welcome to the sprint to christmas. as millions of travellers returned from the thanksgiving break, health care officials are concerned the next few weeks could see another major uptick in cases of coronavirus from a hollywood -- from a holiday spread. breaking over the weekend. literally. joe biden gets the boot as doctors tell the president-elect he fractured his foot and will be wearing a walking boot for many weeks. and get ready foe whatr whas expected to be the biggest online shopping day in history shoppers expected to shell out some $12.7 billion just today.

an nfl sunday unlike any other. the denver broncos forced to play without a true quarterback. all four of their qbs in quarantine plus, a few other firsts in football, including a running back with eight touchdowns. plus, the community that pulled together for one texas boy who lost both his parents to covid and how they delivered a huge birthday hug for this 5-year-old "early today" starts right now good monday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. after one of the busiest travel days since the pandemic began, stern warnings from health officials against a post-thanksgiving spike. the national outbreak has been devastating, with the number of cases surpassing 4 million this month. that's more than double october's count. there have now been well over 13 million americans infected as travel hit peaks across the country, our blayne alexander is tracking the latest from atlanta's hartfield-jackson

airport. blayne, good morning. >> reporter: well, phillip, good morning to you the thanksgiving holiday is now officially in the rear view mirror so millions of americans are making their way back home this past seven-day period is the busiest stretch of travel since the start of the pandemic and now health officials warn that could mean a very difficult december millions of americans are taking to the skies and the streets, headed home after thanksgiving travel something health officials pleaded with the public not to do now those same experts say because of that travel, we are likely headed into the worst phase of the pandemic. >> what we expect, unfortunately, as we go for the next couple of weeks into december, that we might see a surge superimposed upon that surge that we're already in. >> reporter: over the past week, tsa has processed more than 7 million passengers, less than half of what we saw last year, but by far the busiest stretch since the start of the pandemic. >> i encourage it. everybody get out and enjoy their time. >> keep your masks on and be respectful of others you'll be fine. >> reporter: and while we have

weathered holiday surges before with the u.s. now topping 13 million cases, experts fear this will be much worse >> we're entering this post-thanksgiving surge with three, four and ten times as much disease across the country. and so that's what worries us the most >> reporter: all as americans continue to disregard health warnings in denver, the mayor who urged his residents to skip holiday travel -- >> please stay home. >> reporter: is now apologizing after taking a flight to see his family. >> it was hypocritical, it was a mistake i deeply regret. >> reporter: and in new york officials shut down this club packed with nearly 400 people. all of it dealing blow after blow to a health care system stretched to the limit. >> if things don't turn around quickly, we're going to have a situation with capacity, not only of hospital capacity, but staff. >> we're exhausting all efforts, doing everything we can and just still cannot save everyone

>> reporter: for virologist dr. david o'connor seeing millions disregarding health warnings is beyond frustrating >> it's sad and it's difficult to watch so i think the next couple of months are going to be the darkest and weakest that we've seen yet in this pandemic. >> reporter: and for the millions of people who did travel, health officials say that there are a number of things that you should do on the back end of your trip. one is to quarantine, self-isolate, stay away from others if you have to be near elderly family members, for instance, you should wear a mask, and they are really stressing guest tested about three to five days after you return phillip, back to you. >> important information there blayne, thank you. we are already seeing some startling numbers in each coast. california broke the record with more than 7,400 hospitalizations yesterday. several counties will be undergoing tougher restrictions. >> meanwhile in the empire state, new york reported its highest covid-19 positive test rate since may but despite this, the nation's largest district issues a major

reversal on city schools our meagan fitzgerald is tracking it all. >> phillip, good morning as the virus continues to surge, the nfl is taking major hits while new york city is on track to open schools. >> reporter: whiplash for parents and students in the nation's largest school district new york city mayor bill de blasio announcing a phased reopening in one week. elementary schools will reopen, high schools remain closed >> younger kids are having less of a negative experience and there's less concern about the spread when it comes to younger kids >> reporter: this would be the city's second shot at reopening after de blasio just closed schools less than two weeks ago. drawing backlash and protests. and now some relief. >> we're, frankly, elated. however, we are disappointed that while elementary school kids are going back, middle school and high school kids don't yet have a path to get back into the classroom.

>> reporter: across the country in california's bay area, officials asking residents to stay home and further cutting capacity for nonessential businesses >> we're going to take a hit there's no way around it. >> reporter: the situation even more dire in santa clara county. shattering records for new infections and hospitalizations. >> this pandemic is like a high-speed train and our projections tell us that we are on target to derail by around the third week of december if we don't apply brakes right now with all our collective might >> reporter: the county now banning all contact sports, which means the upcoming home games for teams like the san francisco 49ers are in jeopardy. in colorado where governor jared polis just announced he and his partner have tested positive for covid-19, the denver broncos taking a hit as well >> and here he is, the first time he touches the ball in an nfl game, and under pressure right away probably makes the smart move and gets rid of it. >> reporter: four quarterbacks sidelined after potential

exposure to the coronavirus, forcing the team to play an undrafted rookie wide receiver against the new orleans saints >> and it's intercepted. >> reporter: the team's starting quarterback apologizing in a tweet, saying, in a controlled and socially distant area, we let our masking slip an honest mistake, but one i will own the nfl is considering a playoff bubble, isolating teams and staff in hotels, but a decision hasn't been made just yet. phillip? >> got to figure something out very soon. meagan, thanks. a pivotal day ahead for president-elect joe biden. over three weeks after he was declared the winner, mr. biden will receive his first presidential briefing today. it comes after mr. biden fractured his foot while playing with his dog over the weekend. nbc's tracie potts joins us with the latest tracie, we could see the president-elect in a boot for the next few weeks. >> reporter: yeah, looks like, frances, he may be hopping around a bit as he begins this

presidential daily briefing set to happen today. this has been in the works for several days now after it was finally announced by the white house that he would be allowed to do so, he and the vice president-elect will get that briefing today. plus, the coronavirus task force at the white house set to meet with the biden team for the first time some time this week dr. deborah birx who is on that task force saying she's hoping it will happen today as well so things are moving along, connecting the biden team to national security issues, covid issues he's also now named an historic all-female communications team, and we are waiting this week to find out who will be on his economic team. meantime, president trump still frustrated and complaining about fighting election results that so far don't seem to be working out too well for him >> well, i don't want to give you an actual date a lot of people say the 18th or they say the 14th or they say january 20th i'm not going to say a date.

it's not like you're going to change my mind in other words, my mind will not change in six months >> reporter: so, the electors as you know, the electoral college is going to be meeting in a couple of weeks to certify things meantime, president trump pushing forward with a few of those challenges, but in wisconsin, they've already done the recount. turns out there were more votes for joe biden there. and he lost a big appeal to the pennsylvania supreme court over the weekend. frances? >> all right tracie, thank you. for the first time in over a decade, america will soon have a first feline nbc news has confirmed the bidens are planning to adopt a cat. it will be the first one in the white house since president george w. bush's pet india before that it was president clinton's famous cat socks they have two german shepherds, champ and a rescue named major. consumers shattered records on black friday. and today's cyber monday is set

to be the biggest online shopping day ever. nbc's jo ling kent has the details for getting the best discounts and also free shipping >> reporter: the pandemic is ushering in a huge new wave of online shopping. this cyber monday is expected to be the biggest online sales day in history with shoppers shelling out up to $12.7 billion it comes after consumers spent a record $9 billion on friday, coming out to $6.3 million a minute. the good news for those slow to click "buy," cyber monday isn't just a one-day event stores are pushing deals for cyber week right now like up to 40% off ninja kitchen supplies at target and walmart $50 off bissell, shark and dyson vacuums at walmart hp laptops slash bid 40% at best buy. >> the categories i expected to be discounted will be the toy category. >> reporter: among the gifts

hardest to find, gaming consoles like the new ps5 retailers say they'll continue to restock in the weeks ahead. the x factor this year is shipping with delays already plaguing the system. for so many shoppers, free and/or fast delivery is essential. it will make or break your order. that's why stores like best buy have turned part of their stores into mini fulfillment centers like this to get you your stuff as quickly as they can after that, the price you pay for on-time delivery will rise >> just one a simple web search, free shipping and the name of the retail? see what pops up because sometimes you'll find that code. >> reporter: and with the majority of shoppers preferring to shop online in this pandemic, the president of shopify, an ecommerce platform for small and medium-sized businesses, say it may never be the same. >> what we are seeing now is not an anomaly it is the blueprint for the future of retail so the growth of ecommerce will

continue long after we have a vaccine. there is no going back to a pre-covid model. >> reporter: this challenging season forever changing how we give and receive jo ling kent, nbc news, los angeles. all right. we have an extremely active weather week ahead of us let's bring in nbc meteorologist janessa webb to tell us more about it hey, janessa, good morning >> good morning. good morning, everyone today is going to be a wonderful day to do some shopping indoors across the east coast because we have this swift-moving system that is already producing a severe weather threat across georgia right now. a tornado warning has just been issued this is going to quickly race all the way into the carolinas where they continue to see damaging wind gusts, potential for a few tornados this afternoon, and that lingers all the way into new york city on the other side of the storm system is going to be the squalls that will persist throughout your afternoon. all the way into tomorrow. where we could potentially see

about 5 inches major travel delays across the ohio valley all the way into new england. even's a loo cooler for the upper midwest, but the plains warming up to the 50s. and today we end hurricane season i'll give you a recap coming up. >> oh, gosh, lots to celebrate when it comes to that. all right, janessa, thank you. with thanksgiving behind us, it's time to light the rockefeller center christmas tree, but this year's tree lighting will be a whole lot different. all visitors will need advanced tickets to see the tree and only have limited time to snap pictures the full details on these guidelines will be released later today. be sure to tune into wednesday's annual tree lighting ceremony, at 8:00 eastern right here on

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serious allergic reactions may occur. watch me! get real relief with cosentyx. coronavirus is putting the blitz on the nfl season. the san francisco 49ers are looking for a temporary home after santa clara county ordered a three-week ban on all contact sports the team is now working with the league they were scheduled to host their next two games and all four, all four of the denver broncos' starting quarterbacks were ruled out of sunday's game after jeff driscoll tested positive for the virus. the other three, including starter drew lock, were in close contact with driscoll without masks. the team had to sign a wide receiver from their practice squad to play quarterback against the saints on sunday that is rookie kendall hinton. trying to do the impossible. it's tough to play quarterback in this league he threw two interceptions and just one completion that he got in denver's 31-3 loss to new

orleans. and the week's night cap saw the packers and the bears reignite their longstanding rivalry. aaron rodgers was white-hot in the first half, finding lewis here to extend green bay's lead in the second. the momentum continued rodgers rodgers -- preston smith picking up the scraps of mitch trubisky's fumble, taking it to the house. green bay had a 27-3 lead at the half, and did not look back. they get the win on sunday night, 41-25. new school prevailed against old school in a big way in tampa bay. patrick mahomes threw for 462 yards on the bucs. tyreek hill spinning, flipping, running circles around the defense. he got 269 of those yards, including three touchdowns mahomes didn't even give brady a chance to complete the comeback. the chiefs get the 27-24 win now to talk about history that was made on the college football field with the kickoff against

missouri, vanderbilt soccer star sarah fuller became the first woman ever to play in a power five college football game fuller was asked to play after members of the team were benched because of coronavirus on her helmet, she represented the play like a girl nonprofit which encourages girls to play in sports. >> very cool. also in college football, buffalo's jared patterson ran into the record books on saturday he had eight touchdowns against kent state that was good for a tie of the fbs record of most touchdowns in a game his 409 yards on the ground were just 18 shy of the single game record. still to come, a first look at mariah carey's construction surprise. and the croods gobble up the thanksgiving box office. that's next. i recommend nature made vitamins,

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we happy meet you >> thanks. >> oh. >> what's that >> "the croods: a new age" premiered in theaters on wednesday and had one of the best opening days of the pandemic the animated sequel pulled in $14.2 million over the holiday weekend, rivaling the opening weekend in "tenant" in october. when "early today" returns, janessa webb will break down an historic hurricane season. the ones you couldn't be more ready for, and even the ones that take you by surprise.

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'twas the night before christmas, and 2020 had been rough, so santa decided the season couldn't be merry without the one and only mariah carey. >> this christmas, we could all use -- >> she is making holiday wishes come through mariah carey, the queen of christmas, is releasing a special on apple tv. that was comedian tiffany haddish narrating the newest trailer. it will be filled with celeb guests including jennifer hudson, ariana grande and snoop dogg, so you can't get any more christmas than that. >> mr. christmas than mrs. santa

claus. >> ms. claus >> she has capitalized well done. a san antonio community is coming together to throw an unforgettable birthday celebration for raiden gonzalez. he's a 5-year-old who lost both his parents to coronavirus this year from our affiliate woai, morgan burr r burrow has the story. >> reporter: it's a party only a young 5-year-old could dream of. a day filled with birthday cake. >> words can't explain what i'm feeling right now. >> reporter: sansa and mrs. claus and dinosaurs. >> the community coming together a little bit is just such a big deal through these times showing unity more than anything. >> reporter: the massive car parade lasted nearly an hour, all of it for raiden gonzalez. >> there's other people that are coming from other cities. >> reporter: the young boy's family has been torn apart by covid-19 his parents gone after losing their battles to the virus just months apart >> you know, he says he wishes he had them back

you know, right now he understands that they're angels now and they're protecting us and watching over us. >> reporter: raiden's grandmother rosie says as his parents watch from above, she's overwhelmed by the swell of support shown by the community today. >> he's received, i mean, so much and, you know, it's like -- it's amazing how, you know, i tell him, i go all these people are doing this for you. >> reporter: and little raidson grateful for everybody who came by today, too. for those who stopped by to show him love, he says -- >> thank you. >> our thanks to morgan burrow for that report. we're thinking of everyone who has lost those this year due to coronavirus. more than 260,000 people now. >> it's going to be a really tough holiday season with the community coming together, hopefully they'll see it through. >> yeah. right now to a young artist who continues to impress with his skills 14-year-old tyler gordon of california followed up a portrait of vice president-elect kamala harris with one of president-elect joe biden. he said he painted mr. biden because he also has a stutter. just last week harris called

tyler and told him his art is a gift to so many people and it's the gift that keeps on giving. he can do the entire cabinet now after this amazing. >> talented kid. i'm sure he'll be commissioned to do official paintings some time very soon

new this morning, president-elect joe biden begins the week in a walking boot after fracturing his foot, but it's his all female communications team that's capturing headlines with just 52 days until inauguration. surge upon a surge is the wave ahead following a thanksgiving weekend for millions. plus, ramping up for a covid vaccine. how are the massive challenges working. today shoppers could shell out a world record $13 billion for cyber monday if you're one of the millions of