breaking overnight. a new pick steps into the ring. donald trump taps former

wrestling executive, linda mcmahon to lead the department of education. the house grills the head of fema over its hurricane response. the tough questions over alleged political bias on the ground in disaster zones. the case that stunned the nation three decades ago back in the spotlight today. the mother convicted of drowning her children faces the parole board. a final farewell to the one direction star after his tragic death. a bombshell rocking the media landscape. inside comcast's plan to spin off its cable networks including ms. msnbc. it's wednesday, november 20, "early today" starts right now. good to be with you this

morning. i'm frances rivera. donald trump traveled to the lonestar state. he met up with elon musk, who has rarely left the president-elect's orbit since the election. the two watched the successful test flight of the starship rocket. mr. trump has yet to decide who he wants to lead nasa, but he has been quickly building his cabinet. brie, one familiar, and others not so familiar choices, brie. >> reporter: the latest announcement was about the next secretary of education. now this is a familiar name for some. former wrestling executive, linda mcmahon has been chosen to lead the education department, which mr. trump says he wants to end. mcmahon served as small business administrator during the last trump administration. she's also a co-chair of the transition team. another co-chair of the transition team was chosen for commerce secretary.

that's wall street ceo howard lutnick who has been placed or picked for that role. the president-elect chose another television personality to serve in his next term. and he wants dr. mehmet oz to lead the centers for medicare and medicaid services. steven miller addressed the pushback of some of these cabinet choices, suggesting that president-elect trump would bypass the senate. >> will the president use the recess appointment process? >> yes. the president has won a mandate, and he will use all lawful, constitutional means to fulfill that mandate on behalf of the people who voted for him. >> reporter: and the biggest battle may be over attorney general, an unidentified hacker was able to gain access to a file containing depositions of two women who have made allegations against matt gaetz. a source familiar with the

contents tells nbc news the testimony is damaging. it's unclear if the material has been released. gaetz, he has denied the allegations and has not been charged. a transition official says mr. trump has been calling republican senators to push for gaetz. >> mr. president, are you reconsidering the nomination of matt gaetz? >> no. >> how far are you willing to go to get him confirmed? >> reporter: and today, vice president-elect jd vance is expected to visit capitol hill alongside gaetz and pete hegseth. they will try to address some of the republican resistance. the president-elect is set to be sentenced in his hush money case later this month. lawyers for the president-elect have been trying to get the case dismissed completely.

they argue that he should be shielded from prosecution. the prosecutors say the sentencing may need to take place after mr. trump has left office. the judge would need to approve that proposal. now to breaking news out of michigan where a suspected gas leak caused a two-story condo to explode. two adults were seriously injured and taken to the hospital in last night's blast. no fatalities have been reported. it destroyed the building and caused damage to other buildings nearby. the exact cause has not been determined. in ohio, two were dead and one left injured after an explosion there. erin mclaughlin has more. >> reporter: new video shows the moment a house exploded, sending shockwaves through a neighborhood in bethel, ohio. >> we have the fire department on scene. they're advising the house is gone. >> reporter: the blast killed a man and woman. a neighbor told reporters a

heating and air repairman was found at the scene covered in soot. >> he's like bent over with his hands on his knees trying to get a breath and stuff. he's all dirty, his face is dirty, and his whole hair was singed. >> reporter: officials say he is being treated at a local hospital. another harrowing video shows the fire that immediately followed the explosion. >> sounded as if somebody drove into the side of my house. like i felt the shockwaves. from, through a brick house. >> reporter: the stunning footage was caught on a neighbor's doorbell camera. now part of an ongoing investigation. >> it definitely had a large, large amount of energy to make a house like that go apart. >> reporter: the fire chief says the cause of the explosion is unclear. the victims have yet to be named. erin mclaughlin, nbc news. today, convicted child killer susan smith will ask a parole board to release her from prison. she made international headlines

in 1994, when she says she was carjacked by a black man. she claims he drove away with her two sons. but she later confessed to killing her sons, saying that she let her car roll into a lake with her boys inside. today smith will testify to reenter society. the board must approve parole with a simple majority vote to release her. the embattled western "rust" is set to premiere at a poland film festival after halyna hutchins was shot on set when a prop gun discharged. the involuntary manslaughter charge was dismissed in july. hutchins' mother says she will not attend. accusing accusing baldwin of unjustly

profiting from it. baldwin is not expected to attend the premiere. today in the uk, the funeral for one direction singer, liam payne. british media reporting the services will take place outside london. it will be a private ceremony for family and close friends. payne died after falling from a hotel balcony in buenos aires, argentina. the 31-year-old had alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription anti-depressant in his system. three people are facing charges for abandonment and supplying narcotics in connection with his death. it's been two months since hurricane helene tore through north carolina. some still wait for help. here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: hurricane helene tore through six states. the most destructive storm in north carolina's history. less than two weeks later,

hurricane milton ripped florida's already-battered west coast. on capitol hill, fema's administrator, deanne criswell, criticized over the agency's response. >> do you think you could have done better? >> we can always improve. and we will review -- >> is that a yes? is that a yes? >> nobody's per. >> reporter: malinda williams spoke to us in what's left of her north carolina home. >> i'm only alive by god's grace. >> reporter: she was in the house when the water tore it off the foundation, somehow managing to survive. do you recognize -- >> i did. >> reporter: that house that's wrapped around that tree? >> that's my kitchen. >> reporter: but while the local government has helped, she has seen little federal assistance. her application still pend. >> it's kind of like they've forgotten about the people. >> reporter: your neighbors? >> yes. >> reporter: you. you feel forgotten. >> i do feel forgotten by the government. i do. >> reporter: williams told us she was give and $750 check for

immediate needs but no assistance to rebuild her lost home. >> i haven't really seen anybody that i know that's really received any real help. >> reporter: it's been weeks? >> been weeks. >> reporter: administrator criswell defending the agency's response. >> i am incredibly proud that the work that the force has done. >> reporter: but she says fema needs more money. >> the cost is outpacing all other disasters in the previous ten years except for hurricane maria. >> reporter: the administrator also grilled over a florida employee in florida who was told to skip homes with trump signs. she says the employee wasn't following fema policy and was fired. >> we are currently investigating. >> that's not what you said. you said this is isolated, reprehensible, this is the only time, and they're saying, no, no, it's commonplace. >> reporter: the cost is estimated to be $170 billion.

and, for some, there's an urgent need. >> it's hard. it was my home. it just isn't here anymore. >> reporter: this is temporary housing that's being constructed by fema. they say individuals can qualify for up to $85,000 in fema assistance. but some of the people we speak to here in north carolina say that the application is complicated and the help is just taking too long. back to you. >> okay, stephanie, thank you. >> reporter: well, the east could finally get some much-needed rain, while the west is bracing for floods. nbc meteorologist angie lassman is here with your forecast. >> two storm systems on each end of the coasts are going to be quite impactful. let's start with what's happening across the east. we've got a little bit of rain for folks across the southeast. it's the mid atlantic that will start to see rain chances and even snow chances. notice what happens tomorrow as more cool air works in. we would see heavy.

wet snow across central appalachians and much-needed rain for the northeast. we will see that last into friday as well. up wards of an inch to two inches will be on the high end, but much needed across this region that continues to deal with drought conditions. out west we're looking at an atmospheric river event that's shaping up to be quite impactful. we have strong winds associated with that as well. 50, 60 mile per hour winds. all that rain and snow will be degrees. mid-50s for louisville. into the low 50s for detroit. only topping out at 48 degrees for chicago today with mostly cloudy skies.

and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. >> thanks so much, angie. boston fended off cleveland for the 120-117 win, fueled by jayson tatum. the cavs' 15-game win streak is tied for the second-best ever start in nba history, but it was still nine short of the warriors' legendary 24-game run that was in 2015. "early today" is back in a minute with the latest on a cable tv shakeup. and is it wicked to sing along in the movie theater? the stars weigh in on the the stars weigh in on the debate ♪♪ these sulfate-free formulas deeply penetrate and replenish nutrients. ♪♪ to boost h.alth in just one wash. ♪♪ all without the salon naturals price tag. ♪♪ ♪♪ it's supercharged herbal essences.

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good morning, karen. >> good morning, frances. yes, this is a story very close to home. comcast is set to spin off its cable network channels which include cnbc, msnbc, e! and sci-fi among others. now under the plans, comcast would retain its nbc broadcast network alongside the film studio, peacock streaming platform and its other theme parks, too. now this was the proposal first put forward by president mike cavenar just last month during an earnings call. and now, executives are saying that the process could be completed within a year. now the idea under the proposals is that the networks, sorry, the cable channels will be better placed for potential mergers and purchase opportunities with other cable platforms. meanwhile, comcast will be better positioned for growth. but certainly, this speaks to the flux within the media industry, and particularly among

heightened competition among streamers. and there are many open questions still to be seen and hopeful little further announcements today on this potential spinoff. elsewhere, wall street is closely watching nvidia's third quarter earnings with revenues expected to rise over the period. and especially, investors will be closely watching demand for its a.i. blackwell chips for the indicator of the future of the a.i. industry with the share price to be closely watched and moving very much on that result. >> certainly a whole lot to watch today. for us at 30 rock as well. karen, thank you. still to come, will you be defying the rules if you sing along with defying gravity? and a fantasy world is and a fantasy world is becoming a realityd services. i realized i could be successful in a civilian career. we stand by warriors

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why not? >> we understand it. >> yeah. >> we understand it.

if you do, and if you don't. we respect the feelings. >> i say, if you come the first time, and you sing through, sing through. but come the second time and let us sing to you. >> and if someone throws popcorn at you or their phone or something, maybe stop. >> a serious issue for wicked fans, to sing or not to sing. that's the question. the stars of wicked weighing in on whether you should belt out the famous tunes during the movie. for those who can't resist, theaters are holding special screenings on christmas day so you can sing to your heart's content. it might be somebody's first time. if you scream in their ear, you can't hear their work that they worked for years for. >> i say wait until it comes out and you can sing it at home. in theaters, let everybody enjoy it or at least not let the popcorn get thrown at you. >> for now, these voices and their interpretation of it, too, from what we've known over the

years, it's going to be extraordinary for so many. got to listen and watch. >> nearly 15 years after the animated release of how to train your dragon, the re-imagined live action movie is soaring to the big screen. >> it's okay. i won't hurt you. the film stars nico parker and girard butler and flies into theaters next year on june 13th. mark your calendars if you are a fan of the original. i'm sure the live action will deliver, too. >> always fun to have live action. why tropicana is feeling the squeeze over new orange juice bottles, and a pig pursuit in a bottles, and a pig pursuit in a washington neighborhood. with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation.

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rehema ellis got a peek behind the scenes before the grand opening. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: this is luna luna on display. a spectacular amusement park in manhattan. the exhibits, the work of famous artists, delighting wide-eyed kids. and kids at heart. >> it blew my expectations. >> reporter: michael goldberg restored a dream that began in 1987. >> i couldn't believe that there was this incredible project that i had never heard of. >> reporter: the project showcasing a ferris wheel with paintings. a carousel featuring keith herring's dazzling iconic images. a mirrored dome by salvador dali. it opened in germany but soon was stored in a texas warehouse for 36 years with investors like drake, goldberg acquired the contents, sight unseen. what was going through you about what you might find? >> i was beyond anxious.

>> reporter: it turns out most of it was still pristine, including herring's carousel. >> it looked like he painted it days ago. >> reporter: today most of the artwork is so valuable it's hands off. but this new edition is all hands on. >> it's a gift that just keeps on going. >> reporter: luna luna now coming full circle, for a new generation to enjoy. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >> gorgeous. and now we're getting a first look at some of the new floats for the thanksgiving day parade. dora the explorer will soar through the streets of mat manhattan. >> i grew up in new jersey but always watched it on television.

now to be a part of it on the street is something i feel so incredibly privileged to be a part of. >> you can catch it right here on nbc. coming up on "today." bo yang is live to talk about his new role in the wicked adaptation. and here's craig melvin. >> this morning on the third hour of "today", two talented actors stopping by. plus, how to take care of your plants now that those temperatures are dropping. and then some fun holiday cocktails that you can mix up at home. it's all this morning on the - hi, i'm steve. - i'm lea. and we live in north pole, alaska. - i was noticing my hearing was not so good so i got hearing aids. my vision was not as good as it used to be, got a change in prescription. but the thing missing was my memory. i saw a prevagen commercial and i thought, "that makes sense." - i observed the changes in steve's memory

and i thought i should try that too. - after taking prevagen, i just didn't have to work so hard to remember things. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. a pair of home explosions rock the heartland. a house in ohio destroyed in a blast, killing two people. and two