it is wednesday december 30th rve, coming up on "early today." historic and dangerous flooding indates missouri and over a dozen killed. and rivers are not expected to crest for days. the affluenza teen and his mom could be back in the u.s. today. is jail next? the front runners preparing for a political battle as the billionaire back field long shot and a hover board takes down iron mike tyson. oprah's message for her legion of fans and big winners and losers in the world of sports. "early today" is now. i'm richmond lui. the worst flooding in years. missouri governor jay nixon has

provide search and rescue operations. >> >> reporter: flood waters are on the rise. when water spilled over this levee in west alten people were told toe vablgt evacuate. one man had to be rescued from the roof of his home. >> had to call the fire department to bail me out. >> this has been the wettest december on record in st. louis and missouri is now under a state of emergency. jay nixon has called in the national guard and warned residents the threat the far from over. >> the threat has changed but it is not by any means over. especially for communities along the rising mississippi river and its tributaries here in the st. louis region. >> reporter: there are also dangerously high waters in the southeast. fast-moves rivers have taken out

and some 14 million americans are now under flood watches. meanwhile some good news out of texas. a family who's home was found during the weekend tornado found their dogs amid the destruction. the pooches were buried for two days under the rubble and while in some pain are going to be okay. the texas affluenza teen, ethan couch and his mother tonya were apprehended in puerta vallarta, mexico. and it was a domino's pizza order that led to their capture. >> after a two week man hunt ethan couch and his mother await their return to the u.s.

avoid capture. now investigators are racing to find out if they had help in what the sheriff called a premeditated escape in this pickup truck from fort worth ending up some 960 miles away in puerta vallarta. >> they had a gathering before they left and characterized it as a going away party. >> couch's case gained worldwide attention after killing four people near fort worth while driving drunk in 2013. they argued he doesn't understand the difference between right or wrong due to his affluent upbringing. this video tape prompted couch to run. once he's back in texas a judge keep the case in juvenile court which would allow the teenager to go free on his 19th birthday

or the case could be transferred to adult courts, where a judge could sentence him to just 120 days in jail. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez report reporting p for us. prosecutors say they intend to charge tonya couch with hindering the investigation. hillary clinton changing her position now. accusing ices of committing genocide. that's a departure from an earlier posture and not used by anybody else. and and nbc's edward lawrence is live np washington for us on this morning. clint's war with donald trump

well. >> all of the candidates hope for that momentum going into 2016. starting today they will log,000s of mileslog,000 s -- thousands of miles to reach as many voters as they can. >> donald trump has a new target. 2 million a week on campaign ads. >> i'm going to be doing big ads in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina. and they are going very bstantial and i think they are very well done. i've seen the first two or three of them. >> some experts worry this may be the wrong move. >> i think it is also a little risky. what if they look conventional? if it ain't broke don't fix it. the notion that donald trump would start running a convexal campaign should concern him a little bit. >> a new poll shows trump and clinton in a toss up if the election were today.

attacking clinlten through her husband. meanwhile senator marco rubio picked up an endorsement in south carolina from common gowdy. >> some of them get a little desperate and nasty in their attacks and that's fine. we're going to continue to campaign on what i'm going to do when i'm president. >> rubio also defended his voting record in the senate. >> and the republican field shrank. george pataki dropped out. >> one less in the republican field. thank you so much edward lawrence. now to the pilot of a small single engined plane dead after it crashed in anchorage yesterday. clipping ab office building before litting another building and bursting into the flames. the pilot was not authorized to fly the plane authorities say. no other injuries have been reported. investigators say windy weather conditions may have played a

ruling out other factors at the time. >> al jazeera is digging in heels suggesting peyton manning was somehow involved with performance enhancing drugs. manning is still fighting back, both sides saying their version of the story is accurate. blake mccoy reports. >> under increased scrutiny al jazeera is defending their position. >> do you have specific information peyton manning ever took hgh. >> we have never said that in the program. we are not making accusations against peyton manning. >> their story was not credible to begin with says fleisher and it is not credible now. a timeline of events is undisputed. manning suffered a neck injury in 2010 and admits receiving

institute. >> a hyperbaric chamber that doctors thought might be good for me. >> al jazeera's documentary never directly says manning took human growth hormone or hgh but the implication is strong. >> claims he was part of a medical team that helped him recover. >> the source says the nfl-banned substance was shipped to manning's wife repeatedly. peyton says it's her business. waking to showers in san francisco. eyes on mississippi. the water is rising, already in and around the st. louis area.

and this is really serious because we're already at major flood stage and we could get up to very close to record levels. switching gears now to something a little more exciting. we have new year's eve on the horizon and the temperatures will be really cold for the west but for times square temperature temperatures will be in the 40s. that will be really comfortable for the people ringing in the new year there and the west coast, temperatures in the 50s. new year's day not much of a change. the national perspective weatherwise r new year's day is calming down after a wild week since christmas. one exception.

corners of southwest texas.s for los angeles and into san diego. it is nice to finally get a calmer weather pattern to start the new year. >> you know the word normal is not one we've used very much. thank you. a priest on a hover board leads to an unholy outkosmt and oprah. you're watching "early today" introducing centrum vitamints. a brand new multivitamin you enjoy like a mint. with a full spectrum of essential nutrients... surprisingly smooth, refreshingly cool. i see you found the vitamints. new centrum vitamints.

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people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too. angel soft. and just in a close call for the uss harry s. truman. the aircraft carrier came about 1500 yards from an iranian rocket in the strait of ormuz on saturday. an official tells us that though the rockets were not fired at the uss truman, the action was

iran's state run news agency says all vessels in the area had been warned. and. authorities searching for a man caught on camera stealing an 84-year-old woman's purse while she was praying at church. and in the philippines one priest is in hot water for widing a hover board during christmas eve mass. the diocese suspended the priest after this cell phone video went viral, saying in a statement that is wrong. it is not a personal celebration where one can capriciously introduce something to get the attention of people. that debate has inspired a lot of debate online. and oprah opening up a new campaign with weight watchers, and hoping fans will relate.

>> there are testimonies and then there are testimonyialtestimonials. >> many times you look in the mirror and you don't even recognize you own self. >> oprah is asking people who struggle with their weight, just as she has to join weight watchers. >> inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be. >> the woman who turned unknown doctors into the stars. no-name books into the best sellers. >> and what we want to do is start a book club here on the oprah show. >> and turned entrepreneurs into the over night successes. has a new favorite thing. weight watchers. and she owns 10% of the company. >> she might as well own 100%. a lot of people are going to be joining because of oprah. not just the product but oprah the person.

new york she says oprah's pitch is effective because it is so relatable. >> when you watched the commercial did you immediately connect with it? >> i started to cry. >> did you really? >> yeah. >> why? >> because it was so moving and i felt like it was my story too. more now on business with landen dowdy. >> good morning. you only have a few hours left to be a toys r us in new york city kid. deciding not to renew its lease due to rising rent. it features a lego, empire state building and a 60 foot ferris wheel. "star wars" helped propel the record haul $11 billion. but it wasn't just the force awakens driving people to theaters.

month. and ups hit the mark this season delivering everything in time while fedex stumbled. they took a disciplined approach this year. just ahead, an nfl bomb shell. chip kelly is now officially the philadelphia eagles. and in college hoops, unranked

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taking to sports. the philadelphia eagles have jetsoned head coach chip kelly after three seasons. look for kelly and tennessee to talk in the coming days. college hoops. top ranked michigan state hit a brick wall in the form of the iowa hawk eyes. the undefeated spartans trailed the entire game at one point as many as 19.

struggled. nbc sports reporting that number one clemson has sent three players home from the orange bowl for failed drug tests. wide receiver deon cain, ammon lakip and jay jay mccullough. johnny jefferson ran for 229 yards and two touchdowns and the bears downed the tar heels 49-48. and lsu winning the texas ball.

quilted northern works so well people can forget their bathroom experience.

who sees all and forgets nothing. at least he's not constable bob. let's go to entertainment. glee actor mark sailing has been arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography. his bail was set at $20 thousand. can you imagine lee for that doe dicaprio in "star wars"? it did almost happened. he turned down an offer to play

wars" prequel instead of hayden christianson. and one of the photos shows ben after lek as bruce wayne while original alfred. and guns and roses and slash reason le united with coach laella. do you want to talk about guns and roses or an kin sky walker. >> i guess >> i'm richard lui and this is "early today."." mucinex fast max. it's the same difference. these are multi-symptom. well so are these. this one is max strength and fights mucus. that one doesn't. uh...think fast! you dropped something. oh...i'll put it back on the shelf...

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leads the news in the wall street journal u.s. spy net on israeli snares congress. the nsa allegedly targeted private conversations between israeli leaders and u.s. lawmakers the white house responded to the spying allegations stating the u.s. sacrosanct. police on hunt for serial peeping time in miami. the perp quitted several recent offenses. broke homes, windows using a slingshot. and on two occasions trying to open a window. police describe has white or hispanic on 6'0" feet tall and believed to be living in the

and craig centricfriends body was found monday morning at call lake. the weekend storms have killed at least three and injured dozens more. a funeral will be helped for joseph lem. he was on routine patrol when his grouped was attack in afghanistan last week. in pennsylvania a car crash knocked a driver unconscious and caused the vehicle to catch on fire. the man was treated at a local hospital. former heavyweight champ mike tyson decided to give the hover board a try. why not. like every other christmas. riding on the board before tumbling to the ground with a thud. > cheerleaders for alabama and

showdown corn hole style. thanks to good year setting a guiness world record for largest game of corn hole ever. even their mascots had fun. and bonny, have you ever played corn hole before? >> no i haven't. >> go to a tailgate party and play the corn hole. you will enjoy it. and enjoy the game as well. from what you can remember. celebrating birthdays today. king james himself. lebron james. and golf legend towards. and matt lauer. meredith vierra. keep it here for more news weather and sports. i'm richard lui, thanks for watching "early today." have a great wednesday ahead.where and how th happened.

daughter. a local mom remembers her daughter who was killed by gun violence. in an exclusive interview hear what she has to say about the tragic event. big congrats. good news from hometown boy chris bryant. we'll tell you the exciting information he's sharing with the worl wake up bump good morning. thanks for waking up with us. time for weather. >>here's what you