a new week brings little relief for southern california. the death toll from the raging wildfires rises as the region braces for the flames to intensify. jay gray joins us from pacific palisades. the cabinet meets the senate. hearings for the picks of president-elect trump take the hot seat this week. we're live from d.c. with what to expect. have we danced our final tiktok dance? the countdown is on for the chinese-owned platform. how content creators are dealing with the possible seismic shift. the best teams in the nfl duke it out for the honor of losing to the chiefs in the super bowl. we have a full recap of wildcard weekend coming up. and overcoming heartbreaking loss. find out how los angeles is powering through historic tragedy, thanks to their restaurants. it's monday, january 13th,

"early today" starts right now. glad you're with me. good morning. i'm frances rivera. we begin in southern california, where the wildfire-related death toll has now risen to at least 24. this includes 16 killed in the eaton fire, which could make it the fifth deadliest blaze in the state's history. at least 16 people are missing, and police say dozens more missing persons reports came in sunday, but they need to reconcile the numbers before reporting them. firefighters have made some progress, due to calmer winds over the weekend. reaching 27% containment on the eaton fire. and 89% on the hurst fire. but the massive palisades fire, which has devoured more than 23,000 acres is still just 13% contained. entire neighborhoods have been leveled with more than 12,000 structures destroyed. california governor gavin newsom has issued an executive order to help people impacted by the

catastrophic fires rebuild homes and businesses. evacuation orders are in effect for 105,000 l.a. residents, and 87,000 are in evacuation warning zones. los angeles county has issued a public health emergency, warning that smoke and air particles could pose immediate and long-term threats. health officials are urging people to stay indoors, replace air filters often and to wear n95 or p-100 respirators outside. jay gray joins us live from the hard-hit pacific palisades. good morning, jay. >> reporter: yeah, frances. good morning. and the devastation across this area overwhelming, unimaginable in some places, and it stretches for miles. areas like this, where it looks like a bomb actually went off. it has destroyed. it has devastated. and there are other areas where there is literally nothing left. no clue of what stood before the

flames rolled through and growing concern about the potential for another firestorm here. over the last 24 hours, a dip in the winds and progress along the front lines of the l.a. wildfires. >> hand crews, engine companies out there scouring the edge. we continue to put those control lines in to make sure that we have no fire progression or limit it as much as possible. >> reporter: but the fight here is anything but over. santa ana winds forecast to pick up again through at least wednesday. some areas could see gusts of 50 miles per hour or more, igniting and scattering embers. >> we're focussed on two things. containing the fires and saving lives and presenting property. >> reporter: but so much here has already been lost. entire communities gone. >> to see it this way. i never thought i would live through something like this. >> reporter: at least 12,000 structures and 40,000 acres

swallowed by the flames. >> this is an absolute nightmare. this is an apocalyptic movie there's no way to assess, really, this, the magnitude of this situation. >> reporter: law enforcement ending escorts to residents hopiping to recover anything th can in the rubble, locking down ravaged neighborhoods. >> a lot of these areas still look like they were hit by a bomb. there are live electrical wires, gas lines and other hazards. we want to make sure you're safe. >> reporter: firefighters continuing to battle along the front lines of the blaze. some for days without sleep. >> we're going to keep fighting this fight. we're going to get this fire out. and we're going to rebuild. >> reporter: each of those missions right now overwhelming. the national guard, law enforcement and fire teams continuously patrolling areas like this. the worst of the conditions expected to begin sometime later this afternoon. >> we're hoping and praying for more miracles as they do that.

jay, thank you. we are now learning more about some of those who lost their lives in these horrific infernos. dana griffin has their stories. >> reporter: these are the faces of neighbors, family and friends forever tied to the moist destructive wildfire in los angeles county history. anthony mitchell, a father who stayed behind with his disabled son justin, refusing to let him die alone. >> he said baby, i got to go. the fire's done made it to my yard. >> reporter: a sweet but stern arlene louise kelly. >> we didn't expect to lose her so tragically. that's what hurts the most. >> it's not what happens to you in life. it's what you do that counts. >> it was my baby. and he died needlessly. >> reporter: form child actor rory sikes, born blind had cerebral palsy. >> he said mom, leave me.

no mom can leave their kid. and i couldn't lift him. i couldn't move him. >> reporter: his mom shelly telling an australian news organization she drove to get help from firefighters. >> when the fire department brought me back, his cottage was burnt to the ground. >> reporter: at least two victims tried to protect their homes from flames where they raised families and lived for decades, like victor shaw and rodney kent nickerson. >> great person. funny. the life of the party and the people, very intelligent man. >> reporter: and there's randy niod, a surfer who lived in his well-known red crab shack. he was found there. his last words to his mom were pray for the palisades and pray for malibu. i love you. officials say the death toll could rise. some areas are still too dangerous to go into. officials say it will also take time for them to go home to home

with cadaver dogs to make sure no one is left behind. back to you. >> dana, thank you. now to the senate about no kick off a weeks of high-stakes job interviews for the next administration. confirmation hearings begin tomorrow for president-elect trump's cabinet nominees, including pete hegseth for defense secretary. and then on wednesday, marco rubio for secretary of state and pam bondi for attorney general. nbc's chris ollone joins me from d.c. pete hegseth's nomination is one that has faced the most scrutiny. >> reporter: yes, good morning to you. pete hegseth is a veteran and former fox news host many but there are questions as to whether he has the experience to lead the pentagon. two members of the armed services committee received a fbi background check on hegseth late friday. senators from both parties say they want to see that report.

but it's not clear if more will get the chance to before tomorrow's hearing. he does have the support of senate majority whip john barrasso. >> i think pete is going to be terrific in terms of recruitment. in terms of morale. in terms of returning america to a fighting force, which is what the american people really want. >> there is not a job that's more serious and more critical to our national security than secretary of defense. and we need a qualified individual in that job. and he just does not seem to have the qualifications. >> reporter: meanwhile, over the weekend, special counsel jack smith resigned. he had planned to exit before the inauguration. smith has handed over his final report on president-elect trump's alleged interference in the 2020 election. attorney general merrick garland is expected to make that report public soon. mr. trump has called this investigation illegitimate and requested why smith would be allowed to issue any report. >> chris, thank you.

today begins president biden's last week in office, which will include two major speeches. he will deliver a foreign policy address from the state department. the white house says the speech will discuss the work of the administration to strengthen america and lead the world. and on wednesday, president biden will deliver a farewell address to the nation. sources familiar tell nbc news this speech will touch on mr. biden's entire political career, and he will have a message about the country's future. a public memorial was held in brooklyn for the woman who was set on fire on a new york city subway three weeks ago. mourners came out to the first baptist church of sheepshead bay. she was asleep in a train car when a man lit her clothes on fire on december 22nd. she died at the scene. an undocumented immigrant from guatemala was later charged with murder. the suspect says he was drunk at the time and can't remember what happened. let's get a check on the

forecast with nbc meteorologist michelle grossman. those santa ana winds in l.a. are expected to pick up again this week. and so tough considering they got a break over the weekend. >> we're going to see those winds ramping up to 50, 60, 70 miles per hour. we're looking at relative humidity 8%. 10% in some spots. 13 million at risk for fire danger. red flag warnings for temecula to escondido. we have extreme risk that was added by the national weather service that includes santa clarita. we're looking at the risk of new fires increasing. we're so dry. the winds are going to be erratic. and we're watching fires potentially igniting once again. so we're going to see those winds pick up. notice winds at 50 miles per hour in some spots. and then, as we go throughout the later part of monday into the overnight hours, we can see

winds gusting up to 61 miles per hour. even a little higher . we're soggy in southeast. temperatures in the 50s and 60s. 70 in orlando. all right. that's your monday forecast. >> thanks so much, michelle. it was the only way a back and forth showdown on wildcard weekend could end. >> the washington commanders on the upright, and it is in! >> the commanders doink their way to the first playoff victory since 2006, taking down the buccaneers with that walk-off 37 yard field goal. earlier sunday the broncos looked to pull a similar shocker in buffalo. but an early denver touchdown

just delayed the inevitable fireworks for josh allen. the bills rode all over the broncos, 31-7. and d green y is packing it up after failing to replicate last year's playoff magic. jordan love and the pack were stifled by the eagleles' defens. but the birds did enough to escape with a 22-10 arghh!win. a decision on tiktok's ban, due any day from the supreme court. ugh! here we go again wait there's a red hulk now? i know he's red. heeems very angry. why he's so mad? sorry to interrupt... but what do we do about this? you must be new in town. we use tide oxi boost. it's a life saver. the most powerful clean in any universe, tide. lookin good. thank you. [bus arrives]

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cnbc's karen gilchrist is here with what that could mean for content creators and users. good morning, karen. >> hey, frances, good morning. yes. the clock is really ticking tor tiktok. and many creators are coming up with contingency plans ahead of the app's proposed ban by january 19th. these creators are asking their followers to migrate over to the likes of youtube, facebook and instagram with them. even some asking them to go to lemonade, a sister app of tiktok's, also owned by chinese parent company bytedance. and they are re-uploading, reediting and rebuilding the audiences, because they are worried about lost revenue from the potential ban. it's estimated that they could lose $1.3 billion in revenue in just the first month if this app, if this ban, rather, goes into effect. and this all comes after supreme court judges on friday had

opening arguments about this effective ban. now they seem to overlook tiktok's arguments of free speech violations in favor of national security concerns. but president-elect donald trump has said that he would like the court to temporarily block the ban, while he seeks a political resolution. so there will be lots to come in the coming days as we march towards this january 19th deadline and see what the verdict and the ultimate outcome will be for tiktok. back to you, frances. >> scrolling and posting habits could very well change. thank you, karen. still to come. den of thieves takes the box office and more. so wvee' got that for you, and timothee chalamet hosting again.

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los angeles is a city known for its amazing food scene. and, in the face of so much devastation, those chefs from high-end restaurants to food trucks are kicking into high gear to help those in need. here's tom llamas. >> reporter: this massive operation to feed and help those in desperate need started small. >> we started with two pop-up cars. and now we're here. >> reporter: when the fires hit, street food vendor jimmy and his son did what they could. they handed out hot dogs. but then he put out a call on social media for more food and more help. >> not only us now. it's multiple, lot of people are helping us out. >> reporter: that call out led to this turnout on thursday night. with people dropping all kinds of donations for anyone in need. and this was the turnout. his and other street vendors' operations taking over the santa anita racetrack parking lot.

chefs from all across los angeles joining in. >> we've been working for more than 12, 15 hours a day. >> we just came to try to do the right thing. we didn't expect to inspire so many other people. >> reporter: comfort food giving people who've lost so much the fuel to keep going. >> this means the world to us. we care about this community, you know? it is come together and helping everybody. >> reporter: across the disaster zones, restaurants feeding and cheering first responders as well. chef jose andres making sure firefighters here don't go hungry. >> we are obviously in different fires, trying to provide food to firefighters, making sure we have food 24 hours a day. >> reporter: simple dishes with so much heart. a recipe for helping. this community heal. >> feeding body, soul and community. our thanks to tom llamas for that. president joe bibiden awded pope francis with the presidential medal of freedom with distinction. the first time mr. biden has bestowed that honor during his

time as president. in a post, mr. president called the pope the people's pope. a light of faith, hope and love that shines brightly across the world. the award is the first medal of freedom awarded with distinction since president barack obama awarded one to then vice president biden. coming up, it is a new chapter on "today". craig melvin is welcomed to the anchor chair. >> this morning on the third hour of "today", a look at how artificial intelligence is being used to improve the healthcare industry. plus it's motivational monday, and we're talking about the benefits of shadow work. and outlander star sam hughen is live in studio 1a on the third hour of "tayod".