of "top story." reporting from the pacific palisades. our continue coverage of the los angeles wildfires starts right now.

deadly wildfires rage on in southern california. at least ten people now confirmed dead as firefighters try to gain control of the blaze. they're finding themselves without enough water pressure. we have team coverage in the fire zone. as residents return home, new questions about california's homeowners insurance coverage. president-elect donald trump due to be sentenced just hours from now for his conviction in the new york hush money trial. after the supreme court refused to intervene. mr. trump's reaction this morning. honoring jimmy carter. all five living presidents gathering in washington's national cathedral for the former president's funeral service, with president biden himself delivering a eulogy for his dear friend. and a soldier stationed overseas for a year gives his young sons a big surprise. the heartwarming reunion is coming up this friday, january

10th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera. much of the southern california landscape is now painted in ominous shades of orange and gray, as multiple infernos continue to rage across the region. at least ten people have been killed, and officials are warning that an exact number won't be known until investigation teams can access the areas burned. nearly 180,000 residents have been forced from their homes. where flourishing neighborhoods once stood, ashes now lay. an estimated 10,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed. >> oh, man. like, this is a whole shock. a whole shock. i've never seen nothing like this before. like, from the smell to even how the sun is red. it's, it's the worst thing i've seen. looks like a bomb just went off over here. it's the only way i can describe

it. >> the palisades fire, the largest of the wildfires is 6% contained and scorched 20,000 acres. and near pasadena, the eaton fire has torched nearly 14,000 acres and is still completely uncontained. on thursday, the kenneth fire sparked near west hills, burning more than 900 acres into ventura county. fire crews have stopped the forward progress and evacuation orders there have been lifted. many los angeles area schools are closed again today due to air quality issues. over 250,000 remain without power this morning. let's turn now to abc's jennifer bjorklund reporting from altadena where countless homes have been incinerated. >> reporter: the winds are still at red flag levels here in southern california through friday at least. but the good news is the gusts have lowered in intensity by about half. and that's given firefighters a

good chance to cut some containment lines. here in altadena, for every one house standing there are five or six that look pretty much like this one. just absolutely destroyed, looking like they were hit by a bomb. 10,000 or so acres burned here. but they're important, densely-populated acres also in this fire. and a new fire on the other side of the ridge from the palisades fire called the kenneth fire in west hills started out as 50 acres and grew quickly to about 900 acres. in the palisades fire, we're hearing this mind-boggling number, and i have to look at it to be sure. 5,316 buildings damaged or destroyed. add that to about 5,000 estimated here in the altadena area. that is a lot of work to be done in the next few months. president biden said today that he is committed to paying for all the firefighting efforts through the federal government. so that california doesn't have

to pick up the entire tab. this is unprecedented for 180 days, 10 of this is covered. he's sending c-130 tankers, about six of them, to tackle these fires because the red flag conditions are expected to continue into next week as well. i'm jennifer bjorklund, nbc news, altadena, california. >> and the high winds that have been fueling these fires are expected to continue. angie lassman joins us with the latest. they've weakened a little bit, but has it made a difference, angie? >> we have the ability to get those, the air fight up with the planes and such, with the winds currently stood yesterday, but we've seen those ramp up, and they are going to be elevated as we get through the morning hours. 17 million people as jennifer said, still under these red flag warnings. we'll see those gusts up to 55 miles per hour today. the good news is, our humidity creeping up just a little bit.

8-15%. but we could still see single-digit humidity values as we get through the day today. here's the five spots we're watching as far as the fires are concerned. notice these wind gusts near the lidia fire. 40-plus mileper hour. the hills, mountains, that's where you're going to see the elevated numbers, 10, 20, 30 miles per hour. this is something we contend with for the first part of the day. we'll see the winds decrease by the time we get to the afternoon hours. then we have a rollercoaster ride of more santa ana wind events on the way as we get through the weekend and into next week. the task of fighting such a massive area of fire is immense, and, as morgan chesky reports, the struggle for water is complicating the fight on the ont lines. >> reporter: a relentless firefight far from over. frontline crews facing challenges that only start with the flames. what have we got going? >> all we have, the fire's already burned through here. >> reporter: what we're looking at right now could have been caused by a single ember.

>> one ember could have caused this. >> reporter: we join the los where lack of water, critical to battling a still-active wildfire frustrating crews. this one from san francisco. what should the water pressure be right now? ideally? >> i mean, you want 50 to 80 is your ideal hydrant pressure. >> reporter: what have you got? >> i'm bouncing between 0-15. it's not a consistent pressure. >> reporter: as nearby hydrants failed, firefighters switching from offense to defense. when you run out of water in the engine? >> not much you can do then. >> this is our first job for the day. >> reporter: flames burning for precious minutes before reenforcements could arrive. >> had we had water early on in the firefight we probably could have stopped it from being this big. >> reporter: crews have to rely on these tanker trucks, because the fire waits for no one.

the situation a familiar one for the captain, a 25-year veteran of the lafd. mere blocks away, another call coming in for another home up in flames. if we had any wind right now, completely different firefight? >> 100% different firefight. >> reporter: just feet away, a million dollar view burned beyond recognition. >> there's not even a single home from this entire viewpoint that we can see that has survived. >> reporter: if you had officials in front of you right now, what would you ask for to have had a proper firefight. >> more firefighters, more hydrants, more airdropping capabilities. we need more of everything. >> reporter: these crews doing whatever they can with whatever they have. fighting a historic disaster head on. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ former president jimmy carter has been laid to final rest, buried next to his wife

rosalynn in his hometown of plains, georgia. just hours before, his caskets was in washington, eulogized by family and friends, led by president biden. our kristine o'donnell has this report. >> reporter: the passing of a president offers a rare moment of national reflection. stirring traditions played out to honor the life of jimmy carter. ♪ ♪ ♪ amazing grace ♪ >> reporter: the 39th president brought together decades of his successors. their interactions appearing to set aside conflicts in politics and d rsonalities. one handshake ended nearly four years of no contact between former vice president pence and the president he served. and mr. obama and mr. trump engaged in conversation. in his eulogy, president biden praised carter's example of leadership. >> strength of character is more

than title or the power we hold. >> reporter: sons of the late president and of walter mondale wrote tributes their fathers had written. >> it was because of their shared values that jimmy and i respected each other as adversaries, even before we cherished one another as dear friends. >> we told the truth. we obeyed the law. and we kept the peace. ♪ imagine ♪ >> reporter: remembered as a global humanitarian, to his family a regular guy at home. >> my grandfather was likely to show up at the door in some '70s short shorts and crocs. >> reporter: jimmy carter's long-faithful journey ends, forever a son of plains, georgia. kelly o'donnell, nbc news. president-elect trump is due to be sentenced this morning for his 34 felony convictions in the

new york hush money case. the supreme court decided not to intervene and stop today's proceedings. president-elect trump told reporters that he respects the court's decision and noted that they left the door open for him to appeal the verdict. and the judge has made it clear, today's sentencing will not include prison time. >> well, they called for an appeal. and, as you know, they acknowledged what the judge said about no penalty in his ruling, there's no penalty, but we're going to appeal anyway, psychologically, because frankly, it's a disgrace. >> a federal appeals court has also reject add request for mr. trump, refusing to block the release of the special counsel's report on election interference. the president-elect could also appeal this decision to the supreme court. and today the supreme court will tackle the battle over tiktok, the popular app could be banned in the united states as soon as next week. the government alleges that tiktok poses a national security threat. bytedance has been ordered to

divest tiktok to an american company or face a ban on january 19th. today the justices will consider whether the law being used to enforce this ban violates free speech protections. it is unclear when the court will hand down a decision. let's check back in with angie lassman, who's also tracking another round of severe winter weather. >> we've got the severe, or we've got the, rather, winter alerts to prove it. 86 million people across much of the country under winter alerts as the storm system is on the move. we've got heavy snow, freezing rain. stretching essentially from michigan to the carolinas. we've got rain across parts of the southeast. atlanta going to be in and out of that freezing rain through the day today as the roads will be icy. tomorrow the storm quickly exits the coast. but we'll see isolated showers left over. snow across the tennessee

valley. and on top of mostly-cloudy skies for philadelphia. 34 degrees with snowshowers and ice and freezing rain for atlanta, montgomery and mobile, dealing with rain this afternoon. and that's aook at your forecast, frances. back to you. >> okay, angie, thank you. coming up, a financial crisis in california, as estimates say the insured losses from the wildfires may exceed $20 billion. wildfires may exce $20 billion. ♪♪ the bare minimum. anti-dandruff shampoo made with only nine ingredients. no sulfates, silicones or dyes. and packaged with 45% less plastic. giving you outstanding dandruff protection. and leaving hair beautiful and moisturized. major dandruff protection, minimal ingredients.

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thousands were dropped from their insurance in the last 15 years. >> just a tragedy in california, and one natural disaster after another, worsening an insurance crisis. an early estimate putting the insured losses from the pacific palisades fire at nearly $10 billion. and that's an early estimate with at ast three more fires exploding since that estimate was made. the losses are sure to rise. what does this mean for homeowners? they'll be taking an inventory of what's been lost. they'll be checking their policies for what's covered. the region is known for its multi-million dollar home prices, and with entire neighborhoods wiped out, insurance companies are pushed to the limit. more than 100,000 homeowners in the area why dropped by insurance carriers over the last few years with wildfires ranking as the overwhelming reason why. there is another option for homeowners, though, the state's insurer of last resort. the california fair plan as it's

known. has seen 85% increase in policies. it faces a huge test, covering all of this week's devastation. this is the new normal, many experts say. last year's losses from natural disasters exceeded $100 billion. and with all these disasters, costs will continue to soar for homeowners. nationally, homeowners insurance rates rose 20% from 2021 to 2023. and recently, california's regulators approved rate increases as high as nearly 35%. so, guys, just everywhere you look, the cost to cover these disasters and the costs to insure against future losses show no signs of slowing down. >> just staggering. christine, thank you. still to come, the lions and chiefs rest. teams duke it out for super bowl lix. s duke it out for super bowl lix. last year alone, those viruses hospitalized nearly 1 million people 65 and older.

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a rocky first half for the irish turned into a thrilling finish at thursday's orange bowl. notre dame tied up their semi-final match against penn state with a 54-yard touchdown pass from riley leonard to jaden greathouse. an overtime showdown looked inevitable until penn state's drew aler was picked off. >> snap and hold, good. the kick is -- good! >> the fighting irish advance to their first national championship game in over a decade, where they will face the winner of tonight's cotton bowl. so in notre dame's last championship appearance they got blown out by alabama. that was in 2013. before the current playoff system was implemented. >> we'll see what happens from here on out. and this epic weekend of football playoffs continues in the nfl on saturday. the weekend begins with the chargers taking on the texans, followed by the third meeting

this year of the steelers and the ravens. on sunday, the battered packers will begin face saquon barkley in philly. and the broncos travel to buffalo for their first playoff game in nearly a decade. and jayden daniels and the commanders head to tampa to face the bucs right here on nbc. if you didn't have plans already, now you know. you've got plenty of plans, plenty of games to watch as we get into the weekend. >> we need to figure out the jersey situation in our home. it's broncos versus bills in our household, my son and husband. what to expect from the final jobs report of the biden administration. and check your pantry, a voluntary recall on corn bread mix updated. recall on corn brea mix updated. ...and more absorbent. so, while ordinary brands can't hold up, one sheet of bounty keeps working, even when wet. (♪♪)

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we are back with one wisconsin dad serving overseas who planned a special surprise reunion with his two young sons >> a few weeks ago he was crying, sitting there crying and came and asked me for a hug. and i said what's the matter, and he just said, i miss my dad. >> reporter: it's the moment they've been waiting for. >> they're sweet little guys. and it just seems like this could be a special moment for them. >> the kids think he's picking them up after school, but we have other plans for them. >> reporter: he is home. >> the special day. >> it's been a long time coming. >> transitions are really hard for little people. and this is an opportunity for this re-unification that i thin will be powerful. >> yeah, i'm back.

>> reporter: in a surprise well worth the wait. >> it's a hundred years since you came back. >> it was so long. >> yeah. >> reporter: nick serving in south korea for the last year. >> having to miss them all the time, it's very lonely in the apartment by myself overseas. >> reporter: but now he's back with his family again. >> there's chocolate cake ready for me? >> yeah. >> okay. >> yeah. >> reporter: doing whatever they want to, together. >> and play some games. >> yeah? >> yeah. >> hey, daddy, you need to see how good i play mario on my ipad. >> oh, really? >> yeah. >> just seeing their family back together again i think is going to mean a lot to them. >> i just need a core memory with me today. >> reporter: a core memory of a family reunited. >> special memories with those hugs and the switch, too. ford is revealing a new special edition special edition mustang called

spirit of america inspired by the speed cars from the 1960s. it is decked out in white with red and blue racing stripes and features an 815-horsepower v-8 engine. that makes it the most powerful mustang ever, capable of hitting 202 miles per hour. though ford did not reveal the special edition car's price, the gtd model runs about $325,000. coming up on "today", it's the final day of hodabration, as hoda kotb spends her very last day in the anchor seat. today is dedicated to the 8:00 a.m. hour and celebrating their beloved team member with the morning filled with special tributes and surprises. tune in for a very special morning as "today" celebrates hoda on her last day. and ks so much for being with me and ks so much for being with me (♪♪) years of hard work. decades of dedication.

committed to giving back. you've been there, done that. and you're still here for more. so now that you're 50 or older, and at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia and ipd be proactive with capvaxive- a vaccine specifically designed for adults to help protect against pneumonia and invasive disease caused by certain types of pneumococcal bacteria. capvaxive is the only vaccine that helps protect against the strains that cause 84% of ipd in adults 50 or older compared with up to 52% by other pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. don't get capvaxive if you're allergic to the vaccine or its ingredients. tell your doctor if you have a weakened immune system. common side effects include injection-site reactions, feeling tired, headache, muscle aches, and fever. whether you've had another pneumococcal vaccine or not ask your doctor or pharmacist about capvaxive. (♪♪) in sou