"call me kat" and lncd >> have a beautiful friday, everyone. right now on "america this morning," the new and potentially more dangerous mutation of the coronavirus arrives in the u.s. what it means for the effectiveness of the covid vaccine and the precautions you should take to protect your family. a bulletin from law potential for political violence in the coming days and a new proposal to protect the capitol. plus the gop congresswoman who has supported the qanon conspiracy theory faces new scrutiny. what she said about the las vegas shooting massacre and the assignment she's now received on capitol hill. wall street versus main street. is the game rigged for the rich?

new questions after trading in certain stocks favored by amateur investors is suspended. one ceo explains what could happen next as the market mayhem continues. e beenheiggest anim ealk the earth. and the new lawsuit over what's really inside subway sandwiches. the fast food chain fights back. and this morning paying tribute to the legendary cicely tyson. good friday morning, everyone. i'm kenneth moton. >> and i'm kyra phillips. mona is off. we begin with those mutations of the coronavirus. >> found in the u.s. raising concern about how effective the covid vaccines will be. >> this morning we're expecting to learn new details about a potential third vaccine and johnson & johnson is

expected to release new data today and growing urgency to get shots into more arms. this morning, new evidence that vaccines might bleti against mutations of the coronavirus as a troubling new variant is found in the u.s. >> the south african variant is quite concerning, and it has spread relatively widely now. i believe it's in more than 20 different countries. >> reporter: two people in south carolina are the first known americans infected with a highly contagious variant from south africa. the patients have no travel history or connection to one another. >> maintaining, you know, social distancing, wearing the masks is now even more important because the virus mutates each time it makes copies of itself. it has a chance to mutate further. >> reporter: there's no evidence that the variant causes more severe disease. but this morning one drugmaker's new data is raising concern. novavax says its vaccine which is in a late stage trial

was nearly 90% effective during a study in england, but in south africa where nearly every case contains the troubling new variant, novavax says its vaccine was only 49% effective. >> we have to keep an eye out on this, and we have to be able, and we are already doing it, of being able to modify for the future, not for tomorrow or the next day, but modify for the future the vaccine so that maybe we will have to give someone a boost to cover these new variants. >> reporter: the south african variant spreads more easily like mutant strains from brazil and one from the uk already in 28 states. now pfizer and moderna are working on a booster shot to fight these variants. >> my biggest fear at this moment is that these variants are going to take hold and take off across the united states. >> reporter: in the meantime, the cdc is urgingll to avoid tveling. earlie

from sthfra t doesn't go into effect until tomorrow. >> it takes a little bit of time to put these restrictions in place to, work with airlines, work with regulatory authorities to get them in place. we did that as quickly as possible and before there was a reported case, of course. >> reporter: critics say the travel ban is too little too late, and researchers say once a new variant is found in one area, it's likely already widespread. >> we're only sequencing a small percentage of viruses. so once something becomes detectable that we can actually know for sure that it's a new variant, then it has already spread at that time in point to many, many places. >> reporter: and another vaccine news officials in germany says the astrazeneca vaccine not yet approved in the u.s. should not be given to people over 65 because of insufficient data. there's more fallout from the pandemic. americans are smoking again. after years of decline cigarette sales steady last year as people staying home lit up more often. we turn to washington and

growing concern surrounding a georgia congresswoman. it comes as law enforcement warns about the threat for political violence involving trump supporters and the qanon conspiracy theory. abc's alex presha joins us from washington with more on that. alex, good morning. >> reporter: good friday morning, kenneth. former president trump has been out of public eye since leaving washington last week, but his presence still looms large on capitol hill. deepening their ties with the former president as he faces an impeachment trial and fresh turmoil in the republican party. [ crowd chanting "usa" ] >> reporter: republican matt gaetz of florida traveling to wyoming to rally against liz cheney on her home turf. cheney was the most high profile republican. >> how can you even call yourself a representative when you don't represent the will of the people? that's what all the neocons ask

about the arab dictators. i figure maybe we ought to ask the same question of a beltway bureaucrat turned fake cowgirl who supported an impeachment that is deeply unpopular in the state of wyoming. >> reporter: and thursday at mar-a-lago trump meeting with house republican leader kevin mccarthy who once said trump bears responsibility for the riot. the meeting described as cordial with a spokesperson adding president trump has agreed to work with leader mccarthy on helping the republican party become a majority in the house. it comes amid growing concern about physical violence on capitol hill. authorities now warning that extremisti extremistists who believe the q- conspiracy theory could be plotting political violence this weekend. police want to set up a permanent fence around the capitol. d.c.'s mayor opposes the idea. house speaker nancy pelosi wants more protection for members of congress saying they now face a, quote, enemy within. >> we have members of congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of congress.

>> reporter: she didn't mention names but pelosi's words are likely a reference to marjorie taylor greene, the georgia congresswoman for threats and conspiracy theories posted online before being elected. in a 2019 video greene is heard declaring pelosi a traitor and implying she should be executed. >> it's a crime punishable by death is what treason is. nancy pelosi is guilty of treason. ions w rter: and in another the las vegas shooting massacre was a setup by liberals to gain support for gun control. >> i am really wondering if there is -- there's a bigger motive there. >> reporter: and then greene seen here in this 2019 video taunting david hogg, a survivor of the parkland high school shooting who was lobbying for gun laws. >> yet you're attacking our second amendment. >> reporter: now republican congresswoman lauren boebert of florida is joining the feud after hogg tweeted, they can put up all the fencing around the capitol, the real threat of marjorie taylor greene and lauren boebert will still be inside.

boebert replied referencing the video of hogg and greene. >> you have nothing to say? no words? >> reporter: boebert writing, we all saw how tough you were when questioned face-to-face. give your keyboard a rest, child. republican leaders have assigned marjorie taylor greene to the house education committee. democrats now demanding that she be removed because of her previous statements. kenneth. >> all right, al two inmates who escaped from an arizona prison last weekend are back in custody. police and u.s. marshals wearing body cams confronted them in a field and refused orders to get on the ground and tried to run. the officers used stun guns to subdue them. southern california is taking a direct hit from a storm dumping nearly a foot of rain and almost 100 inches of snow. floodwaters cut off a road in santa barbara county stranding a driver who had to be rescued. the threat of mudslides triggered many evacuations. meanwhile, in the california mountains, this dog tried to get through 87 inches of snow and doing it pretty adorably.

time now for a look at your friday forecast. the northeast gets a frigid what blast today. the coldest temperatures rather, of winter so far, it'll be new york's coldest day in two years and this morning's windchills across new england will drop below zero. that cold air sets up a potential nor'easter. starting sunday stretching into tuesday. washington to boston will seek a mix of rain and snowy which will make roads very treacherous. checking today's high temps, warm and sunny in florida but only 20s around the great lakes. mid-40s in the northwest. coming up the return of the "mighty ducks." details later in "the pulse." first the explosive scene outside an immigration facility in portland, o

we call him baby boy, and we will go on calling him that until his father decides on a name for him eight days from today. this morning we celebrate an icon, cicely tyson has died. she was a trail blazer on the big screen and small screen. >> she even won a tony award at age 88. the apollo theatre paid tribute with the marquee reading, rest in peace pioneering icon. >> common complaint, you just don't qualify, huh? >> miss cicely tyson, star of stage and screen for 70 years, the black woman fromle a pioneet scovered aa model grthe cove of elegance an extraordinarily talented actress. >> nathan! >> reporter: tyson's

breakout performance, "sounder" in 1972 portraying the strong wife of a sharecropper getting her an oscar nomination. tyson later winning two emmys for a role as a former slave in the tv drama, "the autobiography of miss jane pittman." >> make me proud. make me proud. >> reporter: from "roots" to "fried green tomatoes" the roles kept coming and tyson kept working well into her '80s and '90s. from the film "the help" to abc's "how to get away with murder." >> my love for you fills me up. >> reporter: the regal and humble ultimate elder only playing strong black women. telling our robin roberts in 2007 she only took scripts that made her skin tingle. >> there were so many issues that i felt that i had to address, and i used my career as my platform. >> reporter: that matriarchal voice to the black community seen in so many tyler perry films. >> young black men, take your

place now, starting now, starting now. >> reporter: that mountain of honors for tyson also included an honorary oscar, a tony award at 88 and in 2016 president obama awarding tyson the medal of freedom. this morning, the tributes. oprah saying she used her career to illuminate the role of black people. just this week the 96-year-old's memoir was published, "just as i am." and in one of her final interviews she reflected on life and death. >> when the time comes, what do you want us to remember about you? >> i done my best. that's all. >> icon and even more tributes this morning. actress viola davis posting, you made me feel loved and seen and valued in a world where there is still a cloak of invisibility for us dark chocolate girls. coming up, the chaos on wall street takes a new turn. also ahead, the new lawsuit over what's inside subway

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times in recent years. now to the frenzy on wall street where amateur investors have been creating chaos taking aim at billionaires who bet against struggling companies. some brokerage sites are now being accused of siding with billionaires after restricting certain trades. abc's andrea fujii explains.>>t roller c as tradg resumes like ursdayerherading site s ishe new york attorney investatn into activity. the company's ceo saying they halted purchases on several companies including gamestop, amc theatres, blackberry and bed, bath and beyond largely due to liability concerns. >> so we haven't really seen anything like this before, and to prudently manage the risk and the deposit requirements, we had to restrict buying in these 13 stocks.

>> reporter: t.d. ameritrade also restricted transactions angering politicians on both sides of the aisle. congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez tweeted, this is unacceptable. we now need to know more about robinhood app's decisions to block retail investors from while hedge funds are freely able to trade stocks as they see fit. in a rare move republican senator ted cruz agreed with ocasio-cortez. all this market frenzy began when traders banded together in online chat forms like reddit to boost the stock of strugglingle retailer gamestop and overthrow wall street hedge funds who were shorting the stock betting that gamestop would fail. the amateur traders helped push shares up by 1700% costing the hedge funds more than $5 billion. one hedge fund had to be bailed out by other firms.ismo to playing with fire. >> this is not going to end well when it ends, and the bigger

question is when does it end? >> reporter: he went on to comment on the current market conditions and those who claim billionaires aren't paying their fair share in taxes after raking in so much cash from these companies. >> the reason the market is doing what it's doing is people are sitting at home getting their checks from the government, okay, and this fair share is a [ bleep ] concept. jusof attacking wealthy people, and, you know, i think it's inappropriate. we all got to work together and pull together. >> reporter: but jamie rogozinski who started wall street bets says there is a reason his page has attracted millions of small time investors. >> you make money. you're beating them at their own game. there's a new category staying in town and a force that is powerful enough to knock out hedge funds. >> meanwhile, senator elizabeth warren is slamming the s.e.c.

for not keeping the markets honest. as for gamestop and those other companies, all bets are off when the markets open today. h, kyra. >> andrea, thank you. subway claims its tuna sandwich isn't fishy enough proves tuna is neither tuna nor fish. subway insists it delivers 100% cooked tuna to its restaurants. it calls the lawsuit reckless. coming up, the new fashion trend when it comes to jeans. also ahead, the cutest ever interruption during the news. women with metastatic breast cancer. our time... ...for more time... ...has come. living longer is possible- hd 4 fulvestrant. isqali plus in a clinical trial, kisqali plus fulvestrant helped women live longer with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. and it significantly delayed disease progression. kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections.

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a landslide. what we know. and mike tells us how long the rain will last and what the weekend looks like. and lake tahoe dealing with the biggest snow storm of the year. the condition conditions in the is sierra. good morning everybody. friday january 29th. >> let's see what the weather has in store. hey mike. >> good morning, reggie, kumasi, jobina. we've got a 1 for the morning hourls. we'll keep it going. the storm just won't let up, lingering a couple hours longer than we thought. and solano countyo the napa valley. napa county. and you can see it going down

780 and 680 into the tri-valley. and showers in the sclar val