replace ryan seacrest. [laughter] reggie: good morning, america, for our viewers in the west on this tuesday morning. omicron now the dominant variant in the u.s. breaking news, the biden administration planning to announce aggressive new measures to fight the omicron variant from mailing hundreds of millions of rapid tests to americans to deploying the military to struggling hospitals. overnight the first death from the omicron variant reported in the u.s. as the nhl becomes the first major sports league to hit pause. overseas the queen canceling the royal family's traditional christmas and this morning, what the world health organization is saying about celebrating the holidays. dr. fauci joins us this morning with the very latest. holiday rush. this morning, the worst times to hit the road for christmas as americans taking to the skies reach record numbers for the pandemic.

plus, what you need to know to get through tsa quickly. democrats attacking senator joe manchin after he said he's a no on president biden's signature social and climate spending plan. can the president salvage the bill? back home. for the first time we're seeing the faces of those missionaries held hostage in haiti describing new details this morning about a daring overnight escape. breaking their silence. overnight what the women of "sex and the city" are saying about the sexual assault allegations against chris noth as he is fired from another show. hair care recall. procter & gamble taking dozens of products off shelves over concerns about a cancer-causing ingredient. the products to watch out for this morning. stock your stocking. this morning, the notifications that may help you find the hottest gifts almost the second they hit the shelf and a top u.p.s. executive joins us live with a last chance to get your packages delivered on time. ♪ step into christmas ♪

and good morning from the arctic circle. we are live in santa's village with just four days to go. >> merry christmas. whoo! >> we're getting the coolest tour of all time. ♪ oh, oh ♪ and good morning, america. i just wish maggie rulli could have a little more fun. looks like she was bored, not doing anything. we can't wait to bring you her amazing, amazing time with santa's workshop. >> we'll look forward to that feel good story today because we have to start with a story that is not so good. the explosion of omicron cases in this country. it is now the dominant strain, less than three weeks after it was first detected here and get this, this is what we know, a week ago, one week ago, omicron accounted for just 3% of cases. now, a stunning 73% of cases and the first reported death from

omicron in the country, a houston man with underlying conditions who was not vaccinated. >> with long lines for testing nationwide, this is the scene at a testing facility in southern california. americans flooding sites before christmas to find out if they're infected. >> president biden is set to make a major announcement this afternoon about dealing with the covid surge from testing to helping overwhelmed hospitals. our chief white house correspondent cecilia vega starts us off with the new details right now and there are a lot of them. good morning, cecilia. >> reporter: amy, good morning. when president biden delivers this speech he is not going to mince words. that's what officials are telling us, given omicron and the severity of this surge. officials are bracing for cases to rise, even among the vaccinated. for the unvaccinated, the message is going to be dire -- act now. today, president biden set to lay out in stark terms what's at stake as the omicron variant sweeps the nation, get vaccinated and boosted now or be prepared for the worst.

a white house official says the president will announce drastic new steps to fight the surge, a thousand military medical personnel deployed to help overburdened hospitals. that's nearly a fivefold increase to the military doctors, nurses and paramedics already pitching in. fema called in to set up hospital overflow sites, distribute supplies like ventilators and deploy ambulances to transport patients from crowded facilities to those with open beds. new federal testing and vaccination sites starting in new york city where in some spots testing lines stretched down the street and people wait for hours. and the president will also announce free at-home rapid tests for any american who requests one. the white house procuring 500 million tests promising in january anyone who requests one through the website will get one through the mail. what should americans not expect -- >> should americans expect any

new restrictions? >> this is not a speech about locking the country down. it is outlining and be direct and clear with the american people about the benefits of being vaccinated, the steps we're going to take to increase access and to increase testing and the risks posed to unvaccinated individuals. >> reporter: now for so many who might be concerned or worried about traveling and reconsidering our plans, the president is expected to say as long as you're vaccinated and following these proper protocols like wearing masks you should feel comfortable carrying on with your celebrations and travel as planned. >> speaking of the president, cecilia, a white house staffer who had contact with him has now tested positive for covid, so what's next? >> reporter: the test came in positive yesterday. the staffer was on air force one with the president on friday. president biden has tested negative since then but because the president is vaccinated the cdc rules say he doesn't have to quarantine. for now it's business as usual he's carrying on. amy? >> cecilia vega at the white house, thank you, cecilia. t.j.? >> reporter: and the omicron

surge is now threatening the biggest new year's celebration in the country. yes, the one right here in times square. our trevor ault is outside with more on the latest wave sweeping the nation and, trevor, we were just talking about celebrating and that coming back to times square for new year's eve, well, not so fast. >> reporter: no kidding, t.j. it's been less than six weeks since omicron was first discovered and it's already the dominant strain in the united states and with that transmissibility it feels like our holiday events like this one in times square are hanging in the balance as new york city and the entire country is now bracing for what could be some extremely difficult weeks ahead. this morning, the first reported death from the omicron variant in the u.s., a harris county, texas, man in his 50s who was not vaccinated. nearly 1,200 americans are dying from the virus every day, an increase of about 60% since thanksgiving week and overnight the cdc releasing stunning new data showing omicron is already the dominant variant in the

united states. estimated to account for 73% of new covid cases domestically, up 70% since last week and in five regions of the country more than 90% of new cases are omicron. >> omicron is spreading significantly faster and more likely that people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from covid-19 could be infected or reinfected. >> reporter: the world health organization is now asking people to make difficult decisions to protect themselves and others including possibly delaying or even canceling holiday events. new york city officials in the final stages of prepping for new year's eve -- >> two, one, happy new year. >> reporter: -- are now re-examining covid restrictions for the ball drop in times square. >> we have the original plan we announced, but we are looking at that again now in light of omicron. >> reporter: overnight the nhl

becoming the first pro sports league to announce a stop to the season, halting play through december 27th. more cities unveiling new mandates. boston's mayor announcing a covid-19 vaccine requirement for certain indoor spaces, restaurants, theaters and gyms. >> this is one step in an aggressive approach that the city is implementing. >> reporter: now we're seeing several more broadway shows shutting down. harry potter and the cursed child, they're canceling all shows through the holidays just like "hamilton" and "aladdin" and "jagged little pill" is closing down for good. will? >> an uncertain end to 2021. trevor, thank you so much. turning overseas to the uk where the mayor of london has already canceled that city's famed new year's eve celebration and the queen is changing her christmas plans. james longman joins us from london with more. james, good morning. >> reporter: yeah, hi, will. well like everyone else the queen was hoping this year's christmas would look a lot

different to last but yet again the royal christmas family tradition is being canceled at sandringham and she will be at windsor instead. omicron is surging through the united kingdom. we're told this was a personal decision and reflects a precautionary approach. the united kingdom hasn't instituted new restrictions ahead of christmas. this is just the queen wanting to set a good example as usual for the rest of us. but she will not be alone. remember, of course, this is her first christmas without prince philip but family members will be able to visit her on christmas day. separately here in london, new year's eve celebrations are being rethought. the mayor of london has decided to cancel the 6,500 tickets sent out to people to watch fireworks on the river thames telling everyone to stay at home and be safe from omicron. amy? >> and joining us is dr. anthony fauci, chief medical adviser to president biden. dr. fauci, thank you as always for joining us.

we reported earlier that later today president biden is planning to announce drastic new steps to help try and fight the omicron variant, including calling in the national guard. do you think these measures are going to help stop the spread? >> i believe so. i mean, they're building up on what we have done before but in a much more intense way regarding hospital capacity, a major, major upgrade of our ability to get people testing with literally billions of teste hospitals are ready, getting up vaccination capacity and pop-up clinics to get people vaccinated. so there are a lot of things he'll be talking, but those are the three major areas -- hospital capacity, testing and ramping up the ability to get vaccinated. >> dr. fauci, for those of us not scientists, this explosion in omicron cases is incredibly surprising in just one week. it's the dominant strain. are you surprised?

>> well, certainly this is unprecedented to see this rapidity with which any individual virus spreads throughout the world. it is really extremely unusual. it's a doubling time of two to three days, closer to two days, which means that if you start off with a few percentage of the isolates being omicron and do the math and double that every couple of days, it's not surprising that just a week or two ago we had only 8% to 10% and now we have 73% of all the isolates are omicron. that's truly unprecedented in the rapidity with which a virus spreads. >> and the cdc is predicting omicron will be at its peak in mid-january and hopefully perhaps fizzle out in mid-march. is that what you're also expecting? >> well, we hope so. i mean when you have something that goes up this quickly, often

you see it come right back down because what will happen is that either almost everyone is either going to get infected, particularly the unvaccinated, or be vaccinated and the vaccinated people will either be particularly the boosted people and it's very important to underscore right now the importance of getting boosted, that those people will either be protected from infection or if they do get infected they'll hve a relatively mild course of infection. that's what we're hoping for. if that being the case with the rapidity with which these cases are accumulated, we hope when we do get a peak soon and it will be soon, it's going to be a matter of a couple of weeks that we then start to see just as dramatic a decline. that's what we're hoping for. that would be the best case scenario. >> dr. fauci, as you know, the u.s. has reported its first death linked to the omicron variant. it was a person in their mid-50s. they had underlying conditions and most notably they were unvaccinated. given the vaccination rates in

our country, can we expect more deaths, many more deaths? >> well, i think we'll see certainly hospitalizations and deaths. the one thing we're seeing is that, if anything, it does not appear to be more severe. it might, in fact, be less severe but we're holding off on that till we see how it does in our own country but it won't be surprising when you have a virus that's capable of hospitalizing and killing people, it's not surprising at all you'll see deaths do to this. >> dr. fauci, the world health organization is recommending people postpone or cancel holiday gatherings. what are your recommendations to americans as we head into this holiday week? >> well, when you have a family setting, for example, parents, grandparents, children, who are vaccinated, you should have an enjoyable christmas and holiday gathering, dinner, whatever in your own home. what you want to stay away from

is indoor congregant sittings in which you do not know the vaccination status of the people around you. that would be quite risky. >> well, dr. fauci, we certainly wish you a happy holiday season and thank you for joining us today. >> my pleasure, thank you for having me. >> t.j.? >> all right, always good to hear from him. we want to turn to democrats scrambling to rescue president biden's agenda after that bombshell from west virginia senator joe manchin. our congressional correspondent rachel scott is on capitol with the very latest. rachel, good morning. >> reporter: t.j., good morning. sources tell me the president and senator manchin spoke for the first time since senator manchin blind-sided the white house saying he would not support that nearly $2 trillion social spending bill. senate democrats plan to meet tonight to discuss the path forward, but relations with manchin have hit a low point. the west virginia senator only digging in now blaming the white house for the failed

negotiations. white house officials are accusing manchin of going back on his word. this morning we are learning a private conversation that the senator had on capitol hill, raising kwern concerns about the child tax credit. he questioned whether parents would use the child tax credit payments to buy drugs. the senator's office is not denying that. he said he supports the child tax credit but believes it should be more targeted. t.j.? >> thank you, as always. "world news tonight" anchor david muir will sit down with president biden for an exclusive interview airing wednesday night on "world news tonight" and more on "gma" the next day, thursday morning. will? now to the holiday travel rush. as travel reaches prepandemic levels, our transportation correspondent gio benitez joins us with more including the best times to hit the road for christmas. gio, good morning. >> reporter: hey, will, good morning. the overwhelming majority of travelers this week are going to be traveling by road more than 100 million people. take a look at this.

in most major cities you'll see the heaviest traffic on thursday afternoon. so you want to plan around that. now, in some cities like chicago, d.c. and new york, you can expect about 300% more traffic than usual. now, in the air it'll be a record-breaking week in the pandemic. you're already seeing those busy airports between now and january 3rd. the tsa expects to screen about 30 million people. remember, some airports, they are letting you reserve a spot in the tsa line in advance. you want to go to the airport website first, see if that's available and sign up there. amy? >> good advice, thanks so much. now to incredible new details on those american missionaries who were kidnapped by an armed gang in haiti now free after more than two months. marcus moore has the latest. >> reporter: for the first time, we are seeing the faces of the 16 americans and one canadian missionary at the center of the international hostage crisis that unfolded in haiti for two months. they are free this morning. ♪

now we're learning details of how the remaining 12 hostages describe an overnight escape from their captors who for weeks threatened to kill them if a $17 million ransom wasn't paid. >> when they sensed the timing was right, they found a way to open the door that was closed and blocked and quickly left the place they were held despite the fact that numerous guards were close by. >> reporter: abc news has not independently confirmed the account but a spokesperson for christian aid ministries say they trekked through difficult terrain in the middle of the night for hours with a 10-month-old baby and a 3-year-old child in tow. >> one of the hostages said and i quote, two hours were through fierce bramells. we were in gang territory the whole hike. they eventually found someone who helped them make a phone call for help. they were finally free. >> reporter: and for the first time publicly leaders for christian aid ministries, the organization the hostages worked for, acknowledged a ransom was paid to the gang that kidnapped

the group as they left an orphanage outside of port-au-prince. neither the aid group nor authorities released details on the negotiations but kidnappings like this have become more common in haiti with the political and economic turmoil that country is facing. guys? >> glad they made it out safely. marcus, thank you. coming up, the women of "sex and the city" speaking out overnight about those allegations against chris noth. also an executive from u.p.s. joining us live with the latest on when you can still mail those gifts and get them there on time. but first let's check in with ginger. hey there. >> reporter: hey there, t.j. our friends in southwest florida are waking up with a tornado watch. you can see it right there. it includes punta gorda and siesta key. so much more coming up. first the tuesday trivia sponsored by progressive insurance.

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silver jewelry gifts for $17.59... and, earn kohl's cash! kohl's. announcer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc7 news. reggie: today, the oakland city council will vote on an ordinance requiring people to show proof of vaccination. it comes in several bars and restaurants have already announced that they are temporarily closing because of covid concerns. data shows 76% of oakland residents are fully vaccinated. the city council will meet at 8:00 a.m. >> we have a major crash and aranda. all lanes are blocked on eastbound 24 at fish ranch road. injuries involved. there is a jackknife the big rig, as well as two other cars. i did want to wrap up with a

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but our here, we are just getting started. introducing the all-new nissan frontier. mike: that is good advice, considering it will rain possibly every day of the rest of the year. good morning, i'm mike nicco. sprinkles are possible right now in the north bay. otherwise, we will have to wait a couple more hours before the storm starts to make headway into the north bay. on the radar, it is yellow, so it could be moderate at times. it is slowly moving to the south as we get into the afternoon and evening. take a look at the seven day forecast. as of the latest models, tomorrow and saturday will feature our heaviest rain and gusty just winds. reggie: coming up, shopping secrets that will still help you

find this holiday's hottest gifts, and get them in time for christmas. another update in 30 minut

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and a new seat at the table. ♪ ♪ step into christmas ♪ welcome back to "gma." maggie rulli with one of the coolest assignments. >> oh, my goodness. >> she is live from santa's village all morning long, not excited at all about it. we can't wait to hear more. i hope we can get a request into santa to try and get you off the naughty list, t.j. >> off the naughty list? >> that's a tough act this late in the game. >> you need to be worried about yourself. no, no. no, maggie rulli is always a gamer. the nickname of her, a walking exclamation point. >> she's like walking christmas 365 days a year. >> there she is. we could do this all morning.

mag d maggie, we'll check in with you in a moment. first we have the top headlines for you this morning, including president biden set to announce drastic new steps to fight the omicron variant sweeping the nation. a thousand military medical personnel will help overburdened hospitals and by january there will be free at home rapid tests for any american who requests one. all this as the world health organization is now asking people to make difficult decisions to protect themselves and others including possibly delaying or even canceling their holiday events. also a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern california. the quake happened 270 miles north of san francisco and could be felt up and down the coast. also right now the fda approved the first ever injectable medication to lower the risk of getting hiv. until now pre-exposure medication was only available in pill form. they will be every two months. it will help high risk individuals to whom daily medication isn't an option. all eyes on the latest "jeopardy!" champ. amy schneider cannot be stopped. with a 14-day winning streak the greatest of all time ken

jennings calling amy one of the best final "jeopardy!" players he's ever seen. with more than $571,000, amy is currently in fourth place for highest winnings in regular season play. very impressive. we've got a lot more ahead including shopping secrets to get some of the hottest toys online. it is not too late. that is coming up. amy? but now to more fallout from the sexual assault allegations against actor chris noth. overnight the stars of "sex and the city" speaking out as he's dropped from his starring role in another show. kaylee hartung has all the latest from los angeles. good morning, kaylee. >> reporter: and good morning, amy. less than two weeks ago chris noth was walking the red carpet ahead of the premiere for "sex and the city"'s latest chapter "and just like that." as he denies the allegations that have surfaced, his career is in serious jeopardy. this morning as chris noth faces allegations of sexual assault the tv drama "the equalizer" firing him.

cbs and universal television saying in a statement, chris noth will no longer film additional episodes of "the equalizer" effective immediately. >> it's different this time. >> reporter: the 67-year-old also reportedly dropped by his talent agency and his viral commercial for peloton pulled. peloton telling abc news the company was unaware of the allegations when he appeared in the ad. with the premiere of the "sex and the city" reboot, "and just like that" just over a week ago he was back in the spotlight. >> depends how spent i am. >> reporter: two women say all the attention surrounding the revival and devise of his character was triggers. they chose to remain anonymous claiming they were sexually assaulted by him. one in los angeles in 2004. the other in new york in 2015. overnight his "sex and the city" co-stars saying they are deeply saddened writing we support the

women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences. we know it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for it. noth denying the accusations as categorically false saying his encounters with the women were consensual adding, no always means no, that is a line i did not cross. noth will be seen in one more episode of "the equalizer." that's already been filmed. noth has not been charged with any crimes. t.j.? >> kaylee, thank you so three delivery days left. so what you need to know about getting your presents to friends, family and loved one, in time. let's turn to the map with all the answer, bill seward, president of worldwide sales and solutions at u.p.s. let's start with that, bill. solutions. i want to start bottom line, here we are on tuesday morning. to get it there on time, which

is by friday, what options do people need to choose with u.p.s.? do we still have options? >> t.j., thanks so much for having me. first of all i hope you haven't been procrastinating. however if you have been we have you covered. we invested a lot in our ground network and sped it up so 90% of the packages delivered by u.p.s. are delivered within one to three days. to be safe you have options with our air services. we have guaranteed second day air so you can ship on wednesday night and have it delivered on friday. you can also ship with our next day air service which is guaranteed if you get it to us by thursday night, we'll have it under your christmas tree and delivered on friday. >> bill, that is great. you're telling me i got until thursday? >> let me add one thing. >> okay. >> i'll ask you to get it to us as soon as you can. >> okay. give us an idea here, bill, though of the volume you're handling compared to maybe last year? >> we've had practice at this. ever since the pandemic began

volumes have been surging. we've been having to run interesting plays to handle all the volume but to answer specifically, normally during the year we're doing about 25 million packages delivered a day. that's worldwide. at this time of year, though, that volume nearly doubles around the world. so we've got our teams really, really hard at work and airline and ground operations all around the u.s. and world and we're really busy. >> you said a couple of months ago you wanted to hire 100,000 seasonal workers to deal with that volume. did you get the workers you need? are you short at all on workers and is that slowing things down at all? >> we feel great about our operations. we've been kind of just like the volume thing we just talked about, we've been at practice in hiring people for awhile. in the summer of 2020 with the surge of e-commerce shipping everyone was locked down at home buying things online we saw volume surge and had to hire 40,000 people in the summer of 2020. last holiday season we had to hire 100,000 employees and this holiday season we aim to do the

same thing. i'm happy to report our network is running really well. third-party organizations that monitor service levels say u.p.s. is on top and we feel really good about that. >> what have you noticed about the habits of consumers this year? does it seem like a lot of people are procrastinating? have you seen an uptick or did a lot of people get stuff in early on and heed the warnings? >> we're happy how closely we worked with our retail customers. they did a lot of work early on to encourage shoppers to buy early. at one point we did a survey of our top 30 customers have been running really aggressive promotional campaigns before the thanksgiving black friday weekend. in fact, we did some research here at u.p.s. and we found that last year only 17% of shoppers thought they'd be done with all their shopping before the black friday holiday. this year over 25% of shoppers were completely done. so we do think because of all the talk about supply chain

issues around the world over the last year that consumers and shoppers got the message and we have seen that the holiday has been more spread out than maybe in prior years. >> that sounds good. a lot sounds good and, again, the key is that you have until thursday, people, to still mail -- i'm kidding, bill. i know that's not the message you're trying to get out there. [ laughter ] but bill seward, president. worldwide sales and solutions at u.p.s., good to see you and good luck, my man. >> thanks, t.j. >> that's why you're on the naughty list, t.j. that's why you're on the naughty list. >> making the poor man sweat. [ laughter ] you guys want to know a secret? we got more to let you know about because we got to give you a leg up on getting the hottest gifts in time for christmas. don't listen to t.j. this is your home. this is your family room slash gym. the guest bedroom slash music studio. the daybed slash dog bed. the living room slash yoga shanti slash regional office

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♪ ♪ back now on "gma" with our countdown to christmas and the pressure is on for procrastinators and planners alike to get those perfect gifts for the holidays. fortunately becky worley is here to help and she comes bearing a gift. she says we can still buy the hottest gifts online and get them delivered on time. becky, tell us everything. >> reporter: whew, well, that is a big lead-in and i hope i can live up to. as we're sliding into the final days of the christmas crunch is there any chance you might find that sold out gift that's still on your list? well, to have even a snowball's chance, you need to try these tactics.

>> there we go. >> reporter: this is what kids want for christmas, but in some cases this is the inventory situation. out of stock messages this holiday season are up 258% compared to prepandemic numbers in 2019. and way higher for specific gaming consoles, handhelds and even some hot toys. but ann marie el cantera of "the wall street journal" says there's still hope if you can set up new stock notifications. >> i mean every electronic that we're seeing out there right now they're selling out like crazy and setting notifications on is what maybe helps you get it and might happen at 3:00 in the morning or a more normal time. >> reporter: how do you set them up? start with the manufacturer's direct retail site and many have sign ups to tell you when new inventory drops. then reach out to the big

retailers. >> another system that people can employ which is really dependent on the retailer and what the product is virtual queue systems. email, whatever you're doing, you can at least have a guaranteed place in line to get the item. >> reporter: create an account and sometimes opting for membership can also get you to the head of the line for new product announcements. >> they can use really simple tactics like creating wish lists on a retailer's website or even setting notifications for certain twitter accounts. >> reporter: search for xbox stock alerts and find accounts that only post when stores have new inventory. sites like nowinstock.net tell you almost in realtime when, where and the price of new stock coming online. and don't forget in-store tactics. >> every retailer has a different time they get shipments in every day. if you go to the electronics department of your favorite retailer and ask when they get their shipments in, they may be getting inventory daily. the other interesting strategy is actually ask about returns that have come in because oftentimes they haven't been

taken back onto the floor yet. i think all those things are things people can do to creatively find pockets of the hottest gifts this year. >> reporter: now, we reached out to the makers of the hottest gaming consoles. microsoft didn't give us any dates but said they're working on it and amazon said check their retail four star and amazon book stores for the hot gaming gifts saying they may have limited inventory in these physical stores. but, guys, we are getting pretty close, so if all else fails, there's always the gift card. praise the lord for the gift card. >> you delivered once again. >> yes. >> always. >> absolutely did. >> i have to rethink my tactics. learned a lot there. >> becky, thank you as always. up next, maggie rulli is adopting a reindeer. stay with us. to run a growing business, is to be on a journey. and along the ride, you'll have many questions.

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♪ it's ♪ it's beginning ♪ it's beginning to look a lot like christmas ♪ back now on "gma" and maggie rulli has the assignment of the season because she's live with santa's reindeer in the arctic circle. maggie, we are all jealous. hello. >> reporter: hey, will. these are santa's reindeer,

dasher, dancer, prancer, vixen, comet, cupid, prancer -- will, help us out here. >> donner, vixen -- doing it at the desk and rudolph only works on christmas eve. are. >> reporter: exactly. you're exactly right. these are santa's reindeer. many ask why aren't they flying? where is rudolph? i spoke to the head elf in charge of reindeer and she told me they only fly on christmas eve after they've been sprinkled with magic christmas dust. if you visit you can get a sleigh ride on the ground. we've been having so much fun here in rovaniemi, finland, in the home of santa claus, his official office and went dogsledding. we went snowmobiling and saw ice-packed lakes. it's an an arctic adventure but we are here for the big man. you will want to stick around. >> we can't wait. quite the tease. thank you very much, maggie. also ahead, the age old question, is "die hard" a christmas movie?

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announcer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. >> good morning. here's jobina with a look at traffic. jobina: we have a major crash that is really slowing things down in the eastbound direction. it is all red. eastbound 24 at fish ranch road multiple lanes blocked involving a jackknifed big rig and a couple of other cars. emeryville looking nice. westbound traffic begin to slow down toward mays, but it is very clear on the san mateo bridge. mike: it is dry. you can see right over my shoulder, the first signs of our next storm arriving in mendocino county. light to moderate rain in the north bay until the afternoon hours and sliding down into the south bay and inland eastbound

neighborhoods through the evening hours. we ramp it up to a two on wednesday and on saturday, chances everyday. reggie: coming up, gma in the arctic circle visiting santa's village and checking in with santa ahead of the big day. oh i missed you! ok. hush little baby...don't say a word... but if slow upload speeds turns your goodnight call into an accidental horror movie... can you hear me? shut it down. just remember. you're not a bad mom. you just need better internet. at&t fiber delivers faster upload speeds for more reliable video calls. get at&t fiber, plans starting at $35 a month for a year. limited availability in select areas. call 1.877.only.att.

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good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. breaking news, the biden administration planning to announce aggressive new measures to fight the omicron variant from mailing hundreds of millions of rapid tests to americans to deploying the military to struggling hospitals with omicron now the dominant covid variant in the u.s. hair care recall. procter & gamble taking dozens of products off shelves over concerns about a cancer-causing ingredient. the products to watch out for this morning. ♪ higher love ♪ the final two, this morning, our exclusive sneak peek of the shocking "bachelorette" season finale. >> i'm still not sure that at the end of this that you feel you'd be ready for an engagement. >> who will get michelle's final rose? star of the slopes.

we're on the mountain with america's newest skiing prodigy. >> so impressed with kai. >> teenager olympic hopeful kai owens returning to her birth country for the first final to represent beijing. as she goes for gold on the world stage. ♪ christmas is coming again ♪ this morning we are getting the coolest tour of all time. >> merry christmas! whoo! >> our maggie rulli inside santa's village in the arctic circle. >> oh, they're too excited. >> with the dogs, the reindeer, and, of course, santa claus himself. >> santa! ♪ underneath the tree ♪ early christmas present for america. >> hey, pal. how are you doing? >> the bidens' youngest dog in chief reporting for duty. get ready for reba mcentire. the country superstar joins us live giving us a special christmas performance and she's saying -- >> good morning, america. ♪ what a bright time, it's the right time ♪

oh, i can't say it like reba. she does it so well. good morning, america. >> well done. >> we are really in the holiday mood this morning and no one more than maggie rulli who has traveled to the arctic circle to talk to the man of the hour, santa claus, of course, rubbing her hands. it's cold there. >> looks so fun. if you still need to bake cookies to leave for santa we have a recipe for you. chef damaris philips creating shortbread cookies inspired by "ted lasso." love that. for our 12 days of christmas cookies. >> interested to hear how that connection is made. news about omicron. the fight against omicron, this variant, a week ago, get this, omicron accounted for just 3% of cases. now a stunning 73% of cases. >> yes, and now president biden is set to make a major announcement about dealing with the covid surge. let's go back to cecilia vega with more. good morning, cecilia.

>> reporter: amy, good morning again. president biden is expected to lay this one out in stark terms with omicron even if you are vaccinated, he will say you may catch this but your symptoms are expected to be mild to no symptoms at all but the message for those folks who are still unvaccinated is urgent. president biden setting out in stark terms what's at stake as omicron sweeps the nation, get vaccinated and boosted now or be prepared for the worst. a white house official says the president will announce drastic new steps to fight the surge, a thousand military medical personnel deployed to help overburdened hospitals. that's nearly a five-fold increase to the military doctor, nurses and paramedics already pitching in. fema called in to set up hospital overflow sites, distribute supplies like ventilators, and deploy ambulances to transport patients from crowded facilities to those with open beds. new federal testing and vaccination sites starting in new york city where in some spots testing lines stretched

down the street and people wait for hours and the president will also announce free at-home rapid tests for any american would requests one procuring half a billion tests prompting come january anyone who requests one through a website will get one in the mail. despite the surge dr. fauci saying just moments ago, vaccinated people taking proper precautions can carry on with their holidays as planned. >> when you have a family and you know the vaccination status, people are boosted, you should feel comfortable in having an enjoyable dinner and gathering during the holiday season. >> now, president biden is not expected to announce any new restrictions today. press secretary jen psaki tells me this is not a speech about locking down the country. this is about making it clear how important it is right now to be vaccinated given the new surge. >> always an important message there, all right, cecilia, thank you, as always. we turn to a hair care product recall. procter & gamble issuing a voluntary recall for dozens of

its aerosol spray products because they contain a concerning level of cancer-causing chemical. janai norman joins us now with more. good morning, janai. >> reporter: hey, t.j. good morning to you. there are 32 different dry shampoo and conditioner products included in this recall from old spice, to aussie, herbal essences and pantene. they detected ben sanne if their products. it can be deadly. it can be inhaled, ingested, and you can even be exposed through your skin and it's known to cause cancers including leukemia, blood cancer of the bone marrow and blood disorders. so if you have a second, come to the screen and take a look to see if you have these products at home. if you are wondering how this ended up in hair products, they say it's not an ingredient. it showed that unexpected levels

came from the propellant that sprays the product out of the can. this is all a precaution, and they haven't been made aware of any adverse effects on consumers, but if you have any at home, to throw them out and stop using them. guys? coming up, the dramatic "the bachelorette" season coming to an end. we have a sneak peek of tonight's episode. and then kai owens, the 17-year-old phenom has her sights set on the beijing olympics, but competing in china is especially meaningful for her. she joins us live. and also neil patrick harris will join us this morning. action star now, right? starring in "the matrix resurrectio resurrections." he'll join us live. stay with us. we'll be right back.

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♪ hey ya ♪ all right, welcome back to "gma." hey ya, there he is. the newest member of the first family. the president and first lady welcome a new puppy. the puppy's name, commander. the president tweeting, meet the newest biden in a video of commander playing fetch enjoying his new home. the bidens welcoming him and saying good-bye to major, the first white house shelter dog going to live with family friends now. so new pup, commander. >> welcome to the white house. and now we are going to turn to our "gma" cover story. the dramatic "bachelorette" season finale, here is what we know. michelle young is down to her final two men. the mystery who will she choose? kaylee hartung is back now to help us break it down and has an exclusive sneak peek. hey there, kaylee. >> reporter: hey, wail. -- will. i know you were on the edge of your seat for this one just like the rest of bachelor nation. michelle took her game face off and now it's time for her to call her shot for love.

tonight, michelle's heart is on the line. nate and brandon vying for her love after both confessing their own. >> i will always, always put you first. >> this is very real for me. >> reporter: the two men making lasting impressions, night one. >> before we started this journey i just want to say it's better nate than never. >> hello. >> wow. some dude came in a bed, bro. >> nate receiving that coveted first impression rose. >> wow. season.brandon winning over pmi- >> she looks so happy. if she chooses and thinks you're the one you have my blessing. >> reporter: tayshia adams warning tonight's episode is a tearjerker. >> you can see her working through the emotions and making a decision up to the last second. it is safe to say that we can expect the unexpected tonight.

>> reporter: in this "gma" exclusive clip, a possible thorn for nate. >> i can see that, you know, she has these feelings for you and i just hope that they're the same. >> feelings are being reciprocated. now the logistics, i don't know. are we moving? i don't know. >> i'm not sure you'll be ready for an engagement. i'm not sure you're 100% in. >> um -- >> and that's why you get the parents involved. real talk. michelle says this is the hardest decision she's ever had to make. someone's heart is getting broken tonight. it is a three-hour finale event leading up to the big moment. >> three hours, my goodness. "the bachelorette" finale airs at 8:00 p.m. and it will go for three hours right here on abc and michelle joins us live tomorrow here on "gma." she might have someone with her. amy, we'll see. >> can't wait for that. in the meantime, will, now

to 17-year-old skiing sensation kai owens, the 2021 moguls world cup rookie of the year. now she's a top contender for the olympic team at the beijing winter games. we'll speak to her in a moment. first check out this phenom in action. >> kai owens, 16-year-old from the united states has just won. >> reporter: meet 17-year-old kai owens, the teenage champ from vail who trains eight hours a day in the colorado rockies. in the world of mogul skiing the rising star conquers tight bumps and high jumps as the reigning 2021 usa rookie of the year. >> kai owens has just won her first ever world cup competition. >> reporter: the american wonder expecting to go far, all the way acros the globe to beijing for the 2022 winter olympics. born in china in 2004, she was adopted at 16 months by her parents, amy and jonathan owens under china's one child policy. the olympics would be one of her only trips back to the country

and an emotional opportunity she's preparing for. wow, and kai owens joins us now from vail, colorado. amazing to watch you do what you do. we have a photo from your early days when you were skiing. oh, look how little you were. at what point did you say, i want to be an olympian? >> well, you know, i love skiing as kind of just a hobby. i loved alpine skiing and everything and every discipline of skiing and so i really -- the olympics weren't really on my radar until my teammate, my current teammate tess johnson made the olympics at 17 years old. that was my turning moment. where i was like, oh, my gosh, i could do this, i want this. >> that's so cool. so the passion was there. it wasn't necessarily what you were looking for in terms of results but you know you love what you do and do it so well. you are four qualifying events away from being the youngest member on the usa moguls and aerials freestyle team.

this is especially poignant to go back to your birth country. to go back to beijing. tell me what it would mean to represent the united states there? >> to be able to represent the united states would just be just so, so -- such an honor. like being able to return to my home country or the country that i was born in is extra special and extra personal. it would really just bring everything full circle for me to be able to compete my passion in sports and return to china. >> yeah, kai, you have been working hard to make it a reality. we mentioned eight hours a day. these are grueling days as well. give us a sense of what your training is like. >> currently we are on a nice break after our last event in france, so i was spending good quality time here with my family. we are -- we leave on january -- or december 27th for training camp in colorado.

that will involve some -- a good amount of hours on snow on a full mogul course to make our final preparations for the last four events prior to the games. we'll also be in the gym. we do a lot of pt and stretching and kind of -- i'm always trying to physically prepare myself. >> we are supporting you. we are rooting you on. good luck. kai owens, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >> t.j.? >> she seems wonderful and i can't wait to root for her. we want to see her do santa claus is coming to your town but first we're heading to his town, maggie in particular live at the arctic circle in santa claus village. are you kidding me right now, maggie? ♪ >> reporter: can you guys believe it? santa let me take his sleigh out for a ride even gave me one of his reindeer, but he did make me

promise i won't fly. the arctic circle is abuzz and passed over the arctic circle line. i'll show you around. this is the arctic circle. this is santa's official office where he gets all of his work done. over here is the official post office. if you mail a letter to santa claus this is where it ends up. but santa is busy right now just days before christmas. it is the busiest time of the year. this is his official office. guys, he is inside there right now hard at work, but he did spare a few moments to chat with us. we asked him all the questions you want to know and he is just as jolly as promised because this whole place is pretty jolly. ♪ the arctic circle is all decked out in a flurry of festive activity. and in santa's village we're fueling up on yuletide cheer. merry christmas! whoo! and arctic adventure. ♪

santa should try this for his sleigh. oh, they're too excitd. >> one, two, three. >> reporter: including a lift from santa's littlest helpers. in santa's official post office it's season's greetings every day of the year. hi. this is amazing. look at all these letters. i love this one. just to santa, north pole. >> heidi the elf helps sort through the 500,000 letters sent to santa from over 200 countries. >> you have gotten letters from chile? >> yeah. >> from ooet yoep wethiopia? >> yeah. >> from egypt. from the cook islands. >> all over the world basically. >> reporter: the gang is all here, dasher and dancer and prancer and comet and cupid. he relies on special reindeer. do they fly? >> only on christmas eve when santa puts the magic powder on the reindeer.

sthast -- that's also when rudolph's nose turns red. >> reporter: a can't meet santa empty-handed. thankfully irene knows what santa likes. >> oh, this dough is beautiful. >> we're making a traditional finnish pastry joulutorttu. oh, it's perfect. do you think santa will like it? >> let's see if it's ready. >> reporter: finally at peak jolly it's time. >> santa! >> oh, hello, maggie. >> i made you a present. >> yes. >> and it is this pastry joulutorttu. i had to sneak a look at the naughty and nice list. first, will and amy. >> on the good list. >> the last one i want to check is t.j. holmes. >> it says possibly naughty. >> t.j. >> but now i have to tell the people that you asked me to say that. because he is on the good list. >> sorry, t.j. >> yeah, because he's on the good list, of course, he is on the good list.

>> luckily santa forgives me and reminds me that the true meaning of christmas is always with us. >> christmas is in your heart and is in your mind. it's always there. and never going away. >> reporter: sorry, guys. i'm not coming back. i'll be a professional elf from now on taking over the naughty and nice list. merry christmas. >> oh, no. very professional. very professional, maggie. maggie, we just love you. we'll check in with you again and have to check in with ginger. thank you, t.j. and good morning, everyone. i have to bring you to these stormy pictures out of the tampa bay all the way into southwest florida. our surfline camera and updated look with low-lying clouds and might see waterspouts as they start to move onshore. there is a tornado watch that includes fort myers to punta

gorda. you could see damaging winds and also brief tornadoes in this. it will keep moving east through the whole peninsula then that storm and some of the moisture will try to ride the coast and bring us some winter weather overnight into early tomorrow especially into parts of new england away from the coast so please beware. i wanted to mention back in the west they had fresh snow, now idaho and montana up to a foot, and now the sierra could get feet, and we're talking again, 5 feet by christmas eve.

♪ jingle bells ♪ now to our 12 days of christmas cookies. we have damaris philips joining us with some delicious treats. damaris, good morning. we know -- well, t.j. doesn't but the rest of us know where these are from. where did you get the inspiration for these amazing little biscuits we have here? >> well, i absolutely love the show "ted lasso" and so the christmas episode was one of my favorites so i am making the famous biscuits in a little pink box, the little biscuits with the boxes. look at them. they're so cute. they're so cute. >> they really are delicious. >> well, damaris, they asolutely eviscerated me for not knowing the connection between them and "ted lasso." my apologies.

>> we just teedd -- teased you. >> eviscerated by the right word. damaris but how do we get these started? we have the box, british biscuit is kind of a southern thing as well. >> it is. so we call them shortbread here and just starts with butter and sugar. really just kind of three ingredients but i add in a couple of little twists like my mom did so we have brown sugar, white sugar and a little bit of salt and vanilla bean. biscuits are blended up then we add in the flour, hold please, everyone. give it a little blend there. and then once it's mixed, we just add in the flour. that's it, y'all. there is no liquid, no eggs, no anything. i think that's why they're so popular but it is those like kind of key ingredients that make it so special. just mix till it comes together. >> so amazing because i don't like things too sweet but this is salty sweet. just that little bit of salt gives it that. >> yeah, so that salt is two

parts so you have your dough that just barely comes together. that's what a shortbread is and you take parchment paper and put a little bit of salt into the parchment paper too. this will help you get it out but also creates a nice beautiful little crunch on the outside of the biscuit. it's a delight. it's a surprise. you throw your biscuit dough in and you give it a press. i use a little bit of parchment and you'll see it really does look pretty crumbly at first but once you press with your handy-dandy little saran wrap it all comes together. that's the key, the key is not overworking the dough but getting it into this beautiful little pan. >> i just took way too big of a bite to ask you, i'm sorry, i mistimed this but there's one more step before they go in the oven. >> yeah, absolutely. so to get them so they look so pretty and square and fit in those gorgeous boxes you do take

and press it with a fork and what that will do is that will allow any of the steam stuck inside there, it will let it come out and give you this nice beautiful flat top and then you just bake it off, 350 for about 30 to 35 minutes until it's golden brown and that is it. that's it. >> unbelievable. damaris, this is so good. i can't overemphasize how great these are. get the recipe at goodmorningamerica.com. you got to try these, guys.

>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. reggie: here's mike nicco -- kumasi: here's mike nicco without forecast. mike: you can see just off the mendocino county coast yellow and green, light to moderate showers. the rest of us and mix of clouds and a little sunshine before we really see the rain move into the north bay later this morning and slide southward as we head into the afternoon and evening hours, finally in the south bay. this is one with light to moderate rain. the models show the higher intensity of rain tomorrow and christmas with a chance every day. kumasi:

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jobina: we are going to start with the overall look at emeryville, things are at the limit smoothly. we hop over to the san mateo bridge you can see that it is clear. that has been the story throughout our commute. i have some good news. we will zoom into orinda where you can see that it is completely clear. eastbound 24 at fish branch rose has moved out of the way. kumasi: we will have another update in about 30 minutes. you can find the latest on our app and abc7news.com.

the news continues now with good morning america. >> announcer: "gma" tomorrow, see firsthand what it means to be america strong. the heroes who gave of themselves to help so many in need after tornadoes devastated kentucky. now just wait until you see the surprise these heroes are about to get live on tv. it'll make you want to stand up and cheer. tomorrow on "good morning america." and welcome back to "gma." we are very excited to m and welcome back to "gma." we are very excited to meet those kentucky heroes and we'll be there to celebrate those who came through for their neighbors and their communities in such a horrific time and we have some incredible surprises in store for them tomorrow. we can't wait for that, t.j. >> we have four days left until christmas here, and counting down this morning with a special holiday edition of "binge this" so robach, will and

i will share our top picks to watch and read in our binge. i will start this off. don't tweet at me. we won't have this debate. my favorite christmas movie, "die hard." "die hard" is absolutely my favorite christmas movie. if you went by my dressing room this morning i just keep it on in the background on a little device i have there. it stays on at the house from thanksgiving until the 26th of december and it's my all-time favorite christmas movie. thank you, will. >> it takes place at christmas. the only reason john mcclane is there is because of christmas and there's lots of christmas music in the movie. i fully support you. >> thank you. >> yippee ki-yay. [ laughter ] >> why you always have to step up to that line, robes. okay. what you got? >> i always watch this every year. i just watched it this weekend. for me it's "elf" with will ferrell. when he sees the mall santa claus and tells him you sit on a throne of lies, it's one of my favorite all-time ever -- also

santa smells like meat and cheese but anyway it makes me laugh every time. it spreads holiday cheer. >> will, what do you got? ie go. maybe the best christmas comedy of all time, "national lampoon's christmas vacation" with chevy chase. looks great. we don't have a cousin eddie, amy, but we have stage manager eddie so i feel like we are in good hands here. >> i call my husband clark griswold all the time. that's my runner-up. we watch this every year. >> they're interchangable and "home alone" too. >> hi, clark. >> ginger, help us out here. what do you got? >> i don't know if i can beat "die hard" as a yule log as t.j. uses it but for books, we love our kids' advent calendar. countdown to christmas, a christmas story. of course, our very own amy robach and her husband andrew shue's "better together" so we love those books this time of

year. >> she said something nice to andrew after i just threw him under the bus. thank you, ginger. >> the woman not his wife is the one saying something nice about him. >> that's all right. >> how does that work? we have a special now. a very special pop-in to this binge. let's welcome, everybody, miss reba mcentire. >> yay. >> there she is. >> how you guys doing? >> we are doing great. how are you doing for the holidays right now? >> doing wonderful. we're finally off tour and at home and cooking up a storm and wrapping presents, ready for christmas. >> that sounds perfect. we're talking "binge this" and everybody is talking about what they like to watch around the holiday. you got some pretty special people could watch as well. >> i sure do. my boyfriend and i love television. we binge everything from "young sheldon" to "better call saul"

to "the crown," "ted lasso," "barry," "peaky blinders," "call the midwife." we love television. >> you clearly do but you have your own christmas movie we could check out, do you not? >> i do. it's called "reba mcentire's christmas in tune" on lifetime. it aired the night after thanksgiving so we've been celebrating the christmas, ho, ho holiday spirit ever since thanksgiving. >> i could talk to you all morning. tell us before you go, what about your holiday traditions? you talked about the cooking and wrapping of the gifts and streaming of everything, it sounds like but what are the things that are special in your household around the holiday? >> well, what's really special in our household during the holidays is basically giving, having fun, being with family and friends and remembering that it is jesus' birthday and celebrating him, all the many blessings that he's given us.

>> that sounds good. reba mcentire, it is so good. thank you for popping in but we want folks to know they'll see some more reba mcentire because coming up, you have a special performance of "i needed christmas" so we're not done seeing reba mcentire just yet. also, coming up here, we have action star neil patrick harris? yes, there he is. he's going to join us live. stay with us, folks. with us,

♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪

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welcome back to "gma." now, we are retracing an epic and historic storm that happened only 11 days ago, 60 confirmed tornadoes in 9 states and, of course, we are still thinking about all the people and the devastation there from tennessee to kentucky and beyond. brad mielke, the host of abc news' "start here" podcast, i'm so grateful he is joining us from gilbertsville, kentucky, this morning. so grateful you're down there. you traced the whole 167.5 or 7 miles along the way. tell me what that has been line and what we can expect on the podca podcast. >> yeah, ginger, you know the thing about tornadoes they seem often to pick their spots, right, where some houses get utterly destroyed. some are untouched. the unique thing about this storm, that 160 some odd miles, it just didn't stop.

this line of destruction, so what you've got all throughout this area and others is houses that have been shoved off their foundatio foundations. we've seen boats stuck in tree branches here and we've got cars that have been rolling uphill with winds. this tornado took 60 miles just to get here, it went another 100 miles beyond that horizon there. >> those long track tornadoes, especially in december, wild and i know those suction vortices that you were talking about where one spot gets hit and not another, you have been talking to a lot of survivors. what have they been telling you? >> well, the thing that i keep hearing over and over from town to town is people who say, i grew up in this community. i could walk it in my sleep and i can't figure out which street i'm on right now. people -- a woman said i saw this home on the news over and over and i couldn't quite place it until she saw her house behind that home and she realized, ginger, that's her next-door neighbor. she just didn't recognize what

she was looking at. >> it is wild and i know i've been in a lot of these situations post-storm. i don't know how many you've been in. what is your big takeaway? >> well, i haven't been in nearly as many as you. the big takeaway, the speed. obviously of the wind, tornadoes, at least they're sprinters, supposed to be in and out, the hurricanes are the distance runners, the things that are supposed to keep pounding away mile after mile. here it's the worst of both worlds because you've got this tornado, this single tornado that had winds high above that of a category 5 hurricane and yet it's still ripping through for more than 100 miles and so if you were to take this drive that we took, if you were speeding the entire way for 165 miles, it would have taken you about 3 1/2 hours on kentucky highways. the tornado finished that trip, flat.r, in less than three hour- >> it was moving at 50 miles per hour. those supercells so powerful.

we are so grateful that you are there. you'll be telling these stories. if you all have not listened to "start here" it is a podcast you can find on your favorite app and you got to listen to brad's "start here" every day especially tomorrow because you will hear all about his trip along those 160.7 miles. brad, thank you so much for being with us. also, "gma" is going to be in kentucky because kentucky strong, we are celebrating survivors with an epic surprise. you do not want to miss that tomorrow. but for now a check a little clos oh, it's time for us to oh, it's time for us to welcome in neil patrick harris, the emmy and tony award winning actor is now going into "the matrix" joining the cast of "the matrix resurrections," so much anticipation from fans, expected to be a hit.

good morning, young fella. how are you? >> i'm well. how are you guys? >> we are great and, look, we've seen you in comedies, thrillers on broadway, can we legit now call you an action star? >> oh, man, that's the dream. listen, i get to be in "the matrix resurrections" and that's so exciting. my role is a bit more of like the cerebral talker, so i haven't gotten to do the -- cha, cha, cha, cha like some people. >> but, wait, i thought i heard you did all your own stunts. am i misinformed or how did that go? >> any stunt they have me do, i'll take a punch, get smashed against the wall, it's so fun. getting to be a part of this world that lana wachowski has created is nothing short of spectacular. she's an amazing director, person, visionary and so i think this version of this franchise feels more like an art film in

many ways, real light coming in from windows as opposed to manufactured light they've had in "the matrix" in the past. and anything with keanu reeves is spectaculspectacular. >> you mentioned your character is more cerebral. in fact, your character is named the analyst, thomas anderson's, a/k/a neo's mysterious therapist. and we have you in action. let's take a look. >> what was i feeling? i felt either i'm having a mental breakdown again or i'm living inside a computer generated reality that has imprisoned me again. >> not much of a choice. >> man, speaking of choices, got to ask you the most important "matrix" related question, if

offered would you take the red pill, find truth, reality or would you take the blue pill and live in ignorance? >> who would -- given that question who would choose the blue pill? ignorance is bliss. here's the thing, i think life is the experiences that we have and i think when we expand our experiences and we go and immerse ourselves in places we've never been or content we've never seen we grow more so i am full red pill bring the truth and i'll sort what it mean. >> that is the deepest red/blue pill answer we've gotten so far. i love that but on this idea of experience, look, it's the holidays now and thought this would be different, much more open than last and, yes, here we go and here we are. we're going through it once again. what are you looking forward to now maybe this hoiday, any traditions you all possibly

have? >> we're midtradition right now. my final interview before my holidays actually begin and my parents are in town and my husband's parents are in town and we do sort of a pre-christmas gathering on these few days so they're here and we actually went -- it's crazy. we're just trying to hunker down and stay safe. went to see a broadway show last night and about lunchtime we're told it was canceled because of omicron stuff and -- omicron, sorry, and then we tried to see another show and walking to the curtain it was canceled as well so i think we're all going to sit around the tree and open presents and just be with family, the most important thing. >> the big question, neil patrick harris, will you be watching "die hard" because is that a christmas movie? >> yippee ki-yay, of course, it is. >> thank you. >> he used a little bit of my answer. >> where have you been all morning? i needed your help, neil.

neil patrick harris, always good to see you. enjoy the holiday with your family and congrats on the movie. >> thank you so much. go to wondercave.com. it's a newsletter i'm doing that i'm excited about. my personal pet project. you'll love it. >> glad we could get that in there. "the matrix resurrections" is in theaters streaming on hbomax tomorrow. coming up, a special holiday performance from reba mcentire. ♪ ♪ and i needed christmas to find my way b

>> announcer: "gma" tomorrow, see firsthand what it means to be america strong. the heroes who gave of themselves to help so many in need after tornadoes devastated kentucky. now just wait until you see the surprise these heroes are about to get live on tv. it'll make you want to stand up and cheer, tomorrow on "good morning america." we're back now on "gma."

you hear her there with the can't miss performance by three-time grammy winner and country music hall of famer reba mcentire. here she is with her new song, "i needed christmas" from her lifetime original movie "reba mcentire's christmas in tune." take it away. ♪ ♪ the way the snow is falling, it's all a bit familiar ♪ ♪ i feel alive again here in the dead of winter ♪ ♪ takes me back to what we had ♪ ♪ the carols in the air have never sounded better ♪ ♪ a winter wonderland is bringing us together ♪

♪ that angel on the tree must be looking out for you and me ♪ ♪ i swear those string lights are shining brighter this year ♪ ♪ it's like that mistletoe is hanging low whispering in my ear ♪ ♪ putting thoughts in my head and love in my heart ♪ ♪ like we're right back at the start ♪ ♪ and i needed christmas to find my way back here ♪ ♪ to you and me i never thought it'd happen ♪ ♪ but now i believe in a little christmas magic ♪ ♪ i swear those string lights

are shining brighter this year ♪ ♪ it's like that mistletoe is hanging low whispering in my ear ♪ ♪ putting thoughts in my head, love in my heart ♪ ♪ like we're right back at the start ♪ ♪ oh, i needed christmas to find my way back here to you ♪ ♪ oh, i needed christmas to find my way ♪ >> merry christmas. ♪ ♪ carols in the air have never sounded better ♪ ♪ a winter wonderland is

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>> it's the year, 2021. >> announcer: monday night 9:00, 8:00 central on abc. a big thanks to reba mcentire for that incredible christmas performance and, of course, thank you to maggie rulli for our tour of santa's village. >> we want to let you know check out a new episode just dropped today of "man in the arena," tom brady streaming on espn plus. "gma" has been giving back all month long and in the spirit of the season donate a toy to the disney ultimate toy drive. nearly 140,000 toys have been collected through the drive. it is not too late to bring a smile to a child's face. you can scan the qr code on your screen to find out more. everything you need to know to spread holiday cheer to a kid. have a great tuesday, everyone. we'll see you. ♪ u. ♪

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>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. kumasi: good morning. just urbino with a look at traffic. -- here is jobina with a look at traffic. jobina: i thought the camera was freezing, it is not. but there was so light, there is not a single car on the screen. this is a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza, it is so light. traffic for the holiday season has arrived. mike: can you guarantee that for me next year? [laughter] here is a look at what is going on at 8:59. the storm is still off the coast , a little sunshine as we had to the day. you can see it marching ever so slowly from the north bay this morning did east bay into south bay this evening. the heaviest rain wednesday and

christmas day. kumasi: time for live with kelly and ryan, will be back at 11:00 and ryan, will be back at 11:00 's live with kelly and ryan! today, actor and director fred savage, plus tips for coping with holiday stress. and our friend steve patterson hits the streets of new york in search of gratitude. all next on live! and now, here are kelly ripa and ryan seacrest! -[upbeat music] -hey! [applause] morning! -i mean... -on that note. ♪ ♪ got you, all night, moonlight ♪ -yes! -hi! -you know, kelly, -listen-- some days the table is here-- no, no, no, some days they do it deliberately. some days the table is here, like a hurdle. no, they want us to feel bad about ourselves when -we can't fit into our area. -i don't have enough flexibility to make it around that table some days.