deadly tornadoes rip through

the tennessee valley. the destruction left in the wake of dozens of twisters laid out in the morning light, leaving the survivors to sort their lives from the rubble. a courtroom twist in the trials of donald trump. the former president no longer taking the stand today. the move shifting the entire timeline of this civil fraud trial. we'll have the latest. 'tis the season to return your gifts. but sometimes the process feels downright scrooge-like. we'll introduce you to the companiyies looking to make the process easier on customers. a moment of triumph on the court. bronny james making his return to gym in the same gym he suffered a heart attack this summer. taking on the green siren. we'll go inside cosmc's attempt to take a bite out starbucks' coffee kingdom. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning and thanks for joining us.

i'm jessica layton. >> and i'm frances rivera. glad you're with us today. we begin this morning with a devastation in tennessee. at least six people were killed, and many others hurt when tornadoes ripped across the state. we have learned that a 2-year-old boy and his mother are among the victims. dozens of tornadoes were reported across six states on saturday, but tennessee was the hardest hit. our marissa parra is there. >> reporter: shrouded in darkness, tornadoes twisted their way through tennessee neighborhoods. >> oh, my gosh! whoa! >> reporter: sparking violent explosions. >> that's a tornado. because those are power lines. >> reporter: and taking down power lines with them. >> oh my god! >> reporter: phillip dixon taking this video as a twister approached and the night sky lit up. >> i could hear, you know, like wind tunnels, something like the trains. and then the big explosion happened. and i couldn't believe i saw that. >> reporter: the twister spinning up as a line of severe storms swept through the

southeast saturday night. >> and it's really very a dangerous situation. >> reporter: emergency officials say six people were killed, two of them young children. >> i think that might be a touchdown. >> reporter: this twister, a powerful ef-3 storm with winds of 150 miles an hour hit clarksville, tennessee. and at the local post office, workers running for cover as an apparent tornado swept through the parking lot. >> i hope nobody was in those houses. >> reporter: daylight lays bare the destruction by night that left more than 60 people in the hospital. this mayor getting emotional, saying the response he saw was nothing short of heroic. >> i've never been so proud to be mayor as right now. >> reporter: people here bringing with them boxes, bags, stories of survival, like this woman who was lifted into the air. >> i was trying to go in the closet when i got that alert. i just remember opening the closet door and turning around. the wind just took me. and i just remember waking up on

this side of my house. >> reporter: in madison, another hard-hit town north of nashville. nesbit lane is the site of tragedy. a 2-year-old and his mother killed when a neighbor's mobile home was thrown on to theirs, leaving all three, felipe domingo without a wife and son. and as he tells us in spanish with big pain in his heart. just down the street, misty roberts saw firefighters rescue her neighbor buried under her collapsed roof. >> my neighbor, she is in there and she is screaming. she was definitely there under the roof, and shh was screaming "help, help!" >> reporter: as first responders check for anyone still trapped, homeowners check their houses, look ing for anything they can carry. >> we have to rebuild. one step at a time. >> and our thanks to marissa parra for that report. extreme weather is also moving across the east coast this morning. in fact, a confirmed tornado touched down sunday outside of raleigh, north carolina, leaving a trail of uprooted trees and

damaged homes. fortunately, there have been no reported injuries at this time. now that same system caused flood alerts for millions of people from the d.c. area up to maine. as much as 6 inches of rain is expected in cities, bringing the risk of flash flooding and dangerous road conditions. coming up in just a few minutes here on "early today," nbc meteorologist michelle grossman will give us an update on these flood threats. this morning, there is hunger, thirst, and chaos in gaza as israel intensifies their attacks. what's happening now is that sources on the ground tell of skyrocketing food prices and widespread illness. on friday, the u.s. was the sole opposing vote in the u.n. security council, dooming a ceasefire through its veto. at least 18,000 palestinians have been killed so far in gaza. for the latest, let's go claudio lavanga who is with us. why did the u.s. say no toe a ceasefire? >> good morning, frances. right after the votes, the u.s.

deputy ambassador to the united nations said that despite the fact that the united states supports a durable peace between israel and the palestinians, it decided to vote no to the resolution because they called this ceasefire unsustainable and said it will only plant the seed for a new war. the u.s. also called the ceasefire rushed and unbalanced and said it is divorced from reality. now this will come as a major disappointment not only to the other members of the security council, all of whom, the rest of whom has you mentioned voted in favor of that resolution, but also to the hundreds of thousands of people, palestinians living in gaza who are now really struggling to survive, as you mentioned. humanitarian organizations as well as sources from the ground are telling us that the severe shortage of food and water are now putting a lot of lives at risk of death, starvation, and infection. and of course the consequence, lack of hygiene is helping

disease spread quickly. organizations describe families, children roaming the streets of gaza without anywhere to go, looking desperately for food, some water. some people they say have resorted to collecting rain market. supermarket shelves are empty. this is a situation that some charitable organizations like oxfam has called not only catas catastrophic, but apocalyptic. also, the jordanian foreign minister said it will have a long-lasting effect. listen to what he said. >> israel has created an amount of hatred that will haunt this region, that will define generations to come, and therefore it's hurting its own people as much as it is hurting everybody else in the region. >> as you can see, if there is some hope of course in the near future for a ceasefire. it seems that the effects of this war will have -- that will

be long-lasting, well beyond the end of it. frances, jessica? >> claudio lavanga for us, claudio, thank you. and from the war in gaza to the war in ukraine. we have learned that the president of ukraine will be visiting the white house this week. the white house says volodymyr zelenskyy's meeting with president biden will underscore america's unshakeable commitment to ukraine. that meeting happening on tuesday. just days ago a bill with aid for both ukraine and israel failed in the u.s. senate. republicans largely held the money up over increased funding for border policing. now to a last-minute change in one of the trials of former president trump. the former president announced just overnight that he will not take the stand today in his civil fraud case here in new york. court administrators now say the trial will resume tuesday instead of today. mr. trump was under no obligation to testify. he is expected to be the final witness for his own defense. on his social media platform

overnight, he said in part that he has nothing more to say, and he has repeated his argument that his case is election interference. now in a massive about-face, elon musk has restored the x account of alex jones, the conspiracy theorist. over the weekend, musk posted a poll if he should reinstate the post, and 70% of responders voted yes. in 2018, jones and his show were permanently banned, pardon me, from the platform. then at the time known as twitter for violating hate speech and harassment policies. jones has repeatedly said on his show that the 2012 sandy hook shooting that killed 20 children and 6 teachers never happened, and he says it was staged to tighten gun laws. police in texas have arrested a suspect in the killing of a 16-year-old cheerleader. now earlier this week is when it happened in the town of edna. elizabeth medina went to edna high school and wanted to become a nurse, her aunt says, but she

was discovered dead in the bathtub by her mother on tuesday. a suspect rafael romero was booked for capital murder, a crime that carries the death penalty. community members mourned medina at a vigil saturday night. right now firefighters are battling a fast-moving fire in southern california. take a look at this wild video. this wildfire broke out over the weekend in ventura county. that's just north of los angeles. the fire scorched nearly 3,000 acres. it forced those living nearby to evacuate. fierce winds have made for a really tough fight. the fire, we're told, is about halfway contained as of this morning. all right. millions of people are under a flood alert as a storm is heading east and i guess north too. let's check with michelle grossman. good morning. >> great to see you. we're looking at a messy, messy start to the day. we're going startto see improvement as we go throughout the afternoon. throughout new england we'll see wet, heavy snow throughout the

day. even the appalachians. we're looking at radar. we're looking at heavy rain falling. that's where you're seeing the darker colors, the reds, the oranges. a tough commute if you're out and about this morning. notice all that blue. that is the snow falling. we have cold air work in on the back side and that is bringing heavy snow. as we go throughout the day today. and we'll start to see improvements in some spots. 43 million people impacted. where you see the grown, we're look at a flood alert. we're looking at red. that includes boston. that means flooding is happening right now, or it is imminent as we go throughout this time right now. departing system. we are going see improvement. it is going to move off the eastern seaboard. but we're still going to see the heavy, wet snow throughout portions of new england. the interior parts of new england into portions of the appalachians. it's going to be really windy too. winds could gust up to 70 up along new england. we do have a flash flood risk as we, thlle south

central states. lots osunf sunshine too. that's your monday forecast. >> so it could be a little bit of a tough commute for some this morning. michelle, thank you so much. coming up here on "early today," the cowboys get their statement win in sunday night football. and we're back in 60 seconds with how retailers are making it easier than ever for returns this holiday season. tive system isn't at its best. but a little metamucil everyday can help. metamucil's psyllium fiber gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down and also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic. lighten every day the metamucil way. and for a delicious way to promote digestive health

try metamucil fiber thins. 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. it is the height of the holiday shopping season right now, and as those christmas gifts get delivered, there will be certainly a lot of returns this season as well. and now some stores are trying to make it not so much a hassle for you. jake ward has more.

>> reporter: inside this southern california warehouse, they are preparing for their super bowl. >> this december, we're looking at millions of returns. >> reporter: they come in by the truckload. boxes and boxes of clothes that didn't fit and toys that weren't wanted, and they say business is booming. last year americans returned nearly a trillion dollars worth of stuff. but the process -- >> it's just a hassle. >> annoying to leave my house and stand in long lines. >> reporter: the process of returning something is terrible. >> returns are the worst part of shopping online. >> reporter: david is the ceo of happy returns, one of the several companies spring up trying to make returns easier. over 800 countries including land's end work with them. they have 10,000 drop-offs around the country, and they don't require boxes or labels. >> which joke in our office that tape is a four-letter word.

>> bring your work and a qr code and leaveit. amazon allows you to drop off an item with no box at various stores. target lets you return without getting out of your car. but someone's got pay for it, and sometimes it's you. >> retailers are bearing this burden of the free returns. so now they're trying to balance their books. >> reporter: recently retailer likes amazon and h&m have started charging for some returns. so it's up to you to learn the system. first, check the return policy. how long do you have? are there any hidden fees? some charge you to send it back, while others offer free return shipping, but there may be a restocking fee. getting to the happy returns warehouse is half the journey. >> we've sorted them by merchant. now we've taken all of listened's end returns and we prepare those items to be send back to land's end in bulk. >> this is like a fulfillment center in reverse. >> that's right. >> reporter: and they're ready

for when the season of giving turns into the season of giving it back. jake ward, nbc news, santa clarita, california. >> still to come here on "early today," the battle for the nfc east supremacy came to dallas where dak and the boys put on a clinic against theory league-leading rivals. we recap sunday night football, right after this. and it completely changed my life. i'm not on my parents health insurance anymore, so i found a plan for just $34 a month. signing up was so easy, it only took me 30 minutes to find a plan for $13 a month. all plans cover doctor visits, prescriptions, emergency care, and more. healthcare.gov is here for you. enroll by december 15th. schwarzkopf keratin color transforms your hair and helps it break away from damage. for strength and a rich striking color, on all hair textures.

let the world see your strength. schwarzkopf keratin color ♪ ♪ this year take the time to melt into your holiday moments with lindor. ♪ ♪ irresistibly smooth chocolate. from the lindt master chocolatier. skin-carving next level hydration? new neutrogena hydro boost water cream. a vital boost of nine times more hydration* to boost your skin's barrier for quenched, dewy skin that's full of life. neutrogena. hydro boost. feeling ughh from a backed up gut? miralax works naturally with the water in your body to help you go... ...free your gut. and your mood will follow.

for 8 grams of fiber, try new mirafiber gummies. when you smell the amazing scent of gain flings... time stops. (♪♪) and you realize you're in love... steve? with a laundry detergent. (♪♪) gain flings. seriously good scent.

once again, they'll spread and go out of the shotgun. prescott looking to throw. inside for the touchdown with gallow. >> from their very first drive on sunday night football, the dallas cowboys put their foot on the gas and didn't let up. that pass from dak prescott to michael gallup against the eagles. outside of the scoop and score touchdown by rookie jalen carter, philly had no answers for the cowboys on either side

of the ball. the dallas defense forcing three fumbles. the boys get a statement 33-13 win over the birds. both teams now tied for control of the nfc east. >> loving that music. it's getting me pumped up. there really has been no shortage of surprises this late in the nfl season. on sunday joe flacco managed to turn the clock back to 2012, throwing for three touchdowns in an elite 31-27 win over the jaguars. history was made in vegas for all the wrong reasons. the vikings beat the raiders thanks to a single successful field goal in the league's lowest coring victory since 2007. and not even the president of "time" magazine's person of the year can prevent what happened in arrowhead. in the final minutes of the game, buffalo shakes off the chiefs and keeps their play-off chances alive, 20-17. >> couldn't keep my eyes off patrick mahomes.

he was livid after that. he would be standing in los angeles, just not with the angels. on saturday shohei ohtani announced he has signed an unprecedented ten-year $700 million contract with the los angeles dodgers. >> not too shabby. when we come back, a triumphant return. >> and loving customers with a bad taste in their mouth. this is not just a sewing kit. come on, come on, come on. 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. okay, let's go! we're going to make it. a mystery! jessie loves playing detective. but the real mystery was her irritated skin. so, we switched to tide pods free & gentle. it cleans better, and doesn't leave behind irritating residues.

and it's gentle on her skin. tide free & gentle is epa safer choice certified. it's got to be tide. i'm jimmy dean and uh, tide free & gentle is epa safer choice certified. isn't that sunrise somthin'? i honestly feel that way about jimmy dean sausage. get yourself a large chunk of that good morning feeling. boy, that smells good. mmm. (speaker 1) oh! (speaker 2) blue buffalo, huh? (speaker 1) yeah. purina one... (speaker 2) yeah. (speaker 1) i used to feed purina one, but then i read the ingredients. (speaker 2) oh, yeah? (speaker 1) yeah, it's right there. (speaker 2) chicken, rice flour, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, chicken byproduct meal. what's in blue? (speaker 1) deboned chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, barley, oatmeal. (speaker 2) yeah, but those ingredients cost a lot more. (speaker 1) blue is only about 50 cents more a day. that's not too much for my chester.

lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. delicious too. just ask my old friend, kevin. nothing like enjoying a cold one while watching the game. who's winning? we are, my friend. we are. just between us, you know what's better than mopping? anything! ugh. well, i switched to swiffer wetjet, and it's awesome. it's an all-in-one, that absorbs dirt and grime deep inside. and it helps prevent streaks and haze. wetjet is so worth it. love it, or your money back. schwarzkopf keratin color transforms your hair and helps it break away from damage. for strength and a rich striking color, on all hair textures. let the world see your strength. schwarzkopf keratin color introducing finish ultimate. engineered for the ultimate clean in the toughest conditions. dry burnt-on stains.

old dishwashers. very hard water. even when you skip the rinse. its new cyclesync technology releases the right ingredient at the right time, and finish ultimate breaks down stains, cuts grease, and boosts shine for the ultimate clean. even in the toughest conditions. ♪ and we are back with what you need to know "early today." starbucks says it wants to resume contract talks with the union representing its baristas next month. saturday marks two years since the first store unionized in 360 locations have followed. so far none have reached a contract with the company. telehealth orthodontics company smile direct has shut down after filing for bankruptcy. patients in the middle of their treatment with their clear teeth alignlers no longer receive

customer support and the brand's lifetime smile guarantee is being canceled. the u.s. military secret of space plane launch on a spacex falcon heavy rocket has been pushed to tonight. this is the robot craft's seventh mission to orbit. after suffering from cardiac arrest in july, bronny james, the son of basketball legend lebron james made his return to the court. number six took to the court for the university of southern california scoring a total of four points. "early today" is back after a quick break. bladder leak underwear has one job. i just want to feel protected! especially for those sudden gush moments. when your keys are in the door and your body's like, “it's happening”! if you're worried about your protection, it's not the right protection. always discreet protects like no other. with double leak guards that help prevent gushes escaping from the sides. and a rapid dry core that locks in your heaviest gush quickly for up to zero leaks. and it contours, to everybody. now this, is protection! always discreet- the protection we deserve!

alice loves the scent of gain so much, she wished there was a way to make it last longer. tion! say hello to your fairy godmother alice and long-lasting gain scent beads. part of the irresistible scent collection from gain! it's the mcdonald's mystery that left fast food fans hungry

for the details. what is their secretive new spin-off chain? over the weekend we got the answer. maggie vespa visited the new restaurant, opening just outside chicago with its sights set on another coffee giant. >> hi, welcome to cosmc's. what can i get you today? >> reporter: the hot new contender in america's coffee wars finally unveiled after a mcflurry of mystery. complete with a supersized rager in its parking lot. >> we cut it off coming this way. >> reporter: america's first ever cosmc's is bringing suburban chicago traffic through a stand still. the drive-through line shopping more than a mile through this bolingbrook shopping center. wait times topping four hours. >> i've been waiting since 9:45 this morning. it's about 1:17 right now. >> have i my order on post-it's. i'm ready to go. >> reporter: you have your order written out? >> we wrote it at home. >> reporter: fresh off friday's grand opening, it's the drive-through only side venture for fast food giant mcdonald's.

>> i popped in from outer space. >> reporter: though it's named for an '80s mcdonald's character, cosmc's may be a nod to the future. this is mcdonald's taking aim at americans' love for drinks. a $100 billion industry dominated by coffee icons like starbucks and duncan. >> mcdonald's wants a piece of this business because it's very profitable. and it's profitable because customers will visit frequently during the course of the day. they'll add flavors that will cost them a little extra, and they're often very loyal. >> can i get a island pick me up punch, please. >> reporter: on our trip through the drive-through, menu choices seemed endless. how insane has this been? >> insane. >> reporter: with nine more cosmcs slated to open next year, can question, can it drive american coffee addicts to start saying i'm loving it. >> that is really good. >> that is really good.

>> reporter: maggie vespa, nbc news, bolingbrook, illinois. >> need to know what's an island pick me up punch. >> and everything else. we're going to have to study that menu in detail online. prince william and catherine, princess of wales have released their 2023 christmas card posing with george, charlotte and prince louie. they saw their grandfather crowned at westminster abbey in may which were the king and queen's photo card came from this year, a shot of the two side by side in their ceremonial outfits. i doubt they're doing the whole newsletter route that some people do. >> i think we know what's happening in their lives. >> right. we are definitely up to date on everything. >> w

. t