♪ breaking overnight, u.s. defense officials are worried about an insider attack or other threats from service members involved in securing joe biden's inauguration this morning, we've got the latest details >> the u.s. surpasses 24 million cases of coronavirus with over 3 million in california alone. this morning, new hope in getting vaccines to people faster the immediate foreign policy test for the incoming for the biden administration as iran jails a u.s. businessman

u.s. stocks are closed in honor of martin luther king jr. day of service in the midst of this pandemic. and the ultimate thank you notes the moving show of gratitude for an inspiring teacher. "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. by the end of this week, america will have a new head of state. but wednesday's inauguration will look a lot different, not just because of the pandemic, but because of this dramatic show of force in the nation's capitol. more than 15,000 national guard troops are on patrol and more on the way. >> there have already been two two capitol police say hey man was arrested with 500 rounds of ammo and a woman was also arrested. security in d.c. after warning of violent protests,

nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: every day, the trucks, the troops, securing the nation's capitol are building. by wednesday's inauguration, more than 25,000 national guard soldiers will be on the ground along with police and federal agents >> you know, i don't think anybody has ever seen anything like this. >> reporter: outside the razor wire fencing businesses are boarded up businesses closed down >> our special agent in charge talks about the general and specific threats that our intelligence apparatus is collecting both here and across our nation >> i just drove an hour and a half here, so, just to be here, just to stand up >> reporter: a handful of demonstrators and armed militia gathered briefly at michigan state capitol met there by a show of force. >> everybody saw what happened last week at the u.s. capitol. we want to make sure that scene doesn't repeat itself here in michigan >> reporter: state houses across

the country have become fortresses >> that would be crazy, unpress da unprecedented and crazy. >> i think they're unable to stop anything from happening >> reporter: if not, thousands of folgds remain at the ready around the clock jay gray, nbc news, washington and local law enforcement are taking no chances ahead of the inauguration an official tells nbc news the fbi is vetting all of the service members on the ground in d.c. according to associated press defense officials fear a potential insider attack nbc's tracie potts joins us with the latest tracie, the security is unprecedented. >> reporter: it certainly is, francis, that's why they want to make sure that people aren't part of that 25,000 national guard troops joining federal agents and local police to protect the city really past inauguration

those troops are a 30-day rotation we're seeing the national guard not only here in washington but around the states. 46 states called up the gnash guard to protect their state capitols after the fbi warned of demonstrations there as well on sunday, what we saw was largely small and peaceful there were some armed protests but they did not turn vial silent and that's what the authorities are hoping for here. the national guard talking about why they will be patrolling the nation's capitol this week >> what we're here for is to provide safety and security for the american people. we're an apolitical organization we're here to make sure it's a proper transition of power we're workings on the democratic side of this >> i think this will be an inauguration unlike any other. having our fellow americans storm a capitol in attempt to overthrown the government certainly warrants tightened security >> reporter: so, a look at what you will see starting today.

first all, vice president-elect kamala harris is officially resigning her senate seat today. and of course, today is also a national day of services, mlk day. we'll see the bidens start out with volunteer service in philadelphia then the presidential inauguration committee has an event planned for this evening it's an online event, it's an hour with speakers and entertainment to commemorate martin luther king and kick off the week of activities frances. >> yes, a historic week it will be tracie, thank you. wisconsin was one of the states that president trump sued in an attempt to overturn election results now that state's capitol is prepared for possible armed protests nbc's morgan chesky is in madison. morgan, good morning >> reporter: good morning, a quiet day in madison hoping it stays this way this week

with a massive footprint starting earlier with the arrival of the national guard. the government activating an unspecified number of soldiers to help secure the grounds and any other parts of the state that could be under a threat of violent clash throughout the entire week. of course, all eyes go to the inauguration to a scene, especially like here in madison, demonstrations have taken place back in april. and most recently following the election in order to make sure this it as safe as possible, roads have been blocked out to the capitol and the capitol square businesses have shut down and boarded up windows and officials are urging lawmakers to steer clear of the capitol in hopes of making the next few days as safe as football philip >> let's hope that's the way it plays out, morgan, thank you

president-elect joe biden will face fresh tensions with tehran tehran has arrested a fourth american the family friend tells news that the 56-year-old businessman iemad shargi was arrested and hs family has not heard from him in six weeks. were and a b-52 bomber er fuell over the middle east and the prominent creitic o the president vladimir putin after flyining back to russia fo germany. president-elect joe biden's national security adviser appointee is calling for his release. let's get more from nbc's sarah harman sarah, good morning. >> reporter: hey, philip, good

morning. alexei navalny has been a prominent kremlin critic and outspoken against vladimir putin for over a decade now. that's pretty remarkable because being an outspoken critic of vladimir putin is traditionally not a role that comes in long life expectancy. navalny was poisoned by a chemical agent novichok. navalny did not want to live in exile. but last night he did want to return to moscow it was like a made for tv moment he was arrested along with dozens of other supporters, he's now being held without access to a lawyer this morning, we heard from jake sullivan, biden's incoming security adviser calling on the kremlin for release saying that

the kremlin's attack on navalny, and what kind of stance can we expect from the biden administration on russia, will he take a firmer line than we've seen the last four years from the trump administration philip >> thank you for the update. california has become the first state to surpass 3 million coronavirus cases. the grim record as it battled with 1 million cases in l.a. county l.a. is the first county in america to hit the 1 million mark across the pond, cathedrals in england have been turned into vaccination centers. people from salisbury and blackburn got to enjoy soothing tones of organs playing while they waited. meanwhile here in the states two more vaccines could enter the market our megan fitzgerald has more for us hey, meagen, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, as cases of coronavirus continue to surge across the nation the death toll is accelerating now a more contagious strain of the virus, a different variant is a concern here in the u.s. as americans are frustrated over the slow vaccine rollout, dr. anthony fauci says help may be on the way. johnson & johnson and astrazeneca's shots could soon be valleevaluated for emergency. >> i imagine within a week or so a couple of weeks they're going to be getting their data together and showing it to the fda. >> reporter: another vaccine can't come fast enough of the nationwide, nearly 21,000 are in california where health care workers are begging for help >> in i could walk people through my building and through the three floors and watch people their age and younger than them, breathing their last breaths and dying, who are

otherwise healthy, it might make a difference >> reporter: as temperatures neared 90 degrees in southern california, instead of staying home, people gathered at the beach, some without masks. at the same time, los angeles became the first county in the nation to pass 1 million infections >> we aren't even close to being out of the woods every one of these numbers is devastatingly high >> reporter: the county also confirming its first known case of the highly contagious uk variant which the cdc warns exhibits rapid growth and could dominate the u.s. by march dr. fauci also warning it's not the only mutation he's concerned about. >> there's another one more ominous one in south africa and brazil we're looking at all of them very, very carefully >> reporter: mass vaccination locations are topping up all across the state of california in the bay area, their goal is to open up three by the end of this week where they'll be administering 10,000 doses a day.

philip >> ask not come soon enough. thank you. let's get a check of your martin luther king jr. weather with nbc meteorologist janessa webb janessa, good morning. >> good morning. good morning, everyone good to see you all. pretty quiet weather conditions across most of the lower 48, but this morning, we are watching some lake enhancement that is impacting northern new england into western new york. also the ohio valley, you'll start to notice it picking up during the afternoon some isolated spots could see 12 to 18 inches unfortunately, this is going to linger so it's going to have limited sunshine throughout today all the today, 33 degrees the chill is on for fargo. only 14. under partly cloudy conditions

>> we do have a big wind event for southern california, we'll talk about that coming up. >> all right janessa, sounds good talk to you in a bit, thanks caught on camera, a wild police chase in los angeles. drivers took police on a 100-mile long pursuit and officers used a pit maneuver to hit the back of the suspect's van forcing it to spin into a wall the driver settled down in the middle of the highway and was taken in custody police say the man tossed the gun out of the window. no word on why the chase began still to come, how college students showed class honoring their professor. and two grizzled sun slingers faced off for maybe the last time. the tom brady and drew brees showdown, next ew right? that's why febreze created small spaces. press firmly and watch it get to work. unlike the leading cone, small spaces continuously eliminates odors

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today, we celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights

leader martin luther king jr mlk day is a holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all americans to volunteer to improve their communities. this evening, at 8:00 p.m. eastern president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect kamala harris' team will host a virtual hour-long commemoration for dr. king he was asass anywayed in memphis, tennessee, in 1968. king's daughter the reverend dr. bernice king along with his son martin luther king iii is invited to speak and also set to host a mlk celebration day today. dr. king would have been 92 years old on november 17th and stocks and bonds are closed ahead of mlk day. joining us is steve cedric steve, good morning. >> yeah, really good morning,

frances and philip as well stateside, since the horrendous events january 6th i think the markets are concentrating on the inauguration and the plans that joe biden has going forth specifically covid, of course and how we get the vaccinations distributed and the turnaround of the economy. a very busy week, earnings of goldman sachs and netflix reporting tomorrow holiday sales up 8.3%. a loll of sales happening in october before thanksgiving as well but it's not all rosy. according to the commerce department, adjusted retail sales fell in october, november and december a nuanced pick there frances, philip, i hand it back to you >> thank you, steve. appreciate it. when we come back, vanessa

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with a touch of honey... plump, juicy raisins and tasty fiber into one delicious cereal? it took a lot of bran-storming. get it? kellogg's raisin bran crunch. two scoops of delicious. up at 2:00am again? tonight, try pure zzzs all night. get it? unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. fall asleep. stay asleep. hi everyone, we do have a critical fire risk for california today, it's most of the area, not just southern california. and the winds they'r gusts up to 90 miles per hour across los angeles. power outage and damage, trees, so we're going to be watching this closely this afternoon. guys >> janessa, thank you. a heartwarming show of

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welcome back you can call the ultimate thank you notes. at the end of a virtual semester, college students found a touching way to say thanks to an inspiring educator. here's nbc's kate snow >> i don't see anybody with their camera on. >> reporter: at first, chapman university professor jim brown was totally confused >> seriously, is it my fault that you have the cameras off? >> reporter: but then their students revealed their big surprise >> all right do you want to the go ahead? >> oh, you guys, you're going to make me cry. >> reporter: the handwritten

thank you messages overwhelming him. >> oh. you guys >> reporter: why did you want to do this for him? >> dr. brand is one of the best professors i've ever had >> reporter: they helped organize the moment. >> we're like, this would be fun to do in dr. brown's class >> reporter: dr. brown has been on the academy for over 40 years. he's one of the most popular on campus he teaches about racial inequity and genocide >> what did you learn from dr. brown? >> one person were make a difference i'm trying to commit and push myself to do as much as i can because i know it's very possible >> his compassion is empathy that he teaching us in class >> reporter: because of the pandemic, the class met virtually.

>> dr. brown, this couldn't have been an easy semester. >> really challenging. we're learning new technologies because i'm bouncing around the classroom and i miss that. >> reporter: dr. brown found ways to connect to invite people to his home from a socially danced halloween hello do you learn from your students? >> oh, of course, absolutely i learn so much from them every time thank you, very thoughtful >> reporter: this, by the way, is dr. brown's favorite class, too. >> i'm so proud of them for making it through the semester they made it through this. i felt -- that's why i was so moved by it. we went through this journey together and we came out, i think we're okay >> that's the ultimate reward right there for a teacher showing how much the students care and the difference you can make dr. brown has promised the class they're going to get together as soon as everyone is vaccinated or safe to do so they're going to have an in-chaz

pizza party. >> i'm sure educators are seen in a completely different light. thank you to dr. brown and other educators who have gone above and beyond >> thanks fo

right now at 4:30, dangerous and unusual weather conditions. hurricane-force winds atop some of our highest mountains overnight. our team has issued a microclimate weather alert. high winds are leading to fire dangers across the bay area. meteorologist kari hall is timing out just how long it will last. plus an historic week ahead. final preparations, as president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect kamala harris prepare to take office. the momentum building here in the bay area as many watch the week ahead. and the all new grim milestone california reached in th