new overnight. growing safety concerns for the colorado supreme court our new report on the violent

threats against justices after their decision to boot former president donald trump off the ballot tragedy in the skies the helicopter for abc's philadelphia news affiliate crashes with a pilot, photographer on board. the investigation into what went wrong. bracing for the christmas travel rush. how the tsa is working overtime to get travelers home just in time for the holidays. a hollywood twist? one saw coming the mega plergemerger that coul reshape the landscape. "early today" starts right now. good morning, and thanks for joining us, i'm jessica layton >> i'm richard i'm richard lou e

we loui. t the colorado supreme court facing a string of threats after kic kicking former president trump off the ballot a lot of these threats are originating from social media. >> reporter: that's right. this is all according to a report obtained by nbc news from advance democracy. according to that report, there was, quote, significant violent rhetoric against the justices on mr. trump's social media platform truth social. users also posted personal information about the justices, including phone numbers and office addresses other posts included methods at that could be used to kill those perceived as trump's enemies, including hollow-point bullets, ropes and bombs. a spokesman for the colorado supreme court did not respond it a request for comment. nor did a trump campaign official the justices ruled on tuesday to ban the republican frontrunner on the state's ballot, citing the 14th amendment, saying the former president engaged in

insurrection with his role in the january 6 attack on the capitol. yesterday president biden was asked if mr. trump is an insurrectionist. >> well, i think, it's self-evident you saw all. now whether the 14th amendment applies, the court will make that decision. but he certainly participated in insurrection, there's no question about it. none, zero >> reporter: the colorado republican party is considering switching its primary to a caucus in march if the former president is deemed ineligible but at that move comes with major hurdles and would need permission from the national republican party and the colorado secretary of state. meanwhile, the senate is leaving washington for the year with spefrl everal pressing isss still on the table they left without agreement for

new aid for ukraine and security at the border e and i despite the lack of action, the two senate leaders said they are both committed to address the issues 2023 is said to have been one of the least-productive years in congressional history, with just 20 bills passed by both chambers a united nations security council vote on gaza was delayed for a third time while the vote is now slated for today, it could very well be postponed again as diplomacy unfolds. any language seen as overly critical of israel risks a u.s. veto scuffling the entire deal for the latest on the diplomatic efforts around gaza, let's go to claudio lavanga. what's the holdup this time around >> reporter: good morning, richard. according to a u.s. official familiar with the negotiations, the sticking point this time for this resolution is the proposal

of an introduction of a mechanism that will allow the united nations exclusivity in the monitoring of the humanitarian aid process, which right now is controlled by israel now the countries that support that point say that the united nations should be in charge because of its credibility, because of its experience on the ground, and the secretary of state antony blinken said he's working with those countries to find a solution to this ground standing issue in an effort to approve the resolution but in the meantime, the war in gaza rages on. on tuesday, the israeli president isaac herzog did signal that the country may be ready for, to negotiate another humanitarian pause in the hope that hamas could release more hostages, and then of course more humanitarian aid could be delivered into gaza. but in the meantime, of course people continue to die there officials say that the death toll has reached now that milestone of 20,000 people

they also say that that number could be underestimated, because there are, they say, almost 7,000 people who are unaccounted for, and they could still be under the rubble if that number is confirmed, that would mean that one in every hundred palestinians living in gaza have died since the start of the war, that would be 20 times the number of israelis killed on october 7 >> claudio lavanga, thank you. the biden administration has secured the release of ten u.s. nationals from venezuela six of them landed in san antonio last night they all been wrongfully detained bit maduro regime they were all exchanged for this one man. a colombian businessman and maduro ally. he was arrested in 2020 for his alleged role in a money laundering scheme. now to a tragedy at a philadelphia abc news affiliate. colleagues there mourning the

loss of two team members both with on board the station's helicopter when it crashed in the woods of new jersey earlier this week. our philadelphia station reports. >> reporter: a multi-agency investigation into a deadly news helicopter crash if new jersey's thickly-wooded forest that left two beloved news gatherer, one of them a long-time news pilot, the other a photo journalist dead the new jersey state park police among the first on the scene >> at 2250 hours, the new jerse forest police received a message. >> reporter: they were on assignment near the jersey shore around 8:00 p.m. flight radar data shows the chopper circling over the jersey shore before heading back and quickly lost altitude. down at just 75 feet above the state forest police got the call around

10:50. police found and confirmed debris in burlington county around midnight. the investigation was put on pause. >> due to the remote location of the scene and limited visibility it was determined at that point the investigation will be suspended until sometime after daybreak >> reporter: the area known to be challenging for pilots, according to experts >> the trees, that presents another problem. if near's the there's an engine you may note be be able to glido a suitable landing spot. >> reporter: the investigation will be led by the national transportation safety bureau the crash hitting home for those victims' families and the reporters. authorities are

investigating an explosion in miami this morning home security cameras captured the moment the home exploded into this fireball the family with two children were inside at the time. they believe a gas issue likely caused the blast now health care workers at prime health care facilities walked off the job it is expected to last seven days as negotiations continue. after spending more than 48 years in prison, an oklahoma man has been declared innocent 70-year-old glen simmons spent the longest time behind bars of any wrongfully-convicted inmate. he was convicted of murder in a 1975 liquor store robbery. a district attorney found that key evidence if thn the case was never turned over to his defense. the new ruling paved the way to

file a federal lawsuit severe storms slamming the west heavy rain flooded coastal california yesterday the pacific system slowly marches south. angie lassman is tracking the storm for us good morning to you, angie >> we've got a lot of travel ahead of us over the next couple days any heavy rain, snow, could be proba pro problematic for folks. we've got 27 million people under these flood watches. you can see from san luis obispo to san diego and phoenix we've got multiple rounds of heavy rain working closer to the coast. the flood risk is going to remain not just today. meanwhile, where's winter? that's the question a lot of folks are asking, especially gearing up for a festive holiday week we've got temperatures running way warm for this time of year we're on the cooler side the

farther east you look. mild across midwest. showers from chicago to dallas tomorrow that flood risk continues for the southwest. as we get into tomorrow. look at saturday, finally drying out for places like san diego, but we'll deal with rocky snow, and no surprise there, few record aratures in the upper 30s along with morning plenty of sunshine for washington, d.c. and richmond today. that's a look at your forecast >> safe travels to everyone out there. "early today" is back in a moment with the tsa holiday preps taking hold this morning at long last, experts have determined how much money kevin's family from home alone raked in s family from home alon raked in.

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we are just four days away from christmas and while santa has his elves and sleigh, travelers here have the tsa. as officer brace for one of the busiest weeks of the year, tom costello takes us exclusively inside the tsa as it gears up for the holiday rush >> reporter: 3:00 a.m. at dfw and the first tsa shift is clocked in >> ticket please >> reporter: as the early bird flyers queue up. up since 1:00 a.m., gabriela ocampo, ten years on the job and air force veteran robert bailey >> take your rach take your boof >> next two, side by side. >> reporter: to expedite screening, dog teams often sniff

along passenger lines for any whiff of explosives, allowing passengers to keep io keep inte sho their shoes on, while tsa officers rotate. a second look for checked bags >> we're not personally going through every bag, because technology takes care of a lot of this stuff. >> reporter: and 2023 is set to break another record >> do you have anything breakable, fragile >> reporter: guns. officers have detected more than 6300 guns it year. 93% of them loaded most passengers say they forgot to properly check it in a tsa-approved case. the airports with the most gun confiscations, atlanta, dfw, houston, phoenix, and nashville. and the very officers charged with ensuring passenger safety are sometimes verbally abused. >> we do not ever tolerate abuse of our officers. we will call in law enforcement

to intervene where we need to. >> reporter: 22 years after 9/11, the core mission remains the same >> it's the safety of the passengers my family also travels, and i would like to think that they're in good hands as well. >> reporter: a high-volume, high-stress day, and it all starts begin at 3:00 a.m tom costello, nbc news at df w with still to come, ryan gosling, ryan gosling >> he's plagueying the guitar at you. and murmurs of a major media merger which hollywood companies could be joining forces. >> ryan gosling. forces. >> ryan gosling. ♪ (you've got the love) ♪ ♪ (you've got the love) ♪ ♪ (you've got the love) ♪ ♪ (you've got the love) ♪ ♪ (you've got the love) ♪ ♪ (you've got the love) ♪

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die in a life of fragility ♪ >> one version was not enough. right behind those shades, wednesday ryan gosling, and the producer dropped a holiday surprise for barbie fans ken the ep features renditions of the tune. in addition to the christmas-themed take, they feature an acoustic version and throw-back disco remix you can listen to all three. >> he's ken-sational >> absolutely. th that's a pretty cool ep. >> i had no idea he had that voice. >> good training a potential shakeup fin the media world. discovery and paramount global held talks about a potential merger. the companies are two of the biggest media conglomerates in the u.s., with things like

studios and cnn. all discussions so far are preliminary, but it comes just a wyke after reports that paramount chair woman, sherry redstone was looking to sell her stake in the media giant a shakeup is right and this has a lot of people in our business chatting about what would this even look like when both companies are so much in debt >> first of all, the longest name of a media company you will ever see that's the start but we're talking 15, 45 billion, we're talking about a lot of opportunity in this space. there is oil in them thar hills. the "new york times" recruited three economists, because they have nothing else to do, to determine how much the mcallister family really were in the 1990 classic, the property that kevin defends is a real-life home in the chicago

area if you take data from the 1990 space and today into consideration, kevin's parents would have had to be part of the top 1% of earners in that area to afford this home. >> i believe t kate and peter mcallister were doing really well, killing it at their jobs, whatever they were >> and it seems like the administairs went on forever. the big crv recall to tell but this morning and it's almost time to ring in the new year already. how time square is preparing for the iconic ball drop preparing r the iconic ball drop. [ tires screeching ] director: cut! jordana, easy on the gas. force of habit. i gotta wrap this commercial, i think i'm late on my payment. it's okay, the general gives you a break when you need it. yeah, we let you pick your own due date so you can pay your car insurance when it's best for you.

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cases of rsv have reached their peak honda is recalling over 100,000 crv honda vehicles missing a fuse which may cause a short circuit in the battery cable. it affects models from 2020 to 2022 the official 2024 numerals have arrived in times swea arri square they will light up the sky in midnight to ring in the new year midnight to ring in the new year.

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>> that is joel embiid to you and me he is making his case for another mvp. he put up 51 points in the philadelphia 76ers win over the minnesota timberwolves this comes exactly two weeks after another 50-point game versus the washington wizards, marks the seventh game in which he has dropped at least 50 points in his ten-year career. not bad. santa is getting a helping hand or a couple this holiday season a couple in wisconsin has been accepting and replying to letters on st. nick's behalf >> reporter: the neighborhood right across the river may look mundane, except the house with the red mailbox. go there's some letters. i just emptied it earlier today. >> reporter: makes it magical. instead. >> oh, this is a great letter from theo. >> reporter: they don't just read every letter. >> i feel that i've been good it year >> reporter: they answer them all too. >> i really chan manynel santa,

though >> reporter: reaching well over a thousand now, since becoming santa's helpers five years ago >> there are many little letter writer campaigns going around the country, and we are one that was asked to help. so it's really for santa that we do this. >> reporter: some of the letters inspire laughter >> i would like toy handcuffs for christmas, my mom says i can't use them on my little brother. >> reporter: others are so sweet. >> the gifts from you are really good, but i know it's not all about the toys thank you for all that you do. >> sweet >> reporter: they all keep the christmas spirit alive >> when i raid thead the kids' innocent letters, it really makes me happy, and yet i'm crying >> reporter: emotions may overflow rooted, though, in a bona fide belief >> dear santa. >> reporter: that either the big

guy. >> ply nmy name is madison >> and he's been very nice wouldn't it be fun if we all believed magical. >> yeah. it is magic. >> and we do believe of course we do. it is the magic of the holiday season e a season and that was jennifer hoff with that report. santa can't do everything. >> and when the helpers give you a note, you keep it forever if your heart and brain and under your pillow. >> that's right. thanks for watching "early today. i'm jessica layton >> i'm richard lui enjoy the music. enjoy the music. ♪ mistletoe hunwhere can yog (oven ding audio mnemonic) tyson boneless buffalo bites and hot wings have that tasty kick of flavor... ...so they're perfect for any get-together ...if there are any left when your guests arrive. tyson any'tizers® chicken. more kicks of flavor. more smiling snackers. more to love. tyson.

here we go. more can we land?kers. you're old enough to do it in the sky now. but it's gross. there is no way we're landing. are you sure no one is watching? gwen mallard! do it now, or we leave without you. ok. well, today, there's growing fallout after colorado's supreme court thumped trump from the