the omicron surge wreaks havoc on the holiday travel rush a crush of new cases for airline workers grounds hundreds of flights. how the latest watch could affect your child's classroom. a winter wallop out west millions of americans digging out of the historic storm this morning. and more snow could be on the way. and spiderman swings into theaters to save them. the latest sequel sets a new box office record. with christmas in the rear-view mirror, 'tis now the season of returns.

why some companies would give you a full refund and let you keep that unwanted gift. "early today" starts right now good morning i'm philip mena. >> and i'm steven romo chaos at the airports. u.s. seeing a surge of omicron cases in the midst of a holiday travel rush. the variant is partially to blame for a spike in flight cancellations over the weekend because of staffing shortages. more than 2,000 flights were grounded between saturday and sunday jetblue canceled 10% of flights on sunday along. meanwhile, the first annual fenway bowl and the annual military bowl have both been canceled due to covid outbreaks. for students, it could mean big changes for the spring semester. here's more. >> reporter: schools across the country are preparing for students return, bracing for omicron.

>> you stick it in and go one, two, three, four, five >> reporter: california's governor announcing a statewide initiative, ordering 6 million free tests to kids returning to school >> it hurts a tiny bit >> i think it's nice that they're providing this for people the holidays are a big western >> reporter: in clovis, california, 50,000 free tests have gone out to students and staff. the school district installing heppa fillers in classrooms, taking all measures to avoid a shutdown >> when i tell you that having kids in classrooms is critical, the data confirms that >> reporter: across the country, the school district of philadelphia, with an estimated 200,000 students, now keeping a close eye on the rise in covid cases, and considering a vaccine mandate for all eligible students after the break >> what's your message to the

families >> number one, we're going to do everything to keep schools open. >> reporter: as fears loom that students will have to go back to remote learning, some schools already are. ucla, colombia and northwestern are joining a list of colleges and universities temporarily going virtual the first weeks of the new semester now, to make things more difficult, some schools are dealing with staff shortages schools across the country lost about 200,000 workers in local education. all of this as they also deal with the virus >> thanks for that report. millions of americans are under winter weather alerts this morning. a 70 mile stretch of northern california had to be shut down here's a look at how blinding the snow can be. >> reporter: near whiteout conditions, you can bare cli make out the roadside behind me.

add to that, increasingly poor conditions outside, is potential darkness you can see why it would be a danger for drivers >> and the roads have been extremely dangerous. a 20-car pileup in nevada sent at least three people to the hospital the winter weather is impacting air travel these storms combined with those staffing issues due to covid have forced more than 500 cancellations within and into the u.s. today the world is mourning the passing of archbishop desmond tutu he was instrumental in overthrowing apartheid in south africa here's a look back at a life of fearless activism and profound achievement. >> reporter: tributes from around the world honoring desmond tutu, one of the fiercest opponents of apartheid. joe biden calling him a true

servant of god and of the people, adding his legacy transcends borders and will echo throughout the ages. president obama, who awarded tutu the presidential medal of freedom in 2009, saying he was concerned with injustice everywhere and the dalai lama saying the bond between us was something we cherished. tutu was born into poverty in 1931, and by 1975, he became the first black anglican dean of johannesburg >> he communicated for black south afcans in 1984, he won the nobel peace

prize, and by '86, he was south africa's first black archbishop. the '90s saw the end of aw apartheid. he died in capetown, south africa he was 930 years old holly hunter, nbc news, london sarah weddington, the texas attorney who argued and won the roe versus wade cass at age 26 has died she served three terms as a texas state lawmaker and worked as an adviser to president carter her death comes as the high court is considering a mississippi case, which is widely considered the most serious challenge to the decision in years. she was 76 years old just a few hours, the fourth

day of jury deliberations will begin in the case of elizabeth holmes the jurors will determine the fate of the disgraced theranos founder. they've already deliberated over 22 hours before the christmas break. she has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud and faces 20 years if convicted. meghan markle has received a public apology from british tab tabloids t earlier this month, a uk court found the newspaper group guilty of violating markle's privacy. sunday marks the first day of kwanzaa the celebration of african american heritage, each day observes 1 of 7 core principles of the holiday, including

creativity, responsibility self-determination and faith kamala harris tweeted about her fond memories of the holiday, wishing those who celebrate a happy kwanzaa. >> michelle grossman is in for janessa today, tracking that winter wallop for us good morning, michelle >> good morning, guys. yeah, that snow continues out west, the ten feet in some spots. we could took on another three in some places stretching from the northwest to the southwest, into the rockies, we have some alerts in the northeast. so seeing some snow this morning. 26 million impacted today. we have had storm after storm. and that will continue for some time so alerts stay in place through tuesday. we'll see the cold air in place, and that will set the stage for more snow. we can see anywhere from one to three feet in additional snowfall and the cold air stays

in place tuesday, as well. there's the one to three feet. and in the nthern or degrees to. just one degree today in billings it's like two extremes from north to south we'll talk about that and look at the week ahead when i come back >> michelle, thank you "spider-man: no way home" continues to hit astonishing numbers, dominating another weekend and the film is the first pandemic era movie to cross the $1 billion mark. the marvel sequel hit that number in 12 days. it's now tied with the 2015 release of ""star wars."

a lot more to come, including a wild sunday in the nfl, shaking uthp e playoff picture. >> and a look inside the biden administration's battle to end alzheimer's disease. aying peek-. i've never seen anything like that before. harris now appears to be burping the baby. that's a great moment right there. the ref going to the rule book here. what, wait a minute! harris is off to the races! we don't need any more trick plays. touchdown!! but we could all use more ways to save. are you kidding me?? it's going to be a long bus ride home for the defense. switch to geico for more ways to save. when they're sick, they get comfortable anywhere and spread germs everywhere. it's going to be a long bus ride home for the defense. wherever they rest protection nothing kills more viruses, including the covid-19 virus, on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. lysol. what it takes to protect. when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. new zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer

when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep. leading the news, a holland american cruise ship has returned to san diego after it was barred from entering port due to a covid outbreak on that ship guests were not allowed to disembark after authorities found around 21 crew members tested positive for covid. in a statement, it was confirmed a small number of the 875 crew members tested positive, adding that they are experiencing minor symptoms the white house is about to release the latest national strategy for fighting alzheimer's and dementia our own richard hlouie got

details about the plan >> reporter: yeah, out in front today, the government's plan to battle alzheimer's we got a sneak peek at the first update to the plan the secretary discussed new details while revealing why all alzheimer's and care giving is so personal to him halvia becerra overruns the agency seeing the cdc and more and this season an important reminder for families takes center stage >> probably the best way to discuss this issue today is to talk about the family members who are right now alone. because of covid >> reporter: alzheimer's cost americans more than $355 billion annually 70% is paid for by families. >> everyone should be able to care for their loved ones. my mother-in-law, who suffered

from dementia, never was a day without a family member. my father who passed on new year's day 2020, and we the family became his caregivers, his hospice caregivers for much of his life. >> reporter: he moved his parents next door to help and became one of 53 americans taking care of a loved one with a disability >> when he started to decline, we would sleep in his bedroom with him those are tough days you don't get a lot of sleep you do things for your aged parent that your parent did for you when you were an arnlt >> i'm going through that now, trying to figure out how to pay to keep my father under the care he needs and my mom at home. how does the plan address that >> the plan, which is updated every year >> reporter: the government plan tracks five goals. this year, a sixth new goal was

padded funding new research on what behaviors might cause alzheimer's disease or dementia. >> can i make sure the diet they're getting is healthier absolutely can that help when it comes to something like dementia. that could reduce the risk >> in black and latino communities, the rate can be twice as high as others. when you think about health equity and this plan, bring those two together for me briefly. >> in racial and ethnic minority communities, dementia hits hard and more often in some cases >> most ambitious of the plan to treat alzheimer's disease within three years. what is inspiring one thing that your father said to you in your years growing up >> if you get up and go to work, it's a good day.

there was a man who really impacted my life, who makes it possible for me to jump high, to get up in the morning and have a good day and so i am -- i won't forget my dad. >> reporter: an one side note, each new year marks the anniversary of his father passing. he takes sol else that he can now care for his mother and be there for you. again, the new updated plan, which addresses the mental health of people living with alzheimer's and caregivers, that plan releasing today >> richard, thank you. >> >> still to come, the cowboys crush the washington football team >> and did santa miss the mark this year? what you need to know about gift returns this holiday season.

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2nd and 7. nice block by williams and down the field look at this on the fly, footrace that is six! leaping into the end zone, 68 yard strike. >> bengals quarterback joe burrow put on a clinic in cincinnati he finished with 525 passing yards. the fourth most in a game in nfl history. the bengals beat down the ravens 41-21 and won a lot of some fantasy teams some fantasy games, too and in dallas, the cowboys offense did not give washington a warm holiday welcome they got out to a 21 -0 lead in the first. dak prescott spent a chunk of the second half on the bench

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and try magic eraser sheets for a deep clean in hard to reach places that you can toss when your done. mr. clean magic eraser. for a deep down hygienic clean all around the house. welcome back on this monday morning. as we look at the week ahead, looking at the dramatic weather continuing in the west with heavy snow we'll track this in feet also looking at snow and wind in the northern plains and snow in the northeast and that record warmth in the south and southeast. by wednesday, a chance of rain in the tennessee valley. also the southeast, while showers continue out west. chilliest on the northern plains and we're looking at new year's eve. more snow in the northwest the southwest with some rain and above average temperatures celebrating new year's eve back to you guys >> michelle, thank you so much next on "early today," why tume are giving a full refund on

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try always discreet. with christmas behind us, 'tis now the season of returns holiday sales rose at their fastest pace in 17 years, according to mastercard. up 8.5% from last year, which could mean record gift exchanges for those unwanted presents. here's jolene kent on where your gifts could wind up. >> reporter: the race to return is on. >> i need something that will either do prereturns like threw the mail or where i can just drop it off like u.p.s >> reporter: but it's not as free as many stores would have you believe. with a surge of online shopping, the cost of a return is rising

fast now, the average holiday return is 2/3 of the original price tag you paid for the gift, including cost of transportation, warehouses and paying workers to process your item. >> i have to get at least two sizes because i never know if it's going to fit. >> reporter: angel perhaps on sending back some clothing she got for christmas. >> i try to be intentional, but i know how hard it is when you get something that you like and it doesn't fit >> reporter: but she's also well aware that not all returns end up back on the shelf to be resold 5.8 billion tons of return packaging will end up in a land phil, generating 16 million tons of carbon monoxide >> if it's not being resold, it's creating environmental damage >> reporter: a software company

managing returns for several companies is trying to minimize that waste, but making the returns process more efficient >> it starts with customer experience where we offer a returns portal that is used to initiate the return. people are putting data on what item they're returning, why they return it. it's looking at what that product is worth at that time in that condition >> reporter: some grands sometimes offer a full refund and have you keep the item, because that's cheaper than processing your return knowing what goes into a return, how does that change the way you're shopping? >> it makes me think about when i do order something, i will message my daughter and ask you, do you like this item or this or this i would rather give it to someone or try to return it, give $20 back and know it's going to go to a land fill

>> reporter: jolene kent, nbc news, los angeles. >> that was eye opening to me. i just thought returning things were a hassle. i didn't know it could be bad for the environment. >> you could always just

out west, it was a white christmas and then some. historic storm and more on the way. omicron hits home. the new surge forc airlines to cancel hundreds of flights during one of the busiest travel days of the year >> if you are hit with a cancellation, how to make sure you get a refund spider-man saves the