winter weather buries the midwest while severe storms batter the eastern seaboard.

a dozen destructive tornados leaving half a million americans in the dark. angie lassman is tracking the hardest-hit spots. from the courtroom and back again. a major change at meta how the social media giant is making facebook and instagram more teen friendly and let's hope what happens in vegas this week doesn't stay in vegas the gadgets of tomorrow are here today at the biggest tech expo in the world we'll take you inside get ready for baby yoda's big screen tour deforce. it's wednesday, january 10th "early today" starts right now good to be with you, i'm frances rivera we begin this morning as wicked weather is wreaking havoc across the united states, leaving at least four dead, bringing

dangerous wind, heavy rain and snow, thunderstorms and tornados more than half a million are still without power along the eastern seaboard maggie vespa starts us off >> reporter: across the u.s., our once-mild winter taking a sudden, violent turn >> holy crap >> reporter: a sprawling monster system sparking a rare and deadly tornado outbreak, with more than a dozen tornados reported along the gulf coast and in the southeast homes toppled like dominoes. some obliterated entirely. >> i just put all the kids in the bathtub. the mattress on top. >> reporter: authorities confirming three people dead across the south, including one hit by a tree in georgia another in north carolina. two people there also critically injured after a possible tornado touched down an hour outside charlotte. >> they had got under the house. and then it just sucked them all up and set it back down. >> reporter: across the south, flooding is a major problem. this ross parking lot near atlanta under water.

meanwhile, blizzards blinding the midwest, dumping several inches whiteout conditions making roads treacherous. >> i'm ready for it when it comes, but it's kind of nerve-wracking >> reporter: 178 million people across the south and northeast remain under wind alerts 75 million in the south ooits an east and on the east coast under flood watches. with iowa having less than a week before the caucuses, canceling events a sudden whiteout one layer of this triple weather threat >> angie lassman will join us in just a minute, but first week, are only five days away from the first big contest fort 2024 presidential election. instead of focussing on the iowa caucuses, donald trump was in a

d.c. courtroom attending a trial over federal charges related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election brie jackson joins us from d.c and brie, was the former president able to convince the court that he should be immune from these charges? >> reporter: good morning, frances. that is the big question this hearing was all about that question of presidential immunity the justice department says there's nothing in the constitution that supports shielding mr. trump from prosecution. but trump's lawyers arguing that the president have immunity for any official act taken while in office he adds that a president needs to be convicted by the senate, and trump was acquitted in 2021 during that impeachment trial. the three-judge panel seemed skeptical about the claim of immunity this case has been expedited, so we could see a ruling soon donald trump will be back in court tomorrow, this time in new york city, where a massive civil fraud trial targeting his business empire is about to come

to a close two people familiar with his plans tell "the associated press" that the former president wants to deliver his own closing arguments in that case the trump campaign has declined to comment, and mr. trump has repeatedly condemned that case as a hoax. today the republican frontrunner will get a chance to campaign in iowa he is set to appear at a town hall tonight, hosted by fox news at the same time, his top republican rivals, nikki haley and ron desantis, will participate in the last debate for the iowa kau dcaucuses the polls suggest haley and desantis are in a tight race for second lace. place lloyd austin has been diagnosed with prostate cancer he has been under fire for not disclosing a hospitalization that started new year's day after he suffered complications from cancer treatment.

he was incapacitated for at least parts of the stay but has since moved out of the icu house armed services committee chairman mike rogers has aflou announced a formal inquiry into the matter and the hospital says austin's prognosis is excellent secretary of state blinken is wrapping up his fourth visit to the middle east since the october 7 attack nbc's andrea mitchell sat down with blinken for an exclusive interview. >> reporter: hostage families protesting for a cease-fire and the return of their loved ones outside secretary blinken's hotel as he was meeting inside with israeli officials, but later changed his schedule to hear their complaints in person. >> for them these three months have been an eternity. >> reporter: i met with some of

them after they met but. they are angry where is the big stick, they c? >> first, no one can put themselves fully in the shoes of the hostages the hard part is the enemy gets a vote hamas. >> reporter: the secretary's saying negotiations are ongoing. despite recent targeted killings of hamas leaders have you given up any hope that they will negotiate for hostage releases >> it'smy beli my belief they c will negotiate >> reporter: did you raise that with the government here in israel in because there are many who believe that these are

targeted killings of this bureau chief's children and wife. >> i don't think any of us can possibly imagine what this man's been through, and when it comes to palestinian men, women and children or for that matter when it comes to journalists, we have consistently and including today urged, pressed the israelis to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. >> reporter: secretary blinken said the united nations is the only game in town for getting more food to starving gazans and working to get israel to open more entry points for aid. back to you. >> andrea, thank you scientists have confirmed that last year was the hottest year on record for earth and by a lot. temperatures worldwide were 2.66 degrees fahrenheit higher than they were in the second half of the 19th century this comes as co2 emissions from burning coal, oil and gas also

hit record levels in 2023. so as this round of storms moves out, another system is already on deck. nbc meteorologist angie lassman is watching it and tracking what comes next good morning, angie. >> it was quite a busy night across much of the east. we've seen an active day yesterday, plenty of tornados. we saw a whole lot of snow and the potential for flooding concerns to remain in the picture here this morning. notice that system is moving out of the picture but we're still going to see lingering rain this morning. we've got flood alerts up and down parts of the northeast and stretching into the mid atlantic, and we've still got strong wind gusts happening. places right now portland, wind gusts into the 50s newpo new newport, 47 mile per hour gusts. out west the winter alerts, there they are as we prepare for that next system that's going to work across the country. tomorrow it will dive through parts of the rockies bringing snow to folks there.

and then it works into the east. some of these same spots that dealt with heavy rain, plenty of snow strong winds are all going to see those impacts. by saturday this system will still be dropping snow across the great lakeand ths w orleans. lots of sunshine on tap from houston to san angelo, and tucson hits 60 degrees this afternoon. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you "early today" is back in a minute with the teen-friendly chan changes for facebook and instagram. and the boeing ceo speaks out about the mid-air blowout. s out about the mid-air blowout. ! ugh, i'll deal with this tomorrow. you won't.

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welcome back a new biden administration policy is aiming to shake up gig work, but first, meta is adding new protections on facebook and instagram. charlotte reed joins us with the latest >> reporter: meta announced yesterday that it will restrict teenagers' access to some sensitive and age inappropriate content like self-harm or eating disorders that would be in stories, even if it's in a post on someone they follow they will direct young people to sources of help if they search for these topics they will have the most restrictive content settings by default. this announcement comes after meta has come under intense scrutiny over how apps affect teenagers and their well-being the labor department is expected to publish a new rule that would require employers to extend benefits and protections like

minimum wage and overtime pay to independent contractors, like janitors or construction workers. the rule, which would take effect in march, has been criticized by some representative of companies like uber or doordash and is expected to face an onslaught of legal challenges from companies. frances? >> okay, charlotte, thank you. turning now turbulence for boeing saying that no 737 max-9 will be allowed to fly until being inspected. >> reporter: four days after that mid-air decompression explosion on an alaska airlines max-9, boeing's ceo said we are acknowledging our mistake. looking at the gaping hole, i've got kids i've got grandkids, and so do you. this stuff matters every detail matters the focus of the investigation, that door plug that blew out of the plane friday, held in position using 12 stop pads and

four bolts what the ntsb says may have shifted out of alignment the bolts are missing. a lab analysis will determine if they were ever in place. now both united and alaska airlines say they found loose bolts and hardware in more grounded max-9s. ntsb chief jennifer h hamandy. >> the ntsb is very focussed on this eric. we want to determine how this happened >> reporter: the door plug that blew off friday landed behind high school teacher bob sowers' house. >> it was unbelievable that that thing people had been looking for all weekend happened to be in my yard >> reporter: with every max-9 grounded ahead of inspections, the faa said the safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the boeing max-9 to service. testified in congress about two

max-8 crashes fears the culture has not changed. >> things not changed. it's going to be horrible for families >> reporter: united and alaska canceled more flights tuesday and are expected to cancel more through the week still to come, we are welcoming the newest guest at the white lotus, and baby yoda comes to the big screen. new details on the latest "star wars" project after this of r wars" project after this. of good thing the general gives you a break when you need it. yeah, with flexible payment options to keep you covered. so today is your lucky...day [crash] so today is your lucky...day for a great low rate, go with the general. this isn't charmin! no wonder i don't feel as clean. hurry up dad! i'm trying! this cheap stuff is too thin! here's charmin ultra strong! ahhh! my bottom's been saved! woohoo! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort.

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problem. based on the acclaimed series of novels it hits the streamer on march 21st this looks absolutely spectacular. it can pass for just the theatrical feature film movie. but this is big bucks. >> apparently, it's netflix's most expensive yet i can't imagine how much they spent on it. nearly five years after their debut, mando and grogu are making a huge jump to the big screen lucasfilm announced the first "star wars" film to hit theaters since 2019 it's based off the disney+ spinoff starring the characters, the bounty hunter and baby yoda. and the cast and release date are being kept under wraps j john favro was announced as director he's great i'm sure people are super

excited about this i tried to watch the mapd loh the "mandalorian" i couldn't get into it >> there is a fan base yo you've got three theatrical releases in the works. >> you'll be busy. carrie> carrie coop oop n n ensemble including jason isaacs. they've been named little is known about the upcoming installment of the dark comedy except from reports from "variety", except that it's taking place in thailand i don't know about any returning cast members

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x is launching three new shows. one with don lemon, tulsi gabbard and jim rome and sony unveiled a new electric car driven on stage by a playstation a controller it seeks to explore virtual and real-world experiences but for now, this was merely a tech showcase. still pretty cool. we'll be right back. we'll be ri. sickness can spread fast. but with lysol, you can go into protect mode. 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 kills 99.9% of illness-causing bacteria detergents leave behind. lysol. what it takes to protect. inez, let me ask you,

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for september 2025 i i it's plan to land near the lunar south pole is set for a delay for a year after that. in a statement, nasa's administrators said the safety of the astronauts is the top priority we're getting a glimpse into the future in the heart of las vegas. the biggest tech conference in the world is under way nbc's steve patterson takes us inside >> reporter: from holograms. >> hi, how you doing >> reporter: to new gaming tech. >> unlock the power of the human hand >> reporter: to inventions designed to pump you up. the future is on display at the 2024 consumer electronics show check this out this is cool hyundai unveiling an electric taxi it's going to be ready in 2028 or so. get ready to fly around town vertical takeoff, zero emissions and in theory, zero traffic.

>> this one can fly, nominally, 120 miles per hour >> reporter: artificial intelligence is front and center a.i.'s even coming for your plate of food. forget the fries they are using a.i. to serve up a side of data, letting you know your calorie intake in real time >> it is a mouse for your mouth. >> reporter: and then there is mouth pad, allowing you to use your tongue to navigate a smartphone or tablet >> our people we're primarily work working with now are people with disabilities, impairments. >> reporter: then this bartender. >> in my lifetime, i'm going to walk into a bar and get a drink served by an a.i. robot. >> of course less than five years >> reporter: okay, you heard it here first cheers steve patterson, nbc news, las vegas. that's pretty good >> all right, i'm not, but you better be wearing pink, because

it's wednesday, and tina fey is on the "today" show talking about the new "mean girls" show. she'll talk about thousand became a family affair and here's sheinelle jones with a look at what's coming up in the third hour of "today. >> this morning on the third hour of "today", our series clean sweep. we're helping you clean up all your digital devices and the winner of the women's health fitness awards and we're making spicy stuffed peppers in food. that's on the third hour of "today". >> we thank you for watching "early today" and being up early or late with us. i'm frances rivera (vo) if you overdraw your account, wells fargo gives you an extra day grace period to avoid the overdraft fee. what if everything came with a grace period? like accidentally parking where you shouldn't... (driver 1) hey what about this one?

(driver 2) nah.. that one gets an extra day (driver 1) somebody got lucky (vo) like having an extra day grace period? when it comes to overdrafts, you can with wells fargo. rain, snow, tornados, every kind of severe weather unleashed across the country, as a massive storm turn