hard days ahead. health officials pleading with the public to get vaccinated as the omicron variant races across the country. >> for the unvaccinated, you're looking at a winter of severe illness and death. for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may see overwhelmed. >> cases rising sharply, emergency rooms filling up. the nfl postponing games and the rockettes canceling the rest of their season. all of it as pfizer announces its vaccine for kids under the age of 5 is going to take longer than they initially hoped.

we're live with the latest. tearful testimony. >> i remember yelling taser, taser, taser. and nothing happened. and then he told me i shot him. >> former minnesota police officer kimberly potter taking the stand in her own defense and apologizing for shooting and killing 20-year-old daunte wright during a traffic stop caught on camera. the case now days away from being handed to the jury. back on the prowl. tiger woods returning to competition today for the first time since the terrible car crash in february that nearly cost him his leg. woods ecstatic to be back on the golf course. >> it was an awesome day. it was awesome being back out here playing. >> and he's getting set to team up with his son, charlie, who appears to be a chip off the old block. we're there live. all that plus no time to waste. just a week until christmas.

and it's a mad dash for holiday procrastinators to get all that shopping done. with more than 148 million americans expected to be out on in force, are you on track to check everything off of your list? today, super saturday, december 18th, 2021. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander, kristen welker, and dylan dreyer. welcome to "today," thanks for joining us on this saturday morning. so nice to be back here in new york city. just seven days until christmas. are you done? >> i'm 90% done. i'm going to be busy. are you? >> i was her work husband yesterday sitting next to the changing room like this. i hope you made progress? >> very true. you were patient. we are going to have more on your holiday shopping but we want to get to our top story,

the coronavirus. and the troubling new signs that we're in for a rough couple of months as we head into winter and the holiday season. >> on friday new york state reported the highest number of daily new cases yet, more than 21,000. a figure that has never been reached here even when a pandemic was at its worst point. across the country, scenes that are similar to the height of this crisis, including those long lines for testing. many people waiting if for hours, others struggling to find those at-home tests. >> and covid has disrupted the nfl season with more than 150 players testing positive this week alone. the league forced to postpone three games this weekend while they recover. >> we want to turn to steve patterson in los angeles in morning with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. experts are warning all the conditions are in place for what some are calling a potential viral blizzard. the more transmissible omicron

variant is projected to be the key strain in weeks as cases continue. this morning a covid whiplash as the nation teeters once again on the edge of a winter free fall. long lines at testing centers across the country, families hoping for negative test results ahead of the holidays. health officials once again pleading with the public. >> for the unvaccinated, you're looking at a winter of severe illness and deaths. for yourselves, your families and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm. >> with cases up more than 24% in the last two weeks and deaths now averaging 1,300 a day hospitals are bracing for a hard winter. >> there's a lot of death and sadness and feelings of anxiety in that unit every single day. >> reporter: 18 states now reporting a 5% spike in hospital admissions over the past week alone. emergency rooms from the midwest

to the northeast filling up. >> i think we should be prepared for a very significant amount of cases and hospitalizations that is at the level of anything we've seen prior in the pandemic. >> reporter: in ohio the governor already calling on the national guard and in new york where the state reported the highest single day case count of the pandemic, broadway losing its shine. the rockettes forced to cancel the rest of its christmas shows due to an outbreak. and moulin rouge cancelled. and the nfl hit hard, three games postponed this weekend after an increase in cases across the league. pfizer forced to add a third dose of trials for kids under 5. the delay meaning they won't be able to apply for fda approval

until later next year. omicron tightening its grip as we head into the holidays. mean while, in a win for the white house's strategy battling covid, the federal appeals court voted to reinstate the vaccine or test mandate for large companies. this makes businesses making sure their workers are vaccinated or weekly testing. let's turn to dr. paul offit, from the children's hospital of philadelphia. good morning to you. it is beginning to feel a lot like last christmas with cases surging. so the big question, i guess, this morning is how quickly is the omicron variant spreading and how should we adjust our holiday plans? >> it has a doubling time of two days, which is much worse than delta. i thought nothing could be more

contagious than delta but this virus is, it will no doubt take over in the united states. if you got two doses of mrna vaccine you have a 70% chance of being protected against serious illness however you have a 0% chance if you're not vaccinated. this is a winter virus, if you work in a hospital as i did a week and a half ago, virtually all the cases you sigh are in the unvaccinated. vaccinate yourself so you can be protected against the virus. >> walk us through this for a second because i feel everybody feels they now know somebody who has tested positive recently and those cases people are vaccinated. how effective is the vaccine against omicron and how worried should we be about the cases we're hearing? >> there's a difference between severe illness or mild illness. both natural infection and vaccination are good about protecting from serious

incidents. the problem is neither natural infection or vaccination are good against protecting against mild disease. talking about cases you expect an increase, especially in the winter months. i think we'll start to see this, a dissociation between cases and serious cases. in some ways i wish we'd stop following cases and look at hospitalizations and icu and deaths instead, those are the key numbers. >> let me follow-up with you on that point you're saying it has a high rate of transmissibleability. given the data we have now, do you think people are getting sicker with the variant? >> the uk data suggests this virus may be as virulent as the previous viruses. i think time will tell. if you look at the south african data, when they had the beta sweep through their country you'd see a dramatic increase in cases and hospitalizations and

death and true when delta swept through their country, clear increase in hospitalizations and deaths. wasn't true for omicron. when it swept through the country there was a dramatic increase in cases but not as big of an increase in hospitalizations and deaths. that's why you have to focus on that. but again, get vaccinated and you can avoid much of the seriousness associated with the disease. >> you special in the vaccine for children. can you give us a sense what we make of pfizer's news it's going to take longer to get the shot together, the plan, the regiment for children under 5? >> it was disappointing. when we looked at the data, the immune response was the same whether you were 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. that wasn't the same here for the younger child. you got a good um mun response in the younger children. when you got to the 3, 4-year-olds, the immune response wasn't as good. so i think they have to readjust

what the dosing strategy is. >> doctor, you always have wonderful information. thank you, good to see you. the fate of a former police officer who accidentally shot a man to death during a traffic stop will be in the hands of the jury. kimberly potter took the stand on friday, talking about the horrible moment she fired her gun instead of her taser killing daunte wright. more from minneapolis. >> i'm sorry it happened. >> reporter: former police officer kimberly potter, trying to convince a jury she's innocent of manslaughter. the defense arguing she made an innocent mistake and officers were justified to use deadly force when wright tried to flee as officers tried to take him into custody after learning of an outstanding arrest warrant involving a gun. >> i remember yelling taser, taser, taser and nothing

happened. and then he told me i shot him. >> reporter: the jurors hearing from potter on the eighth day of testimony after seeing numerous police videos of the incident. the 26 year police veteran who resigned days after the shooting, testified she feared for the other officer's safety. potter saying numerous times she does not remember much of what happened after she fired her gun. >> you have the firearm in your right hand, correct? >> yes. >> and you are pointing it directly at mr. wright, correct? >> reporter: during cross examination, prosecutors highlighted potter's years of experience and training, trying to convince the jury she was reckless had no reason to use either weapon. >> you stopped doing -- completely. you didn't communicate what happened over the radio, right? >> no. >> you didn't make sure any officers knew what you had just

done, right? >> no. >> you didn't run down the street and try to save daunte wright's life, did you? >> no. >> reporter: after potter's testimony, the defense rested their case, the judge scheduled closing arguments monday with the jury expected to get the case later that same day. potter faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted of the most serious charge, first degree manslaughter. >> that was ron allen reporting. thank you very much. we want to turn to politics now. where long-time trump ally, roger stone is refusing to answer any questions about the riot at the capital on january 6th. he was called before the committee and pleaded the fifth. monica alba is at the white house with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, the january 6th committee has been busy at work ahead of the holiday break as we near the one-year anniversary of the capitol riot. roger stone is one of 50 people

subpoenaed so far and overall the commission has already interviewed more than 300 witnesses. this morning, trump confidant and ally, roger stone, defiant. >> this is witch hunt 3.0. >> reporter: meeting with the january 6th commission friday but pleading the fifth. >> i am fully aware of the house democrats' long history of fabricating perjury charges. >> reporter: refusing to answer questions about his actions leading up to the capitol attack. >> i did not march to the capitol. >> reporter: while stone was not at the stop the steal rally january 6th he did speak at one in washington d.c. the night before. >> they seek nothing less than the heist of the 2020 election and we say, no way! >> reporter: and sought donations for the security of protesters seeking to overturn the election.

according to his congressional subpoena. the long-time gop operative and friend of donald trump advised the former president throughout his 2016 bid for the white house. convicted in 2019 of lying to congress about trump campaign contacts and ultimately pardoned by trump. stone is the latest witness to tangle with the committee. following trump strategist steve bannon's indictment last month. and former trump chief of staff mark meadows, referred to the department of justice this week for a potential criminal charge over his refusal to fully cooperate with the bipartisan panel. all as senate republican leader, mitch mcconnell, says americans have the right to know what happened that day. >> it was a horrendous event. and i think that what they're seeking to find out is something the public needs to know. >> and monica, more fallout in the courts as well. on friday one of the rioters at the capitol was given the

harshest sentence yet, what can you tell us? >> reporter: robert palmer was sentenced to five years behind bars longer than any of the seven people so far. he pleaded guilty to assaulting police with a deadly weapon. after watching a video of his actions on that day, he said he was, quote, really ashamed of what i did. kristen, peter. >> hard to believe we are facing the one-year anniversary of january 6th. monica alba at the white house, thank you. all the former hostages released from captivity in haiti this week are out of that country. ohio based christian ministries said the 12 members of the group released thursday are, quote, doing reasonably well after the two-month ordeal. 17 missionaries were kidnapped by a haitian gang, while visiting an orphanage. five of them were released last month. here's one that's hard to

believe. in new mexico police are searching for a real life grinch with a van full of christmas toys. officials say someone stole a van from a salvation army parking lot in northwest new mexico this week and the vehicle was loaded with $6,000 worth of toys set to be passed out to children for the holidays. police posted a photo of the white mini van on facebook asking the public for help finding it. residents from mayfield, kentucky are now cleaning up from last week's deadly tornados. they're now dealing with rain that's been falling there. folks putting tarps on roofs that were ripped off in the weather. >> somara theodore is with us here in new york for more on that and the rest of your saturday forecast. glad to have you in new york. >> glad to be here but unfortunately we have to talk about more rain in mayfield, kentucky. this is live radar right now. you can see rainmaking its way

into mayfield, some of the heaviest is moving through at the moment this then sweeps through parts of tennessee and kentucky. we are going to see reprieve and drying out this evening, by 8:00 p.m. you should be dry but rain picks up in the southeast along the periphery of the front we're anticipating showers and storms through this evening. as we head into tomorrow morning we will see rain in the carolinas through the mid atlantic and that moves out by monday. the storms moving through the gulf coast states today could be strong to severe. specifically in areas like houston and lake charles, heads up we could see brief tornados possible, winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour. and that weather threat moves to louisiana,

>> that's a look at your local forecast. peter, back to you. >> thank you very much. still to m come, the defense rests in the ghislaine maxwell sex trafficking trial without her taking the stand. why she said she did not want to testify. plus tiger woods roaring his way back to a comeback. we'll go live to the tournament where he's playing with his son today, less than a year after that horrific car crash. we're back right after this.

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we are back on this saturday morning with the weekly down load, our look back at the week's other big stories. >> among them more dangerous weather impacting millions. >> just days after deadly tornados ripped through america's heartland more severe storms hit the region. >> tornado warnings stretching through six states. in kansas blinding conditions on the roads. the dust so think there were reports of mud rain. winds up to 107 miles per hour crashing into colorado sending trailers flying. usa gymnastics reached a $380 million settlement with hundreds of sexual abuse survivors. the agreement covers abuse by any person associated with usa

gymnastics. the most notorious, dr. larry nassar. >> it's validation and feels like justice. the airline industry sounded the alarm over the possible danger of 5g towers. >> it's critical technology pilots rely on while landing in bad weather or low visibility. it bounces radio signals off the ground to tell pilots the distance to the grounds. but a group of experts warn the new 5g networks set to go live next month may interfere with the atlimeters. but 5g has rolled out in many countries without impacting aviation others say. time magazine unveiled the 2021 person of the year exclusively on "today." >> the person of the year is elon musk. he is reshaping life on earth and possibly life off earth as well. and we are in this new gilded

age, where like it or not, so much of our lives, even in this moment of incredible inequality are shaped by these wealthy tech leaders. the boss is cashing in. bruce springsteen sold the rights to his music catalog to sony music. >> "the new york times" reporting the deal is worth about $500 million, the sale gives sony rights to the entire song and publicing catalog. the wildest moments caught on camera. a fire in hong kong's world trade center, trapping more than 100 people on the roof and sending 13 to the hospital with injuries. a fireball erupted at an electrical substation in sacramento, hundreds left without power. and a giant sun fish swam up to these paddle borders in laguna beach, hanging out for

about 30 minutes before swimming away. and chevy chase going viral this week. the actor helping out at a raising cane's chicken finger restaurant in south carolina recently while he was in to town for a screening of national lampoon's christmas vacation. he worked the register. >> i love everything about that. i cannot look at chevy chase without thinking of christmas lights all over the house and falling down. >> i feel a lot of families have their own christmas vacations about to kickoff soon. >> we do at our house, for sure. good for him. still to come on "today," last minute shopping trips on this super saturday for all of you procast naters out there. >> that's me. plus spiderman weaves his web through the box office this weekend. but first, these messages.

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now he knows his glucose levels when he needs to. and... when he wants to. so ray... can be ray. take the mystery out of your glucose levels, and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free. visit freestylelibre.us thank you so much for joining us on this saturday december 18th. i am kira klapper, a live look for you in san francisco where mayor london breed declared a state of emergency in the city of tenderloin neighborhood. getting more resources into the area to declare drugs and crimes. >> we have to meet people where they are. we can't wait for something to be set up. we can't wait for something to go through a blair process.

>> the announcement comes days after mayor breed says she plans to fill the tenderloin with police and public health teams. it would be in place for 90 days. another covid surge as we head into the holidays. the cdc predicts cases can jump 55% by the end of christmas week. advisers repeatedly the u.s. is not headed for a lockdown. the white house is urging people to get vaccinated and get the booster. the cdc is recommending people to get the pfizer and moderna and not johnson & johnson, that's because of the rare but potentially blood clot. let's check with our rob mayeda. >> temperatures outside right now a lot of 30s in the bay

area, 33 degrees as you see there. san francisco relatively mild, seeing mid-40s close to the inner bay. as you move towards san jose, 36 right now and fog set up for you. upper 30s. look at the visibilities and miles. and in the north bay valleys. with the fog air-conditioning that we have, the light offshore breeze, we'll see highs in the upper 40s to low 50s. some cool sunshine around san jose. that fog is going to stick around in the east bay valleys. we have a dry weekend until monday night. let's look at our rain totals coming up today. >> we'll see you at 7:00, rob. >> coming up, hollywood coming to the bay area. why are people so frustrated at

one san francisco neighborhood? we'll take you ahead of a block buster premier. we'll have that and all your top stories and rob mayeda's forecast. we hope to see you then, right now let's send you back to the "today" show.

. we are back on this saturday morning, december 18th, 2021. one week to go until christmas if you can believe it as we look at the rockefeller center christmas tree. it is so nice to see it lit up in person, and peter nothing says christmas like that beautiful tree. >> she looks good it was a full house yesterday on the plaza. not a lot of english being spoken from around the world. >> you could barely move around because there was so many people who came to see the tree. >> we start with the headlines.

we start with the latest on the covid crisis. officials are warning of a so-called viral blizzard as the omicron variant is expected to be the dominant variant in just two weeks. as americans prepare to travel for the holidays, long testing lines. and pfizer saying its vaccine for children under five is now delayed. a third woman has come forward accusing chris noth of sexual assault. she said she was assaulted in 2010 at a manhattan restaurant where she was a hostess. the woman reported the incident to her boss as well as her family the day after it happened. the actor's publicist says noth denies this happening and said

he had no idea who this woman is. he claimed the other allegations against him were false and both situations were consensual. >> turns out a white christmas is more of a dream than a reliability reality in this country. a look the last 40 years of snow measurements shows most of the country will have less snow than the 1980s. that's true from baltimore to denver. and the snow that does fall doesn't measure up to past depths. now to the ghislaine maxwell sex trafficking trial. kathy park is here with more. good to see you. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you both. after two days after evidence presented by maxwell's attorneys, the defense rested and prosecutors said there would be no rebuttal. maxwell has been held without bail shortly after her arrest in

july 2020. next week the jury could begin deliberating the british socialite's fate. ghislaine maxwell's sex trafficking trial is headed into its final stretch. her defense team resting its case after a rocky start friday and with no testimony from maxwell. she told the jud has not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there's no reason for me to testify. maxwell's lawyers plan to call a trio of women friday but said they were running into problems, including one witness who they say ignored a subpoena. maxwell's attorney pleaded for more time saying our client's life is on the line. the judge refused to delay the trial. >> when it's time to call your witness and they're not in the courtroom or available. the judge is very likely to say, well, that time has now passed. >> reporter: maxwell is accused of helping jeffrey epstein recruit, groom, and abuse underage girls. she has pleaded natural gas to the six charges against her.

her lawyers argue that she was targeted by prosecutors because they could no longer bring epstein to justice, he was found dead in a manhattan prison two years ago while awaiting his own trial for sex trafficking. >> look for the defense to point to an empty chair where jeffrey epstein should be sitting and look for them to say that they, the government, are trying to blame maxwell for jeffrey epstein's sins. >> reporter: on friday's epstein's ex-girlfriend took the witness stand. she said they started dating in 1983 but remained friends after splitting in the early '90s. after she married and had kids she said he was fond of her children. after being asked about interactions with under age girls she said she did not see any. maxwell's trial wrapped sooner

than expected. it was scheduled to last six weeks. if she's convicted of all of her charges she could face up to 70 years in prison. a lot to watch next week, guys. >> there is. kathy park, thank you so much. we have somara theodore with us looking at the forecast. it's felt so bizarre the last several days and nothing like christmas. >> nothing. i think the song goes baby it's cold outside. we have to change that lyric. a week from christmas we have records possibly being broken. jacksonville, record set at 83, we'll come close 81. charleston, west virginia, upper 60s. tomorrow just as warm. temperatures in the upper 70s from tallahassee, jacksonville, down to tampa 80 degrees. miami even above their norm by 5 degrees with 82 degrees. where we are going to see wintery weather is far to the north and west. areas like the northern rockies expecting some heavy mountain

snow throughout the weekend, there is an all weekend event, we'll see soaking rain along the washington and oregon coastline. as far as snow totals go we could see anywhere from 12 to 18 inches of snow in parts of the northern rockies headed up to areas like idaho and washington and northern oregon there. the rest of the country, we're keeping a close eye on the cold weather is around the bay area this morning. 30s in most of our in land valleys, patchy fog and patchy dense fog and certainly seeing that. our highs this afternoon going to be quite cool. upper 40s. low 50s all around the bay area. it will be some of the coolest temperatures we see as we go through your saturday. next chance of rain holding off now until monday night and tuesday, it does look pretty active next week as rain picks up and continues.

>> and that's a look at the forecast in your neighborhood. peter, back to you. >> thank you very much. just ahead, the mad dash to stores this weekend on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. what you need to know to make sure you can still find all the gifts on your list. >> but first, ese messages.th with her citi custom ℠ card, rashida earns cash back that automatically adjusts to where her spending is trending. just ask overly confident diy rashida... wait, was this the right wall? ...or last-minute gift shopping rashida... i'm putting a bow on it! wow... ...even sneaking away for a vacay rashida. shhh! i've earned this, okay? earn 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category, up to $500 spent each billing cycle. with the citi custom℠ card. hmm that's great. you're great! i'm here to save you. i'm good. cool. i think we should see other people. you know if you could just let your hair down. a little bit down! no no no no no. no no no! you're so far away, can't hear ya! the home with dunkin' is where you want to be.

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if your weekend plans include last minute online shopping or a trip to the mall, you're not alone. nearly 150 million people i'll be one of them will be out today shopping on what's become known as super saturday, the last saturday before christmas. >> we got a head start on that yesterday. >> we did. >> is there any hope for you procrastinators out there? vicky nguyen is with us in studio 1a. so nice to see you. you look so holiday ready. >> great to see you. >> a lot of folks are looking for the popular items, they waited until the last minute, are they too late? >> it's never too late. you'll find a lot of specials and sales instores and online today, which is good it's a week out from christmas. you may not have the selection you're hoping for. so the size, color could be tricky. seeing out of stock notices triple we did pre-pandemic. so you have to be savvy how

you're shopping. but hard to find items like electronics check the second-hand reseller websites. the sony playstation 5 apparently that is a hot item normally retails for $500, i found it this morning for 800, 850, it can go higher depending on how desperate you are. you're going to pay a little bit more. one thing i recommend is watch out for something that sounds like it's too good to be true. if you find it and it's $300 and it's going to be there the next day, walk away. that's a red flag. >> what about the websites that track inventory, do they work? >> i never used these before but looking for toys and electronics, they're websites there are free, they're technical, you want to play around with them. they'll scan, amazon, walmart, target and see if they're

available. >> i feel like people are pushing their luck to find them and get them there on time. what are the shipping deadlines? amazon has a two-day deal it's offering? >> amazon did get some criticism because my two day shipping has turned into four or five. if you can do it today, because you're going to build in extra time before saturday. let's put the shipping dates on the screen right now. you have ups saying tuesday is the last day for three day select. fed ex is saying they'll do same day shipping but that's the 24th, which is friday, to get there by christmas. today is the last day for priority mail service through the usps, wednesday is priority express but you'll pay a lot, more for the shipping than the gift. so don't get caught in that bind. >> what are alternative gives at this point?

>> the internet has an i believed us to be lazy. but you can do six months, nine months with box giving. the other thing people are talking about are the celebrity shoutouts. prices start at 10 or $15, sometimes it comes with an autographed photo you can have santa send a personalized message to your child and buy someone a subscription for an entertainment program those instantly happen. gift card granny will let you personalize a gift card, you can put a picture on it and send it. it seems more thoughtful that way. >> we have our marching orders. >> i'll see you at the mall. >> you'll see me there. >> the gang is here this morning. we're thrilled to have joe fryer as well. what's up next in pop start? >> it's never too early to start talking about the super bowl. how you can get an inside look

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we are back now with pop start and our good friend and nbc news now anchor joe fyer is here with that. it's good to be together in person. >> the band is back. >> christmas in new york especially. >> it's the best. first up we have spiderman, the latest installment has trapped audiences in its web. >> ever since i got bit by that spider, i've only had one week where my life has felt normal. that was when you found out. >> spiderman far from home ranked in a record breaking $50 million in thursday previews. box office watchers say the movie could make $180 million this opening weekend. holland reprizes his role as the hero and zendaya returns as mj. i know a lot of folks excited to

see it. >> good reviews? >> good reviews so far. that's a lot of money so far. >> that's like people are going back to the theatres. >> this is one you want to see in the theatre? >> yes. this is one they don't want to stream at home. i don't think they can. let's talk about super bowl lvi. fans have a reason to look forward to the halftime show. a special super bowl halftime app is available now, when it launches after christmas, fans can expect early giveaways for sideline passes, flights and more. they'll have performances from dr. dre, mary j. blige, kendrick lamar, you can watch the game and action on february 13th, right here on nbc. you're a halftime show person? >> i'm a halftime person. i dip in and out of the game and

it's halftime, let's watch. >> we can share a seat on the couch, i watch for football she watches the halftime show. >> perfect. it wouldn't be a weekend without a new p episode of saturday night life. >> i'm paul rudd and i'm hosting snl with charlie -- >> xcx. >> oh. >> i got it, xcx. >> oh, is that roman? >> it's going to be the fifth time rudd has hosted the comedy show, securing his place in the elite five timers club, that's a list of celebrities who have hosted five times. and the musical guest charlie xcx previously performed back in 2014. you can catch the show font live at 11:30 eastern hereby on nbc. the five timer club inductions

are always fun because you never know who's going to show up. >> absolutely. i love that he says is that roman. that's reason alone to watch. joe, thank you. good stuff. still to come, the meteorologist taking matters into her own hands after her computers crashed. we're back with her ingenuity. after this. ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ ♪ heartburn, ingestion, upset stomach... ♪ ♪ diarrheaaaa.♪ try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. clerk: hello, how can i? sore throat pain? ♪honey lemonn♪

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still to come on "today," tiger woods' highly anticipated return to the golf course playing with his son, charlie. plus a ballerina's dream come true with a chae to nc alperight. y'all know when they say your home is a reflection of you? well helene found herself in a lamp. no joke. i got a fancy grown up lamp to make me feel like a fancy grown up. mhm. adulting ain't easy.

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thank you for joining us on this saturday, december 18th,

this weekend marks the start of the christmas travel rush. some parts of the country are seeing a spike in the covid-19 infection. nfl and nhl each postponed match ups because of the outbreak. hospitalizations are down by more than half. break new infections from omicron, the best way to be protected from infection is to get boosted and continue to wear masks in crowded settings. two more bay area counties have confirmed cases of omicron. marin and sonoma county now each have a case. both patients recently traveled but vaccinated and both got boosted. santa clara and san francisco already have confirmed cases of

omicron. >> you can head to nbcbayarea.com/coronavirus that's where we have the latest on vaccines and boosters including how to video that shows you how to add your covid-19 record to your apple wallet. let's check our rob mayeda with our micro climate forecast. >> moon set about to take place there west of san francisco. it's chilly, 42 degrees in san francisco. 36 in san jose and you got the combination of patchy fog and frost down the tri-valley. notice visibilities, less than a half mile in livermore. the light offshore breeze may only see highs today in the upper 40s. upper 40s around concord and livermore. low to mid-50s today. next chance of rain holding off

until later on monday night into tuesday, that'll be the first few days of rain in the forecast. rain and wind midweek through the end of the week could lead to several more feet of snow in the sierra. a closer look at that coming up. >> rob, we'll see you at 7:00. thanks. coming up on "today in the bay," an exclusive on the los gatos moment. what parents say about their kids at those parties and why it was not taken seriously. that and all your top stories coming up at 7:00. right now back to "today" show.

good morning. omicron explosion. health officials plead with the public to get vaccinated. as the omicron variant spreads across the country. >> for the unvaccinated, you're looking at a winter of severe illness and death. for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm. cases rising sharply as emergency rooms fill up. the nfl postponing games and the rockettes canceling the rest of their season as pfizer announces its vaccine for kids under the age of 5 is going to take longer than they initially hoped for.

back in action. tiger woods returning to competition today for the first time since the terrible car crash in february that nearly cost him his leg. woods ecstatic to be back on the golf course. >> it was an awesome day to be back out here playing. >> as he teams up with his son charlie who has clearly learned a lot from dad. and dancing her dream. a young ballerina diagnosed five years ago with cerebral palsy is defying all odds, making her way on stage with a professional dance company, performing "the nutcracker". her inspiring story "today" december 18th, 2021. >> wishing taylor a happy 31st birthday. >> happy birthday, taylor. >> last year i was quarantined

for my 40th. not this year. happy birthday, brook. >> today is my grandma stella's 85th birthday. happy birthday, grandma. >> happy birthday, grandma. >> happy birth day, grandma. >> we love you. >> so great to see so many smiles, so many holiday birthdays. everyone fired up, good morning, welcome back to today on a saturday morning it's hard to believe one week until christmas. >> i want to get in on that happy birthday grandma. there was really energy there. >> yeah. we have to start with serious headlines today. >> we do. our top story the troubling coronavirus surge sweeping the country as the omicron variant picks up speed doubling every two days. officials urging the unvaccinated to get vaccinated in an attempt to slow down the spread. nbc's steve patterson is in los angeles with more. steve, good morning to you.

what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, all the conditions are in place for what some are calling a viral blizzard. the more transmissible omicron variant projected to become the dominant strain in two to three weeks. this morning, covid whiplash. as the nation teeters once again on the edge of a winter free fall. long lines at testing centers across the country, families hoping for negative test results ahead of the holidays. health officials once again pleading with the public. >> for the unvaccinated, you're looking at a winter of severe illness and death. for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm. >> reporter: with cases up more than 24% over the last two weeks and deaths now averaging 1,300 a day, hospitals are bracing for a hard winter. >> it's a lot of death and sadness and feelings of anxiety

in that unit every single day. >> reporter: 18 states now reporting a 5% spike in hospital admissions over the past week alone. emergency rooms from the midwest to the northeast filling up. >> i think we should be prepared for a very significant amount of cases and hospitalizations that, you know, is at the level of anything we've seen prior in the pandemic. >> reporter: in ohio, the governor is already calling on the national guard. and in new york where the state reported its highest single day case count of the pandemic, even broadway is losing its shine. the radio city rockettes forced to cancel the remaining christmas shows due to an outbreak. and moulin rouge cut off before show time after a cast member tested positive. the nfl hit hard also. the league postponing three games this weekend after a form of the virus led to a substantial increase in cases across the league. a setback in the lab.

pfizer forced to add a third dose to their vaccine trials for kids under 5 after the two-shot regiment failed to provide a response. the delay meaning they won't be able to apply to the fda for approval until later next year. omicron tightening the grip as we head into the holidays. a rare big win for the white house's strategy in battle covid, the courts agreed to reinstate the vaccine mandate or testing for businesses. >> thank you for starting us off. appreciate it. how about happy news. our weekend boost. joe help us out this morning. >> we need a boost this morning. this is one we can kind of relate to. so the meteorologist at the nbc affiliate in denver was in a bind when the station's weather computer went down before going

on air last night. so she got creative with a white pad of paper, marker and her memory drawing a map of the u.s. for her forecast. >> colorado, ridge of high pressure, that means we're dry, quiet, all weekend long. this is probably a good time for the computer system to go down because we don't have a lot of weather going on. >> not a bad improve. some decent art skills there. the weather is relatively nice in denver this weekend so it all worked out. >> good for danielle. >> all sorts of credit for the effort she put in there but it kind of looked like a batman. >> as soon as you knew it was the united states, you had an idea where she was going. >> here, having worked in news and up the ranks, you feel for her because you know those moments where everything goes wrong. >> joe, thank you so much. still ahead, tiger woods back in action less than a year after that horrific action. back with that after this.

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morning with today's talker and folks are talking about this one. >> i think they are. >> how about the scene on friday on fairways we're going to see more this weekend. >> tiger woods back on the course since a february car crash that nearly took his leg. tiger and his son charlie are teaming up for the pnc championship set to tee off in hours. >> morgan chesky is live with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. you know in sports you have story lines then you have the saga of tiger woods who ten months ago could have lost his leg or even his life in that devastating car accident. today woods admits he's not 100% yus just yet but wouldn't miss a chance to play with his son charlie, whose swing looks awfully family. this morning the tiger woods

effect in full effect. giving fans an early christmas gift. easy swings and smiles alongside 12-year-old son, charlie. >> it was an awesome day. it was awesome to be back out here playing and being back with my son. >> friday's tournament just a preview of this weekend's main event. >> take a look at this! >> reporter: the pnc championship. partnering players with family members. it was the last tournament he played last year before the car crash. >> i still have a long way to go in the rehab process. as i said, i don't have the endurance to be out here and play at the tour level. this is different. >> reporter: woods says he's lost some of his trademark power and will be using a golf cart. admitting he couldn't walk the course right now even if he

wanted to. but for anyone thinking he came here just to play, think again. >> i don't think there's any kind of expectation, although tiger is competitive and you know charlie is, too. i know these guys are playing to win because that's the tiger woods way. >> reporter: that competitive edge apparently genetic too. the pga tour shared this heart warming video featuring the elder woods smiling ear to ear as he and charlie show cased their identical mannerisms. all of it offering a little christmas magic for everyone, including woods himself. >> we're out here having a great time. that's what it's all about. it's about the bonding and having the time of our lives. >> reporter: no doubt a lot of fun to be had this weekend, the woods duo will see off at 12:18 local time this afternoon. the winner of the tournament gets a cool $200,000 purse but last place they still get 40,000

bucks so either way, young charlie going to make a nice dent in that college fund. back to you. >> i think the pga is looking at its future. morgan, thanks so much. don't look past tiger woods had he hit a 320 yard drive yesterday. most people can't get near that when they're 100%. >> it's remarkable and exciting to see him back on the golf course. i love watching his son and watching his son swing like him. it's incredible. you can watch the pnc championship today and tomorrow here on nbc, the golf channel and streaming on peacock. checking on the forecast, somara theodore is here. your first day in the big studio. studio 1a, but not your first time in the building. look at this from back in 2010, a photo of our friend with your mentor here at wnbc, janice huff. then she was the one doing the weather. now you're on the big stage. >> i know. i think back to that time and i

was going to take a different route in meter olg. it was one phone call from her that kept me on this track. we love you. we are talking about winter travel. got a lot going on. going to new england with winter alerts stretching from up state new york through parts of new england out towards worcester. you can see here we're expecting a good amount of snow, anywhere from 6 to 8 inches. this is going to have a big impact on roads. this is through this weekend. keep that in mind doing any early holiday travel. my friends with the whole week off, lucky for you, as you head towards the northwest we are tracking a pacific storm in seattle, may see delays there. by wednesday, just before the end of the week, you can see we have green light throughout much of the country,

right now chilly start around the bay area, 30s outside with low to mid-30s. patchy fog around walnut creek. for the afternoon highs upper 40s to low 50s. chilly temperatures. takes time for clouds to break up in the east bay valleys. the rain does come back on monday night to tuesday and stick around with wind as well as we go through the week. >> that's a look at your local forecast. peter? >> i'm just psyched for you. this is a good day. >> yes, we are cheering you on to be back. >> this is how you want to come back. >> it's a good look. still ahead, the young ballerina living out her dream

and we are back now with a story that is sure to put a big smile on your face this morning. >> we want to share with you the story of a young ballerina, she has huge dreams and a spirit that cannot be stopped. kerry sanders has her story. >> reporter: the nutcracker is a ballet that brings a little girl's dream to life. this holiday season one of the dancers with the orlando ballet is living her own nutcracker dream. 8-year-old pressley meek performing on stage is something doctors told her was farfetched. at two weeks old she was struck with her first of repeated seizures. her left arm crooked, her left leg locked in a permanent bend. doctors eventually diagnosed her with cerebral palsy. >> they said she may never walk and talk and life was going to

look different for her than i had originally visioned. they told me to mourn the life i thought i was going to have with my child. good thing no one told pressley that. her brother broke the unexpected news she would be dancing on stage. >> yes, you did make it to the nutcracker. >> you made it pressley. >> while speech is limited, pressley has no problem communicating her joy of dance. >> the nutcracker is my dream. >> how does it feel when you're right up there on stage? >> happy. >> that means? >> happy. >> happy. >> reporter: this journey began when pressley was 3 and saw her first performance. >> at the end show them what you told me. >> and she pointed to the stage,

i want to do that. >> reporter: mom enrolled her daughter in ballet classes and that's when the magic struck. her instructor already knew sign language, dance because pressley's physical therapy. i want to dance. that's what you've been saying a long time. >> she has. >> reporter: and you're doing it. the orlando ballet said pressley earned her spot through sheer determination. >> she inspires us as much as we inspire her. to have somebody that has limitations but approaches her work as if she doesn't, i think we all could use a little bit of that. >> reporter: no mom could be prouder. >> did you ever think you'd be a ballerina? you never thought you'd be a ballerina, but you are. a dream that is now on point. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, orlando. >> it is hard not to feel

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it's the hardworking people of the united states postal service. that's going to do it for us on this saturday morning. it's been a great week, a good year, a long one but a great one sharing it with you guys. >> it's going to be a warm christmas but hope for a white one in some parts of the

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good morning, it's saturday, december 18th, 7:00 on the dot as we take a live look outside at christmas in the park in san