them. right now on "america this morning" president trump backs down and signs the covid relief bill, clearing the way for the $600 stimulus checks. when will they arrive? could the check amount still be raised to 2 thousand dollars? what we've learned. plus, the race to get vaccinated. why we're lagging far behind the predicted numbers. new details and video from the nashville christmas bombing. what investigators are saying about the bomber's possible motive and we hear from a family who got out just in time and the officers who saved them. new year's weather alert. a storm kicking off its cross-country journey today. what it could mean for holiday plans. plus, "wonder woman" flying high and on the fast track to

return again. >> from a 2,000 year old fast food restaurant to the nba star who sank 105 free throws and the doggone problem at this soccer game. all the trending stories this monday morning. good monday morning, everyone. we begin with help finally on the way for millions of americans. >> president trump signed the covid relief bill. it follows days of chaos triggered by his 11th hour demand for bigger stimulus checks after the bill was overwhelmingly approved by both parties. >> in addition to green lighting the new round of direct payments, the president's signature will restart unemployment benefits and dodge a looming government shutdown. nearly one week after calling it a disgrace, president trump is backing down agreeing to sign a $2.3 trillion coronavirus

relief and government funding bill, averting a government shutdown hours before tonight's deadline. in a statement the president saying, quote, i'm signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions and money for the paycheck protection program and much more. the president spending the weekend golfing in florida faced intense pressure to give in as unemployment benefits for 14 million americans expire. it took congress six months to negotiate the bipartisan relief bill. the president's own team helped negotiate it. then the president demanding last-minute changes tweeting i simply want to get our people $2,000 instead of the measly $600 in the bill. some republicans criticized him for not raising his objections earlier. >> if you want to make it $2,000 checks, negotiate that in the beginning. >> he wants to be remembered for advocating for big checks, but the danger is he'll be remembered for chaos and erratic

behavior if he allows this to expire. >> reporter: the president said he signed the bill after the senate agreed to consider increasing the checks to $2,000 which is house is expected to pass today. mitch mcconnell made no such statement last night, saying the president's leadership has prevented a government shutdown at a time when our nation couldn't afford one. >> that's going to be a tall order to crack in the united states senate. i think we'll get it through the house. >> reporter: the president after criticizing foreign aid in the spending bill said he'll insist congress cut specific spending items. that's not expected to have a meaningful impact on capitol hill. meanwhile the delay in approving the bill already having consequences. those americans getting the extra $300 in unemployment benefits will likely miss one week of payments because of the delay.

>> it's an insult to small businesses. it's an insult to the working poor and unemployed. >> as for the $600 stimulus checks, they were supposed to start going out this week. it's unclear how long they could be delayed. turning now to a grim forecast for the coronavirus pandemic doctors say it's going to get worse. figures already show about one in every 100,000 americans have died from the virus. now a new and more contagious covid mutation has spread to north america. public health officials warning the u.s. is in a critical point at fighting the coronavirus. with 10 million americans flying over the christmas holiday now returning home potentially fanning the flames of the pandemic. >> it might get worse. >> reporter: one third of hospitals say their icus are at or nearly at capacity. california reported more than 50,000 new infections over the holiday weekend. hospitals are postponing surgeries and running low on

supplies. >> at least a dozen hospitals have been requesting additional support for a mobile oxygen unit. >> reporter: health officials also tracking the new covid mutation from the uk to other parts of europe and now in toronto. >> if you're worried about a new variant, it's that much more important we follow the four ws -- wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance and wait on gathering. >> reporter: nearly 2 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered in the u.s., that's less than predicted. >> the idea we'll get to 20 million vaccinations by the end of the year is unrealistic at this point. >> reporter: new york is investigating parcare community health. it's accused of letting members of the public skip the line and get the vaccine before health care workers. parcare insists they followed

all procedures. meanwhile, a reminder of the toll this virus is taking. golfer greg norman saying he is back in the hospital writing i am fit and strong and have a high tolerance for pain. this virus kicked the crap out of me. muscle and joint pain on another level. headaches that feel like a chisel going through your head scraping little bits off each time. this sobering figure from california. one person is dying every ten minutes from covid in l.a. county. we have new details about the christmas day bombing in nashville. we're getting our first look at the moment the explosion shattered the early morning calm in the downtown area. authorities have identified anthony warner as the bomber. he was the only person killed. we're learning about a potential motive. here's abc's avery harper. >> reporter: this video shows the moment the christmas day explosion rocked downtown nashville. investigators calling it a

suicide bombing. >> anthony warner is the bomber. he was present when the bomb went off and he perished in the bombing. >> reporter: shortly after 1:00 a.m. christmas morning this rv was parked outside the at&t building. authorities are viewing this surveillance video of the blast. >> if you can hear this message, evacuate now. >> reporter: police say they could hear the ominous recording coming from the rv, along with a '60s pop song. >> what i remember was downtown where the lights shine bright. >> reporter: investigators now psychiatric and medical history. agents could be seen carrying out bags of evidence associated with a home from warner. investigators are investigating whether he was paranoid about 5g technology. meanwhile six nashville police officers are describing the moments they rushed to evacuate

families before friday's explosion. officer brenna hosey began banging on doors, helping a mother of four evacuate. >> she said let me get my kids. that put my heart in my throat. >> reporter: officer james wells was the closest to the explosion and had been trying to reach fellow officer amanda topping. the force of the blast left wells with temporary hearing loss. >> as i turned around, it felt like i only took three steps and the music stopped. as i'm walking back, i see orange and then i hear a loud boom. as i'm stumbling, it rocked me that hard. i started stumbling. i told myself to stay on your feet. >> i took off in a sprint towards him. i never grabbed somebody so hard in my life. >> reporter: this family made it out of their home just in time. >> as we're driving away, massive explosion. it was just this huge explosion. i was driving and i hear the sound. i was looking forward and the

whole car shifts. >> i'm looking back at my two sweet kids in their pajamas. i was like we have everything we need. >> reporter: investigators are working to determine if the at&t building was the bomber's intended target knowing that could go a long way in confirming a motive. mona? >> thank you. a police officer's job is on the line at a hearing in columbus, ohio. city officials are deciding whether adam coy will be fired for the shooting of an unarmed black man. coy did not turn on his body camera until after the shooting. turning to the weather a major storm is set to move across the country. let's look at your monday forecast. that storm starts with mountain snow in southern california and the rockies where up to three feet could fall today. then it moves into the northern plains.

later another storm emerges from the gulf bringing rain for new year's eve. large parts of the country will get snow or rain this week. flooding is possible in the red area on the map. today's temperatures mild in the north east, 30s around the great lakes, 19 in minneapolis, 57 in l.a. coming up, the fast food discovery from 2,000 years ago. first, lori loughlin set to walk free from prison today. after the college admissions scandal. can she revive her career? later seth curry does something no one thought

back now with a gas leak

being blamed for this explosion at a home in houston. witnesses say the force of the blast lifted the house off its foundation and into the air. no one was injured. the home owner reported smelling gas and got out in time. lori loughlin is expected to be released from prison today after serving time in the college admissions scandal. the question remains what happens next for her. here's abc's megan tevrizian. >> reporter: this morning lori loughlin walking away a free woman. "the full house" star expected to be released from prison today after serving a two-month sentence. the federal correctional institution is currently experiencing a covid-19 outbreak. her team telling abc news lori is in isolation. she's in no danger. the rules are that when you enter, you go into isolation for two weeks. when you exit, you do the same. loughlin and her husband, mossimo gianulli, pleading

guilty for paying $500,000 in so-called varsity blues scandal. the payment helped her daughters isabella rose and youtube personality olivia jade get into the university of southern california. a source tells "u.s. weekly," loughlin leaned on her faith. >> there is an element in the public that is always ready to forgive. lori loughlin is more interesting than she's ever been. she can take that interest and make something of it. >> welcome back to my youtube channel. >> reporter: olivia jade spoke about the scandal on jada pinket smith's red table talk where she was pressed about white privilege. she said before the scandal, it was something she didn't know she had. >> reporter: her mother may besbe set free today, but her father

will continue his five-month sentence until april. kenneth? >> thank you. archaeologists are getting a look at an ancient fast food restaurant. they found clay pots with remnants of duck and fish, no mcrib though. paintings of animals may have served as menus. coming up, the new year's crystals are revealed in times square. first, what we're learning about the army green beret accused of going on a shooting rampage at a bowling alley. shooting rampage at a bowling alley. eatm. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala. . . . . . .

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an army green beret is due in court today facing murder charges from a mass shooting in illinois. three people were killed and three others were wounded. sergeant duke webb was arrested minutes after the shooting. witnesses describe the terrifying moments. >> the first shot went off then you heard another three rounds. right there it set in we gotta hide. as we started hiding the shots got closer and closer. i was on the phone with my mom. i was like mom, i love you. there's an active shooter. i gotta go. i want you to know i love you. >> webb was on leave from an air force base in florida. back to the coronavirus and concerns the u.s. is falling behind on vaccination rates. also the new mutation of covid-19 is officially in north america. earlier i spoke with a doctor. i want to talk about this new variant of covid-19 identified

in the uk. it's now been confirmed in canada. the toronto couple infected had no travel history. the cdc says this variant is more contagious, but not more deadly. how big of a concern do you think this new variant is right now? >> it's a concern, but i don't think it's a game changer. the fact that the evidence so far doesn't show it's more deadly is good news as we're trying to control a pandemic spiraling out of control. we'll have to continue preaching what we've been saying about prevention and hope we can keep this isolated. >> travellers flying from the uk will require testing before coming to the u.s. should anything else be done to prevent this variant from spreading to the u.s.? >> the united states and other governments that took steps to limit travel from the uk were acting correctly and acting to the best information that was available. i think we could have done better to contain this new variant in the uk. i know efforts are ongoing to contain it at the source. >> let's turn to vaccinations. new figures show about 2 million americans have received the first dose.

public officials forecasted up to 20 million people by the end of this year. why are we so far behind? >> in my opinion the delay has been the last leg, getting the vaccine from the end hospital systems into arms. hospital systems didn't know how many vaccines they were getting any given day which has led to delays. others were delaying vaccinating until they were able to get their set-up fully complete. the health care workers doing the vaccinations are taking care of sicker and sicker patients. it's also having the workforce to be able to distribute the vaccine into arms. a nebraska cattle rancher is thanking health care workers. he lined up his cows in the form of an ekg that included a heart. to get the cows to stay in place he arranged their food into place. aaron rodgers threw four

touchdowns as the packers blew out the titans. this dog was carrying a clear at a soccer game when it forced a stop in place. ahead, wonder woman flying high and coming back again. is g many people with type 2 diabetes like emily lower their blood sugar. a majority of adults who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. here's your a1c. oh! my a1c is under 7! (announcer) and you may lose weight. adults who took ozempic® lost on average up to 12 pounds. i lost almost 12 pounds! oh! (announcer) for those also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. it lowers the risk. oh! and i only have to take it once a week. oh! ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) ozempic® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis.

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next, a golden debut for "wonder woman 1984." >> after multiple delays the movie hit theaters and the hbo max streaming service on christmas. warner brothers says it's a hit. the company has given a green light to a third movie. the film earned nearly $17 million in the u.s. this weekend. >> gal gadot and director patty jenkins are set to return for the final installment. a new way to customize your horn if you drive a tesla. >> a software update will allow you to change the sound or you can upload custom sounds. >> elon musk tweeted about it. he didn't mention a certain bodily function which is an option. finally nba star steph curry may have set an unofficial record. >> curry raining down three-pointers. he hit 105 in a row. his old mark was 77. >> he was mad when 106 wouldn't go in.

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now at 5:00, financial help finally on the way for millions of americans. rolling out more vaccines to californians. the major mission for cvs starting today. >> and actress lori lauoughlin t to be released from prison today. we're live in dublin with how covid-19 affected the facility. >> and we're looking at rain across the bay area. mike is tracking it for us this morning. good morning, it's monday, december 28th. we hope you had a nice weekend and a nice christmas. >> thank you for joining us this monday morning. you might see or hear the rain coming down this monday morning. let's check in with mike nicco for a look at the day ahead. >> hi, everybody. we have a 1 on the storm impact scale this morning. scattered showers. the heavier showers are in the