hot on the heels of the flynn legal gymnastics, a powerful member of the u.s. senate says she sees the makings of an obstruction of justice case against president trump. >> with the u.s. on the verge of recognizing jerusalem as the capital, an emergency meeting of the arab league has been called. >> found alive, a 17-year-old high school soccer player who ran away with her 27-year-old coach is reunited with her parents as the coach will face a judge later today. >> saturday night live lights up youtube with the hottest video of the ages plus an anthem on sexual harassment. welcome to hell. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. it has been 217 days since donald trump became the nation's 45th president and the russia

investigation is still front and center. the white house is now in damage control after a weekend that saw the president weighing in on friday's news that former national security advisor michael flynn pled guilty to lying to the fbi. at one moment mr. trump insisted he's not worried about what flynn might tell investigators. well, and another tweeting about the reason he fired flynn. he knew flynn lied when he asked director james comey to drop the russia probe. >> now they are cleaning it up saying the president wasn't the one who tweeted after all. >> reporter: the president's outside counsel saying he tweeted this tweet to an aide saturday. i had to fire general flynn because he lied to the fbi and the vice-president. the president knew his former national security advisor michael flynn lied to the fbi and then asked fbi director james comey to go easy on flynn.

dowd telling nbc news he's responsible and that the president did not know flynn had lied to the fbi when he fired him. dowd also adding, i'm out of the tweeting business. i did not mean to break news. news some say if true raises questions about a possible obstruction of justice charge against the president. republican senator lindsey graham warning. >> you tweet and comment regarding ongoing criminal investigations at your own peril. i'd be careful if i were you, mr. president. i'd watch this. >> reporter: his part the president lashed out insisting i never asked comey to stop investigating flynn. just another fake news covering comey lie. comey testified to congress this summer. >> understood him to be saying that what he wanted me to do was drop any investigation connected to flynn's account of his conversations with the russians. >> reporter: the top democrat on the senate intelligence committee. >> i believed fbi director comey. i think he was very credible in his testimony and his private meetings with us. >> reporter: on friday, flynn

pled guilty to lying to the fbi about his interactions with the russian ambassador and is now cooperating with special counsel robert mueller. >> what has been shown is no collusion, no collusion. there's been absolutely -- there's been absolutely no collusion. so, we're very happy. we'll see what happens. >> reporter: at least three other former campaign associates have either been indicted or pled guilty in the mueller investigation. top democrat diane feinstein on "meet the press" says the congressional investigations are ramping up. >> i think what we're beginning to see is the putting together of a case of obstruction of justice. >> reporter: some critics suggest as the investigations grind on they may be taking a toll. >> as this investigation has moved closer to the oval office, it has driven increasingly erratic behavior by the president of the united states. >> our thanks to kristen for that report. >> the united states and south korea are launching their

largest ever joint air force exercises. south korea's defense ministry says the exercise called vigilant ace will include hundreds of military aircraft. they are part of the annual drills meant to enhance wartime readiness according to a military spokesperson. the drills come about a week after north korea tested its most powerful ballistic missile ever. further escalating tensions between the rogue nation and the united states. over the weektd national security advisor h.r. mcmaster told the defense forum that north korea is the greatest immediate threat to the u.s. and the world. >> it's immensely important that we work together with all of our allies, partners, everyone internationally to convince kim jong-un that the continued pursuit of these capabilities is a dead end for him and his regime. >> nbc's chaplain bell joins us from london. chapman, what more do we know about these exercises? >> reporter: good morning, frances. we'll get to the exercises first. mcmaster went on to say that the

u.s. is in a race to address the threat from north korea and that the potential for war is increasing every day. but he stressed armed conflict is not the only solution pointing towards economic pressure on north korea from china. this also echoing lindsey graham last week calling for china to step up on this issue. when he also said that the u.s. is heading towards a war if things don't change, speaking more this weekend, the senator urging the pentagon to start moving u.s. military dependents, including spouses and children of servicemen and women out of south korea continuing his calls that the conflict with north korea is getting closer. this all following north korea's test launch of an icbm last week. this new version they say is capable of hitting the entire u.s. midland. now, these drills that have started today were arranged before this test. it includes hundreds of aircraft, as you said, including two dozen stealth jets that began training in the korean peninsula today. they've launched their biggest

ever combined exercise, more than 230 aircraft will be taking part in this five-day drill. it's called vigilant ace, an event meant to improve the response with u.s. and south korea in the event of any kind of war-time action. and this addition of aircraft will form a show of power towards north korea. fran snes >> all right, chapman bell for us. chapman, thank you. >> to alabama now where embattled senate candidate roy moore is inching closer to next week's election spending his subbed speaking to a predominantly african-american church, a surprise to the media and to the heavily democratic congregation as his demo point goes against him ahead of the election. moore has yet to speak to the media since the bombshell allegations were published in the washington post last month. not speaking could be helping him with 71% of alabama republicans now saying those allegations are false,

overwhelmingly believing democrats and the media are behind those accusations according to a new poll from cbs. >> this morning the mid east is on edge with a senior palestinian official warning president trump to tread carefully. recognizing jerusalem as israel's capital will pro note international anarchy. disrespect global law and sew an ethnic conflict. president trump is set to announce policy decisions about the u.s. position on the state of jerusalem any day now. and the president may follow through on his promise to move the u.s. embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. while simultaneously declaring jerusalem the capital of israel. that has the palestinian side warning for the potential for violence. now we are hearing from the man of the president tasked with leading mid east efforts, jared kushner. heerds' what he said about an impending decision. >> all the reporters have already called saying they have inside sources that know what the decision is. what i'll say is the president is going to make his decision and -- >> he hasn't made his decision? >> he's still looking at a lot

of different facts and that when he makes his decision, he'll be the one to tell you, not me. >> u.s. officials now confirm that american diplomatic posts in the region have been warned about possible unrest in the days ahead. >> a florida teenage girl who went missing with her high school soccer coach has been found safe. 17-year-old caitlyn returned home to her family yesterday after police found her with her 27-year-old coach over a thousand miles away in syracuse, new york. the teen had gone missing a week after allegedly speaking out of her home with the coach. that coach is now under arrest and has a court appearance today. nbc's mia rodriguez has more. >> reporter: back home after a week on the run, caitlyn and her parents returning to florida after the teenager disappeared last saturday night with 27-year-old ryan rodriguez, who had been a soccer coach at her school. the family not answering questions, but in a statement saying they were tired and worn out. in syracuse, new york friday, a

state trooper spotted caitlyn and rodriguez, taking the former soccer coach into custody. the family had an emotional reunion. >> we are so thankful to have her back. >> it's been difficult. i'm glad to have my daughter back where i know i can protect her and keep her safe as a father always wants to do. >> reporter: newly released court documents reveal when caitlyn's family realized she was missing a friend of hers told caitlyn's mom the teen had been in a relationship with a 27-year-old. caitlyn said rodriguez wanted to leave the country. the friend adding caitlyn said she was scared and didn't know what to do. caitlyn's father later using her phone to find explicit snapchat messages between her and rodriguez. the document also citing a school resource officer's august investigation into a rumor that the two were in a relationship. the officer at the time concluding, it was not true. >> our work does not stop. there is a lot of investigative things that will still continue on. >> reporter: ryan rodriguez was

arrested and charged as a fugitive of justice in new york. >> do you have any comment? do you have any comment? >> reporter: facing an additional felony charge of interference with child custody in florida. as caitlyn returns to the life she left behind. mia rodriguez, nbc news. >> for the first time and only time in 2017, a visible super moon illuminated the night sky over the weekend. no special glasses were needed to view the closest full moon of the year. compared to a regular moon, super moon appears larger and much brighter according to nasa. the super moon lit up the night sky over bali ee over the erupting volcano. the moon orbits the earth. the moon appears further away, sometimes it appears closer resulting in the super moon. beautiful. >> it really was a beautiful sight. we bring in meteorologist bill karins with a look at the week ahead. did you see the super moon? >> i saw some pictures online. it was incredible. it did look huge in some cases. let's get into the width earth for today.

we have an active day. middle of the country toward the northern plains, this is all winter weather advisories, winter warnings, blizzard warnings around fargo. last week extremely quiet. this is the beginning of a huge pattern change. this storm system is going to have strong winds with t rain ahead of it, there is the cold snowy weather on the backside. we'll sweep the cold front to the east. this is as we go through tonight. tuesday it goes to the ohio valley back to kentucky, tennessee through the southeast, and tuesday afternoon some of that rain arrives in new england. by the time we get to wednesday morning we'll sweep it off the coast. the only areas getting the snow is going to be from wyoming and then the heavier snow will be here in areas of north dakota, south dakota and northern minnesota. that's where it will be windy, too. that's why we have blizzard sarm day or in texas. much cooler tomorrow.

we'll talk about that week ahead, big chill on the way a little later. >> all right, bill, thank you. being aboard the international space station comes with some sacrifices. italian astronaut mentioned to his bosses during a live stream event that he really misses pizza and guess what? they delivered, nasa sent ingredients for pies to the iss. expedition 53 crew members had fun and made their out of this world creations. they enjoyed it before a movie night. how about that? >> those are some big old pepperoni slices, making it worth it. still ahead, a multi billion dollar deal that could touch every part of your life. president trump goes after his very own fbi, the incredible details here next on "early today" on a monday. see ya. -take care. ♪ so probably take it at night. and if you have any questions, the instructions are here in spanish as you requested. gracias. ♪

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fbi in a weekend tweet storm. the fbi's reputation is in tatters worst in history. we'll bring it back to greatness. he is trying to dee legitimatize the agent pursuing it. eric holder said, quote, you'll find integrity and honesty in fbi headquarters and not at 1600 penn ave. right now. sally yates posted this. the fbi is in tatters? no, the only thing in tatters is the president's respect for the rule of law: one of the fbi's most experienced investigators was removed from the russia probe this summer after he sent potential anti-trump text messages. the president went after the agency shortly after learning the news. >> a merger between health care giants is moving markets this morning after news cvs the drugstore chain will buy aetna, the health insurance company, for about $69 billion. the megadeal is one of the

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you come to get me, i knew it. it is apt muslim stuff, right? >> no t. >> it's for calling mexicans rapists? >> no. >> the draft dodging? >> central park 5, making fun of handicap reporter like this? >> no, sir! i'm not here for any of that. >> so, who are you, jacob marly? you have a lot of chains on. >> no, i'm michael flynn, the ghost of witness flipped. mr. president, i came to warn you, it's time for you to come clean for the good of the country. >> the what, the good of the -- >> the good of the country. >> the good be the come-come? >> it's so great. if you haven't had a chance you should check that out on youtube. the skit all the major players show up. >> think of the time line when the news breaks, you have the writers scrambling to make sure it's on and -- >> that's right. >> great. >> really impressive.

the welcome to hell music video featuring female cast members in the wake of the powerful men being outed as sexual predators and displaying abusive behavior to women. they're there to tell viewers this is nothing new. >> cars is ruin and that really sucks. >> well, here's a list of stuff that's ruined for us. ♪ parking and walking and uber and pony tails, bad girls and high time and drinking and hotels and -- ♪ ♪ nothing good happens. welcome to hell ♪ >> nothing good happens. the catchy candy color video shows issues women have been dealing with for centuries now. so, it looks like very bubblegum popish, but a very serious thing, nothing to toy around with. >> in the snl way, poking the

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former access hollywood and today show host billy bush said the tape by trump making comments is in fact real. there are were seven other guys present on the bus at the time and every single one of us assumed we were listening to a crass stand-up act. we now know better. he believes women who accused the president of sexual assault, calling them cultural warriors on the forefront of necessary change. he also admits at the time the tape was recorded, he was acting out of self-interest to advance his career. bush was fired from nbc shortly after the infamous tape surfaced in october of last year. >> abc news has suspended its chief investigative reporter

over the erroneous report about michael flip. ross incorrectly reported friday that then candidate donald trump directed flynn to make contact with russian officials. he later clarified that flynn was not directed to make contact until after the election, with abc issuing a full correction a day later. ross tweeted, my job is to hold people accountable and that's why i agree with being held accountable myself. the stock market dropped 350 points after ross's report, but mostly recovered by the end of the day. the president reacted on twitter initially congratulating abc for the suspension amid what he calls the russia witch hunt and later suggesting people who lost money after ross's report should consider hiring a lawyer and suing abc for damages. >> for the first time in the united states a woman with a transplanted uterus has given birth. over the weekend baylor university medical center announced the mother born without a uterus and received a transplant from a living donor gave birth to a healthy baby boy last month. this is the first time that the uterus transplant surgery has

worked outside of the swedish hospital that pioneered the procedure according to doctors at baylor university. >> hundreds of santas went dashing through the snow for a good cause. 250 san as it were skiing and snow boarding down the slopes in maine. it was sunday river ski resort's 18th annual santa event. the participants donated a minimum of 15 bucks and they all wore as you can see full santa gear there. the event raised $2,500 for nonprofits in the area this year. i don't know if i've ever seen anything quite like it. >> you have santa con here in new york city, but that's a whole other group of san as it. you have all kinds of santas on skis and snow boards. i love those candy cane skis. >> it's hard enough to ski in full gear like that. >> santa can do that. a little help. >> thanks for joining us. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera.

your news continues on nbc and our nbc stations.

as senate democrats build an obstruction of justice case against president trump, he goes on the offensive, attacking his own fbi. sending a message, the u.s. and south korea have begun the biggest joint military exercise. a $69 billion merger between cvs and aetna will have an impact on everyone's bottom line. jerusalem is israel's capital, but not everyone is happy. drone racing as you never saw it before. s did you happen to catch the supermoon overnight? "early today" starts now. >> i'm phillip mena. >> i'm franc