right now on "america this morning," weather alert. a winter storm takes aim at the east coast just in time for the morning commute. up to ten inches of snow. all of this as airlines struggle with covid-related staff shortages. what to expect today. back to school deja vu. explosion in omicron cases threatening to send kids back to remote learning. what doctors are seeing right now, and the cdc guidance that could soon change when it comes to quarantining. new details overnight about two wild moments in the nfl. a railing collapsed sending fans toppling onto the ground, and star receiver antonio brown ripping off his shirt, abruptly leaving in the middle of the game. what his coach is now revealing. the one-year anniversary of

the attack on the u.s. capitol now just days away. what we're learning about president trump's actions that day and what his daughter ivanka requested. later, a warning about the danger that cats pose to homeowners. and does america have an attention span crisis? some evidence we should all pay attention to. good monday morning, everyone. we begin with the weather and a travel nightmare for millions of americans. >> looking at the radar, up to ten inches of snow could fall in fromirni southernew rs the storm is hitting just in time for the morning commute. >> it's also hitting as airlines deal with covid-related staffing shortages meaning people stranded at the airports over the weekend could have an even longer wait today. >> reporter: these storms creating a winter wonderland in the south are intensifying. before delivering the first major snowfall of the season for millions of people in the

northeast. >> oh my goodness. wow. >> reporter: this video showing whiteout conditions in huntsville, alabama, where up to three inches were predicted. >> i'm scared. >> reporter: the round of storms now moving up the coast, bringing a mixed bag of winter weather and tornado threats. >> up to d.c., baltimore and philly, two to six inches of snow. the ground is warm, but it will pile up. >> reporter: in washington, d.c., federal offices are closed today. some closed in virginia, maryland, delaware, and new jersey declared a snow day on the first day back from holiday break. travelers and airlines crippled by covid-related staffing issues now also dealing with severe weather. nearly 1,000 flights today have already been canceled. >> we had a huge snowstorm, and oh my goodness. they canceled the flight because they were scared we couldn't be able to, like, take off. >> reporter: and now temperatures are plunging across the country. the cold spot this morning, minus seven in des moines, iowa. in new mexico, the extreme cold is blamed for stranding 21

passengers on this tram high above the mountains overlooking albuquerque. an iced over cable caused the cars to get stuck and people inside waited 14 hours in the freezing cold to be rescued. >> we were real close and a lot of hugging and making sure everyone was okay. >> we'll take a closer look at today's forecast in about five minutes. turning to the pandemic, it may be time to reconsider the kind of mask you wear. more doctors are urging people to stop using cloth masks because they don't provide enough protection against the omicron v omicr omicron variant. they recommend respirator masks like the n95 one. in several major school districts across the country, they are returning to school remotely today due to the omicron variant. covid hospitalization rates are rising quickly, and now a testing backlog could make returning to work and school even harder. abc's em nguyen is here with more. good morning, em. >> reporter: good morning, andrew. hospitalizations are on the rise across the country. in new york, nearly 9,000 people are in the hospital with covid-19.

it's the highest rate since this time last year, a signal that the pandemic is not letting up any time soon. this morning, school is back in session for most of the country, but the idea of millions of children gathering amid a post-holiday surge of covid-19 cases isn't sitting well for some parents. >> i will likely keep our son home until the 5th just to have those extra days. >> reporter: already some big school districts will start the new year with at least a few days of remote learning due to the omicron variant including atlanta, milwaukee, and newark. >> superintendents today are getting phone calls learning that some of their schools may have 5% to 10% of their staff not available due to covid-19. >> reporter: top health experts are reassuring parents that in-person learning is the best track for students right now. >> i think it's safe for them to do so. there's a lot schools can do to keep numbers lower, improve ventilation, have kids and adults masking, vaccinate everybody who's eligible.

>> reporter: this comes as the u.s. is seeing an average of nearly 400,000 new daily covid cases nationwide with hospitalizations approaching 100,000. testing still in high demand as well. one of the largest testing companying in the country, quest diagnostics tells abc their turnaround has stretched to three days from the average one day. now dr. anthony fauci saying the cdc may revise again for asymptomatic covid patients after getting pushback. the agency could recommend that a person get a negative covid test before ending isolation. the cdc had shortened the isolation period for those testing positive from ten days to five, and was not requiring a negative test. >> there has been some concern about why we don't ask people at that five-day period to get tested. that is something that is now under consideration. >> reporter: here in washington, a high profile case of covid-19. defense secretary lloyd austin announced he tested positive sunday with mild symptoms.

he says his last meeting with president biden was almost two weeks ago, andrew. >> em, thank you. twitter has permanently suspended congresswoman marjorie taylor greene's personal account. it says greene repeatedly violated its covid misinformation policy. the white house says president biden will speak thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the attack on the capitol. the house committee investigating the attack. about former president trump's - whereabouts that day. >> the committee has firsthand testimony now that he was sitting in the dining room next to the oval office watching the attack on television as the assault on the capitol occurred. we know his daughter -- we have firsthand testimony that his daughter ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence.p>> cheney says t to tell the attackers to stop was a dereliction of duty. former senate majority leader harry reid will lie in

state at the capitol. he will be honored january 12th. he died last week from pancreatic cancer. we turn to a big scare at sunday's nfl game between philadelphia and washington. a railing collapse sending fans falling onto the field just as the eagles quarterback was walking by. >> reporter: frightening moments at fedex field, home of the washington football team. members of the visiting eagles were leaving the field when a railing suddenly collapsed, sending several fans toppling to the ground. eagles quarterback jalen hurts then rushing to help fans get back on their feet. >> it was crazy. it was crazy right there. that was a real dangerous situation and i'm just so happy everybody bounced back from it, it seemed like it. yeah. passionate eagles fans. i love it. >> reporter: no serious injuries were reported. a washington football team official tells espn that platform is designed only for a handful of people in wheelchairs and could not withstand the hundreds of pounds leaning into it.

it's just the latest incident at fedex field. in november, the sprinklers inside a luxury suite went off, and at the team's home opener back in september, a pipe burst creating a waterfall into the washington team officials recently met with lawmakers hoping to get support for a new stadium. the other big nfl story is antonio brown's shirtless exit from a bucs game. wo pple are msing and presumed dead after that massive wildfire in colorado. snow is now hampering search efforts outside boulder. 35,000 people were evacuated. nearly 1,000 homes and other buildings are now destroyed. residents are trying to cope with their loss. >> this was the best christmas decoration block in town. you can see the christmas lights on that tree. you can still see them over here. i used to walk my dog here at least three times a week. i'm just heartbroken for our town and all of our friends that lost everything. >> officials have now determined the cause of the fire which was spread by heavy wind and drought

conditions. a man is under arrest for arson in connection with the fire that destroyed the parliament building in south africa. the building burned for more than 12 hours. no casualties are reported. a sprinkler system was apparently not working. major telecom companies are battling with the u.s. government over wednesday's rollout of 5g service. verizon and at&t are rejecting calls to delay the rollout due to concerns that it could interfere with the electronic systems in planes, but the companies say they will emit 5g service on a certain basis. time for a look at your monday weather. >> on this busy travel day, millions under winter storm warnings from the north georgia mountains, and we tracked the storm for you. heavy snow bands by daybreak over much of northern virginia extending up toward the nation's capital and philadelphia. new york city flirting with the

northern edge of the snowfall right through about midway. raleigh, north carolina could change to snow before it's all said and done. it heads offshore before dinner time. new york city edging up towards a few inches in philly, and more like over half a foot in the nation's capital. it could be double digit amounts into southern parts of new jersey. coming up, the avalanche rescue caught on camera. but first, the hockey fan who turned into a lifesaver recognizing the man on the bench had a potentially deadly medical condition. how she's now being rewarded. plus, a setback for

the search continues for two people that vandalized the landmark in key west. two men lit a nearby christmas

tree on fire. the buoy bears the words 90 miles to cuba. a legal setback for prince andrew as he faces sexual assault charges. a judge in new york says andrew cannot block a lawsuit because the accuser no longer lives in the u.s. oral arguments are set to continue today, in jeffrey epstein sex trafficking, claims that andrew abused her in 2001, when she was 17. a hockey fan is being credited helping save the life of a man sitting on a bench. she noticed something on his neck. now, she is being rewarded for it. here's abc's meghan tevrizian. >> reporter: this morning, a 22-year-old aspiring physician is being hailed a hero. because of one short message she typed on a phone to a stranger. >> i put mold, doctor, and cancer in red. and made them bold. >> reporter: during a game in seattle, back in october, nadia noticed an abnormal mole on the

back of the equipment manager brian hamilton's neck. she was watching from the stands and banged on the glass to get his attention. >> i felt bad at the moment because i'm walking off the bench and she put her phone up to the glass. and on the phone it said, the mole on the back of your neck is cancer. and it threw me off. so, i kind of shrugged and kept going. >> reporter: hamilton went to the doctor to get it biopsied. turned out, it was melanoma. >> it hadn't penetrated to the second layer of my skin because we caught it so early. >> reporter: once the mole was removed and doctors confirmed the cancer had not spread, hamilton set out to find the fan he credits with saving his life. through twitter, he was able to find her. and the two were reunited at saturday's game. even better, the teams joined together to reward her with $10,000 for medical school. >> the world needs more nadias.

i can never thank you enough for having the courage and the persistence to do what you do. >> i almost talked myself out of it. i keep thinking about that, how much i would regret it. it's the butterfly effect. takes my breath away. >> reporter: if you see a mole with discolor aatiation or irre borders, get it checked out right away. coming up, the u.s. marshals operation that found five missing children. ahead, what happened before nfl star antonio brown maybe it's another refill at your favorite diner... or waiting for the 7:12 bus... or sunday afternoon in the produce aisle. these moments may not seem remarkable. but at pfizer, protecting the regular routine, and everyday drives us to reach for exceptional. working to impact hundreds of millions of lives... young and old. it's what we call, the pursuit of normal.

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won't wear pants, will eat eggo waffles. get your wins where you can when you l'eggo with eggo. hey. you're okay. yoc rescue of a dog buried in snow for 20 minutes in colorado, after being swept away during an avalanche. two skiers were frantically digging with their hands and shovels to retrieve the retriever named apollo. the dog's owner says apollo is home and doing well. authorities are telling about a months-long investigation around new orleans. it led to 30 arrests and teenagers, some with ties to sex trafficking. some of the suspects were already registered on sex offender registries. we're learning more about antonio brown's abrupt exit from

sunday's game. espn said brown just kit quit. his time with tom brady in tampa is over. a bizarre exit for one of the nfl's most controversial stars. >> i have never seen this. he has taken his uniform, his shoulder pads off and is running to the buccaneers' locker room. >> reporter: antonio brown erupting in frustration. brown stripping off his equipment and tossing his shirt and gloves into the crowd, waving to fans as he made his way across the end zone and into the tunnel. >> he's not hurt. he's decided to run to the locker room on his own. >> wow. >> reporter: the bucs' coach, bruce air yarians, saying he tro refusing each time.th brown - he told brown to get out. arians saying he doesn't know why he didn't enter the game. but thing is for certain -- >> he is not one of the bucs.

>> reporter: tom brady, striking a softer tone after the game. >> we love him. we care about him deeply. we want to see him do his best. >> reporter: the nfl veteran who won a super bowl with the bucs is no stranger to scandal. a woman recounted alleged sexual assault. he was charged with felony burglary, with an incident and a proving truck company. last week, brown returned to the field after being suspended three games for turning in a fake vaccination card. hours after leaving yesterday's game, brown posted this picture on instagram saying, thanks for the opportunity. officials at the stadium says brown asked police for a ride to the airport. that request was denied. espn announced that brown did not fly home on the team plane. how short are attention s span

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♪ time to check "the pulse," and we begin with our attention span shrinking by the day. >> i'm sorry. were you saying something? >> yeah. "the guardian" newspaper is out with a story saying we have an attention span crisis. one study found college students spend an average of only 65 seconds focusing on a task and office workers focus on only three minutes on average. >> yikes. it's the emails. scientists insist your brain can only produce one or two thoughts at once, so they say multitasking is a delusion. next, a warning for homeowners about cats and the danger they pose. >> fire officials have issued an official warning to homeowners in south korea after they say cats cause more than 100 fires in the country in the last three years alone. in many cases, the cats turned

on electrical stoves with their paws. from cats to dogs, the american kennel club has crowned its national champion. >> the winner of the 20th annual american kennel club national championship was a giant schnauzer. he beat more than 5,000 other dogs for the $50,000 grand prize. >> he and his owner will be on "good morning america" this morning. and next, an american girl receiving a royal dispatch from queen elizabeth. >> that's right. the royal shoutout came after the ohio toddler's mom sent her majesty a photo. the toddler posed in an overcoat with pearls and a white wig along with her family's corgis. and the queen's lady in waiting responded saying the queen thought the outfit was splendid. >> so do we. >> yeah. finally, do you have your powerball ticket yet? because a massive drawing is tonight. >> the big jackpot will be at least $522 million. no one has won it since early october. >> wait.

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>> i am going to feel safer because i know that i don't have the virus. reggie: covid testing becomes the new normal as kids returned to school from winter break. the steps local districts are taking to make it easier for families. jobina: the cdc considering to change current guidance from if you test positive. possible new suggestion. reggie: and king tied swamping the bay area. the flood advisory. jobina: on abc 7, hulu live, and wherever you stream. so good to see you. drew: i am excited to be a of the permanent family. level one on the storm impact scale. the rain