a crippling ice storm has claimed at least eight lives in the south. hundreds of thousands are without power at this hour in texas, left in the dark, freezing cold. the president's son fights back hunter biden is seeking legal action against people he says trafficked stolen information from his laptop. new video evidence from the alec murdaugh trial. footage shown from his son paul murdaugh's phone taken the night of the murders a new u.s. embassy jus opened its doors in the pacific.

an american counter to china's growing dominance in that region and calls for action and a celebration of life as thousands mourn tyre nichols in memphis. it's thursday, february 2nd. "early today" starts right now >> good morning, i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. we begin with wicked weather and a rising death toll in the south. at least eight people were killed in texas and arkansas after an ice storm ripped through the region more than 350,000 texans are currently without power. meanwhile, in california, sierra snowpack was 205% above normal on wednesday, the deepest in four decades officials warn the drought-stricken state isn't out of the woods just yet. if dry conditions follow, they could still be in trouble. for more on this wicked weather moving across the country, let's go to nbc meteorologist angie lassman. >> it's been quite a couple of days for folks in the south

central united states. some sleet, that extends into the carolinas. this is the same storm system we have been dealing with for days. as we get through the day today it brings heavy rain across the southeast. the rainfall rates will give us the potential to see flooding across that area as we go through the afternoon hours. here's where the highest amounts will be. jackson, montgomery, hattiesburg all included in this one to two inches of rain is possible that's why we'll be keep ago close eye on the potential for fliedi flooding later today >> thank force ws for watching , angie. jurors heard key testimony cast doubt on alec murdaugh's alibi the night his son and wife were murdered. >> reporter: prosecutors argue a

cell phone video taken by paul murdaugh places his father alec murdaugh at the crime scene minutes before he and his mother were murdered. >> he's got a bird in his mouth! >> reporter: prosecutors say this video proves alec was there and disproves the alibi he gave to investigators, that he wasn't at the crime scene that night until he discovered the bodies >> what voices did you snaer. >> paul's, ms. maggie, mr. alec. >> how sure are you now. >> positive? >> 100%? >> that's correct. >> reporter: testimony from rogan gibson, a friend of paul murdaugh, whose dog was staying at the family's kennel at the time gibson got a call from paul in the kennel at 8:40 p.m. and recalls hearing alec in the background he then took a video of the dog's tail intended fos tail in.

it was never sent. maggie's last text was a minute later at 8:49. he described loving relationships between all three. >> can you think of any circumstance that you can envision, knowing them as you do where alec would brutally murder paul and maggie? >> not that i can think of >> reporter: prosecutors pushing back once more >> how long have you known alec murdaugh >> pretty much all my life >> as you sit here today, did you really know him? >> yes, i knew mr. alec. >> reporter: the final witness of the day was another close friend of paul's who testified on the stand that he was 100% certain the three voices on the video were those of paul, maggie and alec murdaugh. back to you. >> catie, thank you. lawyers for president biden's son hunter are asking for an investigation into allies

of former president trump as well as a prominent host at a cable news network nbc's brie jackson joins us with more good morning this is a new strategy coming from hunter biden. >> it is, good morning, phillip. since 2019, hunter biden has been a constant target for conservatives. when the gop took back the house last fall they made going after the younger biden a priority for their agenda here's what republicans andy biggs and james comer said last year from when we start talking about hunter biden, we need to talk about what did the doj and fbi do, did they suppress? and yes, they did suppress >> one way we can get them in front of the committee quickly is say we're not giving you a penny until you come down here and explain to us what this task force was, why you told twitter to suppress the hunter biden laptop story when you knew darn well it was true >> but hunter biden's attorneys

sent letters these letters are asking for a probe to be opened into individuals they believe, quote, violated various federal loss in assessing, copying, manipulating and/or disseminating mr. biden's personal computer data the computer in question is a laptop owned by hunter biden that he dropped off at delaware repair shop. the allegation accuse trump allies of weaponizing information on the laptop. those mentioned are rudy giuliani, steve bannon and john paul mac isaac, the own of that delaware repair shop a representative for giuliani said raising concerns now, after so many years indicates just how devastating the texts and videos from hunter's laptop truly are meanwhile, mr. bannon responded to a request for comment saying, i thought biden told us it was all russian disinformation

hunter biden's legal team also sent a separate letter to fox news host tucker carlson the letter demands that carlson issue a retraction of false and defamatory statements made about hunter biden on his show, also threatening him and the network with potential litigation. fox news did not respond to a request for comment by nbc news on wednesday so we'll see if this new approach changes things for hunter biden phillip in. >> hunter biden saga heating up. all right, brie, thank you now to memphis where thousands gathered in a church to celebrate tyre nichols after his 29 years of life were cut short follow ago brutal biteatig by police. >> this is a family that lost their son and their brother through an act of violence at the hands and the feet of people who had been charged with keeping them safe.

>> in the city that dr. king lost his life, not far away from that balcony you beat a brother to death there's nothing more insulting >> i see the world showing him love and fighting for his justice. but all i want is my baby brother back >> the only thing that's keeping me going is the fact that i really truly believe my son was sent here on an assignment from god. >> five memphis police office remembers facing second degree murder charges over nichols' death. lawyers for two of the men say they will plead not guilty personnel records obtained by wmc show four officers had been disciplined in the past. two of them for failing to file proper reports after using

physical force during an arrest. the government's covid relief program aimed to save jobs, but some experts now say it led to the biggest fleece in our history. with massive fraud and misuse of taxpayer money here's tom costello. >> reporter: three years after the start of the pandemic the size and scale of covid-related fraud is staggering. congress under president trump and then biden allocated an unprecedented $5 trillion in covid rescue programs to save jobs, keep families fed and businesses open. but government agencies failed to verify many of the claims on capitol hill, even the nation's top watchdog said they don't know how much money was stolen by some estimates, 5$560 billion gone >> public should know where money went, congress needs to know where money went. >> reporter: who stole it? investigators say cyber criminal, organized crime,

russian, nigerian and chinese syndicate and americans who filed fake claim, often using stolen identities. prosecutors say street criminals used the easy money to fuel the explosion of drug, guns and violence last year we talked to sacramento county's then-d.a we're talking about unemployment insurance fraud that could hit $100 billion nationally. is this the fleecing of america in. >> it's the biggest fleecing of america i think we'll ever see i hope it's the last and worst we'll ever see >> reporter: so far just 1,000 have been convicted of fraud including patrick walsh who used stolen n stolen money to buy an island in the gulf of mexico, and a florida man who used the money to buy a mercedes suv and jewelry. democrats blame republicans.

>> the trump administration regularly told agencies to ignore data reporting requirement. >> reporter: both sides are demanding more oversight going forward, but getting much of that stolen money now is highly unlikely it's your money and mine back to you. >> all right, tom, thank you while we wait for punxsutawney phil to do his thing week, go to angie. >> we look like winter much of the northern half of the country is where we have winter weather advisories up. you can see why. the arctic temperatures are pushi pushing in to parts of the great lakes and midwest. 20 in lansing, and what it feels like is much colder than that. that continues to spread throughout north and east. as you gear up for the weekend pittsburgh, 10 degrees on saturday 8 degree ons saturday in new york and of course those feels like temperatures are going to

r places like green bay, which will hit a high of 21 degrees with a little bit of sunshine today. sunshine is needed across those bitter cold places, guys, we're going to continue to see an extended period of this cold air staying with us. bundle up >> forget what that feels like there was no winning ticket in last night's drawing, so now the grand prize jackpot has ballooned to $700 million. that's seventh largest in powerball history. if you're feeling lucky, the next drawing is on saturday night. the controversial ai chatgpt issow ago sub description service. and a harrowing rescue

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a pretty good young ball player, hank aaron he had lost to sign with boston, tan and it was tony stone who stepped in to fill his shoes >> major league baseball is telling stories from the long legacy of the negro leagues. the first of three episodes called "undeniable" premiered yesterday and focuses on the women of the negro league. the u.s. is pushing back on the chinese influence in the pacific. but first, the stocks for facebook's parent company just

had a major spike. what's happening with meta >> good morning. it's a very sad day for "early today," but i'll come to that a little later the owner of facebook soaring almost 20%, was it because they said revenues will be better than expected going forward? or was it because of the small detail that they've been asked a $40 billion, $4-0 billion stock buyback. daily active users stabilizing around 2 billion there's been worries about people coming off the plat stabilizing at 2 billion meanwhile, the u.s. embassy in the solomon islands is opening to counter china the u.s. is going to open this embassy to counter the chinese push into the pacific. they've done it in a number of ways, the chinese, including

having a peace corps, increasing engagement on covid. the u.s. is going to be engaging further with its allies in that reasonable as i mentioned, a very sad day at "early today. we've had a great leader for many years, gresham is leaving our executive pro dieduce ear grproducer one thing's for sure, you have been then gin of growth at "early today." you have gone through the gears of this company and made it what it is, and i hope you're gearing up for another big post, but one thing is for sure, you have generated a brilliant stories and a lot of love on this show thank you so much indeed that you've done for me and "early today" >> that is so perfect. >> i had no idea we were going to put that on air, but we did so i'm very pleased we did

>> well done thank you so much, steve it's a frosty start to this february angie has the latest on the wicked weekend weather, next and is there anything better than home cooking? these grandmas warming hearts with a hot meal. warming hearts with a hot meal. being together. celebrating together. ♪ ...without letting anything keep you apart. walgreens pharmacists are here to help you stay well. and stay...together. ♪ what's the #1 retinol brand used most by dermatologists? it's neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1-week, deep wrinkles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles goodbye! neutrogena® ok jake from state farm, i really want that personal price plan...

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now to a restaurant giving a whole new meaning to home cooking. they've got grannies in the kichen k kitchen from all corners of the globe. >> reporter: it's like a dream, your beloved grandmother in the kitchen preparing family favorites. where were you born? >> in italy. >> reporter: but she cooks at a restaurant in staten island. aren't you supposed to be

retired? >> i like to work. i like to come every day >> reporter: grandmas in the kitchen is the speciality of the house. the owner and pro proprietor >> i think the attraction with grandmother the, when you're growing up, that's like your safe place >> reporter: home cooking cuisines from asia to the middle east every night a split menu italian and food from someplace else >> something sort of magic happens every evening here we're always anticipating what the different nonas bring. >> report >> i think i know plenty of grandmothers who aren't that good at cooking, but i've never seen one here. >> reporter: especially when nona maria is holding for the. you're genius. >> oh, really? thank you. i come here inside, my face is smiling.

i feel so good >> reporter: us too. harry smith, nbc news, staten island >> brilliant idea. before we go, it's a bittersweet morning for us here in this whole "early today" family after 13 years with the team, we are saying good-bye to our executive producer and dear friend, gresh streegle we do multiple editions of "early today" every morning. over the years, he has spearheaded around 10,000 newscasts >> how does that feel in that's not even all the breaking news >> i've been so lucky to work with you guys and the people behind the scenes. people at home right now, the people behind the scenes are incredible, but they put it together >> come on, man, not about that. this is you! >> i could stay out of everybody's way. people here know that better they do it all, and i've been lucky to work with some fantastic people >> you are the captain of the

ship i'm going to miss the 1:00 a.m. text messages. first one in, last one out every day. such a hardworking guy, we wish you nothing but the best >> thank you. >> thank you. >> we will miss you on the air, when a tru ck hit my car, >the insurance company >wasn't fair.ss you on the air, i didn't know what my case was worth, so i called the barnes firm. i'm rich barnes. it's hard for people to know how much their accident case is worth. let our injury attorneys help you get the best result possible.

rain. meteorologist, kari hall, tracking more wet weather set to move into the bay area in the next 24 hours. she tracks down everything you need to know, including when you can expect rain in your neighborhood. up in fire. this morning we are looking at the damage done. plus -- >> jack's a little fighter. that mountain lion picked the wrong kid to mess with. >> a road to recovery. a 5-year-old tells us h