omicron may be the new variant making headlines, but health officials are reminding everyone delta still dominates the most serious covid inf infe infections government shutdown avoided. actor alec baldwin goes in depth about the deadly movie set shooting a dinner and lunch staple for millions threatened as the supply chain now hits chicken tenders. plus, will the economy get any good news at 8:30 this

morning? cnbc karen cho is here with a preview. "early today" starts right now good morning happy friday i'm phillip mena >> glad you're with us i'm francis rivera u.s. officials confirm new cases have been detected in four states with five cases in the new york area. nbc's kelly o'donnell has more >> reporter: expected but still unnerving. more cases of the omicron variant detected inside the u.s. new york officials calling a news conference to announce omicron is there add colorado to california and minnesota. officials identified omicron in a denver area woman who returned after a tour in southern africa. she was fully vaccinated but had not received a booster >> she is experiencing mild symptoms and is isolating at home >> reporter: in minnesota,

governor tim walls trying to offer reassurance. >> it's not surprising that it showed up. >> reporter: that case involves a minneapolis area man, vaccinated and boosted, who had traveled to new york city, where he attended an anime center last month, held at the javits center, once a covid field hospital >> we do anticipate there will be more cases. but to the extent they are mild, we'll address them this is not cause for alarm. >> reporter: for the president, a visit to the national institutes of health to reboot his plan for winter covid. >> we're going to fight the variants with science and speed, not chaos and confusion. >> reporter: one new benefit, the cost of in-home covid tests will be reimbursable through your private health insurance, expected to begin in late january. plus, 50 million free tests will

be distributed to community sites and rural areas. a change in tramp requirements all passengers flying to the u.s. from foreign countries must have a negative covid test within 24 hours, down from three days establishing new family vaccination clinics so children, adults, and seniors can get their shots together a milestone the white house says nearly 2.2 million doses went into arms, including more than 1 million booster shots. the largest 24-hour total in more than six months as science learning more about the risks of the omicron sraeurpbl variant, doctors warn the winter is a dangerous time. >> we haven't gotten done with the delta surge. we're going to lose 10,000 americans week over week well into the early spring. >> reporter: when new york

officials announced the first five cases, they said they expect more to follow. some have been mild and linked to travel. the new requirement for a negative test within 24 hours of foreign travel will go into effect december 6th. that's monday. francis. >> kelly, thank you. antonio brown is being sidelined with mike edwards and free agent john franklin brown suspended three games without pay for violating the league's covid-19 protocol as well as for what the league is calling misrepresenting vaccination status the tampa bay times alleged a chef said he got a fake vaccination card the nba announced lakers forward lebron james has cleared health and safety protocols after missing one game this

week james tested negative eight times since returning a positive test that led him to missing tuesday's game in sacramento the league now says the test was a false positive, and the initial sample returned inconclusive results when it was retested actor alec baldwin is breaking his silence on the "rust" movie set the actor says there is only one unresolved question, where did the live round come from nbc's miguel almaguer has more >> reporter: though the official investigation into the deadly shooting on the set of "rust" is likely weeks from completion, alec baldwin with a surprising claim, speaking to abc news. >> well, the trigger wasn't pulled i didn't pull the trigger. >> so you never pulled the trigger? >> no, no, no, no. i would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger never. >> reporter: the revelation seems to contradict witness

statements and what the actor himself told responding officers >> i think back and i think of what could i have done >> reporter: baldwin was in costume, preparing for a scene like this one, pulling a colt .45 from his holster when the fatal shot was fired >> because this is a two-step process to fire this weapon, how difficult is it to accidentally discharge it >> it is nearly impossible the fact that i would accidentally be able to cock this gun, followed by accidentally pulling the trigger, this is building up to be statistically very unlikely >> reporter: with no charges filed yet, investigators told us during closed-door briefings, determining how live rounds got onto the set search warrants have been at one supplier who provided ammunition used on the set. the fbi is looking to trace

where the live round came from that wounded joel souza and killed helalyna hutchins >> she was admired >> reporter: baldwin breaks his silence but questions still swirl. miguel almaguer, nbc news. stunning testimony in the jesse smollett trial the men he paid to attack him took the stand >> reporter: new testimony from key witnesses in the jesse smollett trial the two brothers he allegedly paid to attack him detailing the actors's instructions to, quote, fake beat him up and saying it was never part of the plan for smollett to go to police >> he said that happened a short distance from here today police don't have any suspects >> the allegations as described to us are horrendous, horrible, and quite frankly, cowardly.

now, having said that, he is a victim, and we treat him like a victim >> reporter: an aspiring actor who worked on the show "empire," said he instructed him and his brother who shout racists and homophobic slurs and yell this is maga country and punch him in the face but not too hard. he said to throw bleach on him and put a noose around his neck. smollett seen here still wearing the noose when the police arrived. when news of the hate crime the next morning, he said, say it ain't true i'm praying for a speedy recovery while smollett initially said they were white. >> it felt like minutes but it was probably like 30 seconds >> reporter: he's otherwise always stood by his story that the attack was real.

seen here on "good morning america". >> i respect too much the people who i am now one of those people who have been attacked in any way. you do such a disservice when you lie about things like this >> reporter: the defense working to discredit the brothers, asking if he was smollett's drug dealer they asked if he had a sexual relationship with smollett and if he used, quote, sexual tension to get career help the brother saying he did not recall a relationship >> thanks to laura barrett for that report. breaking news. a government shutdown has been avoided, for now the senate voting to pass a temporary funding bill 69-28, just hours after it passed in the house. the bill now goes to the president's desk hours before tonight's midnight deadline. it will keep the government funded until february 18th a group of republican senators, roger marshall, ron johnson, ted cruz, and mike lee, tried to delay the bill if funding for

vaccine mandates is included, but it failed. cowboys and saints looking to bounce back after thanksgiving losses after a back and forth first quarter. dak prescott put dallas on the board first. it was the cowboys defense that were stars of the rodeo in the superdome. included picked off hill four times in the game. cowboys take it on the road, 27-17. all right. nbc meteorologist janessa webb for a look at your weekend happy friday, janessa. i'm sure you're happy because your cowboys won last night as well >> yeah. it's definitely a good day when we grab a win. and that's far and few in between with them. so this morning i am watching blizzard warnings for the hawaiian islands it's kind of a rare event for the higher elevations, 12 to 14 inches of snow

the mountainous areas of that mountain with 100-mile-per-hour wind gusts in this area. a cold front will stall out today into your saturday so this is a pretty significant event. you can see for the great lakes, michigan, greater cleveland area, upstate new york, have really been going through it this week with this lake enhanced snow. this is another clipper system that could produce two to four inches in spots. but some isolated areas, up for the desert southwest phoenix today, upper 70s we'll take a look at that weekend forecast coming up, guys >> looking forward to that janessa, thank you mark cuban is taking a page from shuts creek and buying a

small town the owner of the mavericks added mustang, texas to his portfolio. no word on how much cuban paid for it the population there is 23 people mustang sits about 55 miles south of dallas. and it's also home to a trailer park and a strip club. cuban told the paper he doesn't know what he will do with the property just yet. say it ain't so for many of kids chicken tenders are next in line to feel the supply crunch. and cardi b. on her new role at "playboy" freshness with febreze car. these are the faces of listerine. the face of millions of germs zapped in seconds. the face of clean. the face of whoa! some are of intensity, others joy.

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family in scottsdale, arizona, it is nothing short of a crisis. >> what did you have for breakfast this morning >> chicken >> my kids eat hamburgers, french fries i have to wrestle them to eat vegetables when i come home from the store and don't have chicken tenders, my kids are not happy. >> and they are definitely not alone. americans are expected to eat almost 100 pounds per person this year. >> mr. the shops have been empty recently restaurants have been out of chicken tenders. and that makes it very difficult when you have kids that have limited options. >> reporter: they are the smaller fillet of a whole breast, not to be confused with chicken nuggets, made of scrap meat from the whole bird they require more processing to package and sale which industry experts say is part of the reason why they can be harder to find and now more costly when you get them at your local market value packs are selling at $3.99

per pound on average that's nearly a dollar more than a year ago and it's not just families feeling the impact big chains like kfc and a&w are omitting tenders from promotions to avoid selling out an iconic chain in nashville, tenders are their most hrar menu item >> there is no safe harbor in supply chain right now certainly you feel the pain the most in tenders. >> reporter: they can get enough chicken to get by, but not without shelling out top dollar for it >> we haven't even passed along any menu prices along with it. >> reporter: chicken tenders in short supply for some families a shortage that is laying an egg our thanks to kerry sanders for that warning >> it's getting real when you take away the chicken tenders, especially from those kids still to come, cardi b.'s

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>> this is what it's all about rapper cardi b. teamed up with "playboy", but she won't get her own cough or spread. she is the first ever creative director in residence. that's not all the 29-year-old will be the founding creative director of the upcoming creator-led platform called centerfold it is expected to launch this month. now to wall street where omicron concerns fueled a roller coaster week for the markets we will get the november jobs report in a few hours. karen cho with more on what economists are expecting this morning. good morning to you, karen >> reporter: phillip, francis,

good morning to you both we are the jobs report is certainly key as we talk about the power pivot this week, slightly more serious tone from central bank on inflation. expectations from dow jones is that we will receive 581,000 jobs created during the month of november it is about how safe workers feel about coming back amid covid fears, especially since the fresh variant is surging wage pressures should be evident. 0.4 predicted, taking it to close to 5%. it's been incredibly volatile week on wall street already. futures are flat ahead of this key data point the largest transaction in history is facing fresh hurdles. they are suing nvidia citing

antitrust at this stage. one of the experts in the field believe there are too many hurdles to cross it's not just the u.s. it's the uk, europe, and china with concerns about the impact on the shipping industry back to you. >> karen, thank you. have a good weekend. >> janessa will have your weekend forecast coming up next. a new kind of fancy dining reba mack especially tire cooks up something new for fans. ♪why do you build me up (build me up)♪ butter... cup... baby... up would be the operative word there pal. oh, yeah, yeah. sorry, have a good day! if you ride, you get it. - come on in! oh wow, we're really backed up. geico motorcycle. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. does your plug-in fade too fast? try febreze fade defy plug. geico motorcycle. it has built-in technology

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for the first time in history, a one of a kind candy bar could make a queen's wish come true. hope you saved room for dessert. there's your sneak peek at ru paul's drag race as a new group of queens head into season 14 the emmy-winning series will premier friday, january 7th where 14 contestants will show up for the $100,000 cash prize this season includes the first cis gender male contestant and first queen from michigan. she has taken music, film

and the tv industry by storm now reba mcentire is cooking up something new. she is opening a restaurant called rhee about's place. fans can dine on a fancy steak dinner while enjoying live music. they partnered with the choctaw nation to bring it to reba's home state in fall 2022. serena has done it all she is writing her very first children's book. the title is called "the adventures of quay qua it's time for this year's oprah's favorite things list this year marks 25 years since she started it she is celebrating with 110 goodies that support small

businesses here are a few that caught our eye. so it's winter, the ugg coat can keep you cozy. game on vr headset oculus 2 a chef in the family, waffle iron let's you stuff waffles a black truffle hot sauce pack and make it for your fur baby matching leash, under 100 bucks. >> i'm most interested in the oculus i wonder what that is like people look so silly when they're wearing it, but who cares. president biden is reinstating a white house tradition this weekend he will host a small gathering at this year's kennedy center. honorees on sunday then the president and first lady will attend the ceremony later that night president trump skipped the traditions during his term after after theists threatened to boycott. the honorees for this year's

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