breaking news overnight, a trove of court document oos unsealed in a case involving convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein. what we've learned so far, including the high-profile names

included in the files. twin blasts send a massive crowd scrambling in iran, people gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of general qassem soleimani's death. hoping for a sweet settlement the multi-million lawsuit against hershey's. fresh powder in the sierra now heads east the first major snowstorm in the northeast has seen a nearly two years is barrelling across the country. angie lassman is tracking the latest other meteorologists live in a near-constant snow event we go to work with the team tracking weather in one of the most brutal environments in the country. mt. washington it's thursday, january 4th "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm frances rivera we begin with breaking news. the first batch of jeffrey epstein court documents has been

unsealed 40 exhibits were released all from a settled lawsuit involving the late financier and convicted sixx o sex offender who killed himself in jail in 2019. the british socialite is serving a 20-year prison sentence for trafficking girls for and with epstein. the documents are expected to name high-profile epstein associates however, most of the people in the first batch have been flamed before among them, former presidents trump and clinton. neither man has been accused of wrongdoing prince andrew has been mentioned. he denies wrongdoing but settled a sexual abuse suit out of court. other names include david copperfield, allan dershowitz and bill richardson. nbc news has reached out to representatives for those three

but none are been involved in a crime. also breaking in iran, nearly a hundred people were killed in explosions targeting a memorial ceremony marking the fourth anniversary of the general caqassem soleimani's death. he was killed in a drone strike on the orders of then-president trump. claudio, tell us what happened >> reporter: good morning, frances. on wednesday, thousands of people were gathering at a cemetery in a southern iranian city where soule mainy's burr identify when all of a sudden two blasts went off. the first one about 2300 feet away from his tomb, the second one 2,000 feet away killing 95 people and injuring more than

200 people there was no immediate claim of responsibility, even think some senior members of the iranian parliament pointed the finger at israel and the united states, claims called irresponsible by a spokesperson of the state department who said there was no involvement by the u.s. and israel some senior or several officials told nbc news that they believe this was more an attack carried out or more likely an attack cared out by militant groups like islamic state which have been responsible in the past for similar mass murders in iran but this attack combined with the assassination of a senior hamas commander in beirut on tuesday will only contribute to high-tension in the region just as the state department secretary, secretary of state,

travel to the region for the fourth time since the crisis a florida man lasshas been arrested for threatening to kill a member of congress he threat a series of voice mails for eric swalwell, threatening to kill the congressman and his childrens cr swalwell has said threats will never stop him from representing his constituents now to the latest in the race for the white house former president trump has taken his fight to stay on colorado's primary ballot to the supreme court, all while he prepares for iowa caucuses less than two weeks away here's dasha burns >> reporter: republican frontrunner donald trump asking the u.s. supreme court to overturn a ruling by colorado's highest court banning him from the state's ballot because of his actions on january 6 the former president's lawyers appeal says it would be the

first time the judiciary has prevented voters from casting ballots for the leading candidate. cal calling it election interference polls show trump maintaining his dominant lead. ron desantis was pressed by one of his own supporters, why hasn't he gone after mr. trump more >> i've articulated all the differences time and time again on the campaign trail. >> reporter: then there's nikki haley. >> i will defeat president trump fair and square. i have no doubt about that but this is not the way to do it >> reporter: meanwhile, long shot, vivek ramaswamy, a fierce trump defender has already said he will not appear on any ballot trump is banned from, claiming the system is rigged against the former president >> why wouldn't it work against you, too >> they don't have on me what they have on him you can look right now they've got four different wars they waged on this man

this managerial class duped him. in a way they won't be duping me >> reporter: he kicks off the first of four rallies this weekend. >> dau sha, thank you a las vegas man is facing charges after sparking a courtroom brawl. the video shows the man lunging at the bench the judge and courtroom marshall were xexamined at the hospital and expected to be okay. we are getting new information about what caused that fiery plane crash in japan. janis mackey frayer is there with the latest. >> reporter: new includes into the investigation of the fiery crash at haneda airport. transcripts of air traffic control instructions obtained by nbc news appear to confirm that

japan airlines flight 516 was cleared to land and approached runway 34 right. the smaller japan coast guard aircraft had permission to taxi but not to take off. the coast guard acknowledging that call from the tower in its last transmission before the crash. and a flight operations document shows that the red stoplights meant to alert pilots not to taxi onto the runway where the crash occurred were out of service at the time. people inside the airbus a-350 recalling the impact >> yes, you felt the airplane was not in a normal position, like bending >> reporter: all 379 passengers and crew safely evacuating the burning aircraft in less than 90 seconds. it's a tragedy for japan's coast guard. five of six crew members killed in the collision the plane part of the effort to get supplies to japan's western coast devastated by earthquakes on new year's day. government officials confirming

at least 73 people have died japan's prime minister saying we are at a crucial stage investigators here are still searching for the black box from the destroyed passenger plane, meanwhile japanese media reporting that the three pilots from the japan airlines flight say they didn't see the coast guard aircraft on the runway when they were given clearance to land. >> janice, thank you the first winter storm of 2024 brings fresh snow to parts of california. take a look at big bear. it is a popular so cal ski resort east of los angeles but if were you hiding north to the sierras, be prepared all drivers must be using chains or all-wheel drive and keep speeds slow and safe let's bring in angie lassman who's tracking the storm and snow heading to the northeast. >> hi there. we do have the potential for snow across portions of the northeast. but we've got a couple days before that occurs

the system we're watching, the same one that's brought plenty of snow to the sierra and other parts in the west. here's the winter alerts right now and the storm system that we're going to be monitoring through the next couple days and well into the weekend. today the heavy snow will be centered across the southern central rockies. we're not looking at a really impressive chance for severe weather, but we could see a couple rumbles of thunder. by the time we get into tomorrow we'll see the system work toward the gulf coast we see moisture added in thanks to the gulf of mexico and then it will lift to the north bringing snow across the 34id atlantic and interior northeast for sure we could see the potential for heavy snow in some spots we'll likely see rain and high winds along the coast as we get into saturday linger new mexico.

57 in san antonio. mid-50s for new orleans and plenty of sunshine expected from little rock to memphis and that's a look at your forecast >> thank you "early today" is back in 60 seconds with the halloween candy l lawsuit haunting hersheys. t hau. e gentle on your skin, try downy free & gentle downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle. febreze! your bathroom... needs febreze small spaces... the always-on, odor-fighting air freshener you set and forget. no outlets used, no batteries needed, no effort required. so your bathroom stays continuously fresh for 45 days. that's the power of febreze small spaces.

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wrong way to package them. a woman is suing hershey, the maker of reese's, saying this pumpkin-shaped chocolate doesn't match its packaging. it's not the kind of halloween trickery sin cynthia kelly wantd she says she wouldn't have bought the peanut butter pumpkins if she knew the chocolate didn't have a cute-looking carving of a pumpkin's mouth and eyes and a lawsuit claims hershey falsely represented other products like reese's white ghosts, peanut butter bats and peanut butter footballs. she's not the only one complaining. >> ah, man i thought it would have a face on it. just a chocolate blob. >> reporter: the lawsuit citing wider grumbling on social media. it come afc a afccomes after hie

lawsuits, against taco bell and burger king, claiming there wasn't as much food as advertised this attorney represented people in those claims. rousseau filed this hershey lawsuit, telling the "washington post," the litigation is quote not a waste of time, saying, quote, there's no other way for us to stop the false advertising. >> i understand that it sounds silly, but, if there were not a lawsuit, there would be no way to keep a company like hershey in check for not having the packaging match what's on the inside >> reporter: but actually getting results is another story. a woman also sued kraft heinz over devvelveeta mac and cheese saying it took more than the three and a half minutes claimed

to make. it was dismissed and a lawsuit claiming strawberry pop-tarts weren't strawberry enough also dismissed. so, will this suit against hershey find sweet success hershey says it doesn't comment on pending litigation. >> what would a reasonable jury give someone for the emotional distress of opening up a chocolate pumpkin and finding that it's not decorated the way it looks on the packaging? you can imagine a jury saying the defendant did something wrong, but the plaintiff gets a dollar >> our thanks to adrian for that report still to come. fans might be saying give me more, but britney spears is dashing hopes of returning to the studio returning to the studio. symptoms define me... emerge as you. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 4 months... ...and the majority stayed clearer, at 5 years. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections

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coming january 9th, a netflix comedy special

pete davidson is turbo fonz really >> what the [ bleep ] is a turbo fonz really? >> he is returning to the stage under that mysterious moniker. it is set to drop on the streamer this coming tuesday netflix says in his new set the 30-year-old comic will dive into growing up, love, life and living in the woods. i'm glad fans have something to look forward to. because right before christmas he cancelled about a dozen shows of his live show no reason. we don't fknow why hopefully he's doing okay. >> did you see his first special? >> part of it. >> we'll see what this one has in store and is it a permanent blackout for britney? she took to instagram to dispel

rumors that she might be working on her tenth studio album. in her post, the pop icon called most of the news trash and even went as far as declaring that she would never return to the music industry the wednesday report from page six said the rumored album would include collaborations with art tests like juliette michaels it seems a little back and forth, if she says she's not doing it, more power to her. she says she writes for other people and performs. >> fans will have to get those 30-minute dance sessions that she posts all the time on insta. 20 years that's crazy the well-dressed stars of america's favorite shows are returning. patrick j. adams will present at the golden globe awards. the legal drama came to an end in 2019 but has seen a recent surge in popularity after the

recent surge on streaming platforms. cast members were invited to present. they did not specify who i'm wondering if mm. there's talk of another "suits" coming up. not a spinoff but a whole other version. >> when it started becoming popular, i watched it so long agatha i did think it was already the spinoff that had dropped. but unfortunately, he'll have to wait a little longer when we come back, it's byoc, starbucks is brewing a new way to go green. and you'll want to tune in for a ford recall alert before getting behind the wheel of this f-150 this morning wheel of this f-150 this morning. for the things you touch, nothing kills more viruses on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. [girl coughs] and when it comes to your laundry, adding lysol laundry sanitizer

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they have the trailer max package. starbucks will allow customers to use their own cups in stores for drive through and mobile orders. the american kennel club is recognizing the landcashire heeler and a lucky dog in colorado is rescued after falling through the ice in a park. firefighters were able to save it firefighters were able to save it. [♪♪] there's a way to cut your dishwashing time by 50%. try dawn powerwash dish spray.

it removes 99% of grease and grime in half the time. it cleans so well, you can replace multiple cleaning products. try dawn powerwash. 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. i love that. try new tide fabric rinse. there is a group of pleerts w meteorologists who make a living in one of the most inhospitable places on earth. our port 4rland, maine affiliat

reports. >> reporter: it's 9:00 a.m., time for work, and here you don't use a car. this is shift change at the mt. washington observatory >> have you all had -- >> reporter: this team of weather observers takes a bumpy, noisy, 90-minute sno-cat ride up the unplowed auto road to begin eight straight days watching weather, 6,288 feet up at the top of the northeast. they arrive each week with a chance to capture history. >> welcome back, everyone. we've got cool weather to talk about. >> reporter: 1934, a record stood for 62 years there's a 50% chance of hurricane winds and cloud cover, working 12 hour shifts, the observers monitor data, educate the public and go outside every hour to take measurements. often the old-fashioned way.

>> what we do is measure the current air temperature and the air temperature as if we removed all the water. >> reporter: it might look like a different planet, but this place tells us a lot about our planet and our corner of it. >> we are collecting a very unique data set, crucial to understand in climate change in a unique environment like this what happens up here is going to eventually trickle down to the valley >> reporter: in addition to doing research many people rely on, this is of course their home a week at a time they take turns buying groiss a groceries and feeding the cat, nimbus francis believes nimbus is the 18th cat >> he was sleeping in my bed >> reporter: a long tradition and like lay necessary one along with the baked goods and video games. life can get lonely way up here. >> it can be hard to be away from friends and family for the

holidays you become aware of your crew members and where everyone's out. instinctively you want to help everyone out >> reporter: a crucial team, and they believe a meteorologist's dream. even at crew comes back down to earth they look forward to returning. >> it really quickly becomes, i don't flow, like a home in the clouds, i guess. >>. >> a beautiful day in the office for them thanks so much for watching "early today." i'm frances rivera hope you have a great thursday we'll see you right back leer when we can get the first ne year weekend staw rt

breaking right now at 5:00, a controversial closure. uc berkeley close the park overnight. ahead more of the resistance local law enforcement is being me