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desan desantis lies.com >> trump's town hall with his competition. we take a look at the top minutes. a deadly avalanche at a popular ski resort in california as powerful winter storms dump dangerous levels of snow angie lassman is tracking the next round of winter weather nbc news investigates toxic lead what are state officials doing about it nick saban's legendary career at alabama comes to an end. the final play that lid ted to bombshell decision "early today" starts right now glad you could be with us this morning. i'm frances rivera

we begin in iowa where the republican hopefuls for president just wrapped up a very busy night the clear frontrunner, donald trump, addressed voters at fox news town hall the former president hinted that he as almost ready to announce a pick for vp. >> who would be in the running for vice president >> i can't tell thaw you that r. i know who's going to be >> give us a hint. >> we'll do another show sometime >> his top rivals were quick to start launching attacks at one another. >> we don't need another ano mealy-mouthed politician who tells you what she thinks you want to hear >> but every time he lies, drake university, don't turn this into a drinking game, because you will be overserved by the end of the night. >> the gop field just got a bit smaller. chris christie has become the latest to drop out of race

garrett haake has more on that anuns announcement >> it's clear to me tonight that there isn't a path for me to win the nomination which is why i'm suspending my campaign tonight for president of the united states >> reporter: the most vocal trump critic in the gop field, the former new jersey governor had focussed his campaign on new hampshire, but struggled to gain traction >> i am going to make sure that in no way do i enable donald trump to ever be president of the united states again. and that's more important than my own personal ambition >> reporter: and while christie made no endorsements, he already faces pressure to back nikki haley, but he has repeatedly criticized her in recent days, including for not taking on trump more directly. >> when you ask her the tough

questions, she doesn't answer. >> reporter: christie appearing to criticize her on a hot mic before his event began >> and she's going to get smoked and you and i both know it she's not up for this. >> reporter: on social media, trump calling that a very truthful statement christie's exit could give haley boost in new hampshire where polls show her closing the gap with trump and roughly half of christie's supporters listing haley as their second choice the two former governors sharing the appeal to voters who voted for joe biden in 2020. >> nikki haley >> reporter: tell me why >> we need a leader who's going to go in and unify the country someone who'sle t willing to woo both sides of the aisle. donald trump will be back in a new york courtroom, but it appears he will not get to address the court. the former president had asked to speak during closing

arguments. the judge released an e-mail chain saying he would only allow trump to speak if he stuck to the evidence, saying he cannot deliver a campaign speech. an attorney for trump said they could not agree on the conditions hunter biden will be arraigned on federal tax charges today with a hearing set for 4:00 p.m. eastern. it comes after a dramatic day when two congressional committees voted that the president's son be held in contempt of congress for ignoring a subpoena. alice barr has more. >> reporter: a chaotic scene on capitol hill as hunter biden made a surprise appearance at a house committee meeting, called to hold him in contempt of congress republicans slamming the president's son for defying a subpoena for a closed-door deposition he's offered to testify publicly instead. >> i think that hunter biden should be arrested right leer,

righ here, right now and go straight to jail >> here is the subpoena to jim jordan who did not comply with a lawful subpoena. here is a subpoena to mo brooks who did not comply >> reporter: hunter biden has said republicans would twist his words if he appeared behind closed doors, telling nbc news he's ready to answer questions publicly his attorney calling it an unprecedented move >> to hold someone in contempt who has offered to publicly answer all their proper questions. the question there is what are they afraid of >> reporter: house republicans have been investigating hunter biden for months, attempting to tie president biden to his son's business dealings, though they have yet to present evidence making that connection republican leadership insisting they need to hear from the younger biden on their terms and that contempt should force his

hand >> this is our role. it's our responsibility. we do not take any pleasure in this this is not political. >> reporter: democrats not buying it. >> they want to get donald trump elected and do everything they can to help donald trump >> reporter: in washington, alice barr, nbc news pennsylvania lawmaker has been the first to call on secretary austin to resign he says he has lost trust in austin's leadership after the secretary refused to disclose a hospitalization. austin revealed he is being treated for prostate cancer. officials at walter reed hospital say his prognosis is quote, excellent a measles outbreak in philadelphia area has hospitals on alert after two more cases

were confirmed, bringing the total to eight one child was sent to day care despite being ordered to quarantine all of the patients lacked immunity, meaning they either never got vaccinated or never contracted measles before. a string of monday store storms tore' c across much of t country. many in the central plains are digging out from heavy snow, others are drying out as floodwaters recede tens of thousands remain without power this morning a tornado outbreak in the south leveled buildings like this one in south carolina. the moment it chanced caught on camera in north carolina, a historic home dating back to the american revolution went up in flames during the storm the cause is still under investigation, but officials suspect downed power lines sparked the blaze. and out west, an avalanche at a lake tahoe ski resort killed one person and injured another,

according to authorities and more dangerous weather is already charging west let's bring in angie lassman who is tracking that system and a whole lot more hi, angie. >> we've got a whole lot to talk about when it comes to the next couple days with weather impacts. the next system is working across the country and millions of people under these alerts this morning you've got system that's going to work across portions of the plains today notice the snow we'll deal with. and what you kpancan't see is te cold air by tomorrow, it's the snow across parts of the great lakes. blizzard conditions, really strong winds, also on top of the snow is going to make for difficult travel and additional rain, not to mention strong storms possible across the east. we'll see snowshowers continuing with the lake-effect snow happening as we roll into the weekend. here's pinpoint area for the potential for strong storms this evening and into the the ovethe

period notice shreveport and little rock we have hail, isolated tornados all on the table here as we get through warmer, upper 70s from corpus christi and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you >> thank you, angie. we'll see you in a bit we're back in a minute with a nbc investigation into a plant still posing a major toxic threat years after it was shut down nick saban is calling it quits. what led to the bombshell decision what led to the bombshe decision. this is not just 30-minute test results

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the epa is deciding whether to designate at least three battery recycling plants as super fund sites to help clean up toxic lead release. we go into one community where many say the impact has been devastating. >> reporter: here on the east side of los angeles at what was once a battery recycling plant with they've chiselled the company's name, exide, off the wall. >> it's very, very evil. >> reporter: for most of the 40 years the monsignor has served the neighborhood next to the plant, he has battled to close it, as the facility knowingly released cancer-causing arsenic and lead, in some places 650 times what the state says is safe, while pourmore than 100,0 people have been affected.

>> i couldn't sit up here and just pray and hope that people were going to be saved >> reporter: he and others were able to get the plant shuttered in 2015 after exide admitted to felony violations, including the illegal storage and disposal of hazardous waste in a settlement with the department of justice but now, nine years after the plant closed, life-threatening problems remain. honestly, you can feel that you're surking in dirt, grime. can you feel it on your skin >> reporter: the cleanup has failed in a new study, it shows that the contaminated area is more than twice the size originally thought. >> when we found out that our property was contaminated, we were heartbroken >> reporter: like most people here, guadalupe lives surrounded by her extended family >> nobody cares how hurt we are, how sick we are. my 2-year-old in behavioral

therapy. is it a coincidence? nobody will tell me. >> reporter: children are particularly vulnerable to being poisoned by lead, which, over time, can cause brain damage and developmental delays community members say despite repeated requests, the state has not provided any long-term health assistance. the family has lived here since the 1950s. he now leads a non-profit instrumental in shuttering exide but says he's furious the company got away a modest fine, later declaring bankruptcy and dissolving in the u.s. >> when we talk about environmental racism, it's not just a fact that these facilities exist in our community. it's also when disaster happens, how dot authorities respond. and they respond in ways that tell us that our lives don't matter >> reporter: in fact, dr. jill johnston was the lead author of a stud three concluded the state's cleanup is not working

four out of five homes cleaned by the state are still contaminated the state also concluded 98% of homes including as far away as four and a half-miles away from the plant tested above state standards. dtsc, responsible for the cleanup, have declined repeated requests for an interview. how good a job have they done in your estimation? >> failed completely year after year after year dtsc has failed. >> reporter: dtsc did tell us they have hired a new contractor to run the cleanup and a third party monitor. but, after decades of failed promises, the community is both angry and in despair cynthia mcfadden, nbc news, los angeles. still to come, the crimson tide dynasty might be crashing down one of the greatest football coaches of all time shocked the sports world with his exit that's coming up right after this that's coming up right after this. than you think.

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have you obviously thought about that throughout the last few years? and why do you think it gets brought up every single year as if you were going to be done >> well, because i'm getting old, i guess >> the clock has reached triple zeros for one of college football's greats. alabama head coach nick saban announced his retirement wednesday. saban brought alabama back to the top of the college football world, winning six national championships during his time in t tuscaloosa he said he and his family will always consider alabama their home while their school called the coach one of the greatest of all time in any sport, and what a celebration of an exceptionally outstanding career >> he didn't end the way i'm sure he wanted to this last

seaso season, but seven other trophies, nothing horrible about his career after narrowly missing the playoffs, the seattle seahawks announced they would be moving on from head coach pete carroll, carroll, the winningest coach in franchise history guided seattle to their first super bowl title in 2013. while carroll will no long are be leading the seahawks, carroll will stay with the organization as an advisor. it feels like every day that we're listing off another person that is out. >> he was get emotional that press conference now to a sports media personality. pat mcafee announced that aaron rodgers' weekly appearances on his show are finished for the season it comes after the back and forth between rodgers and late night host jimmy kimmel after

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with a shelter with a history of handling hefty kitties >> reporter: 27 whole pounds of cuteness and love. this is one softy too many, and shy is looking for a forever home after capture the hearts of all the staff here at richmond animal control >> we like, oh, my gosh, look how huge is cat is >> reporter: this absolute ham tripled the weight for a cat her size, now on the way to becoming a social media sensation >> we get e-mails from all across the country, people that are interested people that comment. frosty was brought to us by a concerned citizen that found her as a stray, believe it or not. out and about in the city. >> reporter: named after the popular wendy's dessert, frosty is getting the classic

treatment. racc says even though her chubbiness is pretty cute, she needs to shed the weight in order to be healthy and comfortable. frosty was a bit camera-shy at first, but all of five minutes later, she dropped the cat-itude. >> reporter: they're looking for a quiet home and someone with time on their hands and experience caring for cats >> a double-digit weight loss journey ahead of her >> reporter: this comes shortly after the shelter took in patches, the giant 42-pound kitty that rose to national fame >> i feel like patches and this kitty here, frosty are the biggest we've seen >> reporter: and were happy to learn of another kitty >> frosty was officially

adopted. we don't have details about her fitness plan but we will be cheering her on. while some schools now favor remote learning over canceling classes when it snows, students in kansas city got to experience the gift of a good old-fashioned snow day five inches fell in the area and it wasn't just the kids who were having a blast. >> actually, we love it. we geared up we've been watching the news all week we got hot chocolate ready we're going to make tomato soup. we have a whole snow day planned. >> residents had a day of family fun with a little help from mother

we have seen, it's not uncommon to see variable conditions associated with that.

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