this morning, tragedy in

tennessee, a tornado outbreak leaves at least six dead and dozens injured in that state. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking the dangerous weather system as it now pummels the northeast. a courtroom reversal. former president trump saying he will not testify against in the civil fraud trial that threatens his business empire. and ivy league firestorm, the growing pressure on leaders at some of the country's most prestigious universities after upenn's president was forced out over their school's handling of anti-semitism. we are live with a new report on a massive buyout offer for macy's. the cowboys taking down the eagles in a statement win, how it could be shaking up the race for the playoffs. welcome to monday, december 11th. "early today" starts right now. good morning, and thanks for joining us, i'm jessica layton. >> glad you're starting the week off with us, i'm frances rivera. we begin with a devastation and

heartbreak in tennessee this morning and we are learning more about the destruction and loss after tornadoes ripped across the state saturday night. at least six lives were lost, including two young children. two of the victims were a toddler and his mother. more than 60 people were taken to the hospital. nbc's marissa para spoke with some residents about what it was like to experience that terrifying night. >> i was trying to go in the closet when i got that alert. i just remember opening the closet door and just turning around, the wind just took me and i just remember waking up on this side of my house. >> i could hear, you know, like wind tunnel, something like the trains and then a big explosion happened and i just -- i couldn't believe i saw that. >> and there is another severe weather threat that we're following for you this morning. flood alerts stretching from the d.c. area all the way up to maine. several cities are in danger of flash flooding and strong wind gusts. let's get an update on that system right now, nbc

meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking it for us. michelle, this could be tricky this morning, especially as folks get to work. >> oh, yeah, it's going to be tricky, we have that heavy rain falling and we will start to see the winds picking up, it will get much colder as that cold front moves offshore and brings in colder air. on radar we will she improving conditions in some spots, the cold front is moving over the atlantic, but it's going to deepen in portions in northern new england, that's going to bring the chance for of excessive rainfall that will lead to flash flooding and also pretty heavy wet snow. you see the reds, oranges, yellows, that's where the heavy rain is falling. lots of spots along the east coast and behind that we have blue, that's the snow working in with in a cold air in place. zooming a little closer, it stretches from new england all the way down to the carolinas, but it is moving offshore. we will start to quiet things as we go throughout the rest of today. 43 million people impacted right now by flood alerts, where you see the green that's a flood watch, a flood warning is in effect in boston, that means flooding is happening right now,

also tracking the chance for snow in northern new england and could see 70 mile per hour winds as well. >> michelle, thank you. there are new developments in one of the trials of donald trump. the former president will not take the witness stand in a new york courtroom today. mr. trump was expected to defend his business empire today in his civil fraud case, but overnight he reversed course. nbc's brie jackson is following this for us. good morning, brie. well, this would have been mr. trump's chance to have a final word in this trial. why is he backing down? >> reporter: good morning. donald trump's reasoning for not taking the stand today is that he's already said everything he needs to. in a post overnight on social media -- on his social media platform, he explained that he has nothing more to say and he repeated his defense that he believed this case is election interference. mr. trump was already called to the witness stand last month. he was very combative and launched attacks against new york's attorney general and the judge who will decide the case. today he was expected to be the

last witness for the defense and given the opportunity to push back against the claims that he vastly overvalued his properties on financial statements, but he had no obligation to take the stand. new york attorney general letitia james responded overnight to mr. trump's decision. she said her team has already proven that trump committed years of financial fraud. she said, quote, no matter how much he tries to distract from reality, the facts don't lie. the fraud trial was expected to pick back up today, but last night the court said it will resume tomorrow instead. and the case could soon be in the judge's hands. if the prosecution does not have a rebuttal, the defense would likely rest, clearing the way for closing arguments. back to you. >> brie, thank you. and now to a courtroom in our nation's capitol where rudy giuliani is set to appear for the first day of his defamation trial. a jury will decide how much the former new york city mayor owes

ruby freeman and shaye moss, two geelection workers that he accused of manipulating ballots to keep former president donald trump out of office in 2020. according to the lawsuit that was filed by the mother and daughter, they have faced a torrent of death threats and attacks that have at times forced them to vacate their homes for their safety. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy will visit the white house tomorrow. the white house says zelenskyy's meeting with president biden will underscore america's unshakeable commitment to ukraine. just days ago a bill with aid for both ukraine and israel failed in the u.s. senate. republicans held the money up largely over increased funding for border security. this morning there is hunger, thirst and chaos in gaza as israel's attack intensifies in the south of the strip. sources on the ground tell us of sky rongting food prices and widespread illness. on friday the u.s. was the sole opposing vote in the security

council dooming a ceasefire through its veto. 18,000 palestinians have been killed according to the gaza health ministry. nbc's hallie jackson has this report from israel. >> reporter: a father yelling for his son at this hospital in southern gaza as the world health organization washes the health system is collapsing. fewer than half of gazen hospitals are even partially functioning they say. this woman tells our team everybody has the flu, diarrhea, there's no medical treatment. in central gaza hundreds of people line up waiting for food. the jordanian foreign minister with a warn. >> israel has created an amount of hatred that will haunt this region, that will define generations to come. >> reporter: israel's military says its taken over this key square in gaza city, an israeli flag there now and a menorah with strikes slamming the south. secretary of state tony blinken defending the call to resist a

cay fire. >> that would perpetuate the problem. >> reporter: more than 100 hostages are believed to be held in gaza kidnapped from kfar aza. here we meet a familiar face to the many who watched this man's vigil in tel aviv in a chair with a sign, my family is in gaza. now they're home. his wife and three children released two weeks ago. in the hospital at first, treatment for stomach infections, lice. the nights still dark for his 4-year-old. >> he can't really fall asleep. he doesn't want to, you know. i guess he is afraid, you know, to fall asleep. what he told us the other night was that he really wishes for the other hostages to return. obviously, you know, we all started crying. >> reporter: then a surprise. his sons drawn to the camera lights, calling their dad to

dinner. a reminder on a holiday celebrating a miracle. >> every day i'm reliving a miracle. >> reporter: some still exist. >> and i think back to what their life two weeks ago must have been like and it's incredible they're here. >> but you see, you know, kids, life goes on. they just -- you know, they show us how things should be and i've learned throughout this journey so many things. i think my main conclusion is, you know, the most important thing in life is life. >> our thanks to hallie for that report. after fumbling their answers to questions about campus anti-semitism there is increasing pressure on top university leaders to resign after upenn president liz magill stepped down this weekend along with her chair of the board of trustees. the congressional hearing caused a storm last week in a contentious discussion about pro-palestinian slogans elise stefanik asked the harvard

president this directly. >> does calling for the genocide of jews violate harvard's rules of bullying and harassment yes or no. >> it can be depending on the context. >> it does not depend on the context the answer is yes and this is why you should resign. >> claudine gay did later apologize writing in part on x, let me be clear. calls for violence or genocide against the jewish community or any religious or ethnic group are vile and have no place at harvard. firefighters are battling a fast moving fire in southern california this morning. that wildfire broke out over the weekend? ventura county just north of los angeles. it scorched nearly 3,000 acres, forcing nearby residents to evacuate. fierce winds have made for a tough fight but the fire is about halfway contained as of this morning. now to the weather across the country. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking what you can expect as we kick off this new week. michelle, good morning. >> guys, great to see you.

we're wet on the east coast, wet on parts of the west coast and quiet in between. high pressure in the middle of the country, lots of sunshine, above average temperatures. on the west coast we're watching some showers morning moving into the intermountain west. departing storm system in the east will bring gusty winds in northern new england, heavy wet snow there as well and also the chance of flooding rains, especially in parts of northern new england. as we go throughout wednesday we will see rain and snow falling throughout the four corners, the south central states seeing some rain. december warm throughout the northern plains and sunny and mild mid-atlantic, southeast into portions of carolinas. friday we will look at warm sunshine, finally a drier start to the weekend in the northeast and we are looking at gulf showers in portion south central

states. high pressure in control. temperatures in the 60s. and that's your monday forecast. >> okay. michelle, thank you. "early today" is back in 60 seconds with the crucial showdown between the eagles and the cowboys. and in the market for the magic of macy's? the multibillion dollar bid to buy out the iconic retailer next. 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.

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of the ball, but the dallas defense forced three fumbles. the boys get a statement 33-13 win over the birds. both teams now tied for control of the nfc east. it is m&a monday with a major merger reportedly called off and the potential of a acquisition of a retail giant in the works. silvia amaro joins us. macy's has reportedly gotten a buyout offer. what more do we know? >> very good morning, frances. a real estate investment firm and asset manager have made an offer of $5.8 billion for macy's. this offer comes at a time when the department store has seen sales dropping. it is facing higher competition from online shopping and at the same time some retailers would rather deal with consumers directly rather than via a department store. macy's has declined to comment. but it's been an eventful

weekend in the corporate world. we also heard from the u.s. health insurance company sig na who is no longer seeking to buy humana. both companies did not agree on a price, but the deal would have created a company worth about $140 billion. so a huge number there. but these negotiations, these conversations were happening at time when we were seeing quite a lot of consolidation in the u.s. health space, so this might not be the end of the story, guys. >> okay. and i'm sure you will keep track of it to fill us in. thank you. still to come on "early today," the record-breaking return of and an nation icon. we are breaking down the fresh faces at the weekend box office faces at the weekend box office right afte 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.

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>> your mother, she is awaiting your rescue. i'll be your guide. >> i'm looking for someone. >> and an nation legend reins supreme at the box office. the boy and the herron the latest firm from japanese director miyazaki opened is $1.4 million. godzilla capped off a strong weekend for zap niece cinema at number three. doesn't seem like a bunch of huge block busters just yet, it's the hustle and bustle of the holidays. >> but some ideas for, say a 9-year-old boy that i might know. staying in the business of hollywood and a major power player looking to make a deal, "the new york times" is reports that sherry had you hadstone is looking to share her controlling share in national amusements, the parent company of brands like paramount, cbs, nickelodeon. while there is no concrete

information on a potential suitor the "times" reports that redstone has been in talks with sky dance media. she and her family have overseen paramount since the mid 1990s. deaf more developments on that sometime soon. >> what a turn around because she not bitterly for control in 2016, now she's like, all right, time to give some of it up. are hollywood's finest turning down a golden opportunity? multiple actors have turned down the offer to host the golden globes awards. the globe have undergone several changes including a switch in ownership and television networks. nomination right side set to be announced this weekend. when we come back some food

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for the ultimate clean. even in the toughest conditions. ♪ we are back with what you need to know early today. the fda has approved two gene their piece to treat sickle cell disease. the procedures work by genetically modifying a patient's own stem cells. this disease affects more than 100,000 americans and the one-time treatment is expected to cost over $2 million. bad news for comfort food, a new study published in the journal "frontiers in nutrition" say that eating fatty foods when stressed can reduce vascular function by 30%. researchers also found that fatty foods can negatively impact one's mood. the u.s. military's secretive space plane launch on a spacex fault con launch has

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american dream and an entire firehouse comes together to support one of their own one buzz cut at a time. here is josé diaz-balart. >> reporter: in california that's jacenia surrounded by family waiting to get results of her bar exam. >> i passed. >> reporter: at last, the results they all prayed for. she's a first-generation salvadoran american who always dreamed of being a lawyer. >> my parents are immigrants from el salvador, they're farmworkers and i think this moment was like a big moment for our entire family. it feels like the american dream. >> reporter: and in connecticut there was this sweet connection caught on camera between u.p.s. driver frank sims and 2-year-old owen may who lives on frank's delivery route. >> thank you. >> you're welcome.

>> i love you. >> oh, i love you, too. >> reporter: mom lillian watched from the driveway as her toddler gave frank a hug. >> thank you. hi, buddy. how are you doing? how have you been? >> reporter: the pair reuniting again during the busy holiday season. >> look what i got for you. >> bring joy and love this this world nowadays, it's what the children should know. >> reporter: and in virginia a moving show of support for firefighter jeremy compton. the dad of three undergoing cancer treatments. was getting his head shaved at the station when suddenly his fellow firefighters one after another after another cut their hair, too. >> did you know all the brothers were going to get their hair shaved? >> no, i did not.

i was blown away. >> reporter: fellow firefighter mike hutchison says she are all in in fight together. >> it was a no-brainer. when jeremy started to lose his hair, i was going to be there. >> jeremy, this guy by your side is not just a brother, but he is -- he has become family. >> i'm blessed with the support that i have. you know, thank you is not enough. i tell them all the time, you know, the only thing i can tell you is thank you. >> and our thanks to josé for sharing those stories. the best part of monday, our getting little reminders of how kindness and just support for others just means so much. >> there is good news in the world. thanks for watching "early today." icm jess

deadly tornadoes rip