tensions sky high in the middle east after the u.s. shoots down attack drones in the region, plus israel expands its grown invasion in gaza issuing a new round of evacuation orders just days after the country's truce with hamas collapsed.

can the house make a case against president biden? we're live with the renewed push for an impeachment inquiry drawing strong condemnation from the white house. a new high tech tracking system helps catch a suspected serial killer in los angeles, but pleads privacy advocates asking if law enforcement has gone too far. the opioid epidemic arrives at the steps of supreme court, how justices are taking on big pharma in a case with billions of dollars at stake. a seminole moment for the seminoles, the controversy rocking the college football playoffs as the nfl playoff picture gets a bit clearer after a wild week 13. it's monday, december 4th. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. the israel-hamas war is continuing to have ripple effects beyond the borders of the gaza strip. american defense officials confirmed to nbc news that the u.s.s. carny warship shot down

three drones headed toward it in the red sea off yemen. yesterday there were four missile and drone attacks on civilian ships along the shipping route. no casualties were reported. the iran-backed islamist houthi group in yemen has claimed responsibility saying it is a show of support for palestinians in gaza. meanwhile, in gaza, local health officials say at least 700 people have been killed after israel resumed its bombardment of the strip friday morning. our raf sanchez reports from israel. >> reporter: israel says its forces are operating in every part of gaza as it launched a new ground offensive into the south of the trip. its top general vowing the assault will be just as fierce as the one that devastated the north. displaced palestinian families, many who came south in search of safety, now fleeing once again. and every hour israeli air strikes raining down and the death toll rising.

the health ministry says around 16,000 people have been killed since october 7th. this man just learned his father is among the dead. also killed, a prominent scientist and college president. this as the he will nasr hospital struggling to treat more than 1,000 patients, three times its operating capacity. the head of the w.h.o. saying i cannot find words strong enough to express our concern over what we're witnessing. ceasefire now. the white house supported israel's operations against hamas, but urging it to do more to protect civilians and saying talks on a fresh ceasefire have ground to a halt. >> what is the potential timeline to get them back on track? >> i wish i knew the answer to that one. what i can tell you is that we are still working it really hard, hour by hour, to see if we can't get the sides back to the table. >> reporter: and in israel growing outrage over the death

of uval castleman, he opened fire as they attacked a bus in jerusalem, his hands in the air to be gunned down by israel troops. benjamin netanyahu is calling for a full investigation. >> our thanks to raf for that report. now let's get an update from capitol hill where the house could vote as soon as this week on formally authorizing an impeachment inquiry into president biden as republicans probe the business dealings of his family members. nbc's brie jackson joins us from d.c. hi, brie. house republicans launched this inquiry in september. how could this vote change the investigation? >> reporter: good morning, frances. republicans initially said they did not need this formal authorization, but now their investigation has stalled without it. the house oversight committee recently subpoenaed several biden family members, including the president's son, hunter biden, but white house lawyers

have pushed back against the request saying the investigation is not legitimate, that the constitution requires a full house vote for an impeachment inquiry and the request for documents and interviews with private citizens is unjustified. the new house speaker mike johnson says that he believes he has the votes necessary to get the authorization, but with george santos expelled from congress, republicans now only hold the majority by three votes, so they would need nearly every republican to vote yes. the white house says republicans have been investigating biden since taking the majority in january and they have failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing. in a statement to nbc news overnight, the white house counsel's office called this effort a baseless attempt to smear the president with lies, and said the house republicans are focused on the wrong priorities. 2024 presidential hopeful ron desantis also weighed in with some words of caution. he warned his fellow republicans to make sure that they are not

ignoring other issues and responsibilities. the house leadership has not given any specifics about timing of a possible vote, but some members are pushing for it to happen soon. frances? >> brie jackson for us. brie, thank you. we're learning more about how police tracked down a possible serial killer in los angeles who authorities believe is responsible for four murders last week. as dana griffin explains, police used controversial tracking technology to find the suspect. >> reporter: this is an automated license plate reader, similar to the one responsibility for capturing a suspected serial killer. >>i'm grateful that this suspect in this case is in custody. >> reporter: police say 33-year-old gerald powell murdered four men in four days, a los angeles county worker and three homeless men. >> we know there's controversy out there about the usage of this system. if we did not enter that plate into the system, this individual that we believe is responsible

for at least four murders may have been out there and reoffended. >> reporter: here is how the technology works, investigators enter a license plate number into the system. if that vehicle pass has license plate reader like this, it pings, alerting police. that's what happened thursday when powell's car entered beverly hills. >> this isn't broad surveillance. you don't have everyone's license plate number in the system, do you? >> no, it doesn't work like that. that alerts on something that an officer put into the database which tells them this vehicle is wanted. >> reporter: by 2019 a state audit found 230 california law enforcement agencies were using an alpr system. san jose just installed more readers, but this year the city council in coachella rejected a plan to add cameras to their city. civil liberties groups have long raised privacy concerns and feared the technology could be abused. >> given the hazard of political spying with these kinds of

high-tech surveillance technologies, it is very important that there be strict safeguards, including rapid deletion of the information that has been collected and limits on when it can be shared. >> reporter: beverly hills police say they delete footage after 13 months and the technology helps them track only specific suspects. >> what it does is allow us to stop the right person in the right vehicle and, again, i call that precision policing. >> reporter: dana griffin, nbc news, los angeles. the supreme court today will hear arguments on the $6 billion bankruptcy settlement involving purdue pharma and will that deal was legal. the manufacturer of the highly addictive painkiller oxycontin agreed in 2021 to pay the giant settlement but crucially without admitting any liability in the opioid epidemic. if the justices strike down the deal the sackler family could find themselves back in court facing a torrent of lawsuits for their role in the opioid epidemic. 32 female student athletes have filed a discrimination

lawsuit against the university of oregon. they are accusing the school of failing to follow title ix. they say the treatment of varsity male athletes is, quote, shockingly better. oregon says it's committed to providing a quality positive experience for all student athletes. now to an omission causing an uproar in college football. undefeated florida state who took down louisville finished at number five in a final college football rankings of the season. the final ranking includes fellow undefeated teams michigan and washington at numbers one and two, and one loss teams texas and alabama rounding out the top four. the athletic director called the snub unforgivable. packers fans love to see it.

>> here come the chiefs. pressure is on. love throws, end zone. watson! oh, did he catch that? he did. >> jordan love conquered his greatest challenge yet on sunday night football throwing for three touchdowns against the reigning champion kansas city chiefs. in the final seconds patrick mahomes tried to emulate another packers legend, heaving one last prayer up to the end zone but it came up short. green bay walks away with a statement home victory, 27-19. the west coast is looking like wet coast this morning. some slow-moving storms bring potentially dangerous levels of rainfall to the region. meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking the system for us. >> good morning. we are looking at very heavy rain, some snow, some windy conditions. we have alerts in place all along the northwest into portions of the rockies as well. 9 million people at risk today as we have flood watches in place and these are until thursday. we had a wet week last week, a wet week the week before and we

are looking at a parade of storms this week and very heavy rain. flood watches for seattle, portland, eugene also brookings. localized flooding, stream and river flooding, urban flooding as well. winter alerts stretch across the rockies, also the northwest, winter weather advisories, winter storm warnings for steamboat springs, also aspen and wind alerts in place. high wind warnings, we will see winds gusting up to 65 miles per hour in some sports, especially where you see the purples, rapid city and cheyenne could see gusting winds in addition to precipitation. in terms of the rainfall, we are talking heavy rain the olympics, looking at 8 to 11 inches, nearly a foot of rain and along the coast. this is in addition to what they already got, 2 to 6 inches of rain andh central plains into

the 60s and 70s and 81 in orlando. all right. guys, that's your monday forecast. >> michelle, thank you. "early today" is back in a minute with the big changes on the horizon for the airline industry. and a silver screen renaissance, beyoncé shows who is running the box offe teicafr the debut of her new concert movie. (♪♪) this is not just a sewing kit. - oh are you in a rush? - oh very much so. thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. (♪♪) this is help with the holidays... ...right in your neighborhood. give me the hat! walgreens. let's go! we're going to make it. honey... honey... nyquil severe honey. powerful cold and flu relief with a dreamy honey taste. nyquil honey, the nighttime, sniffing, sneezing, couging, aching,

fever, honey-licious, best sleep with a cold, medicine. i'm adding downy unstopables to my wash. now i'll be smelling fresh all day long. [sniff] still fresh. ♪♪ get 6x longer-lasting freshness, plus odor protection. try for under $5! there's a new gold rush this morning. gold prices shattering a new record today after touching $2100 per ounce for the first time ever. growing uncertainty over war, a weakening dollar and possible interest rate cuts have driven investors to safer assets like gold. crypto is also climbing, bitcoin topped $40,000 today for the first time in over a year and a half, fueled by hopes of a bitcoin etf. there's big changes on the horizon for alaska airlines. the company is buying hawaiian airlines but could face a major regulatory battle. cnbc's sylvia amaro joins us

with the details. good morning. >> good morning, frances. in the alaska airlines is buying hawaiian airlines in a deal worth 1.9 billion us dollars. we knew that hawaiian airlines had struggled really since the pandemic. it posted net losses in all but one quarter since then. in fact, we also heard from the cfo of alaska who said that the combined enterprises could become a market leader when it comes to premium travel for hawaii. what's next? well, regulatory approval. alaska is hoping that regulators will green light this deal, and if that ends up being the case, well, then, this transaction could be completed in 12 to 18 months, guys. >> all right. thank you. still to come, a congressional -- a congressional casting call. >> yeah, and you can't break

beyoncé's soul but she can definitely break the box office. > d c bak>>anweanre down the weekend at the multiplex right after this break. ♪♪ [laughs] oh, come on now. ♪♪ [stomach growling] it's nothing... sounds like something. ♪when you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion♪ ♪upset stomach, diarrhea♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes for fast relief when you need it most. (whisper) air wick. air wick's limited edition fragrances are infused with natural essential oils for authentic seasonal scents that fill your home with warmth and cheer. what is cirkul? cirkul is the fuel you need to take flight. cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. cirkul is

what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. cirkul. it's your water, your way. announcer: try tide power pods with 85% more tide in every pod. who needs that much more tide? everyone's gonna need more tide. it's a mess out there. that's why there's 85% more tide in every power pod. -see? -ah. ♪ christmas jingles ♪ [gasp] [laughter of joy] ♪♪ [mmmmmmm] repeat the sounding joy. ♪♪ [laughter of joy] kinder joy. ♪♪ open a world of surprise. ♪♪ vicks vapostick provides soothing, non-medicated vicks vapors. easy to apply for the whole family. vicks vapostick. and try vicks vaposhower for steamy vicks vapors. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ yeah ♪ ♪♪ ♪ sisters, sisters ♪ ♪ there were never such devoted sisters ♪

♪♪ 7 day old tuna casserole! how'd you know that?! even my nose is strong! you need hefty ultra strong! it has arm & hammer continuous odor control!

hefty! hefty! hefty! oh, and uhhh... toby needs a bath! stay one step ahead of stinky. kong can't stop this on his own. >> he won't be alone. >> the two biggest titans of the screen reunite to take on a threat as big as the earth itself in the first trailer for gond zil la x kong the fifth installment symptoms into theaters on april 12th. here we are this behemoth of a movie. the other one when it first came out, godzilla versus kong right

after the pandemic, people's first time back in theaters. we will see how well it does. >> you said it's an epic, the special effects mind blowing there. turning now to a different kind of world conquering titan currently crushing the box office, renaissance a film by beyoncé opened up at number one with $21 million. the concert doc is the latest in a renaissance tour for the genre following this fall's juggernaut taylor swift the era's tour. the hunger games the ballad of song birds and snakes held strong at number two. godzilla minus one the latest japanese entry in the franchise opened up at three with $11 million. last week's wish and napoleon have fallen off, now it's all about beyoncé. >> i'm surprised about napoleon. that's one that i really wanted to see along with the disney movie, too. understandable it dropped after the thanksgiving holiday. is the story of george santos really too crazy for the movies? on saturday deadline revealed hbo films is develop a project based on the brand-new book

about the brief but memorable congressional career of george santos. santos who was accused of embellishing his resumé now facing several criminal charges was just expelled from congress on friday. you have got the production there of the film will be led by frank rich the former executive producer for veep and suc succession. who is going to play him? everybody is point to go nelson franklin who has been on "the office" who has been on "veep" but looks exactly like him, too. i could see it happening. >> we are just awaiting with bated breath this movie because it is a movie. it seems like it's made up when you hear all of it, it just is too much for hollywood, but all of these things are alleged to have happened. it's incredible, all that can happen in one year. when we come back the biden's honored special guest at e ithothwhe use. >> and later kiss ends their farewell tour with their final con concert. ...bonkers. that's one word for it.

i guess i blacked out. this is the best squeaky toy ever. probably shouldn't. but we did get you a few more gifts. honey. ooh, there's more. chewy's prices were so great. you don't need to explain yourself, linda. keep on saving. pet's aren't just pets. they're more. well, i hope i got a leaf blower this year. you got a turtleneck. unwrap the excitement with deals up to 40% off at chewy. ma, ma, ma— ( clears throat ) for fast sore throat relief, try vicks vapocool drops. with two times more menthol per drop, and powerful vicks vapors to vaporize sore throat pain. vicks vapocool drops. vaporize sore throat pain. ♪ ♪ this year take the time to melt into your holiday moments with lindor. ♪ ♪

irresistibly smooth chocolate. from the lindt master chocolatier. mr. clean magic eraser powers through tough messes. so it makes it look like i spent hours cleaning, and you know i didn't. it makes my running shoe look like new! it's amazing. it's so good. it makes it look like i have magical powers. magic eraser and sheets make cleaning look easy. nature's bounty hair growth. clinically shown to help grow thicker, fuller hair with just one capsule a day of advanced hair complex. conquer hair thinning... ...and fall in love with your hair all over again. only from nature's bounty. how white do you think your teeth really are? let's try the tissue test. ooof, still yellow. whitening toothpaste can only do so much. there's toothpaste white, and there's crest 3d whitestrips white. so much whiter! crest. (bill) when we started blue buffalo, we made a promise to our boy blue - that we would create the best pet food we possibly could,

made with the finest natural ingredients and none of the things you find in many other pet foods. we call it the true blue promise and it's our commitment to feed your pet just like we would feed blue. it's what makes blue buffalo unlike other pet food companies... ...which have many different brands with different standards. we have one standard —the one inspired by our boy blue, for the wellbeing of your dog or cat. because like you, we love them like family, too. when your gut is out of balance, your body gives you signs. so if you're frustrated with occasional bloating... ♪♪ [stomach noises] gas... or abdominal discomfort... help stop the frustration and start taking align every day. align probiotic was specifically designed by gastroenterologists to help relieve your occasional digestive upsets. so you can enjoy life. when you feel the signs, it's time to try align.

we're back with what you need to know "early today." president biden and first lady jill biden welcomed the 2023 kennedy center honorees at the white house. the kennedy center recognized a select group of people for their artistic influences and this year's honorees include dionne warwick, billy crystal, rene fleming, barry gibb and queen la tee if a. it will air on december 27th. macaulay culkin received a star on the hollywood walk of fame. he was honored with a star in the category of motion pictures. katherine o'hara attended that ceremony. legendary rock band kiss took their final bow at madison square garden. the group performed their final concert for the end of the road tour. they celebrated a 50-year career. while this is the final curtain call for the group, kiss has revealed their digital avatars will continue to hit the stage. >> kind of cool. this as well, the james web

telescope captured images of a faint galaxy. the ghost-like galaxy revealed inside into the early universe's composition leading astronomers to believe it is forming hundreds of new stars every year. everything that this telescope turns out is amazing. including this. "early today" will be right back. i'll be right back, i got this. okay. go go go. (♪♪) this is not just a sewing kit. - oh are you in a rush? - oh very much so. thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. (♪♪) this is help with the holidays... ...right in your neighborhood. give me the hat! walgreens. let's go! we're going to make it. i'm adding downy unstopables to my wash. now i'll be smelling fresh all day long. [sniff] still fresh. ♪♪

get 6x longer-lasting freshness, plus odor protection. try for under $5! from a life-changing surprise for one college football player to a hollywood celebration across neighbors, fences, josé diaz-balart brings us some good news. >> for the win. >> reporter: if winning the game wasn't enough for university of washington kicker grady gross.

>> grady gross. >> this is the moment that changed his life. >> and do you know what, grady gross is thankful for, his scholarship he's earned. >> reporter: his coach surprising him with a scholarship. >> all the hard work. >> reporter: his years of dedication as a walk on paying off. in california another athletic achievement with heart, that's cardiologist dr. steven lome running a half marathon, alongside greg gonzales and michael hielman. a year ago all three ran the same race but separately when -- >> cardiac arrest at the finish line. >> reporter: -- dr. lome saw greg and michael both experience cardiac arrest at different points in the course, saving them each with cpr and an aed

shock. the three vowing to run it again once they made full recoveries and crossing the finish line together. >> i started crying about 50 yards from the finish line. >> it was great to have the relief and release of finishing and having done it all together was extra special. >> reporter: and in ohio the magic of the holiday season on full display. >> three, two -- wow. >> reporter: that's 3-year-old brooks and 2-year-old blake dee santo. >> what do you guys think? >> reporter: marveling at a tree decorated just for them. it's not their family tree, it's their neighbor's, the robinson's tree. >> our kids think that is their christmas tree that is up year-round. >> three, two -- >> reporter: for two years now they've decorated the tree for brooks and blake. >> that little effort or that

little gesture was kind of a big deal to brooks and blake, wasn't it? >> the second they lit that tree it was just, you know, just amazing. >> reporter: the tradition lighting up the season for both families. >> we just want to bring joy to the neighborhood. >> it's something really small that we can do that makes a big difference for other people, so we're kind of happy to do it every year. >> our thanks to josé for sharing these stories. what an example to all of us, just the little things that we can do that may not be a big deal to other people but mean so much to somebody else. >>

an american warship threatened in the middle east, shooting down several armed drones and sparking new fears that hamas-israel war could spread as israel expands its ground invasion throughout