red sea. the u.s. navy striking back against houthi rebel ships

targeting a merch apt vessel the deadly encounter is the israel-hamas war rages on in gaza. ready, set, vote today marks the start of the 2024 election season we will look back at the highs and lows for president joe biden as he fights for another term in office. cheers to 2023, the big sendoff from around the world as we ring in 2024. plus, what kind of weather to expect if you are heading home today. the year artificial intelligence got real. a look back at the impact of ai on everything from school to politics in 2023 and the packers keep their playoff hopes alive. how their big win over the vikings is shaking up the post season picture whether you're just waking up or still celebrating, it's 2024 "early today" starts right now good morning and welcome to the new year, i'm frances rivera we begin with a new year's celebration still carrying on all around the world

>> five, four, three, two, one >> thousands of people flooded into new york city's times square to count the seconds to the iconic ball drop the confetti that rained down on the crowd at midnight contained messages of hope and well wishes that people shared for 2024. paris rang in 2024 by celebrating the upcoming summer olympics officials there estimate that over 800,000 people joined this olympic-themed new year's party complete with light show and massive fireworks display. australia kicked things off with one of the biggest celebrations at sydney's harbor bridge more than one million people were there which is equivalent to one fifth of the city's population. here at home how are we starting off 2024 weather wise let's check in with nbc meteorologist michelle grossman who is here. happy new year. >> happy new year. we are starting out really quiet across the country, that's going to make for better travel as we head through monday. things get trickier on tuesday

looking at this map we're seeing sun and clouds as we go throughout this monday in portions of the northwest into the intermountain west, the southwest looking good could see gulf coast moisture, showers along the gulf coast good in the upper midwest. we are watching a small clipper system moving through the great lakes, also portions of appalachians, higher elevation snow, could see up to 3 inches by tomorrow. throughout the afternoon could see showers in the mid-atlantic mainly along the coast looking good in terms of travel impacts, green all across the map. looking at that little system in the appalachians, that's about it tomorrow we have a little bit of an issue with a storm system moving on shore seattle to san francisco, could see possible delays tricky on the roadways, higher elevation snow >> michelle, thank you. now to the middle east and the most aggressive action yet by the u.s. navy since the israel-hamas war began according to the u.s. defense department, four boats carrying

houthi rebels from yemen fired on navy helicopters. the choppers fired back sinking three of the four ships and killing all crew members on board. the fourth boat got away the deadly incident started when the boats began firing on a merchant vessel and on land in gaza the fighting rages on here is nbc's josh lederman. >> reporter: as israeli air strikes rain down on south and central gaza, prime minister netanyahu is vowing the war will go on for many more months, telling the nation the idf needs more time to rout hamas and rebuffing calls to resign after the war, as israel pushes deeper into gaza, the health ministry says another 150 people were killed in a single day hundreds of others badly wounded. a rare piece of good news for the humanitarian crisis, israel says it's ready to let european nations deliver aid to gaza by sea. a team of six american surgeons has arrived in gaza to help and

told nbc news what they're seeing. >> the sanitation is unbelievable people living in the hallways, sleeping in the hallway, cooking. just a recipe for disaster for infection. >> reporter: on this new year's eve there is no celebration in israel for the families of more than 100 hostages. >> i want to get my life back. i haven't slept for 86 days. >> reporter: and survivors of hamas's october 7th terror attack are still steeped in trauma noah survived the music festival where 364 people were slaughtered. the remnants of that day have been put on display in tel aviv. she is seeing it for the first time. >> i was behind those. >> reporter: she and her boyfriend david hid with 14 others in a dumpster she was shot in the hip but survived >> this is my boyfriend. >> he was killed >> he was murdered, not killed,

he was murdered. he saved my life. >> reporter: we're listening to israel's national anthem to play right now. >> that is the perfect song in the background, how strong we are. they're going to be with us, dance with us. we're going to remember every single one >> and our thanks to josh for that report. this year will be a big one for president biden. he will see the result of his final campaign for office asking the american public to give him four more years in the white house. nbc's mike memoli has this look at the president's busy year and the challenges ahead >> reporter: for president joe biden 2023 began with democrats wondering will he run. as the calendar turns to 2024 they are now asking can he win he started the year with political momentum. >> he and the democrats have defied history. >> reporter: republicans took control of the house, but democrats won key senate and governor's races in the midterms, running on abortion rights and protecting democracy.

in april biden made it official. >> when i ran for president four years ago, i said we are in a battle for the soul of america and we still are. >> reporter: but the months ahead took a political toll. with republicans seizing on inflation and record border crossings, triggering showdowns over the debt ceiling and immigration policy. >> every town is a border town and it's crystal clear to everybody but the white house. >> reporter: and the supreme court striking down plans for student debt relief. ukraine's fight against russia stalled and war erupting between israel and hamas. >> you are not alone >> reporter: now the president's approval ratings are at all-time lows and some polls show donald trump ahead in a likely rematch. >> 2024 is our final battle. >> reporter: 2024 presents fresh challenges, not one, but two budget deadlines loom that could trigger government shutdowns. >> on this vote the yays are 221 and the nays are 212 the resolution is adopted.

>> reporter: house republicans long focused on hunter biden's business deals, teeing up an impeachment trial. >> i have been the target of the unrelenting trump attack machine shouting, where's hunter well, here is my answer, i am here >> reporter: as the president's son faces federal indictments on gun and tax charges, a special counsel continues to probe whether the president mishandled classified documents and while biden struggles to maintain support for ukraine, he's also warning about china's designs on taiwan, after ordering a spy balloon shot down, relations with beijing remain fragile. >> i again emphasize to president xi that the united states does not seek conflict. >> reporter: biden's early support for israel will continue to test his political coalition at home. >> under biden i think we've made grave mistakes that have led to the death of almost 20,000 people. >> reporter: biden's 2024 kicks off with a rare challenge for the democratic nomination, and

potential third-party challengers who could complicate his path his pitch relies on a recovering economy. >> that's bidenomics. >> reporter: and selling accomplishments like the infrastructure law. >> we have a record to run on. most importantly, we are not only changing this country we're transforming it. >> reporter: while framing the election as an existential choice. >> there is an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs in our democracy the maga movement. >> reporter: voters will be keeping a close eye on the 81-year-old incumbent with every misstep adding to democrats' worries. the president's age putting an even bigger spotlight on vice president kamala harris who figures to be a big part of the reelection fight. >> so many of our hard won freedoms are under attack and this is a moment for us to stand and fight. >> reporter: part of her focus, young voters, women and minority groups that aren't sold on biden. biden's first run for senate came in 1972 2024 marks his fourth run for the oval office, after more than

five decades of political upsets, setbacks and come backs, his last campaign may be his toughest yet. >> our thanks to josh lederman for that report. a new year means new laws will go into effect across the country. a law has been revised in illinois so police can no longer perform a stop or search solely because something is hanging from a car mirror. a sponsor of the new law says the original policy resulted in racial profiling. starting today colorado becomes one of a dozen states banning so-called ghost guns the new law bans firearms assembled at home or 3-d printed without serial numbers. a new connecticut law requires online dating services to provide information about safety and scams and offer users ways to report threats and harassment let's see what kind of weather we can expect for the first week of the new year let's check back in with nbc meteorologist michelle grossman with a look on more of that. >> we're looking good today,

quiet as we go throughout this 1st day of january throughout the rest of the week we will ramp things up today looking quiet, radar showing us we're watching showers in the gulf coast, we will see that throughout the afternoon hours, it's a front draped there, it will bring thunderstorms as well. we are watching a quick-moving system moving through portions of the ohio valley, the great lakes into parts of pennsylvania this is going to swing through, it will bring rain showers to the mid-atlantic throughout this afternoon. there is that system as it goes by bringing the snowshowers. we could see 1 to 3 inches in portions of the appalachians and could see rain showers, too, in the mid-atlantic throughout tomorrow we will see it clear out of here looking good throughouallas, also san angelo. temperatures in the 60s in houston and san antonio. that's your monday forecast. >> thank you, michelle.

we are back in a minute with a breakout year for artificial intelligence and not so smashing pumpkins, why hershey's is being haunted by a halloween candy lawsuit by a halloween candy lawsuit. start your day with nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. i'm adding downy unstopables to my wash. now i'll be smelling fresh all day long. [sniff] still fresh. ♪♪ get 6x longer-lasting freshness, plus odor protection. try for under $5! you know that feeling of having to re-wash dishes that didn't get clean? i don't. cascade platinum plus has me doing dishes...differently. scrub, soak? nope. i just scrape, load... and i'm done. platinum plus is cascade's best clean ever. with double the dawn and double the scrubbers, it removes the toughest grease and food residue for an irresistible clean and shine.

rewash? not in my house. upgrade to cascade platinum plus. dare to dish differently. 2023 was a year of ai with the rise of apps like chatgpt. nbc's jake ward takes a look back on its rapid evolution in just the last year and what it could mean for society as we know it. >> for instance. >> for instance. >> could soon transform hollywood. >> and the harm the software could cause. >> 2023 was when ai went from nerdy jargon to a daily part of politics, entertainment. >> chatgpt, dude. >> even schoolwork. >> how many of you use the ai like chatgpt or baird in this discussion >> it has come at us very fast chatgpt now has 100 million weekly users just since its launch last year, with 92% of

fortune 500 companies using the technology according to the company. beyond chatgpt the stuff ai did this year is amazing it caught a glimpse of our thoughts. >> so as long as i have seen it and you know the patterns of my brain, then the ai will read that out of my brain >> yes, exactly. >> reporter: spotted mental health risks in children. >> an output will say this is a patient at high risk, this is a patient at low risk. >> reporter: and created tons and tons of weird art. >> the god-like power to commission any artist in history. >> yeah, that's the fun part. >> reporter: but as 2024 approaches ai's ability to trick anyone's eyes could be the end of trust. >> deepfake, face swap, unbelievable. >> reporter: in just the time it took us to set up our cameras uc berkeley professor fareed made me look like i had starred in "dr. strange." >> this is -- >> on my laptop. >> in an hour? >> 20 minutes. >> but that same tech in our politics could be dangerous. the republican national

committee already aired one ai generated add full of fake images. >> go to slovakia right now, go to sudan where we're seeing fake audio trying to stowe civil unrest. >> david holtz said earlier this year that the risk of misuse is not worth giving up on ai. >> it's bet tore trust people they will use things in good ways you're always going to get some edge case. that's just what having an effect on the world is like. >> reporter: ai investors like former google ceo eric schmidt say companies should more or less regulate themselves. >> there's no one in the government who can get it right but the industry can roughly get it right and then the government can put a regulatory structure around it. >> reporter: that argument has mostly won out europe and china have moved forward on broad ai regulation this is year but as 2023 winds down the u.s. remains the wild west for ai. a world-changing technology moving so fast and with little sign of slowing down jake ward, nbc news. still to come, wolverines,

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inside it'> insides reeds rn reed on the run. inside the 10, to the goal line, bridges the plane. what a run by reed. the vikings found love on new year's eve just not the kind they were looking for. jordan love and the packers torched their bitter rivals in minnesota including two scores from jayden reed the vikings struggled to get their offense going against green bay who led minnesota by 27 at the half the pac keep their playoffs hopes alive with a 33-10 win. 2023 may have ended on sunday but the race to the nfl playoffs is only getting started n in the afc a matchup between

super bowl favorites turned into a blowout. the ravens locked up the top seed in the afc. in the nfc the eagles became the fourth team this year to lose to the cardinals, san francisco ensured that the road to the big game will run through the bay area the niners clinched the conference's one seed with philly's loss and their win over the commanders and the reigning champs managed to shake off their late season struggles to return to the big dance, the chiefs clinched their eighth straight afc west title while knocking their playoff kryptonite the cincinnati bengals out of post season contention after four months dozens of schools and even a little controversy it all comes down to this the college football playoff kicks off this afternoon in pasadena fourth ranked alabama returns to title contention for the first time since the 2021 season as they take on coach jim harbaugh

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we are back with what you need to know "early today. certain batches of nutramigen baby formula powder are being recalled over a possible bacterial contamination. the impacted batches were produced in june and the potential bacteria in the product can call sepsis and meningitis. hershey's facing a $5 million lawsuit after a woman says it's halloween themed peanut you butter candies lack the artistic detail shown on the package. she said she would have never bought a bag for around $5 in october if she knew the candies didn't have the carved

jack-o'-lanterns that are je suis has not responded for comment. "wonka" ended the year in first place at the box office bringing in nearly $24 million over the holiday weekend. tonight is another chance for you to start off the 2024 year as a multimillionaire the powerball jackpot has grown to an estimated $810 million after no one took home the grand prize saturday night good luck to you in the new year "early today" will be right back be right back. so i didn't think i needed swiffer, until, i saw how easily it picked up my hair every time i dried it! only takes a minute. look at that! the heavy duty cloths are extra thick, for amazing trap & lock. even for his hair. wow. and for dust, i love my heavy duty duster. the fluffy fibers trap dust on contact, up high and all around without having to lift a thing. i'm so hooked. you'll love swiffer. or your money back! ( ♪ ♪ )

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through so much in the past year >> reporter: high school students from all over hawaii are in california this week getting ready for the experience of a lifetime. for some from maui it's been a long road to get here, after surviving this summer's deadly fires. hawaii's all-state marching band will perform in the new year's day rose parade. this man composed the band's music. >> how excited are you about what's about to happen >> i'm so excited because it's my coming back to life celebration. >> reporter: back to life because this summer he nearly died of smoke inhalation when flames ripped through his neighborhood. >> this is right behind our homes. >> reporter: he ran back inside his house to save important items like his computer which had all the band's music compositions. >> you saved the music and you

then went on to direct this band and form the band again and get them to the rose parade. >> that is very meaningful to me >> reporter: parade organizers donated money for new instruments to help kids like sheila, doumico and samantha wh lost everything in the fires. >> even though i went through a lot i'm still really grateful to be here and grateful to everybody who supported me the whole way. >> reporter: the power of music giving them a memory they will never forget ♪ >> and hope their music brings them more joy in 2024. our thanks to kate snow for that report. as we kick off the new year we want to take a moment here to thank all the people who make "early today" possible, and we wish you at home all a very happy, healthy and safe 2024 ♪

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the u.s. navy strikes back the growing tensions in the middle east after the u.s. strikes ck