wildfires has jumped u.s. highway 101. thousands fleeing, many animals in the area also in danger. >> our whole lives were wrapped up in that house. everything. it's all gone, everything. >> today against the warnings of his own secretaries of state and defense, president trump will officially recognize jerusalem claimed by three of the world's great religions as the capital of israel. >> donald trump, jr. will be in the hot seat today as he faces tough questioning by the house intelligence committee involving the russia investigation. >> and a dicey parachuting entrance for one of santa's helpers who should stick to the

sleigh. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. right now a series of wildfires whipped by powerful winds is blazing across the southern california. the state of teenage has been declared in ventura county. the sight of the first and largest blaze now charring almost 60,000 acres and growing. the fast-moving inferno has forced tens of thousands to evacuate the area while hundreds of animals are caught in the fire's path. nbc's jay gray has more from the ground. >> reporter: the fire fight continues overnight. the smoke an orange glow in the california hills, a clear indication mother nature is still winning the battle here. >> it continues to challenge us. our fire is over 50,000 acres and still growing. we have a mandatory evacuation in the areas around the entire fire. >> reporter: tens of thousands of rushed to safety including john and letha who were able to save their pets, but little else. >> our whole lives were wrapped up in that house.

everything -- it's all gone, everything. >> reporter: entire communities have been swallowed by the flames. doctors and nurses rush to get patients out of this hospital. hundreds of homes and buildings have been reduced to rubble and ash. among the structures lost, an apartment complex on this ridge overlooking ventura as the flames reach the edge of the downtown area here. fire teams continue to battle the flames when and where they can. more than a thousand fire fighters working around the clock, but they continue to lose ground. with dry conditions and wind gusts between 25 and 55 miles an hour, expected to continue through friday. >> it's a combination of the gusty santa ana winds and led to explosive fire growth which you see now. >> reporter: identify lent flames swallowing at their peak. still growing. jay gray, nbc news, ventura, california.

>> today the president is expected to announce he will recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. despite warnings from world leaders and members of the president's own cabinet, the move will up end decades of policy with the state department already warning u.s. government employees to avoid certain areas of the city and the west bank in case of violence. nbc's ron allen is in jerusalem with more. ron, the anticipated announcement is already drying ire from arab leaders and they cannot be taking this well. >> reporter: that's putting mildly, philip. they are reacting with herrer and this is confirming some of their worst fears that the trump administration is going to side with the israelis on this issue and every other issue in the peace process. we know that u.s. citizens have been warned to stay away from places like the old city where i am. we know that the israeli security forces are on a higher state of alert. we know u.s. diplomatic posts in the region have been told for several days now to prepare for unrest. we understand that there are already some reports from the west bank of clashes between protesters and israeli security

forces. unclear what the scale of that is yet. we also understand there's been a call for three days of rage, three days of popular protests in the palestinian communities to try and push back against this decision. now, for the last few days, president trump has heard these warnings from arab leaders but he is still going on with this. and the administration is trying perhaps a little bit. they said, for example, this is not going to be the final word on jerusalem and they are also saying that trump may, in fact, sign the wave eras it's called, delaying the move of the em ba -- embassy. at least on paper. they see this as the united states siding with israel and they are very, very unhappy about it. back to you guys. >> it is a bold move, ron. thank you. >> this morning donald trump, jr. is set to appear before a house intel committee in a closed door session in its russia probe. and he's sure to be grilled specifically about the now infamous trump tower meeting with the russian lawyer in 2016.

it had the younger trump probing for information regarding hillary clinton. with more reports swirling around special counsel mueller's investigation, several news publications are out with articles claiming mueller is following the president's money trail all the way back to one of the largest banks in the world. one with a rich history in donald trump's real estate empire. for more we go to nbc's tracie potts. she's in washington this morning. tracie? >> reporter: hi there, good morning. this morning there are multiple reports from bloomberg, financial times, reuters that deutsche bank, germany's largest bank, has been subpoenaed for records of accounts involving the trump family, the president and family members, the white house says that is not the case. deutsche bank providing more than $300 million to trump projects, but the white house says that is not the case, that they've checked with both the bank and with other sources. the president's lawyer, part of his legal team saying they have confirmed that these news reports that the special counsel and the fbi investigation subpoenaed these records are false, that no subpoena has been

issued. that's been confirmed with the bank and other sources, they say. but in a statement, the bank talks about cooperating with governments. deutsche bank taking its legal obligations seriously and remains committed to cooperating with authorized investigations into this matter. that is not necessarily confirming that they got a subpoena from robert mueller, but it does say that they are willing to cooperate if that's the case. frances? >> all right, tracie, thank you. >> a savannah police officer is being called a hero after saving the life of a choking newborn baby. officer william eng was the first to arrive. his body cam shows him racing up three flights of the stairs to locate tina atkins and the baby. he used chest compressions to restart the nearly one month old baby breathing and thankfully he was successful. >> i heard a little cry like that. that was a cry. that's when i stopped and i

turned it to my face and i saw the eyes open and started moving. i was so relieved. >> you see officer eng reunited with the mother and baby earlier this week. the young family was very grateful. >> at the right place at the right time. angels don't come from heaven, god has them already here. and he's an angel. >> all right. now that baby can sport that wednesday, too. the university of miami fan involved in a violent altercation with police and struck a plea deal. the video shows bridget went viral after she was seen smacking a police officer's head. the officer then turns back and hits her. she was charged with disorderly conduct and battery and a law enforcement officer. in court she agreed to complete an anger management course, 50 hours of community service and pay a $100 fine in exchange for the charges to be dropped. the officer was cleared of wrongdoing in that incident. >> let's go now to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather. good morning, ibm. >> good morning. southern california still dealing with gusty winds over the next two days and this big

weather pattern change has happened. huge storm over the hudson bay dragging that cold front to the east. a lot of the rain ending "early today" on areas of the northeast. it will linger in areas especially of south texas. we continue to watch that rainfall right now in and around the houston area. that rain in mississippi will be steds i throughout much of your morning. as we go throughout the forecast during the day today we'll continue to watch that area of rain. another big one develops over san antonio and houston. so it is going to be cool and chilly by texas sndardstamperatt of the 40s in areas of mississippi and pam balabama an orleans. by southeast standards, 40s and rainy it's a big change how warm it's been. >> shock to the system. all right, bill, thank you. an incredible rescue now in

the florida gulf and it was caught on camera. massive logger head sea turtle was accidentally snagged by a fisherman's hook. a good samaritan. the swimmer finally unhoolked the turtle, setting that turtle free. >> a massive turtle there. >> it is. >> just ahead a one-time trump confidant steve bannon is campaigning for roy moore in alabama. he unveil his enemy's list. we will name names next on "early today." fred would do anything for his daughter. get in, fred! even if it means being the back half of a unicorn. fear not fred, the front half washed his shirt with gain. and that smell puts the giddy in "giddy-up"! ah... the irresistible scent of gain flings laundry detergent. you can't help but smell happy.

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i think that he is -- >> so funny. roy moore is leading the news this morning. first came the president's full throated endorsement followed soon after by the republican national committee deciding to pour resources back into the race. for gop candidate roy moore it was another political heavy weight support in alabama that made for a barn storming event last night. steve bannon joining embattled judge on stage putting his full support behind his candidacy. just days ahead of the crucial special election there. >> still establishment republicans are largely not on board with moore's candidacy with one lawmaker jeff flake of arizona even stepping out to support moore's democratic opponent. flake tweeting an image of this check made out to democrat doug jones with, quote, country over party written in the check's memo. but could steve bannon support now bring other republicans into the fold? nbc's von hilliard joins us from alabama with the latest. von, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, philip. it is now officially one week before the special election pitting republican roy moore

against democrat doug jones to fill the open senate seat. steve bannon joined roy moore up on stage to really make the case and make the argument that it's roy moore versus what he calls the washington establishment. mitch mcconnell, jeff flake, mitt romney, the democrats. this was roy moore after steve bannon's introduction taking on that very role. >> i understand they don't want somebody up there with an independent mind, somebody that will do what they believe is right under the constitution. [ applause ] and won't follow along and that's why they don't want me. in fact, i think mr. bannon mentioned this. they would rather have a democrat there than me in the republican party. >> reporter: hundreds packed into this farm house on the outskirts of fair hope, bam bachl. it's really these two campaigns now wind down, doug jones the democrat, they see an opportunity to pickup u.s. senate that many just one month

ago saw as unfathomable. but republican roy moore continues to hold on, keep ing it tight inside of these polls. they believe they have support for roy moore who has been a known entity for 30, 40 years in this state, and they believe if they fight on, have rallies like this and convince enough republicans to just simply come out to the polls next tuesday, that they can pull off a victory on election night. philip? >> we will soon see. von, thank you. >> well, the sky diving santa's helper may stick to the sleigh after a crash landing on a florida beach gulf coast. he can be seen crashing into the tree before landing on the beach. and then once he lands, look at that fall. he breaks his leg. he was delivered volley balls to a charity tournament, but that's how it turned out. but i'm sure santa is going to help also. all the other helpers started a gofundme page for him. >> he's going to need some help. that was a rough landing. just ahead new details about a thwarted assassination plot to kill the prime minister. you're watching "early today." see ya. -take care.

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♪ ♪ the rock star known as the french elvis has died. johnny holiday had a music career spanning over 50 years and selling more than 110 million records. he was 74. celebrities and world leaders remembered the icon. bon jovi guitarist tweeted, good-bye, my friend. thank you for all you gave us. celine dion called him a true

icon. french president emmanuel macron in a statement said we all have a piece of johnny halladay inside each one of us. >> police say they have foild an alleged plot to assassinate prime minister theresa may. two men were aeft ed are following a joint operation by the u.k. opportunitier terrorism service. the police according to police, the two men planned to use a bomb disguised as a bag to blow off the gates of downing street and then attack the prime minister. nbc's chapman bell is live in london to give us more of those details. chapman, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frances. well, british press saying these two men arrested were plotting to kill the prime minister theresa may by detonating a bomb disguised as a bag outside the prime minister's residence at downing street to blow open the security gates and ensuing chaos launch a knife attack tonight prime minister to assassinate her. it is being reported these details of the alleged plot were revealed to british cabinet members yesterday by andrew parker. he's the head of mi-5 here which

is the british domestic security and intelligence service. officially we know that two men are expected in court today, 20-year-old raman and 20-year-old muhammad em ron, both charged with terror offenses and expected in court this morning. in fact, one of them very shortly. we'll hear more details about this alleged plot. frances? >> chapman, thank you. >> coming up we'll reveal the finalist for this year's times person of the year. plus john mayor sidelined with a hospital stay. details for dead heads next. i know, hon. he came to st. jude children's research hospital where we developed a new treatment that reduces chemotherapy. and because we freely share our discoveries, we're giving kids like nolan everywhere a chance to beat cancer... and live healthy adult lives. story, done. story, just beginning. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life. visit stjude.org or shop where you see the st. jude logo.

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♪ ♪ not surprising ed sheeran's top spot most dream tracks of 2017. the despocito remixx and the original along with this. it came in as spotify's top streamed artists in the top 5 sheeran was joined by den district lamarr. not a surprise considering the hits they've had. >> all the songs stuck in our heads. despocito and the remix top five, impressive. speculation is building over who will be time's person of the

year in 2017. can the announcement coming later this morning let's look at the short list according to the magazine. remember person of the year is someone who has had an impact for good or ill. in no particular order, jeff bezos, president trump, me too movement, kim jong-un, colin kaepernick, robert mueller and wonder woman director patty jenkins. time will have the exclusive reveal later this morning. >> any guesses? >> we know it is definitely not going to be president trump because he already said he's going -- >> he did the whole no thanks, going to take a pass. >> take a photo shoot and interview and he didn't want that. so we know it is not going to be him. the me too movement is i think -- might be up there with it as well as the crown prince muhammad bin salman, a lot he's done. >> i'm calling me too, the me too movement. we'll know soon enough, 7:30 on the today show, we'll get the reveal. >> there you go. >> john mayor was hospitalized for a surgery, appendectomy.

the concert was postponed following that news. the performance is set for tomorrow in orlando, florida. the band has not said if it will go on as scheduled in light of mayor's recovery. but it's great to see john mayor taking the stage and doing his thing. my husband made the comment, i wish he'd make his own music once again. but he's not going to do that. we see him performing with dead and company. >> he's so good with that, his own music, the cover songs he can do is incredible. really one of the most talented musicians of our time. versatile. >> hopefully he'll get back on track. he's had throat issues as well with his voes. a lot of these things hopefully he can bounce back. >> he's a young man. he should. just ahead from frigid weather a ed for much of the east coast. the international olympic committee brings down the hammer on russia. shawn evans: it's 6 am. 40 million americans are waking up to a gillette shave. and at our factory in boston, 1,200 workers are starting their day

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the biggest names in russian sports are reeling this morning after the international olympic committee announced it has banned russia from participating in the 2018 winter olympics due to its doping scandal that goes back years. but just how drastic is the ban and how will it impact next year's winter games? nbc's pierce simmons has the story. >> reporter: a stunning punishment to the host of the last winter olympics in sochi. after banning inquiry into state sponsored doping in russia and tampering with the lab that handled drug testing of the 2014 games. >> i think it's a significant victory for clean athletes that the ioc finally listened to their voice and the power of the principle of fair play. >> reporter: in south korea there will be no russian anthem or flags, no accreditation for

russian officials. the country fined $15 million. some individual russians can compete under the olympic flag and under strict guidelines. several russians have been stripped of their medals from sochi leaving americans like skeleton racer katy in line to win retroactive medals. all but one member of track and field was banned from summer games. back then the head of the team telling me his country does have a doping problem. >> do you accept that doping has been widespread in russia? >> also mainly, yes, i think mainly yes. >> reporter: but state sponsored doping is vehemently denied by the kremlin. russian television channels avowing not to show the games. president putin claims it's an americana tempt to influence his election next year. keir simmons, nbc news. >> now for a check of the forecast let's go back to bill karins. bill? >> good morning.

as far as the snow goes, the great lakes are what we have the lake effect snow machine. we're going to get the cold air moving over the lakes. we haven't had any events. so far this winter season, especially lake erie and snow totals will be isolated locally. this isn't going to be a widespread huge snow event. the watertown could get a foot of snow. buffalo itself not too much, but south of town we could get up to half a foot to a foot. >> getting closer to white christmas maybe. bill, thank you. the coming arctic blast may have most of us staying inside but freezing temperatures and heavy snow didn't seem to bother this fuzzy black and white panda in china. she lives in a giant panda house in the area known for its cold season. the giant panda is used to the local weather and you can tell loves the snow according to the panda house creator and according to this video. chomping on some branches there. nothing like a cute panda and snow. >> rolling around having the time of his life. >> life is good.

i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. thanks for watching "early today". the news continues right here on nbc and our nbc stations. somehow we always leave packing to the last minute. time to break these bad boys out no i have a couple of things to wash we got this- come on. even on quick cycle, tide pods cleans great 6x the cleaning power, even in the quick cycle let's go did you just get up uh-huh it's got to be tide the energy conscious whopeople among usle? say small actions can add up to something... humongous. a little thing here. a little thing there. starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. who are all these caretakers, advocates too? turns out, it's californians it's me and it's you.

don't stop now, it's easy to add to the routine. join energy upgrade california and do your thing. francisco.. good wednesday morning to you as we take a live look outside in san francisco at the bay bridge there all lit up. a cold start to the morning. good morning and thank you for joining us, hopefully to warm you up. i'm marcus washington. >> it's crazy. >> literally crazy. >> it is. you have the shirt and gloves? i needed something long sleeved. >> we are looking for something warmer to wear. you will, too. we have very cold air. let me show you the freeze warnings in effect for the north bay. all the areas shaded in purple for solano county are under a frost advisory. that continuesil