recalibrating the cabinet.

president-elect trump casts an old ally for his new attorney general after matt gaetz bowed out. we're live with the shakeup and the scrutiny for the choice for the defense department. the atmospheric river soaking the east. what it could mean for holiday travel. a twist in the mystery of a missing kayaker. the wisconsin father of three who faked his own death and fled the country speaks out in a new video. boarding the trail. how american airlines is cracking down on flyers who cut in line. golden on the diamond. the two who scored mvp unanimously. and revving up a dream. four decades ago, a texas father sold his beloved camaro to pay for his newborn's diapers. now his son is paying him back. the heartwarming story as we get the show on the road.

it's friday, november 22nd. "early today" starts right now. glad you're ending the workweek with me. i'm frances rivera. we begin with the shakeup in the search for the next attorney general. former florida congressman matt gaetz shocked washington by withdrawing his name from consideration. gaetz faced an uphill battle and says his confirmation was becoming a distraction to the work of the transition team. nbc's brie jackson joins us now. good morning, brie. just hours after that announcement, there was a new candidate for the job. >> reporter: that's right, good morning, frances. president-elect trump's new pick for attorney general is someone he's had a close tie with for years. he has chosen pam bondi. bondi is currently a partner at a lobbying firm, but she previously served as florida's attorney general, and she was part of mr. trump's defense during his first impeachment trial. the other position facing a lot of scrutiny is defense secretary. the nominee for that job, pete hegseth, was on the hill

yesterday, meeting with republican senators on the same day that details were emerging about a sexual assault allegation from 2017. nbc news obtained a police report detailing that incident. a woman claims hegseth took her phone and blocked her from leaving his hotel room before assaulting her. hegseth did admit to paying a settlement but says that this encounter was consensual, and he was not charged. republican senators have had mixed reactions. some are defending hegseth, while others are concerned. >> it's a pretty big problem, given that we have, you know, we have a sexual assault problem in our military. this is why you have background checks. this is why you have hearings. this is why you go through the scrutiny. i'm not going to prejudge him, but yeah, it's a pretty concerning accusation. >> the matter was fully investigated. and i was completely cleared. >> reporter: and nbc news has spoken with more than half a

dozen people familiar with the trump transition, and they say that americans can expect a wave of executive actions on day one of the new term. three trump allies say there will be up to five executive orders aimed at stopping illegal immigration and two sources say mr. trump plans to end travel reimbursements for military members seeking abortion care. a trump campaign official says changes will be enacted at a pace like nothing ever seen in history. frances? >> what a week of these developments, happening it daily. big headlines there. thank you. a senate battle is finally settled in the '24 election. pennsylvania senator bob casey has conceded to his republican challenger, david mccormick. the narrow margin in this case triggered a recount. and casey refused to concede until the vote was counted. the republicans were able to flip four seats in the senate. in the new term, the republicans will have the three-seat

majority, which will make it easier for president trump to get his cabinet confirmed. the international crimes court issued arrest warrants for benjamin netanyahu, yoav gallant and mohammad deif. the warrants stem from crimes against humanity and war crimes. >> reporter: the icc has accused netanyahu and gallant of a variety of human rights violations in gaza, particularly the scale of civilian casualties and the intentional deprivation of food and water to the population of gaza. health officials in gaza have estimated more than 44,000 palestinians have been killed since the start of the idf operation more than a year ago. other allegations made by the court include, quote, the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare. israel has slammed the icc for issuing these warrants. netanyahu's office has gone so far as to say this is

anti-semitic and accused the court as acting as a biassed and discriminatory body. the warrant for deif was issued and he was claimed to have been killed earlier this year. they also were issuing warrants for ismail haniyeh and yahya sinwar before they were killed earlier this year. president biden actually characterized the effort as outrageous and suggested that they implied a false equivalence between hamas and israel. nonetheless, netanyahu and gallant face arrest if they step foot on any of the territories under the icc. the u.s. is not a member of the icc the though the u.s. does not recognize the court, it puts washington in a difficult position. vladimir putin is subject to arrest warrant by the icc for alleged war crimes in ukraine. the u.s. celebrated that

decision. frances? >> okay, matt bodner for us, thank you. sean "diddy" combs will head back to court this afternoon to make yet another case to get out of jail on bail. the music mogul is in custody at brooklyn's metropolitan center, facing charges including sex trafficking. he has been denied bail twice so far. it comes after prosecutors accused him of breaking jail rules in an attempt to manipulate witness testimony and taint the potential jury pool, according to court documents. new developments in the case of a wisconsin father who allegedly faked his death on a kayak and fled the country. authorities say ryan bogworth sent a video and said he was safe but would not give his location. he also revealed how he did it, involving an inflatable boat, a 70-mile trip on an e-bike and buss to canada to catch a plane. he is believed to be in eastern

europe. storms are striking coast-to-coast, bringing relief to the east coast and worry on the west. the northeast finally seeing that much-needed rain as the historic drought fueled hundreds of fires. and snow is on the way for some parts of new jersey, new york and pennsylvania later today. meanwhile, out west, washington residents are recovering from a deadly bomb cyclone that left a path of destruction. nearly 200,000 are still without power. and more than 17,000 are in the dark in california, where an atmospheric river dumped nearly nine inches of rain across the person to part of the state. officials now bracing for the possibility of catastrophic flooding and life-threatening mudslides. for the latest on all of this, let's bring in nbc meteorologist michelle grossman. a whole lot to watch on this friday morning. >> hi there, frances. we are still very unsettled. looking at that onshore, the atmospheric river moving onshore. lots of moisture still continuing to pour in. where you see the brighter colors, that's where we're seeing the heaviest rain

falling. a lot of snow, too. up to 3 to 5 feet in some spots. we're going to see a life-threatening flood risk in the sierra foothills. locally, 5 to 10 inches of rain. where you see the brighter colors from redding to eureka, san francisco seeing the highest amounts of rain. three feet of snow in the highest elevations in the pinks and purples. that's good for the ski resort. that's going to be tough travel. 14 million people under e under or not weather winter m in storwarngs cool day in the

carolinas and southeast. but lots of sunshine in jacksonville, orlando, 67 today in tampa. all right, that's your friday forecast. >> we'll see you in a bit when you join me, thanks, michelle. it would take a snowball's chance in cleveland before the browns beat an 8-2 steelers team. >> from the gun. hands it off. to the end zone goes chubb! touchdown browns! >> cleveland did everything they could to lose it, blowing a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter, but nick chubb delivered the win in a wicked winter storm. one last hail mary was batted down from russell wilson, and the browns come up big in a rivalry game, 24-19. over to baseball where the league mvps have been revealed with both awards coming unanimously. in the american league, it's the yankees' aaron judge. judge is coming off a monster season, leading all of baseball in homers. 58 of them to be exact, as well

as runs batted in and on-base percentage. it's his second mvp win in three seasons. and in the national league, who else but world champion l.a. dodger shohei ohtani. it is his first in the nl. he became the first player ever to hit the 50-50 club, 50 homers and 50 stolen basis. he's also the first all-time designated hitter to win mvp. "early today's" back in 60 seconds with new concerns about digital payments. and line cutting will not fly this season. how american airlines might call you out if you don't board with your group. you don't board wit your group.

regina king is in our studio looking radiant as ever. don't cover up your glow. ♪♪ flawless. all eyes on you. skin esteem is a beautiful thing. ♪♪ many remedies you take for chest congestion only mask the symptoms. you're gonna love this property. try this. mucinex 12 hour treats the mucus that causes chest congestion for all-day relief. ahhh! mucinex in, mucus out! treat the cause. american airlines is crashing down on line cutters with new tech ahead of the busy holiday travel week. but first, digital payments like the cash app and apple pay are facing new scrutiny. karen gilchrist is here with the details. i use apple pay all the time. what do we need to know? >> good morning.

yes, good morning, frances. so, payment apps from the likes of google, apple, amazon and paypal and venmo will be subject to more oversight after coming under the supervision of the protection bureau. so the bureau already had oversight over electronic transfers there will be preventions for fraud and safety and prevent the illegal closure of accounts. payment platforms are very much becoming the norm. they say it will level the playing field across financial service. now elsewhere in good or bad news, depending on your airline etiquette, american airlines is bringing in a new tech feature to prevent line cutting at airports. so this will be a sort of alarm that will sound if people try to

go to the gate ahead of their, ahead of their section. now it's already trialed successfully, it seems, at three airports, and it will be rolled out to, sorry, it's already active in a hundred more and more to come over the coming months. and the hope is that this will streamline travel over this busy thanksgiving period. >> either way, the plane's going to take off. you're not going anywhere whether it's at the gate or inside. now to millions of americans who are really frustrated when it comes to flying this holiday season because not every piece of luggage will arrive with them. chris kamura of our nbc bay area station has information on a new partnership with apple. >> reporter: for dan , it was supposed to be -- >> the destination of a lifetime.

first bag game out, second bag came out, third bag came out, and the fourth one didn't. >> reporter: he had dropped an air tag in it, a wi-fi tracker that constantly locates its location to your smartphone. his air tag showed the missing bag was nearby. so he told the united agent who went looking. >> she came back and said there's no sign of your bag, probably somebody took it. i said nobody took it. the air tag show it's right there. >> reporter: later it showed his luggage was moving. >> farther and farther away from barcelona. >> reporter: it stopped at an apartment 30 minutes outside barcelona. united didn't despite his story. it's investigating and working with local law enforcement. next year, united and other carriers are going to begin integrating air tag data into tracking systems. >> we're seeing less bags mishandled than in previous years. >> reporter: the latest airline report card from august shows u.s. airlines collectively transported almost 41 million bags, and successfully delivered

more than 99% of them on time. still, going.com recommends snapping photos of your bag any time you check it. >> if you have pictures to sort of go back to, it can be a lot easier to make sure you're getting the value of your contents back. >> reporter: as for dan, united declared his bag missing for good and paid him for his loss. >> i just want people to know what happened to me so it doesn't happen to them. wicked hits the big screen this weekend. will it defy gravity? and defy box office expectations? a preview next. and new challengers hold court. the zendaya look alike contest taking over oakland. like contes taking over oakland. has wavy edges that tear so much better. i'm starting to get tearied away. designed with smooth tear edges, charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better for a smooth more enjoyable go.

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i'd give it away, but i don't hate anyone that much. >> hey. >> you should join us tonight. and don't tell me you have nothing to wear. because you could wear this. >> wicked soars into theaters today. the highly-anticipated film adaptation of the broadway hit is expected to bring between $120 million and $140 million this weekend. also gladiator two battling it out for the top spot at the box office. we're all set. we got our tickets. when it comes to this, you know, we can expect everybody. my daughter's got her whole fit dressed up. people are usually going with the pink or the green and black. >> or pink and green. >> so, so cute. it's going to be fun. we'll do the recap monday. dozens gathered in the bay area for a contest to see who looks the most like actress zendaya. the winner took home a $40 cash prize and hair care products.

and the event comes weeks after timothee chalamet crashed his own look alike contest in new york city. it seems like this is going to be a bit of a trend, right? who's going to be next. >> she didn't show up. and i'm sure a lot of fans afterwards were hanging around like maybe she's going to be here. she'll show up. maybe next time. when we come back, the potentially toxic chemical that may be lurking in our drinking water. plus mcdonald's is getting saucy this season. d's is getting saucy this season. might keep us stuck on the couch. no way. ♪♪ if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis, and are at high risk for fracture, you can do more than just slow bone loss. you can build new bone in 12 months with evenity®. evenity® is proven to significantly reduce spine fracture risk. she said the evenity® she's taking builds new bone. builds new bone! evenity® can increase risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from a heart problem. tell your doctor if you have had a heart attack or stroke. do not take evenity® if you have low blood calcium

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2024. the boston celtics took another victory lap with a visit to the white house. the 2024 nba champions were welcomed by president biden for a celebration ceremony. the mcdonald's mcrib is back in time for the holidays, starting december 3rd. you can grab the same sandwich along with a half-gallon jug of the iconic mcrib sandwich. if you've never tried it, hey. now's the time. and we're told they're boneless. made easy for you. ♪ welcome back, welcome, welcome back ♪ welcome back ♪ ♪) bounty is made to be stronger... ...and more absorbent. so, while ordinary brands can't hold up, one sheet of bounty keeps working, even when wet. (♪♪) now that's the sound of value. bounty. the quicker picker upper.

(♪♪) refresh your senses with a wave of tropical lime flavor. mountain dew baja blast in stores now. many remedies you take for chest congestion only mask the symptoms. you're gonna love this property. try this. mucinex 12 hour treats the mucus that causes chest congestion for all-day relief. ahhh! mucinex in, mucus out! treat the cause. the heartfelt story of a texas father who gave up his

favorite car so he could buy diapers for his newborn son. now 40 years later, his son found a way to bring the car back home to dad. from our nbc dfw station, allie spillyards has more. >> here we go. >> reporter: he was 22 years old when he bought his dream car. a 1967 chevrolet camaro. >> it was blue with white stripes. >> reporter: but, when his son jared was born. >> here's a picture of me and jared. >> reporter: he didn't think twice about selling his beloved car to pay for diapers. >> i used to tease jared quite a bit, you know, i used to have a car like that one over there. you know, you needed diapers, so that's what happened to that car. >> i thought he was full of it. >> i used to have a camaro, like the guy at the bar talking about the high school championship from 20 years ago or something. >> reporter: for more than 40 years, that camaro was part of the family's fabric of stories, which jared heard time and time

again. >> it's a 1967, marina blue camaro ss with the 350, small block v-8, an automatic three-speed transmission. >> reporter: jared knew his dad loved that car. and so he set out to find it. >> i wanted to begin the quest to get my dad's car back. >> reporter: it took years to find a similar model and fix it up. but this year, on his dad's 65th birthday, jared shared his surprise. decades in the making. >> that is not just a '67 camaro. >> right. >> that is your '67 camayor ro. that is your car. thanks for the diaper money, dad. >> reporter: it was a moment that brought earl to tears. after getting reacquainted, earl will tell you this '67 camaro isn't exactly like the car he gave up. it's better. >> wanting dad to really understand how much i love him and how important he is to me. i'm, like, what is the greatest

thing possible? and it's the camaro. it's always going to be the camaro. >> reporter: for nbc news, allie spillyards, mesquite, texas. >> he's always going to keep that in the family. crypto currency founder justin sun is the man who spent more than $6 million on the artwork of a banana duct taped to a wall. and we're hearing from him. he announced on x he will eat the fruit in the coming days as part of the unique artistic experience. honoring its place in both art history and popular culture, and can you add nutrition along with that, too. wow. we'll see what happens, right? what kind of news he's going to make. maybe he's doing it for the headlines as well as for the art. >> mi nice to meet ya. > cong my name is david. i've been a pharmacist for 44 years. when i have customers come in and ask for something for memory, i recommend prevagen. number one, because it's effective. does not require a prescription.

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