i have the absolute right to do a national emergency if i want. my threshold will be if i can't make a deal with people that are unreasonable. >> day 20 of the government shutdown. no progress between the two sides. the president heads to the border to make his case today. meanwhile, those working without pay including secret service, border patrol, marshals, nasa, and over traic controllers among many others will not get a paycheck tomorrow. a manhunt is under block. the suspect is considered armed and dangerous and may have been involved in multiple homicides. controversial singer r. kelly may be facing new investigations after preying up underage girls. >> plus superstar james harden gets his bell rung on this pass.

one way to play heads-up defense. "early today" starts right now. good to be with you on this thursday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. 20 days into the shutdown showdown, and president trump is heading to the epicenter of this impasse. the president planning to tour the u.s.-mexico border near mcallen, texas, today. the trip comes on the heels of his threat to declare a national emergency to pay for the border wall if congress doesn't reach a deal themselves. and after the president reportedly walked out on negotiations with top congressional leaders, a compromise seems further out of reach than ever before. >> meanwhile, lawmakers are working to ease the pain from the shutdown. democrats have introduced legislation to protect furloughed federal workers in danger of defaulting on their bills. and later today, the house will vote to reopenelp t farmers and who rely on food stamps. it comes a day after democrats and a handful of republicans in the house passed a bill to reopen the irs. for the latest on the debate, let's go to nbc's tracie potts

in d.c. tracie, some republicans are starting to break rank here. >> reporter: well, they are, and it's telling about where this situation may be headed. take a look. there were eight house republicans who voted with every single democrat to reopen the irs on wednesday. here they are. keep in mind that republicans and democrats in the house are up for re-election every two years, so some of them may be looking at 2020. perhaps even more telling, five senate republicans are now saying that they want to see this shutdown end. but will it? talks have completely fallen apart. at the white house on wednesday, democrats say president trump simply walked out when they refused to fund the border wall. their focus now, the 800,000 federal workers who may not be getting paychecks tomorrow. >> many federal workers will not be receiving their paychecks. the president seems to be insensitive to that. he thinks maybe they could just ask their father for more money,

but they can't. >> i know there will be millions of americans, hundreds of thousands of federal workers that are as disappointed as we are that the democrats are unwilling to engage in good faith negotiations. >> reporter: the president tweeted that meeting was a total waste of time. as you said, he heads down to the border today. back here in washington, another vote. this time democrats will be voting to reopen agriculture department programs like food stamps, assistance for farmers. again, the senate has said as long as the president's not behind it, they won't even bring it up for a vote, and the white house is threatening a veto as they try to approach this piecemeal to get the government reopened. it's day 20. on day 21, this will tie for the longest shutdown in american history. >> hard to hear, especially for those workers expecting that paycheck. tracie, thank you. with no end in sight to the shutdown, president trump still holds the option to declare a national emergency and fund the border wall.ely lead

to a major legal battle over the extent of his executive power. nbc's kristen welker has a closer look at this issue. >> reporter: the question, will he or won't he? the president doubling down on his threat to go around congress and declare a national emergency. >> i have the absolute right to do a national emergency if i want. my threshold will be if i can't make a deal with people that are unreasonable. >> reporter: so what is a national emergency? passed in 1976, the national emergencies act gives presidents the broad authority to take action in a crisis and to redirect money already approved by congress. it was used after 9/11 and during the spread of swine flu in 2009. but can president trump issue one to build the border wall? experts say maybe. >> can the president declare a national emergency? absolutely. might that be challenged in court? probably. who will prevail? that's a very difficult threatening a legal challenge, and even some republicans warning mr. trump

against it. >> that would be your last option, not your first. he may have the authority to do that, but i'm hopeful that the normal process of negotiating through the appropriations bills will get us where we need to go. >> reporter: experts tell nbc news the president could cite a law allowing military construction projects not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces. after that contentious meeting with democrats, the vice president said mr. trump is still looking at declaring a national emergency, and so are white house lawyers. >> kristen welker, thank you for that report. for millions of americans, the partial shutdown is far more than just a political fight in washington. in just 24 hours, the government will stop cutting checks for furloughed workers, and while they're all expected to receive back pay, that won't help with the bills due now. nbc's tom costello has more on the impact of the impasse in d.c. >> reporter:moout pay, the very service agents protecting the

president. u.s. customs and border patrol, marshals, atf, and dea. most nasa employees. 14,000 air traffic controllers. and 51,000 tsa officers. all should receive back pay once the government reopens though that could be a while. >> many of those people that you talk about are on my side. >> reporter: in boone, iowa, joe zimmerman and his family are trying to make ends meet. >> everybody talks about 800,000 federal employees. well, that's just the 800,000 of us who work. how many wives, husbands, spouses, partners, children, parents, how many more people are associated with that 800,000 employees? >> reporter: also furloughed, hundreds of thousands of fda food inspectors. meanwhile, a support network is recommending garage sales for furloughed members of the coast guard. while tsa officer robert mulholland, working without pay, fears he won't be able to close on a new home since the bank needs proof of income.

know when this is going to end. we don't know when the income stream will pick up again. >> reporter: this morning the tsa says it understands the stress the shutdown is putting on officers and their families. many living paycheck to paycheck, making about $30,000 a year. meanwhile, the union says some officers are starting to quit, convinced that they will not be paid tomorrow. frances? >> tom, thanks for the report. while the shutdown has taken center stage on capitol hill, there are new concerns among democrats in congress about the robert mueller investigation. there's word this morning that the man who oversees the election meddling probe is planning to step down. administration sources say deputy attorney general rod rosenstein has decided to step down after a new attorney general is confirmed, possibly in early march. while another source says he will stay on until mueller's courtroom work is finished, others say there's no time line. breaking news. the search continues for a man who led officers on a violent chase through delaware and pennsylvania. dejuan robinson is a person of

interest in several homicides. authorities say he caused a crash on interstate 95 that injured at least five delaware officers and one pennsylvania trooper. he then exited the highway to south philadelphia and collided with a bus, injuring two people before escaping on foot. robinson is considered armed and dangerous. now to an alarming report that raises the question who's tracking you? a new investigation finds top cell phone companies are selling access to your location data. nbc's kristen dahlgren has the details. >> reporter: everywhere you go, your cell phone is right there with you. but who else knows where you are? for a few hundred bucks, it could be anyone. in an investigation for mother board, reporter john cox was able to track a cell phone through a bounty hunter for just $300. >> they sent me a google maps screen shot of the approximate area of where the phone was, and it was correct. >> reporter: many telecom

companies sell your phone's location data to other companies for things like detecting fraud or roadside assistance. but those companies can resell the data, making it available to virtually anyone, showing your phone's location down to 1,500 feet or five square blocks. >> hackers can get this information. identity thieves can get this rmion. all of this can be used to make your life miserable. >> reporter: an industry group representing the telecom companies declined our request for comment. but fcc commissioner jessica rosen horsele says she's calling for an investigation as soon as the government reopens. >> it should be standard practice that if they're selling your location data to someone else, you should have a choice in the matter. i don't think any of us have opted into this kind of system. >> reporter: it's likely your location is out there for anyone to see. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york. let's talk about the kind of tracking we all want and need sometimes, especially when it comes to storms and snow.

bill karins. >> talking winter again, right? about time, middle of january. numerous areas dealing with lake-effect snow. be careful driving in those areas off of lake erie, ontario. even northern new england recovering. the cold is the story this morning. windchill in minneapolis is zero right now. chicago, it's a have numerous chilly mornings in a row. tomorrow morning it will feel like 9 in new york city. richmond down to 18. memphis at 24. you were wearing shorts in memphis a couple days ago. by saturday, still very cold. portland is going to feel like maine does in the winter. negative numbers. rochester at o6. 7 mlion people dealing wilit wi minneapolis all the way through

fargo and duluth today. not bad, look at colorado in the 50s. of course a lot of people want to know how much snow we're going to get with this storm coming this weekend. those details coming up. >> bill, thank you. in today's quick hits, you may want to stock up on forever stamps. the u.s. postal service is hiking the price by 10% from 50 to 55 cents on january 27th. that's the largest percentage increase since 1991. priority mail rates are also going up. starbucks plans to install needle disposal or sharps boxes in the bathrooms of some of its locations after workers reported finding blood and discarded syringes. it's raised concerns of exposure to hiv and other diseases. in melbourne, australia, an overhead road sign crashed onto a free way, crushing a vehicle and injuring the female driver inside. the driver was hospital sized in stable condition. stayed clearer through 48 weeks. tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis.

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american-backed militia, made this announcement of the boy's capture on wednesday. if confirmed, this would mark the first time an american minor was caught fighting on behalf of isis overseas. this arrest comes days after u.s. backed fighters claimed to have detained two other american fighters of the terrorist group. five former guards in kentucky were in court monday. they face manslaughter charges for allegedly abusing an inmate who later died. security video from inside the jail may be difficult for some viewers to see. detectives say the inmate, michael mooring was highly intoxicated and restrained in a chair. according to court records, moore died in the facility from blunt force trauma to his side. guard faces 10 to 20 years behind bars. to a after the ceo of amazon, jeff bezos, announced he is splitting up with his wife. he and his wife released a joint statement saying they've decided to divorce and will share their lives as friends. the two have four kids, and

bezos is the richest person in the world. he has an estimated value of $137 billion. so in addition to a hefty divorce, experts suggest his ex-wife could end up with the second biggest stake in the company. the announcement comes just two days before his birthday. >> oh, man, can you imagine the lineup of the divorce lawyers and how much they're going to get paid? zblul the people lining up to take his money. you can even bet on his next girlfriend. you know that? >> i like that thinking ahead. >> it's 28 1/2 years old is the over/under. >> divorce papers haven't even been drafted. dollars, there's a new study that suggests a quarter of americans will die and will be in. that'sngo a poll by credit cards.com. they surveyed 1,000 people and found 65% of them don't even know when they'll pay off their debts. the number one form of debt was a mortgage followed by credit

card debt and auto loans came in third place. but, hey, when you're gone, you're gone. >> your last check just bounces, right? who cares? just ahead, a convincing argument out there to merge south and north dakota into one state. what do you think about that? and the beard, he got beaned. the play that left nba superstar james harden seeing stars. you're watching "early today" on a thursday. you know that 98% ofs don't get enough of them? that's why megared advanced 4in1 packs more omega-3 power into just one small softgel. it supports four vital areas of your body. your heart... your brain... your eyes... and your joints. give your body the omega-3s it's missing. megared advanced 4in1. one pill. more power.

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bounce, bounce, boun got to hurt, right? milwaukee bucks superstar passed the ball right into houston rockets -- look at this, his guard, james harden, right into his head. 2 happened at wednesday's night's game, uniblententionall. it went viral. shaq joking maybe it was intentional there. harden made a quick recovery. still the bucks beat the rockets in houston 116-109. right now those are the two best players in the nba. those are the two leaders for mvp right now. maybe he was trying to take him out. other basketball news here. steph curry has done it again, this time giving away hundreds of his signature sneakers to oakland high schoolers. he surprised a theater, giving each a pair of curry sixes. they're designed after the

historic theater. the golden state warriors star sad he wanted to show his appreciation for the city ahead of his team's move to san francisco next season. what a hit. look at everybody and the smiles with their new kicks. >> he's also got the moon shoes, right, after talking about that? what do you think about this? how does this sound? mega kota as a state? there's a petition out there asking president trump to merge north and south dakota into megakota. the petition already has 6,000 signatures. it's created by a guyamed dylan stewart. president's attention. >> you know what's going to happen after that? people are going to want a megalinaorth carolina. >> i don't know if they can get along. i don't kno

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ice. these conditions add danger for anyone who wants to go ice fishing or just get around there. that is really rough terrain. >> if you've ever been around those, you can hear it too, ice crashing into each other and piling up. let's give you the timing on the upcoming storm. rain on friday afternoon in areas from missouri southwards. then during the afternoon and evening, it will change to snow? st. louis. saturday morning, wake up to snow throughout the southern ohio valley. by saturday afternoon w d.c. >> all right, bill. thank you. just ahead, fallout from r. kelly's highly rated docu-series. docu-series. he's facing neal who's got the time to chase docu-series. he's facing neal 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. you know what?

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investigations after he was accused of abuse and preying upon women, including underage girls. here's nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: new protests after the explosive allegations of sexual, mental, and physical abuse in the docu-series surviving r. kelly leaving >> reporter: in cook county, illinois, the state's attorney justice says investigators are now without you. speaking to at least two families who have raised concerns about the three-time grammy-winning singer while in georgia -- >> it is a cult. >> reporter: the savage family says their daughter, joyce lynn is living under kelly's control, which she denied to tmz. the family saying investigators reached out to them. >> my daughter is being brainwashed. >> reporter: the docu-series chronicles disturbing accounts of kelly's alleged predatory behavior, including claims of sex with minors and homes filled with sex slaves. assante mcgee says she's a

survivor. >> no matter what people say about you, you know your truth. let that truth be heard. >> reporter: in 2008, kelly was acquitted of 21 charges of child pornography, he consistently denied all allegations. his attorney says he's done nothing wrong. but prosecutors are looking for evidence of a crime. miguelbc news. t m tell. a man in california learned the millio. who you hard way when his roommate stole his $30 scratch-off ticket and tried to claim the winnings for himself. well, 35-year-old adul saosongyang learned of his roommate's winning ticket, bought one himself, and then swapped them when his roommate was sleeping. the winning ticket turned $10 m when the rightful winner's ticket was rejected, and he ended up being arrested. >> really upping the game there for worst roommate. usually people are upset when you nab their doritos or their beer, even their girlfriend. >> i imagine there's going to be

a move-out somewhere along the way. >> right into the jail cell. denver could become the first u.s. city to decriminalize magic mushrooms. the group denver for sill asignen says that it's collected over 8,000 signatures, more than enough to make its way onto the ballot. the city's election off classifiesch with anxiety, depression and to drive on them because you'll be waiting for those stop signs to turn >> i'm

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patchy. as you take a live look outside in dublin right now, it is fairly clear there. you drive and run into a wall of fog. it's going to be off and on through the next several hours out the door. we're going more of that in parts of the north bay and concord. lowest visibility there at about one mile. i do expect it to get worse. if you heaut