good morning, multiple stories developing overnight first new investigations into the financial disclosures of representative-elect george santos. we're getting new details about a massive intern another at a casino and hotel in cambodia as the death toll rises and the injured are rushed to hospitals. a rise in flu and covid cases is once again pushing many nurses and doctors in hospitals to the brink we will look back at a truly historic year of transition for the british royal family and we'll introduce you to the inspiring varsity athlete who was viciously attacked by a shark and bravely fought back in

more ways than one "early today" starts right now good morning on this murse, i'm cori coffin. >> i'm phillip mena. the scandal rocking the republican party george santos whose biography has been unraveling before our eyes is now under investigation in new york. his lies now catching the attention of nassau county district attorney and joining us from d.c. is brie jackson. good morning could he face charges for this >> reporter: that's still up in the air but long island prosecutors are investigating him. nassau county district attorney anne donnelly said no one is above the law and if a crime was committed they will prosecute. he admitted to lying about his college degree, experience on wall street and jewish ancestry. but one thing that will be going under the microscope, his shady

finances santos has admitted to loaning his campaign more than $700,000 cash from his organization but the question is, does it violate campaign finance laws? now, according to a financial disclosure report when he was a candidate in 2020 he had no assets and no income fast forward two years later, he's got an apartment in rio de janeiro and dividends valued between $1 million and $5 million also from the organization it's an investment firm that santos describes as his family's firm that manages $80 million in client assets. while george santos admits that he did lie, he claims he did nothing wrong. tulsi gabbard grilled him about it on fox. >> we can debate my resume and how i worked with firms such as goldman -- >> is it debatable or is it just false? >> we can have this discussion that's going to go way above the american people's head. >> you're saying this discussion will go way above the heads of the american people basically

insulting their intelligence it's hard to imagine how they could possibly trust your explanations when you're not really even willing to admit the depth of your deception to them. >> reporter: one perso we haven't heard from is house gop leader kevin mccarthy. a reason for that could be that santos is set to be sworn in to congress the same day the house will start votes for a new speaker. santos has already pledged to vote for mccarthy, and with four party votes to spare, mccarthy will need all of the support he can get. philip, back to you. >> maybe like santos mccarthy will want to talk about it after he is elected. thank you. thousands still unable to wake up from a holiday travel nightmare. southwest canceling more than 2,500 flights wednesday and today more than 2,300 are grounded already that's according to flightaware.com and stranded passengers are fed up. >> i wasn't anticipating a nightmare, but it became a nightmare. it did

>> i want to cry i'm tired. >> frustrated. tired. pissed off >> ryann green is the airline's chief commercial officer and released a video message apologizing offering resources for those affected by the disruptions. >> if you're still waiting on a bag, you can submit information on how to receive that bag at no cost to you. you can submit a full refund request for any canceled flights, and if you have any travel expenses due to the disruption, you can submit those receipts directly on our website. >> now, other major airlines have mostly bounced back from last week's winter weather delays, american delta and united are pledging to cap prices where southwest operates through monday despite those announcements, though, many who tried to rebook with those airlines said they faced extremely high price tags. some in the thousands. >> experts are blaming the meltdown on a combination of things from bad weather to an outdated scheduling system and southwest's point-to-point flight route model

this means that planes fly directly from one destination to the next so if there are disruptions, a ripple effect is more likely than flights on a hub and spoke system the u.s. is adding a new roof for travelers anyone entering the country from china will need to prove a negative covid test. cases surged there the u.s. is seeing an uptick in cases here's marissa parra >> reporter: at t inova hospital in virginia the work is never over >> seeing a lot more flu, covid, a lot more rsv so it just seems like it never ends. >> reporter: in the past two weeks, covid cases have increased 19% nationwide this as three omicron subvariants now make up nearly 90% of covid cases across new england with new jersey seeing high transmission levels in all counties all as hospitals grapple with

this season's influx of flu and rsv. >> in the last few months when you come to work, it's frantic it's not busy, it's frantic. >> reporter: rick place is the medical director for the children's e.r. where they saw a 60% rise in young patients since 2020 you were so busy, you brought hospital beds to the atrium? >> we put them in any flat space we could find. >> reporter: it's been all hands on deck, so because of the surge in rsv, you don't work with kids but you are getting trained to work with kids >> exactly. >> reporter: a lesson in team many work learned last year when omicron numbers were surging. how do you cope? >> i think that we lean on each other because we went something that was so difficult. i am sure there is some level of trauma bonding, per se >> reporter: when you are sprinting during a marathon, burnout is inevitable. >> we're already exhausted from all this, right, emotionally and physically, and then you get this catastrophic volume surge the entire infrastructure of

pediatric medicine in this country is not equipped to handle it >> reporter: hard to handle when you don't know if there is a finish line. do you feel like you are kind of holding your breath right now? >> yes i'm trying to plan on whether i need more staff next year. i have no idea what january will be. >> reporter: marissa parra, nbc news, fairfax, virginia. retired pope benedict xvi is being monitored by vatican doctors around the clock pope francis revealed his predecessor is very sick the 95-year-old german resigned back in 2013 citing declining health and he's been noticeably frail in recent public appearances. abc's claudio lavanga is live in rome >> reporter: good morning. what we know, it started with the pope yesterday morning after the weekly meeting with the faithful, he said that pope benedict xvi or former pope

benedict xvi is very sick and asked the faithful to pray a special prayer so god comforts him till the end and took everybody by surprise including perhaps also the vatican press office which a few hours later issued a statement confirming that the health of the pope emir rust, pope benedict xvi had deteriorated due to age and being monitored by doctors the pope or vatican didn't say his health problem but he is a 95-year-old man. at the end of the day he has disappeared from the public eye since retiring but in the few occasions we have seen him, he looked more and more frail we'll watch for more up tapes from the vatican today. >> claudio with the latest from rome, thank you. in western new york, the death toll is still rising from that historic winter storm in erie county which includes the city of buffalo, at least 37

deaths have been reported. and there are fears that number will grow as the snow melts. a travel ban finally lifted at midnight people still advised to stay off the roads. >> i'm asking people to still be cautious and if you don't need to drive, please don't >> concerns are growing about people running out of medicine and food temperatures expected to jump into the 50s friday in buffalo as the snow rapidly melts there is a risk of flooding but also more deaths could be uncovered. let's see how we're looking today with nbc meteorologist angie lastman. good morning. >> we have a couple of issues when it comes to weather and they're mainly through the midsection of the country. we'll see snow falling in the northern half of this system working into places like nebraska, minnesota, iowa. in the southern half of that system we'll be dealing with the potential for severe weather, maybe an isolated tornado. that will be impacting folks in texas, arkansas and louisiana through the afternoon hours. as far as the snowfall amounts

nothing too crazy, one to four inches so could leave the roads a little slick so keep that in mind if you're in the northern parts of the plains. lingering rain as we get into friday this is going to cause problems on the eastern half of the country when it comes to travel. you can see this wide swath of rain working into portions of the northeast and the midwest as we get into new year's eve plan, it will likely be a soggy one for folks from detroit out to new york and up into maine there's the potential for that severe risk. this is kind of the bull's-eye for it, port little rock all included in that some heavyornado possible and rl included in possible storms there. we got to talk about that new year's eve forecast. i mentioned it could be soggy, so we'll time it all out for you

so you can make plans. >> we appreciate that. thanks. in what world could bill cosby have the last laugh? the disgraced comedian's surprise plans for 2023. making a splash katie ledecky scorores one morore win next and jelly beans. the number one brand for hair, skin and nails. withth two timeses more biotn to bringng out moree of youour inner bebeauty. get morere with nanature's bou. suffering from sinus congestion, especially at night?

try vicks sinex for instant relief that lasts up to 12 hours. vicks sinex targets congestion at the source, relieving nasal congestion and sinus pressure by reducing swelling in the sinuses. try vicks sinex. a dominican court convicted 10 of the 13 people involved in the 2019 shooting of david ortiz. the court sentenced two men that prosecutors say were directly involved in the attack to 30 years in prison. others received sentences between 5 and 20 years ortiz was wounded when a gunman shot at his table while he and his friends were at a bar in the dominican republic investigators say orti was confused for another person the night of the shooting who was the target of a murder plot. three defendants were acquitted due to insufficient evidence including the man accused of planning the attack.

a dominican newspape reported victor hugo gomez vasquez became emotional after hearing the verdict. new this morning, ibill cosy is thinking about a return to comedy following his release from prison in 2021. he told host scott spear on the radio show wgh talk, 2023 is looking like a touring year and said, quote, i feel that i will be able to perform and be the bill cosby my audience knows me to be he served three years in prison after being found guilty of felony aggravated indecent assault before those convictions were overturned byes pennsylvania supreme court katie ledecky's very familiar with victory and swam ahead of the competition all year long. the associated press named ledecky 2022's female athlete of the year that is her second time winning the award. ledecky dominated the world championships this summer and broke the female record for career world swimming medals with 22. all right, some eighth graders in florida entered the year on a high note.

they took a dance break from exams but check out what happened next. ♪ ♪ >> there it is, the assistant principal who shared this video said the teachers there ending the year with a win. here's the lesson i took away from this. always respect your elders because they are the og. >> especially with moves like that >> it has been a rocky year for the royals our keir simmons takes a look back at the historical milestones. a deadly fire. people jump to their deaeaths to escape a burning casino inin cambmbodia

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coming up on "today," what's next in the final frontier tom costello will look at why

2023 could be one giant heap for space enthusiasts. 2022 was a tumultuous year for the royals from the queen's jubilee to her death and the growing tension between princes william and harry, nbc's keir simmons takes a look back. >> reporter: for the royal family, 2022 was a year of great joy, profound sadness and extraordinary change ♪ the platinum jubilee marked the queen's 70 years on the throne, the longest reigning monarch in history. the celebration filled with fireworks, music and pomp and circumstance ♪ the crowds cheered, expressing their gratitude for her majesty's life of service. the celebration finished with a traditional buckingham palace balcony appearance, the queen alongside three future kings, charles, william and george. it was to be her final wave to her subjects on september 8th --

>> buckingham palace has just announced that her majesty queen elizabeth ii has died. >> reporter: the queen passed away quietly in her favorite home, balmoral castle in scotland her son, the prince of wales, was now king charles iii ♪ >> god save the king >> queen elizabeth 's was a lif well lived and she is mourninged most deeply in her passing that promise of lifelong service, i renew to all today. ♪ >> reporter: much of the world was united in grief. hundreds of thousands of mourners came to pay their respects, millions more watched across the globe the passing of the queen brought about other changes, as well people searched for the phrase queen consort to understand

camilla's new role after seven decades, the national anthem was once again "god save the king. ♪ god save the king ♪ >> reporter: in the background of all these changes was the new scrutiny of the royal family and its relevance in the modern age. the new prince and princess of wales kate and william playing an increasingly prominent role including a trip to the usa, their first in eight years there are continuing questions about the rifts between prince harry and his family harry and meghan made a show of unity with the family for the queen's funeral but as harry told hoda kotb earlier this year he stands by his decision to step back from hole duties. >> home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the states >> reporter: harry and meghan are focused on telling their side of the story. >> when the stakes were this high, doesn't it make more sense to hear our story from us? >> reporter: a podcast, a netflix documentary and prince

harry's autobiography due to be released in january. next year's main royal event is in may the coronation of king charles iii, the first in 70 years keir simmons, nbc news, london >> we will see what next year has in store angie's got our new year's eve forecast coming up next. a deadlyly blalaze e engulfa cacasino in cacambodia we'll hahave the latatest. to get p pregnant inin the futu. fifind it yoururself in ththe fy plananning aislele no p prescriptioion, no id.. i've g got this. no p prescriptioion, no id.. ♪♪♪

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breaking news, the death toll is rising after a massive fire at a popular hotel and casino in western cambodia the ap now reporting that at least 16 people have died and dozens are injured video posted to social media shows people falling or jumping for their lives from the burning building the hotel casino lies on the border with thailand where many of its customers and workers come from. thai authorities have sent crews to assist. not clear how it started. lottery fever continues to heat up with no winner in the powerball drawing.

the jackpot climbs to 246 million for saturday's drawing and mega millions continues to soar as well with a $640 million grand prize for friday's draw. the combined $886 million up for grabs between powerball and mega millions leaving many dreaming of a grand start for 2023. wouldn't that be great wisconsin high school swimmer is being celebrated this morning not just for winning a state championship but for the incredible ordeal that she overcame here's steve patterson >> the school of milwaukee -- >> reporter: it is perhaps the proudest moment in the young life of lucy art >> it's going to be art. >> reporter: tenacity, grit and hard work culminating in a wisconsin state swimming title for lucy, it meant a miracle >> i was with my cousins on the beach. >> reporter: just 20 months earlier in march 2021 while on vacation in florida with her

family, she was attacked by a five to seven-foot black tip shark. >> the shark jumped out of the water and my hand went in its mouth. then i punched it off of me. >> reporter: luckily, a nearby vacationing doctor stabilized the bleeding with a tourniquet, but the damage was severe. >> i was scared i was going to lose my hand. >> reporter: the shark tore part of her wrist severing four tendons. she questioned if she could ever compete again. >> i didn't think i would be able to move my wrist the same way again. >> reporter: lucy's road included surgery, physical therapy three times a week for four months and half a year outside the pool but she says that time away gave her a new perspective and renewed motivation >> just, yeah, pushed me kind of to be the best that i can in the pool. >> reporter: the incredible heart of lucy art turning the fight of her life into her finest moment. steve patterson, nbc news. >> if you can beat a shark in the water those high school kids had no chance.

>> fight or flight she chose fight. >> thanks for kicking off your morning with us. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm cory coffin there's three days left in 2022. putting off new year's resolutions,

right now at 4:30, tracking the storm. the wet weather back once again and it's here to stay. the preparations being made as even more rain is moving in ahead of the weekend. also, meteorologist, vianey arana, is timing out our new year's eve forecast. plus -- >> we're seeing animals, particularly dogs coming in in numbers we have never seen before. >> a growing problem for local shelters. more and more pets abandoned. this is "today in the bay" streaming live on roku, apple tv and amazon fire and online. i