developing overnight, a trump tweet on taxes spurred by the senate's $4 trillion budget blueprint. hears is a tax cut for you next? >> a rare look inside north korea. the military culture ready for war and ready to take on donald trump. >> what do you think of president trump? >> translator: he's mentally ill, the lieutenant colonel claims. if there is a war, he says, we will win. >> then to a major deal between wal-mart and 190 lord & taylor joining forces in unexpected ways. >> what happens after you think you just ran a full marathon, only to learn the organizers got the distance wrong? again? "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera.

this morning the political kalt world is taking stock after a rare and emotional defense of the president was on display this time from his own chief of staff john kelly. in a surprise move he took to the white house podium and broke his silence over the deaths of four american soldiers killed in niger over two weeks ago. and in deeply personal terms, rebuking the congresswoman who listened in and reported on the president's phone call with a gold star family of one of the soldiers killed. lieutenant la david johnson. >> i was stunned when i came to work yesterday morning and broken hearted at what i saw a member of congress doing. it stuns me that a member of congress would have listened in on that conversation. absolutely stuns me. and i thought at least that was sacred. >> the former general said the ordeal hit him so much he had to take some time at the arlington national cemetery to collect himself. meanwhile a spokesperson for the congresswoman in question

democratic fed rick a wilson of florida, says the focus should be on helping a grieving widow and family heal, not on her or the president. for more on this we go to nbc's edward lawrence who is in washington. good morning, edward. >> reporter: good morning, philip. yeah, general john kelly came into the white house briefing room and gave the most emotional defense of donald trump to date. general kelly said that he's broken hearted that the congresswoman would politicize this phone call. kelly also said that he did not refute the congresswoman's accusations, only saying that the president, in his way, tried to tell the widow her husband was a brave fallen soldier. >> he knew what the possibilities were because we're at war. and what he died in the four cases we're talking about, in niger, my son's case in afghanistan, he when he died he was surrounded by the best men on this earth, his friends. that's what the president tried to say to a -- to four families

the other day. >> reporter: and general john kelly also said that the president obama did not call him after his son was killed in afghanistan. he also advised the president not to make this call. now, lost in all of this was the senate passing pretty easily a 2018 budget. president donald trump in a tweet took a celebrational tone saying this is the first step to deliver massive tax cuts to the american people. now, what this passage of the budget does is allow republicans to use a simple majority now in a procedural vote to go forward with the tax cuts. they need 50 senators or more. frances, philip? >> could be his first victory there. thank you. >> a woman comes out with disturbing sexual allegations against harvey weinstein. it brings the total number accusing him of harassment to 58. an anonymous italian actress said he allegedly raped her in los angeles in 2013. nbc has not independently

verified all accusers accounts of harassment or assault. however, law enforcement sources it will nbc the l.a.p.d. has opened a criminal investigation into weinstein in connection with the 2013 sexual assault allegation. weinstein spokesperson said that he has categorically denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. it was a harrowing account of another hollywood actress has everyone taking notice. actress lupita nyong'o said she opened up in a "the new york times" op-ed saying she is taking action to help end what she calls a, quote, conspiracy of silence. she recalls meeting weinstein in 2011 while still a student at yale. she talked about being invite today his home in connecticut to view a him only to be led to his room as he announced he wanted a massage. she writes, i thought he was joking at first. he was not. for the first time since i met him, i felt unsafe. i panicked a little and thought quickly to offer to give him one instead. >> the actress proceeded to

reveal how she massaged weinstein only for the pro dulser to attempt to undress himself with his children still at home. leaving her no choice but to run. only to have weinstein attempt to bring her to his hotel room at another meeting. rebuffing his proposition yet again. vowing to never work with the producer despite multiple offers, even after winning the oscar in 2014. reaction to nyong'o's op-ed came with swift praise from celebrities activists and journalists standing by the actress. like janelle monae who tweeted, my friend, my sister my hero, thank you for your bravery. thank you for using your voice. her story comes as another prominent figure oscar award winning director quinton knew of weinstein's alleged actions telling the time, ill knew enough to do more than i did. all of his movies have been made through the weinstein company or mir a maximum films also sounded bid weinstein. >> tensions are rising as north korea sends a letter to the australian parliament. its message that north korea as

a nuclear power and president trump is making a, quote, big miscalculation by threatening war. australian's foreign minister disagrees. >> i see it as evidence the collective strategy of imposing maximum diplomatic and economic pressure through sanctions on north korea is working. >> my colleague kara simmons has more on the standoff from the far east. >> reporter: inside north korea's capital, patriotic posters and images of war. our journey begins in beijing. we met american aid workers making the same trip. a group granted one of the few exceptions to the u.s. travel ban. do you feel safe traveling to north korea? >> this is like my 50 something trip, and we all have families at home. we all want to get back to our families. so, yes. >> reporter: flying here is not without risk right now. furious over u.s. military exercises this week, north korea threatened an unimaginable

strike. inside north korea, we drive to the front line with the south. the dmz. in this nuclear nation there appear to be more bikes on the road than cars. perhaps one reason so much of this country's money is spent on the military. that is the border between north and south. this side socialism, there is where the capitalist world begins and we're not allowed to stay here very long. a border guard gives us a tour. we ask about president trump who will visit the south next month. what do you think of president trump? he is mentally ill, the lieutenant colonel claims. and if there is a war, he says, we will win. we stopped to talk to commuters about the growing tensions. everywhere we are escorted by government minders. >> if u.s. army force, we can fight against the u.s. army. >> reporter: you are ready to fight if you need to? >> yes. >> that was keer simmons reporting. >> former president george w.

bush was honored with an award at west point last night. in his speech bush spoke out against divisiveness in politics and bold show in white supremacy. >> it is blass if he am i against the american creed. our identity depends on the passing. civic ideals to the next generation. >> the former president's speech came during at state of emergency at the university of florida as white nation allegist richard spencer made a speaking engagement on campus. they took no chances of the repeat of the clashes in charlottesville in august that left a woman dead. in the end protesters greatly outnumbered supporters of spencer and drowned him out with chants during his remarks. they released a statement on facebook thanking the officers, thankfully they all get to go home tonight. >> the amount of time young kids spend in front of screens has nearly tripled in just four

years according to a new study. nonprofit organization common sense media oeb served the viewing habits of more than 1400 children nationwide ages 8 and under. the group found that the youngsters spent an average of over two hours in front of screen media like a mobile device. the report also discovered that 42% of the kids now have their own tablet device up from 7% in 2011, making it harder for parents to monitor what their children are viewing online. so really a tough call sometimes. that balance, but ultimately you're the parent. you have the pass wortd. you can basically hide the thing. >> let them know. imagine that's a problem now, right? right >> guilty as charged. >> your key is to have a garage sale six hours. that's what you did the other day. >> my kids wanted it. i gave in and never again. all right. the forecast is not as nice as it was in areas of texas. the rain has moved back in. houston had the umbrella if you're heading out early this morning. showers coming in off the gulf. also we have moisture moving in

out of new mexico and west texas. all this means is it's an end to our gorgeous weather and as the koeltd front stormy weather that is now through the rockies enters the middle of the country this week we have a chance of severe storms. the clash, it is a been very warm. you know cool air is heading in, we have that cold front so a slight risk of severe storm, iowa, kansas city, but it is this area of enhanced risk that you could have some damaging winds, too.

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to make that movie. leading the news this morning a new study finds that pollution -- pollution kills more people every year than wars, disasters and hunger. diseases caused by pollution were responsible for 9 million premature deaths worldwide in 2015. that's roughly 16%, and this is accord together lance et medical journal. this means pollution kills three times more people than aids, tuberculosis and malaria combined. there is also a giant price tag. pollution related deaths, sickness and welfare cost $6 trillion in annual losses. >> the u.s. government is pushing airlines to ban large personal electronic devices like laptops from checked bags. this after a test from the federal aviation administration found lithium ion batteries in laptops could catch fire and explode especially when in contact with other household items like an aerosol can of dry sham pew. the faa proposed the ban at the national save yags organization. the united nations agency in charge of setting aviation

global safety standards. it will be talked about at a meeting being held this week and next week in montreal. >> all right. imagine training to run a marathon only to finish and find out that the course was actually too short. this is what happened to runners in milwaukee after it was discovered that the milwaukee marathon course was actually about 4200 feet short of the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. for participants they won't be able to use their times to qualify for the official usa track and field race events and believe it or not, this is actually not the first time this marathon has had problems like that. last year a few runners ran a whole extra mile after someone deliberately moved the cones from the course. >> runners then will know what kind of reputation? >> not okay. milwaukee marathon, get your act together. what's going on with ha? >> all that hard work and training. just ahead wal-mart teams up with lord & taylor for a whole new shopping experience. ring a bell? then you have to try always discreet. i didn't think protection this thin could work.

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for the first time blue origin successfully fired up its b 4 rocket engine. the space company whose ceo jeff bezos who is head of amazon will some day power its rockets. they plan to support millions of people living and working in space. >> with orders already rolling in for the holiday season, retailers are joining forces in unexpected ways to capture your dollar. >> so what happens when low price giant wal-mart teams up with a high-end department store? the idea, a new kind of shopping mall experience. >> nbc business correspondent jo

ling kent explains. >> reporter: america's biggest retailer on the cusp of making a deal with america's oldest, all in an effort to bring in new customers. wal-mart is in talks with lord & taylor to sell the 190--year-old retailers products online according to "the wall street journal." wal-mart's goal, start an online mall bringing in established brands to attract new shoppers to compete with amazon. are we entering a situation where the consumer is going to be better off or worse off? >> i think the consumer ultimately benefits here. more choices, more options, more pricing transparency. >> reporter: shoppers are divided. >> i'm actually been shopping online more than i used to. >> i want to be able to see it for myself. i want to know exactly what it is. >> reporter: wal-mart has been on a tear acquiring jet.com with more aggressive plans on the horizon. amazon is beefing up, too. now accepting returns at kohl's stores while it says ken more appliances from sears and nike products directly on their site.

this comes as 25% of traditional malls are expected to close by 2022. this year more than 5,000 stores have already shut their doors. this is a fight for survival. >> right now retailers need to evolve. consumers' behaviors, their attitudes toward shopping and the technology they bring into the store fundamentally has changed. how their expectation is of the retail experience. >> reporter: in the retail hunger games, brands are united to bag your business. jo ling kent, nbc news, new york. >> wow, we have a lot of people like me rely on online shopping. they say when it comes to the return policy and the shipping that makes all the difference if they're going to cross over and do it. >> they have to do something. amazon is going to win if they don't. >> just ahead, a madea movie in time. chance the rapper getting emotional with his daughter. card prescriptions, switch to walgreens.

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butler and only the brave who tells the true story of fire fighters who helped fight deadly wildfires in u.s. history. >> the award for the most adorable instagram video goes to chance the rapper. of the chicago-born artist showed a clip of his daughter helping him unpack his three grammys. >> there we go. ooh! >> that's cool. chance's recent grammy victories mark the first time an album has won a grammy without selling any physical copies. the independent musician won past rap album, performance and best new artist. >> like any other kid, she loves the box. >> that's right. just ahead, house speaker paul ryan roasts president trump, a visit from the dog with the world's longest tongue. big news from advil, advil liqui-gels minis. our first concentrated pill that rushes powerful relief. a small new size that's fast,

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sending slurs. hateful texts spur violence into a south jersey high school. how students took matters into their own hands and what the school is doing now. co-workers attacked. details on what an alleged gunman did moments before opening fire at his workplace. and drive to save lives. how law enforcement agencies are teaming up across our area to make i-95 safer. . oh, and it's friday. almost 4:00 a.m. good morning, this is "nbc10 news today" first look at 4. i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm via sikahema. mid 50s already. let's get to glenn "hurricane"

schwartz with the most accurate neighborhood weather forecast. good morning, we've got a little bit of wind, but the temperature is 56 degrees at philadelphia. we were closer to 50 at this time yesterday. we come several places in the low 40s at this time yesterday, now hardly any 40s. millville and lancaster, 48. other areas in the 50s, nothing on the radar or satellite close by. we've got the stretch of beautiful weather that is going to certainly continue today. temperatures rising quickly. then into the 70s for high temperatures across a good bit of the area. maybe a little bit shy of that up toward the lehigh valley. but even the jersey shore getting up near 70 degrees. and it's going to get even warmer. we'll see how long this incredible weather can last in just a couple of minutes. vai? >> see you then. a developing story in bucks county. a crash shut down the

pennsylvania turnpike's northeast extension overnight. the crash forced drivers to take detours between the quakertown and lansdale exits. that section of road is now completely open. the crash injured three people. they are expected to be okay. with more, we'll check in with katy zachry. the crash has cleared on the northeast ex-sense of the -- extension of the turnpike has reopened. neighbors are in the green. no crashes, no incidents, no major delays. average speeds are where they should be. 76 at the expressway, a quick road, quick between southbound at the woodhaven and the vine. speaking of 76, this is a live look outside where it meets with the vine street expressway. no construction is forcing drivers off the road. no overnight construction on the vine. that's the good news. bad news, there is some overnight construction on 76