clayton today begins the biggest day of donald trump's transition with his top picks facing serious scrutiny on capitol hill. plus a huge appointment for his son-in-law. two police officers have died and this morning a manhunt is on for the suspected cop killer. >> we're going to bring this dirt bag to justice and he's going to jail. a school bus driver is bng hailed as a hero this morning for saving all 29 kids aboard this ill-fated bus. and rematch revenge. the alabama crimson tide and the clemson tigers with the most exciting final five minutes in sports. "early today" starts right now. good tuesday morning, everyone. i'm ayman mohyeldin. >> and i'm frances rivera. today marks the biggest test in the trump transition as the first of his nominees prepare to be grilled.

that as senate democrats went into the wee hours of the morning holding a marathon series of protests against republican's efforts to repeal the affordable care act. they're accusing republicans of trying to repeal and run. with trump cabinet confirmation hearings set to start, both sides are bracing for a fight. first up, trump's pick to head homeland security, general john kelly, and his choice for attorney general, senator jeff sessions. but it's sessions who's taking the brunt of the controversy as his civil rights record comes under fire with groups like naacp and aclu denouncing his nomination. democrat cory booker is planning to come out against sessions becoming the first sitting senator to ever testify in opposition to another for a cabinet position. still, trump says his nominees, particularly sessions, should fly through. >> i think every nomination will be -- they're all at the highest level. jack was even saying, i mean, they are the absolute highest level. i think they're going to do very well.

>> yes. >> do you have some concern about jeff sessions in particular? >> no, i think he's going to do great. high quality man. >> this morning "the washington post" reports that sessions did not disclose that he owns oil interests in alabama, something that's required by federal ethics rule. while democrats argue another ethics foul up has delayed the nomination hearing for an entirely different cabinet pick. with republicans now delaying the confirmation hearing for billionaire and conservative activist betsy devos for education secretary. now that hearing has been rescheduled for next week. in fact, nbc news has learned that four cabinet picks in all have failed to finish required ethics reviews according to a senate aide involved in that office. now with the office of government ethics calling the fast pace of the hearings that are scheduled unprecedented, but trump is moving full steam ahead now naming his influential son-in-law, real estate developer in his own right jared kushner as a white house senior aide. as the president-elect prepares for his first press conference

in nearly six months that is scheduled to take place tomorrow. >> except for twitter, that will be trump's first opportunity to publicly rebuke president obama who will deliver his farewell address tonight in his home town of chicago. up to 20,000 people are expected to attend and hear the departing remarks of the nation's 44th president. hundreds upon hundreds braced subzero temperatures to score tickets. it marks a homecoming for president obama who will remain in d.c. after he steps down from office. and from what aides tell nbc's chris jans -- jan sing the president has been work g painstakingly hard on this speech for the last several days. bringing forward the power of his oratory, he looks to shine a light on his accomplishments over the last eight years. >> the running thread through my career has been the notion that when ordinary people get involved and get engaged and come together in collective effort, things change for the better. that's the imperative of citizenship. the idea that with hard work,

people who love their country can change it. that will be the focus of my farewell to you this tuesday. >> nbc will have full coverage of the president's remarks tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 p.m. pacific. right now a massive manhunt is underway for a murder suspect. in fact, two police officers were killed while searching for him. his name is markeith loyd, a picture of him on your screen. he was accused of fatally shooting a pregnant mother last month. authorities have announced a $60,000 reward for information leading to loyd's arrest. is now been put up. here's nb's jacob rascon with all the details. >> reporter: orlando law enforcement reeling saying an emotional good-bye to two of their own including master sargeant debra clayton shot outside a walmart, police say, by a fugitive. the urgent manhunt. >> we're going to bring this dirt bag to justice and he's going to jail. >> reporter: it started in this parking lot around 7:15 a.m. witnesses say clayton confronted murder suspect markeith loyd yelling at him to stop when loyd opened fire hitting the officer.

>> he pulled a gun and started shooting. that's when the officer started backing up and returning fire. >> reporter: backup arrived within 28 seconds. police say loyd shot at a police cruiser, carjacking a bystander before disappearing. >> the man we're looking for is dangerous. >> reporter: during the search another tragedy. orange county sheriff's deputy norman lewis involved in the manhunt on his motorcycle was killed in a traffic accident. >> everybody knows this guy and he's just a loving, wonderful human being. >> reporter: investigators had already been searching for loyd for nearly a month. the only suspect in the murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend. clayton, a wife and mother, was also a 17 year veteran of the orlando police department. one of the first officers to respond to the pulse nightclub shooting last summer. >> thanks to jacob rascon. the suspected ft. lauderdale airport shooter esteban san tee

aggo was taken into custody yesterday. he was told he could receive the death penalty for allegedly killing five people and wounding eight others. two months before the shooting santiago walked into an fbi office in anchorage, alaska, with a loaded handgun magazine. officials said that he appeared agitated and he had said, quote, he had terroristic thoughts. so the fbi passed him off to local officials who brought him to a mental health facility and then took the handgun away. however, four days later he was freed and the police gave his gun back. authorities believe that was the gun that santiago used at the airport on friday. in light of the chain of events experts have called for the fbi to increase scrutiny of people like santiago who appear threatening. but fbi officials have pushed back arguing the bureau does not have the resources or legal mandate. all right. let's switch gears a little bit. you can call it the rematch revenge. clemson defies the odds, reigning national champion alabama were the favorite going into the game while scheduled in tampa, considered the game of

the year for the national championship. the underdog clemson tigers. that's where we pick up the action, late in the fourth quarter, less than five minutes to go. clemson's wayne goalman takes it up the middle for the lease and with over two minutes to go, this. >> took a peek down field and now just barrels forward, still running in the clear and scores. >> but it wasn't over yet. clemson had one more chance. six seconds on the clock and check this play out. >> touchdown. >> while that put clemson ahead and the tigers avenge last year's defeat to knock off number one alabama in dramatic fashion, 35-31 as they capture their first national championship since 1981. congrats to clemson. for what was a remarkable game. absolutely beautiful all the way to the finish. >> i'm sure they're still celebrating as we speak. >> oh, yeah. >> to the extreme weather. some 16 million people are under

threat from california where at least 40 riskers have surged above flood stagers and nevada where evacuations ordered to washington state where firefighters worked hard to rescue this family after their van careened off an icy road on their way to school. in colorado a rare shelter in place warning issued due to dangerous winds and in oregon a world of ice with no thaw in sight. forecasters predict california will see the worst storm not seen in over a decade. rock and mudslides and floods ravage many parts of the state. want to bring in nbc meteorologist bill karins. can we talk about any relief in sight now? >> as we go through the end of thursday and then friday looks fine too. but we have to get through the next 48 hours because last night the rain just flowed right back in. this is the third piece of this ten-day storm. and this one is going to bring some heavy snow all day long today in the mountains and going to continue to bring the rains especially to central and northern california.

a little bit gets to the southern portions towards los angeles tomorrow but not a ton. you can see the storm move inland. by the time we get to wednesday afternoon scattered showers and the upflow of snow will continue. the rainfall amounts has it continued to add up. 8 to 10 inches, another two to three to northern california and the mountains will get another 4 o5. listening to your local nbc station for the updates on the major winter storm. and we've reported some ski resorts 100 inches of snow, with the series of storms. this is another 48 to 60 today. that's just incredible. that's like up there. >> way up there. ski lovers dream up there. thank you very much. just ahead, is the president-elect about to give his son-in-law the biggest birthday present-is life?

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tide. america's number one detergent. ♪ meet george jetson >> all right. could this iconic scene from "the jetsons" soon be reality? one israeli tech firm thinks so. urban aeronautics performed a test flight of its one and a half ton people carrying drone. you heard that correctly. the drone is about the size of a family car that uses internal rotors to fly and can be operated remotely. the company says it will be sold to militaries with the hopes it can work in hostile environments in 2020. it has a small price tag, more than your average car, about $14 million. >> needless to say it's going to be a while before those are in our driveway.

the pentagon says the u.s. navy fired warning shots at iranian boats on sunday after they approached a u.s. warship with their weaponed manned. traveling at high speeds and coming within 900 yards of the destroyer. the "uss mahan" was transiting with two other ships at the time and used several counter measures before firing the three warning shots. no one was hurt in the incident but the white house was quick to respond. >> the behavior is not acceptable given that the ""uss ma han -- mahan" was operating in international waters. >> the strait of hormuz is a passage of water which separates the united arab emirates and iran. and over to pakistan now where its military says it has successfully test fired its first submarine launched nuclear capable missile from within the indian ocean hitting its target with precise accuracy. now that's a move that is likely going to heightened long running tensions with pakistan's neighbor india. the nuclear armed neighbors have fought several wars since gaining independence from brittain seven decades ago. with both armies taking on new

chiefs in recent weeks, they've been testing missiles ever since. this morning a tennessee school bus driver is being hailed a hero after his quick thinking saved the lives of 29 students. witnesses say the driver heard a loud pop, realized there was a fire in the wheel well and got kids off the bus before that happened, when it was totally engulfed, consumed in flames. >> the children are all off of the bus at this time. it started in the wheel well and now the engine is on fire. >> i felt really happy and scared at the same time. >> he was the last one to get off the bus. >> wow. now that is true courage. local authorities are investigating what caused the fire. all right. just ahead, a new name for yahoo!. we're going to tell you what that is. plus, the donald talking to this man about creating 1 million new jobs. the question is, can they pull it off? you're watching "early today." see me. see me. don't stare at me.

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in today's quick hits, closing arguments are expected in the penalty phase of charleston church shooter dylann roof's trial. jurors will then begin debating -- deliberating on whether roof deselves life in prison or the death penalty. a new study finds smoking costs the global economy more than $1 trillion a year in health care and lost productivity. now the study by the world health organization and the u.s. national cancer institute

projects that tobacco related deaths will increase by a third by the year 2030. brad pitt and angelina jolie say they have reached an agreement to keep the details of their bitter divorce and custody battle private. in a joint statement the actors say they will work together to reunify their family. stocks are trading mixed this morning as president-elect donald trump eyes a deal for a million new jobs here in the united states. cnbc has all the details for us this morning. good morning, landon. >> good morning to you. and welcome back. we did miss you. president-elect donald trump met with the ceo of chinese e-commerce giant alibaba who promised to bring 1 million jobs to the u.s., adding small businesses to alibaba's platform to sell to chinese consumers including costco and levy's. virtual storefronts on alibaba's site. coach closed its store last year. yahoo! will change its name to altaba once it sells its core internet business to verizon, a combination of alternate and

alibaba as the company's remaining assets include a large stake in the chinese firm. ceo marissa mayer will step down from the board and expected to move to verizon and that nearly $5 billion deal could be in doubt after yahoo! disclosed two giant data breaches last year. and it's getting more expensive to raise a child. a report by the usda finds married middle income parents will spend more than $233,000 to raise a child from infancy to adulthood. child care and education account for a bigger piece of the pie. while costs of housing and feeding children are shrinking. the estimates don't include saving for college. back over to you. >> you know who loves hearing that, this guy who has a baby coming in march. >> congratulations. >> just what he wants to hear. >> save up. >> set me back a few hundred thousand dollars. >> sorry. welcome back. >> thanks. >> all right. cnbc's landon dowdy. thank you. >> just ahead president-elect donald trump set to name his son-in-law as one of his senior

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levels of the west wing, the president-elect is planning to maintain family ties. some legal analysts, though, say this may be against the law. here is nbc's peter alexander. ivanka trump's husband jared kushner has quickly established himself as a political power broker. named senior adviser to his father-in-law, president-elect trump. >> jared is a very successful real estate person. but i actually think he likes politics more than he likes real estate. >> reporter: praised by trump during the campaign, kushner was by his side for some of the biggest decisions along the way despite having no political experience. kushner who lobbied his father-in-law to select mike pence for v.p. will have unique influence inside the walls of the white house alongside chief strategist steve bannon and chief of staff reince priebus. officials say he'll take no salary but will be involved across a broad range of issues. trump has said kushner could even play a key part in the middle east peace process. while his role has fueled speculation, kushner has quietly been taking steps to distance

himself from his multi-billion dollar real estate business kushner companies. his attorney telling nbc news, mr. kushner is committed to complying with federal ethics laws, that he'll resign as ceo of his family business. >> he needs to cease and desist immediately. during this transition period he has tried to have his cake and eat it too and that's very dangerous. >> reporter: a top trump adviser insists the president is exempt from a 1967 federal anti-nepotism law created after president kennedy's selection of his brother as attorney general. in the '90s federal judges supported president clinton's move to put his wife in charge of health care reform efforts. >> that was nbc's peter alexander reporting. and just ahead, what's next for president obama. one company has a job offer that may just be music to his ears. you're watching "early today." be the you who doesn't cover your moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. be the you who shows up in that dress. who hugs a friend. who is done with treatments that don't give you clearer skin.

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when it rains it pours. san francisco getting drenched overnight. san francisco has already received more rain this year in 2017 than they did in all of 2013. it is pouring up 80 and you can tell, the snow levels are a little lower with this storm too. so, obviously, up there towards reno and tahoe, all the ski resorts getting a ton of powder. i mean it's going to take a while to clean it all up. everyone cap get out and play in it this upcoming weekend. traveling in the northwest still a wintry mess out there. the cities look okay, guys. >> that rain will be good news for some parts of california that have had droughts. >> reservoirs are filling up. it's great. >> the prankster suspected of changing hollywood's assume r sign changed to read hollyweed

has surrendered to police. he was released on a $1,000 bail. according to the "l.a. times" the 30-year-old was inspired by the decisive election and hoped that prank sparked a conversation and positivity. he is scheduled to make his first court appearance in february. a 91-year-old veteran dismissed from the u.s. air force nearly seven decades ago for being gay has now earned an honorable discharge after filing a late lawsuit last year, he served from 1946 to 1948 as a chaplin's assistant earning the rank of sergeant but forced out of the military with an undesirable discharge after an investigation into his sexual orientation. spires, who is pictured on the left according to his attorneys is in poor health will be able to receive military benefits. all right. a never-before-seen sight of president obama this morning. a very nice image. check this out, him diving head first into the waters that he has helped protect. this new photo published by national geographic shows the president enjoying the

underwater sites in the pacific ocean in hawaii probably over one of his holiday breaks in the new year. see him snorkeling under a reef, part of a marine national monument which his administration turned into the largest protected area to date. >> at least he gets to enjoy it himself. >> tonight the president delivers his farewell address to the nation and he will be out of a job in ten days. one company has him covered. spotify the music streaming company has one job in particular tailor made for the president. after they posted this position on its career page for president of play lists they don't mention the president's name but he's the ideal candidate after they listed a candidate has to have at least eight years running a nation and the president has released his own spotify play list in the past something he could do on the side. >> you were saying -- >> prince aretha, miles davis. jay-z and pharrell. >> i'm ayman mohyeldin.

>> i'm frances rivera. a microclimate weather alert.

several rivers and creeks across the bay area have reached "flood stage." some homeownerne a microclimate weather hraefrt. several creeks and rivers have reached flood stage. some homeowners need boats. a big wave concern for people living near the ocean. and cleaning up the mess mudslides caused of the weekend still affecting traffic. today in the bay starts right now. good morning, everyone. thank you for joining us. i'm scott mcgrew in for sam brock. i'm laura garcia-cannon. another wave of rain is moving in this morning. let's take a live loo