remembering senator bob dole a towering figure in american politics a world war ii hero, and a fierce warrior for veterans and americans with disabilities. a look back at life spent in service of his nation. omicron on theise, as the new covid variant spreads across the u.s. strict new rules go into effect for sper national travel evers woere they on the run? new details about the parents of the school shooter in michigan breaking overnight, where the biden administration is planning to boycott the beijing

games according to an nbc news source a pooch for dozens of dogs hit the town for holiday season in colorado. it's monday, december 6. "early today" starts right now >> good morning. i'm frances rivera >> and i'm philip mena we begin with the loss of an icon in american politics. former presidential candidate bob dole has passed away at the age of 98. ceremony also be held in kabs whe -- in kansas and washington, d.c. the kansas city chiefs honored dole at their game >> reporter: at the u.s. capitol, the american flag that bob dole long served now flies at half staff in his honor >> at every stage of my life, i've been a witness to the greatness of this country. >> reporter: senator, presidential candidate, champion

for veterans and people with disabilities >> the disability community is not large, but it's important. >> reporter: from a kansas farm, to fields of combat. bob dole carried grave wounds of world war ii through decades of public service remembered by presidents of both parties. joe biden writing -- may our nation draw upon his legacy of decency, dignity and patriotism for all-time president trump called dole a true patriot george w. bush, i will always remember bob's salute to my late dad at the capitol and now we bushes salute bob from barack obama, his sharp whit was matched only by his integrity. and bill clinton, who defeated dole for president in 1996, cited dole's bipartisan. i enjoyed our combat and our cooperation even more. a republican power broker in the

senate as majority leader. dole was gerald ford's running mate in '76, and sought the presidency himself three times >> tonight i stand before you, tested by adversity, made sensitive by hardship, a fighter by principle, and the most optimistic man in america. [ applause ] >> reporter: in his 90s, dole returned to visit every county in kansas. >> one time i can say to you that i don't want any of your money. >> reporter: known for his dry humor, parodied on saturday night live father to daughter robin from his first marriage married 46 years to senator elizabeth dole his partner in life, politics and advocacy that carried out y078d beyond the elected office. her foundation saying that dole passed in his sleep.

he was 98. >> i leave you tonight with a full heart ander if vent prayer that we'll meet again. >> reporter: robert dole, a son of kansas, impaired by war, tested by politics, lifted by his commitment to country. kelly o'donnell, nbc news. the u.s. detected its first case of the omicron last week and has spread through the nation at least 17 states have positive cases. and new travel restrictions went into effect to curb the spread of the omicron variant >> reporter: a last-minute scramble to get to the u.s. before new travel restrictions go into effect >> it's just really challenging. so much so that i don't know if we'll be able to do it >> reporter: all visitors must now show a negative covid test the day before boarding, some canceling their flights all

together >> it's devastating. it really is we've had a huge leadup to it. >> reporter: a drastic atevenlt to stop the spread of omicron, found in 40 countries, including the u.s., where 17 states have reported positive cases. >> there is an indication of community spread >> reporter: the first case in minnesota, a man who traveled to new york city, says around 15 of his friends have also tested positive for covid it is not known if they have omicron. connecticut reporting its first case late saturday also linked to that convention but the delta variant remains the top threat >> we have about 90,000 to 100,000 cases a day right now in the united states. and the 99.9% of them are the delta variant. >> reporter: in california, parents are frustrated after one family knowingly sent their two

children infected with covid forcing 75 students into quarantine >> this is a time when every person needs to act with integrity. this is one family's error that had a dramatic impact on our school >> reporter: while omicron has everyone on high alert, some encouraging news about the variant's effects. >> although it's too early to make a definitive statement about it, thus far it does not look like there's a great degree of severity to it. >> our thanks for that report. disturbing new details into what happened moments before the michigan high school massacre. the parents of the alleged shooter accused of allowing their son access to a deadly weapon saturday, james and jennifer were charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter a prosecutor revealing the texts from the mother to the son >> when the news of the shooter

had been made public, jennifer crumbley texted to her son at 11:22 -- i'm sorry, at 1:22 p.m., "ethan, don't do it. >> and troubling signs just hours before the rampage, a violent drawing found belonging to ethan >> between the drawing of the gun and the bullet is a drauing of a person who appears to be a person shot and bleeding below that is a laughing e moeja. and then the words "can my life is useless." >> the school says the incident was immediately reported to counselors, but that the suspect told them the drawing was part of a video games he was designing. his parents arrived for an emergency meeting and told to put the teen in counseling within 48 hours. officials say the parents refused to take their son home cnn anchor chris cuomo is denying a new sexual misconduct

allegation he was first suspended tuesday after an investigation by the new york attorney general concluded he helped his brother, former new york governor andrew cuomo, defend himself against sexual misconduct allegations. wednesday, a lawyer alerted the network to chris cuomo's alleged sexual misconduct. the same lawyer represents charlotte bennett who accused the former new york governor of sexual harassment. a representative for chris cuomo says the allegations are not true the controversial trump era remain in mexico for asylum seekers goes back into effect today. it is expected to include seven border crossings from coast to coast. the policy requires migrants to

wait outside the u.s. for their hearings joe biden ended the program soon after taking office but forced to bring it back due to a court ruling the administration says it intends to end it again. we have a consumer alert honda is recalling 725,000 suvs and pickup trucks in the u.s., because their hoods can open while driving. honda will notify owners by mail starting january 17. it's beghing to look like christmas in minnesota residents spent yesterday shoveling through a winter wonderland the state received its first major snowstorm of the season sunday, with some parts getting over two feet of snow. >> and meteorologist janessa webb is tracking severe weather from texas to tennessee. what do we need to watch out for, janessa good morning

>> good morning. yes, we're all over the place across the nation. the east coast, you can see sever weather. tornado watches there in place texas to tennessee for another hour, as this strong cold front makes its way through. it's colliding with cooler air to the north, allowing us to transition into rain from the ohio valley, d.c., new york city, dealing with the rainfall throughout the morning. and wind picking up, up to 60 mis per hour in somele a ton of sunshine for the desert southwest. phoenix, 77. and another winter storm is

about to approach the northeast. we'll talk about that coming up. >> going to want to know about that one the mayor of joujtown, colorado led a holiday parade this weekend parker the snow dog is the honorary leader of the down and is the leader of this pact of burmese mountain dogs. major parker was unanimously voted into office last year, and he's the unofficial mascot of the broncos. the u.s. takes a stand against china's human rights abuses and nfl ayplers raising awareness through their footwear and daily vicks super c for me. vicks super c is a daily supplement with vitamin c and b vitamins to help energize and replenish. dayquil severe is a max strength daytime, coughing, power through your day, medicine. new from vicks. want more from your vitamins? at nature's bounty, we give you more. more immune support.

with the only vitamin c that lasts 24 hours. more restful sleep. with the first-ever triple action sleep supplement. we put more of our brains into helping your heart. we give you more wellness solutions backed by rigorous science than we ever have before. nature's bounty gives you more, so you can live bountifully. you try to stay ahead of the mess but scrubbing still takes time. bounty gives you more, now there's dawn powerwash dish spray. it's the faster way to clean as you go. just spray, wipe and rinse. it cleans grease five times faster. dawn powerwash now available in free & clear. breaking overnight the biden administration is expected to announce a diplomatic boycott of the olympic winter games a senior administration official said the announcement could come as early as this week. a diplomatic boycott would meanwhile american athletes

could compete at the beijing games, no u.s. government officials would attend a full boycott was not expected. the news comes after joe biden said the u.s. was considering a diplomatic boycott of the games last month to the nfl now the broncos and chiefs continuing their rivalry under the lights of sunday night football patrick mahomes kicking it off on kansas city's first drive rushing it on the right side for the score. the chiefs were able to keep denver out of the end zone for the first 55 minutes of the game but the kc defense picking off bridgewater twice. the chiefs win it 22-9 that win gives the chiefs a slight edge in the afc west, to where the first and last place teams are only separated by two games. and to win number one in detroit. >> there's hawkenson inside. >> here we go. and touchdown!

>> jared goff's bullet to brown gave the lions their first win in 364 days. detroit walks off with a win over the vikings, 29-27. kyler murray returned to the cardinals after missing a month due to injury. he ran for two touchdowns and threw a couple more. arizona fly high over the bears, 33-22. and in pittsburgh, baltimore's two-point conversion attempt failed on the goal line and the steelers win 20-19 in atlanta, tom brady took to the skies to score over the falcons. brady threw four touchdown passes, including two to gronk, as the bucs win 30-17. jonathan taylor continued his

hot streak in the colts win over the texans nfl game players got to break their dress code sunday. the team held its my cause, my cleats event k patrick mahomes wore cleats that encouraged students to read for 15 minutes a day for 15 weeks. and for the first time, multiple nfl players supported lbgtq organizations. c and cleveland browns johnny stanton is selected athlete ally as the cause for his cleats. >> and then there were four. the college football playoff matchups are set and cincinnati is making history. they capped off an undefeated season with their victory over houston and became the first team from outside the power five

conferences to make the college football playoffs. they'll have a tough test against number one alabama who beat georgia in s.e.c. title game the bulldogs get michigan in the other semifinal game on new year's eve still to come, the gift that deeps on giving. mariah carry's holiday classic your favorite superhero is back our first look at the trailer for spiderman's animated sequel. thanks. if it's “out decorating the neighbors” season, it's walgreens season. ♪ ♪ what a pain in the- alice? if it's “lets wrap this up?” season, it's walgreens season. clerk: hello, how can i? if it's “lets wrap this up?” season, sore throat pain? ♪honey lemon♪ try vicks vapocool drops.

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want to get out of here? >> i'm grounded. >> bummer. >> spidermanspiderman, into ther verse appeared three years ago and now we are looking at the sequel it will appear october 7, 2022

the kennedy center honors returns with an in-person gala the tradition of the president attending was restored for the first time since 2016. the lifetime achievement awards for artistic xe lens were presented to barry gordie. "snl" creator lauren michaelte and joanie mitchell. diamonds are a girl's best friend at least according to mariah carey. ♪ i just want to hold my own ♪ ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> the queen of christmas is celebrating her holiday hit "all i want for christmas is you" which became diamond certified

and the first holiday song to win the riaa award with 1 billion worldwide streams, she continues to slay this christmas season >> she continues to year after year janessa is trackina org stm set to bring snow to the east coast this week. same state farm agent. texted the next day? same guy. is that even legal? and get this - he remembered my name. of course. hey, blink twice if you're in danger. whoa, guys. at state farm, we actually get to know you. it's called service. come on! like a good neighbor, state farm is there. did you know that even after you sanitize a surface, every touch can leave new bacteria behind? come on! that means, you could be right back where you started. break the cycle with microban 24. just spray once and your surfaces are protected against bacteria all day.

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febreze. a holiday tradition is back and better than ever the nutcracker returns to the stage after a year off for the pandemic in new york more's kate snow >> reporter: at new york's lincoln center, everything is in place. the audience showing vaccine cards, wearing masks and backstage, all the last-minute preps and adjustments. the makeup, the shoes, the costumes ♪ ♪ the nutcracker is back

jonathan stafford is the company's artistic director. the new york city ballet has been performing the nutcracker for how long now >> since 1954, every single year >> k3except last year >> the first time in our history we did not put on a live production, which makes this year even more dancers and crew weekly and everyone wears masks during rehearsal they cast kids 12 and older for roles that normally are played by younger dancers when you guys come on stage, do you feel wow >> definitely. being on the stage is the most amazing feeling. >> when the curtains open and you see the whole audience, it feels really beautiful >> reporter: the two are marie and the prince >> i didn't expect it, because

in a normal year, i would have been a little too tall for that role >> reporter: they've been in the show twice before and krwere crushed when it was canceled last year. >> service to difficult with the pandemic but to be back now is amazing. >> i think all of the students right now are just enjoying and saying hold on to every moment we're a lot more grateful for having the nutcracker. >> reporter: as bigger kids, they use the opportunity to remake costumes in their original colors. what inspires you about what you do every night >> we bring a beautiful art form to so many people night after night. and more than ever, people need that escape. >> having no nutcracker is like mising a part of your christmas. >> for so many people, come and watch the nutcracker and it's so nice to be part of that experience >> reporter: a holiday comeback,

reminding us all how special the tradition is it was so great to see it takes nearly 300 people to put on that show all really happy to be back at it >> kat

a senator who spent a lifetime in service, former war hero, ran for office will look back at the incredible life of bob dole the parents of the suspected michigan school shooter appear in court new details about texts sent from jennifer to her son on the day. the nation