♪ extremely critical fire conditions grow more dangerous as the santa ana winds whip up gusts of more than 70 miles per hour while evacuations spread palestinians call for days of rage over president trump's recognition of jerusalem at israel's capital the sheriff's pilot temporarily blinded by a laser while rushing to an emergency scene leads to an arrest we will tell you about important news involving breast cancer in women taking birth control. "early today" starts now. california is seeing no relief from the deadliest and most destructive fire season of

the year. >> as many as five wildfires are tearing through los angeles right now, driven by fierce santa ana wind and dry conditions. the thick plumes of smoke are so dense they're visible from space. hundreds of thousands have fled their homes in ventura county and los angeles. >> president trump offered his thoughts and prayers to those affected. schools have canals elled most classes and residents are advised to stay indoors due to dangerous air conditions. lyft is offering free rides to those displaced and all of the image fears the flames will strengthen as wind gusts are expected to surge today. nbc's scott cohn live from ventura. what are you seeing there? >> reporter: it is all about the wind. it comes can and goes. the forecast is for the winds to pick up as early morning hours go on. that's bad for firefighting. you combine that with all of the dry vegetation and we're talking about a fire risk that's as bad as they've ever seen it here.

think about it. that 90,000 acre fire that's burning here in ventura county, that's 140 square miles or roughly the size of the city of detroit. it blew up in the space of about 36 hours, and now with the fire risk escalating it is all hands on deck. >> there's a lot of potential for some large fire growth on the north and west side of this fire in the next 24 to 48 hours. resistance to control is going to be very difficult because of the large probability of spot fires that will establish easily and spread rapidly and tend to confound control efforts. >> reporter: so far crews are on the look out for the so-called spot fires that come from embers that come from the main fire and trying to knock those down as soon as possible so that the fires don't spread. of course, this is one of about

five fires burning in southern california. the santa ana winds are expected to continue blowing, perhaps peaking today, but continuing into the weekend. philip, frances. >> thank you, scott. we bring you bill karins who tells us about the massive wind gusts. >> the problem will be as we go through the morning as the santa ana wind peak, lower elevations about 40 to 60, the spot fires and embers possibly it start new blazes. peak forecast for the city. l.a., up to 45, santa ana around 60, oxnard and 60. they will peak but stay gusty through the upcoming weekend. >> thank you very much. the protests that erupted over the middle east after president trump up ended decades of u.s. policy by recognizing jerusalem as the israeli capital.

leaders not just in the arab world but across the globe announced it to be a detriment to peace. hallie jackson joins us with more. >> reporter: frances, the president is making a risky bet here that doing something different will eventually end up productive for peace talks but he's about the only one making that bet. this decision, which is not likely to be undone by future presidents, is one of the most controversial and potential consequential of his administration. >> all challenges demand new approaches. >> reporter: seven decades of u.s. policy changed in an instant. >> today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that jerusalem is israel's capital. >> reporter: president trump will move the u.s. embassy to jerusalem, which could take three or four years, and puts the u.s. on an island. every other country, more than 80 with an embassy in israel, has theirs in tel aviv.

>> while previous presidents made it a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. today i am delivering. >> reporter: there are reasons those other presidents changed their views, like widespread consensus and united nations policy that the fate of jerusalem should be one of the last decisions negotiated between israelis and palestinians, but this president made a promise. >> we will move the american embassy -- >> reporter: and he wants to make good on it. domestic politics at play here like a legal deadline and pressure from evangelical supporters. leaving a little wiggle room, the president is not taking a position on whether or how jerusalem should be divided and he said he is not ending u.s. support for a two state reality. but any decision looks more difficult now. >> by giving this to the vaseis and getting nothing for it, the president weakened the american position, made it less likely we

will get progress from the israelis from the negotiating table. >> reporter: as one of the most difficult disputes gets more complicated, hallie jackson, nbc news, the white house. now to jerusalem with reaction to the president's announcement. ron, where do we stand with the days of rage called for by the palestinians? >> reporter: philip, some incidents have been reported in the west bank. we're in east jerusalem, but in the west bank there's been an increase in rock throwing incidents, molotov cocktails, there are calls for more people to go into the streets in a couple of hours, a general strike has been called and some shops have been closed, some are opened. it is a mixed bag. the big concern beyond today is tomorrow friday, friday frwhen e masses go to mosque cans and the imam will be delivering fiery speeches, all no doubt inflaming

passions and the result could be confrontational vie lens. the other thing i should say is we spent time on the west side of jerusalem, the israeli side, their jup lags, there are signs saying, god bless donald trump, we love donald trump. the people we talked to were almost unanimous in their agreement and applauding of this decision saying it is well-overdue, long overdue and that jerusalem always will be the capital of israel. so a big contrast in opinions on one side and the other, but that's the story. that's what is happening. that's the nature of this conflict that's been going on for so long. phillip. >> all right. ron, thank you. now to the growing number of sexual allegations hurled at minnesota al franken, a stampede of lawmakers are demanding that the democrat resign. the senator is expected to make an announcement today. the onslaught was brought on following another allegation of misconduct, this time from a

staffer accusing frank end of forcibly kissing her. he reportedly told "politico," it is my right as an entertainer. trailsy, good morning. >> reporter: frances, good morning. the tide is turning against franking among his own colleagues. now 35 democrats so far said they think franken needs to step down, to resign, and this groundswell happened after the seventh accuser came forward on wednesday. in a tweet franken's office says no decision has been made, that he is talking with his family. he will make an announcement in d.c. tomorrow -- that's today. but reports of a final diggs ec are inaccurate. franken in a statement says, the allegation is categorically not true and he would claim his right as an entertainer to

forcibly kiss her he calls preposterous. he said he is looking forward to cooperating with the ongoing ethics investigation. weal find out whether that's the case. meantime, one of the first democrats to come out against him was senator kirsten gill brand of new york. >> enough is enough. this is a conversation we've been having for a long time and it is a conversation this country needs to have. i think when we start to talk about the differences between sexual assault and sexual harassment and unwanted groping, you are having the wrong conversation. you need to draw a line in the sand and say none is okay, none is acceptable, and we as elected leaders should be held to a higher standard, not a lower standard, and we should fundamentally be valuing women. that's where this debate has to go. >> reporter: franken may or may not draw that line on his career. we will find out later today, frances. >> tracey potts for us. thank you, tracey the house approved a bill along party lines that would make it easier for gun owners to

carry weapons across state lines with permits, a bill strongly backed by nra. it is the first gun legislation to move forward since the deadly shootings in las vegas and texas. the bill heads to the senate where it will likely face a tougher measure. returning now to our weather, let's check in with bill karins to see what is in store, especially in the critical fire -- >> good morning again. i want to show you this map and explain why southern california is at a bad risk today. this is back to march. look how green the mountains were. as we fast forward through this and go through the dry summer, notice how brown the map turns. that's all of the vegetation drying up, some dying. that led to the extreme fire conditions. we have a lot of vegetation that burned, we have active fires and it is going to have wind gusts up to 60, 70, maybe even 80-mile her pour winds. that's why it has the potential

to explode and burn. that's why the thomas fire is up to 90,000 acres in two days. unfortunately, there's no wane at all over the next seven days in this area. the wet seasonantonio, especial south texas, look at the cold air through minnesota and wisconsin today. turning to sports, it was a tough night for two of college basketball's bas teams. kansas jayhawks were handed their first lot as home at the hands of the red hot mattiace thiebul. no one saw that victory coming. a stunning upset to number five florida on florida's home court. the gators were ice cold from

the field. they lost 65-59. >> good thing for kansas and florida it is only december. >> it is, but losing at home. >> thanks, bill. still ahead, study affectin millions of women taking birth control pills and its connection to cancer. that's next. weekend at kohl's. and take an extra 25% off! give joy with the pj masks headquarters a star wars playset or a kid-friendly digital camera! and for a limited time only yes2you members earn double points! give joy! get joy this weekend at kohl's. achoosnap achoo! snap achoo! achoo!

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woman. a woman at the gas pump was injured, though not seriously. there were no passengers on board the plane. now important medical news for millions of women who take birth control across the united states. a new study finds that those pills could increase the risk for breast cancer, the most common type of cancer found among women. researchers say it's a new cause for concern and something women need to talk about with their doctor. dr. john torres filed this report. >> reporter: doctors had hoped new forms of birth control using fewer hormones might be safer. but tonight's study reports they still increase a woman's risk of breast cancer. a study in a "new england journal of medicine" following nearly two million women found their breast cancer risk jumped 20%. after ten years, that risk grew to 38%. a special concern for women in their 40s since their risk of breast cancer is already greater than a younger woman's. this increase may seem like a lot, but overall, the risk of developing breast cancer is still relatively low. obesity raises your odds more

than birth control. >> millions of women are on hormonal contraceptives. it just means that each person really needs to look critically at their reasons for taking it. >> reporter: the study also found it's not just pills that increase cancer risk, but any contraception that uses hormones, including the vaginal ring, certain iuds and the patch. other options for birth control without hormones include condoms, diaphragms, and one type of iud. >> i don't think that any woman should panic. >> reporter: doctors say the study does not mean women should automatically stop taking birth control, especially those taking it for other medical conditions. coming up, who topped the forbes list of highest paid musicians? we'll tell you about that. plus, you will not believe the size of this avocado. look at that. you're watching "early today." t. psoriasis does that. it was tough getting out there on stage. i wanted to be clear. i wanted it to last.

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♪ we still here, you're rocking with the best, don't worry if i write rhymes, i write checks ♪ >> he is the boss. whether you know him as puffy, p. diddy or sean combs, he is the 27th highest paid musician. the rapper, businessman and producer raked in $130 million this year thanks to his reunion tour, vodka and selling 1/3 of his sean john clothing list. followed by beyonce earning $105. rounding out the top five you have drake, the weekend and

coldplay. a hawaii woman may have found the world's largest avocado. check this out. pamela wang found this massive five-pound avocado under a 40-year-old tree that overhangs a street that she regularly walks along. in hawaii, the fruit that hangs or falls in a public place is free to claim. so she has submitted an application to the world guinness records committee to see if it's the largest avocado ever grown. she better hurry that thing will turn quickly. >> avocado toast buffet at her house. rover.com relates its annual dog names for 2014 said the names divided by gender bella and max top. on the female elle was popular with losely, luna making the top five. guide dogs had buddy and jack. more than half of the top names were also in the top 100 baby names of 2017. the report found 53% of the owners named a dog after a celebrity or tv or book character. it's fitting that the same kind of names for both.

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united states. thank you very much. what! >> what! >> i swear, i swear that's real. >> that was a real deal. you didn't have to slow mo like it like kimmel does with drunk donald trump that's right. he has to be announced at this point, trying to remember, what's the name of the other country? >> united states. >> so we know better than to make fun of anyone with their sfeech, because every now and then we've all been there. >> on a daily basis. >> karma will get you. >> let's get into your weekend outlook. as far as friday goes, we have to watch and see how much snow we get in the southeast. doesn't look like a lot, but by the time we get to saturday a little snow in the ohio valley and sunday a quiet weather map across the country. you're watching "early today." ♪ well, here's to first dates! you look amazing. and you look amazingly comfortable.

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the year began with scenes the women's march on washington. and in cities across the country, now it seems the year is ending with women continuing to push change. "time" announced women speak up and speaking out is their person of the year. the group the magazine dubbed the silence breakers of the me too movement. >> cynthia mcfadden spoke with some of the silence breakers including actress ashley judd about this watershed moment. >> we can't all be sluts. we can't all be asking for it. >> i am here to give you permission to be angry. >> reporter: "time" magazine has put the silence breakers on the cover as its 2017 person of the year. the women who unleashed a national reckoning about sexual harassment and assault. >> were we supposed to call some

fantasy attorney general of moviedom? >> reporter: among them ashley judd, who we spoke to. >> i think our country is different. i think that things will be different going forward. it's going to be a process. it may be messy, and at times a little unruly. it won't please everybody. >> reporter: time says judd, who was one of the first to publicly accuse harvey weinstein helped launch a movement, beginning one of the highest velocity shifts in our culture since the 1960s. a growing list of public figures have been brought down overcharges of sexual harassment and in some cases assault. not all the men are famous, but the stories their accusers tell are eerily similar. >> i was tired of wondering the if it was something i wore. i was tired of wondering if it was a vibe i was giving off. >> reporter: sexual harassment was nothing new. but the cultural logjam seemed to burst after the weinstein accusers came forward in the fall. >> i want women who haven't had the opportunity yet to speak up for a variety of reasons to know that we have your back.

>> reporter: in the wake of weinstein, women all over the world emboldened by a social movement with a #metoo have shared their stories. >> the shame is not ours to hold. the shame is on the perpetrator. me too can be a conversation starter or it can be the whole conversation. >> reporter: a conversation loudly and passionately now taking place. cynthia mcfadden, nbc news, new york. now let's get to some of the day's top headlines before you head out for day. commissioner roger goodell has just inked a five-year extension to keep running the nfl. the deal is worth nearly $200 million with a base salary of $40 million. 20 years after releasing viagra, the little blue pill is getting a huge price cut thanks to its own manufacturer pfizer introducing a generic form of the pill that will hit the market next week. in case you find yourself driving down the interstate in new mexico, look out for this big nativity sign with a spin telling people, quote, just skip

church and it's all fake news, signed happy holidays from american atheists. >> i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm frances rive ad lib live picture-- san

francisco you. as we take a live look outside in san francisco. the bay bridge there lit up, the cars are moving and, yes, it is another cold morning. good morning and thank you for joining us, i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. that's right, bundle up once again. >> yeah, it's another cold morning, and it's not as cold as yesterday in some spots, but we are still going to have a very chilly morning, but warms up as we go through the day. as we get a look at what you're feeling now as you get ready to step out the door, it's 34 in santa rosa, the coldest spot on the map there, 41 in san jose and 48 in oakland and in san francisco. take a look at these highs today, it's going to be really nice, into the upper 60s, even a few low 70s, so i will let you know how long this