right now on "america this morning," omicron the noew varnliant of the coronavirus is detected in new states. abc news exclusive. alec baldwin reveals what happened on the set of the movie. more of the george st stephanopoulos exclusive. a passenger jet forced to make an emergency landing when several fall sick, some loaded into ambulances. new details about the michigan school shooting suspect and his prior behavior. what the school superintendent is now saying. caught on camera.

two wild crashes. and later, an unexpected sleepover at ikea. from abc news in new york, this is "america this morning." >> good friday morning, everyone. we begin with the omicron variant spreading to more states. >> new data released on what makes omicron different from previous variants. at least five states are now reporting cases of the variant. right now, it appears all of the symptoms reported are described as mild to moderate. >> new travel restrictions for people flying into the u.s. are set to take effect on monday. here is the very latest. >> reporter: good morning. more cases of omicron are popping up across the country, and now the variant has been detected in someone with no travel history. this morning, los angeles county is reporting the area's first person infected with the omicron

variant. doctors say the patient's symptoms are improving without medical care. the individual is fully vaccinated and recently returned from south africa, where the variant was first detected. also overnight, hawaii's health department reported its first case of omicron, saying the patient sun vaccinated and moderate symptoms. but this person has no travel history. in minnesota, someone returned from new york city after attending an anime convention. the 53,000 people who attended the convention were required to have at least one vaccine shot. >> we anticipate more cases. this is not cause for alarm. >> reporter: scientists are racing to study the severity of the new variant. new data from researchers in south africa shows reinfections are three times more likely with

omicron than with earlier variants. but doctors believe the current vaccines should prevent severe illness. the white house is encouraging the 100 million americans still eligible for a booster shot to get one. and beginning monday, new travel restrictions take effect. travelers need proof of a negative covid test before departing. abc's martha raddatz got this look inside the moderna facility. >> do you have the facilities to do both, and do them rapidly? >> we do have the capacity to do both and do them fast. >> reporter: and then the growing concerns about the omicron variant. google is delaying when employees will be required to return to the office. congress has avoided a government shutdown just one day before funding was set to run out. the senate rejected an senate to

defund joe biden's vaccine requirements as a condition for passing a spending bill. a former deputy in columbus, ohio faces murder charges in the shooting death of a black man last year. he saw 23-year-old casey goodson waving a good and pursued him where he ignored commands to drop the weapon. the family says he was holding a sandwich, not a gun. >> you know, it means a lot to us. we feel like we have a piece of the accountability that we're looking for. >> the attorney says goodson was pointing a gun at mead. the deputy's record includes several incidents which he was

disciplined. now to alec baldwin revealing new details about the shooting on the set of "rust." he told stephanopoulos, someone is responsible, but it's not me. >> reporter: in an abc news exclusive, alec baldwin is explaining for the first time the moments leading up to the shooting. >> i didn't pull the trigger. >> you never pulled the triger? >> no, no. i would never point a gun and anyone and pull the trigger. >> reporter: he says he was receiving instructions from hutchens when the gun went off on its on. >> i cocked the gun. i said can you see that? and i let go of the hammer and it goes off. >> reporter: he says he had no reason to believe there were live rounds in the gun and says the assistant director announced the gun was cold. >> it means there could be dummy rounds. >> reporter: a dummy round contains no explosive charges.

hall's attorney maintains baldwin did not pull the trigger. >> dave has told me since the first day i met him, that alec did not pull that trigger. >> reporter: investigators say a .45 caliber bullet was in the gun. >> someone put a live bull net a gun, a bullet that wasn't supposed to be on the property. someone is responsible for what happened, and i can't say who that is. >> reporter: detectives have searched the shop, but the owner says neither he or the company were the source of the live bullets. >> they found four rounds that were close enough to take in with them. they're not a match, but they were close. >> reporter: the attorney for the armorer onset, hannah gutierrez-re gutierrez-reed, says his client has no idea where the live rounds came from and says it was

sabotage. >> it's likely that it was an accident. >> reporter: the district attorney handling the case says she does not believe it was sabotage. meanwhile, two crew members have filed lawsuits against the producers, including baldwin, alleging safety concerns. chaims that baldwins and the producers deny. >> i did not deny any safety or security issues at all in the time i was there. >> reporter: he says he's cooperating with authorities. >> the idea that a real bullet was in that gun and come out and kill that woman, that was not even in the realm of possibility. and that's the thing that they must find out is where -- who brought bullets onto the set? >> reporter: baldwin says he decided to speak out because he couldn't wait for the investigation to be completed before telling his side of the story. as for his future, he says he can't imagine doing a movie with a gun in it again. andrew, mona? >> andrea, thank you. a major decision is expected today following that deadly high

school shooting in michigan. a prosecutor says she'll announce whether the parents of the 15-year-old suspect will face charges. she's already called their actions far beyond negligent. the boy's father purchased the gun just days before the teen allegedly killed four students at oxford high school. the suspect was called to the office before the shooting but he says no discipline was warranted. >> this high school is a wreck right now. maybe the best way to describe it is, it's like a war zone. our students did exactly as they had trained. and i couldn't be more proud. >> dozens of schools in that area have canceled classes due to copy cat threats. a jet made an emergency landing after six people were overcome by fumes. they were treated for possible carbon monoxide poisoning.

let's take a look now at your friday forecast. a wildfire has caused ex- extensive damage in denton, montana. in hawaii, snow is hitting the mountain tops and flood warnings are posted due to a storm that could continue into next week. on the radar, more snow and rain near the great lakes. rain is also expected in the southern plains and the pacific northwest. the highs today, warmth in the rockies to the midwest, but cooler in the northeast. about 44 in new york. coming up, new research on autism. >> also ahead, what police have revealed about all 14 people arrested for those smash and grab robberies targeting high-end stores. plus, the chef sentenced to plus, the chef sentenced to jail for a deadly shepherd's hey, uh, i didn't order any pizza.

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we're back now. this is the most unbelievable video you'll see all week. dash cam captured this stunning video of a black car stuck under a big rig traveling down a highway in illinois. amazingly the driver waved at passing motorists showing he was okay. >> it's like he just keeps going. in southern pennsylvania, a surveillance camera captured the moment a speeding suv slammed into a fountain. police are investigating the crash as a possible case of drunk driving. new details about those brazen robberies on the streets of california. we're now learning more than a dozen people have been arrested and all of them have now been released. this morning, the rise of smash-and-grab robberies in california is putting bail reform in the spotlight. police in los angeles arrested 14 suspects for a series of recent smash and grabs, when

groups swoop in to stores and grab as many items as they can. they say more than $300,000 in goods were stolen last month with some $40,000 worth of damage left behind. but all 14 suspects are now back on the street, free again, partially due to california's zero bail policy. >> in california and across the nation, we see bail reform as really blowing up in our faces. >> reporter: california instituted a temporary zero bail policy in 2020 for some crimes, including burglary to reduce jail population during the pandemic. some counties are still using the system. law enforcement experts insist it's not working. >> you have to protect the public by prosecuting and keeping them in. they went too far with bail reform across the country. >> reporter: the former chief of detectives in new york city says prosecutors' hands are tied and federal help is now needed. >> we had this problem in new york city just two months ago when the weather started to change. they were robbing high-end restaurants. all these individuals were

tracked and arrested and are now in federal custody, so you have to act, and you have to act quickly. >> reporter: meanwhile, police have now made an arrest in the beverly hills killing of jacqueline avant, the wife of legendary music executive clarence avant. they say the suspect was out on bail. the d.a. in sacramento saying this about the state's rising crime rate. >> i think it's a very, very dangerous time right now in california. >> supporters of bail reform argue that cash bail disproportionately affects low income people who end up having their lives upended while awaiting trial. new figures from the cdc show that nearly 1 in 40 children are affected by autism. that's more than in previous studies. researchers say the increase is due mostly to improved diagnostic techniques, which identify children with autism earlier than ever. they say that means those kids can get help faster. a judge has sentenced a chef in the uk who cooked up a toxic shepherd's pie that killed a woman and made dozens of others sick. the chef prepared the dish for a local church group.

he says he was rushed, and it ws undercooked. the judge imposed a four-month suspended jail sentence. coming up, a dangerous joyride in a stolen school bus. also ahead, dramatic new testimony at the sex trafficking trial of jeffrey epstein associate ghislaine maxwell. what a former housekeeper is revealing. revealing. welcome to the beauty for all event. with 20% off your purchase at sephora, the gifting possibilities are endless. we're giving you access to more options, more exclusives, more ways to save, so you can celebrate everyone on your list. this season at sephora, there's more beauty to go around. and everyone's invited. 20% off your purchase at sephora. ends december 12th.

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city. a man is in custody after stealing this school bus and crashing into as many as 20 cars and a building. no students were on the bus. police made an arrest and say the man has 12 prior arrests. tense moments at the trial of jussie smollett after he's accused of paying two men to stage a hate crime against him. his attorney asked for a mistrial thursday after accusing the judge of lunging at her during a side bar, a claim the judge denies. the attorney also criticized the judge for calling her evidence irrelevant in front of the jury. new testimony in the sex trafficking trial of ghislaine maxwell, the former associate of sex offender jeffrey epstein. a former jeffrey epstein employee testified about strict rules inside the mansion, along with "many, many, many females." >> do you regret working for -- >> reporter: a former house manager for jeffrey epstein is shedding new light on what allegedly went on inside the sex

offender's mansion. testifying at the trial of ghislaine maxwell told jurors that maxwell was the lady of the house and in court, he read from a so-called household manual for employees, including the instructions, you see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing, accept to answer a question directed at you. he said maxwell ordered him, you should never look at his eyes. he testified numerous young women came to the mansion, including two females who appeared to be under age. he identified one of the girls as jane, who testified this week. he says he picked jane up on multiple occasions at maxwell's request. jane claims she was abused at both locations. >> there were two of these visitors that stood out to him, because they were obviously under age. so his testimony was used to corroborate the testimony of one of the accusers, again, who claimed she was abused as a

teenager there. he saw her there, so that gives the government further proof of that allegation. >> reporter: she identified the other underage girl as virginia roberts, who accused jeffrey epstein and maxwell of sex trafficking her. let's go to sports, where the dallas cowboys stifled the saints last night and scored a pick six touchdown in the fourth quarter, dallas winning phis grizzlies beat the oklahoma city thunder, but get this, by 73 points. an nba victory. the final score was 152 to 79. it's december. so coming up, the new battle over christmas lights. also ahead, an unexpected also ahead, an unexpected sleepover at ikea. ♪ thousands of women with metastatic breast cancer are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor

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♪ time to check "the pulse," and we begin with a spontaneous slumber party. >> a storm left 30 workers and shoppers stranded at an ikea store. since they were stuck with the night with food, warm, comfy beds, they decided to make the best of it. the manager of the store in denmark said they had the best night and a good night sleep on an amazing mattress. we told you about being stranded at a british club for three days because of a storm. so which would be more fun? i heard to pass the time they built furniture at ikea. >> does ikea have alcohol then i'll go with alcohol. >> or hot dogs. next, billionaire mark cuban is getting into real estate. >> he's the new owner of an entire town in texas, mustang, texas, population, 23. >> cuban reportedly said he bought the town because a friend needed to sell it.

no word on how much he paid. >> and no word if he will move there either. all right, next, the countdown to strahan in space. >> just six more days before our michael strahan launches into space. now he heads to texas this weekend for training with spruge who trains all of blue origin. kevin walks us through what michael will experience during the launch. >> it will go supersonic, topping out at 2,200 miles an hour on its way up. once the capsule separates, that's essentially where they are at zero velocity. it's 100% guarantee he will bump into someone in zero g or someone will bump into him and that's part of the experience. >> liftoff is next thursday. and finally, a christmas light fight. >> a man in southern california set up a huge display, this one inspired by national lampoon's "christmas vacation." the city says it must come down because he doesn't have the proper permits. >> he said he'll pay the fines

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checking the top stories, the omicron variant is vedi ispg across the country. in new york, five cases are confirmed. one case has been linked to a convention attended by more than 50,000 people last month. joe biden's covid fighting strategy includes free at-home covid tests. the congressional committee investigating january's riot at the capitol is planning weeks of public hearings. a homeless man in miami is charged with murdering a 14-year-old boy. ryan rogers' death was the result of a random encounter. today's weather, rain and snow near the great lakes and cooler temperatures for the northeast. rain in the southern plains and

the pacific northwest. finally, it's friday. >> we're going need some ice for that. will ganss has an idea. >> reporter: it's disney on ice, where we're always taking things to new heights. fans and performers alike flipping out to return to the ice once again after the pandemic pause. come on, guys, let the magic begin. mini, donald, and goofy teaming up. >> disney on ice is a story about so many different characters, and they are bringing the disney magic by helping us solve clues to spring tinkerbell. >> reporter: the show welcoming characters from aladen, the little mermaid and frozen. >> makes you want to build a snowman. >> reporter: alex and isabella welcoming kids of all ages to the first of its kind spectacle,

taking the ice and the air. jaw-dropping stunts like the sway poles. hoverboards. and the spanish web. the pros making it look easy. >> yes, will. >> kevin, this is exactly what you look like. and then there's a that are face, of course. >> it is so special. they are such iconic disney characters and we get to bring their romance to life and interact with the kids and sing along with them. it's just so much fun. >> maybe it's the proximity to all this disney magic. >> it's going to make you feel happy and jittery and bring back memories from your childhood. >> reporter: but mickey's search party is making everyone feel like a kid again. >> they are stopping at 38 cities across the country. check for them when you get your tickets. andrew, mona? >> thanks, will.

right now on "america this morning," omicron the noew varnliant of the coronavirus is detected in new states. abc news exclusive. alec baldwin reveals what happened on the set of the movie. more of the george st stephanopoulos exclusive. a passenger jet forced to make an emergency landing when several fall sick, some loaded into ambulances. new details about the michigan school shooting suspect and his prior behavior. what the school superintendent is now saying.