. as the omicron surge congress to spike, a new report that president biden is planning to send medical teams to offer some relief in sick states inflation nation, the u.s. is facing the highest inflation since 1982 the federal reserve is playing catch-up all of us are paying to more for everything we buy with little help in sight. today talking to craig melvin about voter rights and delivering a small message standing in the way.

>> this morning we are looking at a girl group. >> plus the latest deadly shooting on the lawsuit of "rust. we have a busy day "early today" starts right now i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. healthcare workers are overwhelmed with 82% of icu beds full president biden is sending medical teams to six states to help hospitals today he is expecting their deployment this as the u.s. races past 63 million covid cases, it's been more than 62million since the start of the pandemic. amid the chaos, one study offers a glimmer of hope. our chris pollone has the

details. >> reporter: the nation now averaging three-quarters of a million new covid cases a day. hospitalizations and deaths also up over last week, but some encouraging news, a new study if california shows a substantially reduced risk from the omicron variant compared to delta. >> the risk of delta remains low, especially for people up to date on their covid vaccine. >> reporter: still the sheer number of cases is overwhelming businesses and schools, the nevada district pausing five days california and kansas speeding red tape to get teachers back into the classroom the white house is providing 10 million more covid tests per month, doubling school testing capacity over last november. >> we are doing everything we can to make sure our students have an opportunity to stay in school. >> reporter: responding to criticism from republicans and democrats, the president

appointed john hopkin's as testing coordinator, charged with increasing access to tests and speeding up delivery of results. >> he has a very good vision of where he has to go. >> reporter: federal officials stopped recommending high filtration masks but are considering changing their mask items now any mask is better than none. >> the besep on all day long. >> reporter: after working with pfizer, the government expects to have enough doses to treat 10 million people by the end of june instead of september. chris pollone, nbc news, washington. >> confirming what we already knew, inflation is rising at a rate not seen since the '80s and americans are feeling its effects at the gas pump, the grocery store and across many other aspects of every day life.

>> reporter: the alarming spike if inflation soared to its highest level of nearly 40 years, cast ac shadow over america's economy. the stunning surge in 7% over a year ago the pace slowing over last month. still parking three months with inflation over 6%. >> it is bringing a lot of stress it is already a struggle living paycheck to paycheck. >> reporter: she is an office manager and single mom of three in colorado. prices for gas and groceries are so highs, she's had to start relying on a food bank. >> i'm fine, can i go with no meal a day i need to make sure my kids have food in their bellies. >> reporter: inflation second sky high prices across the board. gas prices up 50% over last year used cars and trucks rising 37%. meat, chicken, fish and eggs, 13% higher

rent and mart gajs going up 14%. most businesses saying they are having to raise their prices at their dry cleaning businesses in maryland, they feel like they're the ones taken to the cleaners plastic bags, shoulder protectors all costing way more. >> this time last year we paid $4.50 for a box. now we pay $52.95. more than double. >> it's cutting into everything we need to do to grow and to sustain, quite frankly. >> reporter: on top of it, they have been struggling in the pandemic this friday, they're sthuhuttin down one of their stores the president tweeting, we are making improvement but there is more to do the public is blasting not being able keep up with family

inflation young couples trying to get by. it is the biden's policies. >> thanks to peter for that report. >> president biden will meet pricedly to hammer out a path forward on voting administration they're pushing for more voting protection garrett haake has the exclusive interview with vice president harris. >> reporter: speaking to nbc news' craig melvin, president harris vowing to push ahead on two vogt rights bills oppose by all republicans. >> i will not absolve the 50 republicans in the united states senate from responsibility for upholding one of the most basic and important tenets of our democracy, which is free and fair elections and access to the ballot for all eligible voters. >> what about senator manchin? what about senator cinema? >> anything anyone should be ab solved from protecting our democracy especially when they took an oath to protect and defend our constitution. >> reporter: but manchin and

cinema remain opposed with 50 votes instead of 60. what did you make of the president's speech last night? >> it was a good speech. >> reporter: did it change your opinion at all on the senate rules changeing? >> we're all still talking. >> reporter: if democrats weren't united, republicans were, slamming biden of a takeover of lex. >> so president biden goes down a road like president trump, casting doubt on the reliable of american elections. >> reporter: president biden will make a personal appeal to senators later today they promise to vote on all of this my by monday. >> thank you a new lawsuit has been filed over that deadly shooting during filming the of the alex baldwin movie "rust. they are making allegations how

live bullets got onto the set. >> reporter: the attorneys for the armorer on the set of "rust" say they know the answer to the question investigators desperately want how did the bullet that killed a cinematographer end up in alec baldwin's gun, pdq arm and prop is accused of supplying the set with real bullets. the ammunition box failed to state a material fact. the contents contain both dummy and live ammunition, which were defectively sold. >> the facts are live rounds or multiple rounds ended up in a box without filings. >> reporter: they say others handed and loaded threvolver court documents investigate

officers found seven live rounds nbc news reached out to seth kenny who provided the ammo. his attorney sed says for now, no comment. >> no one wants the truth more than i do. >> reporter: bald when has not yet turned over his cell phone to authorities despite a search warrant. >> any suggestion i am fought complying with requests or orders or demand about search warrants about my phone, that's [ bleep ]. that's a lie. >> reporter: the investigation ongoing as lawyers race to assign blame miguel almaguer, nbc news. >> from fire works to bear spray, the tsa is out with the top catches of 2021. the key oddity was this chainsaw, which was confiscated from a passenger in new orleans. they confiscated a meth burrito taken from a passenger in humid one passenger trying to fly hit

bullets in the deodorant they joked the passenger must have been sweating bullets going through security here's the top ten list. a machete, cleaver and pistol were confiscated over the country. >> that burrito takes the cake let's bring in meteorologist janessa webb, who is tracking a day's long winter storm for us good morning >> good morning, yes this will be the major headline for the next couple of days. it depends on which section of the country, first up it will be the high plains to the upper mid-west, this afternoon, that's why the national weather service issued winter storm warnings currently in place they will continue to spread throughout the afternoon these don't go into effect later today into friday as your storm system starts to rev up. then it will give more to the south. we will see a good amount of

snow for the tennessee valley. it's the sections of the deep south. this will be a rain-maker as we go into your saturday evening. it's the carolinas from d about. salt lake city upper 40s still chilly for the great lakes. a nice treat today with a slight warm-up. but already chill, it comes back for the weekend. >> a nice break, though, while we had it. thank you. mat el's barbie is releasing a doll in representation of ida. b. wells the doll retails for $30

it goes on sale monday coinciding with martin luther king, jr. day. the red cross declares the first ever national blood crisis they're hoping some super boll tickets will spur donations. a new study on whether covid can weed out your system we are back after the break. to naturally help soothe digestive upsets 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health. and join the align healthy gut 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 to help support digestive health. essential mist aroma fragrances. a soothing blend of essential oils curated with eucalyptus and lavender to wrap you in relaxation and transform your mood. air wick essential mist aroma.

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indicting florida republican matt gaetz for sex crimes. the congressman's ex-girlfriend testified for sex trafficking an underage girl. he did not respond to an nbc news request for comment representative gaetz has not been charged with a crime, saying he never had sex with a minor when he was an adult more than 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled in december. an inspection in october 2020 shows corrosion along a 22-foot section of the pipe. the operator cohen pipe lean says repairs and delays after another inspection required it didn't need immediate work over 200 fish and animals were killed in the incident cambodia is mourning a hero of the rat race. megawa the mind detect rock dent is died.

he helped sniff out over 100 landmine and explosives left behind after the civil war he retired last year and received a prestigious gold medal for his work the red cross is pleading for do nations the organization which supplies 40% of the blood supply says it's seen a 10% decline in the number of donations since the start of the poke. in an effort to combat the crisis, they're teaming up with the nfl to win tickets at a super bowl and airfare, donors will automatically be entered. one lucky winner will be selected before the end of the month. >> earn all you can learn. the army starting the rglaest signing level ever. will covid be like the seasonal flu in just a matter of months

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in today's news by the numbers, the u.s. army is offering its largest enlistment bonus ever $50,000 for qualified recruits up until now the max was 40,000. it comes amid a labor shortage. with a backlog of 10 million unprocessed returns, your refund can take a little longer americans clicked on where's my refund site more than 632 million times last year. kylie jenner is now the queen of enis that gram. the beauty mogul became the first woman to reach 300 million followers on instagram bill gates latest misses are getting big reaction joining us with details is cnbc's karen tso. >> reporter: good morning to you. as omicron ripples populations across the world

the microsoft co-founder bill gates is putting a positive spin on the variant during a q&a on twitter. he mentioned there could be some pause of news that countries can see far fewer cases forrest of 2022 potentially, we could see it treated more like the seasonal flu. the simultaneous immunity is something other health experts have spoken about. it could bring natural immunity, meaning we could reach a les severe phase in 2021, we saw facebook changes and it could be the next generation of the internet effectively humans interacting as avenue that to attend sporting events or gaming. samsung and intel as the front runners in this space. >> that's the direction we're headed thank you. >> a little scary, too

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emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. . may never have tom brady's jewelry. you can dress like him the bucs quarterback announced the launch of his new clothing brand simply could brady the line is available on the website. in an instagram video brady said every part is a part of the weekend. >> let's check in with janessa on the weekend weather >> hi, we wish for temperatures like this for the weekend and only going to see it for about 24-to-30 hours today we're seeing highs back in the upper 40s and the lower 50s. but then by tomorrow morning, we're back in the lower 30s. so that temperature roller coaster going to be a chilly one this weekend next on "elyar today"

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for immune support. >> this morning we're remembering a rock 'n' roll legend of the ronettes. her legacy will live on forever. >> her voice unforget aboutable. ronnie spectre, the lead singer of the ronettes was loved by fans around the world. >> i loved getting up here. ♪ be my little baby

< musical notes> >> she was adored by the beetles ♪ say good bye to hollywood ♪ >> reporter: she and her band mates grew up near spanish harlem they began singing fear clubs where their sound and mascara made an impression ♪ >> reporter: they weren't afraid to be hot. it was organic they signed a record deal in 1963 and sang backup until they hit it big ♪ be my baby tonight ♪ >> reporter: five tracks from their debut album made it to the charts, her influence was felt for decades as a music icon and outspoken abuse survivor at the hands of her ex-husband, she became a symbol of female empowerment, her family saying, ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky

attitude and wicked sense of humor. and remarkably, just days ago the ronettes returned to the billboard top ten for the first time in 58 years with "sleigh ride," proving great music is really timeless. ronnie spectre was 78. >> a 6-year-old is back at hom after some tense moments in a harrowing rescue in colorado the child fell through the ice at a pond and first responders went to work to give that girl cpr after pulling her out. everyone there relieved after finally detecting a pulse. the child's parents say they were great to the rescuers and a bystander also rescued two other children from that pond. so clearly a tang us are situation. glad to tell you a happy ending. >> so, so scary. always a reminder when it comes to frozen ice. what you think is frozen may not

be the case. >> especially this time of year. thanks so much for starting thursday with us one more day until friday. i'm phillip mena >> 70 years todawilly

right now, preparing to walk out of class. new teacher protest planned in one school district, leaving some parents scrambling this morning. >> also new guidance, another bay area city moving fast to get ahead of the omicron surge. the new mandate that may leave you keeping your mask handy even when you're outside. this is "today in the bay." of course, you can watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. i'm laura garcia. >>'m