it's monday, december 21st. coming up on "early today, accountoday,," danger on the las vegas strip as someone drives on the sidewalk. police believe it was intentional. steve harvey announces the wrong winner at miss universe. >> folks, there's -- i have to apologize. hillary clinton says donald trump is isis' best recruiter. trump says hillary is a liar. jeb bush calls the front runner a jerk. jimmy carter's revelation about the death of a grandson. the police hunt continues for the affluenza teen who

killed four while driving drunk. the force awakens more than $500 million at the box office. we start with breaking news out of las vegas. one person is dead, 26 others injured. some of those critically. after a woman driving a 1996 oldsmobile jumps the curb on the las vegas strip. the driver plowed into a group of people before driving back on the road and then proceeded to drive back on to the sidewalk into another group. one witness said the car looked like a bowling ball, and the victims looked like pins. police say it was intentional. >> based on the evidence and information from our fatal investigators, at this point, we are treating this as an intentional act. she is in the detention center right now. she's speaking to detectives. they're drawing her blood, and she will be -- i expect her to be charged within the next few hours. >> the driver fled the scene, drove to a hotel and abandoned

the car in a spaparking space. a 3-year-old was in the car, not injured. police say it's not an act of terrorism. all public schools in new hampshire was closed after an e-mail threat was sent to the district. the superintendent said there was a letter that was specific to harming students and staff for monday. officials are closely monitoring the situation. schools are expected to reopen on tuesday. the threat comes less than a week after los angeles public schools were closed after receiving threatening e-mails. belgium authorities detained a person in relation to the terror attacks in paris. an unidentified person was taken in for questioning after the search of a home in brussels. a french newspaper reports the

alleged ringleader of the att k attac attacks, abdelhamid abaaoud hid in the bushes four days after the attacks. he was killed in a raid in an apartment the next week in saint dennis. one of the most cringe worthy moments on tv. steve harvey announced the wrong winner for miss universe. >> colombia! okay, folks. there's -- i have to apologize. the first runner up is colombia. i will take responsibility for this. it was my mistake. it was on the card. >> well, then they had to switch the crown. pageant officials apologized to the finalists in a statement. steve harvey apologized in a

tweet that misspelled both countries. that is now deleted. six weeks from the first primary, the two front runners appear to be pulling away from the pack. hillary clinton and donald trump are setting their sights on each other. clinton saying trump is dangerous for the country. trump responded by calling clinton a liar. hallie jackson has the latest from the campaign trail. >> reporter: on defense about a data breech by his own campaign, bernie sanders taking a different tone today. >> information came into our campaign about the clinton campaign. >> magically? or you had a staffer that got it? >> that's what the -- >> you believe it accidentally came in? okay. >> reporter: his lawyerly language coming a day after more direct words at the democratic debate. >> not only do i apologize to secretary clinton, i want to apologize to my supporters. >> reporter: hillary clinton accepting the apology and issuing one of her own after returning late from a commercial break. >> sorry.

>> reporter: her performance looking past the rivals on stage with her to ones who might be next year, republicans like donald trump. >> we also need to make sure that the really discriminatory messages that trump is sending around the world don't fall on receptive ears. he is becoming isis' best recruiter. >> reporter: trump firing back. >> she lies like crazy about everything, whether it's trips where she was gunned down in a helicopter or an airplane. she's a liar, and everybody knows that. >> reporter: but trump is taking heat, too, for embracing praise from russian president vladimir putin, and defending him against accusations he's ordered journalists killed. >> it's never been proven he's killed anybody. you're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, at least in our country. >> reporter: trump off the campaign trail, but others are making a pre-holiday push. like chris christie on a bus tour in new hampshire.

>> cramped quarters? >> no. >> reporter: signing a photo for the pilot who flew president obama and him over the country after hurricane sandy. >> what people can learn about me is i will always put their interest ahead of politics. always. if you need proof, check this out today. >> reporter: christie hoping for a surge. >> sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. >> reporter: surging past another establishment competi r competitor, jeb bush. >> six months ago, people thought you were the front runner. your campaign is -- >> i hated that. i feel much better back here. >> hallie jackson reporting. jeb bush did self-described therapy at a campaign event, where he railed against trump, calling him a jerk. on "snl" this weekend, amy poehler reprised her role as hillary clinton and joined kate mckinnon's hillary on stage for surprising news. >> now, hold on, hillary.

even if you beat bernie, aren't you worried about the republicans? who is their front runner? >> i will tell you, but only if you grab on to something to brace yourself because you are going to hit the f-ing floor. >> i'll be fine. just tell me. >> no, you need to hold on to something. >> hillary. >> i'm warning you. donald trump. i told you. >> oh, my god, we're going to be president! this morning, new developments in the man hunt for the so-called affluenza teenager who killed four people while driving drunk and received only probation after his attorneys claimed his family's affluence spoiled him and it was a factor. kerry sanders has the latest. >> reporter: someone must be helping ethan couch elude capture. if it is his mother, who also went missing nine days ago, it just got harder for her to hide, as well.

the district attorney officially listed tonya couch as missing person, meaning she'll show up on national police databases. >> he's getting help. >> would it be his mother? >> i think it's a safe assumption. we haven't located the mother yet, but, yeah, she could be helping him. >> reporter: the d.a. says ethan couch may have fled because of this video. it appears to show couch with friends playing beer pong. if there was alcohol, that could be a violation of his probation, but it's unclear, as the video does not show couch drinking. >> when somebody takes off who has a probation sentence, you have to wonder whether there's concern about a violation that might put them back in jail. >> as the former u.s. attorney, you've seen that happen? >> we've seen many times where somebody who got a generous term of probation blew it by committing a crime and getting put in prison for the whole time. >> reporter: ever since couch's controversial affluenza defense,

an unexpected ten-year probation, there have been complaints of special treatment for the wealthy. lucas mcconnell was among nine who were injured in the accident that killed four. lucas's father. >> i think accountability for him would come in the form of swift and certain and severe punishment. >> reporter: judge boyd sentenced couch and set his probation. she was unavailable and home and didn't answer her phone. the u.s. marshall says even if ethan couch fled the country, he's not beyond their reach. >> it doesn't matter if he fled the country. he'll find him and make every effort to get the person back. "star wars" the force awakened opened to shattering numbers. $238 million in ticket sales in the u.s. when adding in foreign ticket sales, the total for this weekend's earnings jumped to $50

million, beating previous record holding "jurassic world." r2-d2 paid a visit to the white house to commemorate the opening. for a look at the weather, here's bill karins. >> i wonder if he had a message for princess leia. remember that scene in "star wars"? >> i do. >> want to make sure you're with me. let's talk about the weather in the northeast. a lot of snow and rain. you can see the bright white cloud, the moisture is coming down now. we can connect it back to the tropical regions of the central pacific. just a long flow of moisture into the northwest. it'll continue especially today, then on and off over the next couple days. the rain shield is soaking the costal areas. we'll watch the threat of high winds, too. not only be dealing with the snow at high aelevations and ran in the lowell vation elevations have a wind, too.

could have minor power outages. especially costal oregon and inland areas throughout the day. rainfall amounts, the heaviest, northern california. that's where we need it. we're also going to be picking up moisture at the higher elevations in the central sierra. could pick up as much as one to two feet of snow today alone and into tonight. great news for all the snow pack and the built northwest. in california, especially later today in the areas of the central sierra, the snow and rain. big storm in the west still. pattern all winter. >> bill, thank you. incredibly personal moment shared publicly by former president jimmy carter. devastating mudslides in china, as the search continues for dozens. you're watching "early today."

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more bad news for drug executive martin vshkreli. over the weekend, his twitter account was hacked. two drug labs announced they'll suspend drug trials sponsored by his company. shkreli resigned as ceo after arrested on seven counts of securities trade. he faced criticism when his company bought the rights to a drug and raised the price by 5,000%. in the wall street journal, shkreli believes he's being targeted because of the drug price increase. on saturday, he tweeted, the allegations against me are baseless and without merit. former president jimmy carter made a shocking announcement during his sunday school lesson. his 28-year-old grandson jeremy had died after his heart unexpectedly stopped. >> they took him to the hospital and we got there, i guess, about

1:30 this morning. and his -- after we were there for about 20 minutes, his heart stopped beating again. so they tried to give him cpr, but he passed away. >> the cause of death has not yet been determined. at least 91 people are missing after a landslide buried 33 buildings in southern china, leaving behind more than a million square feet of debris. all the rain and mud, which is 20 feet deep in areas, have been hampering rescue efforts. just ahead, an exciting nfl sunday, as tempers flair in new york, could odell beckham jr. get suspended off this? sports is next. r me. don't even think about it. i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. yeah...but what about mike? he has that dry scratchy thing going on. guess what? it works on his cough too. cough! guess what? it works on his cough too. what? stop! don't pull me! spoiler alert! she doesn't make it!

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this morning on "today," do you believe in the after life? craig melvin sits down with a woman who believes she can connect the worlds of the living and the dead. now for the latest in sports, i'll send it to dara brown. >> we'll start in new york. tempers flared, bodies were flying and worlds were spoken a i long with helmet to helmet hits with odell beckham jr. and norman. i'm guessing the nfl may say something later as the two went at it all afternoon. the giants down four touchdowns tied things up and gave the undefeated panthers a scare. carolina iced the win with a

game-ending field goal. 38-35. football night in america. the cardinals pounded the eagles, 40-17. the cards locked up the first 12-win season in team history arks long with the nfc west title. washington took first place in the nfc east, as cousins threw for four touchdowns in the win over buffalo. the red-hot kansas city chiefs won their eighth straight with an easy 34-14 trouncing over baltimore. cincinnati clinched a pl playoff spot and aj mccarron got his first career start. the chargers were winners in what may have been their last game in san diego. the team may be moving to los angeles. now, back to you. fifa's ethics committee

banned accept blban ed bladder, stating he broke the code of ethics. his one-time protege to replace him as new fifa president was also banned for eight years. both are expected to appeal. after the -- blatt eer says he is not regrettable. one of bravo's real housewives is getting out of jail. plus, check out how taylor swift made christmas epic for one fan. to solve the world's greatest challenges. this is why we search for the best and brightest. why we train for every eventuality on land and water, in the air, space and even cyberspace. we operate in a complex world with one simple mission. win. ♪

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entertainment news. on "snl" this weekend, tina fey and amy poehler get down in a song about the squad that helps them get through their busy lives. ♪ we're the dope squad, we've been told that we roll ♪ ♪ the woman at the diner who always knows my order, my mammogram technician ♪ ♪ you who returned my wallet in tact ♪ >> may be a little competition for a star like taylor swift. speaking of taylor, christmas came early for a 13-year-old, delaney, who is battling cancer. she was diagnosed when she was 8 years old. real housewife of new jersey, teresa giudice, will be

released from the correctional institution in connecticut. she has been in prison since january. teresa and her husband joe pleaded guilty last year to bankruptcy fraud. ♪ hello from the other side more than 10 million people tried to buy tickets to adele's north american concert tour. even with 50 shows, only 750,000 tickets were for sale. "star wars" owned the box always galaxy this weekend. in the battle for second, it was the chipmunks over "sisters." with $14.5 million, "sisters" took in $13 million for their movie. i'm milissa rehberger. you're watching "early today." coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all day. when your cold is this bad...

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leading the news, on nbc news.com, hate attacks on muslims in u.s. spike after recent acts of terrorism. according to researchers at california state university, 38 anti-muslim attacks were reported since the terror attacks in paris last month. 18 of those occurred in the wake of the san bernardino shooting. these suspected hate crime cases are more than two times the average monthly rates seen from 2010 to 2014. in usa today, why your parents are disappointed in you. a new survey reports 2/3 of people or more believe older americans have better morals, work ethic and are more respectful than the younger generation. this cycle of thinking repeats itself with every generation due to technological, medical and economic progress over time. five people are dead after a

small plane crashed in southern california. it was en route to las vegas when it lost radar contact with controllers early sunday morning. officials say the pilot made a may day call before the plane disappeared. investigators are determining the cause of the crash. the wing of a southwest airline plane clipped the wing of another jet at bob hope airport in california yesterday. no injuries reported. both flights were cancelled. a similar incident between southwest jets in burbank occurred last june. the canadian government announced it'll double the amount of syrian refugees to resettle in the country next year. prime minister justin trudeau previously announced intentions to bring in 25,000 syrians to canada. now, the country says they hope to resettle 50,000 refugees by the end of 2016. visitors to an aquarium in california had a cuteness overload yesterday. visitors to monterrey bay aquarium in california got to meet this little guy. the newest otter born that very

morning. >> hair dryer. it's not even wet. >> first day being groomed and fed by its mommy. very, very proud. >> it looks easier than having children. you're on your back. the obama administration will provide endangered species act protections to two breeds of african lions today. it comes five months after cecil the lion was illegally killed in zimbabwe. there's power to deny import to those convicted of a crime. the friend of the san bernardino shooter will appear for a hearing. he is charged with conspiracy to commit crimes of terrorism and federal weapons charges. happy birthday to kiefer sutherland who is 49 today. samuel l. jackson a a holiday trip turns tragic.

now, we're learning the identities of a bay area family of five... all killed in a plane a holiday trip turns tragic. a bay area family of five all killed in a plane crash over the weekend. a car plows into a crowded sidewalk on the las vegas strip. the reason the driver drove out and drove back into the crowd a second time killing one person and injuring several dozen. you can see the proof on the golden gate bridge right now. but will it rain on your holiday plans? "today in the bay" starts right now. good morning, thank you for joining us. i'm kira klapper in for laura garcia-cannon. >> sam and kiray