the cabinet controversy

heats up. president-elect trump's choices for the top spot facing new scrutiny this morning. we're live with new reports of a sexual assault allegation dating from 2017 against his candidate to lead the department of defense. plus the new picks announced just overnight. president biden's final global summit. what to expect from the g-20 today. a shocking sight caught on camera in california. the small plane crashes into a packed parking lot of a racetrack. how everyone on board miraculously survived. signed, sealed and delivered. smashed. why more packages are arriving at front doors damaged. and a heartbreaker for the bengals in the sunday night spotlight. how cinci nearly pulled off the comeback of the century against the chargers. the kickoff this monday, november 18. "early today" starts right now. good morning. good to be with you.

i'm frances rivera. we begin with a new trump administration, which continues to take shape very quickly. the president-elect attended a ufc fight over the weekend with elon musk. the billionaire has barely left his side since the election nearly two weeks ago. nbc's brie jackson joins me now. good morning, brie. the next fight mr. trump will need to focus on is getting his cabinet confirmed. >> that's right, frances. so the president-elect's pick for defense secretary is facing controversy. the "washington post" reported on a memo that was sent to the trump team, which nbc news has not seen, alleging that fox news host pete hegseth sexually assaulted a woman back in 2017. police confirmed they investigated the incident, but no charges were filed. the woman threatened to sue in 2020. hegseth made a payment to her in exchange for her signing an nda. an attorney for hegseth confirmed there was a settlement but says hegseth is completely innocent, calling this a

consensual encounter. now, to the battle over attorney general. house speaker mike johnson is insisting that a house ethics report on matt gaetz should not be released because gate resigned from congress, but senators want to see that report. >> should the house ethics committee release that report, senator? >> absolutely. and i believe the senate should have access to that. now, should it be released to the public or not? that, that's, i guess that will be part of the negotiations, but that should be definitely part of our decision making. >> reporter: and last night, president-elect trump announced he wants brendan karr to lead the fcc, describing karr as a warrior for free speech. chris wright has been chosen for energy secretary. wright is a supporter of fossil fuels and has denied that there is a climate crisis. we're still waiting for treasury secretary nominee billionaire

howard lutnick was seen as a leading contender. he is a transition team co-chair and has the endorsement of elon musk. but the "new york times" reported that mr. trump is rethinking his choice and that he would be doing more interviews at mar-a-lago this week. >> a long road ahead for that, brie, thank you. president biden will attend the g-20 summit in rio de janeiro where he will focus on the stability of u.s. relations. he made history after first stopping in brazil and touring the amazon rainforest, becoming the first sitting u.s. president to do so. meanwhile, two u.s. officials say president biden will now let ukraine use long-range missiles, supplied by the u.s. to hit inside russia. for more, let's turn to nbc's matt bodner, good morning, matt. >> reporter: frances, good morning. president biden speaking from the amazon rainforest said that no one can turn back america's clean energy revolution. these remarks, of course, stand in sharp contrast to policies

expected from the incoming administration, for example, a pledge to withdraw from the paris climate agreement. biden is in brazil to attend this week's g-20 summit which kicks off today. he flew to brazil from peru which last week hosted the asia pacific cooperation leadership. he met with xi jinping. this is likely a cap stone trip for the outgoing president. biden's arrival in rio de janeiro coincides with his policy halfway around the globe. two u.s. officials report that biden has authorized ukraine to use u.s. missiles for limited strikes within russia. russia's round-the-clock strikes against civilians inside ukraine in recent months have mostly been launched from deep within russia. many of the sites that russia is using to launch these strikes

are still well beyond the range of american weapons, but they could be used to help defend ukraine's positions. the context is that north korea has recently deployed 10,000 troops to help the kremlin push ukrainian forces off of russian territory. there's not any high level reaction from moscow or pyongyang nor the incoming trump team, and it remains to be seen just how this policy change will influence the situation on the front. >> matt, thank you. the library of congress says it has been hacked by an adversary. that's according to a notification sent to some offices and obtained by nbc news. in the notice, it says the library's access e-mails. it's not clear who the adversary is or when exactly the hack took place. law enforcement and the capitol are investigating. police are searching for whoever fired a bullet and hit the cockpit of a southwest plane on a dallas runway.

some passengers on board now sharing what it was like inside the plane when it happened. here's marissa parra. >> reporter: the search is on for the gunman who shot a southwest plane. >> they think that somebody from outside the airport shot a firearm at the aircraft. >> reporter: police say officers responded to a shooting call at dallas love field airport just before 10:00 p.m. friday as a flight was preparing for takeoff. >> we would like to return to the gate. we need to have an inspection on the aircraft. >> reporter: james and shannon lee say they were on board and had no idea. >> the pilot came on the speaker system and said there's a rattling outside. >> we all got on the next plane thinking it was a mechanical issue at southwest. >> reporter: southwest airlines said later in a statement that quote, a bullet apparently struck the right side of the aircraft, just under the flight deck. >> that's very concerning, because there's, you know, with a bullet, it could hit anywhere. >> reporter: addressing passenger concerns, southwest says we apologize for the

inconvenience and stress that the safety of our customers and crew were our top priority. there were no reported injuries, and the plane has been taken out of service, as dallas police now lead the investigation into who fired the bullet and why. what are they looking at? >> they're going to try to determine the trajectory of where the round came from. hopefully, then, if they know the area where the round was discharged, did somebody see something, and did they report it, and they can determine who actually fired the round and charge them appropriately. >> reporter: with just over a week until thanksgiving, security top of mind ahead of what could be another record-breaking season of holiday travel. marissa parra, nbc news. and some more developing news. this time near los angeles after a small plane crashed into the packed parking lot of a racetrack, ing the fans there. >> 700 fair plex drive.

>> reporter: this was the chaotic scene when authorities say a single-engine plane crashed into a crowded parking lot just outside the national hot rod association's fairgrounds. >> single-engine plane down in two trailers. >> reporter: three passengers and the pilot were rushed to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. >> there's someone going in the back of the ambulance. >> yeah, they're going in the back. >> reporter: from the air, you can see the plane wedged between three rvs. >> all four souls aboard the plane were the patients transported. no injuries to people on the ground. >> reporter: onlookers at the race, like jerry jordan, capturing the aftermath from the stands. >> we were watching a plane take off and land and take off over and over. no idea that one of them was going to crash. >> reporter: authorities say the plane was heading to bracket field regional airport about

three miles from the fairgrounds before it crashed, causing the drag racing finals to be halted for around two hours. ntsb investigators were called to the scene to determine the cause of the crash. priya sridhar, nbc news. it's going to be a stormy start to the week for parts of the country. let's check in with michelle grossman. who's got to bring the umbrellas and rain coats this morning, michelle? >> it's going to be in the middle of the country. we have a strong system moving through. it's going to continue like that throughout the morning hours, and this is going to stretch to the upper midwest as well. we have strong storms this morning >> where you see the purple, really heavy hail. gusty winds, and we do have the chance for a few tornados, a tornado watch has been issued for parts of oklahoma and also texas. flood alerts. we're concerned about that as well. 6 million people impacted by flood alerts. where you see the green is the flood watch. we have a flash flood warning in

the red, that is lubbock. severe threat, from lawson to dallas to waco. winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour. that could cause damage, could see hail, and a few tornados are possible as well. then we'll see that move a lile bit to the easttt normal again, temperatures in the 60s, right around 68 degrees in d.c. with lots of sunshine. all right, that's your monday forecast. >> okay, michelle, thank you. >> sure. greenway farms has recalled organic carrots linked to an e. coli outbreak. at least one person died and 15 others were hospitalized. the carrots were sold in stores including whole foods, trader joe's and wegman's. they were sold from august 13 to

october 23rd. impacted baby carrots have a best buy date from september 11 to november 12. still to come, the chiefs lose their first game of the season, and not-so-special delivery. why more packages are arriving at your doorstep damaged. ♪♪ [laughters] mom. ♪♪ mmmmmmm. repeat the sounding joy. [laughters] kinder joy. [laughters] open a world of surprise. this charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy edges. it's no ordinary square. charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better, with more cushiony softness. enjoy the go, with charmin. sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand. and wakes up feeling like himself. get the rest to be your best with non-habit forming zzzquil. ♪ ♪

swiffer duster traps 4x more dust, for a clean even mom approves of. that reach! making hard to reach... so easy. swiffer. wow. the mother of all cleans. love it or your money back! the holiday season is here, which means online shopping and shipping. but a new study is finding damaged deliveries are on the rise. nbc's brian cheung has the latest. >> she just threw it. did you hear that? >> reporter: they show up busted. >> i was very disappointed by my package. >> reporter: cracked. >> this is broken. >> reporter: and sometimes soaking wet. those important holiday deliveries showing up damaged on your doorstep. in fact, 60% of americans reported getting damaged packages, a 7% increase from last year, according to an exclusive new survey.

>> and i just heard a really loud thud. >> reporter: she ordered this tv stand in time for the holidays. but, when it arrived -- when you walked over and opened the door, was it better than you expected? >> the up arrow was facing down. there was a big chunk missing out of the box. >> reporter: the tv stand unusable. >> and you can see the crack. >> reporter: oh, that's busted. yeah. >> reporter: and she isn't the only one. more and more people are getting unpleasant surprises when they unwrap their holiday orders. >> i think damaged packaging is a lose-lose for everyone involved. >> reporter: an estimated 700 million packages are delivered in the u.s. each year, worth about $50 billion. the packaging solutions company that reported this study said there are bumps and bruises

around the way. there are teps you can take to protect yourself. first, take a picture of the damaged package and item. second, reach out to the retailer as well as the shipping company, include your order number and photos if you can. as for pam loving, her holiday spirit is still in one piece, even if her tv stand isn't. how does this experience impact your holiday shopping plans? >> i think there will be less online shopping and more visits to the local stores. >> reporter: you know how to handle it with care. >> i do know how to handle it with care. yes. >> reporter: brian cheung, nbc news. still to come, the bills hand the chiefs their first taste of defeat. and the bengals come close to the comeback of the century. the highlights in the sunday night showstopper next. emerge as you, with clearer skin. with tremfya®, most people saw 100% clear skin... ...that stayed clear, even at 5 years. serious allergic reactions

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second and ten. chargers bring four. burrow retreats. directs, fires for chase!

he's got it! touchdown cincinnati! the combo connects again! and the bengals right back in this one! >> an absolute rollercoaster on sunday night football. the bengals were down 6 and 24 against the chargers heading to the second half when joe burrow took over. cinci stormed back to tie it 27-27 in the fourth, but it was another heartbreaker for the bengals. l.a. running back jk dobbins scored a td in the final seconds to ice the game, 34-27. what a game. and maybe the most painful part for bengals fans, it was painful for them. cinci was sunk by a pair of missed field goals. so painful. >> so hard to watch, too. jeremy, my son, wants to be a kicker. i'm, like, no. i can't take that. well, this is big news. it took 11 weeks, but the bills finally cracked the code to

beating he chiefs. josh allen was flawless for buffalo. the double threat threw for 262 yards and ran for 104, including in 26-yard scramble that might just be the play of the year. >> taking off, can he run for it? he got it. and there he goes, inside the ten, the five, oh, the play of the year in the nfl! >> yeah, it was crazy. using those qb legs, that put it out of reach for the chiefs. bills handed kc their first lost since last christmas. over to the nfc where the lions looked like the team to beat after mauling the jaguars, jared goff had a perfect passer rating with four touchdowns. they demolish the jags 52-6. they have their longest streak

since 1934. and the bears dropped to the packers. the clock ran out, at 20-19. so many good games yesterday. the tide is changing a bit. >> and really some tough, tough losses, too. all right, when we come back here on "early today," are standing desks really the healthy solution they've been marketed to us as? and scientists find the mummy of an ancient cat. ervices. i faced my ptsd, and i'm a better husband and father because of it. we help warriors get the expert care and support to thrive. i got involved. i got healthier. i got to be an athlete again. through our programs, community and advocacy, we're proving anything is possible. learn more at wounded warriorproject.org/connect ♪♪

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it is a stage that has captivated audiences for decades. and now "wicked" is set to hit the screen friday. we get a preview of defying gravity, the curtain rises on "wicked". >> welcome to the spectacular emerald city set from a brand-new movie "wicked". >> reporter: it's the place cynthia erivo and ariana grande called home for more than a year. >> it's wonderful to be able to touch the space. >> and create this world in a way we've never seen it before. >> reporter: but giving oz a 21st century look meant throw-back movie making, largely trading the digital for the tangible. >> if you want to be inside that world, you got to build it. >> reporter: massive construction across 17 sound stages and four back lots in england, created sets that left cast members spell bound.

>> every day felt like a pretty wild sensory overload experience. >> reporter: a sweeping cinematic canvas, involving numbers. >> we had to grow 9 million tulips. >> reporter: that were eye popping. >> the scale is kind of a little hard to really wrap my mind around. >> this field does not feel like real life to me. >> reporter: the stars' musical performances were real. recorded live instead of lip synched. >> it was almost intimidating, just seeing how talented they are. >> reporter: just part of the unique experience showcased in the defying-gravity special. >> we even filmed footage to share our most personal wicked memories. >> reporter: small moments that kept the production process grounded. >> come with me. >> what? >> to meet the wizard. >> reporter: even with its epic scope. >> it was just so intimate. it felt scrappy, even though it was this huge film. >> reporter: huge also describes

wicked's box office potential. >> i'm not afraid. >> reporter: given its 20 years of worldwide success on stage. >> i think the thing that was most important to us all along was finding that balance between honoring the source material while also, in a way, forgetting it and bringing our own new truth to it. >> reporter: allowing wicked a new chance to fly. mark barger, nbc news. >> wow, the behind the scenes is just as incredible as what we're going to end up seeing on friday. our thanks to mark barger for that preview. something else defying gravity. spacex. the company launched a falcon 9 rocket from cape canaveral. it is the 16th launch for this booster. two more lauhes nc