the u.s. closes out 2021 with record covid cases. over a half a million people testing positive in a single day. how this latest surge is impacting new year's eve plans. colorado scorched. a massive wildfire fueled by wind gusts, tears across the denver area forcing tense of thousands from their home. laying out plans to never let it happen again. how congress will mark the

one-year anniversary of the insurrection as we head into a new year, we celebrate those we lost in 2021 "early today" starts right now >> good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm vinita meyer. one day before the new year, covid cases are railing across the country. on thursday, the nation recorded over 584,000 new covid cases and there have been more than 54 million infections in the u.s. since the start of the pandemic. nbc news' chris pollone has more. >> reporter: the fda is expecting mooed to approve pfizer vaccine booster shots for children five to 12-years-old. the agency is expected to move up eligible for adults getting a pfizer booster shot from six months after the second shot to five the expected changes come as new covid cases nationwide approach a half million on wednesday

alone. long lines for testing persist in several cities. >> i have been out here since 7:45 in the morning. >> happy new year! >> reporter: as new york prepares for a scaled back if you year's eve celebration, 74,000 tests. >> over the next three weeks, we will see the number of cases rice so dramatically, we will have a hard time keeping every day life operating. >> reporter: some places are already struggling 30% of ems workers are out sick. hospitals and areas hit hard are losing staff by the day. >> what we're seeing now is a work force that is getting burnt out. they are exhausted. >> reporter: it's taking a toll on travel as well the cdc now warning people to avoid cruises regardless of vaccination status as they track several ships with outbreaks. a state of emergency has been declared in colorado. wildfire exploded in size within just a few hours, tearing

through subdivisions near boulder. 35,000 homes have been destroyed. thousands of residents were forced to evacuated. it is believed when wind gusts brought down power lines no deaths have been reported, but the boulder county sheriff says he wouldn't be surprised to find casualties. president biden urged his russian counterpart vladimir putin to deescalate tensions with ukraine the russian leader warned of a complete deescalation. the two men spoke on the phone for 50 minutes on putin's request. military moves have sparked fears of a full scale inn innovation, which president biden said would be met with decisive action. next thursday will mark one year since the january 6th attack on the come

nancy pelosi announced they will hold a prayer vigil and giving testimonials historians will participate in a panel discussion all of these events will be live streamed meanwhile, former president trump has scheduled a press conference for january 6th from his mar-a-lago resort. the panicked 911 call from inside a florida zoo and a terrible scene that left a sheriffs deputy responding to a tiger attack a warning, some might find it disturbing >> what's happening? >> i'm being attacked by a tiger, please, please, please e. >> you are being attacked be atiger >> oh my god >> is that real? >> a deputy fired a single shot at the tiger, freeing the man and killing the endangerred animal the man is in hospital with serious injuries a. 26-year-old cleaning crew member was not authorized to go near the tiger's enclosure.

officials say he could now face criminal charges over the incident cancellation chaos continue at airports across the country, with more than 4,000 flights cancelled, delta cut back two-to-300 flights over the weekend. the airlines strongly urging travelers with non-essential trips before january 2nd to rebook jet blue is canceling 180 flights from now until mid-january. covid outbreaks and a perfect storm has created the chaos for travelers. >> we have your morning forecast good morning to you, michelle. >> good morning, guys. we will see severe weather today. mainly tonight into the overnight hours on saturday morning and then another round

on saturday. so let's take a look where we're expecting that later on today. that's mainly through the southern plains, little rock, memphis, nashville we expand it and 20 million at risk on saturday for gusty winds, damaging winds, large hail, nashville, memphis tuscaloosa into huntsville we're looking at rain two-to-four inches in some spots. you can see the yellows, the reasonable doubts, the oranges, from paducah to morgantown we will see rain it's all do you to our one piece of the puzzle is the really warm air in place 70 and 80s today tomorrow we will see the warm air pushing into the northeast washington, d.c. on new year's day 62 degrees, that's 15 degrees above north

we're looking at dangerous air 10 below zero in bismark all right. it's not all bad news when it's coming to the weather. but we are looking at a really nice forecast for time's square tonight. we'll look at that in a few minutes. >> looking forward to that, thank you, michelle. it is out with the old, in with the new as time's square prepares for a celebration in 2022 the waterford crystal ball went on a test run, while security measures were put into place this year's attendees are required to be masked and show proof of vaccination, also saying good-bye to 2021 will be new york city mayor-elect eric adams who is set to be sworn in just after the ball drops. well, the south carolina

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loser, not the win were. football's hall of fame announced the finalists. it features plenty of plo bowlers and champions. three finalists are in their first year of eligibility. the official class of 2022 will be announced in the week leading up to the super bowl when we return, police officers in tulsa, oklahoma rescuing puppies on christmas in more ways than one. embeand next, we take a moment to remr some of the icons we lost this year nope c'mon him? oo, i like him! nooooo... noooo... noooo... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty picks up messes quicker

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it's morning we want to pay trinity to the towering figures we lost this year

leaders, artists and athletes who made an unforgettable impact in our lives [ music playing ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i am the captain. >> murray, come into my office >> you know what

you've got spunk >> well -- >> i hate spunk. >> do you like it? >> lourks you like it? >> yeah, i like it snoelths ♪ ♪ . >> how's it going? >> dear, sweet ♪ we're gonna make our dreams come true ♪ >> the hand. >> all right >> welcome to the big time ♪ >> i'm changing my free throw from an under hand to an overhand >> whew! [ music

[ music playing >> he shoots, scores on the rebound! ♪ ♪ ♪

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snoetsz ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ so i called back? same state farm agent. texted the next day? same guy. is that even legal? and get this - he remembered my name. of course. hey, blink twice if you're in danger. whoa, guys. at state farm, we actually get to know you. it's called service. come on! like a good neighbor, state farm is there. honestly, i thought i was getting my floors cleaned.

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it targets more than just joint pain and treats the multiple symptoms like joint swelling and tenderness, back pain, helps clear skin and helps stop further joint damage. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections—some serious —and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. it's good to be moving on. watch me. move, look, and feel better. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. most bladder leak pads were similar. until always discreet invented a pad that protects differently.. with two rapiddry layers. for strong protection, that's always discreet. question your protection. try always discreet. got lingering odors?

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tremfya® today. . in today's top stories, after public outcry calls for clemency, they reduced his sentence he is the former truck driver who faces 110 years behind bars for a fiery chain reaction crash that killed four people in 2019. he will now serve ten years. he says his brakes failed causing that accident. virginia officials announced plans to give richmond's confederate stash cues to the cultural center of virginia.

this includes the robert e. lee. monument taken down this year. they will partner with the valentine museum and another cultural institutions to determine the future use of the statues. the labor department reported on thursday, weekly jobless claims are hitting levels so low they have not been seen in more than 50 years last week's jobless claims totaled 198,000. a dip of 8,000 from the peef week and the lowest level from 1969 continuing claims fell dropping to 1.72 million since march 7ing of 2020. the leader of guam is takess a hand-on approach to getting the island vaccinated. the governor is a registered nurse and she has been helping to administer vaccines whenever she feels her presence could make an impact the governor recently vaccinated her own grandchildren to try to convince other parents to do the same american girl has made history

with their 2022 doll of the year the company introduced the first asian-american doll. she lives in aspen, colorado, loves to ski and according to an american girl representative will show kid how to quote stand up for positive change in her story, written by author wendy chang. she addresses the rise in anti-asian hate crimes she is available for preorder online >> no matter what age you are, especially children, i think it's an important step. >> representation is so important. in tulsa, oklahoma arc person zipped five puppies inside a bag and left them inside the counter of a convenience store. overwhelmed, four of the responding officers adopted the dogs on the spot an employee at the gas station adopted the fifth. they are estimated to be five

weeks old. please adopt deep shop. there are lots of shelters over capacity. >> it's a great way to end some good news to end it. we really appreciate you joining us this year on "early today." >> thanks fo

right now at 4:30, new rules about what to do if you catch covid. ahead, the guidance from state health leaders about quarantine. plus, it's new year's eve. the three things to do if you still plan to celebrate tonight. this is "today in the bay." a very good friday morning. i am scott mcgrew. happy new year's eve as well. >> yeah, and i am kira klapper. marcus and laura have the day off. in new zealand, it's already 2022. theyre