♪ stronger right now on "america this morning," omicron in the u.s. the new plan. what president biden is announcing today to fight the new variant of the coronavirus. also breaking overnight, just hours before the abc news exclusive interview with alec baldwin, the assistant director on that movie set on the day of the deadly shooting comes forward. what he's telling us about who fired the gun. major league impasse, baseball enters a lockout overnight for the first time in decades. roe v. wade, a thing of the past? our legal expert explains the historic arguments in the supreme court abortion battle and what's next. delivery dilemma. more fedex packages are found dumped along the side of a road. the growing concern this holiday season.

and wrong number. how a misdial led to a surprise conversation with tom brady. good thursday morning, everyone. we begin with the new steps to fight the omicron variant of the coronavirus now that the first case has been confirmed in the u.s. >> the fully vaccinated patient in california had traveled to south africa and is now recovering, but as the variant spreads around the world, president biden is announcing new measures to guard against the virus. >> abc's em nguyen begins our coverage from washington. em, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, andrew. the white house is looking to modify some covid requirements just as the first case of the omicron variant is found in the u.s. today president biden will reveal his administration's strategy to fight omicron, the new coronavirus variant blamed for an exponential rise in covid cases in other parts of the world now found in california.

>> i think any measure that can be safely done to prevent the spread of covid in this country should be welcomed. >> reporter: the president is announcing an extension to the mask mandate on planes, buses and trains through march and is expected to reveal a plan giving americans better access to testing. it comes one day after doctors confirmed the variant in a patient who recently returned to san francisco from south africa where omicron was first detected. >> we had a suspicion that potentially this may be a case of omicron given that there have been many cases reported in south africa. >> reporter: doctors say the patient has mild symptoms, is fully vaccinated and was not yet due for a booster shot. the infectious disease specialist who detected the first case says the discovery of the variant here in the u.s. is actually a good thing. >> is it more transmissible than other variants? will this infection from this variant from omicron impact the effectiveness of our vaccines,

and in order to be able to answer these questions, we need to have access to a clinical sample. >> reporter: tests to determine the severity of illness from omicron and whether it can evade vaccines could take weeks. for now dr. anthony fauci is encouraging americans to get their booster shots. >> if you look at the level, for example, of an antibody, a neutralizing antibody peak following the second dose of a two-dose mrna, it's like at this level. if you look at the peak following the third shot boost, it goes way up here. >> reporter: meanwhile, the cdc is now requiring airlines to collect contact information for all passengers entering the u.s. from several countries in africa. andrew. >> all right, em, thank you. breaking news in the movie set shooting involving alec baldwin. the actor says he did not pull the trigger, and a witness is now backing up his story. baldwin was holding a prop gun when it fired a live round killing cinematographer halyna hutchins on the set of the movie "rust." baldwin sat down for an exclusive interview with our

george stephanopoulos. >> she was someone who was loved by everyone who worked with and liked by everyone who worked with and admired. even now i find it hard to believe that. it just doesn't seem real to me. >> it wasn't in the script for the trigger to be pulled. >> well, the trigger wasn't pulled. i didn't pull the trigger. >> so you never pulled the trigger. >> no, no, no, i would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them, never. >> how did a real bullet get on that set? >> i have no idea. someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn't even supposed to be on the property. >> you say you're not a victim, but is the worst thing that's ever happened to you? >> yeah, yeah, yeah, because i think back, and i think of what could i have done? >> in response to that interview a lawyer for the movie's assistant director, david halls, told abc news her client also maintains that baldwin never pulled the trigger. >> the entire time baldwin had his finger outside the trigger

guard parallel to the barrel and that he told me since day one he thought it was a misfire. i know. and until alec said that, it was just really hard to believe, but dave has told me since the very first day i met him that alec did not pull that trigger. >> no one has been charged in the shooting. meanwhile, hutchins was honored at a hollywood event last night. it was her husband's first public appearance since that shooting. and you can watch george's full interview with alec baldwin tonight during a prime-time special at 8:00 p.m., 7:00 central right here on abc. we have new details about the suspect in the deadliest school shooting of the year. authorities are now revealing what was in the boy's journal and what he allegedly said the night before the rampage. this morning, this 15-year-old in a prison issued orange shirt is now charged with murder and terrorism for the shooting rampage at a michigan high school. at his first court appearance authorities charged the teen as

an adult, and prosecutors revealed the shooting spree was captured on school security cameras. >> we've had the opportunity to review that surveillance video just this morning, and what's depicted on that video honestly, judge, i don't have the words to describe how horrific that was. >> reporter: the prosecutor describing how the suspect first entered a bathroom with a backpack then came out holding a gun. >> at that point he methodically and deliberately walked down the hallway aiming the firearm at students and firing. right outside the bathroom he began firing, judge. after children started running away from the defendant, he continued down the hallway again in a deliberate and methodical pace, pointing and aiming inside classrooms and at students who hadn't had the opportunity to escape. >> reporter: four students died including 14-year-old hana st. juliana. >> her father asked me to tell you that she was one of the happiest and most joyful kids. >> reporter: authorities say the shooter used a handgun his

father had bought just days earlier. it's unclear if he had permission to use it. investigators say video found on the suspect's phone shows him talking the night before about killing students at oxford high school, and they say he wrote in his journal about his desire to shoot up a school, but police insist they received no prior warning about a shooting. >> you are the parents of ethan crumbley, is that correct? > yeah, correct. >> that is correct. >> the boy's parents appearing at their son's court hearing via video were called the day before and the morning of the shooting for what was described as concerning behavior. police say those meetings are now part of the investigation. >> there is nothing that he could have faced that would warrant senseless absolutely brutal violence on other kids. >> still no word on a motive. three students remain hospitalized. a law enforcement official says investigators are trying to track down a snapchat video which apparently warned about a shooting at the school prompting

some students to stay home. in washington, senate republicans are threatening to trigger a government shutdown. they're planning to stall a funding bill unless it bans the enforcement of the biden administration's covid vaccine mandates for workers. vice president kamala harris' chief spokesperson and senior adviser symone sanders will step down at the end of the month. that's according to a white house official. reports have claimed widespread dysfunction among the staff. now to the biggest challenge to roe v. wade in a generation. the supreme court appears ready to dramatically limit abortion rights as protesters rallied outside the court's conservative majority indicated they're ready to uphold mississippi's abortion law, which bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. >> why should this court be the arbiter rather than congress, the state legislatures, state supreme courts, the people being able to resolve this.

>> will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? i don't see how it is possible. >> abortion rights advocates say upholding the mississippi law would set women's rights back decades. supporters say it will protect the sanctity of life. many legal experts say it's clear what will happen. >> all you need is five conservative justices to, you know, not just uphold the mississippi law, but i think go further and overturn roe and casey, and it seemed to me that it was pretty easy to count to five today. >> a decision in the case is expected in june. breaking overnight, a work stoppage in major league baseball. for the first time since 1995 team owners have locked out the players. a labor agreement expired at midnight. all team activities including free agent deals and trades are

now suspended. the hope is to reach a deal before spring training. time now for a look at your thursday weather. dry conditions in north carolina are making it hard for crews to contain several wildfires that have burned hundreds of acres, and no rain is expected there until sunday. on the radar the only moisture following today will be rain and snow in parts of the northeast and new england but no accumulation is expected because of above normal temperatures. checking today's highs, mid-50s for new york and boston. 70s across the southeast and the plains. dry and 48 degrees for seattle. today 52 in portland. 69 in los angeles. coming up, a toys "r" us comeback. but first workers left hanging after a major scaffolding malfunction. >> and the mystery surrounding the fatal shooting of a music legend's wife inside their

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it's walgreens season. back, now, with the dramatic rescue of two men dangling in the air for more than an hour. they were trapped between the fifth and seventh floors before emergency crews arrived. both men are okay other than aches and pains. the deadly shoot oflg a well-known philanthropist may have been a targeted attack. police say she was gunned down inside the couple's home. the police chief read a statement from the family. >> jacqueline was an amazing woman, life, mother, philanthropist and a 55-year resident of beverly hills, who

made an immeasurable positive contribution and impact on the arts community. >> police called it a possible home invasion. there was a security guard on the property at the time. the woman's tennis association has suspended all tournament notice china, out of concern for the safety of peng shuai. united airlines just made aviation history, becoming the first airline to operate a commercial flight using 100% sustainable fuel. the plane flew 100 passengers, from chicago to washington. united says sustainable fuel can deliver the same performance. toys "r" us is launching a retail comeback, beginning with a new flagship store. it will open up this month in new jersey. all toys "r" us stores in the u.s. closed three years ago for

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you can see it jumping into the front door and peering inside this home in canada in the middle of the night. luckily the door was locked. officials are appalled at another incident of packages being dumped and not delivered. dobog the de ays someoneropp ofma. efforts are under way to deliver them. now just last week hundreds of packages were tossed into a ravine about two hours north of this latest incident, and that driver has allegedly done this at least six times. meanwhile, police are reporting more crime on americans' doorsteps as holiday packages start arriving. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning police are cracking down on brazen grinches who are stealing packages this holiday season. some swiping them from porches while others are more violent. houston police releasing this video of a man beating up a delivery driver. the victim viciously attacked as he tells the thief to take the packages. >> what do you want?

>> reporter: in california, doorbell cameras captured a woman stealing from five homes on the same street. >> if you think about package theft, it's kind of a low level crime. it's very easy to do. >> reporter: and it's a crime on the rise as more people shop online during the pandemic. a recent survey found 64% of americans have been victims of package thieves in the last year. that equates to 210 million packages, up 36% from 2020. in portland, oregon, they're placing gps trackers on bait packages. >> when it's picked up, the gps tracker alerts deputies in the area that the package has been moved. they make sure it's actually leaving the area, and then once they know it is an active theft they respond. >> reporter: porch piracy has now dropped by 10% in that area, and one homeowner is taking action equipping his bait packages with glitter and obnoxious smells including skunk essence. video capturing the unpleasant

results. but not all porch pirates may be deterred so easily like this one caught on camera in connecticut. this possum dragging away a delivery heard chomping down on the homeowner's hoop earrings. >> the entertainment value is probably worth the $90. but i wouldn't mind a replacement. >> reporter: and those earrings are still missing. as for ways to avoid becoming a porch pirate, consider shipping them to your office or try to form some sort of barrier on your doorstep to obscure the view of boxes from passers-by. mona, andrew. >> those earrings have been im-possum-able to find. i took that from andrew. thanks, andrea. a holiday scam is leaving some parents seeing red. they bought elf on the shelf kits advised in a facebook neighborhood group assuming it was from a business owner in texas but the kits never came and the seller

stopped responding. a woman who sells legit kits donated some kits to families who were duped. okay, coming up, one man's incredible lottery luck. also ahead, how dialing the wrong number led to a surprise chat with tom brady. i've lost count of how many asthma attacks i've had. but my nunormal with nucala? fewer asthma attacks. 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. find your nunormal with nucala. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! (sighs wearily) here i'll take that! (excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. ♪

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entered the wrong number during a group call with his team. now, the wrong number he dialed was actually a player on the tampa bay bucs, and the players were in the locker room when this happened. >> the boy asked if tom brady was there and, sure enough, he appeared asking, what's up, fellas. >> even gronk made an appearance. one kid's father said the boys lost their minds. >> an understatement. some news from the drive-through line. >> because of the pandemic, more americans want drive-through service so burger king is making a change eliminating some items on the menu to speed things up. no word yet on what menus are going to be cut. >> fast food customers are spending 30 seconds longer on average in the drive-through line this year. and finally big news for fans of "the golden girls." >> that's right. the first ever golden girls convention will be held called golden-con. thank you for being a fan. >> guest appearances as well but no word yet if betty white plans to be there. the og golden girl.

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microban 24. checking the top stories today president biden is outlining a new strategy to fight covid after the u.s. confirmed its first case of the omicron variant. biden is expanding access by making at home rapid tests free and extending the mask mandate on public transportation. hundreds of people attended a candlelit vigil last night for the victims of the deadly school shooting near detroit. police say the 15-year-old suspect made a video the night before tuesday's attack talking about killing students. no word yet on a motive. in south korea this morning defense secretary lloyd austin said that china's pursuit of hypersonic weapons is increasing tensions in the region. he added that the u.s. is concerned that china's growing military capabilities pose a possible threat to u.s. defense strategies. today's weather, rain and snow in parts of the northeast and new england. warmer than usual temperatures

for much of the country, and the northwest gets a break after days of rain. and finally spreading holiday cheer. >> will ganss is taking us on a holiday road trip. >> all: three, two, one. >> reporter: there's plenty of christmas magic to be found all over the country, so come on, let's hit the holiday road. first stop on the cross-country christmas tour an opportunity that would make any "home alone" fan scream. >> aaaghhh! >> reporter: for the first time ever, the famed chicago digs from "home alone" available for anveighttay thanks to nbnd bz hl devin ratray, the actor who played kevin's brother in the films will host four lucky fans in the mcallisters" home for one night complete with twinkling lights, booby traps and, of course -- >> a lovely cheese pizza just for me. >> reporter: next stop on our holiday road trip, seuss enterprises so fans can crash for a night in this cave north of whoville that belongs

to -- >> the, the -- >> the grinch! >> reporter: in this case whoville is just outside boulder, utah, on a beautiful remote property. the kitchen stocked with roastable beast, who pudding and an emergency stash of who hash. now to cleveland, ohio, where you can live like ralphie parker. overnight stays available. leg lamp still in the window. just leave the red rider at home. why? >> you'll shoot your eye out, kid. >> reporter: next up head down to branson, missouri, for a ride on the polar express, coming to life on the branson scenic railway. families climbing on board for cookies, santa sightings, readings of the book and hot chocolate. meanwhile, st. augustine, florida, famous for its nights of lights displays visible by land or by boat, but 4,500 miles away, north pole, alaska, billing itself as the town where the spirit of christmas -- >> lives year round. >> reporter: fyi, the "home >> reporter: fyi, the "home alone" house only available on

right now on "america this morning," omicron in the u.s. the new plan. what president biden is announcing today to fight the new variant of the coronavirus. also breaking overnight, just hours before the abc news exclusive interview with alec baldwin, the assistant director on that movie set on the day of the deadly shooting comes forward. what he's telling us about who fired the gun. major leag overnight for the first time in decades. roe v. wade, a thing of the past? our legal expert explains the historic arguments in the supreme court abortion battle and what's next. delivery dilemma. more fedex packages are found dumped along the side of a road. the growing concern this holiday season.