there is a clearer picture

coming together this morning of the suspect in the united healthcare ceo fatal shooting. investigators revealing new details about luigi mangione and the evidence allegedly linking him to the crime scene. plus the growing concerns of potential copy cats targeting other executives. the northeast is buzzing over unexplained drone sightings, as we're live with the growing questions on capitol hill about the mystery in the sky. the great lakes buried again. the winter blast dumping feet of snow and triggering a state of emergency. angie lassman is tracking the treacherous conditions ahead of the morning commute. is that new stanley too hot to handle? the new recall for the popular mugs over a potential burn hazard. a new era for taylor swift. the pop caps off the year.

a bear hits the slopes and runs straight into a snowboarder. the unlucky moments on this friday the 13th, as "early today" starts right now. hi, everyone, good morning. and thanks for joining us, i'm jessica layton. we begin this friday morning with new details about the murder suspect, luigi mangione, the 26-year-old who allegedly killed unitedhlthcare's top executive, was not insured by the company according to police and unitedhealth's owner. we're also learning how mangione left new york city after the alleged shooting. jonathan dienst has the latest. >> we have no indication that he was ever a client of unitedhealthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in america, which is possibly why he targeted that company. >> reporter: the chief explained more about the back injury and

surgery mangione went through in july of 2023. >> so the injury that he suffered was a life-changing, life-altering jr., and that's what may have put him on this path. >> reporter: ballistics matched the gun through a test firing of that ghost gun. five fingerprints found on a water bottle. two fingerprints on an energy bar wrapper recovered from the scene, but they still have not gotten into what they believe is mangione's cell phone. mangione's family has not yet been interviewed. >> we have had no contact with his family. >> reporter: detectives are still piecing together his timeline. he traveled to the bus terminal and then took a subway back to penn station, taking a bus from midtown to pennsylvania. and they're looking into when he withdrew the cash they found on him. >> he had over $5,000 in cash on him in hundred dollar bills. >> reporter: there's been extremist rhetoric posted online

and on posters put up downtown. >> while the climate causes us concern, we have not received an influx of threats that are credible to ceos, to corporations or to anyone else. >> reporter: officials say this murder continues to be treated as a criminal act, but they're keeping an eye on any possible contagion into the realm of domestic terrorism. >> a high-profile incident can have a similar impact as an act of terrorism. and that's why our job is to make sure that we're taking very seriously any threats. >> our thanks to jonathan for that report. well, authorities in the northeast are chasing after mysterious objects in the sky. across social media people are reporting what are large drones popping up over new york, new jersey and other states. some witnesses describe them as being up to six feet long.

they don't look like drones typically flown by hobbyists, so what are they? brie jackson is trying to find out. brie, good morning. we know the white house and pentagon are really down playing this mystery, but lawmakers and everyone i know in new jersey is concerned. >> reporter: good morning, jessica. there is frustration and concern over what could be flying overhead. without more clarity, people are able to run wild with different theories. now one new jersey congressman said that the drones were being launched by iranian ship. but the pentagon quickly shut that theory down. the white house says an investigation is under way, but there's no cause for alarm, saying some of the sightings aren't even drones, that they are manned aircraft, being operated lawfully. now, in a joint statement, the dhs and fbi said they have no evidence at this time that these drones pose a security threat or have a foreign nexus. but lawmakers here on capitol hill are demanding more information. >> it's bizarre to me.

these drones are the size of suvs, and we're supposed to believe our government has no idea what they are? that had better not be true. >> they should be shot down if necessary. the lack of information is absolutely unacceptable. >> we should know what's going on over our skies, and i've asked for a lot more information. >> it's a bit embarrassing given the length of time and number of sightings that we don't have information. >> reporter: and senators from new york and new jersey have requested a briefing from the fbi, faa and department of homeland security as soon as possible. and house speaker mike johnson says he expects to receive a classified briefing on this matter soon. jessica? >> we are all anxiously awaiting more information. leadership of the faa will be changing with the new administration. the federal aviation administration chief, michael whittaker announced that he will step down on inauguration day in january. whittaker was appointed to a

five-year term last year and did not give a reason for resigning early. this will leave the agency that oversees boeing and the airline industry without a leader. president-elect donald trump has not yet nominated anyone for that role. breaking news overnight. one person is dead and another in serious condition this morning after a single-engine plane crashed on a connecticut highway near the new york state border last night. authorities say the crash happened shortly after the pilot reported some engine issues. the names of the people on board have not been released. but flight aware says the plane took off from new jersey just after 6:00 p.m. the new york state police are investigating, along with the faa and the national transportation safety board. now to new claims of sexual assault against music mogul, sean "diddy" combs, involving three men who say they were raped by him. that's according to separate civil lawsuits that were filed yesterday. now the suits alleged diddy

supplied the men with doctored drinks and attacked them while they were unconscious. claims that his lawyers deny. one of the alleged victims sat down exclusively with nbc news and says he had a drink with combs at a new york hotel in the early 2020 year. >> within two minutes, i started to feel like, just very tired, very sleepy. you know, mind you, i'm not under the impression that i'm being drugged or anything like that. and the things that e things th head today is i'm almost done, stop moving, i'm almost finished. >> a statement to nbc news, combs' lawyer said these complaints are full of lies. we will prove them false. evacuation orders in southern california now starting to lift this morning. as firefighters make progress against this franklin fire in malibu. so far, the fire has burned more

than 4,000 acres and destroyed several homes. officials now say it's about 30% contained, with firefighters getting some help from some rain and cooler temperatures. nearly 4,000 people have been allowed to go back home, while another 1600 are still under evacuation. and now to the great lakes region, which has been slammed which snow. take a look at this. parts of new york declaring a state of emergency with dozens of drivers getting trapped in these dangerous conditions. here's nbc's erin mclaughlin. >> reporter: in the midwest and northeast, yet another winter whiteout. and dangerous moments like this. a box truck loses control on a michigan highway, slamming into a fire engine. authorities say the driver was taken to the hospital, suffering minor injuries. no first responders were hurt. while in new york, officials in one county say they responded to 50 traffic incidents. they're urging anyone out on the roads in this to slow down.

it's the third lake effect snow warning to strike the region since thanksgiving. this time it's so cold ice balls are filling up this michigan beach. in western new york, more than 30 inches have dropped. so much snow that in buffalo it's practice canceled for the bills. meanwhile, hard-hit erie, pennsylvania woke up to blizzard-like conditions. the relentless weather is straining infrastructure. officials say at least eight commercial buildings have either collapsed or partially collapsed under the weight of the snow. a state of emergency remains in place there for a second straight week. with no end in sight to this wintry mess. erin mclaughlin, nbc news. if you're planning to get out for some holiday shopping this weekend, you need to bundle up. nbc meteorologist angie lassman is tracking these frigid temperatures, good morning. >> good morning, jessica. happy friday. you got that right about the layers. layer up and layer up some more.

temperatures are sub zero or feeling like it in a couple spots. feeling well below zero in places like chicago, minus 6 is what it feels like this morning. columbus at 20 degrees but feeling like 12. temperatures this afternoon warm up a little bit if you want to call it that. 23 is your high if detroit. minneapolis gets 15 degrees for your afternoon high. some of the warmth starts to spread north and east. we end up into the 60s for norfolk next week. new york, 58 degrees by tuesday. we do still have lingering lake effect snowshowers across this region, lake erie and lake ontario picking up that snow. we'll see a couple more inches through tonight, and then we'll see that wrapping up with temperatures warming up.

for pittsburgh, scranton, new york city tops out at 34 degrees. richmond ends up at 50 degrees with mostly sunny skies. and that's a look at your forecast, jessica, back to you. >> all right, angie, thank you. now check out this grizzly collision. video shows two snowboarders going downhill when a black bear suddenly appears from behind, crashing into one of the skiers before running off. thankfully nobody was injured, and both snowboarders were able to continue down that mountain. "early today" is back in one minute with the stanley cups that are under recall for a potential burn hazard. and cutting the cord is about to cost you more. the hefty price hike for youtube tv. e hefty price hike for youtue tv. ♪♪ the bare minimum. anti-dandruff shampoo

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stanley is recalling more than 2 million switch back and trigger action stainless steel travel mugs, due to a lid defect. the mug's lid threads can shrink when it comes in contact with heat, causing a potential burn hazard. consumers can contact stanley for a free replacement. cutting the cord is about to get more expensive, but first, another entertainment giant is shaking its tv and streaming business. >> good morning, jessica. happy friday. so yesterday warner bros. disney shares jumped 15% after the company announced that it was restructuring its business into linear and streaming units. that seemed to simplify future consolidation and drive growth in the business. under the new structure, the

global division will host news, sports and scripted, from the likes of cnn, tnt and the streaming unit will focus on the streaming networks and max. very fast moving. and it sounds a little familiar. last month, comcast announced that it was restructuring and spinning off its cable networks. so that includes the likes of cnbc, msnbc, sci-fi and e! this speaks to the transition in the media industry. elsewhere in media news, youtube announced that it was hiking the price of its tv streaming unit by $10 a month, taking the price to $82.99 per month, with the changes taking effect from the 13th of january for existing users and immediately for new ones. now this said, it's due to the rising cost of content, but certainly a hike from the $35 a month that was seen when it launched in 2017.

>> yeah, a big change. all right, thank you. president-elect donald trump is officially "time" magazine's person of the year, celebrating the news by ringing the opening bell at the new york stock exchange yesterday. in an interview with t magazine, donald trump maid headlines after changing his tune on lowering grocery prices, saying, quote, it's very hard, but i think that they will. he pinned hopes on lower energy costs and better supply chains. still to come, mariah carey kicks off the nfl's christmas festivities. and an award winner that billboard knows all too well. find out the history taylor swift just made at the bbmas, after this. , afr is teth.♪ 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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present could you have given me, so thank you very much. >> the superstar took home ten new prizes at thursday's billboard music awards, including top artist and top billboard 200 artist. she has 49 awards. also, in non-swift awards, chappell roan was named top new artist. the show featured plenty of performances from award-winning acts, including shaboozey, jelly roll and coldplay. and i will tell you, i've been listening to so much chappell roan. i love that musician. i think i love the songs. i think we're going to see a lot more of that artist this year. >> it was such a good year for music overall. all of the taylor stuff but everything in between, so, so fun.

looking forward to 2025. not many people are worthy of opening for beyonce, but the queen of christmas certainly is. mariah carey will open the chchristmas day doubleheader wi a pre-taped performance of all i want for christmas is you, which just celebrated its 13th anniversary. it will be the warmup with the chiefs and steelers and ravens and texans. it will feature a cowboy carter christmas. i can't believe it's only been 13 years of "all i want for christmas." i don't remember the holiday without it. >> i don't believe is that 30th. >> it's early. >> i can't believe we did a story a couple days ago saying people aren't playing this song that much. i play it every day. coming up, the rams duke it out with their rival 49ers, and why the cracks are starting to show on egg prices. tarting to show on egg prices.

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making headlines this morning, egg prices are on the rise again, due in part to a bird flu outbreak. since last november, the average price for a dozen large eggs jumped 38%, up to $3.65 compared to $2.14 a year ago. if you're filling the liquor cabinet, some brands are cheaper. and we're honoring a long-time member of our nbc family. chuck scarborough ended his record-setting run last night as new york's longest-serving local news anchor after more than 50 years. congratulations. congratulations. ed to vaporize that cold. dayquil vapocool? it's dayquil plus a rush of vicks vapors. ♪ vapocooooool ♪ woah. dayquil vapocool. the vaporizing daytime, coughing, aching, stuffy head, power through your day, medicine. ( ♪♪ ) feel the power of osteo bi-flex®. taken every day, it's clinically shown to improve joint comfort in 7 days,

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the kick to give the 49ers the lead. and jake moody is able to bang that one through. >> the rams and 49ers may have combined for more than 80 pots on sunday, but on a rainy thursday night football night, just cracking double digits seemed harder than winning the super bowl. while they didn't score any touchdowns, l.a. made enough big plays to stay ahead and neutralize san fran's offense of the rams stay alive in the playoff hunt, 12-6. and one of the nfl's greatest all-time coaches is heading back to school to give it the old college try. our jesse kirsch has the official welcome back for bill belichick at unc. >> reporter: one of football's greatest teachers is heading back to school. bill belichick who coached tom brady and the patriots to six super bowl titles has been officially named the new head football coach at the university of north carolina. >> when you love what you do,

it's not work. >> reporter: 72-year-old's chapel hill roots run deep. his father was an assistant in the 1950s, he brought along dad's sweatshirt. >> billy's first words were "beat duke." >> reporter: belichick has close to 50 years of experience, but none at the college level. does super bowl success automatically translate to college championship football? >> absolutely not. a revolution is happening regarding nil money, transfer portal. and he's going to have to attract and then retain players, many of whom were 11 or 12 years old the last time he won a super bowl. >> reporter: though belichick notoriously ofoften lookgrouchy, today he was the opposite. >> excited to be here. >> reporter: the tarheels smiling wide, even if their new

coach often does not. jesse kirsch, nbc news. coming up on "today", the holiday rush begins. and here's craig melvin with what else is ahead. >> this morning on the third hour of "today", joy bauer, with three recipes. and festive looks for the guys. and then fred armisen live to share a new project. it's all this morning on the third hour of "today." thank you for kicking off your friday with "early today." i'm jessica layton. have a great weekend. we'll see you monday. 'll see yo.