breaking overnight, a deadly shooting spree in denver four people are dead and several more injured, including an officer, what police have revealed about the rampage facing a new crush of covid cases the cdc shakes up its quarantine rules with new states hitting record covid testing sites are also facing their biggest test yet digging out, a powerful winter storm pull els thepummel the west more wint snow on the

way. 2022 four day ace way. are you ringing in the new year with returns everything you need to know about exchanging those unwanted christmas gifts. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> i'm stephen romo. we start with breaking news, a deadly shooting spree across two colorado cities. police say a gunman started shooting at multiple location across denver. at least four people were shot three died the suspect fired at denver police and was able to disable tear car and escape into the city of lakewood, where officials described even more chaos. >> the driver opened fire on lakewood agents. from there, we returned fire, the driver was able to get away. the driver then fled on foot in the area behind us in the belmar shopping area, where he befell and menaced another business with a firearm

>> while another victim was killed in lakewood and a police officer was shot and underwent surgery overnight. the suspect also died, but it's unclear if he was killed by police a massive investigation is now under way. the coronavirus holiday surge is hitting the country hard, especially in places like new york, where covid hospitalizations have now topped more than 5,000 for the first time since late february but it's not just adults, pediatric hospitalizations in the state have doubled since december 5th the state health chief says child covid cases jumped fivefold in new york city during that same time period. this as medical workers say they're trying to treat more patients, most of whom are unvaccinated here's nbc news' chris pollone. >> reporter: new guidance from the cdc slashing the time someone with covid should remain in isolation from ten days to five after a positive test if they no longer have symptoms the agency citing research

showing a covid-positive patient spreads it more in the early stages of the illness. last year they cut the time to isolate after a positive test from ten days to seven, but the update applies to everyone. >> they have an essential job. we want to get them back on that job before the ten-day period. >> welcome, mr. president. >> reporter: president biden assure the nation's governors his administration is ready for the worst of the omicron surge >> my message to the governor is simple, if you need something, say something. >> reporter: but he admits to being caught flat footed and ramping up testing before the holidays >> it's not enough it's clearly not enough f. i had known we would have gone harder, quicker, if we could have. ro . >> reporter: in new york city, new testing centres are up and running at two subway stations the white house promises 500 million at-home tests will be available next month some states are setting record

highs for new infects at hospital icus like in minnesota are at capacity. >> most days, we're completely full. >> some data show omicron cases are more mild. that's not true for everyone >> i would say the vast majority of people coming into the icu are those unvaccinated. >> reporter: the nation's airlines blame covid and bad weather for thousands of flight cancellations in the days leading town christmas thousands more flights have been canceled chris pollone, nbc news, washington mandates have been a hot button issue for more than a year now but could there be one for domestic air travel. dr. fauci said in recent interview the federal government should consider it last night, he spoke about the idea in an interview with nbc news' kristen welker >> there has been no decision made on that it is unlikely you will see that happen in the foreseeable future so people have to be careful, maybe i should be a little more careful when i say it's under

consideration, people take the leap and say, well, it's going to happen tomorrow or the next week >> well, fauci went on to say he has not yet suggested that idea to the president the omicron surge has forced a wave of flight cancellations but thanks to the changing cdc guidelines, some airline employees may be back on the job and in the air much sooner kerry sanders has the latest update good morning, kerry. >> reporter: good morning, if you have a flight today, you may zay still want to check to see if it's on time. the delays and cancellations are working their way out, but there are still problems beyond the snowstorms and wicked winds that caused delays in cancellations, those airlines employees forced to call in sick and quarantine do you you to coronavirus, now may be back on the job sooner the decision by the cdc to reduce them from five days down to ten means airline employees like healthcare workers can now

return to work sooner if they feel better. >> i do think airlines are in a position to begin to catch up in the next few days. >> reporter: in part because of the fast spreading omicron vampt, airlines were facing shortages, that led to more than 2500 flight cancellations and it began a domino effect. the whole family with a long morning delay from michigan to florida. what time did you wake up? >> we woke up at 4:00 in the morning. >> we came down around 7:00. >> got on the plane, everything was fine and then one of the pilots didn't show up. >> an hour turned into two-and-a-half hours we finally got here. >> reporter: the flight attendants had one of the ten-day remain fearing anything shorter was caving to business pressure. >> we're saying that profits are more important than people that's just the bottom line. we continue abide by that. >> reporter: this comes as flight attendants physically close to passengers were forced

yet again sunday to break up a fight. one unmasked passenger confronting another who had pulled his mask down to eat. >> this is not the ticket of what aviation is and it needs to stop. >> reporter: airlines again encouraging those who might be anxious to take a deep breath and do not do what we just saw on that video. kerry sanders, nbc news, ft. lauderdale winter storms made travel nearly impossible in some places. sierra mountains breaking to snowfall records and other parts of the country are seeing severe weather. our steve patterson gives us a look. >> reporter: yeah. that severe weather hitting really all parts of the country from coast to coast. here in california, snowstorms to the north you can see the rain is starting to come down in the southern part of california meanwhile, biting cold expected

to hit the mid-west and part of the northeast as we move into the week plast of winter weather, turning parts of the west into a blustery snow globe, making holiday travel treacherous in northern california, whiteout conditions on the road. >> it was so bad, it would be basically impossible to get from one exit to another. >> reporter: sierra mountains shattering december records burying houses, stranding passengers, shutting down several major interstates. the blizzard sparking several spinouts, accidents and roadside rescues. >> this is the most snow we've had in years. >> reporter: after years of thinning, the sierra snow pack, which fuels much of california water supply got a major boost the snowfall overwhelming lake tahoe ski resorts, forcing them to shut down, authorities looking for a skier missing since saturday across the country, winter

weather alerts from coast-to-coast in the northwest, winter weather causing worries. >> too many people don't know how to drive in the snow. >> reporter: parts getting pummelled. in the mid-west, blizzard conditions blasting minnesota to the dakotas. in fargo near zero visibility as the region braces for bitter cold wind chills as low as 50 below zero in the forecast a dangerous deep freeze closing out the year with more to come and with the wind chill dropping as low as 50 degrees below zero. you heard that authorities are saying basically any piece of your 16 that's exposed could suffer severe frost bite within minutes. the recommendation, of course, is to stay safe, stay inside, take it slow on the road, if you have to go out, bundle up all areas of your body, back to you. >> good advice, thanks let's bring in nbc

meteorologist michelle grossman with more on that storm. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, yes, steve said it. we are looking at a lot of snow in the west. we have snow that will fall in the northern plains, the upper mid-west, great lakes and into the northeast. let's look at the weather alerts stretched coast-to-coast we have advisories and warnings in the great lakes area, the upper mid-west and also some slick travel in the northeast today. so 25 million people impacted by that persistent snow across the west this is the setup. we will see heavy snow and strong winds in the four corners today, winds gusting over 50 miles per hour tomorrow, another storm will slide down the coast we will see heavy rain and snow across southern california we can see up to two inches of rain in some spots in southern california the other big story in the west is a frigid morning. we're looking at dangerous wind chills to minus 50 this morning. so you could see some frost bite in as little as tenorth.

minus 4 in bismark all right. guys, it's so cold in the northern plains. we're looking at frigid frost bite conditions. 90 degrees in some spots tomorrow >> truly the land of extremes, near the weather now thank you. still to come a. controversial texas abortion law heads to a new court battle. >> the latest on that and shocking new body camera footage from the department of lapd owg shti of a 14-year-old girl we'll be back. vacuum.. . is such a hassle. uchhh!!! so now we use our swiffer sweeper and dusters. the fluffy fibers? they pick up dust easily.

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police releasing footage of a california teen in a store's dressing room. we want to warn you, you may find this difficult to watch lapd officials did not know a mother and daughter were in a changing room when they fired at a suspect nearby nbc news' priscilla thompson shows us what happened. >> reporter: the death of a 14-year-old girl shot and killed by the los angeles police has been ruled a homicide. >> he's to the right, fitting room. >> reporter: newly released video shows the moments just before police say they accidentally shot the teen the incident occurred in a burlington store in north hollywood last nuthursday the victim identified as valentino alta was turning on dress, at the same time, police say they were shooting at the suspect in the earlier assault as he stood in front of a wall investigators say the

14-year-old and her mother were behind that wall unbeknownst to officers. >> we were able to locate a 14-year-old female who was found deceased in that dressing room. >> reporter: the teen was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest, according to medical examiner. >> preliminarily, we believe that round was an officer's round. >> reporter: the suspect in the alleged assault that prompted the shooting 24-year-old daniel lopez was also killed. lapd chief michael moore saying in a statement he is profoundly sorry and quote this chaotic incident resulting in the death of an innocent child is tragic and devastating for everyone involved the department faces scrutiny for firing multiple round in a store. experts say it's too early to know exactly what went wrong what is the protocol when police are pursuing a suspect who may be armed in a crowded place like a store? >> you being the law enforcement official have the responsibility

to be sure you keep everyone safe you want to be able to place your shot in the right place, but unfortunately that may not always happen. and that's what makes this very sad and tragic. >> reporter: the deadly innocent is currently under investigation by both the los angeles police and the california department of justice. >> of course, we will be following those investigations our thanks to priscilla thompson for that report. why retailers are bracing for a record number of holiday returns. >> get ready, batman is back the dark knight returns. robert patenson suits up as the batman team up and learn what millions of align users already know. how great a healthy gut can feel. sign up at alignprobiotics.com also try align dualbiotics gummies

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the new trailer for its new adaptation of "the batman" starring robert patinson as batman and close kravitz and the film is set to hit theaters march 4th it was something of a christmas retailer with a big jump in sales. now reality is setting back in the season of returns kicks off. >> reporter: now comes the multi-billion dollar effort to correct santa's mistakes >> i would say it's like 75-to-80% it's going to go back. >> after holiday sales saw the biggest decrease up 8.5% compared to 2020 two in every three shoppers are planning at least one return, putting an estimated $120 billion worth of products pack into the system. and returns while may be free to you are costing stores more than

ever this year with jumps in labor, transportation and storage prices, processing a return costs retailers an average of $33 for a $50 gift >> when a consumer takes advantage of free shipping, that cost by is not free has to be borne somewhere. the only somewhere in a retail setting is in the price of the goods. >> reporter: the costs also extending to the environment, returns produce an estimated 5.8 billion pounds of waste in 2020. often those gifts return don't make it to the original store shelf but rather end up in a warehouse like this, where they're resold to third party% companies like v stock processing unwanted numbers for some of the largest retailers, now bracing for what they're calling a tsunami of continued e

set back two times as often as in-store purchases, adding to the flood of returns in the season of giving back. shaquille brewster, nbc news, indianapolis >> hopefully, december, we have record-breaking heat hon the way. michelle will tell us where next pain in the grocery cart why food prices can spike higher in 2022. question, is that an “s” or a “5”? think it's a 5... i thought so. argh! frustration...loading. [sfx: laser sounds] nobody wants more robot tests. but we could all use more ways to save. chai latte, for “rob ott.” for “rob ott.” error human. [sfx: laser sounds] switch to geico for more ways to save. i thought i was getting my floors clean. [sfx: laser sounds] and then i learned my mop could be loaded with bacteria. so, i got a swiffer wetjet to get a cleaner... clean

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try always discreet. years. > . in today's top stories, the fifth u.s. circuit court of appeals is set to hear the texas abortion case. earlier this month, the supreme court refused to block texas law sb-8 did allow providers to proceed with a legal challenge in federal appeals court. oral arguments are set to happen january 7th in new orleans the controversial law bans pregnancy at around week six before many women even know they're pregnant it allows private citizens to sue anyone providing or facilitating an abortion sense the law took effect,

thousands of texans have been denied access to an abortion case the seal team 6 team member richard marcinco has died. he organized the mission and he died of an apparent heart attack of a decorated career, he was 81-years-old a new "wall street journal" report warns that groceries are going to get more expensive next year companies like general mills and campbell's soup have said price increases will comesque come january. potatoes and other heavier produce will likely have higher price tags because of shipping costs. they predict liquor prices will go up especially if imported food costs are expected to rise 5% of the year a mystery deepens in

virginia, a second time capsule has been discovered at a dismantled robert e. lee, the second one could be the one historians have been looking for. it's thoughtto have items around 60 of them from 1887. governor ralph northam showed xrays saying it could have books, coins and ammunition. today the james webb's telescope four-week journey to more than a million miles from earth. the $10 billion telescope launched open christmas, de deployed us antennas of the earliest stars in the universe. >> so, so cool an iconic new year's eve staple is getting spruced up in time's square. crews fit the new year's eve ball with 192 new waterford

crystals there they go. capacity will be capped at 15,000 and all attendees montreal u must have masks and proof of vaccination. >> it looks so cool. >> very nice. >> thanks for waking up with "early

right now at 4:30, bitter cold temperatures blanketing the area. meteorologist, vianey arana, tracking how long you will need to bundle up. and the major route to tahoe that just reopened ahead of new year's eve weekend. plus -- >> it's so transmissible. there's lot of confusion about what to do for the holidays. the one thing you can do to