have a great day. us or "good morning america." have a great day. b breaking overnight on "america this morning," relief bill at risk, the stunning announcement from the president about the newly passed stimulus bill. why he's calling the bipartisan effort a disgrace and what democrats are saying to his new demands. plus, the new outrage over a wave of pardons coming from the white house. on the move, the dangerous prediction as millions of people hit the road for the holidays and what we're learning about a new potential outbreak after an airline passenger died midair and the race to open new field hospitals as the nation faces its deadliest month yet. but help may be on the way with the u.s. working on a deal to secure millions of new vaccine doses. shipping slowdown. the race to get last-minute gifts delivered hitting a new roadblock. why experts say it may be too late to meet your holiday

deadline. plus, from severe storms to flash floods, the extreme weather that could complicate your holiday plans. caught on camera, how firefighters manage to save a dog trapped in a burning barn. and grab your cosmos. the new announcement that has "sex and the city" fans feeling fabulous. good wednesday morning, everyone. i'm mona kosar abdi. >> and i'm will reeve in for kenneth. we begin with a pair of stunning announcements out of the white house. the president rolling out a wave of controversial pardons late tuesday. on the receiving end, convicted republican congressmen, a former campaign aide who lied to investigators during the russia investigation and u.s. contractors serving time for war crimes in iraq. meanwhile, trump is threatening to not sign the $900 billion covid relief bill unless lawmakers boost the stimulus checks to $2,000.

the announcement upending the bipartisan package, which was passed after months of debate and the last-minute demand could delay those direct payments that are supposed to be sent out as early as next week. abc's faith abubey has the details in washington. good morning, faith. >> reporter: hey, good morning, mona and will. it's unclear right now whether president trump actually plans to veto the bill once it arrives on his desk or refuse to sign it. if he doesn't sign it, the bill would become law in just ten days. overnight a stunning announcement from president trump nearly a day after congress passed the latest covid relief package. trump labeling the bipartisan bill a disgrace demanding congress increase the amount for the stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. >> send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a covid relief package. >> reporter: in response to the demand for bigger payments, house speaker nancy pelosi tweeting in part, let's do it

while biden called the current bill a down payment and promised to push a new stimulus through congress once he takes office. >> it took more than six months for congress to reach this new deal. how can you assure americans that relief will come and come soon? >> i predict to you we will get cooperation and get that done. >> will your plan include a new round of stimulus checks to the american people, and if so -- >> yes. >> -- for how much? >> look, that's a negotiating issue, but it will, yes, it will. >> reporter: the announcement coming in the wake of an onslaught of pardons from the president. with just four weeks left before leaving office, trump announcing 15 pardons and 5 commutations. among those given a little get out of jail free card, controversial congressmen chris collins and duncan hunter, both convicted on corruption charges and have been outspoken supporters of the president. trump is also granting a full pardon to two of those charged in connection with robert mueller's special counsel investigation. >> i found myself all of a sudden pinned between the department of justice and the sitting president. >> reporter: former campaign aide george papadopoulos pleaded

guilty to lying to the fbi amid the russia investigation. dutch lawyer alex van der zwaan who also admitted to lying to mueller was pardoned as well. meanwhile, four members of the blackwater security company were pardoned after they were charged with committing atrocities in iraq. blackwater was a company founded by erik prince, a trump supporter and the brother of education secretary betsy devos. and back to that coronavirus relief bill, it passed with overwhelming support in both the house and the senate, so congress could override trump's veto. however, democrats are indicating they might take trump up on his offer to increase the payment since for months they've been asking for $2,000 checks. mona, will. thank you, faith. california secretary of state has been chosen to replace senator kamala harris as she steps up to become vice president. alex padilla, the son of mexican immigrants, will be the first latino senator in california's history. the selection means there will be no black women in the senate.

white house coronavirus task force coordinator dr. deborah birx has announced plans to retire. she's been under scrutiny after traveling out of state with family during the thanksgiving holiday despite her own guidelines. dr. birx gave no time line for her departure and said she would first help the incoming biden administration. two health care workers in idaho experiencing severe allergic reactions after receiving the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. one person has recovered, but the other remains hospitalized. meanwhile, millions of americans are traveling during the holidays. that's despite warnings from health experts to stay at home. 2020 is the deadliest year ever in the u.s., and december is now on track to become the deadliest month yet in the pandemic. this morning, as the u.s. faces its deadliest day ever, new fears that the worst is still to come. >> our darkest days in the battle against covid are ahead of us, not behind us. >> reporter: despite the grim warnings, millions of americans are on the move. the tsa screening more than 4 million people since friday.

more than at any point since the pandemic started including over thanksgiving. >> what we saw after thanksgiving, we're probably going to see worse after christmas. >> reporter: right now many hospitals are being pushed beyond their breaking points. >> california is in a crisis mode in its health systems. we're breaking records that we do not want to break. >> reporter: california could see 100,000 hospitalizations within the month. >> we will have to make very, very difficult decisions about how to continue care. >> reporter: at the u.c. irvine medical center, doctors are preparing for the worst. the hospital now constructing a field hospital. meanwhile, we're learning the man who collapsed on a packed united flight last week died of covid. multiple passengers aboard that flight now say they've tested positive amid claims the crew just disinfected the man's seat with wipes before taking off again. >> i feel that that's a big reason why we are now all getting sick because we were on a contaminated plane up until we

got out of the plane in los angeles. >> reporter: this as concerns rise over that new variant of the virus discovered in the uk. early evidence suggests the mutated virus may be as high as 70% more contagious but is not believed to be more deadly. so far the cdc not detecting that variant in the u.s., but new york governor andrew cuomo telling hospitals across the state to test specifically for the mutation. >> if it's here, we want to know it. we want to isolate it immediately, but let's learn from the spring. >> reporter: it comes as pfizer and the government are brokering a new deal giving access to millions more doses of the vaccine between april and june of next year. both pfizer and moderna testing their vaccines to make sure they're effective against a new covid variation. >> viruses mutate all the time. that's what they do. that doesn't mean that a vaccine won't work. >> reporter: but british based drugmaker astrazeneca is already saying its vaccine is effective against the new variant. dr. anthony fauci got the moderna vaccine on tuesday along

with health and human services secretary alex azar, and we are now hearing that the supreme court justices have access to the shots. no word yet if any have gotten it. police are on the hunt for a man seen taking an axe to a u.s. senator's office. take a look at this video from fargo, north dakota. the man smashing the front window of republican john hoeven's office monday morning. in addition to the axe, he also used a crowbar. police say they've identified the man and now they're trying to find him. no one was hurt. and this was the fiery scene on one of the main traffic routes in new york city. that burning truck was carrying nearly 300 propane cylinders. the truck driver told police he was cut off, and when he tried to avoid that vehicle, the truck overturned, and the tanks caught fire. it's believed the truck may have slid on black ice. the driver was not injured. all right, time now for a look at your wednesday morning weather.

this week's coast-to-coast storm brought a snow squall along with lightning and thunder to steamboat springs, colorado. snow continues there. total accumulation will be about six inches. that storm also brings heavy snow to the northern plains and upper midwest today. at the same time severe storms will be developing across the south. tomorrow heavy rain could cause isolated flooding in the northeast. new york gets to 39 degrees today. 40s in the pacific northwest. temperatures will plummet as the storm moves through. coming up, the new lawsuit against walmart that could cost the company billions. also ahead, the new punishment for that teen who broke quarantine in the cayman islands. and later what doctors are saying about the risks for pregnant women and babies amid the pandemic.

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evacuation orders have been lifted after a freight train dumped crude oil when it derailed in washington state. the accident happened in custer near the canadian border. no one was hurt. the justice department is suing walmart accusing the company of helping to fuel the opioid crisis. officials claim walmart filled thousands of prescriptions over the years that they knew were invalid. they say the company ignored red flags and failed to report suspicious orders for opioids. fines for the alleged crimes could be in the billions. walmart says federal officials are forcing pharmacies to second-guess doctors. we're coming up on just two days till christmas. anxiety is rising when it comes to what will be under the tree. there's been a jump in online shopping plus staffing that's affe affected it and the

postal service stretched thin. abc's megan tevrizian has more. >> reporter: this morning the countdown is on to get millions of presents delivered before christmas, and the big question, will they arrive on time? with online shopping this season up by 30%, the u.s. postal service is busier than ever before, and the pandemic isn't making things easier. analyst shipmatrix estimates 7 million packages have already been delayed this holiday season while at least 19,000 workers have called in sick or are isolating themselves due to covid-19. >> if you haven't gotten your gift yet, it might be time to get creative about your gifting options. >> reporter: retail experts suggest signing up for realtime text updates or going to the carrier's website to make sure you don't have a signature required for your packages, not to mention that the increase in volume means the tracking software may be a little off, but that's not always a bad thing. >> tracking isn't necessarily being updated in realtime, but it is possible that you'll get a nice surprise on your doorstep. >> reporter: plus, stores like macy's are partnering with doordash and uber eats for

last-minute deliveries meaning there's still hope to wrap up that last-minute shopping before christmas. and if worst comes to worst, you can wrap a picture of the present you ordered giving your loved one a chance to open something even though you don't have the actual gift in hand. will, mona. >> good thinking, megan. thank you so much. coming up, the biggest highlights as the nba season tips off without a bubble. >> but first the incredible moment a dog is saved from a burning building. how rescuers reached him just in time.

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theraflu hot beats cold. back now with tense moments at a house fire in back now with tense moments at a house fire in southeast pennsylvania. a firefighter near lancaster trying to coax a dog out of a home as flames threaten the building. he then broke down the window, which allowed the dog to get out safely. the american jailed for violating the cayman islands coronavirus rules has gotten her sentence reduced. skylar mack's jail time has been cut in half from four months to two after an appeal. the pre-med student broke the island's laws when she left home during a mandatory quarantine period to watch her boyfriend in a jet ski competition. cayman has two reported covid-19 deaths. back now to the coronavirus and fears of a christmas surge. millions of americans are on the move today, one of the busiest travel days of the year despite urgent warnings to stay home. earlier i spoke with dr. ryan ribeiro, who is on the front lines in california.

you are right now in california, and there was a dramatic rise in cases post-thanksgiving just six weeks ago. the state alone hit 1 million cases. now it's up to 2 million. icus are also overwhelmed. can you tell us what you are seeing on the ground? >> when i was on shift yesterday, i was looking at the patients that we were admitting to the hospital in the icu, and almost all of them had the same presenting complaint to the hospital, which was shortness of breath. we had patients in the waiting room for three, four hours there with fever, cough, difficulty breathing. across the state icu capacity is down, and the hospitals around us are full, and our icus are filling very rapidly. >> and despite the repeated warnings from health officials, it's predicted to be a busy travel day today. what's your advice for people heading out this holiday and to those who are staying home but might want to see family members? >> well, you know, i think my biggest piece of advice, if

you're looking to travel for the holidays is don't if you can avoid it. it's really hard to avoid risks that come along with especially air travel. now, if you're staying home and you want to socialize locally, i think the risk level of that depends a whole lot on local infection rates, and so it really is important to look to local guidelines. >> there's another big headline out this morning, dr. ribeiro, regarding the virus and pregnant mothers. can you break it down for us? >> yeah, so i think this is a bright spot in the news today. this is a study out of boston. they were looking at pregnant women who had acquired covid during their third trimester and then had given birth and i think they followed 64 women, and they found that in zero of those cases was the virus transmitted to the newborn. so that should be reassuring, i think, to those who are slated to give birth here during this pretty challenging time. >> some hopeful news. our thanks to dr. ryan ribeiro. a new nba season got under way last night and thus the beginning of the kevin durant era in brooklyn. k.d. missed last season with an

achilles injury. he looked just fine picking up where he left off. 22 points for him. the nets crushing durant's former team, the golden state warriors, 125-99. across the country in l.a., the lakers got their championship rings and then lost to the clippers, their intercity rivals. the champions started their title defense on an off note, but they got time. and in the nfl, the washington football team is not commenting on a published report that the organization settled a sexual misconduct claim for $1.6 million. "the washington post" says the deal was struck after a female team employee made misconduct allegations against team owner daniel snyder in 2009. the nfl is investigating sexual harassment inside the organization. and coming up, the christmas decoration inspired by the pandemic. and the biggest trends during the lockdown. also ahead, the big announcement that "sex and the city" might be coming back? everyone is feeling fabulous. myself included.

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[ playing the theme to "sex an [ playing the theme to "sex and the city" ] let's check "the pulse." we begin with the possibility of more "sex and the city." >> that's right, the legendary hbo franchise is reportedly coming back. it aired for six seasons ending in 2004, and, of course, there were those two movies. >> now "the new york post" is reporting sarah jessica parker, cynthia nixon and kristin davis will be back to play carrie, miranda and charlotte in a limited series reboot coming to hbo max. kim cattrall who played samantha reportedly will not be involved. >> get your cosmos ready. and christmas has come early for the queen of christmas herself. >> mariah carey getting a special gift before her favorite day of the year. mimi taking to instagram to share a video opening a gift from sony music in honor of this iconic song and the album from

where it came. >> mariah's twins, monroe and moroccan, on hand to help her unwrap a plaque celebrating the global success of her album "merry christmas," eight times platinum here in the u.s. selling 15 million copies worldwide. >> i mean, that's the best christmas song ever. next the girl who is showing everyone how to belt out a christmas carol. >> she's a 4-year-old from kentucky. check her out. ♪ oh, tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere ♪ >> that's jubilee rayburn giving us her version of "go tell it on the mountain." >> jubilee's mom posted the video on facebook saying this girl cis be a hoot. who could disagree? great going, jubilee. a 2020 christmas tree topper. >> it's the work of a family in washington state. as it spins around you can see it's got representations of the main characters from "tiger king." they're separated by a murder hornet. >> vice president pence is also there with a giant fly stuck to his head. you remember that from the

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checking the top stories, president trump has announced a flurry of pardons. among them, a former campaign adviser who lied to the fbi, three convicted former gop congressmen and four contractors behind a massacre in iraq. meanwhile, the president now says he won't sign the covid relief bill unless stimulus checks are raised to $2,000. millions of americans are on the move traveling for christmas. this as december is on track to become the deadliest month of the pandemic in the united states. president-elect joe biden is now warning that the nation is heading towards the darkest days yet. at least one ohio police officer has been fired amid an investigation into the early morning shooting death of an unarmed black man. police were responding to a report of a man sitting in an suv when one of the officers opened fire. neither officer had their body

camera on during the shooting, but a backup feature allowed investigators to see the incident. checking out today's weather, strong storms across the south. heavy snow? the northern plains and upper midwest. clear skies across most of the west. still feels like summer in florida. and finally, the heartwarming story of a rescued die with a new lease on life thanks to the generosity of a new york aarea veterinarian. >> our will ganss has the story of kobe, the bulldog mix looking for a home for the holidays. >> he is a snorter. he is a snorer. >> reporter: but sweet as can be. >> he is definitely a shelter favorite. >> reporter: kobe, an english bulldog/pit bull mix, is spending the holiday in a long island animal shelter. before that he was living in this small box rescued from some rough conditions. right away people wanted to adopt him, but kobe is going to need the perfect family to help him thrive. that's because he has a pretty serious heart condition. >> when they hear that his life could be cut short because of his heart, that's

usually when people take a step back. >> reporter: the problem can be fixed though and dr. josh morganstern is going to assist in that. next month he'll perform surgery on kobe's heart to open up a fused valve. >> my hope is that we can get him out of the severe range as far as his pressure gradient and his disease goes towards mild or moderate where dogs with mild to moderate live a normal life. >> reporter: that means kobe's heart can focus on what it does best, giving lots and lots of love. >> he has nothing but love to give so we would love to hook him up with a wonderful family. >> reporter: so if you're looking for a part english bulldog, part businessman who says hello like this, kobe is ready when you are. for more information on our pal kobe here, head to town of smithtown animal shelter.com. mona, will, i don't know. looks like kobe might be coming home with you for the holidays. >> with a faceik

have a great day. us or "good morning america." have a great day. b breaking overnight on "america this morning," relief bill at risk, the stunning announcement from the president about the newly passed stimulus bill. why he's calling the bipartisan effort a disgrace and what democrats are saying to his new demands. plus, the new outrage over a wave of pardons coming from the white house. on the move, the dangerous prediction as millions of people hit the road for the holidays and what we're learning about a new potential outbreak after an airline passenger died midair and the race to open new field hospitals as the nation faces its deadliest month yet. but help may be on the way with the u.s. working on a deal to secure millions of new vaccine doses. shipping slowdown. the race to get last-minute gifts delivered hitting a new roadblock. why experts say it may be too