the way. staefkkes are high for secretary blinken. more than half the country waking up to some kind of weather alert. a second, more powerful winter storm slams through the middle of the country, as it surges east angie lassman is tracking it

hundreds of sudden deaths of young children every year, a new study points to a possible cause. what parents need to know. and the end of an e-r tiger woods and nike parting ways after nearly 30 years what's teeing up for the knicks move and a trove of legos for kids dealing with cancer how a florida community came together to replace each colorful brick it's tuesday, january 9. "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm frances rivera as the threat of an all-out war with hezbollah and lebanon looms large, secretary of state antony blinken is in israel this morning. he landed in tel aviv where he met with crown prince mohammed bin salman the tour of the region ends in egypt on thursday. let's go live to chapman bell

who's following developments for us what's on blinken's agenda today? >> reporter: good morning, frances and happy new year to you. yeah, blinken will be meeting with the president of israel as well as prime minister benjamin netanyahu and the foreign minister today and also meeting with the opposition leader tomorrow in israel, and one main objective is to stop this war from becoming a wider conflict in the region. you know, this of course following the assassination of a hamas leader in beirut in the lebanon capital last week. as well as the recent killing of a hezbollah commander in southern lebanon, now netanyahu has met with troops on the northern border with lebanon and has said we'll do whatever it takes, of course, we prefer it be done without a wide war, but that will not stop us. following a trip to saudi arabia and meeting with other middle east leaders, secretary of state blinken has been told that

anti-u.s. opinion in arab countries has been growing due to america's support for israel. one of the issues is the growing civilian death toll in gaza and lack of aid getting in there will no doubt be a renewed call for restraint on israel's part in fighting hamas inside gaza but also defending israel's right to defend themselves, following that attack by hamas four months ago. now we've seen growing trips by blinken to the middle east, more frequently, and it will be a big diplomatic push to try to get the balance right, going forward. frances? >> all right, thank you so much, chapman bell for us, thanks. secretary lloyd austin remains in the hospital this morning. and there are growing questions about the health of our top defense official who was rushed to intensive care last week. and, why no one told the president or the public for days co courtney kube is following the

story e. >> reporter: the white house says president biden has complete confidence in his defense secretary lloyd austin, even after revelations austin was hospitalized in sfifintensi care for several days and unable to perform his job the president not answering questions. >> do you feel confident in secretary austin, sir? >> reporter: it began monday, january 1st, when the pentagon says austin was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance for complication complications following a recent elective medical procedure hicks was given certain responsibilities on tuesday but not told why the pentagon waited until friday to tell the public about austin's absence the pentagon refusing to describe his medical issue, citing privacy the defense secretary is a

critical member of the president's national security council, which can be called upon at a moment's notice during an urgent military crisis, like an imminent attack in austin's mystery absence happening during a time of rising u.s. tensions with u.s. bases attacked at least 14 times during his hospitalization and houthi rebels continuing to target ships in the red sea. republicans say austin broke the law and needs to go. republican frontrunner donald trump writing failed secretary of defense lloyd austin should be fired immediately for dereliction of duty. >> it raises questions about joe biden's competence and whether he's really in charge at the white house. this is a shocking breakdown in the chain of command >> reporter: austin is still in the hospital, this weekend writing, i recognize i could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriatelywa

informed donald trump will be back in court, this time back in washington, d.c. the former president will attend a hearing in the federal election interference case brought by special counsel jack smith. a federal jury indicted trump on ef ef efforts to overturn the 2020 election the three-judge panel will hear his claim that he has immunity because he was president at the time the judge overseaing this case, tanya chutkan was the target of a swatting attack. two law enforcement sources tell nbc news that a similar incident happened to the special counsel on christmas day united airlines says it's found loose bolts in itse bo37

max-nine flights the ntsb says on three previous flights, pressurization warnings lit up in the same plane, raising questions about why it wasn't grounded. >> it should have been a warning sign to them just in safety overall. but i think in this case, what alaska will say is that they took measures to ensure safety we have to see whether those actions were responsive or, enough >> they have recovered the door plug from the alaska aircraft. it will undergo inspection to see why the plane suffered a depressurization at 16,000 feet. blizzard conditions stretch from texas to the dakotas, causing chaos on the road. and, as the system sweeps east,

new england now lit up with flood alerts kathy park is in massachusetts with the latest there. >> completely zero visibility. >> reporter: a dangerous blizzard intensifying over the great plains, dumping heavy snow from new mexico to eye was, stranding semis. in nebraska, conditions quickly deteriorating, with visibility reduced to less than a mile, as the storm advances to the midwest. two inches of snow could fall per hour with wind speeds nearing hurricane-force levels >> oh, my god. >> reporter: to the south, much of the gulf coast on high alert for tornados schools in the danger zone closing early ahead of the threat ft. lauderdale recovering from a weekend tornado touching down and traveling for over a mile. houston bracing for heavy winds, ahead of the college football championships. meanwhile, the northeast is digging out from its first major winter storm of the year

what do you think of all the snow that we got >> ah, that's too much >> reporter: worchester, massachusetts, buried in over a foot of snow parts of pennsylvania seeing 1 a sa sa 1 inches >> this is one i would strongly, strongly, strongly encourage folks to not underestimate >> for more on where that system is heading now, angie lassman joins us you've been busy in that weather office >> indeed. we've got a lot going on winter is far from over, and we've got plenty of alerts winter alerts, 54 million. 172 million wind alerts, and flood alerts topping more than 70 million but we've also got the thunderstorm watch and tornado watches in effect along the gulf coast as this line of thunderstorms starts to work through. this system is really big and extends all the way nupe por up into the

great lakes. but the severe threat is concerning today 27 million people are at risk for the potential for strong winds, tornados, ef-2s o ef-2s higher the panhandle will have to watch for that the system is on the move and will bring the potential for torrential and flooding rainfall the northeast, we have significant snow on the ground and the melt will occur alonure possible and thunderstorms as we look back towards texas, temperatures fromthe upper 40s to the upper 50s and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you

>> angie, thank you. "early today" is back in a minute with a potential life-saving research for children and washington crashes into a big blue wall in the national championship the explosive highlights ahead s. the explosive highlights ahead. . then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. tiny troy: he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. he's the best. - make every wash count! - little help please. (vo) feeding a high-quality dog food doesn't have to cost a whole lot. he's the best. for about a dollar a day, you can give your dog the blue buffalo food they deserve. real meat first. healthy ingredients. natural nutrition. try blue life protection formula today. a mystery! jessie loves playing detective. but the real mystery was her irritated skin. so, we switched to tide pods free & gentle.

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he had four more in the months that followed. what were those months like for you guys in. >> exhausting, terrifying. >> reporter: what were the doctors saying >> all of them said to us, these are simple febrile seizures, he's going to grow out of it i had one doctor say if he's going to have a seizure, this is the one you want to have >> reporter: in november 2022 they sang to hayes at bedtime. the baby camera monitor captured the moment of the the next morning justin found him in his crib not moving. >> we both sat on the floor next to our kitchen, the refrigerator, just, you know, holding our heads in our hands, not, you can't process reality >> i just remember saying over and over again, i don't understand i don't understand what happen a healthy 17 month old boy he was fine. that's all i kept saying, he was fine last night.

why didn't he wake up? >> reporter: they joined a registry than 300 families >> i've been looking for the answers for 25 years, and we are finally finding the answers. >> reporter: research assistant professor, laura gould was driven by her own story. >> 1997, my 15 month old daughter did not wake up, and no one could answer my questions or explain what happened. >> reporter: in a new study, she and neurologist dr. erin davinski zeroed in on the video from crib cameras the night their toddlers died. >> we found a smoking gun. in the cases where we had good recordings, clinical evidence of a convulsive seizure >> reporter: they affect up to%

4 to 4% of 4% of fra toddlers. >> there's an incredibly tiny risk that there could be a death. >>reporter: there are devices like socks that they can wear to monitor sleep. >> parents can be warned that this is an opportunity and they can be given that opportunity, i would give anything to have that opportunity to try, to try and save him if we can help give other parents that opportunity, that's a beautiful legacy for him to have >> reporter: they hope this new study ignites more research to save other toddlers. kate snow, nbc fus baltimore. still to come, the michigan man gets the job done.

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michigan behind the six for the second and 14. donovan edwards rotates, he's got the football, bumps into traffic and escapes. edwards racing to the end zone michigan flexing immediately >> the wolverines set the tone early in monday's college football national championship that run from donovan edwards was just one of four rushing touchdowns that michigan punched in over washington jim harbaugh and the wolverines take home their first national title since 1997, 34-13. a lot of these fans out there are like, we don't flow what this team is like with a championship here. now they've got it >> i woke up to so many messages about it, i'm thrilled to say the least.

changes are under way for some nfl teams that missed the post season. this year's blackmon kicked off when the falcons fired head coach arthur smith ron rivera was dismissed, despite winning the division and the first year with the commanders they join the panthers, raiders and chargers as teams on the hunt for their next leader we'll see what happens >> we're in the season with those kind of shakeups happen. it is the end of a long and lucrative partnership. tiger woods announced his deal with nike was ending after 27 years. he signed shortly after going pro in 1996 and has sported the company's apparel throughout his hundreds of victories. he thanked the company and didn't shut the door on future deals. nike responded in their own post saying it was a hell of a round, tiger. and the hundreds of millions of

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and long-lasting gain scent beads. part of the irresistible scent collection from gain! watch where you step hundreds of pounds of legos were donated to a jacksonville non-profit as gifts for kids fighting cancer. some of the bricks were stolen before the new year. our jacksonville affiliate reports. >> i hope they're happy. i hope this gives them joy and brings them happiness in the tough time they're going through. >> reporter: diagnosed as a baby with a rare form of brain cancer, ben hoffman spent the

first four years of his life battling the disease it was during his treatment he found his love for legos >> it takes your mind off what you're going through, and obviously gives a distraction from, you know, everything makes you happy in your hard time >> reporter: these sets from his personal collection are just some of the hundreds of pounds of legos donated to the v for victory non-profit the colorful bricks will become free gifts for children battling cancer >> we have a lot of warriors come here straight from treatment, and to see their faces, they can shop in the store by themselves, they don't have to worry about being around other people and they have those moments of normality and it's really nice to see that for the families >> reporter: the call for dpo donations came after $45,000 worth of legos were stolen after the new year >> i felt really bad and my husband had cancer, and i

know how hard it is on families and people that to have cancer especially children. ki children, yes. >> reporter: the lagoegos you se behind me are more than just a toy. it's a distraction for children going through treatment and a way for families to connect during difficult times >> it just touched my heart. something like this happened i think it's great that people in the community come together and do something to give back as well i thought it was very important to do so, and for the children >> and our thanks for that report monday would have been elvis presley's 89th birthday. crowds gathered at graceland to celebrate the king of rock 'n roll, oand for the official proclamation of elvis presley day in memphis the mayor spoke about how important elvis presley is for the city >> it's so much about what's right about memphis.

we are a city full of soul, music, heritage, and we're going to build on that history >> a record of the song "that's all right" was also unveiled that song was recorded in memphis and became the hit that launched his legendary career. thanks so much for watching "early today." i'm frances rivera have a great tuesday and

right now at 5:00, experiencing even more turbulence. more trouble coming out of that door plug blowout during alaska airlines flight. the impact it's having on dozens of bay area flights as the boeing 737 max 9 remains grounded. and using artificial intelligence to improve traffic congestion. a live report on the new technology one city is already using, and also the calls for proposals from tech companies to help ease our cal