paul manafort's legal team was briefing president trump's lawyers about what manafort was telling robert mueller. >> foreign policy poker, today the secretary of state will testify about the khashoggi murder and supporting the saudis. while the president's planned meeting withladimir putin may be canceled over the ukraine's sea controversy. >> to the gender reveal that went terribly off track as a fire scorched over 40,000 acres and will cost one man over $8 million. >> plus, the adventure-seeking hang glider who survived a death-defying accident after his pilot failed to tether him. >> and meet the man handing out thousand dla faculty in paradise, california. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm phillip mena.

>> and i'm marlie hall. for the first time ever, mississippi has voted to send a woman to the senate. cindy hyde-smith is projected to beat democratic challenger mike espy in a runoff election marred by race related controversies. earlier this month, hyde-smith sparked a firestorm after saying she would attend a public hanging. but despite the controversy, she pulled ahead early by a comfortable margin. nbc's national political correspondent steve kornacki is breaking down the results for us. steve, good morning. >> it is official in mississippi. cindy hyde-smith, the republican wins the senate runoff there. she holds off mike espy 54-46. just a scattering of precincts left right now. for the democrats, if there is a silver lining in this, they'll tell you, hey, this is about as close as they ever get in mississippi these days. probably the closest they've come to winning a senate race in 30 years to actually get this thing into single digits. strong support for espy in black areas in the state, also some cross-over votes in suburban ara

of the state. but, you know what? mississippi, there just aren't many suburbs in mississippi. it's a very rural state. in the age of trump in particular, republican strength particularly pronounced in rural areas, heavily white rural areas. hyde-smith in the northeast part of the state, did very well there. enough to hold off espy. it means all the senate races are now finished. republicans will close out with a 53-47 majority in the senate. back to you. >> all right, steve, thank you. >> this morning secretary of state mike pompeo and defense secretary jim mattis are set to testify before the senate. on the latest developments with saudi arabia in the wake of journalist jamal khashoggi's killing, the classified briefing is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. this briefing comes as the senate prepares to take up a resolution that would end u.s. involvement in the saudi-led war in yemen. that wrar and khashoggi's killing has led several lawmakers to criticize president trump's embrace of saudi arabia and raise questions on whether the u.s. should pull back on its alliance with the kingdom.

but secretary pompeo argues in a new "wall street journal" op-ed that the u.s./saudi alliance is vital. he writes, the kingdom is a powerful force fir's democracy, with israel, and contributing millions to fight terrorism. he also says the u.s. doesn't condone the khashoggi killing and will consider further punitive measures if more facts come to light. >> as president trump prepares for the g20 summit this week in argentina, he is now saying one highly anticipated meeting may not happen. the president telling the washington post he macon sell his sit-down with russian president vladimir putin after its seizure of ukrainian naval vessels and sailors in the black sea. the incident is creating an international crisis with ukraine's president seeking to declare marshal law. he is now calling on the united states to send a pointed message to russia. nbc's sarah harman is in london with the latest. good morning, sarah. >> reporter: marlie, good morning.

will he or won't he? that's what everyone is wondering this morning after president trump said he might cancel his meeting with putin in response to russia's actions off the coast of crimea. one person who seems to be hoping that meeting goes ahead is ukrainian president poroshenko. he's counting on the u.s. to support him. here's what he told nbc's richard engel. >> reporter: what message would you like president trump to deliver to vladimir putin? >> one, the minsk agreement, the de-escalation agreement is off, and the occupation of crimea and many, many other things. to make long story short, in two words, please, get out from ukraine. >> reporter: russia has had designs on ukraine for a long time. they annexed crimea four years ago, a move that got them international condemnation and sanction. the latest development seizing ukrainian vessels and sailors in a waterway they are supposed to

be sharing, it's very serious. u.n. ambassador nikki haley strongly denounced russia's actions at a security council meeting on monday, but president trump told the washington post he is awaiting a full report on the incident before he decides whether to go ahead with the meeting. president trump and putin last met in july in helsinki. that meeting lasted for more than two hours with only their translators in the room. marlie, phillip? >> sarah, thank you. >> just a day after federal prosecutors say paul manafort broke his plea deal agreement, more stunning developments. "the new york times" reporting that manafort's lawyers what he's been telling special counsel mueller and what they've been asking manafort. and earlier in the day, another bombshell. the guardian reporting manafort met with wikileaks founder julian assange multiple times. here to break it all down for us is nbc's tracie potts. tracie, good morning. this is coming after mueller's team accused manafort of lying to them. what do you think this is going to mean for his legal troubles?

>> reporter: it certainly doesn't put him in good graces with the russia legal team that he's trying to cooperate with to stay out of jail. now, "the new york times" is reporting that his legal team, manafort's legal team, repeatedly briefed president trump's lawyers on their client's discussions with federal investigators. this was after manafort agreed to cooperate with the special counsel. now, briefing them is not illegal, but it certainly seems to suggest that manafort or at least his legal team was trying to play both sides. you saw there the guardian report showing also a second development that manafort was holding secret talks with julian assange of wikileaks before wikileaks dumped all of those clinton campaign e-mails. manafort saying that he has never even met julian assange. he says the story is totally false and deliberately liableous. he said he's never metta sang or

anyone connected with him. now threatening legal action against the guardian for that report. phillip? >> all right, tracie potts in washington for us. tracie, thank you. >> a false alarm caused a panic at walter reed medical center. news of an active shooter at the d.c. area military hospital spread like wildfire and triggered a massive law enforcement response. patients and staff scrambled to get to safety as security teams cleared building 19 where they believed there was a shooter. while the fear was real, the alarm was a mistake. the navy gave the all-clear for the facility saying the alert system was inadvertently activated without including the words, exercise or drill. >> three u.s. service members were killed and three others wounded in afghanistan tuesday. the road side bombing which also injured an american contractor marks the deadliest attack on u.s. forces there in over a year. nbc pentagon correspondent hans nichols has the details. >> reporter: the attack near the embattled city of gozni a

massive road side bomb killing three americans. the soldiers traveling in a heavily armored vehicle, taliban insurgents quickly claiming responsibility. the first lady offering condolences. >> today's tragic news out of afghanistan only drives home the need to support the men and women in our military and their families. >> reporter: the americans' death bringing the total killed in afghanistan to 12 this year. the deadliest toll since 2015. this month alone already two deaths, army sergeant leandro jasso and brent taylor, a utah mayor. president trump escalated t inh number of troops to 14,000. >> a lot of progress has been made. >> reporter: his own chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said the taliban is holding their ground. >> they are not losing now. >> reporter: a deadly reminder after 17 years of fighting the u.s. is still at war in afghanistan. hans nichols, nbc news, the pentagon. >> a california millionaire took

giving tuesday to new heights after he personally handed out $1,000 checks to hundreds of paradise residents. bob wilson arrived at paradise high school with two suitcases full of checks. he was able to help 980 students and 105 staff members. the 89-year-old says after reading the news of the camp fire's devastation, he wanted to do something to lift their spirits. the camp fire's death toll is 88, with 158 people still missing. legendary singer stevie wonder also plans to help. on december 9, he is throwing a benefit concert to raise money for the california fire victims. good to see you so many people helping out. >> like mr. rogers said, in times of crisis look for helpers. a lot of helpers there. good morning, bill. >> going to need help shoveling up 15 toinch of snow. it's still snowing in some areas. the storm is located over maine. laken hansoned snow all over the place on the map. still dangerous driving new york state through way, south of buffalo, winter storm warnings. everyone else has been

downgraded to advisories because we only expect additional snowfall amounts in the lower end, maybe 2 to 3 inches in some cases, and that will be about it. so the forecast for today, very cold still in the great lakes and chilly morning in the southeast, but in the southeast you wm uparth that. so careful on the roads and sidewalks. the southeast is chilly, but as i said this afternoon a little better. the rest of the week stays chilly in the east. not till the weekend do we warm it up. >> another reason to look forward to the weekend. bill, thanks. >> krispy kreme is getting into the holiday spirit and bringing some fun traditions to some doughnuts near you. they unveiled this year's limited edition holiday treats. some of the flavors include cinnamon swirl donut which is hand tossed in cinnamon sugar and topped with cream cheese icing.

the festive designs include ugly sweater, holiday plaid and san at this belly. the new flavors are on sale now through december 24th. now you can have your ugly sweater and eat it, too. >> that time of year for all that. pop quiz for you. the highest paid celebrity is under 30? we'll tell you when we come back. plus the hang gliding venture, went all wrong. olay regenerist hydrates skin better than creams costing over $100, $200, and even $400. for skin that looks younger than it should. fact check this ad in good housekeeping. olay regenerist. now try olay hydrating eye. hydrates better than the #1 prestige eye cream. our discoveries have changedo st. jude? how the world treats and defeats childhood cancer. reon yes! visit stjude.org or giveat kohl's friends & family sale! take an extra 25% off... only once a year,

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>> and if you're thinking about possible baby names, baby center dropped its annual list of most popular names of 2018 for girls. the winners are sophia, olivia, emma, ava and isabella. for boys, the names that top the list are jackson, liam, noah, aid en, and kaydin. phillip didn't make the list. >> phillip with two ls, maybe next year. i want to show you a video now that is making jaws drop all across the country. it is not exactly a situation where you want to hang loose, if you get my drift here. an american tourist taking to the air on a hang glider with an instructor when he realized something was terribly wrong. nbc's kristen dahlgren tells us what happened. >> reporter: chris gursky knew hang gliding would be a rush. but he never thought he'd be literally be hanging on for deef life. he jokingly titled it swiss mishap. you see the florida man taking off from a mountain in switzerland with an instructor, only gursky's harness isn't

strapped to anything. he quickly realizing there is nothing holding him up. he writes, i remember looking down and thinking, this is it. i was losing grip with my right hand. the pilot was trying to make a b-line to the landing field. for two minutes and 14 seconds, gursky dangles gripping the bar and the instructor's pant legs. he gripped going 45 miles an hour. incredibly he escaped with a broken wrist and torn bicep tendon. what may be the most incredible part of the story, he says he'll hang glide again. explaining, i didn't get to enjoy my first flight. kristen dahlgren, nbc news. >> he's going to do it again. i wonder if the same instructor. >> not the same pilot. well, just ahead, the wedding singer crashes a couple's big day. the viral sensation of the week. a cow so big you'll wonder if it was bow vine intervention. you're watching "early today." it's a brand new morning

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the rock legend's final performance on broadway december 16. it looks like an intimate look into his life. >> i really, really wanted to see that on broadway but the tickets were like a thousand dollars each. yeah. so netflix is going to have to do. >> yeah. >> newlyweds in boca raton florida were posing for wedding photos when their special day got an added celebrity surprise. adam sandler happened to be playing basketball nearby and the groom says the comedian happily agreed to join them for a picture. palm beach photography thanked sandler on facebook for his cameo appearance saying he hopped right in and made that day even more remarkable fordam. >> he looks like he's in character with that basketball cow, thisth l beefy steer hails nearly 6'4" tall and weighs ove. western australia and stands that's double the weight of an average steer. good news for nickers, though. his owner says he's too heavy to be sold, so the friendly giant

will live happily ever after on his farm. he is huge. >> it pays to be that big. so big it couldn't if the fit in the meat processing facility. >> they couldn't handle him. >> being so big saved his life. one tex one texas legislator has filed a bill between the longhorns and the aggies. the rivalry dates back to 1894, but the two teams haven't faced off since 2011 when texas a. and m. jumped ship. the congressman and a&m. we owe it to rivalry. how about that? this lawmaker, he wants to make it a law to make these unpaid laborers work on a holiday for his amusement. >> must be a sports fan. well, just ahead it the cool est gender reveal on the books. the exclusive surprise that sparked a furious wildfire. you're watching "early today." plaque psoriasis can be relentless.

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christmas in rockefeller center. >> an exciting night, bill. thank you. remembering the mind behind one of the most beloved cartoons of all time. you're watching "early today." ok i'll admit. i didn't keep my place as clean as i would like 'cuz i'm way too busy. who's got the time to chase around down dirt, dust and hair? so now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters. for hard-to-reach places, duster makes it easy to clean. it captures dust in one swipe. ha! gotcha! and (new) sweeper heavy duty cloths lock away a twice as much dirt and dust. it gets stuff deep in the grooves other tools can miss.

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terribly awry. a dangerous party stunt sparked a wildfire that ravaged 47,000 acres in arizona. it cost the state millions in damages. nbc's miguel almaguer has more on what went wrong. >> reporter: a gunshot at a gender reveal party sparked the $8 million fire. >> start packing up. >> reporter: the target packed with a blue and an explosive powder ignited the blaze when the expecting father and off duty border patrol agent fired his rifle. it took 600 firefighters weeks to control. residents now outraged. >> there are times of the year that the people in the know here would never, ever bring a weapon out into this dry grass. it's a tinder box. >> reporter: in a plea deal, dennis dicky agreed to five years probation and $8 million in restitution. according to researchers, 84% of wildfires are ignited by humans, including power companies with faulty equipment which may have

california this month. those most at risk from wildfires are in some cases the very ones starting them. miguel almaguer, nbc news. >> incredible how fast it went up. just like that. >> yeah. >> sorry, son, blew your college fund on the announcement. >> right, wasn't worth t. >> fans young and old alike are mourning the loss of a man behind the classic cartoon spongebob squarepants. the creator stephen hillenburg died monday. the former marine biology teacher brought to life bikini bottom, spongebob, squid, on the hit nickelodeon show. the series two movies and a popular broadway show. the news of his passing has rocked social media. david hassle hoff tweeting, it's a shocking loss, and nickelodeon tweeting that the company held a moment of silence to honor his life and work. hillenburg passed away from als also known as lou gehrig's disease. stephen hillenburg was 57 years old. >> well, it's beginning to look

a lot like christmas in new york city. as we kickoff the holidays here at 30 rock, the 86th annual rockefeller center christmas tree lighting is tonight. thousands are expected to crowd rockefeller plaza for the event. and the city is preparing. police are lining the streets with barriers, armed guards will be present, and security officers will administer screenings to those attending. but before the 50,000 bulbs light up the night, a star-studded lineup will be rocking around the cncludingleg. so if you're watching at home, the broadcast starts tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on nbc. should be a great show. >> yeah, one of the perks of being able to work here. we see that every single day. we'll be watching at home right along with you. >> we hope your wednesday is to have a great start. i'm marlienbc bay area is trackr

round of rain moving towards the bay area. right now at 4:30, nbc bay area tracking another round of

rain moving in the bay area. live doppler radar right now, you see the bay bridge there on the top? fremont already a lot of traffic building up. you know what? the rain is, too. be careful, slick roads. we have live team corrage coming up next. thanks for joining us. is washington.a we look at the weather today, kari. >> very wet, especially south of san francisco, where the rain will mostly be concentrate ods coming down at