that's what's making news in america this morning on january 1st, 2021. right now on "america this morning," good-bye, 2020. >> 2020 has been horrible for everything. >> millions ushering out a difficult year as lockdowns and covid restrictions leave streets emptied and parties abandoned. how this new year's eve was unlike any other. words from washington. president trump's message to america as his term near its end. what he's saying about the vaccine and what the bidens had to say to frontline workers who have had to sacrifice so much this year. rollout at a crawl. new vaccine problems creating huge lines and confusion. around the country what doctors say is holding up the doses as that new covid variant spreads. the states now reporting cases and how children are being affected.

plus, cracking the case. is casey anthony trying to break into the crime solving business? >> football brawl. what set off this free for all on the field. hello, 2021. why new year new you may not be the best approach and the new laws going into effect today. good friday morning, everyone, and happy new year. we begin with a long awaited farewell to 2020. >> the world rang in 2021 like never before. gone were the massive crowds that usually pack into every inch of times square. >> of course, the pandemic forced millions of people to stay at home. the famous ball dropped at the stroke of midnight witnessed live by only a tiny specially selected audience. >> there were muted celebrations across the country and the globe. fireworks lit up the skies over many cities, but most of the

festivities were largely virtual and nightly curfews in place in parts of europe. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> reporter: overnight the world ushering in 2021 marking the end of what was an unprecedented and difficult year. covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions shifting new year eve's celebrations that would typically bring misdemeanors of partygoers to the streets to ring in the new year. >> 2020 has been horrible. >> reporter: in times square a surreal sight. for the first time the iconic ball drop taking place without the usual crowds. instead officials closing off several blocks around the area. the only crowd in attendance a small group of frontline workers but tradition still stood as the clock still counted us down into 2021. >> happy new year. >> reporter: few gathered outside donned in masks and socially distanced while the party continued for many at home. performances from some of the biggest artists, jennifer lopez. ♪ if you love me, say it

>> reporter: megan thee stallion. ♪ >> reporter: and nelly. around the world, australia, new zealand, the virus did not stop the fireworks display. and a different scene in wuhan, china, where the first known covid-19 case was recorded more than a year ago, hundreds gathered to celebrate after strict lockdown orders. the city has not recorded a new covid-19 case in months. while 2020 proved to be a challenging year, the world giving a toast to 2021 to welcoming new beginnings. >> the only thing i want to see happen next year is no more covid. i want to go outside. >> organizers of the new year's eve celebration changed course amid growing concern it would become a superspreader event. 14,000 were expected at the fremont street experience but management decided to limit access to guests of the surrounding hotels. people who purchased tickets were promised a refund.

the latest on the pandemic. a parliament cyst is under arrest accused of intentionally removing them from the freezer and putting them back several hours later. it comes as cases of the virus approach 20 million and deaths reach more than 345,000 americans. this morning, the wait for the coronavirus vaccine growing longer as thousands stand in miles long lines on new year's eve. >> i want to thank god and a lot of hope. >> reporter: "operation warp speed" struggling as states brace to get the vaccine to patients. >> there isn't an overarching plan that we really need to ensure that we get this done quickly. >> reporter: the rollout crawling. over 2.7 million vaccinations recorded short of that 20 million vaccinations goal by the end of the year. >> there has to be a lot more effort, namely, the states, cities and county. >> reporter: in arizona,

out of the more than 300,000 vaccines, the state has received only 18% have been used. vax nation sites in florida overwhelmed. some can't get an appointment. >> i have come more than 200 times. nothing. >> reporter: in wisconsin, a fired pharmacist arrested after police say he admitted to intentionally removing 500 doses from the refrigerator removing them hours later resulting in 57 receiving possibly less effective doses. >> involving a bad actor as opposed to a bad process. >> reporter: a third state reporting the variant of covid in florida joining colorado and california. this as u.s. hospitals are scrambling. in alabama doctors warning of shortage. >> if you have a heart attack and come to the hospital, we now have no place to put you. >> reporter: this morning a new study reporting over 2 million children have had covid. more than a million since november. in texas, an 11-year-old is now

battling that rare syndrome linked to virus. >> if your child as covid and afterwards and you know they're over the covid, they come to you within the next like four to five weeks afterwards complaining of symptoms, please take them very seriously because i didn't even know this existed. >> and the world health organization has authorized emergency use for pfizer's vaccine allowing countries to quickly approve its import. david perdue is quarantining after being exposed to covid-19 just days before the runoff elections. he is in a tough battle with jon ossoff. republican kelly loeffler faces democrat raphael warnock in another runoff. the january 5th election will determine which party controls the senate. president-elect joe biden and his wife dr. jill biden joined ryan seacrest on dick clark's rockin' new year's eve with messages of hope and unity for the new year. in a pretaped interview they offered special thanks to

medical staffers for the countless sacrifices they've made since the pandemic began. >> my mother used to have an expression. she said, bravery resides in every heart and someday it will be summoned. the people we're honoring tonight, it was summoned, and they stepped up and they're brave. they did so much and risked their lives and did so much for us and we owe them, we owe them, we're owe them. >> we're so grateful for everything they did. you know, they left their families and their homes so that we could be safe and all americans truly appreciate what they did for us. >> reporter: and president trump delivered a year end video message highlighting his administration a work to rapidly develop a vaccine. >> over and over again we were told it would be impossible to deliver a vaccine by the end of the year. all of the experts said, absolutely unthinkable. trump is exaggerating. it can't happen. and we did it long before the end of the year. >> reporter: trump cut his vacation at mar-a-lago short

heading back to the white house a day ahead of schedule, no reason was given for trump's early return. time now for a look at your monday morning weather. the new year begins with a slew of nasty storms across the country. expect a mix of rain, snow and ice strong storms stretching from the texas to the carolinas and through parts of the midwest and forecasters are warning to watch for melting snow turning to ice on busy roadways. high temperatures in the west will run in the '50s to 60s. low to mid-30s in kansas and detroit. and no surprise, today's hot spot is florida with 84 in orlando and 81 in miami. coming up, a major production pause in hollywood because of the pandemic. the shows being affected. also ahead, saving in 2021. one woman tells her secret how

this was the scene in wisconsin when a little boy fell through an iced over river. his father, a bystander, and several police officers formed a human chain to pull him out but during the rescue the that fell in as well. eventually that human chain pulled both father and son to safety and today everyone is okay. minneapolis police released video of the fatal shooting of a black man. it's difficult to tell who fired the first shot in the 30-second video. investigators say the shooting involved a 23-year-old felony suspect. this was the department's first police involved death since george floyd died while being pinned down by officers in may. >> i know that when situations occur, it can certainly add to

trauma for those that are experiencing trauma already, but i also need to say we need to keep peace in our city. we cannot have any sort of destruction or cause any sort of criminal activity in our city. >> the police chief says he met with the man's family and watched the footage with them before it was released. next as the country rings in the new year, psychologists are warning people to keep their resolutions simple, especially if the pandemic has been hard for you but no matter what your goal may be, one woman hopes her success story can inspire you to keep going. abc's megan tevrizian has more. >> reporter: this morning as americans across the country are embarking on their resolution, one woman is sharing her story of sticking to her resolutions. >> i learned to change my mind from consuming to, you know, just really building wealth. >> reporter: meet nyajuok mangongo who started

out with 2020 with financial woes. >> i wanted to take care of myself and my kids. >> reporter: last year at this time she made it her new year's resolution to pay off her $87,000 in debt. so she turned to a local dave ramsey class for help. >> i was open-minded to any opportunities. >> reporter: the 36-year-old taking on extra nursing shifts at the hospital and finding creative ways to bring next in extra cash. >> i bought things from good will and sold them on facebook marketplace. >> reporter: now 12 months later she is debt-free. >> i was screaming and excited. after i paid all of that off, i found a sense of relief. >> reporter: and with nearly two-thirds of mergings saying they plan off money, she says she hopes hh

her story can help them stick to their goal no matter what 2021 may bring. >> remember the why. that is strong so when you feel tempted not to accomplish your goal of getting out of debt that you remember your why. >> reporter: experts say some of the easiest ways are to write out a budget, track spending and if possible pay more than the minimum amount on accounts with the highest interest rates. kenneth, mona. >> good information there, megan, thank you. coming up, the nfl quarterback sidelined with covid. the football brawl breaking out at a college game. what caused the melee. under control. a with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent.

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name from the part in the news. casey anthony who was acquitted of killing her 2-year-old daughter caylee has filed papers to start a private investigation firm. anthony says she's been doing social media searches and other investigative work for patrick mckenna, a lead investigator on her defense team. more television studios are pausing foeduction as california struggles to cope with a frightening surge in coronavirus. the extended holiday hiatus is affecting hit shows like "black-ish," and "grey's anatomy." disney, warner brothers are pushing back most productions until mid to late january. the troubled vaccine rollout is leaving many americans uncertain about when we will finally get back to normal. earlier i spoke with dr. alok patel on what to expect but we discuss the hospital worker who admitting to sabotaging hundreds of doses. let's begin with that disturbing story where a pharmacist was arrested for

intentionally destroying 500 vials of moderna's vaccine. the story brings up concern about the handling of covid vaccines. how can we assure the public about the precautions being taken and what are some preventive measures? >> the story is concerning because of what you outlined. who is actually transporting, handling, storing and administering the vaccines and will be not only a big undertaking and infrastructure but it's also going to involve more surveillance, possibly camera work to make sure they're not being tampered with. a terrible story. >> the new variant of the coronavirus first discovered in the uk has become the predominant form of coronavirus in three months. now it's officially here in the u.s. will this new development set us back from our goal of getting to some type of normal? >> hopefully it won't set us back. now, people have to remember that viruses, especially mrna viruses like sars-cov-2 do mutate and could mutate where we need a new one in the future or it could be like the measles

where it could mutate and we have the same vaccine for decade. >> we are lagging behind. what do you think can be done to speed up the process? >> we need to take a step back and try to identify where the bottlenecks are happening, right now with vaccine distribution, only among elderly or high-risk individuals and health care workers we've seen problems, those need to be sorted out first. it's possible we'll get to a place where we can have organized campaigns, a lot of collaboration between state and federal government and likely the tech industry because of all the coordinating and communication possible. >> we just rang in the new year and a lot of americans are feeling hopeful that better days are ahead. can you leave us for a message for 2021? >> it's been a trying year to say the least, one silver lining people have sorted out priorities and what really matters to them. i think that will influence i don't want to call them resolutions but outlook on how to stay healthy and positive. >> a great message. our thanks to dr. patel.

veteran nfl quarterback ryan fitzpatrick has tested positive for the coronavirus. the miami dolphin won't be available for the regular season finale on sunday against the buffalo bills. fitzpatrick is the dolphins' backup quarterback but he did lead the team to a victory last week when the starting quarterback struggled. the armed forces bowl turned into a big brawl after mississippi state defeated tulsa. both teams came face-to-face on the sidelines and a skirmish turned into a melee. tulsa flagged for a unsportsmanlike conduct which may have started the brawl. coming up, from legal free to distracted driving laws. and j. lo's showstopping performance in times square.

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time to check "the pulse," and we begin with jennifer lopez, j. lo closing out 2020 with a bang. >> yeah, she headlined new year's rockin' eve right here on abc with a dazzling skin tight jumpsuit. >> she got emotional when she talked about the lives lost and rocked out with aerosmith's "dream on." ♪ dream on, dream on, dream on, dream on, aghhhh ♪ >> hit them notes. the camera spotted j. lo's family and alex rodriguez just off the stage during the performance. next, new laws for the new year. recreational weed is legal in new jersey and montana. colorado and maine ringing in the new year with a boost in pay for minimum wage workers.

several states are also enacting distracted driving laws. in california getting caught on your phone will now get you points on your record. in virginia it's now illegal to use a cell phone for any reason while driving. neiman-marcus is well phone for its holiday catalog featuring one of a kind fantasy gifts. >> this year the retailer is offering up tamales. we're talking chicken, beef and pork tamales all made by hand. >> you get 72 for 92 bucks which works out to be a $1.28 apiece and neiman-marcus says it's taking orders until june. >> you don't have to tell me twice. finally an update on "cake boss" star budly valastro. >> it was back in september that the celebrity baker impaled his right hand in a freak accident. to show his gratitude to the medical team who saved his life or saved his hand, that is, he created this gigantic cake that replicates the hospital. >> the cake stands several feet high and is even featured with replicas of doctor's scrubs

and lab coats as well. >> he is the cake boss. >> he is. we'll check top headlines next. less oral steroids. taking my treatment at home. 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. ♪ 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.

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