we're just three days from christmas and hospitalizations are on the rise as new cases of omicron surged from coast to coast and families are left scrambling about what to do about holiday plans. criminals have stolen nearly $100 in covid relief funds the secret service is investigating. remember the tornadoes arkansas is still waiting and hoping for a disaster declaration as they assess the damage have you heard of tipping in the borough? >> have you heard of tipping in

the borough? >> have you heard of tipping in the borough? >> have you ever heard of tipping in the boro? if not, you're not alone it's one of the best pay i forward trends we've seen in a long time. meet the dancer with dreams big enough to inspire america. "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. nearly $100 billion in pandemic relief funds have been stolen by criminals. according to the secret service, more than 100 suspects have been arrested so far the agency has been able to recover just $2.3 billion it currently has more than 900 active investigations. with just three days before christmas, covid cases are surging. the u.s. recorded over 201,000 new cases yesterday along with over 2,000 deaths. more than 51 million americans have been infected since the start of the pandemic. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more.

>> reporter: good morning. the first of new federally run testing sites is set to open here in new york sometime this week this all comes as the biden administration is struggling to contain this rapidly spreading variant. with the omicron variant running rampant -- >> we should all be concerned about omicron but not panicked >> reporter: president biden with a direct message for the unvaccinated >> get vaccinated now. i promise you, it saves lives. i honest to god believe it's your patriotic duty. >> reporter: the president under pressure to do more to help states with overburdenedsh hospitals and tests, he said start next month five million at-home tests will be distributed to any american who wants one by mail for free the president is also deploying 1,000 members of the military to help understaffed hospitals and opening new testing sites. >> we're taking even more steps to make it easier to get tested. >> reporter: it comes two weeks after the white house press secretary had downplayed the

need for more at-home tests. >> why not just make them free and have them available everywhere >> should we send one to every american >> maybe >> then what happens if -- if every american has one test in how much does that cost, and then what happens after that >> reporter: the president was pressed on whether his administration was caught offguard >> what's your message to americans who are trying to get tested now and who are not able to get tested s ed and are wondg what took so long it ramp up testing. >> what took so long >> reporter: i'm talking about testing before the holidays. >> what took so long is didn't take long at all what happened was the omicron virus spread more rapidly than anybody thought. >> reporter: for those waiting en masse at testing lines now the changes can't come soon enough some of these people got here before dawn. the line now stretches around the block. they've been waiting for three hours in freezing temperatures should it be this hard to get a test >> of course not of course not.

>> i understand that the government is trying to get as many people tested and trying to get ahead of this, but i probably got a cold waiting in the cold for three hours >> reporter: new york city announcing it will pay people $100 to get their booster shot atlanta reinstating an indoor mask mandate chicago imposing a vaccine requirement for indoor public places >> there's no denying that we are in a fifth wave of covid-19. >> reporter: the nhl paused its season until after christmas broadway canceled more shows, while infections have generally been more mild, the first known u.s. omicron death has been reported in harris county, texas. a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions who was unvaccinated now more states are ramping up containment efforts with more than 1,300 americans dying each day. massachusetts is activating up to 500 national guard members. >> the next few weeks will be difficult for our health care community -- >> reporter: in neighboring new

hampshire, some hospitals are already full >> sometimes we're calling 20 to 30 hospitals a day trying to find beds for these patients, and a lot of times we have patients that sit in our emergency room for three or four days >> reporter: it's not just covid tests that are in short supply we're also hearing that here in new york and places like florida monoclonal antibody treatments are also running low frances? >> thank you as these cases reach alarming new levels across the u.s., you may be wondering what you should do if you or a loved one tests positive we have what you need to know. >> reporter: just before the holidays, a new wave of early pandemic deja vu the cdc saying vaccinated boosted or not, if you catch any variant of covid, the guidelines are still ten days of isolation. >> i'm in day six, seven, one of the two, kind of lose track of covid isolation. >> reporter: sky massy is a vaccinated and boosted health care worker who caught covid in

new york last week >> the hardest part was making sure i didn't get my roommate sick >> reporter: there are hotels and packages for those unable to care for themselves. what if you live with family and have nowhere to go what do you do to isolate and make sure people in the house don't get it >> if you have more than one bedroom, maybe you can take one of those rooms temporarily hopefully it has a window, you can open and crack the glass a little bit >> reporter: experts say air circulation can be more important than sanitizing sur surfaces washing hands is still a must. hepa air filters are great for spaces delivery should be left at the door sounds like there is a chance that you could live in a pretty cramped corridor with somebody else and not give them covid >> yes, you can definitely live even in a one-bedroom apartment and still not give your family covid with some covid street

smarts >> reporter: a reminder that even when covid is close, you can still prevent its spread gadi schwartz, nbc news. fists were flying at the miami international airport after a fight between two passengers and police. the brawl began after a passenger's flight was delayed 12 hours and then canceled the suspect broke the key to an airport golf cart and refused to exit officers tried to calm the unruly passenger, and that's when chaos erupted a large crowd gathered around the scuffle, and the officer appears to be holding a weapon and calling for back up. two people were arrested on charges that include battery, burglary, and criminal mischief. senate democrats held an emergency virtual meeting overnight to discuss the stalled "build back better" plan multiple people on the call confirmed that moderate joe manchin did join the conversation a source tells nbc news manchin spoke at the beginning and largely reiterated his concerns with the nearly $2 trillion spending plan which he said on sunday he could not support.

the source also said majority leader chuck schumer vowed to hold a vote on a revised version of the "build back better" act early in the new year. senator chuck schumer also said that if republicans block voting rights legislation again, the senate would vote on a potential rule change to weaken the filibuster congressman scott perry says he will not cooperate with a house january 6th committee. the panel is seeking to interview the pennsylvania republican about his communications with trump white house chief of staff mark meadows in late 2020 the two allegedly discussed a plan to install a new attorney general to investigate unfounded allegations of fraud in the president's election that joe biden won. on twitter, perry dismissed the committee as, quote, illegitimate in response to perry, the democratic congressional campaign committee tweeted simply, "1-800-scott-perry should call a lawyer." the jury in the kim potter trial is now entering day three of deliberations yesterday, they asked the judge questions including what to do

if they can't reach a verdict, raising the possibility of a hung jury. the judge repeated her initial instructions and told them to continue working potter has pled not guilty to charges of first degree and second-degree manslaughter in the killing -- with the killing of daunte wright deep into the third in los angeles, cupp was open he connected on two touchdowns as the rams entered the game on a 17-0 run to win it 20-10 across the countryin philadelphia, jalen hertz soared high in his tuesday performance against the washington football team he threw for 296 yards and a touchdown, but he was even more electric on the ground rushing for a pair of scores in the 27-17 win over washington. ahead of their week 16 match-up, a billboard pro proclaiming buffalo bills fans the best in football showed up near the patriots stadium. the pats already have one win

over the bills this season >> i'm sure the pats' fans are going to let them hear it this weekend. nbc meteorologist janessa webb is tracking a winter weather alert on this wednesday, three days before christmas. good morning >> hi, good morning. yes, we do have some coastal low that's causing rainfall for the carolinas. we're over the severe weather for florida today. but we continue to watch this make its way off shore the problem is it's colliding with the cold front, cooler's in place, that's why we're going to see the significant snowfall from connecticut to maine. maine i'm reallyconcerned about. if you're a winter fan, you're really going to be seeing at least three to ten inches of accumulation that's why the national weather service has issued advisories to winter storm warnings. some of this snow will linger into the great lakes, but the bulk of that will stay in the main area. also the pacific northwest another storm system entering that area. we could see over eight feet of snow in parts of the impacting l

the way into the oregon coast. now in the center part of the country, we have a heat wave starting to build. >> talk to you in a bit. santa's not the only one spreading christmas cheer across the country. dmc and other major sony group artists surprised 500 shoppers with a very special gift -- their layaways have been paid in full partnering with the nonprofit pay away the layaway in burlington stores, smg artists gave back this december helping families hardest hit by the pandemic celebrate big this holiday season have you heard of tipping in the boro it is a christmas craze that's

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introducing new vicks vapostick. a movement in tennessee is going viral for trying to spread christmas cheer to restaurant workers. the tipping in the boro campaign raises money from the community to surprise servers ahead of the holidays our kate snow has the story. >> reporter: in the tennessee town of murfreesboro there's something going around. >> ever heard of tipping in the boro >> ever heard of tipping in the boro >> reporter: from applebees to domino's, sushi joints to sonic drive-ins -- >> thank you >> thank you >> reporter: a movement called tipping in the boro has been surprising restaurant workers with large tips. >> one, two, three, four - >> oh, my god!

thank you guys >> reporter: the online campaign raising money from the community for those tips and sharing the reaction videos across social media. >> this just made my whole lunch. >> reporter: the family behind the campaign spoke to nbc news they didn't want to go on camera because they say it's not about them >> we've seen so many people hurting from the restaurant industry where covid had hit, and either shut down the restaurants or maybe at half capacity >> reporter: it's about giving back to the servers, servers like mariah at applebees >> for me? >> yes >> oh, my gosh >> that's $300 for you >> you are kidding me. i can't take this. >> reporter: mariah sharing her story. >> i live in a shelter so i just went into an apartment. and i only have $600 in my account. so you just gave me hope >> reporter: that tip helping mariah get her own apartment >> i had no idea how i was going

to get the money >> reporter: tipping in the boro giving mariah another $300 covering all of her upcoming apartment costs leaving her speechless >> you're kidding me i don't even know what to say or -- nobody's ever done anything this nice for me ever. >> reporter: that video going viral. >> we've had a bunch of different people send us messages saying, hey, i would love to do this moin my city or town >> reporter: what started as an extra tip spreading across the country. >> thank you >> thank you all so much >> my gosh - >> and our thanks to kate snow for that heart-warming story those reconciliations are just priceless. >> yeah. so many times they call in and say somebody announce mouse left this and show the copy of the receipt. but to hear it on video and hear see the smiles to their eyes fun. >> we are grateful to service workers working in conditions that are not always the safest still will to come, a major salad recall affecting 19

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fresh express is recalling some varieties of its pack and -- package salad products because of potential contamination with listeria which can cause infections the fda said the products were distributed in 19 states in the northeast and midwest. you can call the consumer response center to request a refund the number is your screen. 1-800-242-5472 the governor of arkansas has requested a federal disaster declaration to help speed up the recovery process after 11 tornadoes ripped through the state on december 10th senator john boseman toured the damage and spoke to reporter chase gauge with our kait affiliate. >> reporter: the senator met

with the mayor and the fire department to see the damage done to the facility he said help could soon be on the way from the federal government >> you can read about these things and get on the phone, talk to officials, talk to individuals that were damaged, but you simply don't realize the extent of damage until you tour an area. and so that's what this is all about. and again, at the end of the day, it's everybody working together to try and rebuild. >> reporter: boseman expects an official presidential disaster declaration to come soon once damage is assessed fema workers were on the ground doing just hat if there is a declaration, funds will then be disbursed to help the community. the tour also included stops in leachville and monet >> thanks to chase gage for that report coming up, winter has officially begun but janessa is tracking record high temperatures. plus, you can sing your heart out today -- "ngsi 2" making its theatrical debut. about motorcycle insurance,

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good morning, everyone we have record highs they're moving back in across the central tier of the nation you can see oklahoma city, 59 degrees. kansas city, 50. san antonio and parts of texas still in the lower 80s so almost a summer-to-spring feel that we're going to continue to see throughout christmas day. things will change as we go into your sunday. this is widespread even for the mid mississippi valley to the ohio valley. tomorrow in the lower 60s. mid line 81. austin, 77 in the northeast it's going to be a little bit colder as we go into christmas eve to christmas day. pittsburgh, falling into the upper 40s, lower 50s and that will continue into interior new york, as well it's just the center part of the country dealing with the heat wave guys >> the ones that -- it doesn't seem like december 22nd. all right. thank you. up next, our kevin tibbles with the story of a very special nutcracker performance that will

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♪ what more can i do baby all i want for christmas is you ♪ mariah carey proves that no holiday season is complete without her iconic christmas tune "all i want for christmas is you" hit number one on the billboard hot 100 again after topping the chart for six weeks. mariah shared that her household was very festive in their celebration. her children waking her up with confetti >> it's going to be quiet, going through withdrawals in four days

when christmas is all done now we've got celebrating -- if you got some time off this week, here are a few movies hitting theaters ♪ ♪ used to call me on my cell phone ♪ >> it's the catchy sing along we didn't know we needed. universal pictures "sing 2" is out now. fans of "the matrix" can catch "the matrix resurrections" in theaters along with "the kingsman." a classic with a powerful message that is inspiring the country. kevin tibbles has more >> reporter: "the nutcracker" is a wintry spectacle of music and movement this year's performance by the joffrey ballet reminds us that all movement is a thing of beauty >> you guys ready to rock it >> yeah! >> all right all o three -- >> arm comes above my head i look underneath, three, and four >> reporter: this year a student from the joffrey academy's adaptive dance program takes

part [ cheers ] >> the class is special because of the students in it. so they move differently, and that is something that we celebrate. >> reporter: dancer lark johnson is a high school senior who has cerebral palsy it is lark's determination as a person that shines so brightly does dancing represent freedom to you >> it allows me to be myself and not care about it being a right or a wrong way to move >> reporter: for lark's mom, her daughter's contribution impacts far beyond the theater >> representation matters and inclusion matters. >> reporter: in everything we do >> in everything we do >> reporter: in a season of tradition and celebration, we would all be wiser to add the word "inclusion. >> nothing's impossible. it just takes determination and

dedication to reach your goals >> reporter: kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. >> wow some wise words there from a bright and beautiful young lady. >> i can't wait to see what else she's going to do beyond this stage and others thank you so much for watching "early today. i'm frances rivera >>

well, the storm is here as we are getting ready to head out the door. i will have a look at the forecast, coming up. stopping the surge as omicron variant spreads, the new rules being announced today right here in the bay area. thousands of california college students not returning to the classroom in the new year, and this is