democrats are becoming increasingly totalitarian, suppressing dissent, dee faming the innocent, eliminating due process, staging show trials, and trying to overthrow american democracy to promote their socialism. >> a barrage on blue president trump unloads as democrats plan to go public with the impeachment inquiry. >> a major scare asiest airports the chaos after reports of a hijacking on the tarmac. >> bracing for brutal cold we're tracking the wintry blast. icing over a huge swath of the country. >> airing out, airbnb how the

home sm listing. >> the face of fraud ellen degeneres and sandra bullock crackdown piggybacking off of their fame. it's thursday and "early today" starts right now good to be with you this morning. i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. we're tracking an early winter-like blast that is bringing sleet and snow to the northeast today. the midwest has already been feeling the impact of this system some areas in minnesota were blanketed in about half a foot of snow and they are now waking up to temperatures well below freezing despite the deep freeze, the iowa state university marching band was out there facing the elements for their practice. temperatures were as low as 16 degrees there overnight. >> the storm has led to dangerous conditions for commuters in wisconsin the state patrol there reported at least a 38-year-old man was killed when officials say he lost control of his car and hit a truck on the side of the road. michele grossman who is track

ing it all for us. michele, what more can we expect >> we have a lot heavy rain, the bitter blast, some snow, some freezing rain. it's going to be a tough one for some of us the first couple days it's always the toughest. let's look at wind chills because that's when if feels like when you walk out the door. you want to dress for the temperatures and our bodies aren't quite used to it yet. look at the numbers. we're looking at single digits in some spots in terms of the feel temperature minneapolis 10 this cold blast will move off to the east by friday, so green bay 9, fargo 11 is what it's going to feel like on friday morning rapid city 20, st. louis 20, even in the northeast we are feeling that cold, cold air new york city saturday morning waking up to temperatures right around 32 degrees. it will feel more like 27. we're going to have a breeze there. keep in mind there are still kids playing football outside,o temperatures >> iffy this time of year. >> yes >> americans will soon have a front-row seat to the impeachment inquiry.

the first wave of televised testimony is scheduled to begin next week. during a campaign stop in louisiana, president trump bristled at the latest development accusing democrats of staging show trials meanwhile, new reports suggest the justice department is distancing itself from the ukraine scandal. the "washington post" and "the new york times" report that the president wanted attorney general william barr to hold a press conference saying no laws were broken in the call with ukraine's leader, but barr declined to do so. the president denied the story on twitter overnight he called it totally untrue as well as fake news. nbc's tracy spots joining us with the latest from d.c tracie, we got a bit of a preview what we can expect when the hearings go public >> reporter: the first person up is ambassadorbill taylor from ukraine. and taylor testified publicly, and we have now seen a transcript of that private testimony. he testified behind closed doors where he told lawmakers there

was a clear understanding that president trump wanted joe biden and his son investigated before releasing nearly $400 million in aid to ukraine he also said that it was clear that rudy giuliani was a back channel of getting things done in ukraine now, next week we are going to hear not b ol taylor on wednesday, but also state department official george kent and then two days later on friday, former ambassador marie yovanovitch who was ousted from her job. they say this is your opportunity to hear the evidence >> the hearings will be an opportunity for the american people to evaluate the witnesses for themselves, but also to learn firsthand about the facts of the president's misconduct. >> the aid was released and ukraine took no action to get o actual investigation started. >> reporter: one person we are not expected to hear from when the public hearings get underway, the whistleblower. president trump still arguing

the whistleblower had inaccurate information. senator rand paul says that person, if accusing the president, should be outed but, of course, the whistleblower's identity is protected by law >> in washington, d.c. this morning, tracie, thank you >> potential suspects search continues on the u.s./mexico border after the deadly ambush that killed nine americans, all members of the same family mexico's attorney general's office says they are providing support including experts specialized in fires and explosives to help with the investigation. for more here's nbc's miguel almaguer >> reporter: relatives of the victims gathered at the horrific crime scene in snora, mexico, that left three american mothers and their six children dead after a savage shooting with 200 rounds fired >> this is devastating >> i keep thinking i'm going to wake up. >> reporter: the mexican president saying the u.s. can

help in the investigation. military officials adding the ambush may have been a case of mistaken identity between rival cartels. the five siblings who escaped the blood shed are recovering in tucson the youngest victim, 8 month old brixen, was shot in the chest. the oldest survivor, 14-year-old kylie, was shot in the foot. 13-year-old devin walked 14 miles to get help. >> he hid the rest of his six siblings in the bushes, covered them with branches to hide while he went for help >> reporter: shock has now spread across the mexican compound where the families live the descend ants of mormons who settled here decades ago relatives say the cartel likely knew who the victims were. >> they'll stop and surround our vehicle, but then they'll see who it is and they recognize who we are because they keep an eye on every single person >> reporter: few answers after the massacre in mexico a shocking crime even in a country plagued with violence. miguel almaguer, nbc news,

tucson >> federal prosecutors have filed charges against two ex-twitter employees who they say used their credentials to spy on thousands of critics of the saudi regime they say they were guided by an unnamed saudi official who worked for the crown prince. they were rewarded with designer watches and tens of thousands of dollars. this is the first time the saudi kingdom has been accused of spying in america. the embassy has not commented on the case twitter says they are cooperating with the investigation and says it restricts company access to sensitive information to a limited group of vetted employees. >> there is an update in the alleged milwaukee acid attack. officials have officially filed hate crime charges against the suspect who they says threw battery acid in a hispanic man's face the incident happened after the two got into a verbal argument over a parking spot. the 42-year-old victim suffered second degree burns on his face. prosecutors filed one charge of first degree reckless injury against 61-year-old clifton blackwell. it carries a 250 year prison

sentence authorities also added hate crime and use of a deadly weapon enhancers to the case, which if convicted could add ten years to blackwell's sentence >> a hijacking triggers chaos at one of europe's busiest airports a signal was mistakenly signalled that a hijacking was in process kelly cobiella has the latest. >> reporter: at one of the busiest airports in the world, a major security scare planes stranded at gates after dutch police got a hijacking alert from the cockpit of a plane that hadn't taken off. flights delayed, parts of the airport closed nearly two hours later, it was over the airline, air europa, say it was activated by mistake nothing happened, all passengers

are safe and sound 50 million passengers fly through schipol airport every year police arrested a 51-year-old canadian, but found no explosives >> thanks to kelly for that report >> now to a new shopping holiday that retailers hope will rival black friday it's called cash back day, and it already began at midnight here's nbc's vicky nguyen. >> reporter: move over, black friday consumer savings website retail me not introducing cash back day, jump starting the shopping season with up to 20% cash back from hundreds of major retailers. here's how it works. first you have to create an account with retail me not >> this is where hundreds of retailers will shop with their deals. click on the deal you're interested in. click on the activate and shop tab. it will redirect you to the retailer you want and you can start shopping >> reporter: the deals vary from store to store, and remember, they're online only. you'll see your cash back in 45

days just click redeem reward you can get it via venmo, pay pallor as a gift card. if you're looking to shop in any category, you're guaranteed to find it on cash back day >> reporter: consumers are expected to spend $730 billion this holiday season, and 70% of shoppers say sales and discounts are the number one reason they choose a particular retailer if you miss cash back day, other sites like rakuten and ibada offer cash back year round all of this helping consumers save while they spend. vicky nguyen, nbc news, new york >> we were talking about the holidays seems like michele grossman again, good morning, again >> temperatures are so cold. we are so not ready for it we've been talking about this for days it's finally here. we're going to see it over the next cup many weeks actually it's going to stay with us for a while. there is the huge jet stream opening the door for the

looking at temperaturesblast. at or below freezing feeling colder than many spots chicago 31 th cold it is. temperatures in the 20s in the upper midwest. off to the rockies we're looking at temperatures in the 40s yeah, that cold weather is everywhere from the rockies to the west and we have a cold blast coming next week as well, even colder than this one. christmas decorations, holiday decorations coming up, too in today's quick hits, a large crowd gathered outside of chris ow sale outside his home he promised big mark downs on designer items >> the solution for college students dealing with a lack of privacy in their dorms

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leading the news, kentucky governor matt bevin is calling for a recount this morning, refusing to concede to his democratic rival despite coming up about 5,000 votes short tuesday night nbc news declared his opponent andy beshear the winner bevin requested a recount one week from today. >> they are facing consequence for separating migrant families at the a federal judge ruled they must provide mental healt children the ruling will face legal battle requires the u.s. to arrange mental health screenings, counseling and other services the government has reported that more than 4,000 migrant families had been separated under the policy >> a crisis was averted at an

elementary school in high eye after staff seized a semiautomatic loaded gun from a boy's back pack. the student then alerted a teacher. officials say the child took the gun from his home where he lives with his grandparents, adding that the gun had been reported as stolen by the boy's family member police are not expected to file any charges due to the child's competency and age >> jeopardy's james holz haur is making a comeback. that was before his streak was cut short by a librarian and a butcher. r sge last night for the tournament of champions. a battle between the top 15 recent contestants he recently --ow move to the semi finals. butcher is competing in the tournament so we may well see a rematch. >> smart dude there. we will hit play on a never

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>> holes punched in the wall, door handles hanging off, no kitchen ware >> reporter: the owners nowhere to be found. airbnbg to question every owner next year. >> we are going to stand by every single listing and host. the information is accurate, the photos are what they say they are. >> reporter: and a new money back guarantee if your rental isn't as advertised. just last week, five people were killed at a party in an airbnb rental in california that drew more than 100 people the company determined to end unauthorized parties and abusive conduct. airbnb says it is adding a 24-hour neighbor hot line for emergencies and promising to review any guest reservation that looks high-risk >> our thanks to tom costello for that report. >> still to come, a twister wreaks havoc in greece >> plus sandra bullock and ellen are joining rcfoes inside their

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nontypical for that area and speaking of nontypical, we are looking at temperatures that are going to be well below normal this time of year 20 to 30 degrees below what we expect for this time of year so the theme for this weekend will be a chilly weekend we're looking at bitter wind chills, especially in the northeast, winds 20 to 30 miles an hour. it will field a lot colder than the air temperatures we could see flurries in the upper midwest. feels like winter this weekend >> nice preview. thanks, michele. when we come back, sp awe tthn et setoo i ace. cleaning tough bathroom and kitchen messes with sprays and wipes can be a struggle. there's an easier way. just wet, squeeze and erase tough messes like bathtub soap scum... and caked-on grease from oven doors. they're perfect for icky messes on stovetops... in microwaves... and all over the house. for an amazing clean, try mr. clean magic eraser,

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fire on a church's chicken one witness was at a nearby 7-eleven and saw the gunman firing shots at the employees behind the counter one was killed and two others were injured police in otay mesa, california, are searching for the gunman they say he drove away are in a dark blue sedan. >> the search continues for a special tactics air man in the gulf of mexico he was wearing a parachute during the training jump but it did not deploy his fellow members lost sight of him after he went into the water. rescuers are searching a 7,000 square mile area in the panhandle. the incident is under investigation. >> two big stad sandra here's nbc's gadi schwartz fighting back against scammers >> reporter:biggest stars takin targets of a by sandra bullock and ellen degeneres for unauthorized use of their names and likenesses.

scammers online change company names so quickly it's not even clear who they are named in a current lawsuit as john does 1 through 100. it's the scheme that's plagued the internet for years even savannah guthrie using a fake ad claiming she was leaving the today show to start her own skin caroline when we tried to get to the bottom of who is behind those ads, we found dead end after dead end >> there is no manager okay, we're trying to figure out why there are fake advertisements selling your product under the names of severa d you're not in a positiondenerg for better luck when they take their fight from thet to the court. if you see an ad featuring your favorite celebrity, does to make sure it is legit if you do fall victim, report it to the better business bureau. >> thanks to gadi schwartz for that report. >> it can easily be deceived in more ways than one

now an update on cookies that are out of this world. we mean for real astronauts are testing an oven designed for micro gravity if successful, this could make freshly baked meals possible on the space station for the first time they shared a photo of the first cookie look at the background earth. ready to go in the oven right there. no word yet on the results how is that for an easy bake oven >> pretty cool if they keep doing it, it will give a whole new meaning to moon pies a whole new world opened up. >> thanks for waking up with us. i'm frances rivera >> i'm phillip mena. your news continues right here on nbc

this, is why we no longer have to worry flushing too much toilet paper, will back up our system. but dad, rid-x contains billions of enzymes proven to break down even paper to keep your whole septic system healthy. for paper, grease or waste breakdown. and good morning to you on this thursday, as kari likes to call it, friday junior. a live look outside. look at that, a very foggy start across the bay area. be mindful of that as you head out this morning.

hey, we have a big show for you coming up. that's right. let's check the forecast. i'm laura. >> i'm marcus washington. >> he's mike and kari. we just have to get through the foggy start. that's a look at palo alto, highway 101. we will have some low visibility in spots, and then our temperatures will also be cool again this morning with some upper 40s, low 50s. warming up once those skies clear. we'll talk more about what's ahead in the