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 trying to piece

together a motive. the man accused of killing a healthcare ceo now officially indicted on first degree murder and other charges in new york. how soon luigi mangione could be extradited back to the state. breaking overnight. congress releases the text of a short-term funding bill that would keep the government open until march and avoid a shutdown set to go into effect this friday. a lawyer for music mogul jay z firing back, sitting down with nbc news, as the rapper's accuser acknowledges inconsistencies in her story but stands by her rape allegation. and a mystery mailbox popping up in one major city, bringing people closer together this holiday season. it's wednesday, december 18th. "early today" starts right now. . good morning, i'm frances rivera. 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. police say determining a motive for the shooting is the top priority. they're analyzing a disturbing online post, possibly made by the allege the shooter. our jay gray reports. >> 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 not okay. where are they going to be safe? >> reporter: a teenager and teacher gunned down inside a study hall at abundant life school, two students in critical condition with what's described as life-threatening injuries. police say an attack carried out by a student, natalie rupnow also known as samantha. >> 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 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 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. luigi mangione has been indicted in new york for the fatal shooting of the ceo of unitedhealthcare. the main charge is first degree

murder in furtherance of terrorism. the d.a. said terrorism charges were warranted because the shooting was, quote, intended to evoke terror. our antonia hylton has the latest. >> reporter: manhattan d.a. alvin bragg along with the nypd commissioner, jessica tish announced 11 total counts in the indictment in lieu indictment in lieu we weeky mangione's case. including one count of criminal possession of weapon in the fourth degree. there are 11 counts total. we have been expecting this indictment for days now. already he had been charged with second degree murder in new york. and the speculation had been that this would escalate to first degree. what we also heard the d.a. spell out is that there is a terrorism component to this

case. a cultural story around this case now. that they are going to be painting a picture of luigi mangione's actions in court, and essentially telling the story of how he not only planned the murder of the healthcare ceo but also committed this murder, they allege, with the goal of creating a cultural movement of sorts around it, to the potential threats to other corporate ceos, people intentionally trying to do copycat crimes and even reshaping the conversation around american healthcare policies. all of which we have seen evidence of in the last several days, which has made authorities in new york and around the country incredibly concerned. as of now, the tory is still centered here in pennsylvania, because luigi mangione remains behind bars here. in fact, he has even been receiving mail and numerous entries to his commissary account from people around the country here. but a source familiar told nbc

news that he plans to waive extradition. that means that he's going to no longer fight this extradition process. and, if that happens, the timeline of these hearings that are set for thursday morning would change. we could very quickly see authorities come and take mangione and transport him to new york. back to you. >> antonia, thank you. breaking news in washington, d.c. where lawmakers are working on a christmas miracle to avoid a government shutdown on friday. overnight, congress released the text of a short term bill that would keep the federal government up and running until march 14th. the 1547-page bill includes over $100 billion for disaster relief to continue rebuilding in the wake of hurricanes helene and milton. lawmakers have just a few days to avoid a shutdown ahead of the holidays. president-elect trump launching a new legal battle over a preelection poll in iowa.

meanwhile, on capitol hill, trump's pick to lead the department of health and human services is lobbying lawmakers before what is expected to be a contentious senate confirmation process. alice barr has the details. >> reporter: in a lawsuit mixed with a message, president-elect trump suing iowa pollster ann seltzer and the des moines register newspaper over a preelection poll that showed vice president kamala harris ahead by three points in iowa. the trump lawyers arguing consumer fraud, and that the poll was intended to sway the race. >> it became the biggest story. >> reporter: though mr. trump ultimately won the state by 13 points, the des moines register saying it stands by its reporting and will quote, vigorously defend or first amendment rights. some legal analysts question the suit's foundation. >> when you file a lawsuit you have to say were you damaged in some way. what was the harm to donald trump? i won. >> reporter: it comes after the president-elect won a separate

suit against abc news and a $15 million settlement over the trump legal team's allegations that anchor george stephanopoulos defamed him during an interview. the president-elect signaling more similar legal action could be coming. >> we have to straighten out the press. >> reporter: the trump pick to hid head the fbi, kash patel suggested coming after journalists, clarifying he meant those who broke the law. robert f. kennedy jr. making the rounds on capitol hill, expressing views on everything from vaccination to abortion. >> i don't know what's in his heart, because he said so much stuff. some of which sounds like he's from outer space. >> reporter: with pressure on the press and his own party, president-elect trump testing the strength of his post election support. in washington, alice barr, nbc

news. the federal trade commission announced its final rule requiring businesses to disclose the all in total price of their products, including fees for any live event tickets or short term lodging. the rule was approved in a 4-1 vote and will go into effect in 120 days. it could save consumers up to 53 million hours a year. the policy does not prohibit businesses from adding fees, nor does it limit the amount of fees they can charge. new this morning, nasa is again pushing back the return day for the two astronauts stuck on the international space station. suni williams and butch wilmore have been in space since june. they were suppose to only stay on the iss for a week, but problems with the boeing starliner spacecraft meant they could not take the vessel home. they are targeting late march for the mission to return wilmore and williams to earth.

the postponement gives nasa and spacex time to continue processing on a new spacecraft. a pileup involving more than 50 vehicles shut down a causeway, the longest bridge over water on the planet. heavy fog was reported in the area. dozens were taken to the hospital with injuries. many others were stranded on the bridge and had to be rescued as well. the east coast bracing for another round of rain today, angie lassman is tracking the timing of these storms. good morning. >> we've already got some of these flood alerts up for parts of the country that are seeing this system work through as we speak. that's centered across places really stretching from arkansas to kentucky. you see nashville included in that as well as jonesboro will see low-lying poor drainage areas be dealing with flooding for the first half of the day. the system's on the move later today. notice this is in the evening hours. we'll see some of this rain work into the northeast and new england area. we'll start to see snow in the

higher elevations, especially the farther north you go. then we'll turn our attention to the next system. we'll see snow for folks there. low visibility happening across parts of the southeast once again. dense fog advisories are up for 22 million people at this hour. and those will stay with us through at least daybreak. out west we've still got fire issues. we're going to see the fire weather stick with us. low humidity, elevated winds, that of course roblematic fo parts of califorr ni 3 degrees. low 30s for des moines and chicago. plenty of sunshine in denver today. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. >> thanks, angie.

coming up, the mega merger reportedly in the works for two of japan's biggest auto makers. jay z's lawyer and the polygraph test happening today. polygraph test happening today. s 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. ♪ (background noises) hey! get off your— (donkey hee-haws) citrusy. ahhhhhhhh!

(crash) show-off! (♪♪) mountaaaain dew! an attorney for jay z is firing back after a woman accused the rap icon of raping her when she was 13 years old. that accuser standing by her story after nbc news discovered inconsistencies in her account. her legal team saying she's undergoing a voluntary polygraph test today. here's chloe melas. >> reporter: the accuser's law firm telling nbc news that jay z raped her when she was 13 years old, she's expected to undergo a polygraph test. this after the interview with the mother from alabama. we agreed to conceal her identity as an alleged sexual

assault victim. what made you finally want to talk about it? >> well, nobody was going to believe me back then. like, nobody. >> reporter: in the wake of our reporting, jay z's attorney, alex spiro is pushing a judge to dismiss the accuser's lawsuit. >> we expect mr. carter to be fully cleared of this in the following dadays. >> reporter: on the night of the mtv music video awards in 2000, she says that the limo driver took her to an after party at a house with a u-shahaped drivay. there she spoke to benji madden and his brother. >> i'm talking to benji madden about his tattoo, the last supper. >> reporter: the maddens say they were on tour in the midwest and did not attend the vmas. she said she had a drink that made her feel woozy. then they raped her. she said she ran to a gas

station to call her father, who drove more than five hours to pick her up. >> we drove home in silence. >> reporter: her father said he could not corroborate her story. i feel like i would remember that, and i don't,e said. a representative for carter said jay z never attended a house party after the vmas, they say he went to a nightclub for several hours, then went to his recording studio in manhattan. in a followup phone interview we asked her about the contradictions. and she said she stands by her statements. this woman is standing by her story. it happened over 20 years ago. maybe her memory is hazy. maybe her father doesn't remember that night. >> no, no. she's doubled down on certain of these day tails. details. nobody has come forward about this in a quarter of a century, that's because it hasn't happened. >> i haven't asked for a dime from him. none of it is motivated by money, and i'm sorry that he feels that it is. >> reporter: the accuser's lawyer says his client remains adamant about her clai, that

she signed two affidavits and he's waiting for the results of the polygraph. still to come, your kids may outgrow it, but that doesn't mean you will. we have the first details on the big screen adaptation of bluey. when you can see the furry family in theaters. ee the furry family in theaters. our shampoos and conditioners are made with supercharged botanicals. ♪♪ these sulfate-free formulas deeply penetrate and replenish nutrients. ♪♪ tooost hair health an in just one wash.nts. ♪♪ 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] [sliding coffee on counter] [person sipping their coffee] mom's gonna love this!

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the tree grows strong. >> mr. miyagi? >> i came looking for you. >> 40 years after he first pulled off the crane kick, daniel-san is teaming up for legends. ralph macchio reprises his role.

it waxes on the screen on may 30. >> always good lessons, entertaining nonetheless. full of action but always good lessons coming from those great, great films. parents better carve out at least one day to go to the movies three years from now. >> oh! >> what? >> tell me when the trailers are over? >> that's right. bluey is coming to the big screen. the adaptation of the australian animated phenomenon will be written and director by creator joe brum who will step away from production of the spear eries. you can expect it in theaters in 2027. i don't have kids yet, but i know the craze that is bluey. but kids love it, and parents too. >> they're going to have to wait

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will announce the fed's decision on whether to reduce interest rates. and tom cruise has accepted a distinguish the public service award. it's the highest civilian honor from the u.s. navy. the navy secretary carlos del toro recognized cruise for decades of advocacy through many movies. we'll be right back. 'lbeig back. moes (background noise) 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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deeply as you. >> reporter: they include confessions of regret. >> what if, should have, maybe next time. >> reporter: and hope for the future. >> please bring us peace. >> reporter: this is the unsent letter mailbox. a popup art installation sophia calvin brings around new york city. she said like many, she has struggled with feelings of isolation. >> anonymity is such an experience of urban living. >> reporter: the rules are simple. >> can you sit and write a letter anonymously and in exchange read one written by someone else. >> reporter: nadia wang is one of millions to join in, eading one from someone she's never met. for some, the writing brings out unexpected emotions. >> we've had a lot of homeless people. high-flying people.h, and they write about very similar topics. it's estrangements, unrequited love. >> this is weird, but i kind of

like it. >> reporter: and reading strangers' secrets? can evoke care and concern. >> hopefully whoever wrote this has the courage to say how they feel next time. >> reporter: has this mailbox changed your feeling of isolation? >> yes. not that i don't feel isolated, but i know i'm not the only one feeling isolated. >> reporter: unsent letters delivering connection. maya eaglin, nbc news, new york. >> what a great idea. so cathartic and therapeutic, too. now to the holiday spirit that has grown to grand proportions in one utah neighborhood where nearly every house seems to have a git, inflatable santa on their front lawn. >> we have a neighborhood chat and a group meet. and as soon as anyone sees the santas on sale they'll post. hey, it's at home depot, on sale, go grab it while you can. >> the area's new holiday tradition became bigger than anyone could imagine, with over 75 inflatable santas standing for the second year.

it's got to be so cool even at night with it lit up. with those mountains in the background, how beautiful, how fun is that? coming up on "today", here comes the holiday rush. vicky nguyen has everything you need to know to get your packages mailed on time for christmas. and here's sheinelle jones with a look at what else is ahead on "today." >> healthy habits to start as we head into 2025. plus ali love is stopping by with ideas for the perfect cozy night at home. and we are making a meaty meal in "today" food on the third hour of "today." and thanks for g