thousands turned out on a cold and rainy day to pay tribute to a new jersey detective killed in the line of duty by two shootout suspects. deepening mystery. and the frantic search the mother and her two-week-old infant missing now for days. her boyfriend speaking out to us and what her parents just told nbc news breaking overnight, a fedex driver is attacked and shot by an armed robber while making a delivery we've got late details and a grand prize winner of this year's "the voice" revealed

overnight. it's wednesday december 18th "early today" starts right now good to be with you this morning. i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. a monumental morning in washington, d.c., where the house will likely vote to impeach president trump by day's end. for six hours lawmakers will debate the two articles charging the president with abuse of power and obstruction of congress before casting their votes this evening if the house does impeach the president, his senate trial is expected to begin early next month. and mr. trump will find himself in rarefied company. only two presidents have ever been impeached -- andrew johnson and bill clinton the senate acquitted both. richard nixon did face the threat of removal, but he resigned before a full house vote expect today to closely mirror december 19th, 1998. that's when the house voted mostly along party lines to impeach president clinton on two charges. nbc's tracie potts joining us now with details from d.c. tracie, we've got a historic day

ahead of us. >> no question we have a bit of a run-down also, phillip, about how this historic day will play out, starting with a vote on the rules in the morning and then six hours of debate evenly divided between democrats and republicans. many of the arguments that we have heard in the last several weeks and especially in the last week or so on these articles of impeachment abuse of power and obstruction of congress. now, there are some procedures that could drag that out, but the instructions to lawmakers at this point is to expect a vote sometime early this evening. president trump says he won't be watching he gave scathing comments both in person and in a letter to house speaker nancy pelosi talking about impeachment as unprecedented, an election nullification scheme that's a war on democracy he claimed that more due process was afforded to those accused in the salem witch trials here was pelosi's response

>> your reaction to the president's letter >> no reaction it's ridiculous. >> you have no reaction? why not? >> i haven't really fully read it we've been working i've seen the essence of it, though, and it's really sick >> reporter: so letter or not, objection or not, this vote is set to happen largely along party lines. expected to impeach the president, who as you know has been looking forward toward a senate trial set to begin in january. and phillip, they are still back and forth on how that senate trial will be run. but we do know that majority leader mitch mcconnell has rejected democrats' requests to call in some witnesses >> looks like tomorrow morning's going to be a save the newspaper kind of day. tracie potts for us. thank you. a group of president trump's most vocal republican critics launched a new organization to stop his re-election the group includes george conway, the husband of mr. trump's senior adviser kellyanne

conway also rick wilson, john weaver, and steve schmidt. they have formed a super pac called the lincoln project in a "new york times" op-ed the group says they are dedicating the next 11 months to convincing conservatives and independents in swing states to tip the votes against the president. the group has already raised over a million dollars meanwhile, the president's former deputy campaign manager is facing jail time. despite his extensive cooperation with special counsel robert mueller's russia investigation. a judge sentenced rick gates to over a month behind bars nbc's pete williams has the details. >> reporter: the state and government both urged the judge to sentence him only to probation because he cooperated extensively with robert mueller's prosecutors. and the judge was lenient but said gates has to serve 45 days in jail a weekend at a time. he pleaded guilty to hiding millions of dollars anyone come for political consulting from the pro russian government in ukrai

ukraine. his former business partner paul manafort is sevening seven years in prison for masterminding that scheme and his lawyers now say manafort has been sent to a prison hospital for treatment of heart problems michael flynn, the former trump national security adviser, will be sentenced next month. then the long-time trump friend roger stone is sentenced in february >> our thanks to pete williams for that report. family, friends, and police officers gathered for an emot n emotional funeral in new jersey. detective joseph seals was laid to rest after being killed in a shootout in jersey city. he is described as a devoted husband and adoring father of five one fz his sons could be seen saluting at the service while wearing his father's uniform cap. delivering a eulogy the police chief said detective seals hate hate-based violence. a suspected armed robber is dead after the two were involved in a shootout. police say the 32-year-old driver was making a delivery in philadelphia when he was approached by a suspected 5r78d

robber who allegedly stole some items from his truck authorities say the robber opened fire shooting the driver in the stomach but the driver returned fire using his own weapon, shooting the robber several times both men were taken to a nearby hospitalar with the robber died. the fedex driver is currently in stable condition a florida family received a christmas miracle after a pair of missing siblings were found alive following an extensive search police say the young brother and sister disappeared early sond from their home in jacksonville. after searching 430 houses and 20 bodies ever water detectives discovered 6-year-old braxton williams and 5-year-old briyah williams a short distance from their home, lost in a densely wooded area. rescuers say they heard the children's voices and zeroed in. police treated the children for dehydration and minor injuries they have since been reunited with their parents meanwhile, a search continues in texas for a missing mother and her newborn the fbi has joined the

investigation and the police are confirming that the texas rangers have been asked to help as well. here's nbc's sam brock >> reporter: nearly a week into the search for heidi bruise sxrd her baby margo authorities say their disappearance remains a mystery. >> it's possible heidi and margo have left of their own accord. it's also possible there may be something nefarious. >> reporter: canvassing the apartment complex where broussard lived with her boyfriend shane carey and their baby daughter and 6-year-old son. zblefrg hurts and i don't know what to do >> reporter: we found carey walking his dog. >> if she loved -- everything's here >> is shane carey a person of interest >> we don't have a person of interest right now we're exploring every avenue we have >> reporter: police reveal the new timeline for the day she disappeared saying broussard was last seen at her apartment late thursday morning rather than an early morning school drop-off. >> was there any reason heidi

would have left? a disagreement or anything >> no. no disagreement. >> reporter: heidi broussard's parents holding on to each other and to hope. >> something happened. she would not just leave >> oh, no, she wouldn't do that. >> and she'd never leave her son. we love you and we miss you and we need you home >> reporter: and heidi's parents last spoke to her on tuesday, two days before her disappearance. they said she was in good spirits, no signs of anything being wrong. now they're hoping a massive search and rescue effort turns up some answers soon phillip? >> all right, sam, thank you let's turn now to that double-sided storm that has carved paths of destruction. as many as 14 deaths across the country are being blamed on this massive system including 11 deaths linked to dangerous road conditions from the midwest to the northeast. and several people were killed as tornadoes ripped across the deep south nbc's jay gray has this report >> reporter: snow covers much of the northeast right now while

across the south it's debris that litters the ground, remnants from a string of tornadoes, close to two dozen, that ripped across alabama, louisiana, and mississippi >> it was just total chaos we had to make do the best we could. >> reporter: at this school in alexandria, louisiana students and faculty survived by scrambling into a church next door as i atwister splintered their classrooms. >> the destruction it causes >> reporter: at least three lives were lost during the december tornadoes while the massive winter storm brings snow and ice to communities from the midwest through the eastern seaboard mangled cars lining roadways after hundreds of wrecks and at least nine traffic deaths across the region >> ice just very quickly turns the roads over into a dangerous situation. >> reporter: a situation that's expected to continue as the storm moves to the northeast bringing with it more rain, snow, and ice. and winter doesn't officially begin until this weekend

jay gray, nbc news how's today looking? let's check in with meteorologist bill karins. good morning >> well, good morning. the snow storm is gone but ice and snow remain. wind chill in minneapolis is negative 12 with a temperature of zero. lake effect snow and then tomorrow morning that's when the coldest of the air will move in through upstate new york negative 12 wind chill in vermont even new york city could have a wind chill of 3 boston negative 5. that's tomorrow morning. then it will start to warm up through the 2k3wr5e9 lakes as we go through tomorrow afternoon. even friday morning pretty chilly wind chill in the single digits and teens all the way down to philadelphia as far as the snow goes we do have some though squalls that are already moving through michigan there's a few breaking out in western new york and that's where we could have some issues the new york state thruway especially some of

today. dallas, luft all the way through san antonio and new orleans. 55 and sunny sounds pretty good to me. warm-up coming this weekend and storm-free too >> it's about time ready for it >> thank you, bill good news there. in today's quick hits happy 30th birthday to the simpsons it first aired this week in 1989 the series is currently in its 31st season. rolling stone keith richard is also celebrating a birthday he's turning 76. he's turning 76. the first images of the lon, awaited film bill and ted face the music has been released. it reunites alex winter and keanu reeves it will hit theaters in august 2020

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leading the news, a school resource officer caught on camera body slamming and dragging an 11-year-old student in north carolina has now been charged with misdemeanors including assault on a child under 12 and child abuse the deputy, warren durham, was also fired from the sheriff's office one of the greatest allies and largest sponsor of the boy scouts of america is cutting ties with the organization the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is pulling over 400,000 scouts and moving them into the new global program of their own losing the church would cause an 18% drop in membership compared to last year the shift would bring the boy scouts on the brink of bankruptcy as it struggles with sex abuse lawsuits what appeared to be a violent kidnapping is now over a teenage girl here in new york is safe after she was grabbed by two men, sparking an amber alert. but was it all a hoax? here's nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: there is no audio in the images are grainy, but

the terror of the moment is unmistakable two men jump out of a car in the bronx and grab a 16-year-old as she walked down the sidewalk next to her mother the video, released by police, shows the late-night struggle. her mother tried to fight off the men, according to police, but was pushed to the ground the car racing off with the young girl inside. a turn few saw coming, police sources tell nbc news they are investigating the possibility it was all staged the 16-year-old may have orchestrated her own kidnapping. but there were still fears she was abducted an amber alert issued. the neighborhood shaken. >> i walk here all the time. and the fact she got taken away right in front of her mother is something that's like oh, my god, so scary. and i was getting messages from my family. >> they found the girl >> reporter: but then someone spotted the teenager walking down the street. >> she was by herself. she crossed the road she went directly to the driver's side window of the police vehicle and she was trembling and shaking. you could see she was really

shooken up >> reporter: the police called the family they found her a mother's worst nightmare is over while there's a chance her daughter's legal troubles are only just beginning. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york still ahead, small screens, big payday this year's highest earning tv stars. and still searching for the perfect present? google is here to help with the year's most so the after gifts it's superior grease-cleaning formula gets to work faster. making easy work of tough messes. dawn is a go-to grease-cleaner throughout the kitchen, too. keep a bottle in the laundry room to pre-treat greasy stains. and keep dawn in the garage to lift grease off car rims. it's even gentle enough to clean wildlife affected by oil. dawn's grease cleaning power takes care of tough grease wherever it shows up. scrub less and save more... with dawn.

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♪ despacito youtube unveiled its list of the top music videos of the decade it should come as no surprise that luis fonsi and daddy yankee's "despacito" took the number one spot, ranking with more than 6.5 billion view >> i can't imagine that number of clicks on one song. the small screen is reaching new heights. a report by "variety" reveals a million-dollar club with some stars earning seven figures per episode. at the top of the list we've got reese witherspoon and jennifer aniston. they make over a million dollars per episode on their apple tv series "morning show." their co-star steve carell, he cashes in 700,000. plus he gets another million for his netflix show "space force. other members include nicole kidman and jeff bridges. agents say that if heavyweights like leonardo dicaprio or brad pitt decide ever to join in on

this those figures could climb to $2 million per episode. >> not a big surprise. where there's big names. >> television is more interesting now than ever in my lifetime at least. so all those names you just mentioned they're all, 20 years ago would have been movie stars. >> they know we're watching. if you're still look for the perfect christmas gift google has you covered. for the first time ever the tech giant has released data about what people searched for this holiday season and rounding out the top five, all things tech. the number one searched item was the google nest mini that's followed by the xiaomi smartphone nvidia q4 streaming media player that came in at number 3 motorola's moto 1 smartphone was fourth followed by the razor hammerhead water resistant ear buds makes sense. >> and makes sense that a google product is right at the top. number one electronics, that's always the most popular gift. >> you can't go wrong. >> still to come here, we've got

the winner of this season's "the voice. >> plus a itwobrish man makes history at the darts world championship you're watching "early today." you took our conversation about your chronic coronary artery disease to heart. even with a stent procedure, your condition can get worse over time, and keep you at risk of blood clots. so you added xarelto®, to help keep you protected. xarelto®, when taken with low-dose aspirin, is proven to further reduce the risk of blood clots that can cause heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death in people with chronic cad. that's because while aspirin can help, it may not be enough to manage your risk of blood clots. in a clinical trial, almost 96% of people taking xarelto® did not have a cardiovascular event. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death. while taking, a spinal injection increases the risk of blood clots which may cause paralysis- the inability to move. you may bruise more easily,

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officially the first woman to beat a male opponent at the professional darts corporation world championship sherrock hopes that her historic victory proves that women can go head to head against the opposite sex and win and that happens all the time, pretty much every bar i've ever been to. >> not news to me. >> it happens. what have we got going on? >> 54. >> oh. look at that 18 times 3 jt forecast in place all the way from the great lakes to the northeast. the wind chill values are kind of brutal. but it's not going to be long lasting. it kind of moves up into the northeast as it goes through thursday friday it leaves warmth is building in the middle of the country, no storms in sight, and it looks like the warm air's going to move all the way to the east coast by christmas. >> that's good news. the bad news is you screwed up sce maps, i screwed up the deription. it's double. >> i didn't get --

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[ phone ringing ] buddy the elf, what's your favorite color? smiling is my favorite. >> today is december 18th, answer the phone like buddy the elf day. it is not clear who started the tradition but it is a way to spread christmas cheer. >> if you can't do that, find revolving doors and spin and spin and spin around. >> that's one way. i have been telling telemarketers that they sit on a throne of lies. >> every day. it is buddy the elf day. after a series of electric performances, season 17 of the voice came to an end. the finale caught trchrissy tein by surprise. she was mad at john because he

invited friends over without warning her and she didn't get to cook a finale meal. >> the winner of the voice is -- >> reporter: it came down to a blues rocker and a country crooner. >> jake hoot. >> reporter: team kelly's divorced dad from texas captured the crowd. >> it is an incredible moment. i never thought i'd be in the finals, much less, you know, winning it. >> reporter: coach kelly clarkson was confident from the start. t the only coach to turn during hoot's blind audition. >> i heard it. it sounded warm, beautiful, real, and authentic. my kind of country. >> reporter: there was consolation for runner-up ricky duran of team blake. his original song "a woman like her" hit number one on itunes earlier in the day. >> you know, hitting number one is so encouraging for me because that's the music i'm going to

create. >> reporter: coming in third was the artist many saw as the front runner all season. katie kadan. >> it is the start of good things that are coming. that i know. >> reporter: fourth place fin h finisher rose short says there's no stopping now. >> you always said the fans and followers, keep going. they were rooting for you. they saw something in you. >> reporter: fans were also rooting for the radio station sales rep who is now likely to be on the radio. >> i never thought i would ever be able to do music full time. looking at it now, i mean, you know, i'm ready to rock and roll. >> reporter: just maybe hoot and holler. mark barger, nbc news. >> another season done. >> yeah. you know, i find ironic, this is where we're at in the music culture, we have an "american idol" winner teaching now a -- coaching a "voice" winner. >> look at her career. >> that's right.

thanks for waking up with you us. i'm frances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. >> i'm phillip mena. coming up on "today," pop if your dishwasher doesn't get dishes completely dry... try finish jet-dry. it dries 100% better than detergent alone - even plastics. get dishes drier than you ever thought possible. try finish jet-dry. ♪ you've got something up your sleeve ♪ ♪ what you didn't know was you were surprising ♪ ♪ your father-in-law steve

♪ the best part of wakin' up is folgers in your cup ♪ right now at 4:30, breaking news. another historic day set to play out on capitol hill. the house is set to vote against two articles of impeachment on president trump. both sides are weighing in. more storms taking aim at the bay area. rain is back and storm ranger is scanning the skies. kari hall is tracking how long this bout of wet weather will last. good morning to you. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. the rain is coming down as we head to work. >> make sure you have the umbrella, rainboots and poncho