the first major winter storm of 2025 turns deadly as a bitter freeze sets in.

a barrage of snow and ice wreaking havoc on the roads and at airports across the mid atlantic. michelle grossman is tracking it all for us. a growing battle brewing between president-elect trump and special counsel jack smith. we're live in d.c. with the new push to block the release of his final report. breaking overseas, a powerful earthquake strikes tibet, killing nearly 100 people and injuring dozens more. canada's prime minister justin trudeau says he will go. why he's stepping down weeks before mr. trump takes office. overnight, nvidia takes the stop for the world's most valuable company. we're a week into the new year, and here comes sweet temptation to break that dieting resolution. krispy kreme and pop-tarts team up for a new doughnut. it's tuesday, january 7.

"early today" starts right now. good morning, glad to be with you. i'm frances rivera. we begin this morning as millions of americans are digging out after the first winter storm of the year. blasted across the midwest and mid atlantic. at least four people were killed across multiple states. the dangerous conditions canceled more than 2,000 flights and created slippery streets that left vehicles sliding. in some areas, snowfall totals hit at least 18 inches. in the nation's capital, a rare half a foot fell. >> we haven't had snow like this, really, in memory. i mean, this is the most at one time that i've ever seen since living here. >> schools across several states declared snow days, and many districts remained closed again today. over 300,000 lost power. and this morning, more than 200,000 are still in the dark from missouri to virginia. let's turn to nbc meteorologist michelle grossman who's keeping an eye on frigid temperatures

gripping much of the country, good morning, michelle. >> good morning, frances, making power outages worse. we have a wind chill making it feel colder than it is, and we are waking up to 31 million under cold advisories in the south. albuquerque to corpus christi. houston, jacksonville and tampa. temperatures are so frigid across the country. just 3 degrees in bismarck. factor in the winds, it feels like 14 degrees below zero. it's not just the northern tier of the country. as we go throughout the day we keep the cold blast in place for miles city, houston, new orleans, to tampa. 15 degrees below normal. most temperatures will be 5, 10, 15, even 25 degrees below what is typical for this time of year. tomorrowe'll keep the cold blt in place.

23 degrees below what is typical this time of year, and 27 in boston. we'll talk more about the cold weather and the ld air going over the warm lake waters. we'll see more lake-effect snow. >> thanks, michelle. now to breaking news. president-elect trump is trying to block the release of a report from special counsel jack smith. lawyers for mr. trump say they received a draft copy of the special counsel's final report. it addresses the investigations into election interference and the classified documents found at mar-a-lago. both cases were dismissed. nbc's chris pollone joins me from d.c. hi, chris, good morning. the president-elect is not the only one trying to stop it from becoming public. >> reporter: lawyers for mr. trump's co-defendants in the classified documents case are also trying to block the report. they filed a motion last night asking the district judge in florida to block smith. they cited that judge's previous ruling that smith's appointment

was unconstitutional. the special counsel is required to provide a report to attorney general merrick garland, and he can choose to make it public. but mr. trump's lawyers sent garland a letter asking him not to. the justice department did not respond to request for comment. this unfolded hours after lawmakers gathered here at the capitol to certify president-elect trump's latest election victory, as president of the senate, vice president kamala harris oversaw the certification of her own defeat. >> donald j. trump of the state of florida has received 312 votes. kamala d. harris -- [ applause ] kamala d. harris of the state of california has received 226 votes. [cheers and applause] today was a, obviously, a very

important day. and it was about what should be the norm, and what the american people should be able to take for granted, which is that one of the most important of american democracy is that there will be a peaceful transfer of power. and today america's democracy stood. >> reporter: happening today in washington, former president jimmy carter will lie in state at the capitol rotunda. the public can come pay their respects later tonight and all day tomorrow before the national funeral service on thursday. because of all the snow that we got in washington over the last day or so, all of the funeral events for jimmy carter today will be delayed by about 90 minutes, frances. >> making those logistics extra tough for them. thank you, chris. breaking news. nearly a hundred people are confirmed dead in an earthquake in southwestern china. the magnitude 6.8 quake struck

in the tibet region. tremors were felt in neighboring countries. let's turn to janis mackey frayer in china. bring us up to date on the latest. >> reporter: frances, this was a strong earthquake at a remote, high altitude in the himalayas, with the rescue operation now under way in freezing cold coitions. the epicenter was about 50 miles from mt. everest, also near one of tibet's holiest cities, with the population of nearly 650,000. officials say at least 95 people have been killed, more than 100 injured. these are early estimates, as rescuers push into the area. it was a 7.1 magnitude quake by usgs estimates, about six miles deep and shook buildings in nepal and parts of india. more than a thousand houses damaged, some have ollapsed.

media are showing homes torn apart and rubble area. the area is home to about 60,000 people, the chinese gateway to mt. everest. earthquakes not uncommon on this fault line. but this was the most powerful-reported quake in years. there's also jolting aftershocks. china's military has launched a rescue operation, and they're using drones to assess where help is needed most as those winter temperatures are set to drop. frances? >> hoping for the best possible outcome there in those rescues. janice, thank you. canadian pri minister justin trudeau has announced his resignation. he will remain on the job while the ruling liberal party finds someone to take over as leader. here's what trudeau himself said. >> canadians deserve a real choice in the next election. and it has become obvious to me, with the internal battles that i cannot be the one to carry the liberal standard into the next election.

>> for the latest, let's turn to claudio lavanga. why is trudeau resigning? >> reporter: good morning, frances. the reputation and popularity of justin trudeau has recently plummeted after he was blamed for the country's high inflation and the recent political chaos by canadians, including members of his own liberal party who have been calling for him to resign for a while now. so that announcement hasn't come as much of a surprise, and perhaps what really pressured justin trudeau to step down was a decision by his own deputy prime minister and who was also acting as finance minister last month to resign over his handling or mishandling of the aftermath of donald trump's victory. now donald trump did say that after he won that he will impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from canada as well as other

countries. but he appeared to take a jab at trudeau and canada, calling canada the 51st state of the united states and even appeared to try to ridicule trudeau by calling him the governor of the great state of canada. all the while, justin trudeau was thanking donald trump for inviting him for dinner in mar-a-lago and even said he was looking forward to cooperate with him in the future. so it's all over for justin trudeau. the elections now are scheduled for october. the frontrunners are the former finance minister who i mentioned who resigned, cynthia freeland. but also the current finance minister, dominick leblanc. and the foreign affairs minister, jolie. >> claudio, thank you. turning now to the deadly new year's day terrorist attack on bourbon street. president biden and first lady jill biden traveled to new orleans yesterday privately meeting with the victims'

families, survivors and law enforcement and speaking at an interfaith prayer service where the president offered support. >> if there's one thing we know, new orleans defines strength and resilience. you define it. whether it's in the form of this attack, from this attack, or hurricanes or super storms, this city's people get back up. that's the spirit of america as well. >> it comes the same day as louisiana's attorney general announced a full review of new orleans' security plans as questions are raised after the cicity's bolrds were removed for replacement. and the city failed to deploy anti-vehicle barriers that had had owned for years. the u.s. has reported its first human death from bird flu. the patient with underlying medical conditions was hospitalized in louisiana last month in what was considered the country's first severe human h5n1 infection.

the louisiana department of health said the patient had been exposed to a combination of a back yard flock and wild birds. so far there have been at least 67 cases recorded in the u.s. the cdc maintains that the immediate risk to public health is low. let's get back to michelle grossman, who's tracking another system that could bring lake-effect snow. just in time for the weekend. good morning, michelle. >> the cold winds blowing over the lakes and banding setting up once again. that will stay in place the next couple days. the snow is falling downwind of the lakes. we have really blustery conditions and the lakes are not frozen over yet. we will see snowshowers reducing visibility. cold winds blowing over 35 miles per hour. we have a bitter chill across the country. you factor in the winds, it feels colder than it is and bringing lake-effect snow. where you see the snowfall map, you see the pinks d purpleans. fe

gid temperatures. 32 degrees in d.c. that's your tuesday forecast. >> thanks so much, michelle. coming up. is will smith the one to bring ckba the matrix? nvidia reveals new tools to train everything from robots to cars.

when your clothes come out looking newer, longer... you get to take them for a spin. again... ...and again... ...and again. persil cleans and helps keep clothes looking newer, longer. get that new clothes feeling. wash with persil. as the people you love get older, their risk of severe flu get thand covid goes up.ling. last year, those viruses hospitalized nearly 1 million people 65 and older. so if someone you love is older, talk with them about vaccines. disney is inking a new streaming deal to settle an appoint trust suit. but first, nvidia is riding the a.i. boom to new heights with its next generation of chips. cnbc's karen gilchrist is here with the details.

good morning, karen. >> good morning, frances. nvidia really kicked off 2025 with a bang on monday. and that's new chips for desk tops and laptop pcs. the new chips known as ge force rtx 50 series will seuss the same blackwell a.i. architecture for these chips. it will be faster processing and better quality graphics as well as the ability to process large language models. now these graphics will come pre-installed on computers, costing around $550 to $2,000. and they will be available for shipping from march. this is nvidia going back to its gaming roots as it continues to pursue the lucrative a.i. data centers as well. elsewhere in entertainment news, disney announced it will combine

disney+ live streaming versus with fubo. with the focus on entertainment and sports. this comes after fubo brought a lawsuit against disney over its plans to launch a sports streaming service, arguing it would be anti-competitive. there were no announcements on monday as to whether disney will do that. fubo stock soared. still to come, is will smith entering the matrix? and challengers wa, reberemo on zendaya's hitting the red carpet with what may be a huge gift. dad, we missed you! daddy, hi! subject 3: goodness! my daughter is being treated for leukemia. i hope that she lives a long, great, happy life

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announcer: join with your debit or credit card now, and we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt that you can proudly wear. [speaking spanish] subject 7: are you ready to go have some fun? subject 8: yeah! subject 7: yay! subject 9: when we came here, we didn't know what tomorrow would hold. st. jude showed us that tomorrow there's hope for our little girl to survive. announcer: let's cure childhood cancer together. please donate now.

have you ever dreamt of getting two of your fav wendy's items for 7 bucks? like a spicy chicken sandwich, dave's single or... 10 piece nuggs? well today's the day your oddly specific dream comes true. pretty good dream. two favs for just 7 bucks? gotta be wendy's. it's our last night in europe. and i had this plan that i wanted to tell you. i'm just going to tell you.

mj, i -- >> am spiderman. >> what? >> that's what you were going to say, that you're spiderman. >> no. >> peter parker might just have a new great responsibility, marriage. on monday, tmz confirmed that tom holland and zendaya are engaged. she was solo on the red carpet but sporting a diamond on her ring finger. now to the post that made fans think will smith was finally taking the red pil on monday, oscar winner posted a short video to instagram. rumors were that he was attached to the upcoming matrix film. but the tease is actually related to an upcoming music project. smith turned down the role of neo in the matrix, later made

famous by keanu reeves. instead, he starred in wild wild west which came out in 1999. smith is expected to release his first album in two decades sometime this year. coming up, we follow the yellow brick road to a pair of famous stolen ruby slippers. and wait until you hear who had deputies going bananas in missouri. eddie. no! fraser. frank. frank. fred. how are you? support up to seven brain health indicators, including memory. when you need to remember, remember neuriva. (♪♪) skincare can start in the laundry room. that's why i always recommend all free clear for sensitive skin. it's free of dyes and perfumes. it's a key part of my self-care routine. and is gentle for my skin, and her's too. for an effective clean that's gentle on skin, all you need is all free clear. as the people you love get older, their risk of severe flu that's and covid goes up. last year, those viruses hospitalized nearly 1 million people 65 and older. so if someone you love is older, talk with them about vaccines.

when your clothes come out looking newer, longer... you get to take them for a spin. again... ...and again... persil cleans and helps keep clothes looking newer, longer. get that new clothes feeling. wash with persil. narrator: at this very moment, children at st. jude are fighting to survive. with a gift right now, you can join the battle to save lives. katy: without saint jude, i don't know where we would be. can we see snuggles? they have given children with cancer, like my winston, a chance. christine: she has neuroblastoma and it has spread to her liver. i try to enjoy every minute with her because i do not know when would be my last moments with her. narrator: time is running out to give a year-end gift that can help. st. jude children's research hospital save lives.

because cancer doesn't stop during the holiday season. please call, go online, or scan the qr code right now and give $19 a month to help make it the season of hope for families at saint jude. tammie: just that feeling that was, like, so hard on your heart that my kid's not going to live. every day now, it's like a gift. narrator: for just $19 a month, you can make a difference. please become a st. jude partner in hope right now. franchet: those that donate, it's more than a miracle for me. it's more than a blessing. (voice breaking) they have done so much for me and my family. narrator: join with your credit or debit card for only $19 a month, and we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt you can proudly wear to show your support. katy: all these children deserve to live, and i would love for it to be the day where no other family has to fear losing their child to cancer.

you've given us hope. narrator: please don't wait until the last minute. make your donation now to help st. jude save lives. here's what's making headlines this morning. u.s. steele and japan's nippon steel are suing president biden after he blocked their merger deal. the companies accuse biden of acting unfairly to win support from a workers union. the deal was a risk to national security, a spokesperson said. they are suing the union and a rival steel company. eli manning told cnbc that he would be interested in acquiring a minority stake of the franchise that he guided to two super bowl wins. the giants who have been owned

by the morrow family since their founding in 1925 declined to comment on manning's interest. pandas are enjoying their snow day at the national zoo. they arrived from china in october and will make their public debut later this month. and some serious monkey business in missouri. sheriff's deputies had to wrangle a monkey wearing a tootoo south of st. louis. for any taste, or any diet, at prices you love. delivered fast. for low prices, for life of pets, there's chewy. (♪♪) skincare can start in the laundry room. that's why i always recommend all free clear for sensitive skin. it's free of dyes and perfumes. it's a key part of my self-care routine. and is gentle for my skin, and her's too. for an effective clean that's gentle on skin, all you need is all free clear. as the people you love get older,

their risk of severe flu that's and covid goes up. last year alone, those viruseses hospitized nearly 1 million people 65 and older. that's nearly 1 million moms, dads, favorite uncles, and grammas. if someone you love is 65 or older, talk with them about vaccines, because to you, they're not just another number. 20 years after they were still on the case of dorothy's missing ruby slippers, it's

finally closed. emilie ikeda has a look back at the hollywood mystery. >> follow the yellow brick road. >> reporter: while the wizard of oz continues to captivate america, the final chapter. the man accused of long hiding a stolen pair of judy garland's shoes appearing virtually in court. the indictment says he received an item of memorabilia. >> they're more than just a pair of shoes. they're enduring symbol of the power of belief. >> reporter: another man already pleaded guilty to the initial step of breaking in and snagging the shoes that were on loan to the judy garland museum in grand rapids, minnesota. >> this is the door that was

breached. >> reporter: we met john there last year as the museum was raising money to win the slippers. but in december the shoes shocked the world, far exceeding their original value, thanks to an anonymous buyer. >> $28 million for the most iconic piece of memorabilia. >> reporter: as this pair's long journey to a new home comes to an end. >> there's no place like home. >> reporter: emilie ikeda, nbc news. krispy kreme is teaming up with pop-tarts for a crazy good doughnut collection. it includes a frosted strawberry doughnut, a frosted chocolatey fudge doughnut and a frosted brown sugar cinnamon doughnut, each topped with a tasty pop tart bite. coming up on "today", we are celebrating all things hoda. it is hoda kotb's last week at "today", and they're talking about the lasting impact she's had on the show and everyone who

works on it. >> hoda is loved by every single person on our crew, in the control room, the producers, every person on plaza. everyone. it's the hoda effect. and there's just nothing in the world like it. and everybody feels it. >> when i think about hoda, i really do think about her heart. that's who she is. that's what guides her. that's her north star. you know. leading with her heart is everything that she's about. >> "today"'s week-long hoda-bration continues later this morning, something you don't want to miss. any time she sees you, this is hoda like i'm tom llamas in new.

stay right there. more news on the way. re news on. a winter storm stretching from