barber in new york more new the is on the way new .

14 people killed on a campus america's southern border facing a record number of crossings. the impact felt to the north as some border states send migrants to major cities. now the house speaker is putting a strongly-worded letter on the president's desk roads and skies filling up as travellers go to holiday destinations the winter weather on the horizon might mean a bum bumpy. check out the movies hitting the big screen this weekend. how this lonestar restaurant managed to pull off a holiday surprise for one employee. christmas weekend is almost here and "early today" starts right now. >> good morning, and happy friday i'm jessica layton >> glad you're with us, i'm frances rivera the czech republic has been rocked by a rare mass shooting

at least 14 people killed in the capital prague the massacre happened at the historic charles university. the suspected gunman is among the dead a major cache of weapons was recovered at a campus building while the exact motive isn't clear, authorities have ruled out any political or extremist agenda our keir simmons has more. >> reporter: panic in prague as a gunman opens fire on a college campus sending people running for cover. images of terrified students crouching high up on a ledge of a building witnesses describing the horror. >> in the middle of the exam we start hearing gunshots and screams. eventually, we were able to lock the door and make a barricade. all i could see, the floor was covered in blood >> reporter: the gunman opening fire at the arts faculty of cha charles university where police say he killed 14 people in the

czech republic's worst mass shooting s.w.a.t. teams rushing to the scene. historic old town usually packed with holiday tourists locked down as ambulance and police vehicles pour in [speaking in a global language the father of one student says he texted heis daughter to get o the floor and stay away from windows. police say the suspect is dead, that he likely killed himself after the massacre, but that there was a firefight with responding officers and that they found the body of his father earlier the white house weighing in. >> federal authorities are in touch with czech authorities as they investigate this incident, and we stand ready to provide additional support as needed >> and our thanks to keir for that report. in gaza, the official death toll has reached 20,000, and that staggering number is likely much higher. as nearly 7,000 are reported missing under the rubble of israeli airstrikes while estimates do come from the

hamas health ministry, they have been endorsed by human rights group and the u.s. state department >> reporter: a staggering figure bringing the agony in gaza into sharp focus as the palestinian health ministry estimates roughly 20,000 people, including thousands of children, have now been killed since the october 7 hamas terror attack. the israeli assault aimed at destroying hamas had led around 90% of civilians in gaza to flee their homes. the world health organization warning of people dying of thirst, sddisease and starvation >> everywhere i go, people are hungry >> reporter: the biden administration has been stepping up pressure on israel to get more aid in and to move to a more targeted phase that limits civilian casualties. deputy pentagon press secretary sabrina zhang just returned from the region with lloyd austin is there a sense that israeli officials are receptive to the

message being brought by secretary austin and other members of the biden administration >> you know, i do think they were receptive to secretary austin you always expect any partner, any ally that is transferred, u.s. weapons, that buy u.s. twoeps alw weapons to always conduct their operations in upholding the rules of armed conflict. >> reporter: hamas says there will be no negotiations until israel agrees to end the war at an impasse, palestinians civilians are bearing the brunt. a nbc news team was there as drone strikes hit the southern city of rafah, where israeli officials told civilians to seek safety this man, who fled his home in the north, asks where is safety. in washington, alice barr, nbc news house speaker mike johnson is calling on president biden to

take executive action in the border crisis and quote stem the record tide of illegal immigration. the scathing letter comes after congress left for the year without an agreement to address the problem. after three straight days of record border crossings, the republican governor of texas flew more migrants to chicago. from our windy city station, natalie martinez has the story >> reporter: at o'hare airport, migrants can be seen camping out in the bus terminal center there are currently 300 staying at ohio o'hare >> a hundred migrants on there >> reporter: the governor of texas confirmed his state chart chartered a flight to chicago. this is video shot, showing asue l sigh

asu asylum seekers boarding. >> without elected officials at the highest level of government, like governor abbott to play with people's lives that at least cost two lives here. >> reporter: he's referring to a 3-year-old girl who died in transport and a 5-year-old who died sunday after a medical emergency at this shelter at 22nd and halstead. >> the department of homeland security must intervene. >> reporter: a statement released by governor abbott's office reads in part, because mayor johnson is failing to live up to his city's welcoming city ordinance, we are expanding our operation to include flights to chicago. even the white house is weighing in, saying in a statement in part, governor abbott is not interested in solutions. he only seeks to use people as political pawns.

>> and our thanks to natalie martinez for that report new this morning, a former assistant to vin diesel has accused him of sexually assaulting her back if 2010. that's according to a lawsuit filed against the action star. in the complaint obtained by nbc news, she accuses diesel of sexual battery, a hostile work environment, wrongful termination and re tal yags. the assistant was allegedly hired by diesel in 2010. in a statement, the actor categorically denies the claims in its entirety. this is the busiest holiday travel period in years with 115 million people on the move travis cummings with our st. louis affiliate reports. >> reporter: long tsa lines are hard to avoid this week. but families are glad to be in them >> our older son and daughter-in-law just moved to new york in september.

so they invited us out, so we're thrilled we're all flying back home together on christmas eve to celebrated christmas here. >> reporter: thousands are flooding terminals to make it to their christmas destination. >> kind of nice to go back to traveling again. get all the family together. kind of nice to bring everyone back together. >> reporter: the tsa projects more than 115,000 people to fly this week between two terminals at lambert international out of the 115 million people traveling for christmas this year, 90% of them are hitting the road what better place to catch up with families than the home of the great american road trip >> i have my husband, my three kids and then also our dog >> reporter: they are passing through from indianapolis. >> it takes us seven hours unless we stop with our kids, which takes a little bit longer, so we just decided to get up at 5:00 this morning so we could get some naps in the car and everyone wouldn't be so cranky >> reporter: smart move. >> if we get up earlier, we kind

of miss traffic and try to hit st. louis at the right time so we don't get lunch traffic or morning traffic. >> reporter: troy o'nile and his girls are coming from arkansas >> sometimes i'll do an overnighter just to avoid it most of the truckers are sleeping in the evening, so you get a free ride. >> reporter: ride or fly, these families are glad to take the journey again. >> this is the first time this four years that we'll be back. that's good. >> and our thanks to travis cummings for that report >> if you're traveling west, you might be in for a messy ride this weekend angie lassman is here with the holiday forecast the timing on had isthis is reay poor >> we have the potential for he do delays in and outd out we out.

we have 26 million impac imp hey rain we're going to see that in arizona before moving into parts of the plains. as we get into saturday, this overspreads into the central and southern plains, we'll still see heavy snow possible across the rockies. that will be one thing to watch, giving giv giving you a little bit of wh ait expected in st. louis with rain on tap. sc

salt lake city hits 48 with mostly sunny skies today and that's an look at your forecast "early today" is back in a minute with a west coast cold case solved after 40 years an important warning about those wildly popular weight loss drugs and counterfeits flooding the market d counterfeits floodi the market. could be damaged hair that can't retain moisture. you need pantene's miracle rescue deep conditioner. it's filled with pro-vitamins to help hair lock in moisture, visibly repairing six months of damage in just one use, with no weigh-down. guaranteed, or your money back. for hair that looks healthy and stays healthy. if you know, you know it's pantene. ♪ on your period, sudden gushes happen. say goodbye gush fears! thanks to always ultra thins... with rapiddry technology... that absorbs two times faster. hellooo clean and comfortable. always. fear no gush.

are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? downy unstoppables in wash scent booster keep your laundry smelling fresh way longer than detergent alone. get 6x longer-lasting freshness plus odor production with downy unstopables. try for under $5. it is the end of a decades-long mystery a 15-year-old girl missing since 1982 identified as the victim of the notorious green river killer >> reporter: the remains of a murder victim known only as bone 17 for 40 years has a name lori a l lori ann was 15 when she disappeared. identified using dna evidence.

>> i was at that scene, january 2, 1986. >> reporter: she went missing after running away from home her body discovered alongside another body near the scene after car that fell over an embankment near tacoma, washington ridgway would lead investigators to that spot nearly 15 years later as a place he hid their bodies genealogists tracing the dna all the way to her mother. >> there was definitely the feeling that this was a very young woman. and so it made sense that she would have potentially parents looking for her. >> in seattle, another grim discovery today that could be connected to the string of green river murders. >> reporter: those murders captivating the nation, making ridgway one of the most prolific serial killers in american history. >> years and years of collecting scores and scores of bodies of young women and girls. we were looking at a monster

>> reporter: ridgway mid guilty to 48 murders in 2003 and a 49th in 2011. the family of that victim, becky morero asking the judge to execute her killer >> he's a waste to society and a waste of space if i had one thing to ask you today, it would be kill him. >> reporter: but ridgway escaped the death penalty by way of a plea deal struck in 2003, in exchange for information about where he hid his victims >> usually when i sentence an individual, even for the most serious of crimes, i reach out with some humanity in this case, i cannot i can find no compassion >> reporter: ridgway now 74 is serving a life sentence in state prison dave reichert, the former sheriff who helped capture him is still conflicted about that punishment >> monsters should be put to death. if this is anybody who deserved the death penalty, this is the

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i cannot believe you let this happen. >> yeah, well, i hate this job >> the king of atlantais lead as packed holiday wiejd weekend as as as aquaman hits theaters and families can flock to migration, the new animated comedy from illumination right here on nbc universal. looks so great, something for

everybody. >> for sure. color purple for me. maybe something else for my husband. the globe search far and wide. but jo koy has been tapped to host the golden globes he says he's excited for the opportunity. and the awards will take place january 7 on cbs it's no secret they had a tough time finding someone he's going to make the most of this opportunity he's so humble so proud of him. can't wait to watch him. >> kevin mcallister had a taste for the finest things in life. here's another example listed on zillow for $6.7 million is the manhattan townhouse where kevin hid in 1992's home alone two.

the brown stone comes with four bedrooms and five bathrooms. look at how they renovated it, right? beautiful. hopefully it stayed that way better shape than kevin left it after disposing of marv and harry. you look at all these tabulations, right people keeping tabs of how much that whole trip would cost it would cost 55 grand by some people >> and $967.43 on lroom service if you are up right now, you know how a lack of sleep can hurt your health and president biden gets all he wants for christmas why mariah carey drops by. hrist. why mariah carey drops by. 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...

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counterfeit, so they nmay not be sterile, putting you at risk of next all forms of sleep loss, whether it's deprivation or fragmentation can result in a negative mood and may even cause anxiety. the cdc recommends adults over 18 to get at least seven hours of sleep and the queen of christmas made it to the white house mariah carey visiting president biden and vice president harris with her twins she played her hit song "all i want for christmas" and revealed she's a big fan. so are we, we'll be right back so are we, we'll be right back. . needed a quick shave. quick shave? want for christmas" and revealed she's a big fan. so are we, we'll be right back f. so are we, we'll be right back. gillette...labs? gillette's ultimate shaving experience. this green bar releases trapped hairs from my face. gamechanga! while the flexdisc contours to it. lookin' smooth. feelin' even smoother. how 'bout hookin' me up with some gillettelabs? check your texts. you're the best. nah, you're the best. the best a man can get keeps getting bettuh. the next generation of shaving is gillettelabs.

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after lifetime by coming home. meredith yeomans from our dallas-ft. worth station is showing us the moment it happened >> reporter: at 407 barbecue, good food is always on the menu. but line the scenes, the owner had something else cooking the past six weeks a surprise for one of his employees. how hard was it to keep the secret that day? >> for me? it was very hard i'm the kind of guy that wants to start talking sometimes things spitz out >> reporter: this is the first christmas lydia calderon and her husband have kids living at home empty nesters. >> she was a little bit down in the dumps. she didn't think her daughter was coming home for christmas. >> reporter: meet her daughter >> i knew they wanted to see me so bad i thought it was a good idea to surprise them. >> reporter: lydia thought she

was being recognized for her work >> we've had a record year, thank you so much. >> hey, woo! >> don't get pea me wrong, she' done a tremendous effort but that was more of a distraction. >> reporter: but then it happened >> santa claus is here >> reporter: an early christmas gift for a mom missing her kid >> woo >> it's so rare in this world now to see pure, unadulterated joy. >> translator: it was like whatever i saw her being born. >> it was such a great feeling it was such a great feeling. it's like no other, coming home to your parents after so long of not seeing them. [ applause ] >> reporter: because there's no place like home for the holidays >> our thanks to meredith yeomans for that report. that's why there are's so many

songs. no place like home a grandmother in cincinnati just started a letters to santa tradition in her neighborhood. >> they need something to believe in, just to have fun w and the magic they get when they look at santa, it warms my soul. >> it is the first year brenda place add mailbox for letters to santa outside her home she leaves paper and envelopes for them making sure every child gets a letter back it's the lost art of letter writing. >> perfect place to send it. thanks for watching "early today,i'm jessic"

right now at 5:00, the holiday weekend is upon us. we are tracking the travel rush on the roads and in the skies, for people getting