the fight to protect civilians in the israel-hamas war comes to the states. we are live with the key diplomatic talks happening at the white house. breaking overnight, the star

of the oscar-winning movie "parasite" found dead inside a car. what south korean investigators revealed about the actor's death. a winter storm wreaking havoc on travel back home from the holidays we're tracking the system that is delaying flights and making commutes treacherous but thing the care in health care the group working to prevent millions of medicaid subscribers from losing their health insurance. and a musical journey of resilience the 98-year-old holocaust survivor fulfilling his dream through the power of music it is wednesday, december 27 "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm jessica layton gaza was on the agenda at the white house, as a close advisor to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu met with top president biden officials in d.c. ron dermer is the strategic affairs minister in the israeli government and has worked for

netanyahu for decades. let's go straight to washington where brie jackson joins us live what came out of these meetings in d.c.? >> reporter: good morning, jessica. ron dermer met with jake sullivan and secretary of state antony blinken a white house official tells nbc news that the meeting had four items on the agenda. a transition to a different phase in the war to minimize harm to civilians, efforts to bring home remaining israeli hostages and planning for the day after the conflict ends, including governance and security in gaza the last two points are seen as the hard problems of the gaza war. hamas still holds more than a hundred hostages abducted from israel on october 7. and it's highly unlikely that they can be recovered through force alone. hamas is so far resisting a

renewed temporary truce saying only a permanent cease-fire will do israel has sworn to root out hamas and insists they cannot have any representation in gaza after the war. that is another non-starter for the fundamentalist group and the talks about potentially scaling back the war have so far been exactly that. just talk. u.s. officials from the president on down have urged israel to be more careful, but there is no sign that prime minister benjamin netanyahu has taken that to heart. there's also no sign that the biden administration had withhold america's military, economic and diplomatic support, meaning that a brutal war that started 82 days ago still has no end in sight jessica? >> and so many families caught in the middle. brie, thank you. meanwhile, as tensions rise in the middle east, we're learning more about american airstrikes that targeted three facilities used by iranian-backed militias in iraq.

several fighters were killed it was retaliation for a strike on a u.s. air base that hurt three american troops. a critically-injured soldier is now in stable condition, and he has been evacuated to an air base in germany. cour courtney kube has the latest >> reporter: tensions flaring in iraq, as the u.s. conducted precision airstrikes against three facilities used by iranian-backed militias. the u.s. military saying they killed multiple fighters defense officials sending a clear message to militia groups and to iran. the u.s. strikes in retaliation for an attack on erbil air base on christmas day militants launched an attack drone that struck the base, injuring three u.s. troops, one in critical but now stable condition and being transferred. in a statement, lloyd austin said these precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against u.s. personnel in iraq and syria. there have been at least 105

attacks against bases with americans in iraq and syria over the past two months, causing minor injuries these incidents have dramatically increased since the october p m7 hamas attack againt israel, rousing militia groups throughout the region, including the houthi groups in yemen who have assaulted ships u.s. forces shut down a dozen one-way attack droines. while traveling in israel last week, secretary austin warned after expanding regional conflict >> iran is raising tensions by continuing to support terrorist groups and militias. attacks by these iranian proxies threaten the region's citizens and risk a broader conflict. >> reporter: and only fueling tensions in the region, today the international atomic energy agency announced that iran has

sped up its production of highly-enriched uranium, the material used to produce a nuclear bomb the production of the material had slowed down while the u.s. and iran were negotiating for hostage release. >> courtney, thank you the fbi is investigating reports of several bomb threats against jewish institutions across cincinnati. hamilton county deputies were at the hospital after a threat was received there before that, deputies were searching a nearby synagogue it was apparently all a hoax, the all-clear given later in the day. the cincinnati field office says they have no information here to identify a specific credible threat now to breaking news from south korea this. >> mo. actor lee sun kyun has died in an apparent suicide. authorities say lee, who had been under investigation for alleged drug use, was found dead in a car in seoul on wednesday

his family says that he had left home after writing an apparent suicide note lee, along with his fellow parasite cast members was awarded outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the 2019 s.a.g. awards, lee was 48 years old in indiana, a driver was rescued just in the nick of time two fishermen spotted a truck that had veered off a highway and crashed under a bridge the driver was penned inside a truck and couldn't reach his phone. police say he was stuck there for six days before anyone found him. >> he said to me that he'd been there for a long time, that he had almost lost all hope he was a young guy, you know and it looked like he was really fighting to be there, to stay around he didn't want to go >> that driver was airlifted to a nearby hospital with injuries that police say are still life-threatening winter weather is still wreaking havoc all across the

heartland this morning parts of colorado still under a blifrnld warning right now the storm disrupted flights at denver international airport and made highway travel treacherous. let's take a quick look at the map. the icy conditions will finally subside across the plains, though pockets of lingering snowshowers can't be ruled out snow will stretch south into parts of missouri and illinois, while heavy rain will be possible from the mid atlantic to the northeast the risk for severe weather is low, but heavy rain could still lead to some areas of flash flooding later tonight finally, active weather returns to the west coast as the new system moves onshore through the day bringinggh, heading to the coast, philadelphia, 55 degrees,

new york 53. >> b boston 50 it was another year with climate dominating the headlines. al roker takes a look back at the big moments from 2023. >> reporter: 2023, the hottest year ever on earth >> oh, my god. >> reporter: a year of climate and weather extremes in the u.s., the number of billion-dollar disasters tallied 25 more than any other year new year's rang in with thousands of records shattering across europe. at least eight countries had their warmest january day ever back home things were no better, a siege of atmospheric rivers lashed the west coast through march. destructive flash floods swept through parts of california, burying the sierra under of 0 f60 feet when spring arrived, so did

tornados the most dangerous was an ef-4 tearing through mississippi, carving a 59-mile path across the state and packing winds as high as 195 miles per hour a two-day outbreak was the longest in history a shift to the i.east is making density. in june, wildfire smoke was choking the big apple making it seem like a mars landscape, shrouding iconic landmarks like the statue of liberty and empire state building both chicago and new york had the distinction of worst air quality. southern cities broiled under relengthless days of dangerous

heat at the end of july, phoenix hitting a record 31 straight days miami's extreme heat registered a heat indictiex of 100 degrees. the tropics lit up in late august, when hurricane idalia rapidly intensified over the gulf of mexico, striking florida with winds of 125 miles per hour fueled by record-warm sea surface temperatures, the fourth most active in history by november, the brutal heat plaguing the u.s. was now broiling the southern hemisphere the heat index in rio de janeiro hitting an astonishing 138 degrees. the highest ever recorded there. and for the third year in a row, deadly tornados ripped through the south, just days before

christmas. >> oh, my god! whoa >> reporter: 2023 experiencing so many extreme weather events we couldn't include them all here climate change driven weather leaving its mark all around the globe. al roker, nbc news "early today" is back in one minute with the group fighting to prevent millions from losing medicaid coverage. and the color purple breaks a christmas box office record. the stellar showing for this new musical. ellar showing for this w musical. blood? dr. garcia? whoa! crest reality checkup. bleeding gums are serious, jamie. i must be brushing too hard... no, it's actually a sign of bacterial infection. one that can spread to other parts of the body. check this out... unlike other toothpastes, crest gum detoxify's antibacterial fluoride works below the gumline to help heal gums and stop bleeding. crest saves the day, huh? no reason to fear. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. crest.

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>> when one doesn't have access to insurance, those decisions are being made based on, am i really as sick as i think i am do i really need to go >> reporter: in austin, texas, a network offering free and low-cost care is scrambling, not just to reenroll but to educate the community on how to keep this coverage. >> we have been constantly busy all the time >> reporter: for three years during the pandemic, congress required medicaid programs to keep people enrolled >> it meant that our patients and family also access to sustained benefits that is life-changing, life-altering. >> reporter: now that continuous enrollment is over >> we never had we never had90 people in the program. every state across the country is going through this process as we speak >> reporter: so far, over 11 million people have lost

medicaid coverage nationwide according to the keyser foundation as analysis in the states that have data available, about 71% of people are losing coverage for procedural reasons like missing paperwork. the volume putting a strain on states >> just about a quarter of all the children losing medicaid are in texas this is huge we've never seen a decline like this >> reporter: nbc news told that as of december it is taking an average of 60 days to complete an application for medicaid. but texas lawmakers want more. over the summer, congressman lloyd doggett and his colleagues urged the biden administration to take action and have since pushed the agency to ensure the enrollment process is timely. >> without federal intervention more and more texans, pregnant women, children, individuals with disability, will be denied health care when they should not be >> reporter: the biden administration telling nbc news

that they were working with texas to fix the problem >> we have met with the state. we have reviewed, and we did require texas to reinstate over 90,000 people that were incorrectly disenrolled from the program. >> reporter: half a million children regained coverage after working with states on reported issues. community health care clinics like dr. forners are stepping up >> for someone who has a chronic disease or disability, a lapse in coverage can cause this existing medical condition to worsen significantly >> reporter: nbc news. still to come, frompl purpl to green, right after this purp to green, right after this.

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but there ain't none to get. >> moviegoers were dreaming of a purple christmas they had a $18 million opening day, the largest christmas debut since sherlock holmes in 2009 which took in 24 million that year to a new wrinkle in your streaming experience amazon will introduce commercials for certain content on prime video beginning january 29 the change had nowill not apply items bought or r rinsed therented amazon prime costs $14.99 a month. they will offer an ad-free version for $2.99 more and now rocking a holiday

throwback. ♪ chestnuts roasting on an open fire ♪ ♪ '90s rock nipping at your nose ♪ >> in a christmas message to his fans, dwayne johnson donned the outfit from his infamous '90s photo shoot complete with the turtleneck and fannie pack while crooning nat king cole's "the christmas song." he poked fun at his iconic look. when we return, are your hol holiday returns may cost you this year. y returns may cost yo this year. re your holiday returns may cost you this year. e your holiday returns may cost you this year. your holiday returns may cost you this year. your holiday returns may cost you this year yy returns may cost you this year.

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we're back with what you need to know "early today. those free returns might be a thing of the past. according to the firm happy returns, 81% of retailers now charge customers to send back unwanted items your pets might keep your brain young, according to a uk

study that found living with others, pets or people, helps to slow dementia. if you're burning for "bridgerton" season three, we have new pictures from the upcoming zine. the first episodes dropping on netflix in may and there's now a 21-foot statue of shakira in her hometown f shakira in her hometown. with this tomorrow. you won't. it's ripe in here. my eyes are watering. look how crusty this is. ugh, it's just too much. not with this. good advice. when stains and odors pile up, it's got to be tide. jordan's sore nose let out a fiery sneeze, so dad grabbed puffs plus lotion to soothe her with ease. puffs plus lotion is gentle on sensitive skin and locks in moisture to provide soothing relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. ma, ma, ma— ( clears throat ) for fast sore throat relief, try vicks vapocool drops.

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saul in florida, music is magic. >> music keeps me alive. i don't have to eat. i don't have to drink. i want to make sure that what i do is perfect. >> reporter: saul grew up in poland and work in shindler's factory during the holocaust to this day, look how vividly he remembers that time in the concentration camp when prisoners started singing and he joined in. >> i was singing with them,la,la,la,la,la. >> reporter: that kept him alive amid the horror. he lost around 25 family minimums including his parents and sister >> i don't know how i survived >> reporter: but he did, and lived a full life. just about perfect yet something was missing. music. so, despite some skepticism, he decided to live out his dream and form a holocaust survivor

band >> people told me i crazy. my wife and my rabbi >> reporter: but whetherat's ev crazier is it worked he's played all around the country, even creating his own foundation, and earlier this month another dream come true. at a hanukkah reception he played at the white house with the united states marine corps band here he is meeting president biden. >> i was crying in my heart. what are you talking about impossible this is a dream, more than a dream. i can't explain what it is >> reporter: perfection. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, the white house. >> well, today marks the beginning of the kwanzaa holiday, which is a week-long sbr celebration of african-american heritage it was created in 1966 and is a time to reflect on the past and share hope for the future vice president kamala harris shared a

kwanzaa message. coming up on the "today" show, one giant leap into 2024 tau tom costello will tell us what to expect in the space race. and here's al roker with what else is coming up this morning >> on the third hour of "today" some impressive moms, an inspiring mountain-climbing mom of seven, then the mom who created her own hair care line rooted in her latinx heritage. and a green thumb at a plant store. all this and more coming up on the thir

the white house making a diplomatic push in the gaza conflict, advisors meeting with israeli officials in the