breaking overnight, a suspected tornado tears through northeastern alabama leaving a trail of death and destruction in its path. >> the embers are burning as fewer sweeps through the smokey mountain, dozens burn to the cherished areas, that includes dolly parton's dollywood. new details on what brought down the brazilian plane that killed almost every brazilian soccer player. more about president-elect trump's dinner with mitt romney. >> i had a wonderful dinner with president-elect trump.

these discussions have been enlightening and interesting and engaging. i've enjoyed them very, very much. a dangerous pipeline explosion in the kansas city area. the long awaited return of tiger woods. "early today" starts right now. it's good to be with you. i'm frances rivera. we begin this wednesday morning with severe weather outbreak in the south. at least five people have been killed. here's tornadoes are responsible for three confirmed fatalities in the alabama town of rosalie. all three victims were in a mobile home. we're hearing three children and three adults were critically injured when a 24 hour day care center was flattened. in tennessee there are two confirmed deaths from a tornado in pope county. nbc meteorologist bill karins is tracking this. is the threat still out there?

active. this tornado outbreak started yesterday afternoon. there was a lot of wind damage across mississippi. the worst tornadoes are across the alabama/mississippi area. this is where we had the three fatalities. tornado in tennessee. just getting late-breaking reports of the two new fatalities. five in total. that number could go up. there are still many structures that they are searching and going through. in all, severe weather outbreak was 550 miles long. we still haveor noon. 11:00 a.m. through northern alabama. we don't expect widespread tornadoes like yesterday. maybe isolated through the morning here, frances. day break is just arriving in areas of the east. we'll see many more pictures of houses and businesses destroyed. >> difficult to wake up to those images, bill. thank you very much. hopefully the weather will be on the side here in this story. firefighters still battling wildfires that have forced the

in gatlinburg and pidgeon forge, tennessee. the firestorm exploded in seconds. residents and vacationers thought they were safe until they looked out their windows. >> panic. that's all we had was panic. we could feel the heat coming off of -- it was nothing but red. >> this whole place is on fire. >> how would you describe it? >> the gates of hell. >> the gates of hell. >> you so feel for those residents. gatlinburg is a resort town an hour fro the flames threaten several tourist destinations. the great smokey mountains. also an aquarium with 10,000 animals and dolly parton's theme park, dollywood, but parton who just released a psa about wildfires said she is heart broken and praying for all the families. three people have died in the wildfires, some of the biggest the state has ever seen. >> this is the largest fire in the last 100 years of the state

assess the damage. entire neighborhoods are destroyed and they're investigating the cause of the fire. they have not ruled out arson. this morning we are learning more about that plane crash in colombia that killed 71 people. investigators have retrieved two black boxes from the aircraft on the flight where brazilian soccer team and journalists on their way to a south american playoff in medellin. the plane's electrical problem and circled. but a surviving flight attendant told rescuers the plane ran out of fuel. the death toll was lowered from 75 on tuesday after it was learned four people on a manifest didn't board the flight. only six people survived including three team members. last night thousands of fans packed the home stadium in brazil for this candlelight vigil. brazil's president has declared

he continues with a message of improvement, bringing people together. all of those things combined give me increasing hope that president-elect trump is the very mantha can lead us to that better future. >> remember during the campaign the message from mitt romney was very different. >> donald trump is a phony, a fraud, the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the absurd third grade theatrics. >> we are getting word that steve mnuchin will be tapped and elaine chao will be tapped. tom price is at hhs. regarding the nominations the

this morning there's news one campaign pledge will come to fruition. carrier, with a plant in indiana, said it will now keep 1,000 jobs in the hoosier state. initially the company made the decision to relocate its factory to mexico, something trump had been strongly against. on thursday trump will travel to indiana to celebrate carrier's decision. trump is expected to visit ohio with mike pence kicking off their thank you tour. overnight several activists took to burn two foot long flags all in angry response to trump's tweet that flag burners should be jailed and their citizenship should be revoked for the act. an investigation is underway this morning at missouri of what caused a pipeline to burst out into flames. the pipeline was transporting ethane and propane. the flames didn't affect any flights to and from the

police in manchester, england, have released this video of a terrifying road rage incident in the hope that it will lead them to this angry driver. police say the truck driver turned violent when he was asked for his insurance information after an accident with two other drivers. the man then repeatedly rammed his truck into the other vehicle and he took a shovel and smashed apart the windshield. the victims were not hurt in the attack. as you can imagine after this, very shaken up. shaken up in a good way. holiday season for 20 co-workers from a tennessee metal manufacturing plant. they hit it big. a massive jackpot, they claimed a $420 million prize, the cash prize worth 254 million. they'll get 12.7 million apiece that is before taxes. look at the smiles on their faces. they're probably still in shock. it's going to be a great holiday season for them and their families. just ahead, the details on the return of tiger woods.

with msnbc's bill karins. >> we're going to get a little bit of severe weather. nothing like what we saw yesterday. 10 million people are at risk of severe storms. that's the line of storms slowly pushing through the southeast. isolated tornado. we do not expect anything too bad. here's how it looks on the front. mobile, columbus, atlanta. it's beneficial rain for the fire areas up in the appalachian areas near gatlinburg. they should pick up an two of rain. very welcomed for the not bad in northern california today in the 50s. all the active weather and all the travel delays will be in the east including a lot of airport

bill, thank you very much. just ahead, you'll meet the last person in the world born in the 1800s. plus, he is ranked the 898th ranked golfer in the world, but a year ago he couldn't even get out of bed. that's tiger woods and he explains when "early today" comes right back. more "doing chores for mom" per roll more "doing chores for dad" per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty, the quicker picker upper eucerin has been solving dry skin problems for over 100 years. discover eucerin advanced repair. it moisturizes dry, itchy, rough, skin. for immediate relief and proven 48-hour moisture. for healthier-looking skin... ...look for eucerin,

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the oldest woman in the world, the last living person to reaches her 100s. she celebrated her 117th birthday. her life spans three centuries, more than 90 italian governments. she is gathered there with her friends and neighbors in her small apartment. she swears secrets to a long life, she says separating from her husband in 1938 and then her diet and two raw eggs a day. leading the news this morning, scores of protesters

for 15 minimum wage. thousands of fast food and airport workers took to the streets calling for higher pay. they're demanding over the current double federal minimum. opponents say hier wages will force jobs to be cut. the defense has rested its case in the trial over a deadly police shooting caught on camera. on tuesday former south carolina police officer michael slager took the stand in his own defense. he's accused of gunning down walter scott, the last year. nbc's gabe gutierrez has details. >> reporter: this bystander's dramatic cell phone video last year appeared to showalter scott being shot in the back multiple times. >> i was scared. >> reporter: in a charleston, south carolina, courtroom the former officer accused of scott's murder gave his first detailed public account of what happened. >> i fired until the threat was stopped, like i'm trained to do. >> reporter: michael slager said

broken taillight in april of 2015 and was preparing to write him a warning but scott bolted from his car. >> in my mind at that time, people don't run from a broken taillight. >> reporter: prosecutors say scott fled because he was behind on child support payments and feared being arrested. slager told the jury he fired his taser three times but that didn't stop scott from grabbing the stun gun. >> it was total fear that mr. scott didn't stop. >> reporter: the cell phone encounter seconds later as scott breaks away from the struggle. the prosecutor pressed slager on why he moved the taser closer to scott's body. >> you don't leave a weapon in the middle of the field like that. >> reporter: slager says he would not have chased him on foot and instead would have called for backup. >> his entire testimony was what he would have done different and things he's remembering now that he didn't remember then which

black man is expected to begin deliberations later this week. tiger woods arguably the most famous golfer in the world has a very simple request for his 7-year-old son. he says, don't touch these putters. tiger was referring to one putter he used to win 13 and 14 majors and the other he used to win the '97 masters. woods is preparing to return to competitive golf for the first time in 15 months. he'll play world challenge. he is a currently ranked 898th in the world. listen to how he says he felt just a year ago. >> i just couldn't get out of bed. i needed help. it was a tough, tough time, and, yeah, you ask me then, can i play, no. i can't even get out of bed. how am i supposed to swing a club at 120 miles an hour? that's just two different

just ahead, some northern companies are pushing back against one of donald trump's closest advisors. plus, how is wall street reacting to our next possible wall street treasury secretary? you're watching "early today." (tea kettle whistling) (sighing) hey mom, can i help? (announcer vo) the real magic of the holidays is when we all give a little more. why are you deleting these photos? because my teeth are yellow. why don't you use a whitening toothpaste? i'm afraid it's bad for my teeth. try crest 3d white. crest 3d white diamond strong toothpaste and rinse... ...gently whiten... ...and fortify weak spots. use together for 2 times stronger enamel. crest 3d white.

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. in today's fast forward, house speaker nancy pelosi faces

secret ballot if they want to give her a turn or pass the gavel to ryan, later on today, nbc's jeff rossen looks at new technology you can add to your phone to keep you safe. new technology you can download right on your phone to keep you safe. a night in new york city, a huge night, a fate holiday tradition takes place as the rockefeller center christmas tree is lit. rehearsals are in full swing, including josh groben, dolly parton, jordan smith and the famous radio city rockettes. christmas in rockefeller center hosted by matt lauer, savannah guthrie, al roker begins tonight right here on nbc. donald trump making waves as another company pulls advertising from breitbart.com and investors react to news from a new treasury secretary. cnbc's landon dowdy with all of that. >> hi, frances. oil is certainly moving the

higher today rising about 5% as opec ministers are meeting in vienna, austria. key members of the cartel including iran and saudi arabia are confident that the group can reach a deal to cut or freeze production to stabilize prices amid a global supply glut. a formal announcement is expected sometime later today. mean whim president-elect donald trump is expected to name steve mnuchin as his treasury secretary today. mnuchin served as trump's he worked for goldman sachs. it's unclear how wall street will react to his appointment. his views appear to clash with trump's populist rhetoric to be the voice for down trodden blue collar work jeers. kellogg's joins a list of companies that are pulling advertising from breitbart.com that was formerly run by donald trump's top aide, steve bannon. the site has come under fire for

they have named companies that advertise on breitbart. frances, back over to you. >> landon, thank you very much. just ahead, a look at which hollywood star made it on the calendar. plus, what's it like to run a marathon in one of the coldest climates. you're watching "early today." s knows how it feels to see your numbers go up, despite your best efforts. but what if you could turn things around? what if you could... it's the #1 prescribed sglt2 inhibitor that works to lower a1c. a pill taken just once in the morning, invokana? is used along with diet and exercise to significantly lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. in fact, it's been proven to be more effective at lowering a1c than januvia. invokana? works around the clock by reducing the amount of sugar allowed back into the body,

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calendar. they have their pictures taken by famed photographer peter lindberg. they were photographed without makeup and the photos without any retouching. nicole kidman looking amazing. kate winslow, i'm convinced she has makeup. here luongo. >> how many people that you showed this would realize they didn't have makeup. >> julianne moore. >> lindberg said he wanted to portray women through their feelings and >> good for them. it's one of the world's most extreme and dangerous and coldest marathons. it's the 12th annual antarctica ice marathon. >> even better. this is "early today." little dakota's nose was quivering in fear. because it knew an ordinary tissue was near.

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the billing story overnight breaking in mississippi, alabama, tennessee. so far five fatalities, a couple other critical injuries. again, 550 miles worth of damage throughout the deep south. foreca better. starting to warm up. showers in the northwest. the southeast getting all the attention from the breaking news. we'll be watching it, bill. thank you. one of the most ambitious engineering proj secretaries now complete marking significant progress after the worst nuclear accident in history. the $1.6 billion shelter is here. it took 10,000 workers to construct the arch which will

the chernobyl explosion 30 years ago spread radioactive material over much of europe killing scores and sickening thousands of others. president obama made his 23rd visit to walter reed national military hospital tuesday, perhaps his last as president. we have very few pictures of past visits to show you because he likes to keep his visits private. most of the photos are wounded vets themselves from them. they are the ones who posted it. the two wards he visited are places where our service men a together, at least to heal their wounds and prepare for life as civilians. yesterday the president met with 13 soldiers and decorated 12 of them with a purple heart. it's beginning to look a lot like christmas. the white house, first lady michelle obama unveiled this year's decorations. families were invited for an early view and her theme includes a whole lot of legos. the team of lego master builders spent 500 hours building and

200,000 leggos and all that is my favorite there with the stars and stripes. it's definitely experienced. maybe you're guilty of it. it's called subbing. it's where basically somebody is distracted by their smartphone. so the national opinion research center finds it is killing relationships. 70% of people think phubbing is hurting their ability to interact with partners. half the peoplre money problems, having kids, but now you can add phubbing to the list as the latest romance buster. >> what are you looking at? what is so entertaining? >> facebook, e-mail. >> what is so good? >> you know, so 24 is the situation. i'd rather not talk to you if you're in front of me so -- >> and you'd rather look at your phone from your high school friends? >> that's what we're doing. >> your high school friend's dog is okay. >> exactly, bill.

>> dana: chilly morning. we are your weather authority. how low will it go and when will we warm up? answers ahead. >> kim: getting they dined together in new york city. is he going to be donald trump's secretary of state? we take you inside the developing story. >> dana: pay to park. another major operator on the las vegas strip says it will cost to you park at their resort. we'll tell you when coming up. >> kim: no more rebel yell. we yelled the news about this yesterday but new this morning

>> dana: good morning. >> kim: we're opening up over this local live picture because minutes ago president elect donald trump took to twitter like he often does. this time he's going on the record saying he's stepping away from all of his businesses. handing things over about this morning. december 15 he will make it official. it will be his news conference he's going to hold where he's going to announce this publicly. he hasn't had a news conference formally in more than 100 days. this news just broke. >> dana: dinner with mitt romney last night. they dined along frog legs among other things. welcome in. >> kim: we're hanging out with