new fears of explosive fire growth, as fierce winds return to los angeles. the powerful gusts threatening to upend the progress firefighters have made against the deadly inferno. we're live in california with the growing threat this morning after another wildfire broke out overnight. breaking overnight, the special counsel's report goes public. his fierce defense of the decision to charge mr. trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. and the response from the president-elect this morning. the confirmation battle begins today. we'll go to capitol hill with the fireworks expected from the senate hearing for pete hegseth. trump's pick for defense secretary. renewed hope for a cease-fire deal in gaza. we're live with the major breakthrough in talks. and could elon musk take over tiktok? with less than a week from a u.s. ban, the report on a potential sale and the response from the company this morning. and an emotional win for l.a. the victory over the vikings to

cap off the wildcard weekend. it's tuesday, january 14. "early today" starts right now. glad you're with me this morning. i'm frances rivera. it has now been a week since the catastrophic wildfires broke out across southern california. and dangerous winds have returned, threatening to fuel more flames. at least 24 people have died and the search for remains is ongoing. at least 23 people are missing. the fires have decimated more than 12,000 structures. 92,000 remain under evacuation orders. the palisades fire has charred over 23,000 acres and is just 14% contained. arson investigators from the atf were in the pacific palisades monday to investigate the cause of the mammoth inferno. and some progress has been made containing the eaton fire, which scorched more than 14,000 acres.

it's now 33% contained. a civil lawsuit has been filed against southern california edison, alleging that the utility failed to de-energize power equipment and clear brush in the area where the blaze began. overnight, theuto fire broke out in a dry river bed in ventura, rapidly charring 56 acres. approximately 75 firefighters are on the scene. jay gray joins us this morning. >> reporter: frances, the devastation stretches for miles across this region. the winds, they have been building overnight. national weather service los angeles says they'll really start to intensify around sun rise here and will reach their peak sometime midmorning and continue to be rough through midday tomorrow. the changing conditions, they've already sparked a handful of new brush fires here.

the winds and worry growing right now across the fire zone. more than 10 million currently under what's described as an extreme and particularly dangerous red flag warning. >> we urge the public to stay diligent, to stay ready, as the danger has absolutely not passed. >> reporter: forecasters stressing conditions over the next couple days could bring rapid growth and explosive fire behavior, fanned by wind gusts over 70 miles per hour. frontline crews digging in as the fight again intensifies. teams ready to respond to the surging, shifting winds. >> the engine strike team, task forces across the city to make sure that we have the abily to rapidly respond. >> reporter: while investigators continue to search for answers to what may have sparked the fires. >> they're identifying cause and origin for each of these separate fires. there's many of them. none have been ruled out of arson. >> reporter: members of a task force led by the atf spotted in

topanga state park, an area near the suspected ignition point of the palisades blaze. how and why it happened important. but right now, preventing things from getting worse is the primary focus here. yeah, and look, investigators very quick to point out that they are likely months, if not a full year away, from determining where and how these fires started. and, again, right now they're worried that devastation like this will expand as the wind continues to pick up here, frances. this is going to be a tough go. >> it certainly is as we start the second week, jay, thank you. let's turn to nbc meteorologist angie lassman with those winds. >> you heard jay talk about that red flag warning that's up for 13 million people. the national weather service calling this a particularly dangerous situation with the conditions lasting throughout the same region today.

peak 75 mile-per-hour gusts are expected. we'll see a little weakening this afternoon and evening, topping out at about 50-plus miles per hour. overnight, back up to 65 miles per hour or higher. and as we get into tomorrow, we'll finally start to see this event subside, 25-45 mile-per-hour gusts will be there. and our humidity levels will remain low. we do have extreme risk stretching from glendora to thousand oaks. now to breaking news. shortly after midnight, the justice department released a report from special counsel jack smith. in it, smith says that if the election had not stopped the case from moving forward, there was enough evidence to convict president-elect donald trump. the report says that not only was mr. trump's voter fraud narrative objectively false. he knew that it was false, and he inspired his supporteters to commit acts of physical violence. president-elect trump responded early this morning on socicial media saying, quote, deranged

jack smith was unable to successfully prosecute the political opponent of his boss. he called smith a lame-brained prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before th election, saying the voters have spoken. mr. trump has long condemned this investigation as political prosecution but in a letter with his report, jack smith says to all who know him will, claims that he was influenced or directed by political actors is, in a word, laughable. let's turn to capitol hill where senate confirmation hearings are about to begin. today could be a make or break moment for pete hegseth. the former fox news host has been chosen by president-elect trump to lead the department of defense. some senators have said they tten enough information about hegseth before today's hearing. >> reporter: hi, frances, good morning. that's absolutely right. an fbi criminal background check was handed over to the senate armed services committee a few

days ago. three sources with direct knowledge says the report does not include interviews with key women from his past, including his ex-wife or the women who accused him of sexual assault in 2017. there were no charges brought in that case. it's not clear if the women declined to be interviewed or the fbi did not reach out to them. hegseth is accused of having to step down from a non-profit role because of excessive drinking. lawyers for hegseth call that outlandish. >>e is lacking in the character and competence, absolutely vital in any secretary of defense regardless of party. and i am determined to bring out what he has done in mismanaging those two veterans organizations. there could be surprises,

because we have been denied essential records, documents, materials. >> reporter: yesterday republican senator tommy tuberville held a press conference with navy s.e.a.l.s., but there have been several republican senators who have been noncommittal about their votes. if every democrat votes against hegseth, he can only afford to lose three republican votes. >> consequential day. thank you. a cease-fire and hostage release deal between israel and hamas is on the brink of fruition. those were the words of president biden yesterday. it comes as multiple officials say negotiators made significant progress this weekend. two sources say the deal may be days away. good morning, claudio. >> reporter: good morning, frances. that's right. now this breakthrough is seen as

the result of the pressure that president biden has placed on the israi prime minister benjamin netanyahu, especially in the last few days, to close this deal before donald trump returns to the white house on january 20th. but, at least according to a senior arab diplomat, who is directly involved in the talks, among those who played a critical role in the advancement of the state of these talks is also donald trump's own middle east envoy, steve witkoff, who's been in the middle east over the weekend. now, as you mentioned, a senior israeli official also told nbc news they confirmed there are advanced stages of the talks, though he could not say whether it was a matter of hours or days. but he also provided an insight into the current proposal. now, under that proposal, hamas will release, initially, 33 hostages, which have been

defined as humanitarian cases. israel at the same time will observe a 42-day cease-fire, even though it will not fully withdraw from gaza until all hostages are released. a buffer zone will be along the gaza strip. and israel says they will deport to a third country those palestinian prisoners who will be released as part of the deal they consider serious terrorists. frances? >> the world and especially the families of those hostages watching extremely closely. claudio, thank you. the great lakes region bracing for another winter blast. angie lassman is back with those details. hi again, angie. >> in the plains, temperatures right now minus 6. you can see that wind chill well below zero. 25 degree below zero in minneapolis. and this extends all the way

down to the south. we've got atlanta into the mid-30s right now but feeling like mid-20s. these kinds of temperatures are going to settle in for the long haul. we have lake-effect snow happening. 11 million people under winter alerts downwind of the great lakes. still some additional snow expected across that region and chicago. snowshowers in the picture for cleveland and detroit. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. >> thank you so much, angie. still to come, the rams wrap the vikings in a wildcard shocker. and could tiktok sell it s. business to elon musk?

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a key inflation report is due out in just a few hours. but first, could elon musk be in the mix for the future of tiktok? good morning, karen. >> good morning, frances. well, we knew that tiktok was going to dominate headlines this week. but who would have thought this could occur. elon musk reportedly in line, potentially, to buy the u.s. business of tiktok. the chinese government looking at that plan. according to bloomberg reports citing government sources on monday. now this is the clock ticks on the potential ban on the social media app and as the supreme court deliberates the decision. this move would leave musk in charge of both x and tiktok as well as his other business and growing government interests. but it's important to state that

the discussions at the moment are preliminary. it's not clear whether they'll move ahead. and tiktok's saying to cnbc that it would not comment on quote, pure fiction. but this is thought to be part of the wider discussions into how the chinese government will work with the president-elect coming into office next week. also, the jobs reports caused turmoil last week. the wholesale inflation report will be out. with forecastings that it has grown in december, slightly up from november. and slightly down from the previous month and up 4%, sorry, 3.4% year on year, and this all feeding into how the fed is thinking about interest rates, too. >> karen, thank you. for the los angeles rams, the final matchup of wildcard weekend was more than just a

game. >> we are strong! we will not be defined by this devastation. we will rebuild l.a. hand in hand. >> despite having to play more than 400 miles away from this home stadium due to the devastating wildfires in the region, the team delivered for their city and fans versus the vikings. l.a.'s defense sacked darnold five times. minnesota's 14-win season comes to a bitter end in the desert as the rams punch their ticket to philly, 27-9. still to come, the new snl > perience. >>find out how bad bunny and jimmy fallon were livening up the subway. boom! if you know, you know. let's go. this stuff changed my life.

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amid all the destruction in california, we have seen miracles, both big and small. but none quite like this. liz kreutz has a special reunion for a little dog named oreo. >> reporter: we first met casey colvin amongst the chaos of evacuation. >> my boss was actually calling my, saying was everything in okay in the palisades? i said i am in the city, i don't know. >> reporter: he raced back, trying to get back to his two dogs inside but couldn't get past the roadblock. >> they deserve better than this. >> reporter: i'm so sore eye. >> how do i get to my house? >> reporter: a firefighter offered to go for him, knocking down the door, rescuing one of his two dogs, but the other was still missing. >> this is my daughter. the behavioral dog, he ran out of the house. >> reporter: later that night, the palisades fire reduced casey's home to rubble, but his only concern, oreo. for five days, he was missing.

then casey got a call. >> hi, bubba! oreo spotted in the neighboring property. >> it's your daddy. hi, bubba! oh, honey! oh, honey! oh, my god! >> reporter: it's the happy ending casey prayed for. >> oh, honey! woo! >> reporter: and there's one person he really wanted to thank. >> this guy saved your life. this guy saved your life. and you look like a ken doll. >> reporter: brent passkwaut. >> it that dog could talk, he would have a story to tell. >> reporter: had he not knocked down that door, both dogs would have been inside. >> i was in the middle of a crisis, a firestorm, and my dogs would have died if not for you. >> reporter: liz kreutz, nbc news, los angeles.

>> a story and smile that all of us can use. and despite the fire disaster, the grammys will be held as planned. the ceo of the recording academy said, quote, this city is our home, and we mourn the loss of life and destruction. several major companies are also pledging millions to help out with the disaster. netflix says it will give $10 million to non-profits. and our parent company, comcast nbcuniversal has also pledged 10 million. and warner bros. discovery will give a $15 million donation. if you want to know how you can help. you can scan this qr code and find a list of organizations that are accepting donations to support wildfire relief efforts. thanks so much for being with me for "early today." i'm frances rivera. hope you have a great and safe tuesday.