the mutation strongly suggests that it's going to have an advantage in transmisability and that it might evade immune protection >> and the world is take thing new omicron covid variant seriously. joe biden plans to address the nation later this morning with how the u.s. is responding in light of that growing global concern. millions on the move as the post thanksgiving travel surge heats up today after a lackluster black friday with in-store sales down 28%, we've got a preview of cyber monday with the deals you need to know about

the woman charged with helping jeffrey epstein abuse teenage girls faces her accusers today. plus, after three years after jussie smollett faces charges that he faked a racist attack. 41-year-old fashion designer virgil abloh died over the weekend, and designers and fans around the world are remembering him. the moment an nba superstar took a moment to create a moment for one young fan that will last a lifetime "early today" starts right now glad you're up early with us i'm frances rivera >> and i'm philip mena new developments overnight in the coronavirus pandemic, including a just released report from the world health organization joe biden is set to hold a press briefing this morning regarding the white house's response to the new covid strain, known as omicron. it comes on the same day new u.s. travel restrictions for foreign visitors from south africa and seven surrounding countries take effect. health officials say the new variant, discovered in south

africa, has not been detected in america yet, but anthony fauci says omicron's mutations are a cause for concern. >> it clearly is giving the indication that it has the capability of transmitting rapidly. that's the thing that's causing us now to be concerned, but also to put the pressure on ourselves now to do something about our preparation for this >> his comments come as the new variant has already been discovered in britain, germany, italy, belgium, canada, hong kong, the netherlands and israel, which has sealed its borders to all foreign travelers in an effort to curb the spread. the travel bans have prompted criticism from the world health organization, and the president of south africa, who are calling on countries to reverse the restrictions before further damage is done to our economies. and the world on edge as the new heavily mutated strain of covid-19 is spreading. cases of the variant named

omicron have been discovered in several countries, which are making the effort to curb the spread and the travel bans from southern africa. matt, good morning >> reporter: frances, good morning. the list of countries where omicron has been detected is growing day by day just to name a few, there's cases in canada, china, south africa, several european countries, including the uk and germany, australia as well so all this really gives the impression that omicron is already global and it's just a matter of time now where there's confirmed cases, at least in most countries so we are seeing governments around the world now scramble to stay ahead of this one as you mentioned, israel has implemented a two-week border closure, essentially banning all foreigners japan is moving to do the same thing. at midnight tonight, a complete border closure will go in effect

there. but that's a drastic response. the more common response we're seeing from many countries is targeted travel bans, most specifically focusing on southern africa. south africa getting a lot of the focus here it's something they're not happy about. the south african president lashed out at these bans, saying they're scientifically unjustified. the w.h.o. continues to study this they are warn thing is enough of a mutation that there is an increased risk of transmisability, but also the possibility of immunity escape everyone is very on edge at the moment back to you. >> weighing on the holiday season as we approach that quickly. thank you, matt. thanksgiving weekend did kick off the start of the holiday travel season. the number of travelers is reaching close to prepandemic levels, as more people are venturing out. katie beck has more. >> reporter: this sunday after thanksgiving, some airline

executives call it the super bowl of air travel >> it's a little uncomfortable but it is what it is >> reporter: long lines on the busiest travel day of the year and since the start of the pandemic >> we're very close to 2019 pre-pandemic leveling. >> reporter: tsa screened some 20 million travelers over the thanksgiving holidays. but there was a relatively small number of cancellations and delays weather concerns like rain showers in the northwest and snow flurries in the northeast causing only minor disruptions in schedules mostly a concern for those hitting the road, nearly 50 million people avoiding lines at the airport, but getting hit with high prices at the pump while prices are ticking down slightly, the average cost of a gallon has gone up nearly $1.30

since last thanksgiving. >> i've got to go to the bank and take out a loan for my gas >> reporter: for some who have waited months, each years to see relatives, it was a small price to pay >> it was the time to see family and friends, and, you know, not something we were willing to sacrifice. >> reporter: travel patterns are expected to surge again in the next few weeks ahead of the holidays travel administrators with the tsa feel confident they can handle the expected passenger volume, thanks to a massive hiring campaign earlier this year phillip? >> katie, thank you. opening arguments in the sex trafficking trial of ghislaine maxwell begins later today here's more on somewhat to expect >> reporter: in just hours, opening statements set to begin in the trial, steps from where

jeffrey epstein died maxwell faces sex trafficking charges that could lacnd her in prison for the rest of her life. the prosecutor painting her as a key figure of bringing a spring of young girls to jeffrey epstein for sexual abuse >> in my opinion, she might have been just equally as bad as he was. >> reporter: jennifer told nbc news she was 15 when jeffrey epstein raped her, though she won't be one of the women to testify with allegations mostly from the '90s. will we see her testify? >> i don't know. there's a risk of testifying but i think they'll make it a game-day decision based on how they believe the government's case has gone in >> reporter: maxwell insists she's innocent, awaiting her trial from behind she described it as a living

hell, saying i am weak, i am frail. her siblings pleading with the united nations for help to get her out, calling this unprecedented discrimination >> she's treated as guilty they are hoping, no doubt, the authorities, that they are going to be able to put her away for 20, 30, 40, 50, 80 years well, let justice decide how that's going to be >> reporter: the trial is expected to span six weeks but will leave a lot of unanswered questions around her and jeffrey epstein's relationships with big names, such as britain's prince andrew, and bill clinton jury selection in the alleged hate crime hoax trial of jussie smollett begins today the ex-"empire" star is accused of lying to chicago police when he claimed he was the victim of a racist anti-gay attack back in january of 2019. investigators later discovered smollett paid two brothers $3500

to fake the attack those brothers were also actors on "empire." they will be taking the stand, but it's unclear many jussie smollett will. prosecutors claim he samed the entire thing in an attempt to save his acting career smollett denies the claims and has plead not guilty the fashion world has lost one of its most creative voices. designer virgil abloh died sunday after privately battling a rare and aggressive cancer that affects the heart his death was announce d where e had been creative director since 2018 he was a long-time creative director for kanye west. the two had worked together on projects since 2002. the ban bts modeled abloh's recent collection and wore his designs a week ago they called him a creative genius virgil abloh was only 41 years old.

a wildfire is growing in north carolina more than 200 acres have burned on pilot mountain. firefighters say it could take several days to contain the flames the park was evacuated and officials say no one is in danger and on the west coast, the national guard helped washington state brace for flooding a heavy rain threat continued through the weekend and this morning for the northwest. from fires to floods, let's bring in bill karins who is in for janessa. >> good morning. hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. so yes, we have the dry can bes and windy conditions in north carolina in the pacific northwest, they've had one of the wettest falls ever recorded. areas like seattle picked up ten inches of rain it was a chilly weekend all the way through florida. you wake up with temperatures in the 20s and 30s through the great lakes and northeast. for the week ahead today, not a

lot of problems out there. still some light rain in the northwest. not as bad as it has been. middle of the week looks quiet not a lot of big storms, just cold air with lake-effect snow showers. by the end of the week, more of the same it's a very quiet start to december for most of the ddle of the cou. oklahoma, 73 degrees today dallas, similar. eventually some of the warm air will get to the east coast maybe next weekend >> all right hoping for that, bill. thank you. broadway stars remembered a legend with song ♪ ♪

>> crowds gathered in times square on sunday to celebrate the career of teach songheim other broadway greats sang that friday >> we have your shot of the day, courtesy of lebron james, that's next week 12 in the nfl all e ghgh a bthhilitsndig moments. see how fast dust reappears. but dusting with a cloth is a pain. and dealing with a bulky vacuum.. . is such a hassle. uchhh!!! so now we use our swiffer sweeper and dusters. the fluffy fibers? they pick up dust easily. grabbing it in all those hard-to-reach places. gotcha!!! and for our floors, sweeper's textured cloths lock all kinds of dirt, dust and pet hair. unlike my vacuum, it sneaks under and around places. look at that!! dust free and hassle free. stop cleaning and start swiffering. plaque psoriasis, the tightness, stinging... ...the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis...

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jersey off his back. >> this is for you >> wow >> amazing that is a moment of a lifetime those siblings will not soon forget that. >> they had the best reaction. it was an afc north showdown under the lights of sunday night fsh. a low-scoring game in baltimore, until mark andrews comes down with this catch in traffic to put the ravens in scoring position and then another improbable pass from andrews to score. the ravens win 16-10

and the rams and the packers >> the league's leading receiver, stafford, going downfield for jefferson. he's got him jefferson, able to stay upright, and he is gone touchdown. >> los angeles was looking for some revenge after losing in lambeau in last season's playoffs, but the packers never took their foot off the gas, capitalizing on a 16-0 run in the third. green bay wins 36-28 a wild finish in indianapolis where the colts tied it up with under 4:00 to go only for the bucs to sail down the field in the final moments leonard fournette finding the end zone on the day, the giants retired michael strahan's numbe 93 the giants win over the eagles

and the patriots are winners of six in a row kendrick bourn caught a pair of touchdowns and new england wins 36-13 mac jones stood fall among sunday's top performers. and joe mixon's helped cincinnati beat the pittsburgh steelers by 31 points! from the pros to college where the university of southern california making waves on sunday by hiring lincoln riley as their next head coach riley was 55-10 as the coach of the university of oklahoma now to a skiing superstar to keep your eye on at the winter olympics mikaela shiffrin got her 46th world cup win, tying the record for the world cup wins in a single discipline. shiffrin has three olympic medals, including two golds. and in the winter games, she could become one of the most decorated female skiers of all time still to come, matthew

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as a simple kid born in a town in texas, it never occurred to me i would one day be considered for political leadership it's a humbling and inspiring path to ponder it is also a path that i'm choosing not to take at this moment >> oh, no, no, no. matthew mcconaughey announcing he will not run for governor of texas, despite polls showing he would have a serious shot. the oscar winning actor says he plans to focus on serving his home state in other ways through foundations and nonprofits there is a rocket loving grandma who received a present of a lifetime. >> and i got tickets to the

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hanukkah has begun and jewish families kicked off celebrations across the globe. second gentleman doug emhoff, the first jewish spouse of a u.s. president or vice president, spoke at the national menorah ceremony in washington, d.c. >> hanukkah is not just a holiday. it is a time for hope, freedom, and love >> experts believe it might just be the biggest online shopping day ever cyber monday sales are already kicking off, but you might be

disappointed if you're hunting for deep discounts jolene kent has more >> reporter: all eyes are on cyber monday after black friday served up weaker than expected spending online. >> the top of the shopping list is usually clothes >> reporter: for the first time, shoppers on black friday shelled out online less than last year, and flat lined thanksgiving day, this putting pressure on cyber monday for retailers looking to bounce back from 2020. >> we're expecting over $11 billion to be spent online on that day >> reporter: cyber monday is still expected to be the biggest online shopping day ever >> the strength of the market and strength of the economy has put a lot more disposable income into people's pockets. >> reporter: the spending spree was likely diluted thanks to discounts in october and november >> i started my holiday shopping in july. >> reporter: the national retail federation found 61% of shoppers stocked up ahead of the holiday

rush, up 10% from a decade ago in part, to take advantage of good deals >> it's hard to find specific products that you want, and it's hard to find discounts on a particular item that is really popular. >> there's no question that cyber monday is a big thing. and this year we'll see a lot of people doing their shopping online >> reporter: a top shopping list, clothes, toys and electronics. but expect to see shallower discounts thanks to supply chain delays experts recommend being plexible and having a plan b and c. >> you risk it selling out within minutes >> reporter: and the universal advice for wrapping up shopping stress free -- >> shop earlier rather than later. and if you end up shopping past mid december, you might want to opt for a more digital option. like digital gift cards or

subscription boxes >> reporter: jolene kent, nbc news, los angeles. >> i remember going to cvs and would get the gift cards

urgent precautions are being taken around the globe as fears of the omicron variant spread. two key trials begin today with maxwell's involvement and empire actor jussie smol et on charges he faked a smash and