the search for answers in

the drone mystery. we are live with the high-tech equipment on the way to the east coast, as lawmakers aim to figure out what's buzzing overhead. robert f. kennedy jr.'s road to confirmation, he heads for the hill to meet with lawmakers today to try to win over skeptics in the senate. an environmental emergency unfolding in the black sea. we're live after a violent storm split two tankers in half, each carrying thousands of tons of oil. the risks of the ebike batteries. the first hand look at how quickly they can explode and what you can do to keep your family safe. and the packers stuff the seahawks to close in on a playoff spot. we have all the highlights from across the league as we kick off this monday, december 16th. "early today" starts right now. good mornining. i'm frances rivera. there are growing calls for

action across the northeast about those mysterious drone sightings. new york's governor saying this has gone too far after the new york stewart international airport was forced to shut down its runways briefly because of drone activity. brie jackson joins me now. governor hochul is one of many governors calling for government help. >> repter: federal partners are sending a drone detection system to new york. she did not give specifics about the system, but chuck schumer asked for what's called a robin radar system which can provide 360 coverage and 3d and can identify the type of drone from up to one mile awaway. >> if the technology exists for a drone to make it up into the sky, there certainly is the technology that can track the craft with precision. and determine what the heck is going on. and that's what the robin does.

our local people who have questions about these drones should not have to shake an eight ball to get an answer. >> reporter: now these sightings are happening across the country. two men were arrested in boston for flying drones dangerously close to logan airport. less than one hundred reports warranted further investigation. people are seeing airplanes and recreational drones. and the pentagon says there is no sign of a security threat or foreign involvement. but people want more answers. many lawmakers are calling on federal agencies to provide a briefing on what's being done. >> okay, brie jackson for us, thank you. this week, robert f. kennedy jr. will be the next trump cabinet pick to visit capitol hill. the nominee for health secretary will attempt to drum up support

among republican senators for his confirmation. he will likely face tough questions over his views on vaccines. here's aaron gilchrist. >> reporter: fresh focus on robert f. kennedy somewhere, president-elect trump's pick for health secretary as he attempts to court senators on capitol hill this week. he's still facing scrutiny over past comments on vaccines. kennedy expected to face questions on his views on vaccines now after the "new york times" reported that at that lawyer, who's helping rfk jr. build his team, petitioned the fda to revoke approval for a polio vaccine. >> this is a man who wants to stop kids from getting their polio and measles shots. >> reporter: and republicans. minority leader mitch mcconnell, a childhood survivor saying that this is not just uninformed but dangerous.

kennedy's team responding saying that the vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied. kennedy addressing concerns about his vaccine skepticism last month. >> if vaccines are working for somebody i'm not going to take them away. >> they're going to have to work real hard to convince me. >> reporter: mr. trump standing by kennedy in our interview with kristen welker, saying he recently met with dr. oz and kennedy. >> we talked about pricing, and we talked about vaccines, you know, in terms of what happens. we talked about pesticides. we talked about everything. >> and our thanks to aaron for that report. now to a pending disaster overseas where at least one person was killed yesterday when a russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tons of oil split apart during a storm, spilling oil into the kerch strait between russia and crimea. a second tanker also sustained damage in the storm and was adrift with 14 crew members on

board. for more, let's turn to claudio lavanga. good morning, claudio. >> reporter: good morning, frances. that's right. that russian oil tanker literally appears to have split apart while it was navigating from russia to crimea in that strait and got caught into this storm. now there is some footage that was posted on social media that allegedly showed the bow of that tanker sinking into the water while waves are crashing over the remaining deck in those stormy seas. well, now immediately after the tanker launched the distress signal, there were helicopters and tugboats that rushed to the scene. they managed to save 12 of the crew members. they were taken to the hospital. two are in serious condition, one is said to have died. at the same time, the second oil tanker was caught in the same storm. it also launched a distress signal. it sustained severe damage and ran adrift. as early as this morning, there

was an ongoing rescue operation made difficult by the bad weather conditions. now, both tankers are said to be carrying more than 4,000 tons of oil products. so right now, russian authorities are trying to mitigate the risk of oil spills. at the same time, they open an investigation over whether safety violations may have contributed to those, to both incidents, frances. >> okay, claudio, thank you for the update. the fight to extradite ceo murder suspect luigi mangione is intensifying as a source familiar tells nbc news that a grand jury could be asked to hand up an indictment this week. it would strengthen the case for extradition by making the charges official. >> we expect that to be issued any day now. and the second that happens i'm issuing a warrant for extradition. >> mangione's attorney has vowed to challenge extradition, while a high-powered new york defense attorney has also joined the

team. mangione is due back in a pennsylvania court next monday on charges related to a 3d printed gun and fake i.d. a rare, violent tornado hit northern california over the week, damaging homes and businesses. in the town of scotts valley, north of santa cruz. at least five people were injured. one person is in critical condition, according to officials. most of those injured were in cars that were thrown off the road by the tornado. nearly 9,000 customers lost power, which has since been restored. let's turn to nbc meteorologist michelle grossman. hi, michelle. a wet start for those of us in the east coast. >> good morning, frances. yeah, we're looking at wet weather today. and over the next several days in the east. also the west looking at a powerful system, a pair of well.ms bringing wet weather as out west we're liking at some rain falling the along the coas. and we're looking at the blue and white. that's snow in the interior

parts of the northeast. heavy y rain, too. that will move off for the most part. but we're going to see lingering showers throughout the day. then we'll see showers from the great lakes all the wray to the south central states. we have brighter colors showing up where we're expecting higher amounts of rainfall. could see downpours, gusty winds as well. that could be the story out west. by wednesday, still wet in the west. higher elevation rain, snow once again. from new england to the tennessee valley, the south central states, wet weather once again on wednesday. plenty of sunshine in the middle of the country and nice and warm in the southwest. by friday, a wintry chill throughout the great lakes and ohio valley. temperatures in the 20s and 30s. snow returning for the great lakes into parts of new england and also the storms in places li

shreveport, little rock, memphis. we're looking at the chance for strong storms there and temperatures in the 70s. that's your monday forecast. >> thanks so much, michelle. in hungary, runners braved the cold in their skimpiest santa suits. about a hundred people took part in the roughly two-mile race, and temperatures chilly as 39 degrees fahrenheit. one person said she's been doing the run for 17 years. the entry fees all go to charity. coming up, the fan favorite pop tart bowl game is back with what could soon be the most coveted prizinooal e ftbl. ♪♪ herbal essences is a force of nature. our shampoos and conditioners are made with supercharged botanicals. ♪♪

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about lithium batteries. you can find them in all kinds of electronics from e-bikes, toothbrushes, scooters and more. but think can be dangerous, exploding and catching fire in seconds. sam brock has more. >> reporter: inside this building at the new york city fire department's training academy, a first-hand look at the jaw-dropping risks associated with a popular product. >> we're going to burn this bike inside a building. >> reporter: we got an exclusive demonstration of how e-bikes and escooters, powered by lithium ion batteries can become infernos in seconds. so this holiday season, the fire safety reseah institute is teaming up with the fdny to show just how dangerous they can be. >> these batteries can blow up

when they're being charged. they can blow up when they're not being charged. they are ticking time bombs. >> reporter: the toxicity of the smoke, we've got to go. in just minutes it started smoldering. then, up next, a small, escooter. >> okay. so you're seeing smoke coming out of the batteries. it's going to go very quick. >> reporter: steve kerrber studies how these can fail. >> they can fail if they get punctured. overcharging, overheating, even a manufacturing defect can cause it to fail. >> reporter: this bike took out an entire new york city block. >> it did. it doesn't take much. >> reporter: daniel flynn is new york city's chief f fire maral. >> it's impossible to escape.

>> reporter: the thermal run away reaction where batteries ignite and cause other batteries to ignite is uniquely dangerous. >> when it fails, it releases all that energy at once. >> reporter: nationally, 40 deaths were reported from lithium ion fires. these batteries are now in many different products. >> everything from your toothbrush to laptop to ear pods to scooters to electric vehicles. >> reporter: a common mistake, fire experts say, is charging a battery with a mismatched charger. the basic rule of thumb, only buy ul-certified products, don't leave them unattended. and for bikes and scooters, charge them outside. >> they are a risk. and we are asking the public to be aware of it. >> reporter: an urgent message during the season of giving. sam brock, nbc news, new york. still to come, the packers dice the seahawks on sunday

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packers trying to do the same. third and five. love, putting it up top. back of the end zone. oh, did dobbs catch that? what a catch! romeo dobbs. >> wherefore art thou, romeo? try the end zone. he made his second touchdown on sunday night football and iced the contest against the seahawks. they lost geno smith to injury in the third quarter. green bay gets their tenth win of the season in convincing fashion, 30-13. so we're shaping up here. but a lot of injuries overall over the weekend. just so many going down. >> big one. patrick mahomes. see what happens next week. earlier in the day, the chiefs

scored a rare blowout victory with their 21-7 victory over the browns. mahomes suffered an ankle injury, putting his availability for next weekend in question. the steelers and eagles renewed the battle for pennsylvania. the birds flew high with jalen hurts. despite the 27-13 loss, pittsburgh still punched their ticket to the playoffs, because the colts and dolphins lost. and then a potential super bowl preview. josh allen found himself on the right side of high-scoring epic. the mvp candidate guided the bills to a second consecutive 40-plus-point performance against the equally powerful lions. despite five touchdowns from jared goff, buffalo's defense did just enough to bring the win streak, 48-42. so many high-scoring games when

it comes to buffalo. >> the lions hovering over them. there's only one bowl game that's part of a complete breakfast. on sunday, the pop-tarts bowl unveiled its new trophy made in collaboration with ge appliances. either miami or iowa state will get the honor of hosting the prize, which functions as a fully-functional toaster. the pop-tarts bowl kicks off on december 28th. always fun to have something to look forward to after christmas when we have all these bowl games, especially fun like this. when we come back, christmas could come early for a lottery winner this week. and looking fly. eagles fly. philadelphia tackle's jason kelce in a look alike contest. with life-changing programs and services. i realized i could be successful in a civilian career. we stand by warriors and advocate for their needs going forward.

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to prepare for a possible tiktok ban coming next month. if parent company bytedance fails to sell tiktok by january 19, apple and google will be required by law to ensure their platforms are no longer supported in the united states. the battle over reproductive health continues in the lonestar state with the texas attorney general suing a new york doctor for allegedly providing abortion pills to a woman in texas. the awsuit says it is illegal for them to use telemedicine to provide abortion pills to texas residents. the doctor did not respond to requesest for comment. the obesity rate among adults fell in 2023 for the first time in over a decade. that's according to a new study. researchers found obesity nationwide dropped from 46% in

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is back. efforts had been made to ditch clock changing before, but can president-elect trump fulfill a promise to end it for good? sam brock has the details. >> reporter: in a day and age when most americans agree on very little, president-elect donald trump appears to have struck a chord and shined a light on something most people fully endorse, that daylight saving time has to go. >> it's already starting to get dark. i hate you, daylight savings time! >> reporter: the practice of springing our clocks forward one hour in march and falling back one hour in november originally to save energy has long been a thorn in the side for many. >> it's 5:00 p.m., and i'm dead serious, contemplating just going straight to bed. like, why? >> reporter: jp, a software engineer from phoenix, arizona, who s in one of the few states that keeps standard time says it would give you more

sleep. >> this would increase the duration and quality of our sleep year round. >> reporter: the latest long shot comes after the president-elect posted this to truth social. the republican party will use its best efforts to eliminate daylight savings time. >> something americans all over the country want, to never have to change their clocks again. >> reporter: in 2022, the senate did pass a bill, making daylight saving time permanent, when sun rises get later. that's a little different from what the president-elect appears to be championing, which is to ditch daylight saving all together and go back to standard time, which resets in the fall when sun rises. that's also what the american medical association supports, citing cardiovascular events and mood disorders and car crashes. >> losing one hour of sleep can have significant detrimental

impacts on your health. >> reporter: as our country can potentially find a strong connection on hating this daylight saving status quo. sam brock, nbc news. supreme court justice ketanji brown jackson got to live out a life-long dream of performing on broadway. she appeared in a performance of and juliette. it was a role created just for her. in her memoir, justice jackson recounts sharing a dream to be the first black female supreme court justice on a broadway stage. thank you so much for being with us on "early today." i'm frances rivera. have a great monday. see you back here early tuesday morning. for now, your news continues on nbc and our nbc stations.

the race to solve a mystery he