re. more news is on the way. n the w. breaking news. an arrest and murder charges in the shooting death of a healthcare ceo. the manhunt for the suspect now over. how police found him and the

evidence they recovered. donald trump's controversial administration choices take their campaigns to capitol hill to shore up support for this nominations. what key lawmakers are saying. with the assad regime toppled in syria, new hope for the family of an american journalist who went missing in the country 13 years ago. austin tice's parents speak to our lester holt. a ranch in las vegas is helping first responders remember how to take care of themselves after they put eir lives on the line for others thanks to horse therapy. around the nominations are out. did your favorite get a nod? we break it all down on this tuesday, december 10th. "early today" starts right now. good morning, glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. we begin with the arrest of a suspect in the killing of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. 26-year-old luigi mangione was arrested at a pennsylvania

mcdonald's yesterday after an employee tipped off police. new york prosecutors have charged mangione with murder along with forgery and weapons charges according to online court documents. mangione was also arraigned in pennsylvania last night on gun and forgery charges, ordered held without bail and did not enter a plea. stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: 26-year-old luigi mangione is arrested in pennsylvania, arraigned on felony gun charges and lying to police about his identity. >> we have a strong person of interest in the shooting that shook our city last week. >> reporter: five days after unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson was stalked and gunned down on the streets of midtown manhattan, the masked shooter fleeing on an ebike into central park and eluding police long enough to get out of the city. >> the suspect was in an mcdonald's and was recognized by an employee who then called

local police. >> reporter: 280 miles west of new york city, eating breakfast. officer tyler fry who's been on the job six months described approaching him. >> we recognized him immediately. didn't think twice about it. we knew that was our guy. >> reporter: he showed this fake i.d. with the name mark rosario, the same one he used to check into a manhattan hostel. the nypd says it was one of multiple fake i.d.s in his possession along with a u.s. passport, similar mask and clothing worn by the gunman and this firearm with a suppresser like the one in the shooting. >> it appears to be a ghost gun, maybe made on a printer. >> reporter: altoona police also discovered a hand-written, three-page manifest o that

references the healthcare industry. >> it does seem he has ill will toward corporate america. >> reporter: officials believe he had been in pennsylvania for several days. >> he was in a variety of locations across the state, to include philadelphia, pittsburgh and points in between. >> reporter: the nypd says mangione was born and raised in maryland, his last known address in hawaii. he was the valedictorian at an all boys private school in baltimore, according to his linked in page. >> while also preserving the oath. >> reporter: the university of pennsylvania says he graduated in 2020 with a bachelor's and master's in computer science, a fraternity at the school also confirming he was a member. investigators say they are combing through his online posts, and there are many on platforms including facebook, x, instagram, linked in and good reads, which reveals the 26-year-old appears to be a prolific reader. on good reads, he shared someone else's take on the manifesto

written by the unabomber ted kaczynski. when all other forms of communication fail, violence is justified, mangione saying he found it interesting. thompson's murder triggered a backlash online against healthcare companies, many sharing their anger with the industry. some people even celebrating the killer. at unitedhealthcare in minnesota, the company put up teorary fencing while a private funeral was held for the ceo, 50-year-old father of two, brian thompson. stephanie gosk, nbc news, altoona, pennsylvania. now to the verdict in another high-profile case here in new york city. a jury in manhattan finding daniel penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide, clearing the former marine in the chokehold death of jordan neely. neely was the subway performer experiencing homelessness. penny's defenders say he was protecting subway riders who were frightened by neely's behavior. this comes after the judge

dismissed the top charge of manslaughter last week when the jury deadlocked. the morning, the former ceo of abercrombie is due in court in relation to sex trafficking charges against him, his partner is also set to appear before a judge. it's said he engaged in a business with young men. let's turn to capitol hill where cabinet nominees are trying to secure their nominations. some of president-elect's picks for his new team are meeting with lawmakers as they face increased scrutiny. here's kristen welker. >> reporter: president-elect's pick for fbi director, kash patel getting praise from a key republican. >> i'm certainly inclined to support him. we talk about the importance of restoring the reputation of the

fbi as a non-partisan law enforcement investigative agency. >> reporter: patel is former federal prosecutor and national security official. but critics have slammed his call to go after those he said unfairly targeted mr. trump. nbc's ryan nobles asking him. >> have you told president trump that the fbi will remain independent? >> reporter: in his book, patel writing about 60 people he says are part of the quote, deep state. we pressed president-elect trump in our exclusive interview. do you want kash patel to launch investigations into people on that list? >> no. i mean, he's going to do what he thinks is right. >> reporter: do you think that's right? do you think that's right, sir? >> um, if they think that somebody was dishonest, crooked or corrupt politician, i think he probably has an obligation to do it. >> are you going to direct him to do it? >> no, no not at all. >> reporter: meanwhile, tulsi

gabbard has faced criticism for her past meeting with syria's then dictator. the president-elect posted the u.s. should not get involved in syria. >> i stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that president trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in syria. >> reporter: president-elect trump told me he has confidence in gabbard. >> thank you. after the fall of the assad regime in syria, neighboring israel launched airstrikes near damascus. the idf says they were targeting stockpiles of chemical weapons which they fear could fall into the wrong hands. raf sanchez has this report. >> reporter: with syria engulfed in revolutionary chaos, neighbor israel taking decisive action.

israeli war planes carrying out airstrikes. the target is, israel says, military sites, including the assad regime's stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. which it fears could fall into the hands of extremists. >> the only interest we have is the security of israel and its citizens. >> reporter: bashar al assad, syria's toppled dictator used chemical weapons against his own people during 13 bloody years of civil war. president obama threatened strikes in response. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. >> reporter: but didn't follow through. while president trump mounted two waves of attacks during g h first term. israeli forces are also moving in on the ground. first capturing a buffer zone between syria and the israeli-controlled golan heights

and then edging troops further into syria ielf. there was never any love lost between israel and the assad regime. but, for 50 years, this was israel's quietest border and the israeli government is determined to try to keep it that way. syrians fear israel is taking advantage of their weakness to capture territory. israel annexed the golan after its military victory against its arab neighbors in the 1967 war. but israel insisting its aim only to prevent chaos in syria spilling over. >> i emphasize it is a very limited and temporary step we took for security reasons. >> reporter: the state of israel and rebel-led syria now uneasy new neighbors. >> and our thanks to raf for that report. it is shaping up to be a soggy day on the east coast. nbc meteorologist angie lassman joins us now. hi, angie, good morning. >> we've got the southeast on tap to deal with the rain first.

we're already seeing some spots waking up wet. you have places like alabama stretching into the carolinas that are seeing some of that shower activity. that's kind everywhere it's going to be focussed through the day today. we'll start to see the next round of rain, expanding into tomorrow night. the potential for flooding, georgia, alabama. notice all this heavy rain that works along the i-95 corridor, it will be a slow commute tomorrow. then we'll get the reinforcing shot of cold air with heavy snow downwind of the lakes. 7 million people under winter alerts. look how expansive this rain is. 2 to 3 inches across the northeast. much-needed rain. but the flooding concern will be there, likely causing dela whenys low w 60s in washington, .

new york heads to 53 degrees with mostly-cloudy skies and rain in the forecast. that's a look at your forecast, back to you. turning now to monday night football, dallas was set to get the ball back for a potential game-ending drive before what started as a miracle turned into a nightmare for the boys. >> it's blocked! >> the ball was touched by the receiving team beyond the line and then recovered by the kicking team. >> cinci managed to recover their own blocked punt after the ball was touched by dallas. the rare lucky break for the bengals gave joe burrow the chance to end the game and hit ja'marr chase for a 40-yard touchdown pass. cinci gets the season-saving win, 27-20. coming up, a look at who

could be time magazine's 2024 person of the year. but first, new hope for an american journalist who was kidnapped in syria over a decade ago. apped in syria over a decade ago. especially when they've been using toilet paper that doesn't hold up. hold it, mister! here's new charmin ultra strong. it cleans better*, you can count on it. new charmin ultra strong has a diamond-weave texture that's more durable and it cleans better* so you can use less. ahh, much better. hey! you passed the clean test, and your math test. oh yeah! we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin. (cough cough) (sneeze) (♪♪) new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews. ♪♪ [laughters] mom. ♪♪ mmmmmmm. repeat the sounding joy. [laughters]

kinder joy. [laughters] open a world of surprise. now that the dictatorship in syria has been overthrown there could be new hope for austin tice, an arican journalist who was kidnapped in the country back in 2012. our lester holt spoke with tice's parents who are confident that their son is still alive. >> we have not received a proof of life. we have absolutely verifiable intel that he is. >> reporter: mark and debra tice say their confidence is boosted by unspecified information they've received from the region. >> we did hear that he's doing well. whenever we had this information that he is safe, he is well. >> reporter: president biden agrees that tice is alive. and over the weekend said he thinks the u.s. can get him back. the family's request to the

president? >> we would ask the same thing of them as we are of the new authorities in damascus, and that is, please do everything you can to keep him safe until he's in our arms home safe with us. >> reporter: he went missing on a reporting assignment in syria in august 2012, the last sighting, this brief video surfacing about a montnth later alive but appearing to be held captive by unknown parties. we've spoken before, and there have been ups and downs as you can certainly attest to. does this feel different somehow? >> it does feel different. >> it definitely feels different. >> yeah. very much feels different. in chaos, there's opportunity. this is an opportunity. and feels stronger than any that we've seen or felt in a long time. >> what do you think stands in

the way of his freedom? >> i can't imagine that anything stands in the way of his freedom. you know, it will just be a matter of who finds him and how they choose to release him. but i do believe that he will be found. >> our thanks to lester holt for that. still to come, it's that time of year for time magazine to name its person of the year. see who made the short list right after this. the short lis right after this. ger mine. my active psoriatic arthritis joint symptoms held me back. don't let symptoms define you... emerge as you, with clearer skin. with tremfya®, most people saw 100% clear skin... ...that stayed clear, even at 5 years. tremfya® is proven to significantly reduce joint pain, stiffness, and swelling. serious allergic reactions and increasesed 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.

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you are pretty. ♪ ♪ >> you might be hearing one name more than others at this year's golden globes. netflix' emilia perez led the nominations with ten nods, including best picture, musical or comedy.

star, sophia gascon made history as the first trans woman to be nominated. shogun and the bear dominated in their respective genres. nikki glaser hosts the ceremony in january. i think wicked is the only one i've checked off. >> you've seen the bear, right? ? >> i have homework. >> we all do. >> which titan will have the unenviable task of following taylor swift. time magazine revealed its short list for person of the year. it will be the person who had the biggest impact on the world in the last 12 months. it ranges from politicians from kamala harris to donald trump to mark zuckerberg and elon musk and of course joe rogan. i feel like joe rogan is such an

obvious choice for me, considering all the politics that went on and the influence we've seen. what do you think? >> i think kamala harris. it's always fun when it's a surprise, right? something we don't expect. >> we'll wait for thursday. when we come back, how new jersey is taking out its own page against book bans, and taylor swift is adding another record-breaking moment in time to her reputation. moment in tim to her reputation.

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minors. tokyo introduces a four-day workweek. the new policy begins in april. taylor swift's eras tour has shattered records, bringing in $2 billion in ticket sales according to the "new york times." the superstar gave out bonuses on top of their salaries. top o. alright kids come on. it's time for bed! ( ♪♪ ) good morning, mr. snuggles. make breakfast special with the cocoa and hazelnutty goodness of nutella. ( ♪♪ ) ♪ and hazelnutty goodness like a relentless weed, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya... with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission...

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events or moments. but at the stable arena in las vegas, they can get the help they need through a special therapy using horses. from our vegas affiliate, here's tiffany lane. >> the death of my mom. >> reporter: friday was a day of vulnerability for several first responders, from fire to police and dispatch, each there for different reasons but all having the goal of healing. >> 17 years on the job. and i was able to do my job every day. call after call after call. and then all it took was that one call. and changed my life. literally. >> reporter: these horses were learning a different type of therapy with the use of horses in the stable arena in the southwest valley. >> we provide therapeutic services for people. and it is eye movement, desensitization. >> reporter: a washington firefighter jumped into action

during an october shooting years ago. he shared the pain he felt before getting help. >> it's a very different type of trauma. i got home, and the dreams started coming. and, you know, it's grinding my teeth. every morning i'd see the same two people, you know, a gentleman that was very angry at me when his wife or girlfriend passed and i couldn't save her. and then another girl that, you know, i told her i had her. i was a firefighter and to trust me. i got you. i'll save you. and she ended up dying on me. >> reporter: a year and a half ago, he came to the stable arena as a last resort. >> i can have a complete breakdown out here and nobody cares, the horse doesn't care. there's something about the grounding force of the horse. you find yourself synching your breathing with it. >> reporter: he says the stable arena saved his life.

and he wants it to do the same for others. >> we have to take care of ourselves first before we can take care of anyone else. >> a life changing experience for the better for them. thanks to tiffany lane for that story. before we go, here's sheinelle jones with a look at what's ahead. >> this morning on the third hour of "today", common is live in studio 1a, plus our holiday gift guide featuring beauty products. and walker hayes performs a christmas classisic on the thir hour of "today." thanks for watching "early today." have a great tuesday. see you back here early tomorrow. for now your news continues on nbc and our nbc stations. d r nb. u

a suspected drunk driver crashes into a patrol cars in the east bay. the chain reaction that followed the manhunt is over. the alleged gunman wanted in last