the justice department's inspector general wants to get to the bottom of the fbi's handling of the clinton e-mails and director comey's actions. >> yesterday the senate acted and the house gets ready to vote on the future of obamacare. just how did president obama surprise the vice president with the nation's highest honor? and shielding his identity, but did this driver get away with it? plus, leaving the white house, the touching message from one set of first kids to another. "early today" starts right now. >> great being with you, happy friday. i'm francis rivera. >> i'm ayman mohyeldin. great to see the letters from the bush twins to sasha and

malia. so much news we want to get to, particularly the clinton e-mail saga. the inspector general says he will review james comey's handling of the investigation into clinton's e-mails. he will examine comey's summer news conference and subsequent letters to congress, which many democrats claim were improper and unfairly aided donald trump's campaign. here's my colleague, nbc's pete williams, with the details for yo. >> reporter: the justice department will look at public disclosures by fbi director james comey and others about the e-mail investigation. they believe the fbi affected the election. >> when a law enforcement agency breaches its protocol in such an unusual and unprecedented way, i think for the confidence of that agency, everybody should get to the bottom of what happened. >> the inspector general will review comey's statements in july in which he blasted the way clinton and her aides used

e-mails. >> they were extremely careless in the handling of the highly classified information. >> reporter: it will also look at the letter comey sent to congress revealing new e-mails had to be reviewed found on the laptop of anthony weiner. nothing significant was found. it's the most pointed doj ever of an fbi director's conduct. >> it's not an everyday matter for it to be the director of the fbi. >> reporter: comey brushed aside questions on capitol hill, but in a written statement says he welcomes the review, adding, "everyone will benefit from thoughtful evaluation and transparency regarding this matter." hor wits said he launched the review after hearing from both parties. >> there were some strange things that neither side of the political aisle liked, and they need to answer for those. >> reporter: but some clinton supporters say the review should have been launched much earlier, right after the unusual news conference in july. >> if he had opened an

investigation then, it might have been decisive in the presidential election. >> thanks to our pete williams reporting. the review could result in discipline for comey, who happens to be involved in another developing story. multiple sources have told nbc news that comey had a private conversation with trump last friday after his intelligence briefing on russian hacking. those sources say that comey spoke with the president-elect about the existence of a so-called dossier, which accuses trump of ties to the russian government. it was prepared by an antitrump opposition group and the information it contains remains unverified. this morning donald trump tweeting, "totally made up facts by sleaze bag political operatives, both democrats and republicans. fake news. russia says nothing exists. probably released by intelligence even knowing there is no proof and never will be. my people will have a full report on hacking within 90 days." and today the house is

expected to take up a budget resolution that would begin work on repealing obamacare. senate republicans narrowly passed the measure thursday and now some house moderates are pushing back because there's no replacement in place, but house speaker paul ryan insists they can repeal and replace at the same time. >> we are determined to provide relief as soon as possible, because this law is collapsing while we speak. and working with the new administration, taking action step by step, that is what we're going to do. >> i call it the cut and run approach. cut the benefits and run away. cut the excess to medicaid and run away from it. cut the advantages to medicare and run away from it. >> this morning donald trump said this on twitter, "the unaffordable care act will soon be history." meanwhile, the full senate passed an exception to exempt james mattis from a law requiring defense secretaries to be out of the military for at least seven years.

the house votes on that measure today. >> what might be the crowning moment of the ultimate white house bromance, president obama bestowed upon joe biden the highest civilian honor. biden thought he was attending a farewell toast to the obamas. instead the commander in chief switched zbe eed gears and hono level so rare, it's a first for the administration. just ahead, we'll take you behind the scenes of how the surprise went down. the latest on the horrific house fire in northeast baltimore that claimed the lives of six young brothers and sisters. the children's mother and two young siblings remain hospitalized. a third child that survived the blaze has been released. kerry sanders has the latest from baltimore. >> reporter: flames racing through the three-story wood framed house. inside mother katie and her nine children ranging in ages from 11 years old to just nine months.

>> report of nine children inside. nine children inside. >> reporter: as the house burp burned, neighbors ran to the scene. >> i heard the kids crying, couldn't save them. couldn't save them. >> reporter: an 8-year-old daughter was able to rescue two younger brothers, all stumbling out of the house with their mother. >> we have three children relocated. they are in the backyard, they are safe. >> reporter: six kids were still trapped inside, all of their bodies have been recovered. >> it's very heartbreaking, you know, for us all. >> reporter: katie malone has worked for elijah cummings for more than a decade. he found it hard to find words. >> it's very difficult time for our office. >> reporter: investigators still don't know what caused the blaze. the children's father, who was working night shift at a restaurant, told officials there was a smoke detector in the house. >> that was nbc's kerry sanders

reporting. fire officials plan to demolish the home later this morning. there was a frightening shootout in arizona yesterday when a gunman ambushed and shot a state trooper on a lonely stretch of highway before dawn. fortunately, a passing motorist noticed the incident and happened to be arm. the motorist shot the gunman, saving the trooper's life. here's gadi schwartz with the story. >> reporter: on a dark remote stretch of an arizona highway -- >> officer down, officer down. >> reporter: that's not an officer's voice calling for help on the radio. it's a citizen, who helped save a highway patrol trooper's life. >> he's in real bad shape. >> reporter: it started when a trooper responded to a call, discovering a rollover. when he got out to investigate, he was ambushed by a gunman, shot in the shoulder and attacked. the suspect slammed the trooper's head into the road repeatedly. a good samaritan stopped and heard the trooper calling for help and grabbed his own gun and intervened. >> the party fires, striking and

killing the suspect. i don't know that my trooper would be alive today without his assistance. >> reporter: the suspect was killed. now officers have been coming by to show support for this trooper. he is out of surgery and in stable condition. a department thankful for the actions of a citizen who used a gun. >> please send air support, helicopter, please. >> reporter: to step in and save an officer in need. gadi schwartz, nbc news, goodyear, arizona. switching gears now to weather, winter weather, in fact. five people in oregon escaped injury when heavy snow caused a roof to collapse. several businesses throughout portland are without power. the snow has gotten so bad in colorado that even ski resorts are temporarily shutting down in fear of avalanches. there was already one close call on wednesday when two snowboarders survived getting buried by an avalanche in utah. i want to turn to bill karins who's watching a potentially crippling ice storm

in the heartland. we saw it in the west, had their turn, now it seems like the middle of the country. >> ice storm is going to be worst and continue. ice storm warnings including st. louis, kansas city, indianapolis, all under freezing rain advisories. the worst of it's going to be oklahoma and southern portions of kansas and even southern portions of missouri. potential for half inch of ice, that means power outages. the rainfall right now, still rain in san diego, but a lot of the west has finally dried out. hopefully, the cleanup will continue. doesn't look shower, but for the most part all of our accumulating snows are done. we'll give you the rest of the

complete weekend forecast coming up for the west. >> bill, thank you very much. see you in a bit. just ahead, president obama makes a major reversal from something that has caused friction for decades. >> and the length some will go to avoid paying tolls or be protected on the road. earl "early today" is back in two. from leaving me at a higher risk of stroke. that'd be devastating. i took warfarin for over 15 years. until i learned more about once-daily xarelto®... a latest-generation blood thinner. then i made the switch. xarelto® significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. it has similar effectiveness to warfarin. warfarin interferes with vitamin k and at least six blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective. targeting one critical factor of your body's natural clotting function. for people with afib currently well-managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke. like all blood thinners,

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getting the news this morning just days before leaving office, president obama is taking steps towards normalizing relations with cuba and bringing consistency to america's immigration policy. on thursday the obama administration announced it's going to end the wet foot, dry foot policy, which provided cuban residents residency on u.s. soil even if they don't have visas. cuban nationals that attempt to enter the united states illegally and do not qualify for humanitarian relief will be subject to removal, effective immediately. obama says this way cuban migrants will be treated the same as migrants from any other country. the obama administration has agreed to pay more than $2 billion in disability benefits to marines. the cash payouts will come from the department of veterans affairs. eligible veterans will submit evidence of their diagnosis and show they were stationed at the base for at least 30 days

between 1953 and 1987. so far eight medical conditions have been proven to be connected to the contaminated water. the va estimates as many as 9,000 service members were potentially exposed. one florida driver caught going to great lengths to avoid paying tolls. watch this. now you see it, now you don't. the florida highway patrol arrested a man they say had installed a device on his car that with just a push of a button, believe it or not, the license plate is actually shielded from cameras to stop an image when a toll isn't paid. the troopers say they were right behind the 27-year-old man who he allegedly dropped the curtain cover over his tag and since they can't determine how many times he's gotten away with this, he's been charged for a felony to not pay $1.25 >> had to be expensive. >> cost a few bucks to install and build, not like you can buy at a store.

ahead, fallout continues over accusations over fiat chrysler emissions cheating. plus, wall street faces an important test for the trump rally. video games. every day is a gift. especially for people with heart failure. but today there's entresto... a breakthrough medicine that can help make more tomorrows possible. tomorrow, i want to see teddy bait his first hook. in the largest heart failure study ever, entresto was proven to help more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine. women who are pregnant must not take entresto. it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. if you've had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, don't take entresto. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. tomorrow, i'm gonna step out with my favorite girl.

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fast forwarding today with the inauguration just one week away, jeh johnson will discuss preparations for security at the big event. representatives from the fbi, fema, and the d.c. national

guard will also be there. the world series champion chicago cubs are breaking a longstanding tradition of teams visiting the white house during the regular baseball season. they have accepted an invitation from president obama and will visit on monday before his departure from the white house next week. don't miss lester holt's interview with the president in the special "barack obama: the reality of hope." it airs tonight at 10:00/9:00 central on nbc. wall street faces a test for the trump rally and drivers. what are the details? good morning. >> good morning to you. wall street and the post election trump rally could get a test today. earnings season officially kicks off with results from three big banks this morning, jpmorgan chase, bank of america, and wells fargo. the financial sector has led since the election, up about 17% on hopes of higher interest rates and less regulation under a trump administration. meanwhile, takata is

expected to reach a settlement as soon as today to resolve a u.s. probe into the faulty airbags, which have been linked to several deaths and injuries. reports say the company will pay $1 billion in fines, compensation to victims, and restitution to automakers who suffered losses from a recall. takata could face another $10 billion in liabilities. shares of fiat chrysler are rebounding in europe today a day after the epa accused the automaker of using software to cheat on emissions tests. fiat chrysler ceo is rejecting the allegations, saying his company issues are nothing like volkswagon. vw is paying $4 billion for its scandal. back to you. >> landon, thank you. just ahead, life imitates art for one actor. plus, the moment that brought many in the white house to tears. we'll tell you about that. you're watching "early today". prescriptions.

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friends. >> the best vice president america has ever had, mr. joe biden. this also gives the internet one last chance to talk about our bromance. >> reporter: celebrating a life of public service spanning nearly a half century, obama and biden sometimes sounding like a white house buddy movie. >> and when the pope visited, joe was kind enough to let me talk to the holiness, as well. >> reporter: teasing him for his occasional profanity, like when they signed obamacare. >> it is as joe once said, a big deal. >> reporter: but the big surprise tonight for the man the president calls his brother -- >> for the final time as president, i am pleased to award our nation's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. >> i can say i was part of, part of the journey of a remarkable man, who did remarkable things for this country. >> reporter: earlier biden

telling me -- barack obama called you a brother. what has he and michelle meant to you and jill? >> this has become a family, and michelle, i think michelle is the finest first lady in history. i mean, history. >> i've had to quote an irish poet, think where a man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was i had such bless. >> as long as there's a breath in me, i'll be there for you, and i want to thank you all so very, very, very much. all of you. >> reporter: andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. per roll

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here's your weekend forecast. the first time in a long time i don't have any areas of the west that are going to see afternoon rain today. just a bit this morning. cloudy skies in much of arizona today. saturday looks fantastic, l.a. at 70 degrees. still cold around boise and not bad around seattle at 41. by the time we get to sunday's forecast we are watching clouds in southern california, but doesn't look like until the middle of next week that the next big storm will threaten the west. reprieve, much deserved. >> breathing room for them. thank you. russia has been on america's minds a lot lately, but this morning c-span is continuing its investigation into how russian tv replaced their regular programming. viewers caught the interruption when suddenly the online feed

cut to a russian propaganda channel for about ten minutes. in a statement, c-span said they don't believe they were hacked and the problem was likely due to a routing issue. rt is one of the networks c-span regularly monitors. one of the world's greatest living athletes, bo jackson, has a new confession. he's saying if he knew back then what he knows now, i would have never played football. the heisman trophy winner, former l.a. raider tells usa today sports he wishes he knew about all the risks and injuries, especially brain traumas. now he says he would encourage his kids to play any other sport besides football, but he has no regrets, saying the man upstairs has a plan. one tv actor knew what to do when he found himself stuck in an elevator. he says he was embarrassed on wednesday when he was the one who needed saving. >> holy [ bleep ].

no way. >> that's why you call the chicago fire department. >> raw reaction right there when they did rescue him. firefighters came in in less than 15 minutes and really surprised to see that familiar face behind those doors and captured right there. >> i think he was kind of anticipating their reaction. that's why he had the camera out and rolling. final days in the white house, the obama sisters received a note from the former first daughters, jenna bush hager and barbara bush. they penned a letter to them back to civilian life. "we have watched you grow from girls to impressive young women. lightheartedly the twins reminded the girls to enjoy college. finished by saying, your parents as always will be rooting for you as you begin your next chapter and so will we." that was nice. >> president bush wrote one to president obama, so i wonder if the new administration is going to get any letters. all right, everyone, thanks everyone for joining us, i'm

aman mo amn new this morning..

an amtrak train runs into a popular bay area band.. they say.. with no warning. scott/vo and -- flight attendents on a flight to san jose get sick.. from what may have been de- icing chemicals. firefighters rush into the hazmat situation. laura/live plus -- it's dry in the south bay.and the rain is gone.. but k ice still a concern in some of the colder parts of theay plus, it is dry in the south bay. the rain is gone. today in the bay starts right now. >> what? an actual dry out today? what? >> so good. >> it is. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm scott mcgrew for sam brock. that bombshell has