the way as transition heats up. a new running for cabinet position as president-elect trump meets president biden earlier today face-to-face for the first time since the election. breaking overnight, a large explosion in louisville now deadly. two people killed in the blast. the injured a dozen others. the latest from the investigation. the fire danger explodes in the middle east. 35 million under a fire alert as infernos reached just outside of new york city. the race to get the flames under control and the dire drought conditions. can trump stop the clock on a tick-tock band? how the president-elect is aiming to save the social media. good luck finding another place after this. people magazine named john krasinski 2024's sexiest man alive.

his hilarious take on this new honor. it's wednesday, november 13th. early today . starts right now. good morning. glad to be with you. i'm frances rivera. in just a few hours president- elect trump will be back at the white house. he is returning today after accepting an invitation from president biden for an oval office meeting. it's a condition mr. trump refused to uphold after losing the 2020 election to president biden. brie jackson joins me from d.c. good morning, bree. we are learning more about the people coming to the white house in january as part of the new cabinet. >> reporter: good morning. late last night we got one of the biggest and perhaps most surprising announcements. president-elect trump has chosen fox news host pete hegseth to run the pentagon. he's a combat veteran that was involved in aronson's advocacy before beginning his television career. congressman adam smith, who was a top democrat on the armed services committee, was caught

off guard by this decision. >> i confess, i did not know who pete was until about 20 minutes ago. he does not seem to have much of a detailed background in dod policy. to the extent he has worked on any of that stuff it has been on veterans policy. not on dod issues. the lack of experience is concerning. >> reporter: mr. trump also announced that elon musk and vivek ramaswamy will head up a new department of government efficiency. he said this department would exist outside of the government , giving advice about overhauling federal agencies. elon musk says all actions will be posted online for maximum transparency and if the public thinks they are cutting something important, just let them know. he also says there will be a leaderboard for the, quote, most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. mr. trump also announced that he is picking mike huckabee to serve as ambassador to israel

and john ratcliff, his former intelligence director, to lead the cia. south dakota governor christie gnome has been chosen to head up homeland security. she has very little experience in some areas like she could potentially oversee, including fema and the secret service. mr. trump says she has been very strong on border security. >> thank you. during donald trump's visit to the capital today he will also meet with republican leadership in congress. a vote this morning will determine who will have that role in the senate. johnson, john cornyn and rick scott are running to replace mitch mcconnell's leader. the senators have served in the senate much longer but senator scott has loudly embraced the trump agenda. >> what agencies do we need? why do we have the department of education? why? our state should be doing that. our federal government should not be involved in. the

education system. >> there will be a leadership vote in the house today. no serious challenges have come forward again speaker mike johnson. johnson says he's ready to hit. the ground running. >> my plan is to be a mar-a- lago all weekend to iron out plans. i told president trump many times, and we all discussed, we believe we can be the most consequential congress in the modern era and he is the most consequential president because we, quite literally, have to fix almost every metric of public policy. everything is a mess. everything. >> at this hour nbc news has projected which party will control the house in january. there are 12 races uncalled. republicans are close to reaching the 218 number needed to have a majority. republicans were able to flip control the senate in this election. only one race left in the chamber that still needs to be called. president-elect trump is tapping mike huckabee to serve as u.s. ambassador to israel.

if confirmed, huckabee would be the first non-jewish person to hold the position since 2011. meanwhile, the state department announced the u.s. will not change its policy on arms transfers to israel. even though the humanitarian situation remains dire in gaza. let's bring in match for the latest. good morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning. huckabee's intended nomination as u.s. ambassador to israel comes at a critical moment for the region. negotiations between israel and hamas have come to a standstill after -- as mediator between the two. the former arkansas governor is a staunch supporter of israel and a longtime ally of the president-elect. the announcement has been celebrated a top israeli officials overnight and it's not hard to see why. huckabee's views on the israeli- palestinian conflict are well known. for example, during his own presidential run, he rejected the concept of a, quote the occupied west bank. instead, referring to the area as judaica and samara.

these are ancient terms used by the israeli right-wing. israel's former minister wrote on x that huckabee is a long- standing friend of israel and the internal capital, jerusalem. trump, during his first term, recognized it as the capital of israel and moved the embassy % from tel aviv to the city. his upcoming second term, trump has promised to stop the conflict and bring peace to the region. this all comes as the humanitarian situation in gaza continues to spiral. and yesterday actually marked a deadline set by the united states for israel to meet a number of requirements in boosting humanitarian aid into gaza. the state department said yesterday they will not be changing policies at this time, claimant israel has taken a number of steps. according to the ritish red cross gaza is currently over -- receiving 6% of the daily humanitarian aid needs. that's about 30 trucks a day, down from 500 a day before the start of the conflict last year.

a former massachusetts national guard member will spend 15 years behind bar for sharing -- a legally sharing documents about the war in ukraine on discord. the 22-year-old pleaded guilty in march to six federal charges. baking overnight, two people have died and several others were injured after explosions at a food coloring factory in louisville, kentucky. food and cosmetics company -- said that two of its team members were killed in the blast. residents within a mile of the building were ordered to shelter in place. as louisville emergency services initially called a hazardous materials incident. that order has since been lifted and officials say there was no chemical issues in the air to cause concern. the cause of the blast is still under investigation. turning to the northeast where wildfires have been raging for days. fueled by strong winds and a

prolonged drought. nbc has the latest look inside of the dangerous and difficult firefight. >> reporter: a dangerous firefight growing more complicated as whipping winds are topping 30 miles per hour. the fan flames across the northeast. >> this the worst fire that i have seen in 20 years. >> reporter: red flag warnings touching five states. >> that will create turmoil, chaos and a lot of uncertainty that we don't need right now. >> reporter: attacking by air is key on the border of new york and new jersey. the jennings creek fire has scorched me 700 acres in new york alone, more than double what it typically burns in the entire state all year. and a stunning site just south of new york city. a brush fire caused a train to lose power, suspending service in the area. >> to see all the smoke? oh, gosh. it's a fire. >> reporter: flames sweeping across a bone dry landscape. it's the first -- worst drought in the region since 2002.

you can look at the bottom of the reservoir in new jersey, a popular spot for fishing and boating, with a 4 billion gallon capacity. a wildfire stopped just short of their home. have you ever seen a wildfire come so close to home? >> no. seeing the helicopter and everything, it was a very eerie feeling. >> reporter: fortunately, strong winds are expected to come down on wednesday. still, there is no rain in sight, which means the parched ground will continue to fuel wildfires that leave behind paths of destruction, like this one. back to you. >> emily, thank you. our meteorologist has the latest on this fire risk. morning, and you. >> unfortunately, when it comes to rain, not a whole lot. but we will see the wind through today. so that of course will help. still, 35 million people under the fire line from boston to georgetown will see low humidity. the breezy conditions and the

dry vegetation are still laughing through the day. notice the rain that is on the way for the mid-atlantic and the midwest, by the way, also need some rain. not quite going to make into parts of the northeast that are continuing to be parched and dealing with those fire conditions. we will have to wait a little longer for additional rain there. out west the snow, the rain, wind is all on tap with winter alerts as the next system works through parts of the pacific northwest. we will see heavy rain, wind and snow for the region through the day today with lingering showers for tomorrow. and the tropics, we are still watching that. it's not officially over as far as the season goes until the end of the month. we got this area that we will watch a good chance of development. 90%. we will see that the -- development in the next couple of days. the of warm water with low shear so the environment is there. what happens between now and the early part of next week, it

across the midwest, chicago dealing with mostly cloudy conditions. green bay tops out at 51 degrees. minneapolis in the mid 40s this afternoon. and that's a look at your forecast. back to you. "early today" is back in a minute with president-elect trump's plan to stop the tiktok band. one of these planes was one of these planes was struck by gunfire over haiti. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine.

healing is possible with tremfya. ask your doctor about tremfya today. ♪ ♪♪ [laughters] mom. ♪♪ mmmmmmm. repeat the sounding joy. [laughters] kinder joy. [laughters] open a world of surprise. the faa is banning flights in and out of the haitian capital after three u.s. planes were met with gunfire. tom costello has more. >> reporter: american airlines is the third carrier to report one of its planes was e hit by gunfire as it left port-au- prince haiti on monday, headed for miami, where landed safely. a postflight inspection was

completed, indicating the exterior of the aircraft had been impacted by a bullet. also hit by gunfire, spirit flight 951, forced to abort its landing after bullets tore into the passenger cabin. >> there were several crashes behind us. like somebody had a medical car and tipped it over. >> reporter: and jetblue flight 935 hit monday as it departed haiti, landing safely in new york. while no passengers were hit a spirit flight attendant did suffer a minor injury. >> we are always aware. went over haiti we are always aware. >> reporter: the faa issued an immediate order prohibiting u.s. airliners from flying below 10,000 feet over haiti due to safety of flight risks associated with ongoing security and stability. no flights into or out of port- au-prince. also, haitian police posted outside of the now closed port-au-prince airport. 85% of the city is controlled by heavily armed rival gangs.

roughly 400 police officers from kenya are operating under a u.n. mandate and outnumbered and outgunned. the u.s. embassy morning of armed violence around the roads, ports and airports. >> for quite some time, even before the biden administration, haiti has been at a level four, do not travel country. >> reporter: this order prohibits flights into, out of or over haiti is in effect for at least 30 days. it could be extended if the security situation does not improve. american airlines says it's flights will remain suspended at least through february 12th depending on the situation on the ground. back to you. >> tom, thank you. president elect donald trump appears to be having an about-face on banning tiktok. the last time he was in the white house he tried to ban the app but recently, while on the campaign trail, he said he would save the app if he. won

the election. according to the new york times a spokesperson for his transition team says he will deliver on that promise. under a federal law tiktok must be sold to a non-chinese company by january 19th or face a band. still to come, live from new york, it is years old beef. the richest man on earth takes a break of his new government duties to respond to a call out from an snl cast member. from an snl cast member. that and more, after the break., so you wake up ready to go. going to work groggy? nope. it's comeback season. [♪♪] did you know, serums are concentrated with powerful ingredients to visibly improve your skin? try olay super serum. for five powerful ingredients in one, it hydrates, improves texture and evenness, while also firming and smoothing. try olay super serum.

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@news articles about elon musk being mad about snl and his oppression. you know what? i will come out and say, at long last, that i am the cast member that he made cry. and he is the host that made someone cry. >> chloe was far from fine when elon musk visited studio h. the cast member revealed in a tiktok post that the billionaire was the host to ---

that brought her to tears. she said the incident happened after musk, hosted in may of 2021, told her that a sketch that she had written was not funny. musk risk bonded to the accusations on x saying, while his appearance worked out in the end, he was worried that it would be so bleeping unfunny. the heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears to stay up all night writing these. and when it's executed it may not be as they envisioned it. elon musk has always said that snl is dying, that they are not relatable anymore. >> notice we didn't say the response? sorry. anyway, moving on. breaking overnight, huge new accolade for one of the top place. >> this year's sexiest man alive is, john krasinski. i just thought this was going to be in my ear. >> actor and director john krasinski was announced as

people sexiest man alive late tuesday. the news was broken by stephen colbert on the late show, where krasinski made a surprise guest appearance while consoling colbert for losing in the office. and jack ryan takes over for patrick dempsey. i like this year's twice. stephen colbert next year. why not? >> could be. maybe when his time is ready the stars align. exactly pictures always time. up next, the merger deal could come crashing back to earth. and the world's most expensive emerald found for big expensive emerald found for big bucks in geneva. ♪ higher and higher. higher. ♪ ♪ you know your love ♪ ♪ i said your love keeps on ♪ pandora. sounds like you need to vaporize that cold.

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we are back with a visionary who is a stunning social media finds artistic greatness and garbage. here's maggie. >> reporter: in this milwaukee shop stackeda with millennial memorabilia 31-year-old ike winter works without brushes, paints or any standard art supplies. >> this might be the coolest thing ever made. >> reporter: re-creating childhood memories. >> i give you, tommy pickles from rugrats. >> reporter: to the delight of millions. if someone were to ask you, what you do for a living, what would you say? >> that i get to cut wood all day and listen to music. that's my joy. >> reporter: in the name of sustainability everything winter uses is salvaged. >> it was a small box. >> reporter: it's already painted and left unaltered. >> this is a dresser and this is a piece of pallet. this is the lid of the piano.

dumpster diving is not the sexiest thing in the world. >> reporter: you love doing it though? >> yeah. % >> reporter: the son of a carpenter, winter never attended art school or college. but his art has resonated far and wide. he even has a piece hanging at the new york stock exchange. and while many of his creations now sell for thousands, he gives away others for free. perfecting the art of turning trash into treasure. >> if i can have somebody on social media and the sea were here stuff from their childhood and it brings back simpler times , it makes people feel good at the end of the day. >> reporter: maggie vespa, cbs news, milwaukee. >> the story behind it makes it even more priceless. three childhood favorites are finding their spine the national toy hall of fame at the strongmen national museum of play. my little pony, the phase 10 card game, and transformers are

joining toybox royalty. my little pony quickly became the most popular of the many doll line when it was released in 1983. hasbro introduced transformers in 1984. and the final inductee, phase 10, the second highest selling card game ever. behind who kno this morning we are welcoming the newest addition to the early today family. our director, david wechsler, is officially a grandfather. there he is, along with anthony nicholas siena. he came into the world at 5:06 yesterday morning. david has three daughters so this girl dad finally has a boy. congratulations to the whole family. he has a huge heart. no question he will be a great dad. coming up today, johnson bailey is live to talk all things "wicked" and give us a peek behind the curtain of the upcoming movie. from anthony richardson, he does it all. th youran memory is an amazing thi, but sometimes it can start to slow down. but did you know prevagen can help keep your memory sharp? the secret is the powerful ingredient, apoaequorin,

originally discovered in jellyfish and found only in prevagen. in a clinical study, prevagen was shown to improve memory in subgroups of individuals who were cognitively normal or mildly impaired. stay sharp and improve your memory with prevagen. prevagen. in stores everywhere without a prescription. stay right there, more news on the way.