this morning the biden/harris administration begins to take shape with some key appointments and plans are set forth 72 days before the inauguration president trump says not so fast this morning his legal teams will lay out their challenges in multiple states. with no sign of a concession speech anywhere on his radar. this morning we say good-bye and remember the man with all the answers and the questions. the one and only alex trebek >> if you have no personality then you can't be a contestant you can be the host of the show

but not a contestant. >> i'm a lot looser, i think, than most people think i am. i don't take too many things seriously. >> much more ahead on the incredible life and impact of alex trebek. coronavirus cases soaring over the weekend to new heights not yet seen across the united states we've got a breakdown. plus a busy week in the nfl as some teams pull away in the standings whileothers fall flat it's monday, november 9th. "early today" starts right now good morning i'm phillip mena. >> and frances rivera. today the transition will begin to a presidency five decades in the making joe biden is the president-elect, securing the office that's twice eluded him before nbc news projected his win in pennsylvania on saturday, pushing him past the threshold of 270 electoral votes and his margin of victory can further widen as the votes continue to

be tallied biden continues to hold a lead over president trump in georgia and arizona. yesterday former president george w. bush congratulated biden and dismissed claims of fraud. in a statement he writes, the american people can have confidence that the election was fundamentally fair the challenges that face our country will demand the best of vice president-elect biden and kamala harris. biden and kamala harris will hit the ground running today, laying out their transition strategy and announcing a coronavirus task force nbc's jay gray has more. >> the president-elect of the united states of america, joe biden. >> reporter: a four-day wait didn't seem to put a damper on this historic drive-in party ♪ president-elect joe biden and kamala harris, the first woman

and first person of color ever to become vice president-elect thanking supporters and acknowledging the tough job ahead dealing with covid, the struggling economy and a deeply divided nation. >> i pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify. who doesn't see red states and blue states, only sees the united states. >> reporter: the celebration actually started. >> it's one of the great days in american history. >> reporter: minutes after biden was named the projected winner thousands across the country spilling into the streets, dancing and -- ♪ there's nothing you can't do >> reporter: singing, chanting ♪ hey, hey, hey, good-bye >> reporter: the parties if many areas, though, met by protests, trump supporters like the president challenging the president. >> you committed voter fraud cheaters cheaters >> reporter: president trump was on his golf course in virginia

when the call was made. >> are you kidding me right now? >> reporter: even stopping to pose for pictures with a wedding party but making it clear the next few months will be anything but a honeymoon. tweeting again the false claim that he won the election, his campaign promising he'll ramp up a legal challenge. ♪ which means the fireworks are likely to continue long after the biden/harris victory celebration. jay gray, nbc news at the white house. meantime, the president-elect laying out an ambitious agenda which would tackle everything from coronavirus to climate change. his build back better plan includes reforms designed to supercharge the economy and address problems like health care and racial inequality biden is planning to issue executive orders on day one aimed at reversing a slew of trump policies that includes rejoining the paris climate agreement, reverse the withdrawal from the world heath organization, repeal mr. trump's muslim ban and reinstate programs for dreamers.

however, his legislative proposals could hit a brick wall in the senate if republicans maintain control of the chamber. two races in georgia are expected to be the deciding factor for the senate. president trump is refusing to concede, vowing to forge ahead with a legal fight to contest the election he continued to push baseless claims of voter fraud over the weekend and said starting today, quote, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated. the campaign has launched an official election defense fund and announced that congressman doug collins will lead the recount effort in georgia. in a statement the campaign said, quote, we're confident we will find evidence of improperly harvested ballots and other irregularities >> while nbc news is projecting that biden will win the race, several states are still counting ballots this morning. the race in georgia remains too close to call. biden has been and had a

10,000-vote lead over the president. both georgia senate races are projected to end in a run-off. incumbent david purdue will try to fend off a challenge from jon ossoff if democrats win both seats, the senate would likely be a 50/50 split with the vice president-elect serving as the tiebreaker the arizona race is too close to call right now biden maintains the lead in north carolina mr. trump maintains a narrow lead over biden. alex trebek, one of tv's most enduring personalities and the beloved host of "jeopardy" has died trebek passed sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. he was 80 years old. "jeopardy's" twitter account confirmed the news saying he was surrounded by friends and family as he died at home in the early morning. tributes poured in from celebrities, fans and even former "jeopardy" champions ken jennings jennings wrote in part, alex wasn't just the best at what he did. and wrote in part, you will

never be replaced in our hearts, alex "jeopardy" will continue to air episodes hosted by trebek through christmas day. here is nbc's anne thompson with a look back at alex trebek's life and legacy. >> this is "jeopardy." >> reporter: for more than three decades alex trebek had the answers -- >> don't talk to strangers. >> reporter: -- and the questions. >> it's part of a whale's tail. >> reporter: the proud host of "jeopardy," the nation's favorite quiz show. >> as i like to say, we are the one television quiz show that people are not ashamed of admitting they watch. >> hello, my friends, and welcome. >> reporter: with his clip diction, trebek prodded three contestants and millions more to come up with the questions >> what is a prophet >> reporter: delighting audiences when he would momentarily drop his quiz master persona. >> i was just getting into this rap thing.

i'm not too good at it but i was getting into it. >> reporter: some of the funniest moments happening when trebek -- >> tom landry perfectedthe shotgun formation with this team dallas cowboys >> reporter: with clueless contestants. >> if you guys ring in and get this one, i will die >> reporter: his exasperation made him a "saturday night live" target. >> welcome to "celebrity jeopardy!. >> hampshire, england. >> that's not in the united states you know what? you guys decide. you each ask your own question and answer it. >> reporter: an imitation he relished >> we are now part of americana, and so we're fair game you can make fun of us all you want. >> okay. i quit again good night >> we have decided to go all-out. >> reporter: born and raised in canada, trebek's broadcasting career began up north. first as a newscaster then a game show host on cbc.

in 1973 he came to america and nbc to host "the wizard of odds". 11 years later he would begin his emmy-winning run on "jeopardy." >> thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. >> reporter: now the world record-holder for most game show episodes hosted. a true cultural icon even his facial hair and lack thereof debated by fans. there would be other jobs, classic concentration, the national geographic beat, even moderating the pennsylvania governors' debate in 2018. eventually the canadian became an american. marrying twice and having two children, emily and matthew, with his second wife jean. teaching all the way to the end. >> this week i was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. >> reporter: going on with the show until the answers ran out >> thank you for watching. >> reporter: anne thompson, nbc news >> we were rooting for him the entire time. now he's up above.

try to get those questions up there, smiling down. >> yeah, such a great show so likeable. everybody knew who he was. all right. let's turn now to hurricane season which isn't quite finished yet trauma ada which was once a category 4 hurricane swept across cuba, bringing rain totals measured in feet. cuban authorities say as many as 25,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas and now the concern this morning is for florida ada made landfall overnight in the keys much of south florida is at risk for dangerous flooding and storm surge. let's get the latest track with janessa webb hi, janica webb. good morning. >> good morning. this is the storm system that will not die we'll be talking about ada all week long. right now these feeder bands are making their way into south florida and this is a low-elevation area that's causing major flooding at this hour that's going to continue for a

few more hours right now there is movement out of the west-northwest at 14 miles per hour let's show you the latest track from the national hurricane center today it continues to be a tropical system, but by tomorrow morning, turning back into a cat 1 hurricane. then we'll watch the turn back in the floridatooon, but we do d front that's making its way across the upper midwest we're back in the upper 20s. a few more days of the warmer air. we'll take a look at that forecast coming up. >> a great weekend we had, at least in the northeast thank you, janessa. a 3.6 magnitude earthquake rocked massachusetts sunday morning and it was the strongest quake in decades there wasn't any widespread damage, but chimney collapses in

two separate apartment buildings left multiple families displaced. residents said the collapse sounded like -- felt like a massive explosion and the quake itself reached as far as connecticut, rhode island even new hampshire and vermont. up next, an epidemic of fraud. the explosion of scams connected to covid relief. rerthksheartfelt an alok reaches out to fans after his prostate cancer diagnosis. in fact, tremfya® was proven superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. uncover clearer skin that can last. janssen can help you explore cost support options. tremfya®. uncover clearer skin that can last. your clothes get damaged when you wash them. you can protect them when you use this. new downy defy damage can give your clothes total wash protection from stretching, fading, and fuzz.

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the defense department is deploying medical teams to el paso to help contain the surge officials have had to double the morgue capacity with several mobile units to handle the surge in deaths. and one of america's most vulnerable senior citizens now affected in 20 hard-hit states nursing home cases surging up to 400% that's according to a report in the associated press they also found that weekly infections quadrupled among nursing home staff from may to the end of october. and cases of fraud continue to mount within the paycheck protection program "the wall street journal" reports tens of thousands of companies that weren't supposed to have received loans congress and the trump administration created the ppp program to help small businesses during the pandemic. about $525 billion in loans were distributed. so far the treasury department has received more than 2,400 suspicious activity reports. and the fbi is investigating nearly 500 suspects and hundreds of millions of dollars in loans.

al roker shared his gratitude for the support he received after he announced that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer >> i got to thank each and every one of you for your prayers, your support, your well-wishes after i announced on friday that i'm battling prostate cancer and with any luck, next week i'm going to be having prostate cancer surgery and i'm going to tell prostate cancer to borrow a phrase, you're fired >> we here at "early today," of course, wish al a safe surgery and a complete recovery. one of the most likeable guys you will ever meet. >> just as expected, that upbeat outlook. we are rooting for him. still to come, how the race for the white house is driving old hits back to the charts. >> and the saints come marching in all over tom brady and the bucs the sunday night massacre next the small ones you've been dreaming about. the ones you couldn't be more ready for,

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it's third down and ten. four-man rush. brees hangs in the pocket throws wide wide open. is he inbounds is the question smith for the touchdown. >> one of the nfl's all-time best quarterbacks got the best of his rival on "sunday night football." drew brees and the saints came out of the gates hot against tom brady and the bucs brees threw four touchdowns including this one here to emanuel sanders. that would make it 21-0. tom brady would throw three picks and kept out of the end zone entirely. the saints win big in tampa,

38-3 in dallas, the cowboys held a surprising lead on the undefeated steelers. late in the first half pittsburgh would wake up in the second half. eric ebron with this jump and score to put them over the top in the fourth. the steelers survive and stay perfect. 24-19. is in los angeles a wild finish as the chargers cut into the raiders' lead late in the game justin herbert's heavy to make the score 31-26, with no time left, herbert would find donald parnam in the end zone. after further review, looks like he was out of bounds tua is now 2-0 as a starter. coming from behind in arizona. he would throw two touchdowns. one to tie the game up in the fourth this is jason sanders' field

goal gave miami their third straight win lamar jackson and the ravens bounced back from a slow start in india baltimore scored 17 unanswered in the second half with the reigning mvp running one into the house in the fourth. the ravens get away from the colts, 24-10. nascar crowned a 2020 cup champion and he's entered the record books on the road to the title. chase elliott won three of the last five races, including the season finale in phoenix, to win his first career cup title at 24 years old, elliott is nascar's third youngest champion and elliott's father bill is also nascar cup series winner, making the two the third father/son pair to both hoist the trophy at the end of the season. coming up, america parties like it's 2009 a song from that year is back on > . charts >>and are investors hopeful about vice president-elect biden? how the markets are responding this morning

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in today's top stories, now that america has a president-elect, more world leaders have started to reach out with messages of congratulations for the winning ticket, including some close allies of president trump. here's nbc's richard engel >> reporter: the world watched the celebrations across the u.s. for president-elect joe biden, and now even more congratulations are pouring in, even from president trump's closest supporters the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu issued a dual message. he thanked president trump for his backing of israel.

but even netanyahu reached out and congratulated joe biden and said he looks forward to working with him even the hungarian leader, vict victor o victor orban, who has been ideologically close to president trump, even reached out and said he looks forward to working with vice president-elect biden around the world there is a sense of relief. there was concern that four more years of a trump administration would do irreparable harm, perhaps, to the international community, to international institutions there is a hope now that the biden administration will reach out and rebuild bridges to america's traditional allies richard engel, nbc news, london. now to stocks that are set to continue their post-election rally as investors hope news of joe biden's victory would reduce the odds of a drawn-out election

fight. overnight dow futures were up nearly 400 points in early-morning trading. the s&p and nasdaq futures were both in positive territory. an all-star group of musicians inducted into theroc and roll hall of fame over the weekend. held virtually in an hbo special this year due to the coronavirus pandemic the class of 2020 included six inductees, depeche mode, rapper notorious b.i.g., singer whitney houston and rock band nine inch nails, t-rex and the doobie brothers biggie is one of my favorite of all time his two children accepted on his behalf >> so great. now a major milestone for richard branson's virgin hyperloop. first time conducted a test of its ultra fast transportation system with human passengers as it went 100 miles per hour through a nearly airlines

1,600-foot-long tube in the nevada desert. the company hopes to one day reach speeds of 600 miles per hour how cool how lucky are those guys to be on there. >> can't wait until they get them in bi

president-elect joe biden holds on to the lead in arizona as president trump shows no signs of conceding the election. and following a weekend of golf, this morning he will pursue numerous lawsuits in multiple states. now, covid numbers skyrocketed in a territoryhat we've never seen this morning we'll learn who will head up joe biden's coronavirus task force and more about their plan >> folks, our work begins with getting covid under control. we cannot repair the economy