when they finally receive all their back pay? we'll meet some trail bladesers who are bringing a deeper meaning to taking a hike. plus, it was black panther winning big at last night's screen actors guild awards. but they weren't the only ones

as we kick off a new week. here on "early today" starts right now. good monday michael jordan. i'm marlie hall in for frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. the government is back in business employees will return to work. national monuments reopened over the weekend after president trump signed a measure to fund the government, but only for three weeks, which means we could go through this all over again. the president threatened to resume the shutdown on february 15th if he doesn't get the fund fog interest wall. nbc's kelly o'donnell has the latest. >> reporter: hand-made signs at one national park service visitor's center show the federal government is not fully back in business. but at some landmarks and monuments -- >> martin luther king -- >> reporter: park rangers returned to duty. >> this was not the first day of restored operations. tomorrow we'll see entire staffs back in. >> reporter: also on the job, the message makers.

ushaping the next round ohe >> the chanc to prove whether or not they really do believe in border security and whether they're willing to go againsti orbeholden to their leadership that they're never going to build a barrier on the southern border. >> reporter: from house democratic leadership, maybe yes to a fence. >> now, in the past we have supported enhanced fencing, and i think that's something that's reasonable that should be on the table. but i don't with a nt to get out ahead of the process. >> reporter: the process belongs to a bipartisan negotiating team that includes missouri republican roy blunt. >> let's find solutions. let's not continue to disappoint the people we work for by not showing the ability to work together. >> reporter: republican marco rubio says president trump should not resort to declaring a national emergency to build the wall. >> you could very well wind up in sort of a theatric victory at the front end and they're not getting it done. i think the best way to do it is to have a law passed that funds

border security so we know it's going to happen. >> reporter: declaring a national emergency for the wall carries risks, like lay court challenge, and many lawmakers are opposed. white house officials say the president would prefer not to use that power. his defenders also say president trump will ultimately be judged success or failure on the shutdown and the wall at the end of this process when there is some kind of outcome and not while negotiations are still under way. phillip? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you. cracking down on illegal immigration is a cornerstone of president trump's platform, but now there is new evidence that another one of his golf clubs was employing undocumented workers. former employees at the trump national golf club in westchester county in new york are coming forward to tell their stories. speaking exclusively with nbc's kate snow. for 14 years, gabriel sodano worked in building maintenance was a housekeeper for years.

both presented forged green cards and social security cards when they were hired. do you think they knew at the club that your documents were false? >> that's what i think, because they need employees. and like they don't check check really good. >> while neither were directed to get false documents, they say the person who hired them simply copied the papers and handed them back. both gabriel and maria suspect that people at the highest levels of the trump organization knew they were hiring undocumented workers to save money. that, they say, includes mr. trump himself. >> i can not be sure about that, but he got to know. >> you think the president must have >> he must have known. >> an attorney for the two former employees is calling for investigations into the trump organization's hiring practices. >> while the white house had no comment, the president's son and an executive at the company, eric trump said, quote, if any employee submitted false

documentation in an attempt to circumvent the law, they will be terminated immediately. we take this issue very seriously. this is one of the reasons why my father is fighting so hard for immigration reform. the system is broken. a man suspected of killingify v fife people in louisiana has been taken into custody. police were awaiting in virginia where the gunman was expected of arriving as his grandmother's house. he reportedly pointed a car out of a car window when he arrived home and that caused deputies to seek cover. for more on how this manhunt ended, we go to dan sheneman. police say 21-year-old dakota theriot was arrested at his grandmother's home in virginia. investigators knew he might travel to the area, and his grandmother asked authorities to check on her house before she returned. theriot returned from louisiana after he allegedly gunned down

people at different crimes scene. the shooting started saturday in livingston parrish. the 21-year-old shot and killed his girlfriend, summer earnest, her brother tanner, and her father billy. >> i just loved them all. i have a big hole in my heart. >> reporter: police say he then drove to his parents' home. when police arrived, both parents were shot. the father managed to talk to police. >> we was able to get a dying declaration from him, and only enough information to let us know that it was his son that committed this act. >> reporter: while police believe they have the gunman, they don't have all the answers. >> there's no sign of anything. so we have no motive at this time. >> reporter: theriot is expected to be in court monday. he will face five counts of first-degree murder. dan sheneman, nbc news. a suspect in a downtown denver shooting is under arrest after a standoff with authorities. two police officers were wounded in the gun battle. initial reports of shots fired ended with police deploying

chemical agents and a house going up in flames after a heated exchange of fire. following the hours-long standoff, police said the two male officers who were shot, a veteran and a rookie, were hospitalized in fair condition. the suspect, who had earlier barricaded himself in the house was taken away in an ambulance. a dr. s.w.a.t. officer was reported injured in a crash as his team headed to the shooting that officer is expected to make a full recovery. an investigation is ongoing. to kentucky. two teenagers were taken into custody yesterday, accused of throwing a large rock through the windshield of a deputy squad car wednesday morning. the rock crashed through the windshield causing the deputy's car to crash and flip over several times. dean was responding to a report that someone was throwing rocks at semitrucks in the danville area when he was hit. officials say he sufferedken bones and cuts, but is resting at home and is expected to be okay. the boyle county sheriff says two teenagers are now facing charges including assault on a

police officer. officials confirmed that a tornado briefly touched down in miami-dade county, florida. even though it was small, the wind was powerful enough to topple over a large truck and knock trees to the ground. homes in the area suffered minor damage. as of 10:00 p.m. last night, nearly 800 households across broward and miami-dade counties were without power. severe weather wreaked havoc in southern florida this weekend, causing flight delays at the ft. lauderdale hollywood international airport. as of this morning, no injuries have been reported. >> all right. let's see what this week has in store for us. bill karins, good morning. >> good morning. cold. we are expecting the coldest temperatures in 20 years, and that's a big deal in the midwest. we're talking about the windchill potential here where areas in the red are looking a the watch, the maroonish color there. we do have a few warnings and advisories, but the worst of this is going to be wednesday. this is kind of the warm-up act today. the really heart of this cold outbreak is coming down from southern canada. today, this morning, it's not

exactly fun, but this is better than it's going to be. negative 25 in fargo. fargo goes to negative 51. minneapolis, negative 42. and the peak of it in the midwest, chicago, negative 45. madison, negative 51 wednesday morning. th how cold it's going to be in the midwest as we go throughout the next couple of mornings. it's not only the cold. we're going to have some snow and ice to deal with too. we'll talk about that coming up. >> those numbers behind you are mind-boggling. my goodness. thank you. the super bowl may be next week, but sunday, the top nfl players faced off ingame. the game was rainy. it took place in orlando. the affect took home the win, defeating the nfc, 26-7. a that there is kc's patrick

mahomes dominating. he connected with eric ebron in that pass. mahomes would earn the offensive most valuable player award. this is the afc's third consecutive victory. the super bowl coming up this sunday. just ahead, a debacle at duke. critics have a few choice words after a professor demanded students to speak english. and a deadly confrontation caught on camera. the tense moments between police and a parent outside an oregon school. i can't tell you who i am or what i witne,

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it detects two hormones and then the daoeo myhoneme mfertile day. (man) how many days? (woman) four or more. (man) nice. (vo) proven to double your chances of getting pregnant. clearblue connected. we're back with a consumer alert. the fda is warning of a shortage of drugs to treat high blood pressure over concerns that they may be contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical. the fda announced that over the last six months, it has recalled dozens of batches of medications, including several generic valsartan products sold in the u.s. after finding them to be contaminated with mdma, which has been linked to say t drugs were traced to factories in china, and that overall,ient remains very small. duke university professor's offensive comments to

international medical students. the university's confirmed that biostatistics director megan neely has stepped down from leadership following an e-mail in which she wrote that chinese students should commit to using english 100% of the time or face adverse consequences. the e-mail titled "something to think about" immediately triggered an investigation which gained widespread attention. the university is apologizing to students on behalf of neely's conduct. in oregon new evidence in a custody dispute that ended with police killing a parent at a school. megan chesky reports on the chaotic encounter recorded on police body cam. we do want to show you. the video you're about to see is disturbing. >> you're under arrest. >> reporter: this police body cam video is a first look at a deadly confrontation at an oregon middle school. it happened january 11th as two officers were escorting parent charlie landross outside.

police say he wouldn't leave his daughter's school. body cam shows him g, try to make an arrest. >> you are under arrest. >> reporter: watch closely. the struggle between landros and the officer goes to the ground. that's when police say the 30-year-old pulls out a handgun and fires twice, missing an officer by inches. police returned fire, killing the parent. landros's own daughter witnessing the final moments. investigators say the gun was fully loaded with almost two dozen rounds, and landros had even more ammo. the family's attorney says they're now seeking an independent investigation, calling the encounter a complex situation that resulted in the tragic death of their loved one. >> the district attorney says juas fbi investigated landros over anti-violent government posts on social media. enough evidence to prove any crime. still ahead, how an episode of "the office" may have helped

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to be young, gifted, and black, we all know what it's like to be told that there is not a place for you to be featured, yet you are young, gifted and black. did it change the industry? i know that you can't have a "black panther" now without a 2

on it. so we love you, and we celebrating. >> a huge night for "black panther" at the screen actors guild awards. that was chad boseman accepting the award for outstanding cast for a motion picture. he gave a fiery thank you speech we just heard there. the film also made history, becoming the first superhero mi movie to win that award. rami malek won for his role in bohemian rhapsody. on the tv side, "this is us" has done it again. amazon's hit show the marvelous mrs. maisel won three awards. but "black panther," they were a long shot. they are a long shot to win a best picture for oscar, but they have momentum going in a couple of weeks away. >> definitely. they say the s.a.g. awards are a great predictor of that. i'm excited. >> what an upset it would be. one man's love for "the

office" may have saved a woman's life thanks to a cpr technique he learned from this episode. take a look. >> ah, ah, ah, ah staying alive. ♪ ah, ah, ah, ah, staying alive, staying alive ♪ >> the rest of that scene is even funnier. channeling the character michael scott, a technician spotted a woman slumped over her steering wheel on the side of the road in tucson arizona. after checking her pulse, scott administered chest compressions to the tune of the bee gees "staying alive" remembering it from the hit show, even singing it out loud, and it worked. the woman began breathing before paramedics arrived. just goes to show you sitcoms can save lives. >> there you go. you can learn from television. and that ended in real life much better than the scene than if you remember with dwight -- google it. it's a good one. tv's latest live musical production of "rent" aired on fox, but the show faced a major hiccup when one of its stars,

brendan hunt broke his foot during saturday's dress rehearsal. hunt's role roger is physically demanding and calls for lots of stage time, to producers used pretaped portions from the rehearsal for a majority of the broadcast. but the ending was reworked so hunt could participate here. it was a very moving finally. the cast was joined on stage by the members of the original 1996 production to sing "seasons of love." after all, the show must go on. and this proves it, if nothing else. can you imagine that? the day before a live broadcast, broke his foot. >> a creative way to overcome the situation, though. >> it made it happen. still ahead, we'll meet of trail blazers who are bringing a deeper meaning to taking a hike. . after a long day of hard work... ...you have to do more work? every day you're nearly fried to a crisp, professionally! can someone turn on the ac?! no? oh right... ...'cause there isn't any. here- (vo) automatically sort your expenses and save over 40 hours a month.

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welcome the end of the shooting, most of them believe the efill produce a limbo condition somewhere between peace and war. >> on this day in 1973, a ceasefire officially went into effect in the vietnam war. one day after signing the paris peace accords by the u.s., north vietnam and south vietnam to establish peace and end the war. and in 1986, the space shuttle challenger exploded just 73 second after liftoff from cape canaveral, killing all seven crewmembers on board. >> vice president george bush arrived here late in the day, heading a delegation bearing the nation's condolences to the families. >> you must try to understand

the spirit, bravery and commitment are what make not only the space program but all of life worthwhile. >> all right. bill is back with a forecast. >>ah, 45 million people under either blizzard it's all buzz of this clipper system coming down from madison to green bay to chicago. the heaviest snows will be many michigan. as we go through tomorrow and tomorrow night and areas of the northeast, we could even get a little bit of snow in the south in areas of alabama and northern georgia. >> wow. that's incredible. when we come back, a bizarre sight after an owl collides with an suv. quilted northern are confusing quilted northernf. for a bouncy castle. they're both durable, flexible and nice to have at parties. but quilted northern is not a bouncy castle. it's just really nice toilet paper. ok, i...is it...?

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back now with a growing movement on the hiking trails of colorado, adding to an already beautiful landscape. it's a sisterhood of women called black girls hike. a description they believe goes beyond color. nbc's kathy parks shows us how they came together to create a healthy community in colorado and beyond. >> reporter: on a crisp morning in colorado -- >> the nature, the trees. i love it. >> reporter: mother nature's palette is an inspiration for these friends. >> black girls high. >> reporter: some old, some new, and all moving with a purpose. >> hiking has always been a part of our lives. >> reporter: avid hikers noticed women of color missing from the trails they loved, and vowed to change it. >> we tended to hike with people that did look like us. >> reporter: so they created a social media community calling themselves black girls hike, an inclusive movement that's gone from online to outside. >> black girls hike!

yes, we do! why do you think african american, women of color have stayed off the hiking trails? >> i think a lot of it has to do with lack of exposure. >> being outdoors wasn't associated with women of color, especially black women. >> reporter: blazing a path of diversity, their following has quickly green across the country to more than 800. people of all ages, personalities, gender, and even race. >> it's a neat chance for people to unify and come together over our common interests and focus what we have in common instead of what we have that's different. >> reporter: it's also about healthy living. nearly half of black women over the age of 20 have heart disease. >> we really are really changing that concept of what an african american woman does and how we maintain fitness and health in our community. >> reporter: by taking these steps, they're showing beauty at each turn. >> representation really matters. and i'm glad to have a lot of women who look like me. >> reporter: here it's about going the distance together. >> i didn't have anybody to push

me to do it. thanks to my daughter, i'm doing it now. it's not too late. >> reporter: moving in the same direction from the ground up, for friendship and a healthier future. kathy park, nbc news, confer, colorado. >> it's never too late. now i want to go. >> it's time. you can sign up right there. hiking and hanging out. no better way to spend the day. an unusual rescue in utah. wildlife service had to pull that owl from outside the grill of a man's car. the great horned owl became lodged in the ford expedition when the two collided head-on. once the driver discovered the bird was still alive and in the vehicle. he called for help. there is still no answer as to how that thing fit into that tight space in the first place, but that is a little miracle, and a beautiful animal. >> i love that video of his eyes. poor thing. >> thanks for starting the day with us. i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm marlie hall.

nbc news exclusive. our kate snow speaks to undocumented workers who were just fired from a trump-managed property. here what they had to say about the president. >> and the u.s. xptbreak. with 349 cases in 26 states in the past year. >> and new evidence in a custody dispute that ended with police killing a parent at a school in oregon. and kamala harris makes it official as thousands turn out to support the 2020 white house hopeful. and "black panther" dominants at the s.a.g. awards. early today starts right