and cocontinues toto imprprove over t time. kinda lilike us. and cocontinues toto imprprove over t time. osteo bi-f-flex. find d our cos in sunday'y's papeper. hi, everyone. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm cynthia mcfadden in for kate snow. "nbc news daily" starts right now. today, tuesday december 27, 2022. grounded. thousands of flights are canceled again today as roads are packed with people heading home for the holidays. what you need to know to avoid being delayed.

>> the aftermath after the dangerous winter storm rips through the united states. and bracing for a surge. hospitals already overwhelmed are preparing for a post surge of holiday infections. how thanksgiving could give us a road map to avoid disaster. >> and unbelievable. a newly elected congressman lies about where he worked, went to school and even his religious background, now he's defending himself. we begin with the aftermath of that deadly winter storm hampering what was already expected to be one of the worst travel days of the year. thousands of flights have been canceled across the country already today. people have been stranded at airports for hours. that as major airlines are struggling to catch up with the backlog of flights that were called off in the lead up to christmas. that includes southwest airlines, which has already canceled more than half of all of its scheduled flights today. >> at the same time recovery

efforts are just beginning in the northeast which was devastated by a historic blizzard. it's been one of the deadliest winter storms in memory, claiming at least 65 lives. 27 of those deaths in buffalo, new york. we have complete coverage for you including the latest on a major storm heading to the west coast. we want to start with blaine alexander and marissa para. marissa, you just arrived in buffalo, talk about what you're seeing there. >> we have only been on the road. the buffalo airport closed for obvious reasons. the only way to get here is by driving. my producer and i spent about four hours in the car driving from cleveland. we made our way through ohio, through pennsylvania. the roads were looking good. the hardest part of our journey during that part of this was getting a rental car. we know rental car facilities are inundated with these flight cancellations and people trying to bypass all of that. once we got here, well, you can

see a little bit of it behind me. i've only been here about ten minutes or so. you can probably see a light dusting of snow on my cap. behind me, the roads not so great. even though crews have clearly been on these roads, that snow that is packed on stubbornly remaining, though clearly cleared just enough for cars to still be able to pass through. i will turn over this way so you can see how much has gathered in the places where they're not shoveling. obviously, that's a car in between some very packed in snow. so it's good enough to drive in buffalo, but there's a driving ban in buffalo, do not drive unless you have to. >> blayne, you're at one of the busiest airports in the country. how are things looking there? >> i think the story to be told is what's happening over my shoulder. you see this line, this constant line that we're seeing at the southwest ticket counter.

this is something we've seen since 7:00 this morning. what you can't see is how long these folks are waiting. about 3 1/2 hours just to get up and talk to someone with the hopes of getting rebooked on another flight or trying to figure out a way to get to their destination. this really is the vast majority of the issues. when you talk about cancellations, the lion's share is with one airline, that's southwest. more than 2,500 cancellations alone are with southwest airlines today. compare that to 300 or so from other airlines. so this is an unprecedented event. even the ceo is acknowledging that. the question is why. in a statement, the southwest pointed to weather, but the d.o.t. says they will investigate to see if there were controllable circumstances that led to these delays and cancellations. >> blayne and marissa, thank you both. chances are quite good that

you or someone you know is affected by this travel mess. >> you may have been watching us inside an airport. so nbc.com pulled together a few frequently asked questions. will i have to pay a change fee if i rebook my flights? the answer is probably not. major carriers are waiving change fees to give travelers more flexibility, but you have to check the fine print, too. the window of time during which you can rebook may be limited. >> here's another question. can i ask to be rebooked on another airline flight? you can, and many airlines will rebook you on a different airline if a seat is available, but they are not required to book you a ticket on a competing airline. >> here's another popular one. is the airline required to give me a hotel room or other compensation? according to the department of transportation, they're not. each airline has its own policy, so you want to be sure to check with you

carrier. >> basically, it's up to the airlines. smile when you get to the front of the line. we're continuing to follow the devastating impact of the weekend holiday storm. in new york, at least 27 people died there. buffalo dealt with blizzard conditions for 37 hours straight. jesse kirsch is there tracking the recovery. >> reporter: here in buffalo, i'm standing on a mound of snow in what should be the middle of a neighborhood street. you can see there are shovels and snow blowers out in this neighborhood. people trying to clear this away. one man we spoke with a short time ago saying he's concerned that without getting rid of this snow in the middle of the street, that the plows may not be able to get down here and clear out his neighborhood. we've seen some main roads in better conditions, but then there's scenes like this in neighborhoods. i want to look over here. this might look like a pile of snowdrift, but if you look

closely, that's the side-view mirror in red on the side of a car, which is almost entirely still submerged in snow. we are looking at reported deaths upwards of two dozen making this the deadliest storm in the history of this community in an area familiar with bad winter weather. we'll have much more on this throughout the day and monitor for updates as officials plead with people to stay home off the roads with a travel ban still in effect for buffalo so they can get the city more reopened. back to you. let's bring in michelle grossman now. nice to see things are getting a little more normal here on the east coast. there's a new focus for a storm threat out on the west coast what do we need to know? >> it is good news that the east coast is looking better, but the west coast is a mess. it's not just going to be today. it's going to be tomorrow, thursday, friday, really into

next week. so, let's look at radar. we are seeing very heavy rain falling, heavy snow falling as well. we'll measure that snow in feet and rain in double digit inches. we are looking at brighter colors. that's where you see the reds, oranges and yellows. that's the heaviest rain. the blue is the snow. the pink is where icy spots are. that makes travel difficult. we'll see some delays in the air and on the roadways. this is beneficial because we're in a drought there, but it's coming fast and furious and in a short amount of time. this is the west coast mess. we have an area of low pressure, a trailing cold front that will move in. torrential rainfall and heavy snow fall. by tomorrow, that snow into the rockies. the rockies seeing from 8 to a foot of snow by tomorrow. intense winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour in the highest elevations of the mountains that will make travel very difficult

on wednesday. it's all due to this atmospheric river which is moisture moving into the pacific. we will watch this the next several days and we'll continue measuring this snow in feet. >> michelle grossman, thank you. in washington, we're awaiting action from the supreme court on title 42. that's the trump-era policy that allows most asylum seekers to be turned away at the border because of covid. now the debate over the policy's future is raising some tough questions about what happens if it is lifted as border communities struggle to deal with the surge of migrants. sam brock is in el paso. >> on the streets in el paso, temperatures were in the 30s. so many people are just trying to stay warm. the issue right now, capacity at shelters. i'm standing next to a church here. the church next to me has the capacity of a couple hundred people in the basement, it's full. you're finding people in the

crevice between the metal gate and the dirt in sleeping bags or blankets they received, not necessarily from the government but from charity and good samaritans who are handing out clothes and other food and aid. behind me are folks who were all crammed together. there is a bus next to them where you can go for brief respites of warmth, otherwise they're dealing with frigid conditions. i'm talking about people coming from venezuela and honduras who waited months to get here because they were promised, they believe from the administration, that title 42 would be lifted on december 21st. that's when a federal judge said it would be pulled away. the supreme court issued that stay. now they are all here in limbo. many of them are coming with their families. i spoke with a woman who had five kids wrapped under blankets next to her. a couple of them so small, they were all under the age of eight and you could barely see them until their heads poked out.

that's the conditions that they're finding themselves in right now, just trying to find a place. they have friends in dallas, they're trying to get there so they can have a roof over their head. this is the situation as we're seeing the supreme court today likely do one of two things, either take up the case for title 42 and debate its merits or pass and pave the way for this application for title 42 to no longer be the case. what will happen if title 42 is lifted? officials say you will see a surge of people across the border in the first few months. what happens after that is the open question. sam brock, nbc news. back to you. tiktok has a challenge from the white house and apple is being accused of racial bias. >> kristina partsinevelos has the cnbc money minute. >> let's start with the debate over dealing with national security concerns over tiktok. officials are afraid beijing could demand user data from those who use the app. the pentagon wants to force the company to sell u.s. operations, but officials at the treasury

department are worried that would lead to length to court fights that the u.s. would probably lose. the journal also reports the fda is ready to propose regulations for the use of cbd in food and supplements. and in a new lawsuit, a new york man says the apple watch provides less accurate blood oxygen levels for black people, a longstanding problem for similar devices. the company routinely tells customers that the measurements are not for medical use. >> thank you. >> thanks. coming up, what this year's post-thanksgiving covid surge can tell us about what's to come with christmas gatherings now behind us. you're watching "nbc news daily." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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. well, health officials are bracing for another post-holiday virus surge heading into the new year. what happened after thanksgiving could offer insight about what to expect. >> from california to illinois to florida, covid cases spiked in the two weeks following thanksgiving. during that same period the cdc says covid-related hospital admissions jumped 27%, really impacting people over the age of

70 more. i want your perspective on what may be to come. do you anticipate the holiday is fueling an upcoming covid surge a real possibility and how does flu and rsv impact this? >> what we've seen the last couple of years is probably what we'll see this year. the question is how big of a rise will that be and will it lead to hospitalizations and death. as far as we stand in the tripledemic or the tridemic as it is called now, rsv seems to have peaked and flu remains, and covid increased a bit. when you look at case counts and wastewater data, which sounds disgusting but gives us a good idea coming weeks. i think we'll see a rise, but we don't know how serious that may be. >> if you were with your family and if maybe someone did have covid or you suspect an issue,

how long should you self-isolate, if at all, before you take public transportation and go back to work? >> it comes down to where you exposed. the cdc guidelines now say if you're exposed to somebody who had covid, you should immediately put on a mask and practice precautions for five days, day five get a test. if it's positive, you should go into isolation. if it's negative, keep wearing a mask and practice healthy habits and keeping away from people and keeping a mask on until you get to that ten-day mark. >> very quickly. we see all these people stuck in airports right now, not a lot of space between them. what's your advice for folks trying to stay safe in those places? >> as far as medical advice, because i don't have a lot of advice for getting to your next destination, wear a mask. bring back that mask that we've been wearing. make sure it's an n-95a good, high-quality mask especially if you're stuck in those crowded situations.

>> thank you, doctor. it's great to have real medical advice here. starting january 8th, china will no longer require incoming travelers to quarantine. it's the latest in china's efforts to ease covid restrictions and move away from zero tolerance measures. >> thanks to the abrupt policy changes, hospitals are scrambling to deal with a rise of infections across the country. raf sanchez joins us now. what does this new travel policy entail? >> so, the headline here is starting january 8th, you will no longer need to quarantine when you arrive in china, that's a big deal because that quarantine policy has been in place right since the beginning of the pandemic, almost three years now. travelers arriving in china today need to quarantine for eight days. five days in hospital, three at home. but starting january 8th, all you will need is a negative pcr test and then you will be allowed to head on with your

journey. the chinese government says the next stage is allowing chinese citizens to go abroad for tourism, something they have not been able to do the last couple of years, and eventually reopening the border more and more to foreigners for business, family reunification, and eventually for foreigners to return to china for tourism. >> how are chinese citizens reacting to the changes? >> we're hearing a lot of relief, especially from the very large chinese community that lives overseas, working or studying abroad who found it so difficult to return home over the last couple of years because of these changes. even for ordinary people who live in china and don't have plans to travel, this is a sign of some normality finally starting to come back after what seems like a never-ending lockdown with no end in sight. guys, we are hearing mixed with this relief, mixed with this happiness, some concern because

covid numbers clearly rising right now. hospitals full. uncertainty about what this all means. >> raf sanchez, thanks for that report. coming up, how one incoming republican congressman is defending his decisiono t as someone living with type 2 diabetes, i i want to keep it t real anand talk abobot someme risks. wiwith type 2 2 dias you u have up toto 4 times greater r risk of stroroke, heheart attackck, or death. even at yoyour a1c goaoal, you'u're still a at risk ...whichch if ignorered coululd bring yoyou here... ...m.may put youou in onone of thosese... ...or r even worsese. too mumuch? that's thehe point. get real a about your r riss and do somomething abobout i. talk to o your healtlth carere providerr ababout ways t to lower yoyr risksk of strokeke, heart attack, oror death. leararn more att getrealalaboutdiabetetes.com ever noticice how stififf clo can fefeel rough o on your sk? for r softer clolothes that e gentle on n your ski ,n, try downy y free & gene tle downy willll soften yoyour cls withthout dyes o or perfu ese. the towewel washed w with dows sosofte , and gentleler on your r s in. try y downy freeee & gen le.

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the road for drivers in the south bay. here's ginger with the very latest. >> reporter: the rain has really been stop and go all morning long in the south bay. just a few moments ago, the rain let up. now it feels like it's pouring once again. take a look at that responding behind us off the central expressway freeway off the 85 freeway here in mountain view. that's the kind of flooding, the kind of ponding that we've seen in other roads and freeway exits, other part of the freeway in the south bay. cars have been cautious and slowed down, but every now and then you'll see one who approaches it faster than they should. it's exactly what they warned drivers about this morning. rain has been heavy but moves fast, much how this storm overall impacted san jose. we're showing you video from willow glen where the rain came

in spurts earlier this morning. didn't stop people from getting their workouts in, however. there is sam back distribution in sunny veil. the public works has a distribution set up. it will be available today for resident who is want to prepare for the rain that we are expecting later on in the week as well. now, the storm didn't pack as much of a punch as we expected it to be. there's no longer a wind advisory in the south bay, but there is an active flood watch until 2:00 p.m. >> ginger, thanks so much. let's turn to tom jensen with a look at conditions in the north bay. >> reporter: i'm thom jensen. sandbagging for the flood threat is under way. we saw a lot of people coming here this morning picking up sandbags. this creek went from a trickle to a roaring waterway after sheets dumped on the area for hours this morning. it reached halfway to the flood

stage at 6 1/2 feet and dropped to just over 4 feet. once it gets over 13 feet that's when we see minor flooding and major flooding at 17 feet. with heavy rains forecasted late they are week, people getting sandbag. some stacking for elderly neighbors and others told us they're seeing signs of water creeking in garages and homes. if you have to do the sandbagging yourself at your house, it might be start to come it and get the bags sooner rather than later. otherwise you got to grab a shovel and fill your own. >> great tip, john. thank you. it's great to be able to prepare, because it looks like the rain is going to be sticking around. meteorologist vianey has more on what you can expect. >> we are under a microclimate weather alert at least for the first half of your tuesday because of the atmospheric river.

as the rain rolls out, the fog rolls in. the majority of the rain pushing into the central and southern california area. afternoon, that high surf advisory. we're talk about dangerous rip currents and for the stretch of the week we're going to get a little break from the rain heading into wednesday before we see an additional system move in. starting wednesday into thursday, and then we are monitoring the current conditions right now heading into new year's eve it looks like a system is expected to move in late friday into saturday. >> thank you. let's look at the snow now. hasn't let up. palisades warning of changes. you can see the snow falling earlier this morning. it's really coming down. today palisades is expecting winds of up to 130 miles per hour and is projecting to get a foot of snow. it's already suspended lifts due to the strong winds. >> we're going to have some major challenges. one, just with the rain. as the temperatures start to

drop, one of the biggest challenges with ski resorts are uphill transportation is what we call it, is when you do have water like this and then it turns to rain and then it freezes the shams. a lot of work with that alone, and then add in these winds. >> okay, the resort says there is a good chance the upper mountain lifts will be impacted for days and it may cancel some outdoor activities. let's take a look at one of our stop stories this afternoon. but first the roof of big 5 collapsed this morning. thankfully no one was hurt, but the store is closed so building inspectors and pg&e can inpekt that roof. that does (music throughout)

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bottom of the hour. here's some of the stories making headlines on "nbc news daily." >> electricity has finally been restored after thousands were left without power in washington state on christmas night after four power grid substations were attacked. according to police, the facilities were broken into and vandalized cutting the power for nearly 14,000 homes. security has been increased at nearby power substations and the fbi is investigating the attacks. a delaware man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for plotting to kidnap gretchen

whitmer. adam fox and several others planned to attack whitmer because of her lockdown policies. katie hobbs is filing for sanctions to be issued against her former republican opponent, kari lake. lake said ballot misconduct caused her to lose the race. the filing comes after a maricopa county judge denied lake's challenge to the election on saturday. an incoming congressman is facing growing calls to resign after admitting he lied about parts of his resume. new york republican george santos said he embellished details about his education and work experience. the "new york times" reported about the discrepancies in his background last week. santos telling the "new york post" in parent i campaigned talking about the peoples concerns, not my resume.

i intend to deliver on the promises i made on the campaign. nbc news attempted to reach out to santos but has not gotten a response. ryan riley is joining us from d.c. how did santos respond to these claims that he lied about other parts of his background. >> on the campaign website it mentioned that -- said his maternal family was jewish and his grandparents escaped jewish persecution, but he said in response to that that he never claimed to be jewish. i'm catholic, because i learned my maternal family had a jewish background i said i was jew-ish. he spoke with the city and state about some of the embellishment on his resume. >> did i embellish my resume? yes, i did. i'm sorry. it shouldn't be done. there's words -- words can't express 100% how i feel. but i'm still the same guy.

i'm not a fraud. >> the nassau county republican party has responded to what he had to say in terms of his apology. this is a quote from the gop chairman. i expected more than a blanket apology. the damage that his lies have caused to many people, especially those impacted by the holocaust are profound. he must do the public's will in washington. obviously a pretty fascinating scenario when you have an incoming member of congress who has admitted to embellishing and lying to people during his campaign. but the margins are so thin here, it will be an interesting scenario to see how this plays out. >> that's my question. we know he's going to be sworn in to congress in the next several days here. house democrats are calling for some sort of action to be taken against him. any sign that something might happen? >> it is so close that every

single vote matters in this election. we're expecting a red wave and that didn't really turn up. the margins are pretty thin here. they need to keep that seat in republican hands. it's unclear whether there will be any repercussions for this or if he'll sort of escape despite these admitted sort of embellishments and lies he told the people as he was campaigning. >> ryan riley with us. thank you. thousands in jackson, mississippi are without water again after plunging temperatures there have caused pipes to burst. it's the latest blow to the city's crumbling water system. the winter freeze has also strained water supply in other parts of the south. here's blayne alexander. >> reporter: this blistering cold is certainly taking a toll down south across parts of alabama, mississippi and louisiana. some cities are spending this holiday week without clean water.

>> reporter: down south where temperatures rarely dip this low, the bitter cold is taking a toll on the water system. in city after city, pipes snapping, leaking and leaving thousands without running water. at south carolina's largest food bank, a burst pipe threatened the food supply for thousands. water forced atlanta's airport to temporarily close a gate. the issues spanned from memphis to selma, to jackson, mississippi. there, officials issued a boil water alert on christmas day. were you able to cook christmas dinner? >> no. it was very disappointing. >> reporter: cateesha has already been without water five times this year, that means spending her days waiting in line for bottled water. >> bottled water just to wash your hands, to brush your teeth, that's another bottle of water. >> reporter: those cases are gone in a day and then you have to go back and do the same thing the next day? >> yes.

>> reporter: in a statement, city officials say we struggle to return pressure. jackson's water crisis stretches back decades. over the summer, residents spent months without clean water. last week congress approved $600 million to help jackson's infrastructure, though some leaders say a meaningful fix will take years. cateesha says she's willing to wait. >> i'm hopeful, i'm frustrated but this is where i choose to be. >> the added expense this brings to so many families in jackson. people who have to go to a laundromat to wash laundry or to drive across town to get bottles of water. this in a city where more than 25% of the residents live below the poverty line. back to you. >> blayne alexander reporting there. we're getting a better understanding of how americans spent their money this holiday season and what it could mean for the economy next year. >> according to mastercard's spending poll, which tracks

sales, u.s. retail sales grew 7.6% in the 2022 holiday season, excluding automotive sales. the report says increases in online and black friday shopping were a big contributor. it also found more people were dining at restaurants around the holidays. >> nbc news brian chung joins us now. he is crunching the numbering for us. this is despite prices going up. what areas saw the biggest increases, the biggest sales? >> 7.6%, that's a pretty noticeable increase, but when you consider that things across the board got 7.1% more expensive over the last year, it's essentially a wash. we did see some categories where there was unusually large amount of spending and restaurants were the big winner. up 15% year over year. i talked to a lot of people at the mall yesterday, they were saying we're trying to get the holiday spirit.

we're walking around, not with the intention of buying, but maybe hit the ruby tuesday's, the california pizza kitchen, go out and dine. i think the experience was a bigger story for shoppers. >> so where did people spend less? >> there were some categories where they dramatically pulled back on shopping. electronics and jewelry are two of those. maybe no big tvs or bracelets or necklaces under the tree this season. those could be categories where we might see price slashes and discounting because if people don't want them, retailers have to meet them in the middle. maybe we could see sales in those sections. >> we talked so much about the possibility of recession. people don't seem to be concerned about that when it comes to spending money. is what we're seeing in retail sales tell us anything about the economy going into next year? >> the american consumer is two-thirds of the overall economy. what they do is very important to the overall recessionary concerns. spending is basically flat,

where it was last year, if you account for inflation. it could be worse given how a lot of peoples pockets are pinched because of high rent, high food, high gasoline prices, but they're still going out and spending. they want to have things underneath the tree. because of that, it's not recessionary level spending we saw this holiday season, but certainly we're seeing signs of caution and a bit more deliberative spending in the consumer this season. >> makes sense. appreciate it. thanks. well, speaking of holiday shopping, anyone who got a mega millions lottery ticket in their stocking this year -- not me -- could be in for a big holiday surprise. >> i forget to buy one before the drawing happens. now, guess what? >> the jackpot tonight is $565 million. the second biggest jackpot this year. kerry sanders has more on tonight's jackpot including some of the rules you should keep in mind just in case you win.

>> what the new year could be like if you were to win the mega millions $565 million, that's more than a half billion. i've already preloaded my $2 in here. we go over to the mega millions. we hit this. we hope -- we hope like the rest of america, that somehow that's the winning ticket. >> reporter: with just days to go until the new year, someone could have quite the reason to celebrate. tonight's mega millions jackpot has reached $565 million. >> i would like a mega millions. >> reporter: if someone matches all six numbers, it would be the sixth largest prize in the game's 20-year history. >> good luck. >> thank you. >> reporter: mega millions served up only 11 winning jackpots of $500 million or more. the last big prize won in

october when winners in california and florida shared a $502 million prize. a single mega millions ticket purchased in a chick do suburb won $1.337 billion. the two winners remaining anonymous and opting for a lump-sum payment of more than $780 million. >> this is powerball. >> and just last month, after 40 straight winless drawings, a winning powerball ticket was sold just outside of los angeles. worth a historic $2.04 billion. the winner of that mega jackpot has yet to come forward to claim the winnings. >> it is the billion dollar question. we don't know who won. >> reporter: california law requires their name to eventually be made public, though the winner has one calendar year from the draw to

come forward. if it feels like powerball and mega million pots have gotten bigger lately, it's because they have. the organizers behind both lotteries added more number combinations, making it harder to hit, and rising interest rates also mean higher total payouts. tonight, a few bucks will get you a shot at life-changing winnings that could make ringing in 2023 a lot sweeter. the chances of buying the winning ticket on tv, even more astronomical. we know what the losing ticket looks like. best of luck if you're out there hoping to change your new year. >> there is still time to buy. they draw tonight at 11:00. kerry sanders, thank you for that. how one after-school program is tackling the mental health is tackling the mental health crisis

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the u.s. in the midst of a mental health crisis and teens are affected in a big way. but one after-school program is offering new hope. here's hallie jackson. >> reporter: for high schoolers in chicago a different kind of class. this after-school program centering on the mental health of teens. >> what a lot of people do is they cover it up. >> reporter: latrell scott, who's 17, says adults sometimes

don't get it. >> in my experience as a teenager, they have quite literally shunned me, like shunned my emotional state sometimes and it's taken a lot of work to actually learn how to speak and be honest and open with myself. >> reporter: nearly half of high schoolers have reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless in the past year. startling statistics that only begin to illuminate how deep the teen mental health crisis is in this country. it's why programs like this one exist. a partnership between adler university and after school matters, intended to help students connect with therapists and get access to behavioral health services. >> the teens now are so much braver. i think they are demonstrating more openness to talk about their mental health. >> reporter: the nation's top doctor visiting to see for himself earlier this month. >> mental health is the defining public health challenge of our time. >> reporter: should there be more investment in programs like these? is that the answer?

>> it's part of the answer. and yes, there should be more investment there. because when kids do better it doesn't just benefit their mental health. it doesn't just reduce chances of anxiety and depression. but it also improves how they perform in school. it improves how they show up for their family and their friends. >> reporter: for dr. vivek murthy, like for so many of us, it's deeply personal. >> in my own life as a child i struggled a lot with my mental health. i felt lonely at times. i struggled with anxiety. but i didn't know who to talk to about it and i felt this real sense of shame. and i look at my own children now, who are 4 and 6, and i don't want them to go through what i went through. i want them to know that if they need help that it's okay to ask for help. >> reporter: the surgeon general sounding the alarm, issuing a rare public health advisory about the youth mental health crisis, and he's been working to elevate the conversation. just talking about it can be part of the solution, right? raising the visibility, putting a spotlight on this matters. >> it absolutely does. and we know that we've got to change culture by having better conversations, more open conversations about mental health.

>> reporter: conversations like the ones happening in chicago, where nearly 8 in 10 students who participated said they feel more hopeful about their future. >> if i want my life to get any better, then what can i start doing? >> reporter: like 14-year-old claudine agasana. >> if i'm really feeling down and i need someone to talk to, i have to go and talk to someone to make myself better. >> reporter: more conversations mean stronger connections, mean better health. a lot of people end up forfeiting unused money from their flexible spending accounts. here is lisa parker. >> every pay day millions of workers wisely put tax-free money into flexible health spending accounts. but almost half of them later forfeit so much of that money leaving on the table a sizable chunk. >> somewhere in the neighborhood of about $370. >> $370 each, real money according to recent findings by the employee benefits research institute. $3 billion total.

where does it all go? >> in general that money is no longer yours and it typically goes back to the employer. fsa rules vary. some say use it by december 31st, others offer a little latitude. >> some offer a grace period that allow until march or so to spend down the money. >> that flexibility is nice, but it might not protect your full fsa balance. check your fsa, take action now. what is your account deadline? what happens on december 31st? spending fsa money can be easy, though fair warning about a strategy that can backfire. >> technically, what is an allowable expense, you could reasonably consume in a short amount of time. if you were to buy an entire pallet of sunscreen, that might raise a flag or two at the irs. >> reporter: bandages, pain relievers, covid-19 test kits are fsa eligible.

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consumer investigator chris chmura to figure out. let's look at the payroll.

the bureau of transportation statistics says they have 3,000 more employees now than the pandemic. southwest says its employees are showing up in every way. at the same time this internal memo leaked from december 21st. it shows in denver, at least, unusually high absences and the operational emergency due to the staffing issues. we asked southwest where that memo is an indication of other problems at other airports or perhaps systemwide. it downplayed the memo but didn't give us specific details about what caused the tsunami of cancellations. one thing that thousands upon thousands of southwest passengers a are facacing is th fact that the a southwest airlines ticket can only be rebooked on southwest so. we had a theoretical passenger here. we wanted to get from san jose to atlanta. the earliest we could get that passenger from san jose to atlanta is saturday.

that is so frustrating for so many families at the holidays, and i've got to wonder whether this happening at the holidays is a flash point and perhaps enough complaints will be sent to washington for washington to consider doing what some other countries do -- they require all airlines to rebook on to other airlines. the question is whether that is going to happen here. we'll be watching for it. back to you. >> we know you'll be

heads up, rain will be moving through the bay area all this week. here's vianey arana with what you can expect. we're going to see the majority of the rain start to move out as the atmospheric made its way in overnight, impacting the morning commute. lots of sierra snow. that's moving out, behind it an

advisory. the risk for sneaker waves and dangerous currents. rainfall totals so far, pretty impressive in the kentfield area. look at like at that, almost 6 inches of rain. in through santa cruz, over 4 inches and in san jose a little under an inch. more storm on the way heading into the remainder of the week. high wind gusts also have expired. >> vianye, thank you. you could ring in the new years a millionaire. tonight's jackpot is $565 million. it's the sixth largest prize after no one hit the numbers friday. the drawing is at 8:00 tonight. that does (classical piano music) - [reporter] one of the deadliest mass shootings in us history at pulse nightclub in orlando. - [barbara] walking into the building for the first time after the shooting, it was crippling, but it had to be preserved. if you are an ally of this community, speak out.

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today on "access daily," dolly parton was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame over the weekend. we're celebrating with a fashion show. then jodie sweetin in who owns the '90s. "access daily" starts right now. >> hey, doggy. welcome, "access daily." i'm mario lopez. kit hoover. it's tuesday. a class of 2022 was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame over the weekend. a ceremony in l.a. it was ironic because the hall of fame is actually in cleveland, ohio. that's like if baseball players don't go to cooperstown, they end up doing -- that's a whole other thing. anyway, the inductees are impressive. we had eminem, duran duran,