hi, everybody. it is 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 pacific. i'm yasmin vassoughian in for jose diaz-balart. we have a lot to get to this morning, including the big news from the cdc. new guidelines for those two test positive for covid are exposed to the virus. here is what you need to know. those who test positive but have no symptoms should isolate for five days instead of ten and wear a mask for five days. the new guidelines apply to everybody, including the unvaccinated. the quarantine time for someone exposed to someone with covid has also been cut. those boosted or vaccinated within six months can skip quarantine, test on day five, and wear a mask for ten days. those who are not boosted or unvaccinated or were vaccinated more than six months ago should quarantine for five days instead of ten, and then wear a mask for

fen days. dr. anthony fauci telling nbc news the new guidelines are partly driven by worker shortages. >> we want to make sure, particularly among essential workers, that you get people out there much sooner. >> and any moment now, new york state's mayor and governor holding a press conference on the situation there with cases rising dramatically every day. and in hospitals overseas in israel, they have started giving a fourth dose. the country considering approval of a fourth dose for vulnerable populations. and in europe, the uk and germany are also now considering a potential fourth vaccine dose. we have got an incredible team, everybody, here, with the most important information. shaq brewster in hard-hit indianapolis. sam brock is in miami for us. dr. paul offit is director of the vaccine education center at

children's hospital of philadelphia and is on the fda vaccine's advisory committee. dr. mario ramirez is an emergency physician and managing director at opportunity labs. welcome to you all, guys. thanks for joining us on this. dr. offit, i want you to weigh in first on these adjusted guidance when it comes to quarantining after either testing positive or being exposed to someone who is covid positive. >> i think it makes sense. i mean, if you're -- the way that this virus works, and most viruses work, is the virus initially reproduces its in the upper respiratory track. and then that's when you're most contagious, before you ever develop any symptoms, that's when you're most contagious. then what happens is, your immune system kicks in. and it's with your immune system that you get symptoms. with that, as the immune system ramps up, then you're contagiousness dramatically decreases. i think it's fair to say that if someone had covid and becomes asymptomatic, i think it's fair to say that they're not going to be shedding much virus at that point. so it's reasonable to say, okay,

break quarantine after five days, and then wear a mask for five days. i think that's perfectly fair. >> dr. ramirez, though, why not a distinction between those that are vaccinated versus those that are unvaccinated when it comes to quarantine time after testing positive? >> well, i think we're at a different point in the pandemic, yasmin. you know, now we're at a place where a lot of the american public is vaccinated. not nearly as much as we wish there were and as many as there need to be to fully protect the public. but at this point, you know, it's getting increasingly difficult for people to differentiate between those people who are unvaccinated and vaccinated and have a policy that's actually implementable at a realistic level. and this is something that the cdc has received a lot of criticism for over the last year. and i think they're trying to consolidate all of their guidance into a place that's reflective of where the country is with our overall vaccination status. >> sam, talk to me about where you are this morning in miami. i mean, of course, folks flying

over the holidays. flights canceled across the board. how are things looking today again as we check in this hour? >> yasmin, good morning. i've been out here talking to a lot of passengers as they come in and out of here. a lot of them tell me their flights are delayed already this week. they're coming back or they're delayed today and arriving early, hoping to get out. there's been a common tale. but i've been refreshing my flight-aware web browser to try to find out what's going on with the latest numbers. here's where we stand right now, roughly 800 cancellations today, more than 1,000. this is today. and to give you some perspective on that, all of yesterday was 1,400 cancellations, domestically. 7,700 delays yesterday. the delays are the biggest part of this. as we look at a double whammy right now of sorts with the weather in the midwest, chicago, minneapolis, and out in the pacific northwest as well. that's all being snarled.

the omicron variant and its rapid spread is affecting flight crews. there's been so much information about the cdc changing its guidelines from ten days down to five, that is going to provide reinforcement for the airlines and for travelers. delta had issued a statement today, saying this is going to give them all kinds of flexibility, once they can implement it, in terms of reassigning crews with such a high volume around the holidays. this is a good thing for them, but there is some controversy within this industry of whether it's a good idea. airlines for america, which represents american, united southwest, jetblue. they're for it. they're for slashing those guidelines down from ten days to five, but the flight attendant's association, which has the most direct interaction with people certainly in the cabin of an airplane says this is not such a great idea, largely for some folks ten days may be enough, if you go down to five and if they are asymptomatic, but for others, that's not going to be the case. and what you're essentially doing is hazarding the health of them and the passengers by putting those people directly back in that environment, if it's too early. this is the rub that's going on

right now. dr. fauci spoke about this with kristen welker right now, which is that they are trying to navigate a situation where you have strains going on right now in travel, hospitals, all over the economic landscape, and you have to balance that with being safe, and hence, this is sort of the upshot of that decision. >> i just want to mention to folks, mayor de blasio here in new york city speaking now about what is happening with the omicron outbreak here. if anything happens or anything changes or he makes any news, we're going to bring that to you as quickly as possible. dr. offit, weigh in for me when it comes to what's happening with regards to travel. we played that sound of dr. fauci talking about the adjustments from the cdc, partially because of worker shortages, right? so why not -- and i talked about this in the last hour. why not mandate vaccines for flight travel? because you have a lot of folks working on those airplanes, pilots, flight attendants that are testing positive, not able to show up for work.

thousands of flights being canceled across the board. is that part of the discussion right now happening at the fda? >> well, it's not the fda's decision, but i think it certainly makes an enormous amount of sense to do that. if you fly from philadelphia to florida, you don't have to have proof of vaccination. if you fly from philadelphia to mexico, you do. what's the difference? if we want to try to protect ourselves, we should all be vaccinated. in a better world, in a world dominated by logic and reason, we would all be vaccinated. and the fact that we aren't and the fact that we allow people not to be and put not only them and ourselves at risk makes little sense. i think that we really should mandate vaccination for travel, for national travel. >> what do you think's taking so long? why hasn't it been done yet? >> you know, i don't know. i don't have a direct line to the president. i don't know how these decisions get made. but i think it would be a decision that would be a good health requirement for people to get on that plane. >> we thought you had a direct

line, dr. offit, to the president, apologies on that! once you get it, though, let us know. shaq, let me bring you into the conversation here. let's talk indiana, of course, getting a lot of help, because their hospitals there are stretched to the brink. the u.s. navy stepping in. talk to me about that? >> reporter: we're talking about a team of 20 members from the u.s. navy. we know that they include doctors, nurses, respiratory physicians, all included in this team that's coming from the navy and from the military. and look, we heard the president yesterday talk about how this effort against omicron is going to be state run, but he said it's going to be federally supported. and this is an example of the support that the federal government is providing, especially when you talk about the staffing crunch that many of these hospitals are facing. right now, they're saying that they're dealing with more patients than they have ever seen in this entire pandemic. a doctor explained the situation as being dire. i want you to listen to a little bit of what he told me this

morning. >> look, coronavirus makes me feel like a bad doctor. these patients just -- we don't have a lot of great stuff to offer them. they either do okay or they don't and you're kind of at the mercy of the disease. you provide as best critical care services as you can, and you kind of ride the tiger until it goes where it's going to go. >> reporter: this all happening in a situation where, again, the doctors here are dealing with the results of the delta evaporate. they haven't even gotten to the effects of a this new variant is providing. and what you hear from many of them now is that they're simply bracing for that. they're seeing what's going on in new york, in florida. the record number of cases, the fast spread that they're dealing with in other areas of the country, and they just know, it's only a matter of time, weeks, perhaps days before that becomes a problem at hospital systems like the one behind me. >> doctor, with let's talk about what's happening overseas in

israel and the considerations that are being made there as well. i spoke to some friends that live in israel right now, their fourth vaccine dose already scheduled for february. there is testing going on already in israel when it comes to that fourth vaccine dose. is it too soon? give me your reaction to this. >> well, it strikes me as a little too soon, yasmin. you know, i think there is some benefit here, in that we will gather some information from the israeli experience, as we did with our third dose and booster shots. but the truth is that in this country, we're still at a place where only a third of americans have received a third dose. it's far too early for us to be talking about a fourth dose in what looks like an increasingly small number of people who are actually getting boosted as all. i think if we're really going to prevent serious illness, now's the time to focus on the third dose to really rye to prevent the increase in significant illness that's going to put people in the hospital. but i don't think we're at a place where we immediate to be discussing a fourth dose seriously just yet.

>> dr. offit, weigh in on that for me as well. we already have a lot of vaccine hesitancy in this country. dr. ramirez is right in talking about that. how a lot of folks won't even get boosted, who have gotten to vaccines. this would essentially be four doses inside one year. we're not talking about something similar to the flu vaccine, which you get on a yearly basis, just once. is it too soon? >> so the question is, what do we want from this vaccine? if what we want from this vaccine is protection against serious illness, which is the goal we've seat for every vaccine, by which i mean, protection against having to go to the doctor's office or the hospital or the intensive care unit, these vaccines do that at two doses. i mean, the cdc has published and presented data consistently show that both the mrna vaccines, for example, consistently protect against serious illness throw all the variants. and the south african data would also suggest that would be true for the omicron variant. so what do you get from that third dose? what you get from the third dose

is better protection against mild disease in the short-term for about three months. that's what you get. i think the notion of getting a booster dose, frankly, doesn't make a lot of sense with the exception of people who are over 65 or who live or work in long-term care facilities. even the most recent data from israel show that if you look at people who have gotten three doses versus two doses, in terms of protection against serious illness, there's really no difference. i think once we go down this road of boosting, it's not why you give a dose every year for the flu vaccine. you give a flu vaccine every year, because even if you've been naturally infected or immunized the year before, you can still get a serious infection with flu because the strains change that much. this is a different story. prevention against serious disease likely holds up. and the boosting thing becomes somewhat of a detour. >> if we stick with what you're saying, dr. offit, when why are all americans being advised to get booster shots to protect against the omicron variant?

>> this is good question. this question went to the fda's advisory committee when president biden first brought it up and we rejected that, as did the cdc's vaccines advisory committee. i think the thinking here is that we're entering winter, this is a virus -- the omicron virus, which really, at some level, is off-target for protection against mild illness. so if you get a booster now, third dose now, you will have an increase in neutralizing antibodies, and at least for a few months, you will be better protected against mild disease, but i think we sent the wrong message when we caused people to think that they need that third dose to be protected against serious illness, when frankly, the data suggests that so far, two doses does protect against serious illness. it is confusing. you have on the one hand saying that everyone over 18 years of age should get a booster dose, but on the other hand, you can consider yourself fully vaccinated with two doses. so i think it has been confusing. >> yes, it has! shaq brewster, sam brock, dr.

offit and dr. ramirez, thank you guys, appreciate it. we are staying on this story, everybody, as cases spread across this country. a new warning about hospitalizations and kids. the doctor who sounded that alarm is joining me. but first, a shooting spree in denver, leaving at least four people dead and three others injured across seven scenes. the latest details on that, coming up next. scenes. the late dstetails on that, coming up next

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welcome back, everybody. we are continuing to follow breaking news from colorado, where authorities say four people were killed and three others, including a police officer were wounded when a gunman went on a shooting spree in the denver area. police saying the gunman is now dead, but it is unclear if he was shot by police or killed himself. joining us now from denver is victoria de leon, a reporter with nbc station kusa 9 news in denver. victoria, thanks for joining us on this. what more have you learned about what happened there? and do we know what the motive here was? why the gunman went on this rampage? >> reporter: yeah,are working t determine a motive in what is likely going to be a long, probably complex investigation, because this shooting and crime spree happened across two different counties. the gunman started in denver where there were four separate scenes and then ended up here in

lakewood, which is about maybe 5, 10, 15 minutes outside of denver. it's just three people killed in denver. he went into a business down the street from the belmar shopping center where we're at right now, threatened people with a gun. he then went into a nearby hotel and shot a clerk. that clerk was taken to the hospital, to be treated for injuries, but we do not know the extent of those injuries so far. so just devastating events happening here. denver police chief, paul pazen, along with other law enforcement officials are just asking everyone to keep all of those impacted in their thoughts. here's what chief pazen had to say last night. >> this is the holiday season, to have this type of spree take place is not normal for our community. we cannot lose sight of the victims in this, the people that are still fighting for their lives, including a lakewood

agent. >> and we did have crews on scene last night, who were able to talk to some witnesses. one woman told us that she was in an xfinity store here at the shopping center where it all eventually ended where she heard maybe a dozen shots come through the window. she said many of those employees were very quick to react and try to get all of those people to safety in their back room. >> victoria deleone, thank you, good to talk to you. let's get back to our big story today, which is covid. we are tracking a startling rise amongst hospitalizations in children. in new york state, the number of kids hospitalized for a covid infection rose almost four-fold in less than three weeks. a new york state health officials, they sent an urgent warning to pediatricians, pressing them to make sure kids are vaccinated. the state is also seeing a spike in cases and hospitalizations amongst adults, which could lead

to more infections amongst unvaccinated kids. joining us now is the person who issued that warning, acting new york state health commissioner, dr. mary bassett. dr. bassett, thank you so much for joining us this morning. what was the impetus, what was the motive here to issue that warning? what were you seeing? >> we have a very strong surveillance system here in new york state, and when we noted this, we decided that it was important to send out an alert to pediatricians. these are the people who people trust to advise them on vaccination, and we wanted them to know that although these numbers are relatively small, we don't want people to be frightened by them. they are showing a striking uptick, and it's been seen also in at least illinois, where i saw today that their health commissioner reported it. so the message here is get vaccinated.

get your kids vaccinated. particularly among the younger children, 5 to 11-year-olds, vaccination rates in new york state remain lower than we want them to be. school holidays, take the time to take your kids to get vaccinated. >> so you're talking about the numbers being relatively small, but we are seeing a major uptick when it comes to kids being hospitalized, a 400% uptick from what we're learning from our own reporters. i spoke to a pediatrician in new orleans who said he's got 11 children inside of their hospital right now, and the numbers seem to just be going up. how sick are kids getting? is it similar to delta? the symptoms that we are seeing? how are we being treated here in new york? >> well, we know that a child who is admitted to the hospital is a sick child. so we're using hospitalization as an indication of severity. and you're right.

we have seen particularly concentrated in new york city, which is where the omicron surge in the state is currently concentrated. we're seeing four, five-fold increase in pediatric hospitalizations due to covid. so when i say the numbers, i mean, the absolute numbers. we have over a hundred children hospitalized on december 26th. and they remain a real minority among hospitalizations. this remains a more serious illness for older adults, but we have a tool to protect children. and that's vaccination. our vaccination rate remains too low in this age group. and the message to families and pediatricians is to get their children vaccinated, right? you have the numbers up there now. and that number fully vaccinated between 5 and 11 is 16.4%.

it's just -- we need it to go higher to ensure that children are protected. >> dr. bassett, let's talk about our return to schools happening in new york city next week. i'm a parent of a new york public school kid, worried about whether or not my kid is going to go to school. we're simultaneously taking a listen to a press conference by current mayor de blasio, i believe, incoming mayor eric adams speaking now. also, governor kathy hochul. let's also take a listen here to eric adams speaking now. >> mayor, again, i cannot thank you enough for the leadership that you have shown. thank you very much. >> thank you, my dear friend, and mayor-elect, i've got to tell you, your message is so clear, so sharp to all new yorkers, and i thank you for that. people are hearing the kind of leadership you're going to provide in the months and years ahead and we need it. i want to also say to you, every single conversation we've had, you always invoke what the data and the science tell us, what the health care leadership tells us, those are your north stars

and i want to thank you for that, because we're in a country right now where -- >> all right. dr. bassett, as we're taking a listen to outgoing mayor de blasio and incoming mayor eric adams, a lot of parents are worried about what's going to happen with the return to schools next week. i know mayor de blasio that he wants to see schools back in session. it seems as if the incoming mayor is on the same page. is that the right move going forward to keep schools open with these increased numbers we're seeing? >> we need to keep schools open. there are really high prices that we pay as a society when children are not in school. not only educational attainment, socialization. also, all of the mental health issues that we've seen emerging during covid are related to the isolation of school-going children, who haven't been able to go to school. so, the goal to keep children safe and keep them in school is

widely shared. certainly, the governor has made that very clear and we have the tools to do that. the first one, let me just come back to is getting as many children vaccinated as possible. and the second, which you'll be hearing more about, i'm sure, as the press conference goes on, is the use of testing to keep children from having to be sent home for long periods of time, if they've had an exposure to covid. so i'm going to just sound like a broken record here. we've had over 1.5 million children in new york state have received this vaccine already. it's a safe vaccine. i know parents are concerned. if you're concerned, get your child vaccinated. the school holidays are a great time to make those arrangements and you really shouldn't have any difficulty with access to vaccination. >> dr. mary bassett, acting new

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all right. so this morning, an investigation is underway into the death of a 14-year-old girl, killed during a police-involved shooting. the lapd released new body camera footage of the incident, saying that they were pursuing a suspect after 911 calls reported that there was someone armed and attacking people in a burlington store where they opened fire. valentina orellana-peralta was in a nearby dressing room, apparently killed by a stray police bullet. according to the "l.a. times," valentina and her mother had recently come to the u.s. from chile. nbc's priscilla thompson has more on this incredibly tragic story. >> yasmin, this incident occurred just days before christmas, and now, the lapd is releasing the 911 calls, the body cam footage, and the surveillance video from inside

the store, showing the moments that unfolded before this tragedy. take a listen. the death of a 14-year-old girl shot and killed by the los angeles police has been ruled a homicide. >> he's heading behind to the right, by the fitting rooms! >> reporter: newly released video shows the moments before police say they accidentally shot the teen. >> put it down! >> reporter: the lapd edited and released the body camera footage, surveillance video, and 911 calls just days after the deadly shooting at a burlington store in north hollywood. police say that they were responding to an assault with a deadly weapon and possible shooting. the victim identified as valentina orellana peralta was reportedly trying on dresses for a quinceanera. at the same time, police say that they were shooting at the suspect in the earlier assault, as he stood in front of a wall. investigators say the 14-year-old and her mother were behind that wall, unbeknownst to

officers. >> we were able to locate a 14-year-old female who was found deceased in that dressing room. >> reporter: the teen was killed by a gunshot to the chest, according to the medical examiner. >> preliminarily, we believe that round was an officer's round. >> reporter: the suspect in the alleged assault that prompted the shooting, 24-year-old daniel lopez, was also killed. lapd chief michael moore saying in a statement that he is profoundly sorry, and quote, this chaotic incident resulting in the death of an innocent child is tragic and devastating for everyone involved. the apology comes as the department faces scrutiny for firing multiple rounds in a crowded store. law enforcement experts say that it's too early to know exactly what went wrong. >> what is the protocol when police are pursuing a suspect who may be armed in a crowded place like a store? >> you being law enforcement official have a responsibility to be sure that you keep everyone safe. you want to be able to place

your shot in the right place. but unfortunately, that may not always happen. and that's what makes this very sad and tragic. >> reporter: the deadly incident is currently under investigation by both the los angeles police and the california department of justice. >> in a determination of a homicide by the medical examiner does not mean that anyone is going to jail. this is still under investigation, but we do know that the family is going to be speaking alongside their attorney later today. this is the first time that we'll hear from them in the wake of this incident. yasmin? >> oh, priscilla, what a sad story. that poor girl. just wanting to celebrate her quinceanera, wanting to get a beautiful dress, i'm sure, and that poor family of hers, left to grieve and mourn her loss. priscilla thompson, thank you for bringing that to us. we appreciate it. all right, everybody. coming up next, justin, the judge in the ghislaine maxwell

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just soothing comfort. try new vicks vapostick. all right. welcome back, everybody. in a courthouse here in new york city, the judge in the trial of former jeffrey epstein associate ghislaine maxwell says the jury can deliberate until as late as 6:00 p.m. and might even skip their upcoming scheduled day off. if convicted, maxwell faces more than 60 years behind bars for allegedly grooming and recruiting young girls for abuse. maxwell has pled not guilty to all charges. nbc's ron allen is covering the trial here in new york city for us. ron, talk us through this. what does this mean, these words from the judge? >> the judge is concerned about covid, frankly. and the longer this goes on with the numbers rising in new york city, the bigger threat that is to the trial, just like it's a threat to everything else here in new york city and in many cities across the country.

so, the jury has not sequestered. the jury had a break over the christmas holidays where they were away. and all of those things could potentially expose them to covid, just like everyone else here. and so the judge is making this scheduling change, saying they could deliberate until 6:00 tonight and going forward, to give them that extra time here. and she alluded to the fact that there might be other changes to the schedule, to try and essentially, theoretically, she could perhaps sequester the jury or ask them to stay even later, depending upon how all of this goes. but, again, at this point, we're over 25 hours. this is the fourth day. and we don't know. the jury has asked a lot of questions. they've asked for a lot of testimony. a lot of exhibits. so, perhaps they're trying to figure a lot of this out, because there was a break in the deliberations over the holiday. the bottom line is, we just don't know. we're standing by, and we may have a verdict any moment or not today, who knows?

yasmin? >> all right. we'll continue to monitor this, as always. ron allen, thank you for now. all right. i want to get to the powerful palast of winter affecting the west coast and the midwest, as well. a huge winter storm has made travel treacherous in much of california and the pacific northwest, as roads are covered, by the way, in snow and ice, looking at some of these images there. miles of interstate highways have been shut down. the storm has dumped several feet of snow in california's sierra nevada mountains, with california setting a new record for the snowiest december yet. by the way, not over yet. nbc's steve patterson joins us now from big bear lake, california. how much more, steve, are they expected to get? how bad is it? >> you said it, yasmin, it's not over yet. thankfully, we'll get more snow in places where california needs it, the mountains. the sierra nevadas have already been getting dumped with snow this season, part of the reason why, as you mentioned, that

record has been shattered for december. more than 193 inches in december alone. that's 16 feet we're expected to break 200 by tomorrow, when we're expected to get another 1 to 2 feet of snow in the mountain region. this makes travel, obviously, if you're up in those areas, very, very difficult. it makes travel difficult, especially if you're in lake tahoe, one of the regions that got really walloped. feet of snow there. they're still digging out. some of the interstates that you mentioned were shut down were in and out, completely shutting down access to that area. of course, complete with spinouts and accidents and roadside rescues and downed trees and power lines. that region digging out. meanwhile, seattle getting hit with unexpected snow and ice and really frigid temperatures. state of emergency there. oregon also getting hit, but really, the stuff we're watching

is now out in montana, where we're seeing windchils 50 below zero. stay bundled up or stay inside. >> stay inside and stay safe. steve patterson, thank you for that. coming up, everybody, as covid cases surge, it is putting a strain on a lot of hospitals and health care workers. up next, we'll talk to an emergency doctor from a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. we'll brynn. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪

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. welcome back, everyone. this morning, doctors across the country are sounding the alarm worried about a surge in case that could crush the health care system. arkansas, a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country had more than 10,000 active cases over the weekend, for the first time since september. joining me now, dr. gerline jones. as always, appreciate for joining us. what are you seeing in your hospitals and emergencies right now? >> thanks for having me, yasmin. so we are certainly seeing an increase in the number of covid-19 cases. beyond what we had seen earlier this year. for a while, we had taken a

little bit of a lull, and i think that individuals, perhaps got a little lax, perhaps got a little complacent, but with the omicron variant, we were certainly seeing an uptick of cases, which we know hospitalizations become a lagging indicator as the cases go up. so we're definitely watching things very closely. and are concerned. >> we're talking about vaccination rates here in your state, the lowest in the country, 52% of citizens in arkansas fully vaccinated. are you seeing folks showing up in the emergency room, now sick with covid, greating their decision not to get vaccinated? >> so, the lack of vaccination certainly represents the vast majority of our hospitalized patients. unfortunately, i wish that more individuals were greating their decision. things have become so incredibly politicized that we are having

difficulty breaking through some of that, you know, in the emergency department, when i'm talking to patients one on one, when there's time, i can sit and actually ask questions and address things one on one. and i find that that is definitely more receptive. individuals are more questions s one on one. i find that individuals are more receptive to changing their minds in that respect. but globally the vaccinations, along with masking and those things have become so politicized that it becomes difficult to break through. people view getting vaccinated as being on one side or the other when it's really a public health issue. >> even folks in the e.r. that are being told they may have to be put on a ventilator, they're still saying they don't want to get vaccinated? >> unfortunately that is the case sometimes.

again, there are some people who decide, yes, this was the wrong decision, but there are far too many that are still reticent to get vaccinated. >> thank you for all the work that you're doing. we appreciate it. coming up, everybody, you remember this video, the guy behind the viral tom cruise deep fake is speaking out for the first time and talking about the threat the technology could pose. that story is next. pose that story is next

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it is an alarming technology trend that could pose a serious threat. we are talking about deep fakes, those digitally manipulated videos. this morning the guy behind this tom cruise deep fake is talking for the very first time. jacob soboroff joining me with that exclusive interview. this is fascinating. i got to say i fell for it. i actually thought it was tom cruise in our newsroom in los angeles. it's also really scary. >> it is. you saw it. everybody else at home has probably seen those tiktok videos. he's playing the guitar, trying on clothes, eating dinner. this morning the guy behind the account that has fooled hundreds of millions of people is opening

up about the sensation he created. his name is miles fisher. it's a technology that some worry in the wrong hands could have disastrous consequences. >> what's up, tiktok. >> all year long deep tom cruise has been posting videos showing what appears to be a different side of the oscar nominated actor. >> i think there's bubble gum inside of this. >> believe it or not, that's most definitely not tom cruise. nor is this with me in our l.a. bureau. >> this is serious breaking news but a little behind the scenes. i'm with one of the most legitimate correspondents on earth. hold on a second, there's a big fire. we're safe! >> you are deep fake tom cruise. >> that's me. >> miles fisher may have an uncanny resemblance to the

superstar, but using advance technology, what he's created is far more than an impersonation. >> are you the best deep fake that has ever been made? >> i think we have created the first deep fake that is so realistic that a large majority of people have seen. >> not only seen, but fooled by including one of the world's biggest celebrities. >> this is the one that justin bieber thought was real? ♪♪ >> fisher says looking and sounding like the leading man made it difficult to chart his own path as an actor, so a year ago he decided to lean into it. >> as i find myself the unofficial face of this deep fake movement, it's important to learn. i'm fascinated by this. >> it started when they began

creating viral videos for fun and they're only getting better. >> about five days, maximum six days, i could turn around something like this. >> so you've gone from weeks todays in a matter of a year, this technology is advancing that rapidly? >> yeah. >> the real tom cruise hasn't asked the duo to stop and they haven't monetized the tiktok account. cruise didn't respond to a request for comment. >> how can we use this technology by creating kind of identity rights? let's say tom cruise gave us the consent for this likeness where we could move beyond just small parody clips, everybody gets paid for that intellectual property. >> that does raise ethical questions about where you fit in all of this. >> the thesis begins with ethics. >> they say they'll only take on

projects they consider ethical, but some worry leaving companies and individuals to make that decision could be a dangerous precedent. the fbi tells nbc news they're following the rapidly developing technology closely, saying, we'll continue to investigate any violations of federal law and actors that may use them for nefarious acts. is it a threat to our democracy? >> i think the technology is morally neutral. as it develops, the positive output will so far outweigh the negative, nefarious uses. >> there is more to come. fisher's partner says it is fisher's talent combined with the a.i. that makes all of this possible. they're both well aware they're in unchartered territory. at least one government has

reached out to learn more about this technology. raises so many questions. >> hence the reason it is so incredible and simultaneously so scary if it gets in the wrong hands. joe fryer picks up coverage right now. good tuesday morning. i'm joe fryer in for craig melvin. we have major updates in our fight against the raging omicron variant. lowering the required isolation time for people without symptoms from ten days to five, followed by another five days of mask wearing. the easing of these rules comes as the u.s. sees more than 1.6 million infections in the last week alone,