revealed. the biden administration taking action against china tonight. a diplomatic boycott of the beijing olympics over china's crackdown on democracy and human rights abuses. china's response just in tonight and what does this mean for team usa? also tonight, the showdown now brewing over ukraine. on the eve of a high stakes call between president biden and vladimir putin, the white house now issuing a strong warning to russia. tonight, ian pannell on the ukraine border. 66 years later, the fbi closing the case again in the murder of 14-year-old emmett till. what they have told family members tonight. that family now responding. the tragedy on the track. kentucky derby winner medina spirit collapsing and dying. the system moving into the northeast. snow, wind, and plunging temperatures sweeping across the country. dangerous driving and the tornadoes. meanwhile, hawaii tonight bracing for potential catastrophic flooding. and ginger zee is tracking it all. the alarming news tonight on blood pressure during this pandemic. also, the new statement from chris cuomo tonight. and we celebrate the life of bob dole and his humor, too. what he told david letterman after losing the election to bill clinton. good evening and it's great to start another week with all of you at home. and we begin tonight with the alarming new numbers on covid in this country and this trend, even before omicron. also tonight, this major new mandate here in new york city. and all of this with cases of the new variant now seen in 18 states and counting tonight. now because of this surge we're seeing already in covid, most of it delta right now, tonight, new york city expanding vaccine mandates, now requiring all private employers to make sure their workers are vaccinated. and extending this vaccine mandate in many indoor venues to children 5 to 11 years old. new york's mayor tonight calling it a preemptive strike as cases now strike across the country, up 27% in a week. and tonight, the u.s. army now sending medical teams to lodo, mexico, just to help treat covid patients. the nation now averaging 100,000 new cases a day. 24 states and washington, d.c. seeing cases rise of more than 10% in the last week. new york's business mandate could effect more than 184,000 employers. and for the first time, that mandate effecting children 5 to 11, requiring at least one dose of vaccine for many of those indoor activities. there are also new details tonight about that cruise ship out of new orleans. at least 17 fully vaccinated people testing positive, including a south african crew member. that's the omicron variant. and now everyone traveling to the u.s. from abroad, including u.s. citizens, must test negative within 24 hours of taking off for the u.s. so far, the delta variant is still driving what we're seeing in this country, but what dr. anthony fauci is saying now about what we're seeing so far from symptoms with omicron. abc's stephanie ramos tonight leading us off here in new york. >> reporter: facing a covid surge driving cases up 27% across the country in the last week, along with the looming omicron variant, new york city today expanding vaccine mandates in the nation's most sweeping plan yet. the mayor calling it a preemptive strike. >> vaccination is the central weapon in this war against covid. it's the one thing that's worked every single time across the board. >> reporter: starting later this month, all private sector employees will have to have one dose of the vaccine. children as young as 5 to 11 will now also need proof of one vaccine dose to enter restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues. and anyone 12 and older will require two vaccine doses for all indoor activities. >> new york now is really rushing this mandate, like everybody now. and i just don't think that's right. >> reporter: and today, a new rule going into effect for all international travelers coming into the country -- proof of a negative covid test within 24 hours of takeoff. >> there's not enough hours in the day to get a test done and be able to fly here. 18 1/2 hours of flight time. if there's a delay or you miss a plane, then what are you going to do? >> reporter: but for elisa long and her family, it's peace of mind. >> it's like going into any business. no shirt, no shoes, no vaccine. you don't get to come in or you don't get to travel. >> reporter: the omicron variant has now been detected in 18 states, and so far, officials have reported mild or moderate symptoms in those cases. >> we really got to be careful before we make any determinations that it is less severe or it really doesn't cause any severe illness comparable to delta. but thus far, the signals are a bit encouraging regarding the severity. >> reporter: the symptoms were mild for 30-year-old peter mcginn from minnesota, who tested positive for omicron after returning from an anime convention in new york last month. he was fully vaccinated with a booster and was surprised. >> i was just a little taken aback to the fact that i, a, had vid,nd, was t >> rorter: mcgn suec was infected not at the convention, but when he and a group of about 30 people, who were also vaccinated, socialized without masks. now half of that group has tested positive for covid. >> i felt perfectly safe with the people that i was with. and so it never really crossed my mind to think that i had covid. so it was more like those events outside of the con where i believe that the transmission took place. >> reporter: and new details tonight on that cruise ship that docked in new orleans. health officials suspect another case of omicron in a south african crew member. before disembarking, another 16 of the 3,200 fully vaccinated guests and crew onboard also testing positive for covid. >> last night about 7:00, they said everybody's got to be tested all of a sudden. we all have to be tested. and they were making us all go. we were in the middle of our dinner, shows, everything. >> all of a sudden, a lot of moving parts in this pandemic again. stephanie ramos with us tonight. and steph, the u.s. sending more military teams to help the hardest hit states? >> reporter: right, david. medical teams from the army, air force and navy will be heading to colorado, new mexico and michigan. they'll include nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapists and be in position to support those on the front lines by the end of the week. david? >> stephanie ramos leading us off on a monday night. stephanie, thank you. we're going to turn next here tonight to the investigation into the deadly school shooting in michigan. the alleged gunman and his parents now all behind bars in the same jail, but all being held separately. those parents now facing charges. and tonight, the school is now under the microscope, too, after that meeting earlier in the day, and the warning signs. abc's trevor ault from michigan tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the crumbley family behind bars in the same michigan jail, all three held separately in isolation on precautionary suicide watch. james and jennifer crumbley, arrested over the weekend inside this empty detroit commercial building after an hours-long manhunt. >> four children were murdered. >> reporter: the couple facing four counts each of involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors saying they bought the gun used in the shooting for their son on black friday. the 15-year-old now charged with killing four classmates and injuring seven others. all three pleading not guilty. >> not guilty. >> reporter: and tonight, questions about the school's actions leading up to the shooting. prosecutors claim that morning, a teacher reported the suspect drew a disturbing picture with a person appearing shot and phrases like "blood everywhere." the superintendent says the teen claimed the drawing was for a video game he was designing and appeared calm. his parents refused to take him home and given he had no prior disciplinary infractions, he was returned to class. the superintendent now calling for a third party investigation and the michigan attorney general offering to conduct it, as the prosecutor is not ruling out further charges. >> we all should be looking at the events that led up to that horrific event and in this case, a lot could have been done different. >> reporter: and tonight, we're hearing from dylan morris, a student who barricaded in a classroom during the rampage and his anger is directed at the shooter. >> i want justice to be served. i believe it's every student in oxford, every parent in oxford, teacher, wants justice to be served. >> reporter: and david, the prosecutor previously alleged the weapon used in this shooting was kept unlocked in the crumbley's bedroom, which their attorneys dispute. the prosecutors actually back pedaled on that today, saying she's not positive it was left ulocked, but she said it doesn't matter. the crumbleys clearly bought this gun for their son and he obviously accessed it to carry out the shooting. david? >> trevor, thank you. now to the white house. the biden administration is taking action against china. a diplomatic boycott now of the beijing olympics over china's crackdown on democracy and human rights abuses. china already responding tonight. and what will this mean for team usa? here's our chief white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: calling out china for human rights abuses, the white house today declared neither president biden or any other american official will travel to the beijing winter games. a diplomatic boycott. >> we will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games. >> reporter: american athletes can still compete in february. but the snub sends a strong political message and is a direct response to beijing's crackdown on pro-democracy and free speech activists in hong kong, and abuses against uighur muslims. it's the first time americans have boycotted an olympics since 1980, when president jimmy carter refused to send a delegation to the moscow games in protest of the soviet invasion of afghanistan. but carter kept american athletes home, too, not just officials. is a diplomatic boycott enough given the human rights abuses? >> we will be rooting for the athletes from home. that does not mean that is the end of the concerns we will raise about human rights abuses in xinjiang. but this is just sending a message that given these human rights abuses, we cannot proceed with business as usual. >> and cecilia, we know china also responding tonight, calling the u.s. move a serious offense to the 1.4 billion chinese people? >> reporter: yeah, david, they are calling this one pure political provocation. and they are now threatening countermeasures, though they are not specifying what those are. as for the white house, they say it was not an option to not send american athletes to these games, gaming they have been training their entire lives for. as for not sending this official delegation, you heard jen psaki say it right there, this is a message of business is not as usual with beijing right now. david? >> cecilia vega at the white house. and cecilia, as you know, this high stakes call between president biden and vladimir putin in the next 24 hours. tonight, the biden administration now warning russia that if it does invade ukraine, the u.s. will help neighboring countries. and tonight, the images. those satellite images showing tens of thousands of russian troops amassing near ukraine's border. abc's senior foreign correspondent ian pannell on that border tonight on the eve of this call with putin. >> reporter: tonight, the white house with a striking warning to russian president vladimir putin. invade ukraine and we will respond. a senior administration official even hinting more u.s. forces could be deployed to eastern europe, saying, "in the event of an invasion, the need to reenforce the confidence and reassurance of our nato allies and our eastern flank allies would be real and the united states would be prepared to provide that kind of reassurance." the white house and nato allies looking at a range of other options. >> we've consulted significantly with our allies and believe we have a path forward that would impose significant and severe harm on the russian economy. >> reporter: the escalating tensions center and this frozen landscape in eastern ukraine. with russian-backed rebels on one side and ukrainian troops on the border. this is the front line. the scars from this conflict are everywhere across eastern ukraine. you can see bombed-out buildings, thousands of residents forced to flee their homes. although there's supposed to be a peace agreement here, artillery shells are being swapped by both sides and every few minutes, we're still hearing the sound of small arms fire. today, as many as 100,000 russian combat troops are thought to be massed on the border near here. the u.s. fearing they could be preparing for full-scale military assault into ukraine. the white house has been saying for days that russia is planning to invade. the kremlin denies that, but the troop buildup is very, very real. so, we're being told that when the president speaks to vladimir putin tomorrow, his message is going to be tough, not finger wagging, but it's going to be crystal clear. don't go there. david? >> all right, ian pannell and our team reporting from inside ukraine tonight. ian, thank you. back here at home and next tonight, that system moving into the northeast with temperatures plunging, reaching the northeast by morning and already elsewhere. look at the images. treacherous driving across several states. in fact, ice halting traffic, this is i-90 in montana. severe storms across tennessee, as well, in the past 24 hours. flipping an rv right onto a school bus. that was this morning. the driver inside was okay. reports of tornadoes in all of this, too, and now the system moving east. chief meteorologist ginger zee, of course, with us on a monday night, tracking it all. hey, ginger. >> reporter: hey, david. feeling that front pass right now, it is breezy here, but it will be downright windy for areas that are in wind advisories. washington, d.c., baltimore, could see gusts up to 50 miles per hour. that includes bar harbor and much of western new york. buffalo, you add some snow, that could make really rough driving tonight. behind this front, everybody chills out. and i mean by 30, 35 degrees. we're going to see big-time drops. it will feel like it is 23 degrees tomorrow morning in nashville. 10 for detroit. and then we have to talk about hawaii. right now, oahu has three to four-inch per hour rainfall rates possible with those flash flood warnings. that snake of rain is going to train over them tonight. it could be devastating, david. >> all right, ginger zee, we're watching that, as well. thank you. next tonight here, 66 years later, the fbi closing the case again in the murder of 14-year-old emmett till, taken from his family's home and killed over a claim that he insulted a white woman. what the fbi has told the family tonight and the family now responding. here's linsey davis. >> reporter: tonight, 66 years after the brutal murder of emmett till, the justice department announcing they have closed their investigation. the family and friends of till expressing their disappointment today. >> we're disappointed that no one has paid for the tragic, brutal murder of a 14-year-old boy. for whistling at a white woman. >> reporter: the department had been locking into whether carolyn bryant-donham, who claimed till grabbed and allegedly made lewd comments in a mississippi grocery store, had recanted her previous accounts and if she or others could be prosecuted. the fbi reopened the case in 2017, after historian tim tyson claimed in his book that donham, seen here in a "60 minutes" report from 2004, had taken back some of her allegations. donham told the fbi she never recanted to tyson and today, the doj concluded that they have not uncovered sufficient evidence to support federal prosecution. >> i'm not surprised but my heart is broken. >> reporter: it has been a long road of heartbreak for the family of emmett till, who lost the 14-year-old in 1955, when till was taken from the mississippi home of his great uncle by roy bryant and j.w. milam. the husband and brother-in-law of carolyn bryant. >> the guy said, we're looking for fat boy, the fat boy from chicago. >> reporter: till's cousin, reverend wheeler parker, was there that night. >> and that's the last time we saw him. >> reporter: emmett till's tortured body was pulled from the tallahatchie river three days later. till's grieving mother, mamie till-mobley, then made a decision that changed history, holding an open casket funeral for emmett, her only child, which thousands attended, and fueled the civil rights movement. roy bryant and j.w. milam were tried and found not guilty by an all-white jury. a few months later, protected by double jeopardy, they confessed to the murder in a paid interview. both men have since died. >> and linsey davis with us here tonight. and linsey, the fbi once again closing this case. what did they say to the family? >> reporter: the fbi is offering their condolences, but at this point, there's not much more they can do. the family says they are disappointed, but not surprised by the conclusion, but adding that emmett till did not die in vain. as for carolyn, we did reach out to her tonight. family members simply saying she's glad it's over. >> linsey davis with us tonight. linsey, thank you. when we come back here, kentucky derby winner medina spirit collapsing and dying on the track. and the new statement tonight from chris cuomo. (naj) at fisher investments, our clients know we have their backs. (other money manager) how do your clients know that? (naj) because as a fiduciary, it's our responsibility to always put clients first. (other money manager) so you do it because you have to? (naj) no, we do it because it's the right thing to do. we help clients enjoy a comfortable retirement. (other money manager) sounds like a big responsibility. 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[ coughing and sneezing ] cold season is back. bounce back fast with alka seltzer plus. with 25% more concentrated power. alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh, what a relief it is ♪ so fast! also try for cough, mucus & congestion. tonight, we have learned that kentucky derby winner medina spirit collapsed and died on the track, apparently suffering a heart attack while working out at california's santa anita park racetrack. medina spirit's derby win was questioned after the horse failed a drug test. and former cnn anchor chris cuomo leaving his siriusxm radio show now, after cnn fired him over the weekend. after a former coworker came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct. cuomo was already suspended indefinitely for helping his brother, former governor andrew cuomo, during the sexual harassment scandal, forcing the governor from office. chris cuomo releasing a statement tonight, saying, "while i have a thick skin, i also have a family, for whom the past week has been extraordin extraordinarily difficult. so, right now, i have to take a step back and focus on what comes next." when we come back on the broadcast, alarming news about blood pressure during this pandemic. it is. so is screening for colon cancer. when caught in early stages, it's more treatable. hey, cologuard! hi, i'm noninvasive and i detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers even in early stages. early stages. it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. 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is that a possibility? is that a likelihood? is that anything you're interested in? >> well, if he wanted to give me his job, i'd think about it. >> and later, when presented with the presidential medal of freedom by president clinton, his hu >> i robert j. dole -- -- do solemnly swear. oh. sorry. wrong speech. >> and we all remember that moment, former senator bob dole saluting president george h.w. bush's casket in the capitol rotunda. and tonight, the elizabeth dole foundation writing, "we're grateful to have witnessed their love. a love that spanned decades, different seasons of life, and only grew stronger over time." >> bob dole. an extraordinary life. good night it the bay area bras for an omicron surge, butea bras there's preliminary data from south africa. sports call promising i'm laura anthony and contra costa county where there is confusion and mixed messages about whether the county is enforcing their own requirements around vaccine mandates in restaurants. building a better bay area moving forward finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. good evening, and thank you for joining us. i'm amidate and i'm dan ashley. you're watching abc 7 news at 6 live here on abc 7 hulu live and wherever you stream we'll begin with covid-19 developments. the us is now averaging more than 100,000 new cases per day. that's the highest. it's been in two months california's test positivity rate is going back down. it was 3% a week ago. it is now 2.2 percent new york city announced a covid vaccine mand. for all sector employees. it goes into effect december 27th. bay area health experts warn we are on the cusp of yet another covid surge across the country, but new data shows the highly transmissible omicron variant may mean our next wave will be much milder abc 7 news reporter stephanie. sierra is here with the details steph yes alma in contrast with other waves of covid our first early look at the patient's hospitalized with omicron in south africa show promising signs cases are milder patients aren't in the icu and most aren't requiring oxygen but experts warn that may not necessarily. the case here in the us. there's a lot of fear surrounding the newest highly transmissible omicron variant health experts expect the bay area will start seeing the beginning stages of a search within two weeks in the bay area. i would expect that people. will get omicron and if they do get it, it'll be very mild or many people wouldn't even know they have it ucsf's dr. peter chin. hung says preliminary data out. south africa shows the majority of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated and younger with 80% under the age of 50 cases are reported to be mild.