting a rescue in california firefighters. you may be wondering what's going on here. apparently he was delivering some candy as an early christmas gift to some kids when his parachute got caught in some power lines. luckily, he was not injured but the question remains why was santa in a parachute. >> stick with the reindeer. do what you know.

we continue with that frightening flight as millions travel for the holiday, a united airlines passenger dying of a suspected heart attack during a packed flight last week but now, there are reports he may have had covid-19 symptoms and gio benitez has more on all this and questions. good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, cecilia, good morning. yeah, a very scary situation on board that plane. now the cdc is working to track down passengers on that flight. this morning, new images obtained by tmz from inside the plane during those tense moments. passengers panicking, an emt telling us they performed chest compressions trying to revive a man on that flight. the man aboard united flight 591 from orlando to los angeles died from a heart attack. but this passenger says she heard his wife say, he recently had covid-like symptoms. >> when it was just the female nurse, she was the first one to get over there and talk to them. that's when i heard and other

people heard he was having symptoms like trouble breathing, loss of taste and smell. >> reporter: we do not know if the man actually had the virus. tony was one of the emts giving the man hands-only cpr for an hour. now he feels sick. he tested negative after the flight but is awaiting results from a later test. >> it's kind of every day since then -- my cough will be a little bit worse or my headache will a little bit worse. pretty much i feel like i got hit by a train. >> reporter: the flight diverting making an emergency landing in new orleans. >> i'm not saying it's united's fault, but i think they should have tested us and i would assume that if they had tested this gentleman they would have found out that he was sick and he wouldn't have come on board. >> reporter: united telling abc news at the time of the diversion, we were informed he had suffered a cardiac arrest, so passengers were given the option to take a later flight or continue on with their travel

plans. but now that the cdc is investigating, united says it is handing over passenger information to aid the investigation into possible exposures. in order to fly passengers must confirm that they haven't tested positive for covid or have experienced covid-like symptoms. sources say the passenger did fill out that form and said no to both. this as more than 2 million people were screened at tsa checkpoints on friday and saturday alone. millions of others expected this week too, even as the pandemic roars across america. still, the cdc is urging americans to celebrate the holidays at home just with people who live with you. but, listen, again, that is very, very important to note right there because the cdc is making that very, very clear that you should celebrate the holidays at home just with people who already live with you, t.j. >> all right, always good to remind folks of that point. thank you so much, gio. we want to turn now to that college basketball star who

collapsed on the court. well, he is now speaking out for the first time. very difficult video to see, that frightening incident there. that's keyontae johnson, fell face first onto the court during a game about a week ago. janai norman joins us now, and, janai, it was so good to see him talking and smiling. >> reporter: t.j., it really was, especially after that scary moment. you know the well wishes and prayers poured in from around the country after that scary moment and some really frightening days following as he was in a medically induced coma but now thankfully we are hearing from keyontae johnson as he thanks his supporters who wished him well. >> everybody, first and foremost i'd like to thank god. i know y'all have been sending y'all prayers out the last few weeks. >> reporter: a college basketball star's remarkable recovery, smiling and thankful a little more than a week since this terrifying moment. the florida gator walking back on court from a time-out suddenly collapsing face first onto the hardwood. johnson motionless was taken away by stretcher and rushed to a tallahassee hospital. his teammates visibly shaken,

many in tears. the 21-year-old standout listed as critical and was put in a medically induced coma but now johnson is on the road to recovery and he's speaking out for the first time on social media. >> to the medical staff at tallahassee memorial, i just want to say thank you for all the support y'all gave me. >> reporter: like so many others johnson's friend harry relieved he's now recovering. >> when he told me he's good and getting better, so, you know, that made me smile and made my day. it's a blessing. >> reporter: but the big question remains, what caused the star athlete's frightening collapse? a source telling abc news that johnson, a top nba prospect, tested positive for covid-19 over the summer. the deadly virus has been linked to myocarditis, a disease of the heart muscle, that could lead to sudden cardiac arrest, but johnson's friend urging not to

rush to conclusions. and as far as trying to connect johnson's collapse with covid, it's important to remember that other prominent basketball players like reggie lewis and hank gathers have also suddenly collapsed on the court, years before covid-19. both of those players suffered from heart failure. >> still, a lot of unknowns but great to see him doing well. thank you so much. now to those five new jersey teenagers being called heroes this morning after saving two small children who sledded onto a frozen pond and fell through the ice. the teens forming a human chain to pull the kids to safety. will reeve has the incredible story. will, good morning. >> reporter: whit, good morning. it's a holiday miracle. what could have been an unthinkable tragedy became a feel-good story of good samaritans acting fast and together led by a boy scout to save the day. for parents stephanie and rich, what began as a fun day in the snow quickly turned into their worst nightmare.

>> i started screaming, you know, jump off, jump off, jump off. >> reporter: in a scene reminiscent of the christmas classic "it's a wonderful life," where george and his friends save his little brother harry from drowning -- >> help. >> reporter: 4-year-old r.j. and his 8-year-old sister olivia went flying down the hill and over a patch of ice into a freezing pond. >> we were shaking. r.j. was freezing. >> you could see the fear in their eyes because they were looking at me and looking at him screaming, like -- he was screaming jump off, jump off. i was just screaming, somebody get them. >> all of a sudden we heard the dad shouting get off, get off. >> reporter: luckily for them these teenagers heard the commotion and raced to save the kids. with 14-year-old boy scout kieran foley leading the way. >> tyler helped with olivia getting her out. she was a bit more heavier. >> i took r.j., brought him back to shore to the mother's hands and then we actually just

started comforting them. >> his phone was in his pocket. his jacket was still on. going down into the pond, so they formed a human chain. when kieran was running over, the mud was so thick it sucked his boots off. >> life is much more valuable than a phone. good choice to get them out. >> these things can be replaced, not lives. >> reporter: it turns out that this was r.j. and olivia's first ever time sledding. you'd understand if they were one and done but olivia in the indomitable spirit of young kids says she's ready to get out there and do it again. >> going right back out. thank god for those boys. what a great, great story. will, thank you so much. the creative ways to make sure you get your christmas gifts in time to get them under the tree. naes coming up. whit, take notes. notes. ♪

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all right, we are back with christmas crunch. more than 150 million people were expected to shop saturday alone. here we go. just four days left. what can last-minute shoppers count on? our guru becky worley joins us from san francisco. good morning, my friend. >> good morning, cecilia. i have kind of got bad news. if you haven't finalized all your christmas presents yet i can summarize your next few days

with just three words -- shopping, shipping, stress. >> it's not too late. >> perfect last-minute gift -- >> reporter: 'tis the season for last-minute present panic. despite retailers begging us to shop early due to covid, compared to last year 2.2 million people are last-minute shopping this year and a bigger chunk of that scrmable is happening online. >> some industries have grown as much as 40% but overall discretionary retail, the items that we buy as gifts, are running at about 25% ahead of where we were last year. and you've got crunch time for the shippers. >> reporter: last-minute online shopping is still a possibility in some cases. walmart offering free next day delivery until 2:00 p.m. today on select items. amazon says the last day to order for prime members to get free one-day delivery is the 23rd, but with free shipping dwindling, bargain hunters are more price conscious than ever. best buy offering the apple watch 3 for $30 off.

this gaming headset also $30 off but you need to pay $5 for expedited shipping, then cross your fingers and hope it arrives. and maybe the smartest deal, costco offering $100 xbox gift card for just $89 and that's a digital download available immediately. another option -- >> we're seeing retailers partner with delivery businesses to be able to get the product to the consumer. >> reporter: instacart normally thought of for groceries lets you sign on to their site and shop products from best buy, target and bed, bath & beyond for a nominal fee. for these gifts it adds just $3.89 for same-day delivery. so while amazon says that prime members can order by december 23rd for free one-day delivery, it is still a stressful time, cecilia. the meme i've seen circulating says it best, stop tracking that package. it's in the lord's hands now. >> let it go. you're out of time.

okay, so i was just reading here, the u.s. postal service delivered 88% of packages on time but that is down, 93%, from a week prior. fedex is reporting delays too. so what advice do you have for us? can we still do this? >> ah, i don't know. at this point i think you got to think about bopis, buy online, pick up in store programs. best buy lets you do it for free in as little as an hour after you purchase. apple offering the service within the hour and in some cases you can select the window of time to avoid waiting. we're talking about other stores like bed bath & beyond offering it within two hours of select locations so i think you're going to have to do a little driving and hopefully bring it to you curbside. >> gift cards, those are my two words for you. >> good idea. >> becky, thanks. >> very good idea. >> t.j. >> see if bopis catches on. our "play of the day" coming up. stay with us. ♪ ♪ i do my hair toss check my nails ♪ art. like a hybrid with an available best-in-class, epa-estimated range of 582 miles.

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good morning. reggie aqui from abc7 mornings. covid skass continue to surge in the area. 12.4%. saturday it was 12.2%. the greater sacramento region at 11.6%. northern california still has the most availability with 24.2%. that's the only region not under a stay-at-home ornd der in the state. every patient who is admitted is getting care. now we'll turn to mike with a look at our weather today. mike? >> hey, yej. hi, everybody. we have an issue with visibility being too low in the east bay and also in the north bay. with an offshore breeze due to the cold air funneling into the bay from the sacramento valley, you can see some fog very thick in walnut creek and also towards

san francisco. that's our only issue outside of it being a "spare the air." air quality is fine right now but it could be unhealthy later on. reggie? >> mike, thank you. coming up, the new technology to virtually try on b

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good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. christmas lockdown. the new mutation of covid-19 raging through britain. scientists say it can spread 70% faster than the original virus. the uk returning to its harshest restrictions of this pandemic. countries around the world sealing their borders to britain including canada overnight. the new concerns this morning. new overnight, the 11th hour agreement for emergency relief. a $900 billion stimulus package to help so many hit hard by the pandemic. the details this morning ahead of the final votes and when will you receive that $600 check? this morning, dr. ashton getting her covid vaccine. we're with her as it happens. what you need to know before getting the shot. virtual match. the revolutionary technology to

virtually try on beauty products and jewelry. the biggest brands getting in on it. how it works and how to keep your personal information safe. ♪ where's that two nights to go. who will tayshia choose? the bachelorette sending ben home. our sneak peek as tayshia confronts zac and former bachelor nick viall weighs in this morning. and -- >> wherever i go he goes. >> after the blockbuster finish to the second season of "the mandalorian," jon favreau is joining us live. what he's revealing only on "gma" all ahead as we say -- >> very special, kid. >> "good morning america." ♪ we know that music. good morning, america. thanks for being with us on this monday. so great to have "the mandalorian" creator and director jon favreau joining us ahead. one person at this desk is extra excited, especially excited, whit, in fact, is that person.

>> very much so. >> tight shot of whit. >> and now tight shot to the photo we sent around to the entire view -- crew this morning. we came prepared. >> i'm auditioning for baby yoda stunt double season 3. rogu alawit. his name. >> bless his heart. >> i'm a fan. also coming up here, folks, a significant morning for our dr. jen ashton. of course, she has been with us and helping us through the pandemic at this network and viewers, but she is actually getting her covid vaccine as we speak. i've been talking to her, guys, this morning. she said it's super emotional right now. we've all been through this pandemic together. she, of course, has been covering this thing, and she's finally getting a vaccine, and we'll check in to see how she's doing. >> follow her guidance along the way. new christmas lockdown overseas. london tightening restrictions in a desperate effort to contain

a new strain of the virus. now more than a dozen countries have banned traveled to and from the country so far. back to james longman in london with more on that. james, good morning once again. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, whit. there is a lot of uncertainty around this new variant. scientists say that it does seem to spread faster than the original virus. the government's announcement here to essentially cancel christmas panicked people and the list of countries banning brits from traveling there is growing with all eyes on the united states to see if it does the same. britain is sounding the alarm this morning over a new variant of covid-19. prime minister boris johnson with an emergency address to the nation. >> as prime minister it's my duty to take difficult decisions to do what is right to protect the people of this country. >> reporter: he had promised the uk would be back to normal in time for christmas. but now much of britain including london is locking down for the holidays. for 21 million people only

essential businesses remain open. scientists say the new variant spreads up to 70% faster than the original virus. importantly health experts warn mutations of any virus are expected. and there's nothing to suggest this is more deadly. but an increase in spread does threaten health services. scientists have been aware of a new variant for some time, but johnson's announcement triggered a rush out of the capital jamming train stations and highways. britain is slowly being sealed off. belgium, italy and the netherlands among those banning travel. overnight canada restricted inbound flights from the uk. the french suspension has shut down the euro tunnel and the uk's main port threatening food supplies. now new york governor andrew cuomo is calling for similar action in the united states. now, all this is very concerning but it is important to say that there is no evidence that the new vaccines won't work against this new variant.

cecilia? >> okay, james. thanks so much. we turn to washington now and lawmakers finally reaching a deal on that $900 billion covid relief package that will help millions of americans impacted by this pandemic. let's go back to our chief white house correspondent jon karl with more on this. good morning again, jon. >> reporter: good morning, cecilia. well, it may be too little and it certainly is late. but congress is finally on the verge of providing some relief to the millions of people and businesses struggling through this pandemic. with more than 20 million americans on unemployment, another 885,000 filing for jobless benefits just last week, and lines growing longer at food banks across the country, this morning, congress is finally ready to do something about it. >> more help is on the way. >> reporter: leaders in both parties sealed a deal on a $900 billion bill that would be the first step congress has taken to boost the economy since april. the agreement includes direct payments for qualifying americans of up to $600. half the amount the government sent out in the spring. as well as a $300 boost in the

weekly federal unemployment benefit through march. almost $300 billion in support for small businesses and billions more in funding for vaccine distribution in schools. democrats have been pushing for a much bigger bill, initially demanding three times the total dollar amount. they're calling this package a down payment. >> we consider this a first step, and that again, more needs to be done. >> reporter: president trump had virtually no involvement in hammering out this agreement but in a statement overnight the white house said that he welcomed the development saying, quote, we look forward to congress sending a bill to his desk imminently for his signature. cecilia. >> can't come soon enough. thanks so much. coming up dr. ashton just getting her covid vaccine this morning. we'll talk to her live about the process and how she's feeling right now. also this morning, we have an exclusive sneak peek at "the bachelorette." three dudes remaining, two

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♪ 'cause we are warriors we'll fight or our lives ♪ ♪ like soldiers all through the night ♪ ♪ and we won't give up, we will survive ♪ ♪ we are warriors and welcome back to "gma" on this monday morning. those are just some of the health care heroes, tirelessly fighting covid-19 on the front lines for all of us and this morning the students of wynn primary school in arkansas

have a special message for them. take a look. >> students have a special message for our health care workers. >> all: thank you for helping hands. >> we say our gratitude from the bottom of our hearts. >> and their school which is just down the road from where i grew up in west memphis there, the kids showing their gratitude by making giant cards for the health care workers in their community. coming up we'll introduce you to the founders of the hug in a cup initiative. surprising health care heroes with a little gift to let them know how much they are still appreciated. >> certainly still appreciated. looking forward to that. we turn to our cover story. dr. ashton is getting the covid vaccine this morning at the hospital where she does surgery. the first round of doctors there already received it. she's in the next group and she just received the shot and, jen, we want to see you. this is a little tricky because you have a known food allergy. there have been some concerns. we've been reporting on this on the vaccine and the allergic reaction and several recipients. i know you just got it, and the

folks around you just got it. so how are you feeling? >> i feel great, cecilia. i have my epipen here. i spoke to my allergist last night because, you know, doctors have doctors too, and he reassured me that the risk was incredibly low. right now according to cdc data, there have been about one serious allergic reaction per every 45,000 doses given. i'll take my chances with that versus the higher risks of getting covid. so i feel very safe here. we're being monitored. i'm being monitored for 30 minutes. everyone around me for 15 minutes. there are paramedics here. we are in a hospital. this is my medical home, so i'm surrounded by my colleagues, plenty of really great nurses,

anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, other doctors and feel incredibly fortunate to have got then vaccine. >> t.j. was saying you feel like this was kind of an emotional moment. what would you say to someone else out there who might be like yourself and have an allergic reaction and travel with an epipen if they are uncertain about whether they should get this vaccine given those reports of some bad reactions that are out there? >> well, first of all, the risk is incredibly rare. it's a known risk with every vaccine. it happens less than 1 in a million times, and, you know, the college of asthma and allergy and immunology says that really people with food allergies or allergies to any medications really are not at increased risk with this vaccine. they think that the main culprit could be something called polyethylene glycol which can be associated with allergic reactions but it's risk versus -- versus the sea high -- the known very high risk of

complications and post-covid syndrome is how i evaluated the risk assessment for myself and there's really -- it was an easy answer for me. >> in just a few seconds before we let you go. this was really important for to you do on camera. you wanted america to see you do this. why was that? >> yeah, i think there is a lot of fear right now, cecilia, and we have to go by facts and the medical science and evidence and, you know, for me i know people who have died from covid. i was worried about my friends and co-workers who were caring for people with covid and, you know, to be honest i was worried about getting it myself and leaving my kids without a parent. so i would encourage everyone when your turn comes, get this vaccine. >> we cannot thank you enough and thanks to all of those colleagues who are right there with you this morning, jen. whit. >> thank you, cecilia. we do want to turn to the big season finale of "the bachelorette" with the final three men left standing, tayshia is already opening up about where her heart lies before tonight's episode.

mona kosar abdi has more and an exclusive sneak peek. >> reporter: this morning, bachelor nation is on the cusp of a season finale like ever -- never before. >> i have these concerns about proposing that i haven't been able to shake. >> reporter: three men still vying to win tayshia's heart. >> engagement is right around the corner, and i want to go into it extremely confident. >> reporter: after saying good-bye to ben last week who so many thought was the one. >> i should have told her how i felt when i had the chance. after my hometown. >> reporter: tayshia reflecting on her journey this season with an instagram post saying, quote, at times the range of emotions have taken a toll on me, and other times brought me so much hope, cheer and joy. i genuinely gave it my all during the whole experience and will take something away from each of the men i had the opportunity to meet and connect with. the final episode almost here. tayshia now has a giant decision to make.

former bachelor nick viall telling "gma" exclusively about who he thinks will ultimately win her heart. >> i think zac's the frontrunner. i was pretty shocked to be honest when ben went home because i actually at that point thought it was between zac and ben. >> reporter: in this exclusive sneak peek, tayshia confronts zac about wanting to have a family. >> i was actually talking to your mom and you told her you didn't want kids. >> uh-huh. >> i told you i want five kids and you have been on board. >> i'm going to talk here for a second. >> i would understand if tayshia decides that she is not ready, you know, only because there's been such a limited time she has had to get to know these guys. nothing would really surprise me, you know, tayshia gets engaged, tayshia doesn't get engaged. tayshia gets married.

who knows. i think it's all possible and i'm excited to see how it plays out. >> reporter: and, whit, while so many of us turn to tayshia's heartfelt posts in search of some kind of clue, nick viall says he believes ben might actually get a chance to tell tayshia how he feels. whit? >> all right. mona, thank you so much. the two-night season finale of "the bachelorette" airs tonight and tomorrow at 8:00, 7:00 central. cecilia? we switch gears to our "gma" virtual match series about the future of shopping. you can use tech to remotely try on clothes. now there are new bey ways to try on makeup and jewelry from your phone. becky worley is back to tell us all about how this works and what companies could be doing with the information that you are using for this kind of shopping. hey, becky. >> reporter: hey, cecilia, in the best of times, testing out makeup in the stores is a little funky so virtual try-ons make a lot of sense but then there's the online component and the question, how safe is your personal information? try on makeup virtually before you buy it. see if a pair of earrings are your style.

or wear l'oreal's virtual only makeup for zoom calls. programs like these allows to virtually try on beauty products and jewelry. click on a product, upload a photo or use your camera live on the company's app or website. it's a virtual makeover to see what works for you. >> i like knowing exactly how it's going to look on me without having to go into the store and try it on myself. >> reporter: shoppers like vanessa prefer trying on makeup from the comfort of home. >> these apps are gaining popularity because consumers are afraid of going to physical stores. >> reporter: kendra scott launching virtual try on on their website after stores were shuttered. l'oreal already allowing customers to do try-ons and now l'oreal announcing a new product, virtual makeup you can wear in photos and on zoom

calls. it's like a superimposed filter with lipsticks, smoky eyes and call that an avant-garde look. >> you have to realize all those apps are incredibly helpful especially during a pandemic, is that all of the information you're giving to the app could be collected, could be stored, connected to you and sold. >> reporter: so what personal information can this technology potentially collect? >> your facial features, your biometrics. your geographic location, your shopping habits, basically your patterns of life. >> reporter: l'oreal, mac, so -- sephora and kendra scott disclose their privacy policy on their website. l'oreal and sephora declined to comment. kendra scott said its program does not store any personally identifiable information and mac does not share customer information with third parties. experts saying expect more virtual try-on programs as the pandemic has changed people's shopping habits.

>> because of the convenience consume personalization, consumers. >> reporter: expert advice to protect your privacy, research the company and read that privacy policy. see what information they collect and what they do with it and keep checking policies as they may be updated, cecilia. but i want to see you wearing that zoom lipstick. i think that's cool. >> if you're telling me there's an app where i don't have to get ready in the morning and push a button and lock this into the cameras here in this room, i'm ready. >> sign me up. >> thank you, my friend. we're going to head over to rob now. >> very george jetson of you guys. good morning again. if you haven't noticed winter is here officially this morning 5:02 a.m. and see the red bull air force celebrating the longest night of the year, went to marfa, texas, known for its brightest stars and dark nights, and jumped out of the plane to celebrate. that is cool. those guys are awesome. by the way tonight if you have clear skies you'll be able to

see the star of bethlehem, the christmas star, the brightest we'll have seen it in 800 years, look to the southwest, s good morning. i'm abc7 news meteorologist mike nicco. looking at some of that fog moving from east bay into north bay into the bay itself. it will be around until noon leaving us a hazy sunshine. a wood burning ban and "spare the air." seasonal through thursday and waves of storms starting friday, christmas day. today mid 50s along the coast. look at all those 40s. myurur we want to turn to our series "gma" helping heroes. a group of women in idaho falls saw that our health care heroes weren't being celebrated as much as they were in the early days of the pandemic, so they had an idea. sending them a hug in a cup. originally it was $5 for a cup

of coffee sent with an encouraging note on venmo then it grew and started delivering those hydroflasks filled with gift cards and notes of love and appreciation from friends bringing them a much needed smile. the motto has become the hug in a cup initiative. we see you and we thank you. two of the founders sending that message, candace jones and jenna johnson join us live now. thank you for being here. both your husbands work in health care so they could help you with some information to find out exactly what it is health care workers would like to see these days. maybe just a little note from friends or family. so what is it you all found out that health care workers really appreciate right now? >> well, my husband is a doctor at the hospital here locally and we just all need to recognize health care workers, let them know they're still being seen and that they're appreciated and i asked my husband, i said if you were to get a gift from someone, what would you appreciate and he said, honestly a hydro flask or something to

keep my drink cold. we don't get a lot of breaks during the day to get, you know, something to eat or to drink so just to know that my drink is waiting for me cold when we get a little dehydrated on our shifts, that would be a treat. and so that's where this idea kind of came about. to fill cups with hugs, gift cards from local businesses, that are either donated or that were purchased through donations and given to us. >> it's amazing just the little things that can help out like that. what have you all noticed? what made you all think and feel that health care workers aren't being appreciated as much now as maybe in the very beginning? >> i think initially everybody jumps at the chance to help with things, and i think right now we're seeing the covid burnout with everybody, and so they've kind of fallen to the back burner a little bit, and we have seen with our husbands that right now is actually when they have had to put in the most time, the most hours, and the

community, it's not that they're negligent, but they're feeling the covid burnout. also, this is something we were able to do, corralling the community together, and it's been awesome to see the community come together to support health care workers locally, and they have been so appreciative of it. >> this is personal for both of you and interior a lot of ways. both had covid. you're sitting together because you're in each other's pods and people want to know how can they help? tell them specifically how they can actually get involved and put a message in a cup and send a thank you. >> so we are accepting nominations locally, but we are planning to expand it to other areas. this he can email us a nomination of someone who needs their morale boosted or just needs to be recognized and let them know we see them and we are printing off those nominations and delivering the cups with our logo on them to that health care

professional and this is not just for doctors and nurses. we're including anyone in any health care facility. we want everyone to be recognized because we know that every job right now is important and in this whole process to -- against covid-19. >> candace and jenna, thank you so much for what you are doing. thank you for spending time with us. it shows us that just a little note and a cup of coffee can make all the difference in somebody's day so thanks so much for what you're doing. enjoy your holiday. we want everybody to know you can find out more about the hug in a cup initiative on our website, and we want to help you guys keep spreading that love out there. show it by using a #gmahelpingheroes. we certainly appreciate it. coming up here on "gma," stay with us, "the mandalorian" creator jon favreau joins us live. live.

good morning, everyone. i'm kumasi aaron from abc7 mornings. sacred heart community service kicks off its annual hole dwa food distribution ahead of christmas. this year's food distribution is almost entirely no contact. this is video from last month when volunteers put together thanksgiving meals. they have mandatory masks and gloves for volunteers. the distribution will continue until wednesday. the address, 1381 south first street in san jose. low visibility continues to be an issue in the east bay and north bay. some of that is starting to spill into the bay itself thanks to the cold air draining into the bay. here's a look at walnut creek. you can see why we've got issues with your commute this morning.

it is a "spare the air" also, so wood-burning ban today. our coldest mornings will be wednesday and thursday and i bumped friday up to a tw

hey, bay area, "live with kelly & ryan" is coming up. >> ali wentworth, k.j. apa and we cook with chef simon. we'll have an update in 30 minutes. you can find the latest on our

app and abc7news.com. the news continues now with "good morning america." welcome back to "gma" celebrating "star wars" style with a special "mandalorian" edition of "gma" see your tree. >> people are topping their trees with baby yodas. here we go. take a look. this is a photo posted on twitter by andrew from mcpherson, kansas. yes, that's a baby yoda on the top of the tree and another posted by lauren in british columbia, and that is super cute. send us photos of your trees using #gmaseeyourtree. >> hey, this is the way as they say in "the mandalorian." of course, we are very excited to have the man who is responsible for giving the world the gift of baby yoda that keeps on giving. joining us right now, the

incredibly talented actor, director, writer as well as the creator and executive producer of "the mandalorian," good morning, jon favreau and happy holidays to you. >> thank you, thank you, thanks for having me. >> i have to ask you first in the spirit of the holidays here when you created baby yoda, the child, did you ever expect that he might end up topping christmas trees around the world? >> no, the christmas tree thick, that's a bit of a new one but i love that -- i think it's because when we first showed baby yoda or as we -- first of all let me say there will be spoilers in this segment if there are any fans. >> of course. >> but for baby grogu or baby yoda has people call him there was no merchandise for the whole first year, so people had to be really -- they had to be really have ingenuity and so on etsy, online, on social media you would see people making their own baby yoda stuff. >> believe me, i actually -- i bought a bootleg t-shirt for

that very reason. >> you admit that. >> oh, yeah, i work for disney, i apologize. so do you have any baby yoda ornaments or holiday decoratings in your place? i see the mug behind you. >> i do -- yeah, well now we have lots of baby yoda stuff. we have -- there was one that we made that you could fold up because we didn't have any merch so some of the artists made one you could fold your own ornament so i still have that one on the free for nostalgia purpose. >> you have everybody clamoring for more information because the season two finale of "the mandalorian" just dropped friday. there was a surprise scene after the end -- at the end of the credits and i want -- i hope we have a drum roll or something because you got a big announcement and i'm just going to lay it out there. take it away. >> i do. well, we have -- at the end of the show, boba fett came out and said the book of boba fett coming december of 2021. that wasn't part of the big disney announcement but here's the logo. we wanted to hold this back

because we didn't want to spoil the surprise during the big disney announcement of all the shows. when kathleen ken by was up there, they let me keep this a secret. so this is actually separate from "the mandalorian" season 3 but what we didn't say in that announcement is that the next show coming up, kathy said the next chapter and that's going to be "the book of boba fett" that goes into production right after that on season 3 of "the mandalorian." you know, back with the main character that we all have known and loved so that's going to be pretty soon following that. >> okay. >> so we're working on that preproduction now while in production on "boba fett." >> i don't know how you keep up because that's all your work. i was trying to keep up with you describing it to me. are there still other -- i hate to go further down than the stuff you gave us. are there more spin-offs we can expect from "mandalorian"? >> yes, well, there are a lot of "star wars" content coming out as i think they announced ten

projects. i think this would be 11 with the new "book of boba fett" but the ones i'm involved with working with my partner dave who is a fantastic producing partner, writer, who i met when i did a voice on "the clone wars" and met at the skywalker ranch and we had an working together on this so. he's writing one right now and we have the rangers of the new republic and all of them take place in the similar time line here that is right after "return of the jedi" which was a film, of course, we all grew up with. i was an usher in the movie theater back in queens. when "return of the jedi" way magazine, i saw it dozens and dozens of times at work and so fun to continue the story after that with those characters. >> perfect full circle moment there in your "star wars" career. this next question we have to preface it with a bit of a spoiler alert for those who

haven't caught up and finished season 2 but there was a huge moment, luke skywalker, one of the most rye connick heroes in history, mark hamill making a comeback in the season finale there. what went into that decision? there was a risk in doing that and how did you keep that under wraps? >> it was very tricky because it's very hard to keep a secret nowadays especially with "star wars" because people are so curious and so many involved with the process with visual effects finishing, making it, filming it at the studios, everything, and every leak -- every piece of casting leaked and we were so scared right up nilanjana till it aired that our surprise cameo was going to leak too but we started off the whole series with the baby yoda reveal, with the grogu reseal. that was a secret that everybody was really blown away by and part of that is not telling too many people, not having

merchandise that's being tooled up and announced, all that kind of thing and then to have the very last episode to have mark hamill actually on set filming and us using whatever technology we had available to deage him and try to make him as much like he did in the old films -- >> it was an exciting moment. i have to ask you quickly, grogu, where did that name come from, grogu? >> i had written it in the script from very early on and we finally revealed it in the show but, of course, everybody knows grogu as baby yoda which by the way is fine with us. we still call him baby yoda too. but he prefers to be called baby -- grogu if you notice in the show. he perks up a lot when you say his name. >> he looks like my puppy when you say grogu, his ears perk up. really a pleasure and "the mandalorian" streaming now and coming up 12 case of christmas

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enroll now at coveredca.com our favorite time of the morning back with our christmas cookie countdown. day 9 of our 12 days of christmas cookies. do the honors. let's open our advent calendar to see what kind of cookies we are baking up this morning behind door number nine. >> i got birds. we have birds. >> bird's the word.

>> amaretto birds with orange glaze. perfect. four birds a-callin' theme and ryan scott joining us with the recipe. sugar cookie is a sugar cookie. how much more complicated can it get. >> can you get a little more excited about my cookies. whit's baby yoda hat so i dressed up. i got my rob marciano beard going on. i dressed up for you guys, you know. >> tell me, what makes this sugar cookie more special than any other sugar cookie. >> it has a little almond liqueur and orange glaze so if anybody is worried about steps, don't worry. everything goes inside. in the mixer i have butter and i have two different sugar, i have baking powder and regular sugar, excuse me, powdered sugar, i have regular flour, which you can use any kind of flour you want. if you guys even want to make this gluten-free you totally can. in here is a little almond

liqueur, that's where it amps it up. almond extract. i use cream of tartare, salt and a little bit of baking soda. this all goes inside. check this out. just one little turn and you let this go until it forms a whole mix just like that and gets all over your counter at 5:30 in the morning. too many cups of coffee. >> you make it look easy. >> thank you. thank you so much. i appreciate that. and then law guys do is take this mass, dough mass and break it into two balls here and then i put it in between waxed paper and then what you do is you want to refrigerate this but roll it out and by the way if you have the most largest dowel in the world only opportunity to ever use this is when you're on national television. don't know where i got it but using it this morning. and you have to make sure, you guys, that it's refrigerated because what you're going to do -- >> i want to ask you about that because it's easy to make a mistake when you chill the

dough. what is the step to make sure you do it right? >> well, you want to make sure the dough is chilled. otherwise if it's hot the friction from this mixer here you'll be unable to actually punch them out and the dough will actually stick to the board itself. put it on the wax paper and take t.j.'s favorite little shapes in the whole world, his bird shapes, just punch these out and they go like so and hold together and bake a lot easier so refrigerate the dough at least for a half hour that way you guys can make a perfect, perfect cookie. >> i don't want to reveal my bias here but i will say this might be my favorite cookie we've had so far this year and as you can tell it's almost already gone. you can tweak the dough flavor if you didn't want to do almond, you could make it your own? >> cecilia, i'm now officially your biggest fan on your fan page now. i just like you for saying that, the ryan scott cecilia fan base, i love it. you can tweak the flavor profile. if you don't want to add almond

liqueur make it extra orange or extra lemon or vanilla or make it any way you want. the best part about it is you guys take them out of the oven like i have here. check this out. close to my cam. once you made all the flavor profiles they set up for just a second. look at those. you have all those amazing shapes and there's nothing like having a dolly parton little oven mitt at the same time, guys. got to make sure i give a shoutout to my girl here. what you do, you were talking about flavor profile, mix it up. a took a little powdered sugar and orange zest and a little salt and milk and this is our fossing and i'll take this little fork and knife i have here and check this, guy, and you just put this little smear right on top and what's kind of cool about this, i have a 3-year-old daughter so she can come in the kitchen and help us out. what you do is you take this here and you take little almond slices and start taking a little wing that you make for the birds

a-callin' and get into this baby voice i'm doing and take -- you take any kind of chocolate that you guys have here and you just kind of have fun at the end of the day. this is the holidays. a lot have been in the kitchen a lot and cooking a lot but just make this fun. you have a one-mix cookie mix. you don't have to worry bit. all done and you guys take this here and you have enough to feed the whole neighborhood if you want. >> or just yourself if you're me, yeah, yeah, i'll just mow through that myself. ryan, these really are delicious. thank you so much. happy holidays to you. you can get this on our website, goodmorningamerica.com and you can preorder ryan's upcoming book "the no fuss family cookbook" out next year. tomorrow cookie number eight because we're not done yet. back to rob with more. >> i want a cookie. it looks delicious, great job, ryan. good morning, again, guys. time for a "gma" exclusive. best-selling author alex michaelides whose debut novel "the silent patient" spent a

whopping 53 weeks on "the new york times" best-seller's list revealing his brand-new psychological thriller called "the maidens." here now is author alex michaelides. >> good morning, america. i'm alex michaelides, the author of "the silent patient." i'm so happy to introduce you to my new novel called macedo mayor, a thriller set in cambridge, university about a mysterious secret society known as the maidens and i would like to invite you to join us when the book comes out next year. i cannot wait for to you read it. >> we can't wait either. "the maidens" hits shelves on june 1st, 2021 and "the silent patient" is coming to the big screen with brad pitt's company good morning. i'm abc7 news meteorologist mike nicco. dense fog issue through 9:00 and it will turn around into hazy sunshine around noon. temperererererererererererererer

now a special holiday treat for all you music fans, a claim that peter jackson is sharing an exclusive first look of his upcoming documentary "the beatles get back" featuring never before seen footage from january 1969. it test the story of the fab four writing and rehearsing, 14 new songs. it also shows the first time in its entirety the beatles' last performance as a group live. you can watch the five-minute sneak peek on disney plus and the beatles.com and tit opens august 27, 2021. coming up, felicity jones joins us live, stay tuned.

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we are back now on "gma"

with actress felicity jones, she soared in "the aeronauts" and battled in a galaxy far, far away and took on the role of justice ruth bader ginsburg. >> now starring alongside george clooney in "midnight sky." good morning, felicity jones. how are you? >> good morning. i'm very well. thanks. how are you? >> we have to say first i understand you and your husband welcomed a baby boy recently so how are you celebrating your first holiday together as a family? >> well, we're going to be having a bit of a quiet holiday this year under the circumstances so putting on good tunes and making a merry spirit and listening to music and dancing and trying to make the best of what's been obviously a quite difficult year. >> difficult year, but what was that like as -- had to be all kinds of emotions, any parent no matter how old your child is but becoming a mom in the midst of a

pandemic, what was that experience like for you? >> yeah, i mean it was pretty intense. that's for sure. it was definitely a scary moment particularly at the beginning of the pandemic, so i'm just thinking it's one of those situations where we just all appreciate what we have and counting our blessings and i think at the end of the year we'll be really -- it'll be a quiet celebration but a celebration of really appreciating how lucky we are. >> yeah, really puts it all in perspective. we want to talk about "midnight sky," the new role you're starring alongside george clooney. what drew to you this role? >> it was interestingly when i read it earlier in the year, it was what i loved about it was the themes of isolation and loneliness and it was a very reflective film. i didn't quite know then just

how relevant those themes would be as they have become in the last few months, but it was the fact that it was an entertaining action film but it also had this wonderful sort of philosophical level to it at the same time. >> yeah, something we can all really relate to during these difficult times. how about we take a look at a clip. here we go. >> this is the weather station. >> i can't tell you how happy i am to hear your voice. for some reason you're the only person who wants to talk to me. we've lost contact with nasa and everyone else. do you have information on our transmission are you there? >> how much have you picked up about the conditions on earth? >> we've received nothing. >> felicity, you were actually pregnant while you were filming and we have all heard stories over the years of many women being pregnant during filming and they have to come up with

all kinds of creative ways to hide it, if you will, but this was something george clooney decided he wanted to work into the script. how did you react to him wanting to do that? >> well, i thought it was fantastic. i mean as you say, usually countless films actresses have been pregnant and there's all sorts of standing behind desks or technical imagery to make them look like they're not so it was really special that we embraced it and made it part of the film. it was just -- i mean, it's happened before. you've seen in smaller films and in "fargo" obviously the character is pregnant but i think it's the first time on this size of film that you have a pregnant character in space, so it was a very organic process and it just felt right and the more we looked into it and the more we looked to the script it felt like this could actually serve the story really well which is fantastic.

>> felicity, congratulations on the movie. congratulations on the year you've had, the 8-month-old now running around, maybe crawling around right now but congrats to you and your family. you all enjoy your holiday and hope to see you in the new year, all right. >> fantastic, all the best and have a lovely holiday, everyone. >> "midnight sky" is in select theaters now and on netflix globally this wednesday. stay with us, folks. we are right bacon "gm xfinity internet customers are saving up to $400

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hey, folks don't forget to watch the cincinnati bengals take on the pittsburgh steelers tonight at 8 eastern on espn. >> cecilia will be watching. >> took the words right out of my mouth. >> fantasy playoffs. >> "gma3." i have another show to do today. lined up for you at lunchtime. david is known for his giant surprises and has a big one coming up on our show and. and.a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

good morning, everyone. i'm kumasi aaron from abc7 mornings. we have developing news. governor newsom is once again in quarantine. a staff member in the governor's office tested positive for covid-19. the staffer came into contact with the governor and several other staff members. governor newsom and other staff tested negative yesterday. the governor will quarantine for ten days per state guidelines. he'll be tested again in a few days. last month the governor and his family quarantined after another possible exposurexposure. dense fog still an issue and the visibility that is creating is dangerously low in the east bay and north bay and that will continue until 10:00. i think the fog will be around through noon. you can see how bad it is in walnut creek. that's my only issue being outside today, along with the

possible "spare the air" in the north bay, east bay and south bay. bay. now it's time for it's "live with kelly and ryan"! today, actress, author, and podcaster ali wentworth! and from the series "riverdale" and the film "songbird," kj apa! plus, chef michael symon serves up a delicious spin on a traditional holiday favorite. all next, on "live"! and now, here are kelly ripa and ryan seacrest! good morning! welcome... to the final countdown of christmas day. christmas eve. it's monday, december 21st. we're making something good today, 'cause i know michael symon's on. - i can smell it. - i mean, does that smell so divine? i wanted to-- i wish there was a way-- hey, that's a good christmas ornament-- - smell-o-vision? - gelman? he just hung his mask. and i've gotta tell you, i'm suddenly regretful that i did not do an all, like, yes, like, an-- you know, old-- maybe the masks