>> i put chess boards on the floor of the library and that is how we played with kids. [applause] >> niecy: i love that, i love that. what about your two over there? this morning, the death toll in california is rising, as an endless onslaught of storms pound the golden state into submission, with massive flooding and major damage left in its wake. presidential pressure cooker president biden returned to the white house last night amid new challenges, including a confidential document discovery and house investigations a trump executive was sentenced for a 15-year tax

scheme the $1.35 billion jackpot is up for grabs and a mysterious artist is catching on around the nation. "early today" starts right now good morning i'm phillip mena >> glad you could be with us, i'm frances rivera some 6 million are under flood watch as storms wreak havoc. the deadly deluge is causing damage to homes, roadways and vehicles with no signs of letting up our miguel almaguer starts us off from los angeles >> reporter: as a new monster storm barrels across every major city in california again, we're seeing more water rescues, flash flooding and mudslides unfold, these disasters killing at least 17, also shredding apart new sections of the state. >> there was like two feet of

mud and water coming down the street and out of the houses so it was pretty scary >> reporter: this time, california's historically sunny cities, los angeles, santa barbara and montntecito, werere lalashed with h a biblblical des momountains tumbled to the sea d sinkholes opened up in l.a firefighters liftiting car passengersrs from m the ununder crater the historic storms washing over san diego literally redefining the state. cracked and crumbled, california's battered coastline is as perhaps as dangerous as it is beautiful some of the state ace most iconic properties are also some of the most vulnerable an enclave to the rich and famous like ellen degeneres is still under city-wide evacuations, as authorities fear the return of deadly mudslides notable cities since the start of the new year are all drenched

in rainfall, running well over 100% of average. >> it is right up there with some of the most extensive rainfall we've seen, definitely in the last 80 years >> reporter: from drought to downpours. california's swing from extremes comes as a new report confirms last year's annual precipitation in the u.s. was more than an inch and a half below average. making it one of the driest years on record. but another punch is to the wallet, disaster costs for 2022 easily exceed $165 billion >> climate change is warming the whole planet, that includes the atmosphere and the oceans. what that means for us is that the atmosphere is able to hold more moisture. so these storms can be bigger. >> reporter: our changing planet as our new normal becomes even more extreme miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. after a long, contentious battle to name a speaker, house

republicans finally came together on two things first, they voted to slash $71 billion from the irs budget. a move that would gut the department investigating tax cheats for the record, george santos voted yes on that. regardless, senate democrats are sure to kill it. the chamber also voted on a select committee to examine the weaponization of the federal government brie, aren't they the federal government did they just form a committee to investigate themselves? what's going on here >> reporter: that's what it sounds like. the house republicans are wasting no time kicking their agenda into high gear. let's start with the new house sub committee, the committee on weaponization of the federal government for the first time in the history of the house, a committee has been formed to investigate ongoing investigations by the justice department, includes cases against republican members of congress so they would essentially be

investigating the investigators who investigated them. now this sub committee will be led by incoming house judiciary chairman jim jordan and will give him power to subpoena and investigate federal agencies, but will they investigate one of their own? specifically, george santos. two democratic lawmakers from new york are asking the house committee to investigate whether santos broke the law when he filed his financial disclosure late and without key details about his money. our capitol hill team caught up with speaker kevin mccarthy, and here's what he had to say about it >> have you made any decision on how you're going to handle george santos and his time >> no, but i'll tell you when we do >> reporter: he insists he's done nothing unethical and is currently under criminal investigation by new york, the attorney general of new york and the republican district attorney of long island meanwhile, a texas republican has filed impeachment articles

against homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas he claims that mayorkas is failing to maintain control of the border and accusing him of high crimes and misdemeanors mayorkas has no plans to resign, arguing that the grounds for impeachment were inaccurate and failed to meet the standards of high crimes and misdemeanors a lot happening on capitol hill. >> republicans letting everybody know they're the captain now b brie, before we let you go, i heard today is your birthday happy birthday, january 11 here you are working hard for us and we appreciate it >> i like nothing more than to celebrate my birthday with you guys now to the former chief financial officer of the trump organization who will spend five years behind bars. alan weisselberg was sensed for

his role in the tax fraud scheme >> reporter: the former president's former cfo, allan weisselberg, the top money man at his company, the trump organization, sentenced by a manhattan state judge to five months in jail for a whole host of crimes that weisselberg himself pleaded guilty to last august all tied to a tax fraud scheme, an effort, according to weisselberg in his own testimony, to personally pad his pockets and wallets by not reporting certain income that was in violation of law. he agreed to that, and he also agreed to testify against the trump organization, not only is he sentenced to five months in jail, but he'll receive five months of probation and has had to pay over $2 million in fines and penalties for the unreported income he'll have to travel to rikers island jail approximately eight miles from here and is expected to serve time until april,

including time off for good behavior tom winter, nbc news, new york ukrainian president sp zelenskyy says onethe town of soledar is covered with bodies meanwhile, fort sill army post, troops will be trained on how to use the patriot air defense system the u.s. navy seized over 2,000 assault weapons headed from a fishing boat headed to yemen. they say they were being delivered from iran as part of a continued pattern of destabilization from the country. the rifles were likely bound for the iranian-backed houthi rebels in yemen

president biden is back on u.s. soil, returning overnight after meeting with world leaders in mexico and announcing a controversial new policy to address the migrant crisis at the border >> reporter: president biden meeting with the leaders of mexico and canada amid a record-breaking influx of migrants coming into the u.s >> our entire atmosphere has experienced unprecedented levels of migration >> reporter: they shared information to make it easier for migrants to apply for asylum before they reach the u.s. the biden administration recently announced thiey would send as many as 30,000 migrants a month back to mexico fernando is a migrant advocate and says the new biden policy will cause more migrants to take riskier routes here.

>> people will sufficient becasuffer because o this change. >> reporter: a bipartisan group visited yuma, arizona. the border patrol is seeing many nationalities here it's just after dawn, and some of this group just arrived from russia >> we expect our president and vice president to lead on national issues. >> reporter: we met this family from colombia. underneath those blankets, a 9 month old baby boy it's been hard, his mother says. she's applying for asylum, but her future and that of so many others here is uncertain president biden thanked mexico's president for allowing american border agents to embed with mexican patrols arresting 7,000 smugglers in the last six months here we go again the mega millions has gone

without another winning ticket and the jackpot has gone to a whopping $1.35 billion the next major drawing is this friday the 13th. and tonight's powerball jackpot stands at $360 million. >> my goodness hey, michelle, good morning. >> we continue to track this lots of rain, lots of snow the good news is we're getting a break in southern california, also central california. it's really the bull's eye and this is through friday we're seeing some rain, some blue and the pink. the pink is ice. the green is the rain. where you see brighter colors is where we're seeing heavier yan we'reheavier rain further to the east, we are watching an area of low pressure on the cold side, heavy snow in

the central rockies. into tonight where you see this green here, that's where we're big difference in the west just above freezing in minneapolis at 33. all right, we are tracking a big time winter warmup coming up. >> the biggest moments and shocking snubs at the golden globe. > t 'r'rbubuwee baback with growining g outrage on camampus the arrestst of the identify eye college murder suspect hi. i kekeep my homeme fresh with f febreze fadade defy pl.

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classmates prepares to appear in court again this week. stephanie gosk has the details >> reporter: at the university of idaho, they're still on edge. >> i'm worried about the safety here >> reporter: what they swapt a conviction >> i think that would go a long way for bringing peace back to the community. >> reporter: but the murder of four fellow students didn't just affect this campus alleged killer bryan kohberger was studying to get his doctorate in criminology at washington state university ten miles away >> i kind of felt lied to. we find out later he's literally a student on campus and is walking around with us it felt like they were trying to keep it from us or something >> reporter: according to the affidavit, washington state campus police identified bryan kohberger on november 29th after midnight, connecting him to the hundred dhyundai elantra.

his physical description matched what one of the surviving roommates reported, including the quote, bushy eyebrows. he was going to class and teaching the whole time. he wouldn't be arrested until a month later in pennsylvania, when dna found at the crime scene was connected to dna found at his family home students at wsu were stunned >> i understand why they withheld information in the investigation for a while, but it's just like, how can you feel safe >> reporter: but naming the suspect too early may have jeopardized the case >> they had to make sure there weren't any other suspects >> reporter: so far there are no other suspects coe kohberger is back in court on thursday and expected to plead not guilty stephanie gosk, nbc news, moscow, idaho. the foo fighters hit the roads for the first titime since the loss o of their bebeloved

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ the foo fighters are heading back onto tour for the first time since drummer taylor hawkins died last year they will play boston and columbus in may before highlighting a music festival in june the golden globe made their comeback to celebrate the best in entertainment, but not without addressing its stroef

tro controversial hiatus first >> i'll tell you why i'm here. because i'm black. >> "abbott elementary" was one of the most nominated. and michelle yeoh took home an award for "everything everywhere all at once. >> eddie murphy shared sage advice for young hollywood >> i followed it my whole career it's very simple there's three things just do these three things pay your taxes [ laughter ] mind your business and keep will smith's wife's name out your [ bleep ] mouth! >> we all know that now. colin farrell took home the

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in today's "news by the numbers", 46% of credit cardholders carry debt from month to month, according to a new study, a 7% increase from last year. a new report from noaa reported the damage numbers from last year, the third costliest on record. and tesla is getting bigger. it's set to spend $770 million on an expansion of their texas

factory. an artist is adding a dab to the drab almost nobody pays attention to the art in budget hotels, but a visionary bandit is working to change that. gaudy schwartz tracked him down in new mexico. >> reporter: on the walls of fine art galleries, he makes a living with art that sometimes blurs the lines, but here's his words for what he does >> i describe it as hilarious. i totally enhance the artwork. i know the prints cost 38 cents. so they're going to get some of my enhancement >> reporter: he scours hotels for the most mundane and mass-produced artwork. pull pulls it off the wall and adds flourish

>> i could not help myself >> reporter: his goal to make his mark in every state, from arizona to louisiana and getting caught a whole bunch along the way. sometimes becoming friends with the hotel staff, other times slapped with a hefty charge on his bill and full disclosure, he offered to come by our hotel to demonstrate his tactics. >> ah-ha, there she is >> reporter: but we opted to have him show us an example at his studio all of a sudden, these mysterious art reworks started popping up around the country. they're getting noticed and getting sold it looks like this has a price tag. >> it sold just a couple days ago. >> reporter: did it sell for full price >> 3,000, yes. >> reporter: while many remain undiscovered >> the total number is unclassified but there's 30 to 40 still in hotels >> reporter: he says new england beware, because his paintbrushes

are ready to prowl again nbc news, santa fe >> like the banksy of hotels >> you're paying for art to hang onou y

right now at 4:30, the bay area in damage control with another storm rolling in right behind it. conditions you'll want to prepare for today depending on where you live. meteorologist kari hall has the hour-by-hour outlook and our mike inouye is tracking conditions for morning commuters. this is "today in the bay" streaming live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. good wednesday morning to you. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. we'll take a look at the forecast in just a minute. breaking news this wednesday morning. the faa is experiencing an air traffic computer outage that is leaving flights