>> luigi mangione accused of a act of terrorism, officially indicted in new york city. when he could be extradited from

pennsylvania. another twist in the gilgo beach murders. the serial killer suspect now accused of killing another victim. the dna match that led to the development. congress unveiled a deal to avert a shutdown. but getting it past may take a christmas miracle. another setback for the two nasa astronauts stuck on the iss. the latest delay on their trip back to earth as their space odyssey stretches on. a bombshell for the auto industry. why two of japan's biggest auto makers are kicking the tires on a possible merger. and milwaukee's best. the bucks bulldoze the thunder to win the second-ever nba cup. we have the highlights this wednesday, december 18th. "early today" starts right now. . good morning. i'm frances rivera. we begin with the murder of

unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. suspect luigi mangione has now been indicted for the shooting. police say they have pieced together the killer's movements the morning he ambushed thompson in new york city. our stephanie gosk reports. >> reporter: two weeks after unitedhealthcare ceo bryan thompson was gunned down on a new york city street, luigi mangione has been indicted for his murder, mangione facing 11 counts, the most serious first degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. >> this is a killing that is intended to evoke terror. >> reporter: prosecutors laying out the most detailed timeline yet of mangione's movements the day thompson was killed. he headed to mid up to on an ebike. for nearly an hour from 5:52 to 6:45 i walked around near the hilton where thompson was set to attend a conference. accordinto prosecutors. these images are from a starbucks where he stopped at

6:15. beginning at 6:38 he stood against a wall across from the hotel with his hood up. he approached brian hompson from behind and shot him. >> this was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation. >> reporter: according to prosecutors he fled new york city and was eventually arrested at a pennsylvania mcdonald's with multiple live cartridges and a 3d printed gun and suppresser. a source familiar with the situation tells nbc news he does not plan to fight extradition to new york. the police commissioner with this message for those who have celebrated thompson's death. >> in the nearly two weeks since mr. thompson's killing, we have seen a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder.

let me say this plainly. there is no heroism in what mangione did. >> our thanks to stephanie for that report. the shooting at a christian school in madison, wisconsin has the local community reeling. on tuesday, people gathered at the capital building in madison to pray for the victims. three people are dead, including the suspect, and two students remain in critical condition. our jay gray has the latest. >> reporter: a day later, shock giving way to the gut-wrenching reality of what's happened in madison, wisconsin. >> if your kids have school, they are not okay. if they are church, they are not okay. where are they going to be safe? >> reporter: a teenager and teacher gunned down inside a study hall at abundant life christian school. at least six others wounded, including two students in critical condition with what peace scribed as life-threatening injuries. police say the attack carried out by a student. 15-year-old natalie rupnow, also known as samantha, who after the

shooting apparently turned the gun on herself. >> identifying a motive is our top priority. but, at this time, it appears that the motive was a combination of factors. >> reporter: police and federal agents searching her home and removing evidence, interviewing her family and continuing to comb the school for clues. investigators also exploring an online post rumored to be written by rupnow. >> now the process for doing that is looking at original documents that may have been taken from the suspect's home. looking at information that may be on laptops or on computer to determine if this document originated from our suspect. >> reporter: trying to figure out how and why it happened. >> we will never be the same. but we will get through this together. >> reporter: in a community struggling with all that's been lost. jay gray, nbc news. in new york, the man accused

in the gilgo beach serial killings has now been charged with another murder, bringing the total up to seven. emilie ikeda has the latest. >> the work of the gilgo task force is ongoing and continuing. >> reporter: the suspected gilgo beach serial killer back in court in new york and facing another murder charge, accused of killing valerie mack more than two decades ago. the 24-year-old new jersey native was a mom and involved in sex work. her parents embracing other victims' families. >> the lives of these women matter. obviously, nobody understands it more than the families. >> reporter: rex heuermann has now been charged in the deaths of seven women. six are forensically tied to the suspect. a strand of hair matches the profile of the suspect's wife and daughter. heuermann, an architect, was

first arrested in july of 2023 after prosecutors say dna on a pizza crust he threw out helped link him to one of the gilgo beach victims. he's pleaded not guilty to all charges. >> he has said from day one he is not responsible for these murders. >> reporter: prosecutors pointing to a document they believe he used to methodically blueprint. one document has ds, which prosecutors say stands for "dump site" prosecutors alleging that he kept these magazines and newspapers covering the murders as mementos of his crime, now part of an investigation they say is far from over. emilie ikeda, nbc news, new york now to breaking news in washington, d.c. where lawmakers are racing to avert a government shutdown. overnight, congress released the text of a short-term bill that

would keep the government up and running until march 14th. brie jackson is live in d.c. with the details. hi, brie, good morning. the question now is whether they can get this bill to the president's desk before the holidays. >> reporter: that's right, frances. funding runs dry at midnight on friday. so there's little room for error. this 1547-page bill would keep the lights on until the middle of march. but it also includes a wide swath of other measures both big and small. the legislation earmarks over $100 billion for disaster relief funding to continue rebuilding in the wake of hurricanes helene and milton, it includes assistance for farmers plus aid to rebuild the francis scott key bridge. that project is expected to get under way early next year. and the bill would reauthorize the department of homeland security program, allowing federal agencies to coordinate and counter threats from drones.

that's a growing concern after all the recent sightings. there's also a little political football included this there, with the measure to transfer control of robert f. kennedy memorial stadium from the federal government to washington, d.c. now that's a key step for d.c.'s efforts to bring the washington commanders back within city limits from maryland. the funding bill could face some push back from house republicans who argue it's packed with too many policies. it would also set the stage for a new funding fight during president-elect trump's first 100 days. but, if congress hopes to leave town for the holidays, a short-term solution will have to prevail. frances? >> hopefully not too much can kicking here. thank you. new this morning, nasa is again pushing back the return date for the two astronauts stuck on the international space station. suni williams and butch wilmore have been in space since june. they were only supposed to stay on the iss for a week, but

problems with their boeing starliner spacecraft meant they could not take the capsule home. nasa is now targeting late march to bring them to earth. the postponement brings nasa and spacex time to complete processing for a new spacecraft. the east coast bracing for another round of rain. angie lassman is tracking the system for us. angie, good morning. it's rain boots, not snow boots at least when it comes to the next several days. >> a couple spots might need to break out some snow boots, but most of the northeast and other folks around the region, not so much. we do have rain ramping across the country. we have flood alerts from arkansas to kentucky. that's where we'll likely see flood alerts. that system is going to be on the move as the day goes on. it arrives for the northeast and mid atlantic later today. and there's a little bit of the snow that might make you break

out the snow boots. then we see this next system start to emerge. that's going to bring us snow for parts of the upper midwest as we get into tomorrow. 50 million people under these dense fog advisories. we've got fog and low visibilities across this region, likely going to need low beams and a little extra time on the commute this morning. out west still dealing wit 55 ins for kansas city with a high of 41 degrees today. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. >> thanks so much, angie. the bucks found their lucky

number in vegas tuesday, and it was three. >> a little fancy ball handling from giannis. lopez easily wins it. fires away. missed the three. >> despite a tough first half, okc had no answer for milwaukee's onslaught of three-pointers. the bucks drained 17 baskets from the three-point line, leading by as much as 20 against the top team in the top team in. a big decision for the fed today, and the ftc kicking junk fees to the curb from everything on hotels to concert tickets. ng on hotels to concert tickets. 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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interest rates. the dow dropped nearly 270 points. the longest losing streak since 1978. cnbc's karen gilchrist is here with what to expect today. good morning, karen. >> good morning, frances. yes, all eyes indeed are on the fed today with markets widely expecting a final 25 basis point rate cut this year. taking its bank rate to 4.2 -- sorry, 4.25% to 4.5%. this will be the final cut of the year after the fed instigated its cutting cycle for the first time in four years back in september. but markets are also going to be looking at the outlook from jerome powell, the chair for the federal reserve and what the economy might have in store in 2025, particularly as we bring in the new trump administration and its fiscal agenda. now markets will certainly be responding to that in response. elsewhere, it could be a tie up between two of japan's largest

auto makers, nissan and honda, who are currently in discussions at the moment of ways to work together or potentially look at a merger. now this is in the face of increased competition and the idea is that they could pool resources d particularly technology, particularly as we see larger giants like the likes of chinese auto makers coming in and undercutting on costs and certainly in the ev agenda as well. now both companies put out a statement saying that no merger has been announced yet. but this is the latest sign of consolidation and shift in the industry, and particularly as we see increased competition in china and potentially tariffs coming in from president trump as well. the federal trade commission announced its final rule requiring businesses to disclose the in total price of their roducts, including fees for any live event tickets or short-testimony lodging. the rule will go into effect in 120 days. it could save consumers up to 53

million hours in waste a year in searching for the total price of tickets and lodging. the policy does not prohibit businesses from adding fees nor limit the amount of fees they can charge. still to come, the first details on the bluey movie. and the karate kid, not to be confused with the movie, the next karate kid. the movie, the next karate kid. f nature. our shampoos and conditioners are made with supercharged botanicals. ♪♪ these sulfate-free formulas deeply penetrate and replenish nutrients. ♪♪ to boost hair health in just one wash. ♪♪ all without the salon naturals price tag. ♪♪ ♪♪ it's supercharged herbal essences. ♪♪ [rattle of barista pouring coffee beans] it's supercharged [grinding noises] [bubbling water] [people softly talking] [whoosh of steam] [trickle of espresso pouring out] [whoosh of espresso settling] [pouring espresso into cup]

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karate to newcomer ben wang. it waxes on to screens on may 30th. i love the honor to mr. miyagi. pat morita would be so happy to know after all these years. >> you can make these movies for genetions to come. there's always good lessons to come from them. parents better carve out a day to go to the movies three years from now. >> what? >> maybe just sit forward a bit. >> okay, tell me when the trailers are over? >> ah. on tuesday, it was revealed that bluey would be coming to the big screen, thanks to a deal between disney and bbc studios. the adaptation will be written and directed by creator joe brum, who will step away from production of the series. you can expect bluey, bandit, and chili in theaters. kids and parents are excited for this. >> i'm so shocked that it has

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customers, drivers and restaurants. they say grubhub hid extra fees. "up in smoke" is now in the library of congress' national film registry. 25 movies total were added this year, including "dirty dancing", the "chainsaw massacre." "early today" will be right back. ly today" will be right back. come on, let's go! get off your— (donkey hee-haws) citrusy. ahhhhhhhh! (crash) touchdown! (♪♪) mountaaaain dew! home is a warm and fuzzy feeling. experience the comfort of home wherever you go with the familiar, long-lasting freshness and cuddly softness of snuggle. snuggle. the comfort of home. inez, let me ask you, you're using head and shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash,

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manhattan to share all the fun. >> reporter: more than 7 million people are expected to descend upon new york city this holiday season. to try and catch a glimpse of some of the city's famous festive landmarks. the rockefeller center christmas tree, the radio city rockettes, and the famous fifth avenue window displays. these dazzling displays started in 1874 with macy's. and since then, department stores are followed suit, from bergdorf goodman to blooming dale aes /- bloomingblooming dale's. but saks fifth every avenue is canceling their show. but there's one department store right up the road that's pulling out all the stops. nordstrom, even inviting their

window gazers inside. people come from all over the world for fifth avenue. we're on 57th. and broadway. how are you guys drawing people off fifth to come to nordstrom here? >> i think that new york, because it is such a destination for the holidays, and i think anybody who come here either as a tourist, or even if you're a local, the city's always been about discovery. >> reporter: nordstrom's olivia kim taking us inside their wonder all the way experience, and you might hear a familiar voice or two. and that's because john waters and fran drescher voice the life-sized display. so, is the idea to have these larger than life inflatables that talk, is it to get kids and parents in here? >> it's for everyone, you know, when youou look at something th big, it's about instant feeling of when you were a kid and things were small, right? and what that feels like. that feeli of wonder, that feeling of magic and being a kid

again. and it's certainly going to be inspiring for kids. we're finding adults engaging just as much. >> reporter: we even got a chance to see santa himself. hi, santa. >> how are you? >> reporter: one trend growing in manhattan are bars dripping in holiday decor with weeks-long waiting lists and lines out the door. one thing's for sure, it all might be too much to see in a new york minute, but there's definitely something for everyone in a city that never sleeps. chloe melas, nbc news, new york. >> i'd say there is nothing more magical than christmas in new york city. hope you get to experience it one y. thanks so muchda

a community comes together in mourning after a teacher and student were gunned down at a wisconsin christian school. the suspected teenaged shooter also dead. law enforcement say their top priority is yi