flooding up and down the east coast. roads covered, cars submerged. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is here tracking where the storm is heading next. to capitol hill and a stalemate over funding for american allies. but it's not issues with israel or ukraine holding up the vote. our team in d.c. joins us live to say why security has halted this. don't be surprised if your

packages hit speed bumps on the way. delivery workers are working like elves to keep the process smooth this year. we'll take you inside one of the largest cbs facilities to see how. it was a surprise weekend on football fields across the country. we break down the play-offs as the holidays inch closer. holiday cheer and the smell of pine getting more expensive this year. see how the christmas tree farms are dealing with more than just inflation costs. it is monday, november 18th. "early today" starts right now. >> glad you're with us. i'm frances rivera. >> and good morning. i'm jessica layton. we begin this morning with a powerful storm system charging north to new england right now after bringing strong winds, heavy wind and flooding across the eastern seaboard. in new jersey, thousands are waking up without power this morning. on sunday, parts of the carolinas were inundated with 9 to 11 inches of rain. some cars couldn't make it through the high water. the fire department patrolled

streets to help rescue people from their vehicles. that same system slammed into florida on saturday. >> the visibility was so bad, this car plunged off a seawall near venice. luckily, the driver's vehicle stayed afloat until first responders arrived. and in st. petersburg, bolts of electricity coursing along this power line. let's bring in nbc meteorologist michelle grossman for what to expect in the northeast. good morning. >> good morning. it was a miserable weekend for many of us. in the northeast we're going to have a miserable commute because looking at lots of heavy rain falling. it's ponding on the roadways. you can see the rain falling throughout portions of the midatlantic, the northeast. very heavy rain, especially where you see the reds, the yellows, the oranges. that's where we're seeing the really heavy downpours. and that is going to move up as we go throughout the next couple hours. we're going to start to clear out the northeast later on this morning. but it's going to linger into portions of new england.

61 americans under flood aletters. the red is where you see flooding happening right now. we also have winter alerts. the back side of the system is pulling in colder air. big temperature defense tomorrow. before that lake-effect snow because of this cold air and those warm lake waters. 13 million people impacted with winter alerts. we have wind advisories for you, we could see winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour in some spots, especially along the coast. this system is going to finally move out later on today. but we're going to see less wind as we go throughout the day tomorrow. and the week ahead in just a bit. >> michelle, thank you so much. now to some breaking news, some drama for president biden late last night as a car crashed into a secret service motorcade. take a listen. >> whoa! >> whoa for sure. the president was then promptly whisked away and is safe. the crash is under investigation, but the secret service says they do not suspect

foul play. in israel, there is continued outrage this morning after three israeli hostages were killed by friendly fire in gaza. the three had escaped hamas captivity, onlyto be shot dead by the israel defense forces. the idf acknowledged the error, offering disturbing details. the men came out of a building where they had themselves written "help" in hebrew and ss in english, shirtless and waving a white flag. our hallie jackson is in tel aviv. >> reporter: these signs reading help, three hostages, and sos apparently written using leftover food found in the building near where three israeli captives were mistakenly killed by their own military according to the israeli defense forces, which said that shooting broke the rules of engagement. his family burying him, adding new pressure on the government of family members of other hostages, now camping outside key offices. >> and must be right now.

because we don't have any more time to waste. >> reporter: the prime minister not closing the door to new talks, but pledging to keep up the fight. hamas insists it won't negotiate without an end to the intense bombing. the uk and germany jointly calling for a sustainable cipher as the deadly hu ly humanitaria crisis goes worse. in gaza, a desperate scramble on aid trucks as another border crossing opens nearby, and suzanne waits in line for hours for food. the world health organization says it's appalled at a siege at a hospital in northern gaza. the idf is releasing this footage of the hamas leader's brother, not verified by nbc news, driving through tunnels now destroyed they say. in northern israel, another exchange of fire with hezbollah as israelis evacuate from that region. some now here in jerusalem.

>> what color is that? >> blue. >> reporter: children, like ali miriam finding a safe refuge with the group early starters. imaginary games at the play house heartbreaking. >> they are playing sirens and everyone is rung. they are playing the house is bombed, and they're playing shelter. >> reporter: founder ron cohen says the structure here helps. >> the meaning of playing, it's more about having control of the bombing, we can't control what happens to our parents. so we're giving them back the control. this is one of the ways to do it. >> and our thanks to hallie jackson for that report. this morning, the funding fight is still raging on capitol hill. republicans are holding up financial support for ukraine and israel until the white house brings to concessions for more security along the border. nbc's dpetrimoulx is in d.c.

it doesn't look like we'll see a deal before the end of the year. >> that's right. negotiations continued straight through the weekend. but there are still major sticking points. homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas joined the talks in the senate yesterday. the white house trying to craft a border security deal that will appease republicans without alienating democrats. both sides arelooking for a middle ground on limits to admitting refugees under humanitarian parole, putting asylum seekers in detention while claims are heard, and expanding power to deport migrants nationwide. but homeland security officials fear those changes could overwhelm the system. many legal border prosing points are already near breaking. lukeville, arizona was forced to close indefinitely because there were too many migrants. with all those key issues still up in the air, republican leaders say a vote this week isn't likely. >> the bottom line here is we feel like we're being jammed. we're not anywhere close to a deal. it will go into next year. >> we need the do something on

immigration. but we need to do it in a right way that keeps compassion there, but protects our national security. so let me see what comes out of this, and then i'll tell you what i'm going to vote on. >> the border battle has put a larger funding package on hold. it includes money for israel's fight against hamas and critical aid for ukraine. president biden has signaled he is willing to make significant compromises to get that funding passed. back to you. >> all right, drew, thank you. today in utah, lawyers for ruby franke says that the former family vlogger is expected to enter a plea agreement after being charged in september with six counts of child abuse. the mother of six had nearly 2.3 million subscribers on youtube when it came out at least two of her children were abused at her business partner's house. one of the children was recovered with open wounds. franke has offered an apology on social media, while the business partner and her lawyers did not respond to our request for

comment. let's get the latest on a shocking crash caught on cram in texas. near frt yesterday, part of the semi shattered and was pushed down the track as the train barreled right through. the police department said some fuel spilled, and they are cleaning up debris, but incredibly here, nobody was hurt. the great lakes facing a wintry start to the week. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking the snow expected there. good morning. >> good morning, guys. a lot of snow, up to a foot along the great lakes and the appalachian. that's the big story today. that's from the powerful powerful storm system. some really heavy rain, and that's going to linger into new england as we head throughout the rest of this monday. on the west coast, rain returns. we have a front that is moving onshore. we're looking at rain from the pacific northwest all the way through the state of california. it's going to stick around for a few days. especially in california, we could see this until wednesday. the middle of the country looking nice and dry. temperatures not too bad either. we're looking at sunshine that

would be the same story on wednesday. plenty of sunshine throughout the middle of the country. ran and snow still in portions of the west. we're looking at high elevations in the sierras. not as much snow in the cascades, but still looking at snow falling there. and looking good in the northeast on wednesday. and we're dry still on friday. looking at foggy states. lots of sunshine. temperatures in the 50s and 60s. near 70 in houston. all right. that's a look at your monday forecast. >> okay, michelle, thank you. it was an incredible turnout honoring our country's fallen soldiers at the texas state cemetery. texas governor greg abbott and volunteers placed wreaths on the graves as part of the national wreaths across america today, taking time to remember the

sacrifices of those who served in the united states military. the organization has placed nearly 3 million wreaths nationwide just over the past year. "early today" is back in one minute with the race to deliver your packages in time for christmas. and the nfl play-off picture snaps into focus as the reigns drop the jaguars ss in sunday nt football. we'll be right back. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. okay, so here's my most requested hack for stubborn odors. you'll need vinegar, a large salad bowl and... oh, hi! have you tried new tide fabric rinse? it works after your detergent to fight deep odors 3 times better than detergent alone.

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the season. how does a year compare to a year's previous? >> i can tell you this is one of the busiest peak seasons i've ever seen. i've been here 30 years. >> reporter: daniel harai manages 3,000 employees in one of the places most equipped to handle it, the usps processing and distribution center in l.a. >> right here in the heart of los angeles, this is the largest postal distribution facility in the entire country. 1.7 million square feet. that's 29 football fields. and right now they're doing about a million packages every single day. >> reporter: the race to deliver is on. last year many of the major shipping companies ran into a delivery disaster. >> you had massive congestion in 2022. you had less trucks to move the product. you had backups of container ships. and so everything was truncated and everything was clogged. >> reporter: this year, the postal service says they're ready. they've added more staff and new technology. what are we looking at right here? >> well, this is our brand-new

state-of-the-art processing sorter. committee can sort 10,000 packages per hour, and then it reads the package. and as we go down, it will sort it to the right destination. >> reporter: the new machines helping usps workers up their capacity to 70 million packages a day nationwide, up from 60 million last year. what's it like working with all this new technology? >> i like it. because it doubles up the process on getting anything out efficiently. >> reporter: fed ex and ups say they're ready too. they've also added extra resources, and analysts believe this year we'll see fewer packages shift. >> when you compare this holiday shopping season to 2022, it's definitely day and night. >> but if you haven't shipped your package, be prepared to pay up. now it's up to these machines and the dedicated workers. >> i'm happy that i'm here to serve the country and serve our customers. >> steve patterson, nbc news, los angeles.

still to come, an iconic father-son duo hitting the links. >> and it ends with a decisive rector. we bak down yesterday's action featuring the cowboys and the bills, right after this. my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. theo's nose was cause for alarm, so dad brought puffs plus lotion to save it from harm.

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it gets a little harder. and jackson steps back and to the end zone, and gets to it the end zone. >> victory was more than likely for the baltimore reigns on sunday night football. purple and black looking unstoppable on the road against the jacksonville jaguars. quarterback lamar jackson and the offense rushed for more than 250 yards while the defense took advantage of multiple miscues by the jags. baltimore securing their 11th win of the year, becoming the first team in the afc to punch their ticket to the play-offs. and trevor lawrence quarterback

still on concussion protocol after getting injured in the last game. >> so a lot to watch, but we are getting closer this playoffs. there has been no shortage of upsets and unexpect innings. a chance to shock the browns at the last play of the game, but this near perfect hail mary from justin murray wound up in the embrace of a cleveland defender giving them the hard-fought 20-17 win. in green bay, the packers drop their second straight. baker mayfield put on a performance at lambeau to give the bucks control of the nfc south. the rain came pouring down in foxboro. finally clean of their two-game skid. they took down the lowly patriots 27-17. there you go. can you guess what she said? yes. starts with an f. four-letter. good news for the cowboys fans. the team clenched a play-off spot. the bad news is it came on the heels of a blowout loss in

buffalo. the bills rode to victory on the back of a 179 yards rushing yards from james cook as they fell to the cowboys 31-10. the bills are so horrett right now. tiger and charlie woods will have to wait a little longer before sharing a victory together. the father-son duo shot 61 at the championship in orlando. good enough for a five-way tie for fifth place. this marks tiger and charlie's fourth straight appearance at the parent child tournament. the best chins was 2021 when they took second place to bernhard langer, and his son jason took the top spot. what dream to get to play in that with your kids. >> just to watch dyinger alone. coming up on "early today," why there could be a strike brewing. t flash.

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we're back with what you need to know early today. quaker oats is recalling several granola products over possible salmonella contamination. so far there have been no reports of contamination. the teamsters have voted to authorize a strike at anheuser-busch's 12 plants if the contract cannot be reached before the current one expires on february 29. union members are looking to improve wages, protect jobs and secure health and retirement benefits. mars has donated the ingenuity helicopter to the smithsonian. it demonstrated the ability to fly in another planet's atmosphere. in april of 2021, ingenuity made history with its fist flight on mars. and a vase bought at goodwill for $3.99 sold at auction for more than $100,000. here it is. it was designed by renowned

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there's toothpaste white, and there's crest 3d whitestrips white. so much whiter! crest. as you probably noticed, the cost of nearly everything is up this year, and christmas trees have been no exception. those fraser firs hit our finances a little extra this season. mary marcos with our boston station explains the reason for the increase, and it's beyond just inflation. >> this is the highest i've ever seen. i'm 33. so i've been doing this my whole life. >> reporter: peter macarthur and his family have been running macarthur's farm since 1982.

>> i market a lot of big trees because there are big houses. >> reporter: known for big trees, the christmas rush is big every year and peter always says come early. >> because they go fast, and no nobody has them. the price very high. the quality is there. >> reporter: they have 4 1/2 footers starting at $65, going all the way up to an 18 to 20-foot tree that sold for a whopping $700 saturday. >> it took four of us to get it out of the hole. >> reporter: believe it or not, $700 is a reasonable price for an 18 to 20-foot tree. that's according to the real christmas tree board, and most of their biggest trees have sold out. so they brought in a fresh truckful, and they're already getting snatched up. >> nine to ten-foot. cathedral ceilings, but, yeah, but. there is trimming it now, right? >> so what makes them so spiff in the big trees take about 20 years to grow, and then there is

pruning, fertilizing, and the great to bring them down from canada. >> people lost them from the fires too. so there is that issue. there is so many factors and price. >> reporter: but customers are still willing to pay to get those priceless holiday memories. >> actually, it's my granddaughter, abby, whoa encouraged me to go for it. >> going to try to get it in the stand. >> the two of you? >> our thanks to mary marcos for that report. you know, my first job ever was at a christmas tree farm. >> there you good. >> i never sold a $700 tree ever. >> times are different. now. >> you know all the in and outs right here of those christmas trees. now shipping up to boston where the city went back in time to the protest against taxation against representation. on saturday night actors dumped about 2,000 pounds of tea into the water to celebrate the birthday of the boston tea part. in sp 1773 it wasmore than

3,000 pounds. the event included reenactments, debates and the anger locals felt at the time. the monumental night in american history is widely seen as a critical moment leading up to the revolution. glad they're able to have a piece of history right there and everybody learn it from. >> really realistic too. thanks for watching "early today" on this monday. i'm jessica layton. >>

an east coast super soaker sparking flooding in florida and packing gail force winds. our michelle grossman is tracking this powerful storm wreaking havoc from florida to maine this week. the border battle on capitol hill, we are live with a race to strike a deal on immigration before the new year and a funding fight that has critical aid for israel and ukraine caught in the middle. former president donald trump is under fire for controversial new comments on