millions around the nation witness the first impeachment hearings in more than 20 years did democrats begin to make their case did republicans knock down accusations? each side digging in for a long battle >> an alarming new study on vaping finds toxins including formaldehyde and even pesticides in boot leg marijuana vapes. >> we'll go inside the training program for some highly valued members of the military headed for active duty. >> and we've got the biggest moments from the 53rd annual country music association awards from nashville "early today" starts right now >> good thursday morning i'm phillip mena >> and i'm frances rivera. history reverberating off the hill as the impeachment inquiry finally goes before the american

people democrats began laying out their case against president trump with public testimony from two key witnesses. in the day's biggest bombshell, the u.s. ambassador to ukraine william taylor revealed another pivotal conversation tying the president closer to the ukraine scandal. and tomorrow, the ousted u.s. ambassador to ukraine, marie yovanovitch, will testify. nbc's peter alexander starts us off. >> reporter: history on the hill as house democrats make their case against president trump in the first public impeachment hearing in 20 years. >> is this what americans should now expect from their president? if this is not impeachable conduct, what is >> reporter: democrats relying on two top career diplomats to spell out a quid pro quo >> i do. >> reporter: much of the focus on that july phone call where president trump asked ukraine's president zelensky for investigations into the bidens and the 2016 election. but taylor revealed another

conversation involving president trump the next day that he says a staffer recently told him about with trump donor turned diplomat gordon sondland >> the member of my staff could hear president trump on the phone asking ambassador sondland about the investigations ambassador sondland told president trump the ukrainians were ready to move forward following the call with president trump, the memorandum berl of my staff asked ambassador sondland what president trump thought about ukraine. ambassador sondland responded that president trump cares more about the investigations of biden -- >> reporter: it's a call sondland never mentioned in his own testimony and a conversation getting to the heart of the democrats' argument that military aid to ukraine and a coveted white house meeting were being withheld until ukraine publicly announced the investigation into the president's political rival. >> neither of these investigations was in the u.s. national interest. both, however, were in donald trump's personal interest. >> have you ever seen another

example of foreign aid conditioned on the persona units >> no,r. not >> reporter: the hearing testy at times >> you yourself, mr. chairman, have mischaracterized the call in fact, in the first open hearing -- >> the gentleman will suspend. the gentle woman will suspend. >> reporter: denouncing the entire episode as say partisan sham >> i'd like to congratulate you for passing the democrats star chamber auditions held in the basement capital it seems you agreed witting or unwittingly to participate in a drama. but the main performance, the russia hoax, has ended and you've bee >> reporter: taylor going back one week before that july phone call, recalling a video conference where he says he sat in astonishment when an unidentified budget staffer said the aid to ukraine had been frozen without explaining why. >> all the staff person said was

that the directive had come from the president to the chief of staff to omb in an instant, i realize the that one of the pillars for our support for ukraine was threatened >> reporter: weeks after the call taylor recounting the call with sondland. >> ambassador sondland told me that president trump had told him that he wants president zelensky to state publicly that ukraine will investigate burisma and altadena ukrainian interference in the 2016 election ambassador sondland said everything was dependent on such an announcement, even security assistance he said that president trump wanted president zelensky inpub statement about ordering such investigations >> reporter: senior state department official george kent also questioning the role of the president's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani. >> giuliani's efforts to gin up politically motivated investigations were now infecting u.s. engagement with ukraine. leveraging president zelensky's desire for a white house

meeting. >> reporter: but republicans defended the president >> where is the impeachable offense in that call >> reporter: saying he could not be threatening to withhold military aid because taylor testified ukraine did not know aid was being withheld until weeks after that july call and that ultimately the aid was given to ukraine without the investigations president trump requested. >> were you wrong when you said you had a clear understanding that president zelensky had to commit to an investigation of bidens before the aid got released and the aid got released and he didn't commit to an investigation >> i was not wrong about what i told you, which is what i heard. that's all what you heard did not trump's call and president zelensky's call. >> i did not >> you never talked to chief of staff mulvaney >> i didn't. >> you never met the president >> i didn't. >> and you're their star witness. >> reporter: president trump's

push to investigate hunter biden given a job with the ukrainian company burisma while joe biden was vice-president something kent questioned back in 2015. >> i raised my concern hunter biden's status as a board member could create the perception of a conflict of interest let me be clear, however, i did not wish any effort to shield burisma from scrutiny. >> reporter: both career diplomats saying they were not speaking the spotlight and pushing back from the early morning attack from president trump that they are never trumpers >> mr. kent, are you a never trumper? >> i am a career nonprofessional who serves whatever president is duly elected and i've done that for 27 years for three republican presidents and two democrat presidents. >> ambassador taylor, are you a never trumper? >> no, sir >> reporter: frances, the question this morning will any of this sway ivbassador to ukraine and the state department official who overheard the newly revealed call with president trump. he'll testify behind closed doors friday frances? >> all interest da ita,

where a state of emergency has been dee clierd. the flooding is being described as apocalyptic it is the worst they've seen in 50 years joining us from venice, claudio, the damage we are seeing there is just shocking >> reporter: good morning, phillip. yes, this was shocking for many venetians. they are used to the high tides. of course, they live with it all their lives. but they say they have never seen anything like this because they call what happened on tuesday the perfect storm. now, this was 6 feet high tides coming into -- from the lagoon into the city combined with 60 miles per hour winds and thatbrought death and devastation with the water pushing into shops, into hotels, and even inside the basilica right behind me. now, as you can see, i'm in saint mark's square, the landmark of the city, of course, and the water is coming in once again for the fourth day in a row. and the forecast is that it will

come back again tomorrow now, they say that this is not as bad as tuesday, of course, but it is an invisible enemy when the water goes back and recedes, it leaves behind sea salt which is eroding this fragile and beautiful architecture of the city, phillip. >> city peaking before our very eyes claudio, thank you very much >> after a week, a synthetic form of vitamin e boot leg thc vape products could be linked to some of the over 2000 vape related injuries a private lab in los angeles is testing what other ingredients are in the vape vaper. canna safe labs has released the analysis of thc in lungs they tested from licensed dispense risk and six from the black market they found a tstew of chemicals

in the illicit ones. >> they had a cocktail of things wrong with them. >> some of the chemicals found were carcinogens including formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide the company said tests done on vapers from licensed dispensaries had no indication of dangerous chemicals >> a minnesota school accused of lunch shaming issued an apology. it shows high school cafeteria workers throwing away hot meals of students that had lunch debt of $15 or more the school says the new policy was not implemented correctly and that their meeting with student government to talk about the situation. they have also posted a link under their facebook page to a website where people can donate to cover the unpaid lunch balances i don't know how many of these stories we need to do before they learn i mean, don't be wasteful. feed the kids, ask questions later. >> seems like it's happening more and more. country music stars took over nashville for the 53rd annual country music awards

the show opened up with an epic star-studded performance ♪ ♪ look at that there has to be some major fan girling on stage legends like reba mcintyre, carrie underwood dolly partin winners, blake shelton took home single of the year tracy must grave with willie melson she won female artist of the year and album of the year carrie underwood turned up the heat ♪ ♪ >> she took a break from hosting duty to perform her latest single "drinking alone." a power house on the stage >> sure is that was nashville i was reading yesterday nashville was colder than alaska

yesterday. we'll have an update in just a minute it is insane, the weather conditions >> unbelievable the temperatures we've all been feeling >> we have millions of americans hoping to finally have some relief from that arctic blast. the deep freeze has shattered more than 100 records and the dangerous conditions have been linked to at least eight degtsz no deaths now cities could see more record lows for more and to fact check what i just said, nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning >> bangor maine was down to 8 degrees. that broke their record, 11. they're warming things up. the winds are shifting the cold winds from the north that brought down the arctic air are leaving. they're seeing the shift in the south. that's why the 20s and 30s from d.c. to pennsylvania we're heading in the right direction and much of the cothe heads up is we have a rain event starting in texas. it's going to move through the southeast. on friday, airport delays are possible for the few storms and some rain moving through anyone driving, especially i-95, the coastal areas, you'll have

to go through rain, too. it could linger. saturday maybe even into suny.d. 53, pretty beautiful forecast. no fall in mexico either highs in the 50s and 60s weekend forecast looks pretty decent, especially considering what we dealt with earlier this week. >> we deserve that after what we've been through thank you, bill. a hawaii man was surfing with his girlfriend and instead of hanging ten, he popped the question chris got down on one knee on his board -- >> right there >> to propose. she said yes he dropped the ring in the ocean. >> what do you expect? >> he used a spare ring while they were out in the water the real one was back waiting on shore. so that's the way you do it, man. >> that's impressive probably scared her to death in

the moment thinking that was the real one just ahead republican congressman has an unusual message in his impeachment defense of president trump >> and breaking news and breaking hearts, breaking laws as well. filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room. so, try febreze fabric refresher febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics (bubbles popping) and cleans them away as it dries. use febreze every time you tidy up to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. make febreze part of your clean routine for whole home freshness. ♪la la la la la.

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sleuths cracked the code the first letter of each tweet was a larger message which spelled out epstein didn't kill himself. a reference to the conspiracy theory surrounding the death of jeffrey epstein. he was found unresponsive in his jail cell awaiting sex trafficking charges. the medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. when asked about the message, he spelled out area 51 with the first letter of each sentenced >> i'm stumped >> if you read it backwards, stairway to heaven >> might be. we'll try. apple store employee is out of a job this morning after he allegedly went through the photos of a customer, fount an intimate picture, and texted it to himself >> oh, to th to the store to get her screen fixed and had removed her social month.he went media and banking app. she says when she returned home and turned on her phone, she saw

a text had been sent from her phone to an unknown number along with an extremely personal photo of herself in a statement to the "washington post," apple says in part, the employee acted far outside the strict privacy guidelines and is no longer associated with our company. >> people come up with all sorts of excuses for speeding. well, florida man told police he was speeding because he was cheating od admitted to because he didn't want his wife to find out about his affair officers he was racing home he was going 90 in a 55. he was busted for reckless driving and arrested after police allegedly found drugs on him. >> the outcome of that, i hope the cop gave him a pass. you hear everything. >> what are the odds his wife bailed him out after hearing that >> she may not even know >> john picard, here we are. everything you can and say will be held against you forever. >> everybody in his world knows why he was speeding. >> florida man >> still ahead, alpha man makes

a splash on kelly clarkson's show >> he's more like mr. rogers than you think why tom hanks passed any offers to play a bad guy. you're watching "early today." p! eeeeeww! dead skin cells! gross! so now, i grab my swiffer sweeper and heavy-duty dusters. duster extends to three feet to get all that gross stuff gotcha! and for that nasty dust on my floors, my sweeper's on it. the textured cloths grab and hold dirt and hair no matter where dust bunnies hide. no more heebie jeebies. phew. glad i stopped cleaning and started swiffering. to take care of yourself. but nature's bounty has innovative ways to help you maintain balance and help keep you active and well-rested. 's coming up fast. to help you maintain balance and help keep you active and well-rested. a lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesn't get everything clean. i tell them, it may be your detergent... that's why more dishwasher brandsbing and rinsing built ri.

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man. her son got a little starstruck, though >> i'm a huge kelly clarkson fan. when i heard about the show, i thought, i don't know. i love it. she starts off with the covers on every show. in a profile about the actor tom hanks why he could never play a villain he will play the beloved mr. rogers in a movie. he said, i recognized in myself a long time ago that i don't instill fear in anybody.t nod hd roles to play the bad guy. you can see that out of place >> we need a good guy, perpetual good guy still ahead, controversy at florida after a paid speech by donald trump, jr. >> and highly valued members of the military headed for active duty call 911. and i didn't have to come get you. because you didn't have another heart attack. not today. you took our conversation about your chronic coronary artery disease to heart.

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plus our crafted blend of vitamins, minerals and herbs. airborne. introducing a razor that works differently. the gillette skinguard has a guard between the blades that helps protect skin. the gillette skinguard. in today's top stories, the el paso, texas, walmart will reopen today three months after the mass shooting that killed 22 people the store had remained closed since the shooting on august 3rd as construction crews worked to renovate the building. walmart says a memorial will go up near their store to honor the

victims and it is expected to be completed later this month or by early december >> president trump isn't the only member of his family tied to an impeachment. the student body president at the university of florida is facing impeachment for using $50,000 in student fees to pay donald trump, jr., to speak at the school last month. the student senate accuses their president of violating the statute forbidding the use of service fees for or against a political party. as for donald trump, jr., his book triggered opened number one on the best seller list. >> doc rivers clipped his son. what happens when father and son go head to head on the court shouting at the ref, son number 25 making the t-sign encouraging the ref to give his dad a technical foul that is exactly what happened, too. as doc was getting escorted off the court, you can see austin

goofing on his dad gesturing, call me. 103 continue 93. after the game austin said, we got the win, my dad got thrown out. it was a good night. >> then they go home, hug it all out. all in the family. >> he traded his son earlier must have been part of the reason >> all right well, you've probably seen the headlines about conan the hero military dog that helped take down the leader of isis. nbc's morgan chesky went inside the joint base in san antonio where dogs like conan train for battle >> reporter: they may not know it yet, but these pups are in the running to be america's next heroes their mission? join the ranks of 3,000 military working dogs >> what we look for in a puppy is the drive to move towards things that move, bite them, and possess them >> reporter: something as simple as a water bottle, teaching pups to work through distraction. others following the scent of explosives, before getting a bite of a hot dog.

the stars, shepherds and a belgian malenwal being intelligent and athletic, labs trained to sniff out explosive and narcotics. for the navy, jack russell terriers whose size and sense of smell are perfect for tight spots. >> it's like a natural instivgt that kicked in with them they have the sense we don't have they know what something is going down >> reporter: after proving they can bite, tackle and track almost anything, the toughest part for trainers, saying good-bye >> these dogs are irreplaceable. they come with the capability that no human has. >> reporter: a battle tested best friend ready to py the this is charlie not ttcoughing because he took delsym 12-hour. and this is charlie still not coughing while trying his hardest not to wake zeus. delsym 12-hour. nothing lasts longer for powerful cough relief. tto harrison, the wine tcollection.. to craig, this rock.

i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything to preserve and protect them. with love, california. 1850 coffee. ♪ ♪ inspired by the year the folger coffee company began. with a bold yet smooth taste. ♪ ♪ 1850 coffee, begin boldly. and good morning to you on this thursday, november 14th. a live look out at san francisco there. a beautiful way to wake up. and good morning. thanks for waking up bright with us. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. mike will have a look at the morning commute. kari has a look at our forecast

today. it's going to be a cooler today. we had warm weather recently. we are starting out with clouds here and much of the bay area this morning. as we go into the rest of the day we'll see our temperatures at least starting to stay on the cool side with mid-50s now and temperatures making it into the low 60s by early this afternoon