this morning, a winter storm affecting millions of post holiday travelers on the ground, and at airports, where thousands of flights are delayed and canceled due to the weather along with a surge of covid cases. many schools around the nation are returning and reinforcing mask mandates as students head back to the classroom. but others are delaying and choosing remote learning a blanket of snow covers hundreds of homes decimated from wildfires in colorado, with two people still unaccounted for this morning

and all your nfl week 15 highlights, including the bizarre likely end of wide receiver antonio brown's career. it is monday, january 3rd. and "early today" starts right now. good morning thank you for joining us i'm steven romo. it is a new year, a fresh start. but many people are still seeing those same holiday travel nightmares at least 1500 flights have already been canceled for today, after thousands were grounded over the weekend airlines are battling covid outbreaks and wicked winter weather. united airlines tells nbc news that their safety is the top priority, and they reached out to the aspen airport where these passengers, they are just sliding down that walkway after leaving their plane due to icy conditions ice also made roads hazardous for millions who chose to drive, instead traffic backed up for miles in arkansas after multiple accidents there. the governor of kentucky

declared a state of emergency after even more tornadoes and heavy rain in some areas high water rescues were also needed after severe flooding nbc meteorologist janessa webb has more on that ahead good morning to you, janessa >> good morning, steven. yeah, we have a very robust storm system that's already dropping a ton of snow across alabama, already making its way into tennessee it's going to continue its on the warmer side across the carolinas, just getting over tornado warnings in that area. we're going to continue to watch the moisture really filter as it transitions between rain and snow so this will be a quick mover, but it will impact your early morning commute into early afternoon, dumping snowfall rates of at least one inch per hour across virginia to d.c., even portions of new york to the boston area. then it starts to move offshore. we do have thousands of winter

weather alerts that's coming up steven >> all right thank you so much for that update we'll check back in with you meanwhile, the cdc could continue to change its covid-19 protocols yet again. in an appearance on abc's "this week" dr. anthony fauci said the agency is considering adding a negative test to isolation guidelines this comes after the cdc got pushback for reducing isolation days in half and not requiring a negative test before those five days were up this as the u.s. surpasses 55 million covid infections according to a nbc news count, the milestone was reached on sunday, which is just three days after the u.s. hit 54 million covid cases. also on sunday, defense secretary lloyd austin, who is vaccinated and boosted, tested positive in a tweet, he noted he was experiencing mild symptoms while

quarantining at home he plans to attend key meetings and discussions virtually in the coming week. the latest surge continues to disrupt america's workforce and health care system here's nbc's anne thompson >> reporter: new year, new rush for at-home covid tests. >> happy new year. >> reporter: cars lined up in bethel, connecticut for one per household. others waited in long lines over the holiday weekend to be tested, as the omicron variant surges while omicron's infection may be less severe, because it spreads so fast and infects so many, it's already straining a health care system struggling to treat the unvaccinated >> even if you have a less of a percentage of severity, when you have multi, multi, multi far more people getting infected, that amount is you're still going to get a lot of people needing hospitalization. and that's the reason why we're concerned about stressing and straining the hospital system.

>> reporter: as for the much criticized and shortened five-day isolation period for people who test positive, fauci says there could soon be a new requirement. >> there has been some concern about why we don't ask people at that five-day period to get tested that is something that is now under consideration. >> reporter: a nation barreling toward peak infections this week for new york city, next week for the rest of the country, with anywhere from 2.5 to 5.4 million cases during the peak >> we can just hope it's going to be mild and it doesn't strain our hospitals the way that we were last winter >> reporter: in new york city, the virus shredding the ranks of sf frontline workers. 21% of the police department, 18% of the fire department are out. a lack of employees impacting subway and bus services, as well

and this morning, the mta anticipates suspending service on three lines, as both the subway and the bus services try to do the best with the people they have. i'm anne thompson in grand central station. now back to you. >> a lot to keep up with, anne thank you. the holiday break is over for teachers, school staff and children who are set to restart classes today. while most will return to in-person learning, many are going back virtually children nationwide prepare for back to school amid an omicron surge. >> i'm nervous to send them back monday >> reporter: macleveland, neward others goingh the time testing instead of going remote.

delaying classes until wednesday in d.c and in massachusetts, the national guard handing out tests to families ahead of their return but parts worry, with the testing backlog, the results will not come in time. in chicago, video of a testing drop box overflowing, now sparking concern and while the biden administration has vowed to help, increasing the supply of at-home tests, it won't come in time for many. even colleges and universities delaying their return, with at least 70 schools going remote as the semester starts. >> i still believe very firmly and passionately, not only as an educator but a parent, our students belong in the classroom and we can do it safely. we have better tools to get it done we know what works >> reporter: and mental health experts agree. this pandemic has taken a toll on children, and they belong in

the classroom, with safety measures in place. >> there's the psychological and social pieces of providing comfort, routine, structure, mental health treatment, peer-to-peer support all of this is getting lost as a result of remote learning. >> reporter: a tough time for parents and administrators, as they try to put the safety of kids first amidst a raging pandemic turning now to the escalating military crisis overseas yesterday, joe biden attempted to -- reaffirming support for the country. the russian military has been beefing up their presence with over 100,000 troops along the ukrainian border, prompting fears of an all-out invasion joining us now from moscow is matt bogner. what can you tell us about these discussions? >> reporter: steven, thank you and good morning well, this is a positive development for president

zalenski one of the things russia has been good at is reframing it less as a russia/ukraine crisis and more of a russia versus the west crisis. they've come at the united states and nato about nato's presence in eastern europe joe biden for his part, according to a white house statement, reaffirmed that the united states supports ukraine and will act decisively if russia does invade ukraine once again. this talk, of course, setting the stage for a larger meeting next week between the u.s. and russian officials in geneva without ukraine to talk about the situation, hopefully defuse some of those tensions but we very much appear to be in a holding pattern right now. all eyes on geneva next week >> matt reporting for us from moscow matt, thank you. we've got to talk weather.

it's been an active few days as we start the new year. checking back in now with janessa. what can you tell us about the day ahead, janessa >> yes, steven, everybody is worried about totals you know, just the other day we were talking about temperatures in the mid 70s, and this snowfall will hit the ground pretty fast. we're seeing that across alabama to the tennessee, kentucky area. today, as the storm continues to lift to the north, we're looking at isolated areas, up to eight inches of snow but as it continues to rev up, we're going to watch the northern side. if you're across the carolinas, dealing with flash flood watches and concerns, as it makes its way to0s so very chilly and windy

conditions on the day. a ton of sunshine for the south. this is just round one this week of snow. i do have another round coming i'll show you that coming up >> janessa, thanks the powerball jackpot has climbed over $500 million at $522 million after no wins on saturday night's drawing however, there are four new millionaires out there in arizona, california, florida and maryland, who matched all five white balls. a lucky personchased a $2 ticke$ million. preparations under way as we approach the january 6 anniversary. we'll talk about that in 60 seconds. right after dinner. definitely after meatloaf. like clockwork. do it! run your dishwasher with cascade platinum and save water. did you know an energy star certified dishwasher uses less than four gallons per cycle?

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series of events the national park service issued 500 per fits for people to gather house and senate lawmakers are planning to hold a prayer vigil. and this morning, hearing from the newest members from congress who were just starting the job back on january 6. >> reporter: january 6, 2021, was sarah jacobs' fourth day on the job. >> didn't really know my way around at the complex yet at all. >> reporter: after an alert that the madison building was evacuated -- >> i screen shotted it and sent it to my chief of staff. >> reporter: she was in the house chamber. her parents, used to her being in dangerous situations during her stints overseas, were worried. >> i'm like, don't worry, i'm in the chamber, the safest place i can be >> get down. >> reporter: as rioters neared

the floor, jacobs donned a gas hood >> it was this buzzing that i will never forget. actually, i can't watch the clips of that day with the sound on >> reporter: on the floor below her, another freshman, a former sheriff, that's him in blue. >> that was day number three i think that, you know, again, i believe the good lord put me in this position. >> reporter: he took off his jacket and prepared to hold the chamber. >> i'm going to stay right here. >> reporter: he felt the doors shaking. and armed himself with a hand sanitizer dispenser. were you prepared to use that? >> that's what i had >> reporter: when a rioter shattered the window, he engaged him. >> i had my texas mask on and he looked at me and said, you're from texas, you should be with me i said no, sir, i cannot support what you're doing. this is criminal >> reporter: there were 64 freshman members whose first week on the job here, became one

of the darkest days in american political history. for both, the 6th has shaped every day on the job since but despite experiencing the same day in the same room, their views of what happened couldn't be what happened >> there were several people inside that building that did not commit any criminal violation of the lawin >> i was convinced that someone wa >> reporter: this freshman class and their mission in congress, forever linked to those first days >> and now it's my job to do everything i can to make sure it never happens again. >> they say when you stop feeling that feeling inside, that's when you need to leave congress i'm sitting here like, they tried to kill me here on my fourth day and lately i've seen this change in her. once-weekly trulicity is proven to help lower a1c. it lowers blood sugar from the first dose. and you could lose up to ten pounds.

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took off his shirt and glove, threw those into the crowd, and then ran across the field while the teams were still on the field. >> wide receiver antonio brown's sideline meltdown was the talk of the league on a busy sunday in the nfl he did not return to the field in the bucs win over the jets. and after the game, the coach said brown was no longer a buccaneer. brown, meanwhile, took to instagram with a photo from that game writing, big mad, making a difference thanks for the opportunity from a controversy in new jersey to an incident in landover, maryland, with fans falling out of the stands. at least five fanse were waitin for jalen hurts to walk by, when the railing they were leaning against collapsed. the fans fell nearly hitting hurts in the process but none of them appeared to be injured. they were able to get up after that fall. in a statement, the washington football team said they're glad no one appeared to be seriously

hurt, and they are investigating that incident. now to the action on the field, as the playoff picture began to get clearer after an intense week 17. on a chilly night, aaron rogers turned up the heat against the vikings. the packers got out to a 20-0 lead and won handily 37-10 but another team in the midwest was turning heads on offense >> there's a second of 7 the target is chase at the 40. look at that move. look at chase go oh, my goodness, what a gear he just found chase for the touchdown! wow! >> chase is on the case. >> jamar chase clawed his way through the chiefs defense in cincinnati, catching 11 passes for 26d nsas

city by 14 in the second half, kicking a field goal as time expired to win 34-31 and clinch the afc north. the cardinals got out to a big lead in dallas, trying to end a three-game losing streak the cowboys came back to bring the game within a field goal, but they never got that chance arizona runs the clock out and runs out of dallas with a win 25-22. the chargers defense had themselves a party in los angeles. herbert broke the record for touchdowns in a season they win 34-13 janessa is nexwit th a snowfall outlook for the week ahead. 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. do i look 85? what! no! you, you look young,

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cascade platinum. in today's top stories, a winter storm is complicating recovery efforts in colorado about eight inches of snow covered the scorched debris after wildfires quickly torebou. this, as the search continues for two people who are still unaccounted for. the blaze consumed nearly a thousand homes and other buildings, making it this the most destructive fire in colorado's history investigators initially thought downed power lines to blame but say that theory is less likely in louisiana, a u.s. marshal's operation ended with

finding five missing teenage girls. the operation resulted in the arrest of 30 people, 17 suspected of felony sex offender registration violations. among those victims is a 16-year-old girl who had run away from home the agency said she was found in a new orleans resident living with several adults, including a dancer at a strip club three days ahead of the anniversary of the capitol riot, we're learning new details about the house panel investigating. liz cheney confirmed yesterday that former president trump's own daughter asked him to intervene on january 6 >> we know his daughter, we have firsthand testimony that his daughter, ivanka, went him to pe stop this violence >> the congresswoman added that president trump could have walked to the press briefing room and appea tv to tell

the rioters to stop.s entering s final stretch now. deliberations will resume today after a short holiday break. holmes is facing 11 fraud charges alleging she misled investors, doctors and patients about the blood testing capabilities if convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison. on his first day as new york city mayor, eric adams had to call 911 to report an assault in progress the new mayor was taking a subway to work with reporter in toe, when he saw three men fighting on the street by the station. all of them fled the scene before police got there. the mayor appeared to criticize the responding officers for not making any inquiries at the scene. adams, as you may remember, ran on a platform of lowering the crime rate the country is still morning the loss of betty white with a career spanlding decades, she

played iconic characters she died just a few days shy of her 100th birthday it's not confirmed where she will be buried one thing we know, the entire nation is remembering betty white, who w

it's monday, january 3rd, and the only thing surging faster than airline cancellations or delays are new cases of coronavirus as schools from coast to coast juggle a post-holiday return to the classroom or moving to online learning it's tough you spend 30-plus years of your life there, and it's all gone. it's ashes. >> 1,000 families are left homeless after colorado wildfires devastate an entire neighborhood as a blanket of snow now covers the ashes and to remain unaccounted for thi