a guilty verdict for ghislaine maxwell, the former confidante of jeffrey epstein, convicted of luring teens for the millionaire. now facing decades behind bars the u.s. shattering single-day case record yet again, nearly doubling the highest numbers from a year ago. but there appears to be a silver lining in the surge of the severity of omicron. crunching the numbers on the supply chain crunch, from computer chips to household

staples, how long the shortages could last >> even if we never get back to normal, some days, we can venture beyond it. >> looking for hope in a new year poet amanda gorman's inspiring message as we say good-bye to 2021 it's thursday, december 30th "early today" starts right now >> good morning, thanks for being with us. i'm vinita meyers. >> i'm phillip mena. the jeffrey ep 17 associate is guilty of five counts including sex trafficking. >> reporter: at the federal courthouse behind me, a jury of 12 convicted ghislaine maxwell of five of six kouns maxwell the former socialite, million fair and confidante of deceased financier jeffrey

epstein found guilty after the jury requested reams of transcripts of the trial testimony they heard in the week's prior clearly a repudiation maxwell saying the four that testified against her who said they were victims, that they had faulty memories, that they were in it for the money, that they were motivated by their attorneys instead, the attorney appears to agree that maxwell was epstein's right-happened man and they worked hand-in-hand in trying to recruit these girls in sexually abusing them sentencing is at least several months awhat maxwell back to court, this trial not interrupted by the covid variants >> thanks to tom winter for that report unfortunately the spread of the coffee is showing no signs of slowing down as we head into 2022 instead, the u.s. continues to

shatter records for new daily coronavirus cases. according to an nbc news count, the nation has nearly 500,000 cases yesterday. meanwhile, there will be no new year's eve drop in atlanta for the third year in a row the mayor canceled an annual event due to a spike in covid cases. here's chris pollone. >> reporter: after the nation registered a record number, the cdc is defending the isolation, five days instead of ten, if symptoms have disappeared, followed by five days of strict mask wearing >> by the time five days of isolation has occurred, you probably have 85-to-90% of all your transmission potential behind you while you have been in isolation. >> reporter: the decision has drawn criticism from labor unions. >> you should not be forced to come back to work if you are sick or fully better >> i wish the cdc had added in

getting a negative test before endingeselation. >> reporter: he says pcr tests can register positive three months after >> we do not know how well theant yen cases work on day five. >> reporter: officials says they keep learning more, there appears to be good news. >> early indications report a lesser severity of omicron versus delta the rivenlg of severe disease from any circulating variant, including omicron, is much, much higher for the unvaccinated. >> reporter: the government set up test sites and september workers to more than half the states, along with ambulances, masks, gowns and face shield, thousands of military members are helping staff, hospitals and

testing centres across the country. chris pollone, nbc news, washington >> many travelers are traveling home they're forcing flight cancellations and delays. >> reporter: philip, this travel nightmare showing no signs of slowing down already more flights canceled for today. this is expected to last well into the next year the growing misery at airports across the country unending. again, thousands of flights cancelled, disrupted or delayed. >> i just want to get home. >> reporter: the highest pain points deal with a dire sickouts and severe weather like seattle, where unclaimed bags are piling up the current wait time for alaska airlines customer service is up to 20 hours. airlines say they're working around the clock to reshuffle flights. delta canceling 250 flights, announcing vouchers, jet blue

sacking 83 flighack until janua 13ing. flight attendants pleading for patience. >> we are all working to try to get you where you need to go as quickly and safely as possible if you work with us, we will work with you. >> reporter: the flight experts say the backup will last all the way through the holiday season >> they don't have a lot of margin for error almost all the planes and pilots are currently working, they're available. >> reporter: winter weather we'll be right backing havoc on the skies and icy roads causing this four mile backup in wisconsin and more storms are in the forecast 20 million americans under severe weather alerts, with the southeast bracing for strong when, hail and tornadoes the possible tornado, already causing minor damage in southern georgia. but some relief for the west, warmer temperatures are on the way as travelers hope for an end

to this holiday nightmare. experts say if you are flying any time soon, make sure you come prepared. have a back-up plan. know the customer service of the carrier. it is federal law that you receive a full cash refund philip >> all great tips. steve, thank you the biden administration is asking the supreme court to rule on the so-called remain in mexico policy. tell controversial directive forces southern asylum seekers to wait in mexico until their u.s. court dates, which in some cases can take years president biden initially suspended the trump-era policy but was forced by a federal appeals court to start it up again. critics argue the mexican border cities are too dangerous for meeg grants. it's up to the supreme court to decide if they should implement the policy the town of whenfield, alabama is dealing with the aftermath of a severe storm.

officials say it's likely a tornado ripped through power lines are down across the town according to police chief there, several people were rescued after being trapped inside a pizza shop thankfully, there were no injuries michelle grossman is in for van janessa, continuing to track the storms. >> we will see the threat for some storms throughout the day we could see it throughout the afternoon into the evening hours. really, the severe threat stays with us until the holiday weekend. we could see gusty winds over 75 miles per hour tornadoes are possible that's parts of alabama into georgia. this is set to expire. otherwise, we are looking at weather, the most dramatic is taking place in the southeast with those thunderstorms we'll continue to watch throughout the day.

so we do have a marginal risk for severe storms as we go throughout the morning and afternoon hours. that really bumps up again on friday part of the puzzle piece, it's fueling these storms so 83 degrees in baton rouge, that's 22 degrees above normal for this time of year, nashvill3 in bismark, also in fargo. all right. guys, we'll talk about the new year's eve forecast and your new year's day forecast and snow in the west as well. >> looking forward it to thank you. still over a day-and-a-half away, new york city is already budget 2022 in the west. yesterday the city made sure the

confedty was good to go. it's all for the big if you year's eve bash in time's square 1.5 tons will go flying tomorrow at midnight this year's celebration is limited to 15,000 revelers because of covid. >> my thoughts are always with the sanitation department cleaning that up after the fact. right? >> it's a big job. next, a florida man rushed to the hospital after reaching into a tiger's enclosure at a zoo. >> what do you expect with the president's call today with vladimir putin for strong protection, that's always discreet. question your protection. try always discreet. huh. is that true? geico's been saving folks money for 85 years? yeah, that's right. wait — so if geico's 85, that makes you — are you asking if i'm 85 years old? i mean sea turtles live to 150, so...nn — i — i was not.

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possible he is prepared to sanction russia like never before senior administration official say today's call was requested by the russians that it is unclear why. they are offering a $5,000 reward to the information leading to the arrest of a deadly suspect in a fatal shooting abel elias acosta is actively evading capture and should be considered armed and dangerous his father is in prison for capital murder for allegedly driving the boy to and from the scene. families have to wait longer to find the fate of cruz the penalty phase is pushed back to february. the judgment said both the defense and prosecutors need more time to prepare their experts for trial. the jury in the penalty phase

will determine whether cruz will receive the death penalty or life in prison this year will end without a verdict in the elizabeth holmes' trial. the jury failed to reach a decision after six days of deliberation but they will resume monday january january 3rd. she faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. in naples, florida, a man is hospitalized after receiving injuries from a tiger he zoo she grabbed and bit his arm after he put it through the fence. a sheriffs deputy shot the animal to get him to let go. still to come, computer chips, household essentials, do all the shortages have you short on patience? how much longer the supply chain

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wall street is looking to end 2021 on a high note. the dow climbed nearly 100 points yesterday to a new record the s&p inched up seven points, enough to notch another record the nasdaq, however, dipped slightly into the red. futures are flat into the open from computer chips to the gas pump, the supply chain crunch is one of the biggest stories of 2021. now the question is, how long will all of these shortages last nbc news' kerry sanders breaks it down for us. >> reporter: guys, our year comes to an end in our country of abundance, we learned there

can be shortages the supply chain can be strained we look back as we look forward to 2022. >> the nation supply chain crisis. >> reporter: these are some of the shortages, page, they seen it spike 60% in value. >> the great ketchup story of 2021. >> it could put a damper on your family's thanksgiving plans. >> reporter: it used to be a shortage of drivers to sit in this seat. shortages into the new year, if you are thinking of triefg for your next trip, be ready for some paper at the pump on average, a gallon of gas is more than a dollar higher than it was this time last year, with more americans on the road now than any other point during the pandemic. >> they can get you paying in excess of $3 a gallon as commission around the world

continue to cover and demand increases. many shortages in the grocery aisles, from meat to cereal to syrup have been resolved as production ramped up while some staples like cream cheese have been harder to come by n. some places, we have reason to hope there are shortages as in a shortage of snow why? not enough snowplow drivers and you which were lining up for the job. >> we're in the sure why we're not getting people reused to and drivers that want to do it. >> reporter: economists blame employee shortages from cooks to bait staff to housekeeping on the so-called great resignation of 2021. americans are finding better positions as well as older americans reassessing what's important to them and retiring early. it's hit all segments of society, retiring police,

leaving some cities like washington, d.c. with officers still on the job exhausted >> sometimes their days off are cancelled. sometimes they're working week at a time without a day off. this is approaching catastrophic levels. >> reporter: at hospitals, no shortage of covid patients has resulted in a full-on shortage of nurses. >> many of the nurses have been dealing with this the last two years have decided to call it quits. >> reporter: one supply chain shortage, computer chips, that's slowing production of cars, clothes dryers and electric toothbrushings. >> reporter: i'm hearing around mid-way point of the year it could ease up and take a while the u.s. mint says there are plenty of coins in america but there are a shortage in circulation. why? even though americans are getting back out there look at holiday crowds for proof of that experts say the covid

effect left many of us reluctant to touch money if you feel powerless to the shortages, there is one thing you can control. that is kindness and patients, which is sort of fitting the an abundance this time of year, right, guys? >> right, short supply patience >> our thanks to kerry sanders >> a moment there. michelle grossman has the wisdom and a preview of our new year's eve weather right after this bak > how the latest jeopardy winning streak is making history. stay with us >> ♪ la, la, la, la, la ♪ does your vitamin c last twenty-four hours? only nature's bounty does. immune twenty-four hour plus has longer lasting vitamin c.

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try wetjet with a money-back guarantee. . bothered by this year of learning, we are learning though we weren't ready for this we have been readied by it. we steadily vow that no matter how we are weighed down, we must always pave a way forward. this hope is our door, our portal, even if we never get back to normal, some day we can venture beyond it to lead -- >> poet amanda gorman ringing in

the new year on a hopeful note you can see her read this new poem on instagram, where she is raising money for international rescue fund for vulnerable communities in the pandemic. >> it's hard to believe she is only 23. clark griswold is lifted from one town. he was stolen from a national lampoon's christmas vacation display. some think the grinch may have done so because of the custom hockey jersey he was wearing there is now a $500 reward to return the mannequin back to his home before the entire display comes down a trio of prime time bowl games were on the slate down in san antonio, there was a shootout between oregon and oklahoma the sooners were up 27 at the half the ducks fought back they got three touchdowns in the

third quarter that leaves too much to overcome oklahoma wins theal alamo bowl. clemson capitalized in the third quarter. that kept the tigers in the groove they clinched a ten-win season they get to 20-13 wins over the iowa state cyclones. and yankee stadium, maryland's offense hitting home runs 60 minutes straight they gained 500 total yard in a 54-10 pin stripe bowl blowout. the answer, this person is the winningest woman in jeopardy history. now the question who is amy schneider? >> first of all, you come up with the right ship, you will add, wow, $15,000.

>> schneider became the first transgender to qualify in the tournament of champions, she has earned $806,000 during her run >> you can really make money on "jeopardy. my

spiking once again. covid cases surging, especially among children. the new response from president biden's administration and the guidance health officials urge you to take before ringing in the new year. plus, a major way in and out of tahoe back open. doesn't mean you should load up your skis just yet. this is "today in the bay." tracking