a shakeup at the fbi. director christopher wray changing course, saying he will step down before president-elect trump takes office. we're live with what led to his decision. the new evidence coming to light in the ceo murder investigation. officials say the suspect's gun

matches shell casings from the scene. plus the chilling writings allegedly found in his notebooks. the california inferno, a fast-moving wildfire tears through malibu, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate, ncluding stars like cher and dick van dyke. the progress and the fight overnight. the mystery in the skies over new jersey spreads to other states. the growing buzz over suv-sized drones is raising questions on capitol hill. a headache for households everywhere, as the fight against inflation stalls out. why higher prices have refused to budge. and rockin' around a billion streams. brenda lee celebrates a christmas milestone, just in time for her 80th birthday. it's december 12th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera. we begin with the transition of power at the fbi. director christopher wray says he will resign.

his term is not set to end until 2027, but he announced he will stay on only until the inauguration in january. nbc's brie jackson joins me now from d.c. good morning, brie. president-elect trump was the one who selected wray for the job to begin with. >> reporter: good d morning, frances. that's right. then-president trump appointed wray back in 2017, but mr. trump has spent years attacking the fbi and the justice department for what he calls partisan prosecutions against him, complaining recently about wray's role in the classified documents investigation. wray addressed the bureau, saying his goal is to keep the focus on their work. >> in my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important in how we do our work. this is not easy for me. i love this place.

i love our mission. i love our people. >> reporter: president-elect trump called wray's resignation a great day for america, saying this will end the weaponization of what he calls the united states department of injustice. mr. trump has already picked a nominee to replace wray, a former prosecutor and national security aide, kash patel. they are, there are questions about whether or not he will be confirmed by the senate. patel has been a fierce critic of the federal agency and has vowed to punish enemies of president-elect trump. he has been meeting this week with senators here on ol hill and expects a smooth transition. so far, no senate republicans have come out publicly against patel's nomination. frances? >> brie, thank you. time magazine is set to name president-elect donald trump as its 2024 person of the year, according to two sources familiar with the matter. the magazine will officially name trump later today.

the president-elect is currently listed as one of the ten finalists for the title. he was person of the year in 2016 as well. mr. trump is here in new york city this morning, where he will ring the opening bell at the new york stock exchange. it will be his first time doing it despite his decades as a businessman in the big apple. new details in the murder investigation of unitedhealthcare's ceo brian thompson. the nypd now saying evidence is building against 26-year-old suspect luigi mangione, after their crime lab made significant forensic breakthroughs, potentially linking mangione to the killing. jonathan dienst has more. >> reporter: mounting evidence against the man suspected of killing unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. police say shell casings from the attack match the ghost gun found inside 26-year-old luigi mangione's backpack. >> we were able to match that gun to the three shell casings we found in midtown. >> reporter: video from a

starbucks in midtown showed the masked-up killer buying a bottle of water and protein bar. >> we were also at our crime lab to match the person of interest's fingerprints with finger prints that we found on both the water bottle and the kind bar near the scene of the homicide in midtown. >> reporter: it comes as police are poring through a three-paged letter where he allegedly wrote to investigators, i state plainly, i wasn't working with anyone. frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. two law enforcement sources say there was also a notebook with writing about why he allegedly chose to use a handgun. you whack the ceo at the parasitic bean counter convention. it's targeted, precise and doesn't risk innocents. nypd's top brass on today in new york. >> if you have a problem with any company, whether you have a problem m with it, there's othe

ways to do it. >> reporter: it indicates frustration with the healthcare system in the u.s. mangione allegedly stating the united states is the number one in the world, but life ex- expectantsy is 42 in the world. >> reporter: meanwhile, steps away from wall street, someone is posting disturbing wanted flyers, targeting other healthcare executives. a month after going missing, hawaii woman hannah kobayashi has been found safe, according to her family. ey did not say when or where the 30-year-old was found. she was last seen crossing into mexico on foot, via san diego. her father later died by suicide in los angeles, where he traveled to look for her. the family was at one point investigating whether kokobayas was part after green card

marriage scam. but their lawyer now says the evidence is inconclusive. the family has asked for privacy. the wisconsin father of three who allegedly faked his own death and vanished has turned himself in. ryan borgwardt was in court yesterday charged with obstruction after his disappearance while kayaking triggered an expensive search. prosecutors say he staged it, traveled to canada and then on ward to europe. borgwardt entered a not guilty plea. his next court appearance is set for january 13. he could face a $10,000 fine and nine months in jail. the new jersey drone mystery continues. yesterday mayors from the garden state headed to state police headquarters for a briefing only to leave frustrated and without answers. the drones now gaining attention in d.c., where the pentagon and the fbi are weighing in. gadi schwartz has more. >> reporter: in the skies above new jersey, trying to get to the bottom of a mysterious wave of suv-sized drone sightings that

so far have proved impossible to identify or stop. >> the minute you get eyes on them, they go block. >> that's not an airplane. >> reporter: from over the warships to langley, virginia and most recently, to pick continue eye arsenal in new jersey. there's no evidence that drones are coming from a foreign adversary, but lawmakers on capitol hill are demanding answers from the fbi. >> i don't have an answer for who's responsible for that or one or more people that are responsible for those drone flights. >> reporter: those who have sent drones up to give chase like the local sheriff's department says they've never been able to see where they come from or where they land. mayor sam morris chased this one down in his car and thinks the military should consider shooting them down. he says 11 drones have flown over a military site in new jersey recently. >> those drones should have been blown out of the sky. why are we putting up with this? >> reporter: and as more people start to look up at the night sky, the fbi is asking anyone

with credible video to send them in for analysis. >> it's 2024. are you elling me in this day and age someone can fly drones of this size, the size of a car or bigger, and we have no idea who's doing it? were learning more about the macy's employee who hid over $150 million in expenses. officials say the employee told investigators that they actually made a mistake while punching numbers for delivery expenses and then tried to cover it up. macy's has confirmed that the employee did not do it to put more money in their pocket. they also say they are taking steps to make sure a mistake like that never happens again. california fire crews are battling a wildfire in malibu that's exploded in size this week due to high winds. the franklin fire has torched more than 4,000 acres and is just 7% contained. the blaze has destroyed several homes, and as of last night, more than 6,000 people were still evacuated from the area.

dana griffin has more. malibu under threat. as the wind-driven wildfire continues to burn. fire crews attacking the blaze from the air with water and bright pink fire retardant. gusty winds can pick up those embers, carrying them to canyons like this. it took just a matter of minutes for this hillside to go up in flames. several homes now destroyed. at least 4,000 acres scorched. an ongoing threat fueled by santa ana winds that kicked back up. >> the entire fire area remains under threat, as long as these red flag weather conditions persist. >> reporter: this couple dowsing their brand-new home with water, in an effort to save it from approaching flames. what do you think when you see this? >> we don't want tlose it if we can help it. >> reporter: more than 20,000 under evacuation orders and warnings, including celebrities like cher and dick van dyke. other residents standing by in case they're told to evacuate.

>> it's dangerous. it's causing a lot of damage and can cause a lot more damage. so we're just monitoring it so we know when to leave. >> reporter: up to 1500 firefighters working around the clock, catching hotspots before they grow out of control. >> those types of things keep you reminded that these types of things happen up here, so you just have to be ready for them. >> reporter: with the threat of the next blaze just a spark away. dana griffin, nbc news, malibu, california. now to another blast of winter weather bearing down on the great lakes. angie lassman is tracking it all for us. good morning, angie. >> morning, frances, more snow on the way for our friends across the snowbelt region. 5 million people under alerts. that's where we're going to see the heaviest snow bands setting up. two to three inches per hour, that's what we'll see today especially east of lake ontario and lake erie. tomorrow, a much quieter kind of scene across this region and

milder highs will start to work in here by the time we get into the weekend and a little rain is on the way, too. here's what we're likely to total across that region. we've got a foot to a foot and a half in some spots. the higher amounts could be close to two and a half feet. we also have chilly alerts for temperatures that are sub zero. minus 25 below for what it feels like in minneapolis. 13 below in chicago. and these temperatures aren't going to rebound a whole lot by this afternoon. notice a high of 17 for chicago. mid-20s for columbus, even out towards the east coast. snowshowers on the way. low 20s for detroit. 41 degrees with mostly sunny skies in boston today. and that's a look at your

forecast, frances, back to you. >> those areas of snow are going to be pretty with christmas decorations, that is if they're not buried. "early today" is back in a minute with new inflation numbers heading into the holidays. and the meta meltdown after a massive outage for facebook, instagram, and whatsapp. acebook instagram, and whatsapp. alright kids come on. ( ♪♪ ) good morning, mr. snuggles. make breakfast special with the cocoa and hazelnutty goodness of nutella. ( ♪♪ ) with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis my skin was no longer 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 increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you

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fastest rate for seven months. now cpi came in at .. and 2.7% for the year. but markets are still confident that the fed will cut interest rates at its last meeting of the year next week. now all eyes on thursday will be on the producer price index which will provide the latest gauge of inflation ahead of that meeting next week. but certainly some confidence there for a rate cut from the fed. now elsewhere, meta saw an outage across its family of apps on wednesday morning. due to what it called a technical difficulty. so tens of thousands of users were unable to access the likes of facebook, instagram, whatsapp and messenger as a result of this. and the social media giant was led to post on x about updates as it got the service up and running. this is the second outage since march when it suffered a

two-hour outage. back to you, frances. >> tough for those influencers who need that. brenda lee makes holiday music history, and chris rock slaps away a all the rumors to tell the real history of snl. the brand-new promo coming up. n. the brand-new promo coming up. ee 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. 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. ♪ upbeat music ♪

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people don't know this, but lorne michaels is actually haitian. >> that's wrong. >> been haitian the whole time. can't you tell? tupac got shot on that stage. >> no. no. >> those were the days. david spade was a cast member for only three days but had to leave because a llama bit his ass. >> chris rock returns for his fourth go around as host alongside gracie abrams. and speaking of the golden anniversary, fans will be able

to go behind the scenes at studio 8h in the new documentary, snl 50, beyond saturday night. the four-part series hits peacock on january 16. i can't wait to delve in to see what's behind when they pull the curtain back to reveal from what happens in the writers room, auditions, just everything else. >> and what happens, like, hours before the show is even live. that's like, things are happening minutes before that camera goes on. what will brenda lee find under the christmas tree this year? how about history. earlier this week, rockin' around the christmas tree cracked the billion stream barrier on spotify and was honored by the recording academy of america for going seven times platinum. lee who celebrated her 80th birthday on tuesday told people magazine that she was dumbfounded by her spotify numbers and that she can't even think that high. incredible milestone. such an iconic song.

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the six-time super bowl-winning coach, bill belichick signed a five-year contract with unc. this is his first college coaching job. and a collection of some of tom brady's personal items pulled in over $9 million at auction. the top seller was a rare yellow gold rolex that went for $1.1 million. brady's college jersey sold for 792,000 bucks. e jersey sold for 792,000 bucks. 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... and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and 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 future of air travel is taking off. a vermont company is building battery-powered airplanes that could one day fly you across the country. tom costello got a look at the cutting edge tech. >> reporter: in the skies over

vermont, a green future of aviation is taking flight. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: and it feels a lot like something you may have driven. this is like a battery-powered car almost. >> it is. its the window into the soul of the aircraft. >> reporter: just like a tesla, the cockpit is computer driven and touch screen. >> we're just going to turn the avionics on here. your side sticks here is how you control all the control surfaces. and this is your throttle. >> reporter: kyle clark is the founder and ceo of beta technologies, building a new aircraft that's turning the aviation world on its tail. turning off the combtion engine with its carbon emissions and flipping on an emission-free battery pack. >> all the batteries are here. five batteries. one, two, three, four, five. >> reporter: a revolutionary design, powering a six-seater aircraft at 1700 feet per minute with a 250-mile range. and the propeller is on the rear

instead of the front. >> it makes it quieter, significantly more efficient. >> reporter: and they are already flying training missions for the u.s. military. so beta has two models, the traditional plane taking off and landing from a runway, then there's this model over here, a vertical takeoff and landing version. part helicopter and part plane, allowing you to take off from a runway or a helipad, flying over traffic and then landing in the middle of a city. >> short hops, you know, you're going from boston to new york. annoying drive in the traffic. it's 40 minutes versus a three-hour drive. >> reporter: and new zealand to fly mail deliveries between the islands. >> it's very, very relaxing. it's oddly relaxing. >> reporter: chief pilot david morgan will soon send his pilots here for training. >> getting them to understand the limitations, how it flies. >> reporter: but how soon could

this grow to this? might one day i be able to fly a battery-powered plane from new york to l.a.? >> absolutely. i mean, every seven years, batteries double their energy density. it doesn't take long to get across the country. >> reporter: blue skies with a hint of green. tom costello, nbc news. >> and they look so cool, too, right? in addition. thanks so much for waking up with "early today." i'm frances rivera. have a great thursday. your news continues right here on nbc and our nbc stations. nd . your memory is an amazing thing, 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. the evidence mounts against the accused gunman in the killing of unitedhealthcare's ceo. police saying a gun seized from the suspect matches shell cases found at the crime scene. other evidence found near the scene