he is. >> the kids are like what is this? good morning, america. white christmas eve. the monster winter storm on the move right now taking aim at the east coast. already wreaking holiday havoc on the roads. the big blizzard warning in the midwest. dangerous conditions in minnesota. the governor activating the national guard. standing by for rescues. we're tracking the latest threats as millions of americans hit the road for the holiday exodus. pardon blitz. president trump wiping out convictions for 26 more people including longtime adviser roger stone. former campaign chair paul manafort and jared kushner's father while the fate of that covid relief package and the hopes of millions of americans in need of aid hang in the balance.

one million shots of hope, over one million americans receiving their first vaccine dose including the fdny's emts and paramedics as u.s. hospitalizations hit another record with more than 119,000 current patients, and california becoming the first state to surpass 2 million cases. this as the uk, some calling it "plague island," plunges into crisis announcing another mutation of the virus believed to be more contagious. now, how new york city is taking action against some travelers. unarmed. outrage this morning over newly released body camera footage showing andre hill holding a cell phone and gunned down by police. none of the officers on the scene attempting to provide first aid. the deadly incident now under investigation. rockets' failure to launch. nba superstar james harden caught on camera partying at a club maskless. houston's nba season opener postponed. what the eight-time all-star is saying this morning.

♪ i wanna wish you a merry christmas ♪ and "feliz navidad." this morning, our exclusive look at the star-studded singalong of jose feliciano's christmas classic 50 years in the making. >> merry christmas. hey, good morning, america. happy christmas eve. we play "feliz navidad" a lot around my house. >> makes you want to go caroling, doesn't it, dan? >> not quite, but, yes, yes, makes me happy. >> that's good. >> dan the grinch. now to the signs of hope on this christmas eve morning with that big milestone. over 1 million americans receiving their first vaccine dose including some of new york's bravest. the fdny's emts and paramedic, we will have the very latest on the fight against the virus coming up. but we begin with the other big story that is sweeping across the country right now. that is the monster christmas storm on the move already causing chaos on the roads.

rob marciano is tracking the very latest for us from westport, connecticut. rob, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, whit. this storm has only gotten stronger and expanded as it has trekked across the country. the blizzard in the midwest is no joke. take a look at this video coming to us out of minnesota. this is i-94 north and west of minneapolis shut down because of this massive pileup. that is minnesota where winds gusted over 60 miles per hour. nebraska, they gusted over 70 miles per hour and these semis were absolutely stranded, they had to pull over and camp out. that's nebraska, and look at south dakota and north dakota. the dakotas just got crushed with this. 60, 70-mile-per-hour -- driving through that, that is impossible. the blizzard goes away but the wind does not. we have tornado watches for the gulf coast this morning. that tornado threat gets into the carolinas later on this afternoon and then this storm really winds up. that squall line pushes through the i-95 corridor right around midnight tonight. we're going to see winds gusting 60, 70 miles per hour in some of these big cities and that means trees will come down.

we'll see widespread likely power outages come christmas morning. so you'll want to plan for that if you live in the storm zone, the potential for the lights going out tonight and in through tomorrow morning. obviously difficult, if not dangerous travel for folks on the ground, in the air and santa will have his hands full tonight as well. whit, over to you. >> not what people want to hear. thank you. we'll check back with you soon. eva? on that severe weather slamming the country as millions hit the road for the holiday, let's go to trevor ault with what you need to know before you get in the car. good morning to you, trevor. >> reporter: well, good morning, eva. with that inclement weather rob was telling about and the pandemic, you can expect there to be an impact. aaa says travel will be down 25%, but still as many as 81 million americans on the roads through the holidays and 4 in 10 say they're traveling far enough to cross state lines. it's enough to make an impact everywhere, but some areas will

have it worse than others. the rocky mountains has the highest percentage of people who say they're traveling and the southwest, southeast and pacific are not very far behind. the midwest has about 31%, and the northeast has the smallest percentage at 27%. still 1 in 4 people traveling for the holidays, eva. >> so, trevor, if you can break this down for us, where and when will those americans hitting the roads see the worst of this traffic? >> reporter: well, it's interesting, eva, in that it depends on the time and day that you leave. boston, atlanta and houston are also expecting their peak congestion late in the afternoon on saturday, the day after christmas. washington, d.c., isn't expecting to hit theirs until monday morning at about 11:30, and then los angeles and new york will follow in the next two days after that, around 5:00 tuesday and wednesday, the 29th and the 30th. but really, in all of the american major urban areas you could see traffic jams as long as three times the usual wait time.

so having said that, there's going to be about 27 million fewer americans who are out there on the road this year, so you could cruise through a little bit faster than you have in years past. eva? >> trying to find the silver lining. trevor ault for us, thank you. dan. >> thank you, eva. to washington now, and if you will excuse the pun, a blizzard of pardons overnight from president trump. there are some big names in the latest round including the president's ex-campaign chairman paul manafort as well as jared kushner's dad. rachel scott is on the story for us, rachel, good morning to you. >> reporter: dan, good morning. two days, 41 pardons, the president spending his final days in office wiping away the convictions of close allies and associates. he issued the second round of pardons just last night. on this list now, he's erasing the crimes of paul manafort and roger stone. these are two men who were convicted after robert mueller's investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election. manafort, he was found guilty of financial fraud.

now receiving a pardon, and roger stone whose sentence the president has previously already commuted after he was found guilty of lying to congress, also receiving a full pardon. and then you have charles kushner, now, this is the father of the president's son-in-law, jared. he spent some time behind bars for witness tampering, for tax evasion, he received a full pardon as well. democrats are blasting this move. they say the president is valuing loyalty over rule of law. even republicans like lindsey graham had previously said that a pardon for manafort would just be a bridge too far, but this morning, we are only hearing from one republican so far with criticism. that is ben sasse and he is saying this is rotten to the core, dan. >> ben sasse weighing in. rachel, let me ask you another question, the president has now left washington for the holiday after having refused to sign that big covid relief bill that so many people are waiting on. any update on where exactly things stand with that bill right now? >> reporter: so many people waiting for relief, dan.

still no signature from the president on this bill just yet. he has made it clear that he wants lawmakers to increase the size of those stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000, but republicans simply are not budging on this. they want to keep the overall price tag of that bill down and time here is simply just running out. the government is headed towards a shutdown in just a matter of days and relief for millions of americans expires at the end of the month, dan. >> so much pain out there. republicans pushing back against their president this morning. rachel, thank you very much. eva, over to you. turning now to the latest on the fight against covid-19. the cdc says nearly 9.5 million vaccine doses have been delivered and over 1 million doses administered and those doses are needed more than ever with hospitalizations hitting yet another record with more than 119,000 current patients and the hard-hit state of california now surpassing 2 million cases. kaylee hartung is at a hospital in los angeles with more.

good morning to you, kaylee. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, eva. right now more people are hospitalized in los angeles than ever before. it feels like we keep breaking these records of the worst kind. we're coming off the single deadliest day here since the pandemic started. the mayor of los angeles calling it maybe the darkest day in this city's history. this morning, christmas nightmare as covid-19 ravages california. overnight becoming the first state with 2 million cases. hospitals and icus pushed to capacity. paramedics delivering an unprecedented number of critically ill patients. >> the last couple of weeks have been some of the things we have never seen before. having to wait out in the parking lot just because there's no room. >> reporter: here in orange county, officials say 5% of its firefighters are sidelined because of the virus. first responders working through sleepless nights to fill the void. >> right now it's like all rules are out the window. >> because those calls are going to keep coming. >> they're not stopping. >> reporter: hospital staff fed

up. >> i don't have any more to give. >> reporter: these nurses protesting. saying their lives and their patients' lives are being put at risk after california legislators allowed their hospitals to increase nurse to patient ratio. >> instead of giving us more nurses we got more work. patients are going to die. nurses are going to break. >> reporter: the golden state far ahead of every other state with nearly 40,000 new cases in just the last 24 hours. tennessee, texas and florida trailing behind. the national average now more than six times the record set in april, but amid the growing struggle, signs of hope. in long beach, this nurse finally going home this week after eight months battling covid and across the u.s., more bright spots on the horizon with more than 1 million people now vaccinated. in new york, the fdny's emts and paramedics becoming the first first responders to receive the vaccine. >> i haven't seen my grandmother in about a year. to have this now gives me some

peace of mind that i can go visit her. >> reporter: those applause reminding us that hope and health are just ahead of us, but officials here are stressing that this vaccine is no reason to let our guard down. they say if this rapid infection rate keeps up, in just two weeks hospitals just like this one could be out of staff, meaning that doctors could have to ration care, essentially determining who would live and who would die. whit? >> those would be awful decisions during this difficult time. kaylee, thank you. we do move overseas to yet another new variant of covid-19 detected in the uk. this one originally identified earlier this month in south africa, and it is believed to be even more contagious. the uk shutting down travel from south africa now. our maggie rulli is in london with the very latest on that, maggie, good morning. >> reporter: hey, whit, good morning. yeah, countries around the world seem to be scrambling trying to keep up and stay ahead of these variants. officials here in the uk are calling this recent one extremely concerning.

their fear is this latest version of the virus could be spreading even faster. this morning, new fears in the uk. officials announcing yet another new variant of covid-19. this time in two people who had been in contact with others who had recently traveled to south africa where this new strain is believed to be ripping through the country in record numbers. >> this new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that's been discovered in the uk. >> reporter: this is the second new strain of the virus british officials have announced this week. and while they do not believe either are more lethal, they do think both are more contagious. >> there are certainly many thousands of cases of the new variant in the uk. >> reporter: these back-to-back announcements are plunging the uk further into crisis. on wednesday, the country set a grim one-day record, the government announcing more than 39,000 new cases. with the holidays just around the corner, much of the uk has

now been put into even stricter restrictions and lockdowns and at dozens of nations, they're now banning travel from the uk. some calling it plague island. while the u.s. hasn't instituted a ban, new york city is taking action, ordering all travelers from the uk to quarantine or face daily fines of $1,000. >> we are going to have sheriff's deputies go to the home or the hotel of every single traveler coming in from the uk. >> reporter: now two major vaccinemakers, pfizer and moderna say they plan to do more testing with this new variant, but they do say right now they're confident their vaccines will still work, guys. a bit more good news, which i know we are all just desperate for right now, oxford astrazeneca has filed for approval in the uk and say they plan to file for approval in the u.s. in the new year as well, so hopefully soon we will have another vaccine to use in this fight. dan. >> maggie, thank you so much. so much to talk about here

so let's bring in dr. ashish jha. he's dean of brown university's school of public health. dr. jha, thanks for coming on this morning. as you just heard maggie rulli's reporting that the vaccine makers now say they're confident the shots will be protective against these new strains. are you confident? >> good morning, thanks for having me on. i am confident. these vaccines that we've developed so far, two of them, pfizer and moderna, are really pretty superb vaccines, and so so far as of right now i feel pretty confident -- obviously we can't predict the future and we still need to study this a bit more carefully, but i'm pretty confident the vaccines will work. >> let's talk about the new strains. is it perhaps just inevitable that these strains are going to head to our shores, or maybe are they already here? >> yeah, one of the reasons we keep finding them in the uk is because they're doing a great job looking for variants. we're not. and that's a huge problem because then we're flying blindly. we don't know whether these variants are here.

i suspect they are. we don't know for sure. but these are global pandemics, viruses really travel pretty effectively across countries, so we got to start looking at these things much more carefully in the u.s. >> so if we confirm that these apparently more contagious strains are here, what's the move then? is the public health community going to start recommending that we have stringent uk-style lockdowns until everybody here is vaccinated? >> yeah, i don't know that we need quite that. i mean, unless the variant really starts getting out of control here, but, you know, you heard in the last couple of reports, our hospitals are feeling this incredible amount of strain already. these variants are going to lead to more people getting infected. more people getting hospitalized. unfortunately, more people dying and so we do need to pay close attention. >> sorry to interrupt you. let me just pick up on that point you were making there. we just heard a few moments ago from overwhelmed emts and nurses in california, they're at the breaking point, but things are

most likely going to get worse after this christmas travel season. am i right about that? >> yeah, you know, we've seen this after every major holiday, labor day, memorial day, thanksgiving, we do see a surge. because people get together which i understand that need to do so. look, i'm very worried about what the first couple of weeks of january are going to look like because of the holiday season and my sort of plea to people is to try to keep it small and keep it safe. it's going to be pretty tough for hospitals and for people if we continue to see more infections. >> along the lines of keeping it small, keeping it safe given that you've acknowledged many people will travel despite the pleas from the public health community, can you say more about what exactly we do to maintain some sort of safety while on the road and seeing family? >> yeah, absolutely. so for instance, for us we're not traveling at all. we're not seeing anybody. we're just going to see my wife and i and our kids. if you're going to travel, try

not to spend too much time with people who are high risk. keep the gatherings pretty small. in many parts of the country doing it outdoors is going to be very, very hard. i understand that, especially with that storm coming. really try to spend as little time indoors together as possible. wear a mask if possible as much as possible. look, this is all about reducing risk and trying to get -- be safe because we're so close to a vaccine now, but this is not the time to let our guard now and let people get sick. >> dr. jha, thank you so much, and happy holidays. >> thank you. happy holidays to you. >> whit, over to you. dan, we're going to turn things to a bit of a lighter note here. and the nba. a double nba buzzer beater. first up, kings versus the nugget, game tied in the final seconds here and then this epic steal leading to an unbelievable game-winning tip that was by buddy hield to put the kings over the edge. and then take a look at the final moments of another thrilling match-up. two top teams, celtics versus bucks but boston's jayson tatum

seizing this moment getting his shot up and over -- there you see it again -- milwaukee's mvp giannis antetokounmpo. and tomorrow you can watch basketball all christmas day starting at noon on espn and abc. usually dan, you get the sports stories. >> yes. i know i'm not a sports fan, but when boston wins, i do feel kind of proud. i should say this morning that we are following a lot of other headlines including the latest on the investigation into that deadly police shooting of an unarmed black man after this newly released body cam footage. and nba superstar james harden caught on camera partying maskless and his team's season opener is postponed, but first let's get a check of our weather with rob marciano. hey, rob. hi again. it's going to get cold. your windchill forecast is sponsored by capital one.

hi. i'm nbc 7 meteorologist and for christmas eve mostly cloudy conditions with temperatures on the milder side, upper 50s to low 60s. oakland and san jose at 62. cooler in some of the inland valleys like napa, 57, and antioch 56. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. we have rain arriving christmas afternoon, continuing into saturday, then we get a break before our next system arrives be right back.stem arrives see. i'm deeper thu i'm craving something we're missing. the ceramides in cerave.

cerave contains three essential ceramides, to restore the ones we've lost and help repair my natural barrier. so i can lock in moisture, and keep us protected. we're in this together, so we've got to have each other's backs... and fronts... cerave. now the #1 dermatologist recommended skincare brand. oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, bublé sparkling water. it's buble! and my water broke. at only 23 weeks. andrew: we had to stay in the hospital for 10 weeks, 1000s of miles from family.

our driver kristin came along in our most desperate hour. suzanne: bringing us home-cooked meals and gifts. andrew: day after day. we wanted to show you something. kristin: oh my god! andrew: kristin is the most uncommonly kind person that we've met. suzanne: thank you so much. every time you touch a surface, bacteria is left behind. try microban 24. it kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses initially, and keeps killing bacteria for 24 hours, even after multiple touches. try microban. so why wait to screen for colon cancer? because when caught in early stages, it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive and detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers even in early stages. tell me more. it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your prescriber or an online prescriber if cologuard is right for you.

i'll do it. good plan. removes ten years of yellow stains. optic white renewal that's like all the way back to 2010. what's that? it's a shake weight. it's a weight you shake. remove ten years of yellow stains with colgate optic white renewal. hi susan! honey? yeah? i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad... try this new robitussin honey severe. the real honey you love... plus, the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? new robitussin honey severe. strong relief for your severe symptoms. strong relief jake from state farm, that "maya markdown" saved me so much on my insurance. maya, everyone gets surprisingly great rates with state farm. how can i ever repay you? when you want the real deal, like a good neighbor, state farm is there. with a touch of honey... plump, juicy raisins and tasty fiber into one delicious cereal? it took a lot of bran-storming.

get it? kellogg's raisin bran crunch. two scoops of delicious. good morning and happy mas eve. i'm julian glover. carollers are defying the state's lockdown order. ♪ round yon virgin >> about 40 people gathered in napa for a defyings event. most were not wearing masks as you can see in the video. they wanted to highlight what they see as an inconsistency in the state's restrictions. >> so for christmas, we're not supposed to sing, but we can go shopping. so there's a whole bunch of it's okay to do this and not okay do this, so when is it okay? >> actor kirk cameron is hosting criticism for hosting large

gatherings in southern california. about 100 people, few if any wearing masks, showed up at a caroling event in thousand oaks tuesday night. cavalry church is holding a christmas eve service indoors today. they face a million dollars in fines already and has an average of 700 people attending services. meteorologist frances dinglasan has a than a holiday dinner table. gives you more options in a lan pick the speed that's right for you, with options faster than gig.

and get reliable internet with top-notch coverage. plus, help keep your data safe and private with security included. no antlers on the table. how come you get to eat first? get started with this great offer, or ask about our fastest speed, 2 gig up and down. switch today.

good morning. i'm frances dinglasan. we're starting off with lots of clouds, and there is a slight chance of a sprinkle or even some drizzle throughout the day, but mostly dry. temperatures right now are in the 30s and 40s. by this afternoon we'll be in the upper 50s to low 60s. and then get ready for some wet weather which arrives tomorrow afternoon. julian? >> thank you, frances. got to find that umbrella. coming up on "gma," great

last-minute gift ideas even if

so are we. prudential helps 1 in 7 americans with their financial needs. that's over 25 million people. with over 90 years of investment experience, our thousands of financial professionals can help with secure video chat or on the phone. we make it easy for you with online tools, e-signatures, and no-medical-exam life insurance.

plan for better days. go to prudential.com or talk to an advisor. take an extra 20% off!...t sale at kohl's! and save on kitchen must-haves! get 25% off toys... and get 20% off fragrance gift sets! plus, get kohl's cash! plus, free store pickup. and don't forget gift cards! give with all your heart. kohl's what's so great about dunkin' at home? you don't have to wear pants. okay, who drank all the milk? enjoy the great taste of dunkin' at home. for skin as alive as you are... don't settle for silver 7 moisturizers 3 vitamins

24 hours hydration gold bond champion your skin ♪ i wanna wish you a merry christmas ♪ ♪ i wanna wish you a merry christmas from the bottom of my heart ♪ welcome back to "gma" on this christmas eve morning. this is an exclusive first look at the music video for "feliz navidad's" 50th anniversary. michael bolton, gloria gaynor, lin-manuel miranda are among 30 artists from around the planet who have re-recorded the holiday classic made famous by jose feliciano 50 years ago. great song. >> amazing. getting us into the holiday spirit on this christmas eve. but first, we have top headlines to get to. right now that monster winter storm on the move taking aim at the east coast already wreaking holiday havoc on the roads as millions of americans head out on their holiday travels.

also right now, as u.s. hospitalizations hit another record with another record with more than 119,000 current patients, a hopeful milestone. over 1 million americans receiving that first covid vaccine dose. and in the nation's capital, it's not just christmas eve. it's dr. anthony s. fauci day. d.c.'s mayor issuing the proclamation. honoring the nation's top infectious disease expert. he turns 80 years old today. fauci has served six presidents and committed to serving as president-elect biden's chief medical adviser. happy birthday, dr. fauci. and take a look at this very merry christmas card. there's the illustrated harry, meghan and their dogs and 1-year-old archie. the original photo of the family was taken at their home earlier this month by the duchess' mother and archie taking after his dad, many talking about that beautiful head of red hair just like the prince himself. >> such a cute photo of that family. we continue with the urgent investigation into the deadly

police shooting of an unarmed black man in columbus, ohio. the city releasing police body camera footage of the fatal incident, which is raising new questions in the death of 47-year-old andre hill. marcus moore joins us with the latest. good morning, marcus. >> reporter: eva, good morning. aside from the shooting, one of the central questions being asked is why the officers involved didn't turn on their body cameras until after the shooting, and there is outrage this morning about what happened in the minutes that passed as andre hill bled to death. >> get your hand out from underneath you now. >> reporter: this morning, outrage in columbus, ohio, after an unarmed black man was shot and killed by police. in this body camera video, 47-year-old andre hill can be seen approaching an officer who was responding to a non-emergency call at 1:37 in the morning. >> gray suv in front of this location keeps starting up and running then turns off for awhile. >> reporter: hill had committed no crime and was not trespassing on the property. police say hill was visiting someone at the home. he can be seen here holding a cell phone in his left hand.

his right hand was not visible. but at this point officer adam coy, a 19-year veteran, draws his weapon and fires. coy has been relieved of duty in part because he did not have his body camera turned on. the camera automatically records one minute of video prior to being activated, but does not record sound. shortly after hill falls to the ground, the officer turns on his body camera. an audio can be heard. >> hands off to the side, now. >> reporter: officials say neither officer coy nor any other responding officers attempted to provide first aid themselves, leaving hill to lie on the ground until help arrives. >> to see him lying in the driveway minute after minute, after minute after minute, i had never seen body camera footage like that. >> reporter: for that reason and because his camera was not on, the mayor says he recommended coy be fired. >> literally no attempts to revive and aid this man who had committed no crime, was dying.

that is a stunning disregard for life and in this case black life that is unacceptable. >> reporter: this shooting coming just as casey goodson jr. was laid to rest. goodson, another black man who was shot and killed in columbus just weeks ago by a franklin county sheriff's deputy. that incident sparking more protests in a year where police use of deadly force against black americans has come under scrutiny across the country. >> enough is enough. this community is exhausted. the african-american community is fearful, concerned, outraged and exhausted. >> reporter: officer coy was relieved of duty and the local police union released a statement overnight, saying that every citizen, officers included, deserve due process of the law.

investigations that could happen simultaneously in the days ahead including the ohio bureau of investigation looking into the shooting itself, also, the u.s. attorney could examine whether civil rights violations occurred here and then the department of public safety looking at the administrative steps. so, dan, there's a lot yet to come. >> another community in turmoil this morning. marcus moore, thank you so much. we're going to turn now to trouble for the nba's houston rockets. the league postponing the team's season opener after three players tested positive for covid-19 or inconclusive and all-star player james harden was caught on camera partying without a mask. will reeve is here with much more on this. will, good morning to you. >> reporter: dan, good morning. harden has been a supernova of nba news recently. he's demanded to be traded from the rockets and now he's been hit with a big fine for that maskless partying and the rockets' game was postponed because they didn't have enough players to field a team. an ominous start to what could be a difficult nba season.

the nba season was barely a day old before its first covid-related postponement. >> here comes harden averaging 34 points a game. >> reporter: and superstar james harden is at the center of the drama. the league deeming the eight-time all-star unavailable after he was suspected of violating covid protocols. this shows a maskless harden attending a private indoor event. the nba fining harden $50,000 for violating league covid-19 protocols, which prohibit players from attending bars, lounges or clubs and from participating in social gatherings with more than 15 people. >> this was a fear that everyone had holding a season outside the bubble. i wouldn't be surprised if fines become more steeper or discipline becomes steeper in an effort to try to ward off these things. >> reporter: in a since-deleted instagram post, harden writing, one thing after another. i went to show my love to my homegirl at her event adding, every day it's something different. no matter how many times people try to drag my name under, you can't.

>> everybody in the nba wants us to be an isolated incident. they don't want there to be other patterns of individuals who are kind of going back to certain things they do or used to, and maybe they were used to in a non-pandemic season. >> reporter: nba protocols state that it a players have to be dress dressed. harden's houston rockets had three players test positive or inconclusive. with another injured and four required to self-isolate after contact tracing, the game against the oklahoma city thunder was off. this is a bizarre piece of symmetry. this is the second game in 2020 involving the thunder that has been postponed. the first was on march 11th when players were already on the court, a test for jazz center rudy gobert came back positive. that set off the chain of events that load the the nba season being suspended, until july, and the bubble in walt disney world. whit? >> that's right. the nba left the bubble this season, so we have to see how it

plays out. thank you so much. we appreciate it. coming up here, christmas procrastinators are in luck. there are still ways to get your gifts delivered on time, believe it or not. plus, the last-minute gifts you can get right now still ahead. tremfya® helps adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis uncover clearer skin that can last. in fact, tremfya® was proven superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. uncover clearer skin that can last. janssen can help you explore cost support options. tremfya®. uncover clearer skin that can last. our great street, huge yard. there is a bit of an issue with our neighbors fencing. neighbor 1: allez! (sound from wind chimes) neighbor 2: (laughing)

at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. which helps us save even more. neighbor 2: hey, sarah, hey, peter! neighbor 1: touché. neighbor 2: ahhh! neighbor 1: pret! neighbor 2: en garde! for bundling made easy, go to geico.com ♪ just one look at you. ♪ and i know it's gonna be... a lovely day. ♪ ♪ lovely day, lovely day. lovely day. ♪ ♪ lovely day. ♪ lovely day, lovely day. ♪ no matter how you celebrate this year, make this holiday extra special with a gift from pandora jewelry. has a million little sips of sunshine. it's 100% of your daily vitamin c and 100% delicious. making every moment in the morning brighter. tropicana sip your sunshine.

after a night like this, making every moment in the morning brighter. crest has you covered. crest, the official toothpaste of santa. follow us @crest to celebrate the 12 days of crest smiles. (chime) they were able to give me a personal loan so i could pay off all of my credit cards. (chime) i got my mortgage through sofi and the whole process was so easy.

choosing sofi was literally one of the best decisions i could have ever made because it gave me peace of mind. welcome back to "gma." it is christmas eve so that means we have entered the final countdown, and if there's anyone you still need to check off your gift list, we've got you covered. becky worley is joining us from

the north pole control center. of course, the places to score some last-minute gifts as well as digital gift ideas. becky, good morning to you. let's jump right to it here. the first one we want to touch on here for all those procrastinators out there, where can we order and get same-day delivery on last-minute christmas gifts? is that possible? >> rejoice, whit, and millions of procrastinators around america, we'll start with amazon prime. they say lots of gifts available to order even on the 24th, today. big caveat though, this is same-day delivery in 47 metro areas. millions of them at amazon.com/sameday. moving over to walmart. they say order by 1:00 p.m. local time today for delivery in two hours or less pending availability. pending availability scares me a little though. another option using same-day services like instacart or shipt or uber eats.

you go to those delivery sites directly or the apps and we'll see the stores you can order from. macy's, bed bath & beyond, and target. >> also if you have time to go pick up your presents on christmas eve, you say there are stores out there offering same day curbside pickup. that's a great option. >> lots of options, especially during these covid times. best buy, curbside pickup available nationwide. order as late as 1:00 p.m. for pickup until 7:00 p.m. local time today. target says order for curbside pickup by 5:00 p.m. and they'll still get it to you. but geez, that seems like it's really cutting it close. >> oh, absolutely, and i want to get to this though because you have some last-minute digital gift ideas. dan and eva have been giving me a hard time because i made a big mistake. some of my wife's gifts are going to arrive after christmas because i thought it was same day. i was thinking ious in a box. >> no, we told you not to do that. andrea, you're welcome.

>> i said go to 7-eleven. get a six pack and some koozies. >> i was, like, no. >> i'm sure my wife would love that. >> dan, don't forget, he should throw in the slim jim, right, from 7-eleven too? a big hit. >> so here, becky. let's consult our digital gift spinner for a gift suggestion. here we go. work the graphics. and wait for it. it's very dramatic here, okay, becky, for the foodie out there, what do you got? >> whoo, the suspense was killing me. "cook's illustrated" has an all access membership. that's a good one. they have years and years of everything you could want, and also a double dose of goodness for food lovers. a digital version of the serving new york cookbook with recipes from top restaurants in the city. it's $20 and it's a digital download so you don't have to worry about shipping. all the proceeds go to restaurant relief funds to help waiters, busboys and hostesses. everybody affected by the closure. so that's option one. >> we'll squeeze in another one

from the spinner here. roll it. here we go. this one, for the fitness buff, becky. what are the options? >> okay, turn your living room or your recipient's living room into a gym. a subscription to a streaming fitness service is actually an incredible treat that gives all year long. daily burn is an option or the new apple fitness plus, those are gifts that keep on giving. >> daily burn, that's dan's nickname. thank you so much. appreciate it. coming up, our "play of the day" is next. ♪ not gonna lie, jake from state farm, that "daniel deal" got me some sweet savings on my insurance. daniel... state farm offers surprisingly great rates to everyone. sure you do, tell you what. i'm not supposed to do this, but i'll letcha try the chunk honey. oh...i'm good. but here's the deal, great rates are kinda our thing. you wanna meet the queen? ahhh i'm not dressed for that.

when you want the real deal... like a good neighbor, state farm is there. it makes our lipton leaves better. which makes this smooth tea taste better. and time spent together. even better. and drinking lipton every day. can help support a healthy heart. new aveeno® restorative skin therapy. with our highest concentration of prebiotic oat intensely moisturizes over time to improve skin's resilience. aveeno® healthy. it's our nature™. why not bring the holidays to a vrbo vacation home. somewhere with more space to get closer to the people you love. ♪ ♪ your together awaits.

with vrbo ♪ buy online, pick up same day if you wish.a♪ts♪ ♪ in-store, curbside, whatever your sitch i♪. ♪ it's the safest way to gift that ever existed. ♪ buy online, pick up in store and shop up to 75% off storewide. now, at old navy and old navy.com ahonooooo ha! noooooo quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty picks up messes quicker and is 2x more absorbent, so you can use less. bounty, the quicker picker upper. less sick days! cold coming on? zicam® is clinically proven to shorten colds! highly recommend it! zifans love zicam's unique zinc formula.

it shortens colds! zicam zinc that cold!

♪ take a trip back now with our very merry "play of the day" and this toddler's absolute delight driving through a christmas lights display. mom christina posting the adorable video of her daughter violet on instagram writing, quote, this was just too pure. and in case you were wondering, mom isn't letting violet's viral fame go to the 1-year-old's head saying, quote, don't worry, we're keeping her humble. she asked for caviar and crackers for breakfast but we gave her the usual, omelet and banana instead. but violet is a proven christmas expert. here she is answering the tough questions, take a look. >> that's santa. what does santa say? >> ho, ho, ho. >> yes. he says, ho, ho, ho.

merry christmas. >> absolutely adorable. >> she's the best. can you imagine her christmas morning, like all this buildup is great but christmas morning. >> insanity, all the paper, it's going to be good. well, coming up, the christmas crazy couple who turned their home into a life-sized gingerbread house. whit, this is goals for you. >> mm-hmm. >> you have to see them. they're coming on live. whit, this is goals for you. >> mm-hmm. >> you have to see them. they're coming on live. ♪ 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. ♪ ♪

♪ don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin gold bond removes ten years of yellow stains. optic white renewal

that's like all the way back to 2010. they're jeans. they're leggings. they're jeggings! whoa. remove ten years of yellow stains with colgate optic white renewal. want to sell the best burger add an employee.ode? or ten... then easily and automatically pay your team and file payroll taxes. that means... world domination! or just the west side. run payroll in less than five minutes with intuit quickbooks.

♪ still warm. ♪ thanks, maggie. oh, alice says hi. for some of us, our daily journey is a short one. save 50% when you pay per mile with allstate. pay less when you drive less. you've never been in better hands. allstate. click or call for a quote today. welcome back to "gma" from westport, connecticut, where things are relatively calm now. in the west, in southern california, they've got fires going on in san diego county. this one broke out overnight near camp pendleton. there are now 7,000 residents

that are under evacuation orders and it is 0% contained and winds are still blowing there. red flag warnings remain up. a wind gust in l.a. county of over 70 miles per hour overnight, and there you see the low humidity, and dangerous fire conditions persist. coming up on "gma," with gadgets high on many holiday wish lists, we're going to show you simple ways to boost your wi-fi at home for free, and we're completing our 12 days of christmas cookies with the perfect chef joining us for a partridge in a pear tree. that's all coming up on "gma," but first, more local news and weather for you. "gma," but first, more local news and weather for

"good morning america" is sponsored by allstate. you've never been in better hands. click or call for a quote today. for a quote today.

good morning. i'm julian glover. merry christmas to you. glide in san francisco is continuing its annual prime rib christmas eve luncheon today. it's the 27th year the house of prime rib with glide have been teaming up to make this happen. they're donating 3,000 pounds of prime rib. they're being handled out in front of glide on ellis street. they expect to give out 1,400 meals today. here's frances dinglasan with a look at the forecast. we're good for today, but the rain moves in tomorrow. yeah, definitely arrives tomorrow afternoon, so get ready for that. for now, you'll just need a jacket if you're grabbing a meal. temperatures cool in the north bay in the 30s and mid-40s around the bay right now and upper 30s as well.

today's highs top out in the upper 50s to low 60s. in julian, the round of rain arrives tomorrow afternoon and continues into saturday morning. >> coming up, "gma's" health care heroes.

♪ ♪ digital transformation has failed to take off. because it hasn't removed the endless mundane work we all hate. ♪ ♪ automation can solve that by taking on repetitive tasks for us. unleash your potential. uipath. reboot work.

than a holiday dinner table. gives you more options pick the speed that's right for you, with options faster than gig. and get reliable internet with top-notch coverage. plus, help keep your data safe and private with security included. no antlers on the table. how come you get to eat first? get started with this great offer, or ask about our fastest speed, 2 gig up and down. switch today.

good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. will you be waking up to a white christmas? the monster winter storm set to wallop the east coast. the life-threatening blizzard warning in the midwest. dangerous conditions in minnesota. the governor activating the national guard standing by for rescues. rob is tracking the path. also this morning, chrissy teigen's heartbreak. her emotional reveal about possible future pregnancies. fight for her name. bridal designer hayley paige who made a name for herself on "say yes to the dress" now locked in a legal battle over the use of her own name. why she says she now feels bullied by the company that backed her for a decade. ♪ i will give the word what a gift. a baby just in time for christmas.

this morning, the story of how the little girl arrived after years of health struggles. an unexpected surrogate and pregnancy during the pandemic. ♪ i wanna wish you a merry christmas ♪ and it's a very "gma" christmas eve. the star-studded singalong of jose feliciano's christmas classic, the grand finale to our big 12 days of christmas cookies, we're taking you live to a gingerbread house come to life, and just hours before you can watch "wonder woman," we're talking to the director patty jenkins all ahead as we say, feliz navidad and good morning, america. ♪ feliz navidad feliz navidad all right, good morning, america. so happy to have you with us on this christmas eve morning. take a look. santa on the move as we speak delivering presents to children all over the planet. i got in a little trouble last night because my son made

cookies for santa. daddy had a few bites. maybe more than a few bites. >> you're getting coal for christmas. that's what's happening. >> he was already getting coal. >> yes. >> but still. >> you can bet santa's got some gadgets in that sleigh of his which means a lot will log on to the internet with our new give those this morning, we're going to show you some simple ways to boost your wi-fi for free. >> fast internet speed so dan can post his cat videos on social media. >> so important. we have a busy morning here today, and first, a lot of news to get to starting with that monster christmas storm on the move already causing chaos on the roads. so let's go back to rob marciano ch tracking the very latest for us. good morning, rob, once again. >> reporter: hey, good morning, whit. a storm that doesn't want to stop. it hit the west coast now in the midwest with blizzard conditions and now heading towards the east coast and not weakening as it does so. here's what it did in the midwest. blizzards across five states.

this in northwest of minneapolis, i-94 just a horrific crash here and those blizzard conditions was shut down in both directions. sioux falls, south dakota. look at this. i mean, want to talk about plus-mile-per-hour winds with the snow blowing sideways. the blizzard is done but the wind is not. we'll see the front push off to the east and a tornado threat across the southeast and then tonight into tomorrow morning could see 50, 60, 70-mile-per-hour winds across the big coastal cities, power outages certainly a possibility. a warm wind. the back side of this storm is where it gets cold. arctic cold driving all the way down into the deep south by tomorrow and saturday morning. stay warm. whit. over to you. >> nobody wants a power outage on christmas morning. dan, over to you. we turn to chilling evidence about traveling for the holidays and the rise in coronavirus cases. pierre thomas is here with the results of an abc news investigation. pierre, good morning to you, sir. >> reporter: dan, good morning. the cdc has been warning americans not to travel or gather for the holidays.

many have not been listening. now an abc news investigation is providing new insight into the role travel is playing in the spread of the virus. and we have a deeply personal story from a loving son who has a stark message for us all. for nine months joe bruno and his chicago family were so careful about covid-19. >> i can't tell you the last time i hugged or kissed my parents. >> reporter: but a week before thanksgiving his sister, a hairstylist got a negative covid test so, they thought it was safe for her to stop by to cut joe's hair. their mom carol tagged along. it was less than an hour visit, everyone wearing masks, windows open but within days all three had symptoms. his mother died. overnight his father mike also died unaware his wife was gone. on christmas eve, joe has this message. >> cancel your flights. cancel your plans, stay home. it hurts so bad and if i could go back in time, i would do

things differently. >> reporter: while there are a number of factors including local community spread contributing to the current way, the concern about travel fueling infections appears to be well founded. an abc news investigation looked at travel from 20 of the nation's largest counties, overall 18 of those counties saw increases in covid cases the week following thanksgiving. in counties with high numbers of travelers going more than 500 miles, on average an additional 407 infections per day. in los angeles county, the number of new covid cases per day surging by 80%. in dallas county, texas, a 61% spike. >> that's predictable. it's absolutely 100% predictable. travel increases your risk of spread. >> people are tired of zoom. they're tired of phone calls. but, boy, i wish i could have a phone call with my mother and i can't. >> reporter: joe's parents celebrated their 59th anniversary in october.

so happy, inseparable. he can't believe they're gone. his mother died ten days ago. he just lost his father last night only hours ago. he's not trying to be preachy but he wants everyone at home to be careful this holiday season and avoid the pain he and his family are going through. eva. >> pierre, a reminder of the cost of taking that risk of getting together. it is a very real cost. thinking of him this morning. coming up, chrissy teigen sharing a new photo and opening up about never getting pregnant again and her journey to healing. also coming up this morning, wedding dress designer hayley paige fighting for the rights to her own name. after one couture company says it owns those rights. what she is saying this morning. and this is something we're all looking forward to today. the last day of our 12 days of christmas cookies, chef millie peartree has a great recipe you don't want to miss. we'll be right back. ♪ broken windshield... take 1... hey guys, my windshield just got broken, i feel like i need to blow off some steam.

let's go... 1, 2, 3, 4... mr. blanks? there's no need to be stressed. geico makes it easy to file a claim online, on the app, or over the phone. yeah, but what if i never hear back? that's gonna make me want to go jab...jab! nope! your geico claims team is always there for you. that makes me want to celebrate with some fireworks. 5,6,7 go... boom, boom, boom, boom boom boom boom boom boom, yeah! geico. great service without all the drama. oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, bublé sparkling water. it's buble! is now even more powerful.

the stronger, lasts-longer energizer max. the stronger, lasts-longer pepto bismol coats and soothes your stomach for fast relief ♪ and get the same fast relief in a delightful chew with pepto bismol chews. that's very common to have a gum health concern as well. you know, i talk to dentists every day, and they're able to recommend sensodyne sensitivity & gum. it's really good dentistry to be able to recommend one product that can address two conditions. take an extra 20% off!...t sale one prodat kohl's! and save on kitchen must-haves! get 25% off toys... and get 20% off fragrance gift sets! plus, get kohl's cash! plus, free store pickup. and don't forget gift cards! give with all your heart. kohl's with a touch of honey... plump, juicy raisins and tasty fiber

into one delicious cereal? it took a lot of bran-storming. get it? kellogg's raisin bran crunch. two scoops of delicious. i chose the spark cash card from capital one. cause i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy. last year i redeemed $21,000 in cash back which i used for new equipment, to expand production. what's in your wallet? than rheumatoid arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz... a pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis when methotrexate has not helped enough. xeljanz can help relieve joint pain and swelling, stiffness, and helps stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate.

xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than seven years ago. xeljanz.

♪ feliz navidad prospero ano y felicidad ♪ welcome back. this is another exclusive first look at the music video for "feliz navidad" 50th anniversary. so many popular artists helping rerecord the holiday classic. in fact, "feliz navidad" is now on the top ten of the billboard charts for the first time ever 50 years after it was originally released. that was back in 1970. you can watch the entire video for the new version on goodmorningamerica.com. >> hard to believe it was never on the top before. >> i know, it's amazing. >> well, the song is stuck in our heads now. >> got robbed. perfect timing, christmas eve and so many have been getting in the spirit and sending us your decked out trees. check out this one send us to by

tanisha from easton, pennsylvania. can you spot scarlet, the cat? >> oh, yes. yeah. >> perched in the tree there. >> sitting in the tree judging everybody. >> watching, judging, that's right. take a look at this from sara and john in chandler, arizona. their dog peyton looking like he's just a present under the tree. my dog copper is eating the bows off all the presents these days. >> walter has taken over the tree. he thinks it's his bed. bringing all his toys over there, we're like, no. turning now to our "gma" cover story and chrissy teigen revealing a new photo of the bump she still has following the loss of her baby in september. zohreen shah joins us from l.a. with more on teigen opening up about her heartbreaking journey. this story, just so many women have resonated with it so much. >> reporter: so many, eva and losing a baby is a painful journey that so many parents battle alone. chrissy teigen has been open about her grief from the very

beginning, now sharing the struggle she faces months later. this morning, the healing continues for chrissy teigen. instagraming, this is my body just yesterday. even though i'm no longer pregnant every glance in the mirror reminds me of what could have been. she goes on to say, i love being pregnant so, so much and i'm sad i never will be again. over the summer teigen revealing her baby bump in this music video with husband john legend. ♪ wild, wild, wild >> reporter: but in late september sharing through these intimate photos they lost their baby who they named jack at 20 weeks after a complicated pregnancy. the couple in their first tv interview telling michael strahan last month about the devastating loss. >> yeah, i definitely give myself permission to have complete and utter grief. every day is so different. when people ask me how i'm doing, i always say, i'm okay

today. >> reporter: now teigen to her fans revealing, i have no idea why i still have this bump. honestly, it's frustrating, but i'm proud of where this entire journey took my body and mind in other ways. teigen expressing gratitude to the two children she does have, miles and luna. teigen's openness not only helping others suffering pregnancy loss but experts say can be a powerful part of the healing process. how does grief play a role in moving forward? >> what you need to do is allow yourself to feel whatever it is that you're feeling. make sure that you surround yourself with support. and there's actually a lot of research that says that the more you tell your story, the more you can heal and so she's actually healing while she's sharing. >> i believe people are inherently good and it's shown itself and as hard as it was it is beautiful to see this side of it. >> reporter: our expert says one thing that makes teigen sharing

her story so powerful is a lot of women don't share theirs. in some ways they often blame themselves, and they wonder if they could have done something differently when in reality it has nothing to do with them personal personally, eva. >> her sharing that story helping so many other women heal as well, zohreen shah, thank you for that report. whit. we do want to turn to that fashion face-off. wedding dress designer hayley paige is in an increasingly common fight over the rights to her own name and her social media accounts with the company that backed her brand for years. erielle reshef has the story, erielle. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. hayley paige is known for outfitting brides for their big day, but now she's opening up to her legions of fans about the bitter battle for her self-titled brand, and she says she feels bullied. >> forgive me, i brought my entourage of dreamy dresses. >> reporter: she's been on "say yes to the dress," and her designs worn by celebrities like

carly pierce and tess romero. >> look what i have. >> reporter: but now hayley paige is reaching out to her fans, mired in the legal battle of her career all over the use of her name. >> it is with a very heavy heart that i announce my resignation as a designer. >> reporter: her announcement following a lawsuit filed by jlm couture, the company that backed her brand over much of the last decade. the lawsuit claiming that the company owns her social media accounts. >> i wanted to be the first to personally tell you that i am no longer posting or engaging on that account until this matter is resolved. >> reporter: the lawsuit also blocking paige from using different variations of her name on social media based on language in her contract, paige now telling us she feels bullied. >> i was feeling very uncomfortable with a lot that was going on and that resulted in my instagram being

essentially taken where i could not control or post freely as i had always been doing. >> reporter: jlm couture responding to paige on instagram saying, the issue is between jlm couture and hayley paige gutman are multifaceted, adding, company all love hayley, and hold her in the highest regard. the issues boiling over after she launched a tiktok page posting videos they claim did not represent their brand. hayley is not the first to tie her name to her fashion brand. donna karan and kate spade became household names and they eventually relinquished when selling their respective companies. but social media didn't exist then, and adds a new layer to self-named brands. >> so much of what makes an account grow is the personality behind it and personality and brand are really becoming one thing, so, yes, it may be a

clothing line, but it's also the person and the brand is her name. >> reporter: and jlm is fiercely pushing back against allegations that it's blocked paige from her accounts and says she still has access, and it welcomes working with her to publish posts that boost the hayley paige brand. whit? >> raises a lot of questions across the board. thank you so much. dan, over to you. if all you want for christmas is the latest tech, you may want to ask santa for a wi-fi boost too. with internet usage at an all-time high many are maxing out their bandwidth and becky worley is back with five free things you can do to improve your wi-fi speed, and i need to hear this, becky because we have had some battles at chez harris. >> reporter: we'll help you out because 'tis the season for all these things. zoom calls with grandma adding gifted holiday devices to your wi-fi network so that wi-fi is slow. it's spotty or if you've got limited specific rooms where you

can actually get online, we've got some zero cost ideas to help. three kids, two working parents, five simultaneous zoom calls. >> when the bandwidth gets squeezed, everybody starts yelling. >> oh, my, god, yeah, there was a huge fight yesterday because both of them couldn't get on. >> reporter: to help this family in new jersey we enlist joel from wirecutter. first he says check your speed. the family pays for the fastest residential internet connection available and while their hard wired router is getting advertised speeds, the wi-fi is not as fast as our expert thinks it should be. >> you should be getting somewhere in the order of 300 megabits standing right next to your router. >> reporter: to find out michele uses speedtest.net. in the center of her house, she's averaging 200 megabits, a third slower she finds than the optimal speed. he called the provider to make sure the hardware is properly

configured and current. >> they do update equipment. >> reporter: but joel says you need to ask for a new model about every three to four years. speed, though, isn't their only lemm. -- problem. michele says the signal is not covering the whole house especially their playroom where slow load times are the norm. >> if someone is trying to play a game and something happens that's where the fights are. >> reporter: so what's causing the interference? most signals can handle normal drywall, but -- >> one of the biggest gotchas is masonry like cinder block wall, fireplaces, things like that will definitely block the signal. >> reporter: sure enough michele's extender is wedged between the brick fireplace and a wire basket. double whammy. >> i'm going to move that like now. >> reporter: that move alone improved her results by almost 30% according to speedtest.net. also joel says a higher elevation is better. if you can put a router on the second floor it'll transmit down better than across or up because

there are fewer refrigerators, microwaves and masonry walls. now, our geekiest tip, most wi-fi routers have two signals, short range and long range. michele gave me remote access to her account. >> i got on and looked at your router settings and your kids' ipad is on the 2.4 network. >> that makes complete sense. it always is the slowest. i just thought because it was an older ipad but that makes sense. >> reporter: switching that device to the long range wi-fi signal is another step to help this family speed up quarantine life. another tip, it's often not the wi-fi, it's the cpu in the computer itself. that's the computer's brain so you want to close other applications, keep only one window open, especially when you are doing video calls. so dan, those 47 tabs you have open in your web browser, maybe minimize them.

>> you lost me at cpu. i started to get confused but i'll thank you in advance for coming to my house this afternoon to optimize the wi-fi. >> we'll get it worked out. >> i appreciate it. thank you, becky. all right. let's get it over to rob marciano, our bewhiskered friend in connecticut. rob, what's happening? >> good morning, dan. a lot of action out here westport, connecticut. people out and about trying to get last-minute stuff done taking a job. good morning to you, merry christmas eve. we've got some action in the midwest from the storm. i want to show you this out of southern minnesota. give you an idea how potent it was, power flash, power lines having a hard time with these winds which will be heading towards the east. let's give you the generic -- or general i should say, christmas forecast with the choo choo train. that's a check on what's happening nationally. hi. i'm nbc 7 meteorologist and for

christmas eve mostly cloudy conditions with temperatures on the milder side, upper 50s to low 60s. oakland and san jose at 62. cooler in some of the inland valleys like napa, 57, and antioch 56. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. we have rain arriving christmas afternoon, continuing into saturday, then we get a break before our next system arrives well now to a very special christmas for one new mom thanks to the kindness of her former high school classmate. mona kosar abdi joins us with this incredibly heartwarming story. good morning, mona. >> reporter: eva, good morning. katy sanchez and christy acevedo met years ago at the halls of their high school. little did they know their paths would cross once again through a facebook post that would change the course of both of their lives. for new mom katy sanchez it's a holiday season like no other.

>> she was crying and i remember saying, i know, but i know but we just wanted to meet you. we're so happy to meet you. >> reporter: thanks to an act of kindness from a former high school classmate sanchez and her husband joshua welcoming a beautiful baby girl this october after years of health struggles. >> katy with her baby, it makes it 100 times worth the sacrifice that i made. >> reporter: babies were certainly on the brain for the sanchezes after their 2017 wedding but a shocking cancer diagnosis of glioblastoma made the journey challenging. katy undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation all before being accepted into a clinical trial aimed at combatting any reoccurrences of the cancer. that trial successful. but made carrying a baby not possible. so the sanchezes needed to find a surrogate. >> in michigan it's tough. compensated gestational

surrogacy in michigan is illegal, so i ended up going to facebook. >> reporter: that post striking a chord with mom of two christy acevedo. >> not a lot of time passed before i initially read her post to actually telling her that i was willing to take this journey. we both cried. it was unforgettable. >> reporter: by january she was calling sanchez with some great news. >> i said, hello and i think she said you're having a baby. >> reporter: but the covid-19 pandemic adding stress for the couples, acevedo was pregnant while working as a nurse and there were concerns about who would be allowed into the delivery room. >> my husband and katy and her husband were there. a baby was born but so was a mother and a father and i had the opportunity to see that. >> there wasn't a dry eye in the whole delivery room and handing that baby to katy and all eyes on her and her husband was quite an amazing moment. >> reporter: the sanchezes

forever grateful for christy now enjoying their time as new parents. >> i'm so happy i will be able to tell my daughter that she was born out of such a great act of kindness. >> and katy is still undergoing treatment to make sure there isn't a reoccurrence of her cancer, but we are happy to report that she is celebrating being three years cancer-free, and of course, eva, being a new mom as well. >> oh, yeah, what a gift and good reminder of what's good in this world during this season. >> beautiful story. >> mona, thank you. well, coming up, the couple who turns their home into a gingerbread house for the holiday. they join us live. stay with us. ♪ let it go, let it go ♪

♪ in the past we are back on "gma" bringing you a true winter wonderland this christmas eve. a home that looks like it would be a perfect fit for candy cane lane. >> not only does it look like a gingerbread house come to life but the couple who created it did it for some rather extraordinary reasons. ♪ >> reporter: for peter and drew, the most wonderful time of the year is not complete without this spectacular display of gingerbread. >> we have our fantastic fabulous marshmallow singing snowman that sings a punk rock version of "do you want to build a snowman." >> reporter: every year they transform it to a life-sized

gingerbread house full of joy. candy canes, toy soldiers, and an angelic kochoir, and more th a thousand christmas decorations line the sidewalk. the house complete with a peppermint trim and gumdrop rooftop ready for a visit from santa. and peter and drew are joining us now. gentlemen, good morning. thanks for coming on. really appreciate it. >> hi, good morning, thanks. merry christmas. >> so how much work does it take to build what we see behind you? >> well, you know what, we design it over the summer and spent months and months designing it. around september 1st we start the installation to be ready by december 1st. it takes almost over three months to do it. >> while he's outside wiring things in, i'm inside doing computer work, programming lights to dance to the music and we have some characters throughout the display that i actually do a little bit of voice acting for as well. so it's pretty complicated.

>> it takes literally -- i have a lot of the decorations we have i had as a kid. basically after christmas what i would do is with my christmas money from my grandparents and whatnot, i would actually buy christmas decorations at 50% off instead of buying video games like normal kids. >> so, you must make clark w. griswold look like somebody who tinkers with night lights because this is next level check every bulb. give us a little bit of what it takes to accomplish this feat. >> you know what, it's just tons of computer programming. it's voice acting scripting, oh, my god, the amount of time it takes to script everything. it's fully interactive. the cool part is we model it after basically like an amusement park so when the kids walk through it, they see all the different things talking to them and press buttons, it reacts and it's actually a magical experience and we always add stuff new every single year

because you wouldn't go to disney world every single year if they had all the same stuff. >> i'm curious with all the things that are there behind you, what is your favorite part of all of the decorations? >> there's so many different things but we love all the different interactive elements. when you see the display there's all the pretty lights you could look at but when you walk through there are all these different buttons to press and all different things happen like right behind me we have a workshop where you press a button and watch presents get made and then there's a bakery where there's dancing gingerbread men and, of course, our house dances to music, some of the "frozen" songs from the movie. >> one cool thing we have new is we have an interactive candy shop. you press a doorbell and see the lollipops go in unpainted and come out painted and it's stocked with actual candy so if you come to the gingerbread house, you are going to get candy. every child will get candy. >> interactive socially distant candy shop is as good as it gets.

>> yes. yes. >> i'm sure it smells good. >> well, thank you so much for joining us. it's an amazing setup you have. you're getting us all in the holiday spirit. we truly appreciate it. merry christmas to you. we'll stay in the holiday spirit, but in a different way here because on this christmas eve, we are marking the final day of our 12 days of christmas cookies, so let's g ovo over tor advent calendar over here and of course, it is day number 12 so, eva, let's see what we have inside. >> oh, yes, these are pear tree oatmeal cookies for our theme. a partridge in a pear tree so naturally this is the best part, millie peartree, that's her real name, founder of full heart full bellies is here to show us how to make them. hey, millie. >> good morning, how are you? thanks for having me. >> these are so exciting. what do we need for these cookies? >> so we need all pantry ingredients, all purpose flour, unbleached, some oatmeal, brown

sugar, i have some cane sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla and egg. some cinnamon, some salt and some baking soda. that's everything you have in your pantry. >> my question is i'm almost done with mine. can i take eva's? >> no. >> no, okay. that's a no from eva. my actual question -- my actual question is why are oats -- what makes oats such a great ingredient? >> oats are such a great ingredient because it's heart friendly, you know, eating cookies all day, of course, you want to give santa something with fiber in it. good for the heart. low sodium, and i like the consistency because it makes you full faster as well. >> when it comes to baking with fruit, that can be a little bit tricky sometimes and you say fresh is always better. why is that? >> fresh is always better because it has great flavor. if you can't find fresh, use canned or frozen. just make sure you drain it

completely because you don't want all that extra water and moisture in it because nobody wants soggy cookies. the only time you want it softer is when you dip it in milk. >> these are perfectly chewy and soft. what is the trick you use to make sure they stay soft and don't get gummy? >> so, tricks to making soft cookies when you measure flour, one thing is you want to scoop your flour into a measuring cup, and level it off with your finger or a knife because you don't want it to compact inside the cup. another thing is cold, cold, cold ingredients after they're mixed, put in the refrigerator and comes together and have more that have butter flavor when your cookies are refrigerated but, of course, when cooking and baking room temperature to start and then when you have it set refrigerator and you'll bake them cold. >> let's take a look at these fabulous cookies and i guess -- >> absolutely. >> put sugar on top. >> absolutely, so we put some sugar on top so we mixed all our

cookies and throw all this in the mixer, our creamed butter and egg and vanilla extract. we have some cookies right here already scooped out. this is what it's going to look like, we'll scoop some onto a cookie tray then add some sugar on top. and this is the end cookie. nice, full, chewy, you know, i like oatmeal. i'm on a wellness journey now and can have a couple with tea and good to go. nice and soft. >> we all agree the cookies are fantastic. we're halfway through our plate over here. good. dan already ate his before we even started the segment so that's saying something. >> dan is a snacker. dan loves to eat. thank you so much. i appreciate each and every one of you and happy holidays. dan, my man. >> i feel so seen. thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> welcome. you're welcome. have a happy, safe and blessed holiday, everybody. thanks for having me. >> merry christmas. you can get millie's recipe and all of our other 12 days of cookies' recipes on our website,

goodmorningamerica.com. coming up, "wonder woman" director patty jenkins joining us live. stay with us.

xfinity internet customers are saving up to $400 when they add xfinity mobile. they can choose from flexible data options. and get nationwide 5g included, all on the most reliable network! ...and they lived happily ever after. again! again! get an incredible offer on xfinity internet and you could save up to $400 a year when you add xfinity mobile. click, call, or visit a store today.

♪ all night welcome back. critics are calling "wonder woman 1984" the superheroine 2020 film and the woman behind the superhero director patty jenkins joins us now. thanks so much for being with us.

>> hey, hi. good morning. >> so i want to start, wonder woman is such an iconic character, the ultimate girl power. was there pressure for you in directing this film? >> yeah, definitely. i mean particularly as a superfan of wonder woman myself, i had been waiting my own life to go see this movie and so the first movie there was a lot of pressure. the second movie there was a lot of pressure to try to, you know, to live up to the first movie and to do something new and fresh and, you know, i'm super happy with where we ended up. >> patty, so far it looks like you pulled it off because the reviews for "wonder woman 1984" have been great so far. a lot of people are saying this is really the movie that everybody needs right now in 2020 with the pandemic and what we're all going through. why do you think that is? why do you think this is something that everyone can connect to? >> you know what i think is interesting about superheroes is that we've gotten so many that we've gotten really interested in them and how we do them. at the end of the day the

beginning of why we started telling these stories is modeling how to be a hero to people. that's why kids started reading comic books about being a superhero so she is a true north superhero. and more than that, she's not just about defeating the bad guy or beating someone up, but about teaching love and betterment of ourselves, and a very sincere, loving, caring, positive superhero so i'm so happy how that's timing up with this moment. >> a bit of a surprise to see chris pine in this new film given how we left him last time and he shows up wearing some questionable '80s fashion. let's run a clip here. >> this is dynamite. what do you think? >> yeah. >> huh? >> right? >> yeah. >> i saw a couple magazine pictures. they roll these up. >> i think we can do better. >> look at all the pockets in this. there are pockets all over the pant. american issue bag. adjustable, parachute pants.

>> yeah. >> does everybody parachute? >> i had some pants -- parachute pants back in the '80s. tucked away. my wife made me push them to the back of my closet. you got to work with chris on these outfits. where did the ideas come from? >> so, that was one of the funniest days on the entire movie was he and i doing costume fittings for -- first of all, what he would wear in the whole movie but this scene. i never laughed so hard. look, that's him. that's him trying stuff on. i never laughed so hard than chris picking out different outfits and putting them on and coming out and we would just laugh and laugh and he would model what he was doing, you know, what he had in the fanny pack and so a lot ended up on the cutting room floor there. it was really, really funny. >> those outfits were epic. >> do people parachute in these? no. >> they absolutely do not. a little birdie told me you, the

original wonder woman lynda carter and gal gadot have a group text chain going. i'm curious how often do you guys talk to each other? >> a lot. so it's funny, lynda is one of the first people i contacted and she and i have become super good friends and in the last few years we started -- there is a chat -- you know, a group text that we're all three on. literally we talked probably four times yesterday and so we text each other all the time. we talk about what's going on and talk about the movie release, we, you know, we have a very shared spirit which is so awesome to share and such an honor to share with her. >> we're all huge sci-fi nerds here. we have to ask you, we know you're directing the next "star wars" film. can you tell us anything about it? >> no. [ laughter ] >> come on. we know there are x-wings. >> i can only tell you how excited i am. i mean it's really -- the best thing can you do is marry up with a story line that you love. i'm super excited about the

story we're doing and everyone that we're working with and so i'm very excited. >> we're so disappointed in you for not giving us everything. >> maybe we can get some hints when this camera isn't on. >> exactly. >> thank you so much. thank you so much for being with us this morning. we really appreciate it. "wonder woman 1984" will be in select theaters and available on hbo max tomorrow. i watched it two days ago because they gave it to us, all the feels. got to see it. let's turn to rob with another check of our weather. >> well, it's that time of year, you know, santa leaves the north pole and gets moving. he's already in south america is what our santa tracker told us and just saw mrs. claus skiing because mr. claus and he's done with the work, give yourself a little hip shake.

good morning. get ready for some wet weather. it arrives tomorrow for christmas afternoon, continues into saturday, and then another system comes in sunday coming coming up, "gma" helping heroes, the three young men raising money and serving dinner to the health care workers on the night shift. ♪ we will survive ♪ we are warriors ♪ and we're stronger that's why we're alive ♪ we're alive ♪ e stuck at home right now... but we want to say thank you... because you're being a big helper. when you stay home... you're protecting other people from getting sick. by calling a someone you love who's stuck inside, you're giving them a smile...

great day on the lake! it is. lunch is cookin'! and i saved a bunch of money on my boat insurance with geico. fellas, can it get any better than this? whoa! my old hairstyle grew back. so did mine. [80's music] what? i was an 80's kid. it only gets better when you switch and save with geico.

you just saw some of the amazing health care heroes helping fight covid-19 on the front lines. this morning we have three teenagers bringing some much needed relief and a lot of joy

to the health care workers during this pandemic. >> this is a great story. christopher barnaby, shane daughtry and john prince all became friends in elementary school. well, they decided in the spring that they wanted to help people in need. instead of just sitting around at home so they came up with friends4frontlines. they started asking for donations and then using that money to support small local restaurants, buying meals to donate to local hospitals, especially focusing on the often overlooked hospital night shift. so christopher, shane and john are all joining us now. good morning to you, guys. shane, i want to start with you. where did this idea come from for you guys all to get involved and do this together? >> well, like most teenagers we were all locked up in our houses, not much to do, usually just watching tv or sleeping at home and we realized that not many people have that luxury of knowing where their next meal comes from or having a source of

income. they're not able to relax especially through a pandemic. so we created friends4frontlines to help our local businesses that were failing while also helping our frontline health care workers by feeding them through the night shift. >> well, i want to ask john, why did you guys specifically decide to focus on those night shift workers? >> well, a family friend of mine who works in the er was raving to us about how all the donations coming but mentioned that the night shift workers were overlooked and they hadn't received really anything at all so we were able to do something others weren't. >> what kind of reaction do you get when you shope up with the food? -- show up with the food? what reaction do you get? >> i remember one time specifically a woman wrote us a heartfelt message saying that it was her only meal for the day and it really shows how much work they actually have to go through.

a lot of the time they don't have time to get their own food. they can't even bring their own food many times, so it really hit home knowing that we were making a difference. >> christopher, do you guys view yourselves as heroes for this work that you're doing? >> we don't see ourselves as heroes. we see ourselves as just a bunch of kids who did something anybody could do and we're just helping out the real heroes, the frontline workers and the restaurant owners who are keeping our society safe and keeping our society running and putting their lives on the line every day so that we can continue doing what we're doing. >> do any of you have a message for people watching at home? >> well, we just want to make sure people know that anybody can make a difference. we're just a couple of teenagers who came up with an idea and so we just want to get the message out that the -- our frontline health care workers are being heard and they're the real heroes out there and we really

appreciate them. >> well, you guys are all a true inspiration and we're so happy you're sharing this story with us so we've got a little something for you. we've actually got a very special surprise. cottonelle is giving friends4frontlines a check for $5,000 to keep up the amazing work that you've all been doing. thank you to cottonelle for that and thank you, it really shows, you got to get to work and do something and make a difference and we really appreciate you all joining us this morning. >> thank you so much. >> we want to hear how you at home are showing support at #gmahelpingheroes. we

sfx: dog bark ♪ a little taste of home is worth sharing. help the world believe in holiday magic. and this year was harder than ever. and yet, somehow, you all found a way to pull it off. it's not about the toys or the ornaments but about coming together. santa, santa, you're on mute! just wanted to say thanks. thanks for believing.

to your friends... your family... to your teachers. in that spirit of giving, chevy's proud to give our employee discount to everyone. the chevy price you pay, ...is what we pay. not a cent more. because giving, ...and giving back, is what the holidays are all about. use the chevy employee discount for everyone to get a total value of over eight thousand four hundred dollars on this silverado. get the chevy employee discount for everyone today.

♪ have a holly, jolly christmas ♪ "good morning america" is sponsored by pfizer. and before we go, we have one more decked out tree that you have to see. check it out. it's ellie. she's a member of the "gma" family who is a guest on the show. that is actually ellie's tree. not a shared tree. a tree for herself.

>> she has red carpet for her birthday, and all that kind of stuff. >> fancy. thanks so much for watching. merry christmas eve, everybody.

test test >> good morning, everyone more than half of the icu patients in california hospitals right now are infected with covid-19. statewide, available capacity has dipped to 1.1%. all of seven california and the san joaquin valley have been out of regular icu capacity for days now. the bay area is faring better with 11.4% availability. here's frances with our forecast. >> hi, kumasi. chilly in the north bay and the valleys with temperatures in the 30s, and we have 40s around the bay. this afternoon, we will warm up into the upper 50s to low 60s. and then get ready for two rounds of rain. one starts tomorrow, christmas afternoon, and the second one comes in on sunday. kumasi? >> thank you, frances. time for ""live with kelly" and

ryan." we're back at 11:00. it's "live with kelly and ryan." today, from "black-ish," actor anthony anderson. and lorraine bracco tells us how she bought her dream home for only one euro. also, mma fighter juan archuleta. plus, designer vern yip teaches us how to paint like a pro, all next on "live." ♪ and now, here are kelly ripa and ryan seacrest. - good morning. - what? [cheers and applause] hello. [sighs] hello, everyone, good morning. it is thursday, december 24th, 2020. it is christmas eve, and it is ryan seacrest's birthday! [cheers and applause] - thank you. - happy birthday. - thank you very much. - you know what? i am so grateful you were born. - aw, that is... - say it all the time. you're sweet, thank you. and happy birthday to you, connie seacrest, because you gave birth today.