right now on "america this morning," holiday spike. covid cases expected to rise as omicron surges. >> it likely will go much higher. >> long lines at testing sites as americans return from gathering with family, and growing demand for tests far outpaces supply, and at sea, outbreaks force multiple cruise ships back to port. tve chaos. thousands of flights canceled as millions return from the holida holidays. airlines strained from covid-related staffing shortages. what they're now calling on the cdc to do. christmas tragedy. a house fire in pennsylvania claims three lives. officials now looking into what caused the blaze. plus, a major british tabloid issues a formal apology to duchess meghan markle.

and a cowboy crushing. america's team decimating. all the updates coming up. and a major box office milestone. all the trending stories for your monday morning. good monday morning, everyone. i'm andrew dymburt and i'm reyan nonally in for mona. we want to begin with the fast-spreading omicron variant throwing a huge wrench in holiday plans across the country. >> travelers are bracing for another round of flight cancellations triggered by covid-related sick calls. >> with test kits still in short supply, people are continuing to wit wait in line for hours. >> reporter: this morning, as millions of americans rush to get tested after gathering for the holidays, the omicron surge is being felt across land, air, and sea. >> we just got back from our

plane and everybody was coughing. so we really want to see if we have covid. >> reporter: this testing site in orlando, florida at capacity. some families arriving as early as 5:00 a.m. to get tested. >> cvs, walgreens, all those were booked up and honestly, this is a last resort. i would have come here at 3:00 in the morning if i had to. >> reporter: police were called to this test distribution site in brooklyn after the crowd got out of hand, and with many americans struggling to find a test, dr. anthony fauci acknowledging on abc's "this week" that the supply is well short of the demand. >> we've obviously got to do better. i mean, i think things will improve greatly as we get into january, but that doesn't help us today and tomorrow. >> reporter: and warning that positive cases will likely continue to climb with the peak not expected for weeks. >> every day it goes up and up, and it likely will go much higher. >> reporter: overnight, a fifth college bowl game affected after miami says they will not be able to participate in friday's sun

bowl. two other bowl games this week have already been canceled, and it's not just on land. multiple cruise ships are now reporting covid outbreaks. a holland america cruise ship forced to return to port in san diego after being denied entry to mexico after 21 crew members tested positive. >> to hear that, you know, the crew members caught it, you know, you kept your mask on. >> reporter: that same ship setting sail on another voyage just hours after passengers disembarked. and in miami, the carnival freedom returning to port. >> it was disgusting. nobody cared, and now i have to worry that i'm going to have covid because other people? >> reporter: that vessel denied entry into both aruba and bonn air due to infections. >> they didn't inform us of hardly anything. we sat there for a couple of hours and then we found out they wouldn't let us on the destination because of so many people on the ship having covid.

>> reporter: the cruise industry rocked by the pandemic has strict rules for sailing. in order to prevent the spread of covid, but this current trend of outbreaks has the cdc monitoring closely. and new covid mandates go into effect in new york city today. private sector workers will be required to show proof of at least one vaccine dose and teens and adults will need two vaccine doses to dine indoors. travelers can expect more disruptions heading into this busy holiday week with more than 600 flights canceled for today. it's fueled by a rise in covid cases among airline staff and a nasty storm dumping blinding snow from northern california all the way to washington state. >> reporter: on one of the busiest travel days of this holiday season, omicron is contributing to massive flight disruptions. thousands of travelers left to rebook their flights after a wave of cancellations. >> i'll probably just end up getting a hotel and then try in the morning. >> reporter: supposed to be in liberia on a long-awaited

vacation. instead, she's stuck in minnesota after her flight was canceled. she needs a negative covid test within 24 hours of boarding, but because of the cancellation, the covid test already expired. >> i'm going to get a covid test upstairs. it's $200. >> reporter: now she's considering canceling the trip altogether. >> this is it for me. if i can't make the flight, i'm canceling the whole trip. this is just too much. >> reporter: including 1,000 canceled on christmas day, more than 300 just on delta. united and jetblue, not far behind, and over 1,000 flight cancellations the day after christmas. and there are already cancellations for this week. flig flightaware noting hundreds of cancellations for today so far. airlines citing the rising number of coronavirus cases among crew and staff. jetblue is joining delta in asking the cdc to shorten the quarantine period for vaccinated workers to five days to ease some of those crew shortages. the surge in covid cases not deterring travelers this year.

tsa screenings over the past week nearly double the amount over the same period last year. on the roads, the more than 100 million that drove to their holiday destinations are also facing challenges. a challenging storm is complicating travel in the and in the west, from colfax, california to the nevada state line. some injuries reported. in washington state, drivers running into whiteout conditions. heavy snow also expected to take its toll on travel into the dakotas and northern great lakes well into monday morning. on monday, congestion in the new york city city area expected to be up more than 350% during the evening commute. there could be more travel troubles. this morning's weather could again affect flights especially across the west. your full forecast is straight ahead. five men charged in the plot to kidnap gretchen whitmer want

the case thrown out. arguing federal officials invented the alleged conspiracy and entrapped their clients. all face up to life in prison if convicted and their trial is set to begin in march. a sixth person has already pleaded guilty. bodycam videos expected to be released today in the los angeles police shooting that left a suspect and a 14-year-old bystander dead. investigators say valentina or to iana peralta were hit. they were there buying a dress, and the suspect had a record that included a domestic violence guilty plea. and now to the intense search for a 3-year-old girl from san antonio, texas who has been missing now for a week. she was last seen on december 20th on the playground of her family's apartment complex. authorities say they do not believe she was abducted. the family came to the u.s. from afghanistan in 2019. a reward for information has now swelled to $150,000. okay. let's take a look at your monday morning weather.

so we mentioned all that snow across the west. it continues today from the sierra nevada to the rocky mountains. the snow will be pushed around by winds nearly 60 miles per hour on the radar, rain up to 2 inches could fall from south of the bay area to southern california. flooding and mud slides are possible. checking today's high temperatures, near record lows in the pacific unfortunate. very mild across the southeast, mid 30s for the northeast and new england. 82 in miami. coming up, new details from that tragic christmas day house fire. also ahead, an armed intruder arrested on the grounds of windsor castle. where was the queen? and spidey's big weekend. maybe she was at the movies. the need long-lasting freshness? try febreze unstopables touch fabric spray.

it doesn't just eliminate odors... simply shake and spray to unlock the breakthrough power of touch-activated scent technology. that lasts, even hours later! that's because febreze touch stores scent in your fabrics so you get bursts of freshness with every touch. your whole world will come alive. welcome home to fresh with febreze touch. la, la, la, la, la all the serums out there. this is the #1 in the world. revitalift hyaluronic acid serum from l'oréal. it seriously hydrates to visibly replump skin and reduces wrinkles. effective for all skin tones. revitalift hyaluronic acid serum from l'oréal paris. if you're washing with the bargain brand, even when your clothes look clean, there's extra dirt you can't see. watch this. that was in these clothes... ugh. but the clothes washed in tide- so much cleaner. if it's got to be clean it's got to be tide hygienic clean. (swords clashing)

-had enough? -no... arthritis. here. aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme. s you covered. [girls laugh] -nice smile, brad. -nice! thanks? crest 3d white. 100% stain removal. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. go long! oh god, they'll never let us back in here. i'm james corden and i'm here to tell people that ww is getting even more personal. ahh! the new ww personalpoints program is particular to you. you can eat pizza. you can even eat this, if you want to. and these... in the same... i mean, not at the same time, i wouldn't do them at the same time. no two plans are the same. when can i start? join today for 50% off at ww.com. hurry, offer ends december 27th.

a pennsylvania community is rallying around a family devastated by a christmas morning fire. a gofundme page raised more than $600,000 for kristen king after the deaths of her husband and two of their sons. >> that's just tragic. and saturday's fire in kwarktown is still under investigation, but officials are focusing on a symbol of the season. >> the massive fire killed 40-year-old eric king and sons liam, 11, and patrick, 8. kristen king and their eldest son brady managed to escape and were treated at the hospital. investigators say a dried out christmas tree may be to blame. >> we're looking at the christmas tree that may have ignited as a result of christmas lights on that christmas tree. >> i didn't see anybody, so i thought that they got everybody

out, but, you know, it was kind of sad, you know, it was -- really sad to realize that not everybody was saved. >> the fire also dried a nearby home. a family of four in that house was not hurt. turning overseas now, two dams burst sunday in northeastern brazil after weeks of heavy rains. threatening the region with more flooding. no deaths or injuries have been reported to the dam's breaking, but at least 18 deaths have been blamed on the record-setting rainfall since november. some people even using inflatable rafts and jet skis to get around. the rain is expected to continue tomorrow. at least 16 people are dead after a boat capsized off the coast of greece. it is the third wreck in the greek water. killing at least 30 people in total. more than 60 people have been rescued in what authorities called a gigantic operation. authorities said the boats appeared to be heading to italy from turkey. no wrd yet what caused those accidents. in britain, an armed man arrested at windsor castle on christmas day is in police custody. the queen and her family were

there at the time. investigators are focusing on a suspicious video linked to the 19-year-old suspect who was armed with a crossbow. they say he may have used a rope ladder to scale a metal fence. he's being held under the uk's mental health act. and duchess meghan markle received a court-ordered public apology from a british tabloid over the weekend. the mail on sunday, and its websites were forced to admit in print that it had violated her rights after publishing parts of a personal letter she wrote to her estranged father. earlier this month, the court ruled that the case would not proceed to trial, and that markle would also receive financial damages. this morning, here is a painfully cold way to get over too much christmas celebrating. how about putting yourself on ice into a frigid river? >> these plunges into the river always get me. this was yesterday in prague. the air was 21 degrees and the water was colder than that.

the hardy or tradition dating all the way back to the 1920s. >> tradition or not, i don't know if i could do it. >> too cold for me. coming up, what to know if you are returning holiday gifts this week. also ahead, forget football. also ahead, forget football. will corgi racing after my dvt blood clot... i was uncertain... was another around the corner? or could things take a different turn? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didn't experience another. ...and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away

if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. what's around the corner could be worth waiting for. ask your doctor about eliquis. how did olay top expensive creams? like this what's around the corner could be worth waiting for. with hydration that beats the $100 cream in every jar of regenerist retinol24 collagen peptide new vitamin c and the iconic red jar can't top this skin shop now at olay.com ♪ ♪ all the serums out there. this is the #1 in the world. ♪ revitalift hyaluronic acid serum from l'oréal. it seriously hydrates to visibly replump skin

and reduces wrinkles. effective for all skin tones. revitalift hyaluronic acid serum from l'oréal paris. i thought i was getting my floors clean. and then i learned my mop could be loaded with bacteria. so, i got a swiffer wetjet to get a cleaner... clean the spray breaks down dirt and the pad absorbs it deep inside. buh bye. try wetjet with a money-back guarantee. our strength, our power, our purpose... starts within. so let's start there. with collagen that supports our body from the inside out. (sfx: playful cadence of full soundscape) one role of a lifetime...one sore throat. but she had enough. she took new mucinex instasoothe sore throat lozenges. show your sore throat who's boss. new mucinex instasoothe. works in seconds, lasts for hours. milestone for "spider-man: no

way home," becoming the first film since the start of the pandemic to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide and it only took 12 days to do it. this year's holida shopping was a raging success, driven in large part by online retail. that's the finding of a new report from mastmastercard. sales were up 8.5% last year. retail sales were up 11%. many americans got shopping done early this year to avoid supply chain headaches. all of the gifts are likely unwrapped by now. it's time for another holiday tradition, let the returns begin. >> the rush is on to send unwanted presents where they came from. and this year, many retailers are giving us a little more time to do it. megan tevrizian has more. >> reporter: this two of the holiday shopping season is under way. this time, it's all about those returns. >> i overbuy.

and then, lay it all out and decide what i want to keep. >> i just tell my mom, buy a couple of shoe sizes and see what fits. >> reporter: experts estimating there will be $120 billion of returns this year. the good news, many businesses are offering expanded return windows. >> this year and last year, due to the pandemic and the increase need for flexibility, we saw the holiday return windows even earlier and generous, with gifts as early as october. >> reporter: walmart is extending its returns 90 days after december 26th, same with target, depending when the item was purchased. and amazon is allowing returns for january 31st. since you can get your refund on an amazon gift card, the person will never be notified or alerted. another option, your local kohl's accepts amazon returns. other retailers are trying to make returns easier for the 30%

of gifts purchased online annually. >> in a lot of cases, you can return gifts that were purchased online, in-store to retailers to an in-store location if you're more comfortable with that. that can be easier for people than having to figure out how to ship a gift back. >> reporter: if you don't want to return that unwanted gift, think about donating the item or regifting it. and if you got a gift card you don't want, you can sell it online for cash. meghan tevrizian, abc news. >> some sage advice there. thank you. in sports, the cowboys were in dominating form last night against their division rivals from washington. dominating as in dallas scored six touchdowns, including a pick six in the first half. it was 42-7, at halftime. somehow, i don't know how, the cowboys held on to win 56-14. seriously, this is the most points dallas has scored since

1980. if you're going to get hot in the nfl, now is the time. >> now is the time. that can be one of the highest-scoring games. 56? >> it's one of them. >> incredible. another game, minneapolis, the game may have taken a backseat to the halftime show. >> i would argue that the halftime show was the show. right? check out the corgis on the field, while the rams and vikings took a break. one twitter user wrote, who needs football when there's this. from another, i could watch this all day. and for me, this should be the next professional sport. >> did the little santa win? >> no. but he won our hearts. >> that's so cute. coming up, why a guy blew up his tesla. also ahead, the massive powerball jackpot up for grabs powerball jackpot up for grabs to trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪ (coughing) ♪ breeze driftin' on by ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪

copd may have gotten you here, but you decide what's next. start a new day with trelegy. ♪ ...feelin' good ♪ no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. and save at trelegy.com.

clerk: hello, how can i? ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. sore throat pain? ♪honey lemon♪ try vicks vapocool drops. in honey lemon chill. for fast-acting sore throat relief. wooo vaporize sore throat pain with vicks vapocool drops. (swords clashing) -had enough? -no... arthritis. here. aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme. gordan ramsey this is a cold call! nfl teams are turning to cold with tide. will you? that will never work! if it works on nfl jerseys it'll work for you. and it's cold. so you will turn to cold? fine! that guy needs to chill out!

♪ time to check "the pulse." we begin with what could be one final christmas surprise. >> tonight's powerball lottery will be worth $416 million. the jackpot hasn't been won since early october. that's when a guy in california won a prize near 700 milli$700 . >> since then, 35 drawings without a jackpot winner. the third time this year the pot has grown over $400 million. if you don't see me here tomorrow, you'll know why. >> you wouldn't come back to work? >> i would, too. to the spanish island of la palma. >> the volcano eruption has been decleared over. the last major activity was december 13th. scientists waited until christmas day to give the all-clear. >> the lava flow covered five square miles and forced

thousands to evacuate. the lava destroying 3,000 properties. from europe, a guy in finland, taking explosive action against his own vehicle. >> his tesla model s needed a new battery cell. why didn't he buy one? here's the problem, it would have cost him $24,000 to replace it. >> yeah. that wasn't happening. the guy contracted demolition experts, late overboard, who rigged the car with 70 pouns of dynamite. they blew it up and recorded it for a youtube show. it has been watched a million times. >> it's fun to watch stuff blow up. as long as no one is hurt. now that santa is done for the year, he is taking time off. >> hitting the slopes at the posh ski resort of st. moritz in switzerland. >> look how fast he is going. >> santa, shredding the slopes. >> shredding the snow. he is happy to have christmas out of the way. i think parents feel the same

way. way. >> is ww's all-new personalpoints program is made just for you. you take an assessment, enter your goals, the foods you love and ww builds a plan just for you. i lost 26 pounds and i feel incredible. oprah: no two people are alike so no two plans are alike. with ww, i lost 30 pounds. this new program changed my life. live the life you love. lose the weight you want. the all new ww personalpoints program. join today for 50% off at ww.com. hurry, offer ends december 27th. find your rhythm. jo your happy place.ff at ww.com. find your breaking point. then break it. every emergen-c gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergen-c. impressive handful you got there. how many you think you got? let me count real quick. 1 goldfish, 2 goldfish, 3 goldfish, 4 goldfish, 5 goldfish... i'm going to let you count your goldfish... go for the♪ andful!

♪ my name's caleb. what's yours? i'm grace! did you just move here? yeah! cool! i recommend nature made vitamins, because i trust their quality. they were the first to be verified by usp, an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. truth is... i've never really known how to care for my hardwood floors. then i found swiffer wetjet wood. these soft microfiber-like pads absorb dirt and grime deep inside. and it prevents streaks and haze better than my old mop. wetjet wood. also try sweeper wood cloths. 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.

checking the top stories this morning, doctors say the surge of covid infections driven by the omicron variant will get worse with the expected peak still weeks away. people rushing to get tested still facing long lines, and cruise ships are being denied entry at certain ports because of rising covid cases on board. air travelers across the country are in for another rough day with more than 600 flights already kacanceled for today. that's in addition to the thousands of cancellations over the christmas weekend, largely blamed on covid-related airline staffing shortages. south africa is in a week of mourning to honor archbishop desmond tutu. the nelson mandela foundation called him a thinker, a leader, a shepherd. his funeral is set for saturday. heavy rain and mountain snow from the pacific coast to the

rockies. snow also around the western great lakes. showers from the plains to the northeast. and finally getting creative in this time of covid. >> one new york family thinking outside the box for christmas dinner. will ganss with the details. >> reporter: 'twas the night before christmas when covid started causing trouble, so a christmas eve dinner, and a bubble. one new york park family creating social distance even around the dinner table, going viral. >> did you ever think in a million years that you would be tiktok famous for eating christmas dinner in a bubble? >> well, my sister had only eight followers on tuck tiktok i'm, like, this isn't going to go anywhere. >> reporter: it has racked up 7 million views in just two days. the idea of bubbling up when cami started feeling symptomattic earlier in the week. she needed to do something for her sister. >> one of my friends was, like,

hold up. ill take care of this and sent me a link. >> reporter: a weather pod so she could join the rest of her family for christmas've dinner. >> it's comfortable. i got a table in there. i got a chair. >> we took all necessary precautions beforehand and afterhand. we're all vaccinated, all boosted up. >> reporter: though the dogs didn't quite get it. zeke and cody determined to burst that covid bubble. >> it's okay. >> reporter: which thanks to a negative test on sunday night, cami was able to do herself. congratulations on being out of the bubble. how does it feel? >> great. >> reporter: both sisters and the rest of the family grateful for their creative idea and a little extra levity this holiday season. >> i mean, don't leave her in there. people in the comments were saying, don't leave anyone in the bubble, but the bubble was a great idea and it helped us celebrate christmas in the best and safest way we thought was possible. >> one thing to remember if you find yourself in a bubble any time soon, it gets pretty warm time soon, it gets pretty warm prlove you, man. i love you too.

right now on "america this morning," holiday spike. covid cases expected to rise as omicron surges. >> it likely will go much higher. >> long lines at testing sites as americans return from gathering with family, and growing demand for tests far outpaces supply, and at sea, outbreaks force multiple cruise ships back to port. air travel chaos. thousands of flights canceled as millions return from the holida holidays. airlines strained from covid-related staffing shortages. what they're now calling on the cdc to do. christmas tragedy. a house fire in pennsylvania claims three lives. officials now looking into what caused the blaze. plus, a major british tabloid issues a formal apology to duchess