we must stop pretending that the degradation of our politics and the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal. they are not normal. >> republican arizona senator jeff flake dismayed by president trump won't seek reelection. amid a scathing rebuke. >> a young father is dead after five teens allegedly threw a rock over an overpass striking the car. murder charges pending. >> utzing a patients genetics to fight tumors. >> getting into the halloween spirit at a nicu. great being with you. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. new details on the ever

expanding investigation over the russia investigation reaching a boiling point on capitol hill. as a protester hurled russian flags at the president, accusing him of conspiring with russian agents as members of his team met with white house intel lawmakers. >> this morning it isn't the trump campaign at the center of the russian news. it's the clinton camp. after a major washington post report found the clinton team and the democratic national committee, quote, helped fund research that resulted in a now famous dossier containing allegations about donald trump's connections to russia. and possible coordination between his campaign and the kremlin. after a lawyer representing the clinton campaign and dnc retain fusion gps to conduct the research. nbc has confirmed the post report. and it was news immediately seized upon by white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders. the real russia sand l, clinton campaign paid for the russian dossier and covered it up. the president who denounced the

dossier and colluding with russia, he said saturday the doj should, quote, release who paid for the infamous document. for more we go to nbc's tracie potts in washington. good morning. >> reporter: frances, good morning. complicated story. but let's breakdown who is involved here. you mentioned a few of the names perkins coy, that's the law firm that was working for both the clinton camp and the dnc. they hired fusion gps which was this investigative firm that hired christopher steel, the former british intelligence officer that pulled up that dossier, that information that president trump said was absolutely false. and now this morning confirmation that it was all tied to the clinton campaign and the dnc. we have reaction this morning not from the clinton campaign, but from a former spokesperson for clinton saying that he was not aware that this firm was hired before the campaign. the first i learned of christopher steel or saw any

dossier was after the election. this from brian fallon, the former clinton spokesperson. he says, but if i had gotten it handed last fall, i would have had no problem passing that along, urging reporters to look at it, opposition research happens on every campaign. we are also getting a statement from the dnc, the democratic national committee about this. their statement reads, that tom perez, the now head of the dnc and the new leadership were not involved in any decision-making regarding fusion gps, again, that investigative firm, nor were they aware that perkins coie the law firm was working with the organization. but let's be clear, they say. there was a serious federal investigation into the trump campaign's ties to russia and the american public deserves to know what happened. now, all of this news broke while the russia investigation was continuing here on capitol hill. michael cohen, an attorney for president trump, being questioned.

lots of questions about whether there were ties between president trump, cohen you see here, the russia investigation. but now this new information that some of the most salacious details, again, that the president has denied, were tied to a law firm that was being paid by the clinton campaign and the dnc. >> it is complex. thank you for the breakdown, tracie potts for us. thanks. >> now to another major headline coming out of washington this morning after two top republican senators took the extraordinary step of publicly rebuking the president of the united states calling trump a danger to democracy. accusing him of debasing the nation. with arizona senator jeff flake joining bob corker of tennessee in a uns noing that he will not seek reelection next year while taking the opportunity to speak truth to power. however, not everyone agrees. >> pathetic, weak, gutless, spineless, never trumper, establishment forces all lashing out against the president today. here's my answer to all of you tonight.

good riddance. happy trails. don't let the door hit you on the way out of town. >> well, the question now is will any other sitting republicans join those two senators in the white house take down? nbc's blayne alexander has more. >> reporter: senator jeff flake announcing he is not running for another term. >> must stop pretending that the degradation of our politics and the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal. they are not normal. >> reporter: and delivering a scorching critique of president trump. >> the personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedoms and institution, the flagrant disregard for truth and decency. >> reporter: this as president trump travels to capitol hill to talk tax reform. a gop unity lunch amid growing division. his weeks' long feud with republican senator bob corker now reaching a boiling point. >> i think the worst of it is going to be just the whole debasing, if you will, of our nation. i think that will be the

contribution that hurts our nation most. >> reporter: corker stoked today's back and forth saying president trump should stay out of tax reform. the president hitting back on twitter, calling corker a lightweight who couldn't get elected dog catcher. the white house down playing the back and forth saying americans are more concerned about jobs and the economy. >> i think those are the things that people actually care about, not some petty comments from senator corker and senator flake. >> reporter: republican leaders trying to look beyond all of it. >> so all of this stuff you see on a daily basis on twitter this and twitter that, forget about it. >> reporter: as republicans focus on getting their party and their president on the same page. blayne alexander, nbc news, washington. >> five michigan teens are facing life in prison, accused of murder after allegedly throwing rocks from an overpass killing a man riding in a car below. the teens are between 15 and 17 years old, but will be tried as adults. the victims' family now asking why it happened.

nbc's blake mccoy has more. >> reporter: a young father is dead from a senseless act. his fiance is struggling to comprehend. >> he took away a child's father. and the love of my life. his stupid act took away a life. >> reporter: it was from this overpass near flint, michigan police say a group of teenagers threw a six-pound rock that crashed through the windshield of a car kenneth white was riding in, striking him in the chest and head. >> those kids, they may have thought it was a prank, but it's not a prank when you're throwing six-pound rocks at a vehicles. >> reporter: the five teens appeared in chains and remained mostly silent during a tense arraignment each entering not guilty pleas for charges that include second degree murder as the families listened through tears. the judge denied bond. they will be tried as adults and could face life in prison. >> it was a willful and wanton

act that resulted in somebody's death. these people should have known better. >> reporter: investigators say the teens hurled at least 20 rocks from that overpass, hitting at least eight cars on the highway below. police say the oldest suspect, 17-year-old kyle anger, turned himself in. the four other teens, 15 and 16 years old, were arrested shortly after. a call for justice for a family torn apart. >> took a good man and a good father. >> look what you have done to a terrific family, a terrific dad. you have taken his life for nothing. >> thanks to blake mccoy for that report. >> we are now getting new insight into the investigation of the sandy hook elementary school massacre. the fbi is releasing more than 1500 pages of documents about the december 2012 shooting which killed 20 first graders and six educators. there is evidence adam lan sa considered the attack a year in advance as early as march 2011. and according to the fbi

behavioral analysis unit, rather, the shooter did not snap, but instead engaged in careful methodical planning and preparation. one person interviewed during the investigation says his mother was concerned about her son a month before the murders. she supposedly said he had become a shut-in and hadn't gone anywhere in three months. he fatally shot his mother in their home before attacking the elementary school. >> we want to turn now to nbc meteorologist bill karins with a look ahead at your wednesday weather. hi, bill. good morning. >> good morning. eastern new england is the worst by far. heavy rain overnight, flash flooding around the hartford area and now we are watching some of the heavy est rains on the top of boston. lightning strikes popped up. very tropical air mass. that is why we're getting the heavy rainfall rights. the areas of red is where we have flash flood warnings. green is a flash flood watch. the watch goes through the middle of today's and the warnings are because of the last couple hours we saw a lot of rain in a short period of time. here's the timing of how we're going to deal with this.

by 5:00 p.m. this evening the front hangs up here by cape cod and then we actually see the low pressure system coming up the coast and sending more rain back into thursday. so, it's geneva convention to be a good 36, maybe even 48 hours before eastern new england finally clears it out. rest of the country is actually looking pretty nice.

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scare, not once, but did you see twice. and he's probably expecting a third time. in this case didn't happen. >> she scares people. >> you dance on her show and you get scared. >> that's right. leading the news this morning a truck driver has been charged with threatening to assassinate president trump. court documents unsealed tuesday revealed james anthony jackson made multiple phone calls to secret service field offices in detroit and chicago beginning in september. according to the secret service in one call he threatened to blow the, quote, white brains out of the president's head. the document showed jackson was born in 1984, but reveal few other details including his hometown or court dates. if convicted he could face five years in federal prison. >> where le looking down at your phone to text can be dangerous. it can cost you. a law goes into effect in honolulu a fine of $5,000 for looking at your phone while

crossing the street. they are the first city to enact such legislation. a report by the highway association found pedestrian deaths spiked by 9% in 2016. the rise in smartphone use as the possible reason why. you're in honolulu, look up. it's beautiful. >> what are you doing? you're in hawaii. come on. all right. the university of notre dame is getting its biggest unrestricted gift ever to the tune of $100 million. this generous gift comes from a wealthy 1978 graduate and allows the university to use those funds however they wish. experts say that's a rarity as most gifts that are large like that are given to for a specific purpose. the associate vice-president says the funds will likely go to financial aid. there is one small catch, though. the school will not get any of that money until after that graduate donor passes away. >> wow. really selfless there. pay it forward. >> after they're dead. >> there you go. still ahead, albert einstein's secret to a happy life. an amazing medical breakthrough

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you know they say you can't buy happiness. but for $1.3 million, you could have purchased albert einstein's theory on how to achieve. that is that's how much the scientist's handwritten note on the subject was auctioned off for in jerusalem. >> nbc's lucy kavanagh is covering the story for us in

london. it is fascinating what he wrote, short and sweet but to the point. >> reporter: that's right, guys. albert einstein was in japan on a lecture tour. he had at the time just learned that he had won the nobel peace prize for physics. when a courier came into his room in tokyo to make a delivery, he didn't have any carbon him to reward the courier so he literally wrote out a tip handing the messenger signed with one sentence written in german, a calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it. he told the messenger if he was lucky the note would become valuable. he was of course right. the first sold for $1.56 million. there is another note he wrote out that said if there is a will there is a way. that one for $240,000. both bids were far higher than the preauction estimate price. the buyer was a european who wished to remain anonymous. the seller reportedly the nephew of the messenger. and, guys, we just heard from the auction house. they say the $1.5 million note

is the most expensive item auctioned in israel. guys? >> should be. it's einstein's theory on how to live a happy life. lucy, thank you. >> so fascinating. you think about it, like a modern day mantra would be stay calm and humble, stay calm. we all should take a piece of advice from that. >> we should. the guy at the time was probably like, thanks, dude. albert einstein guy, cheap, cheap skate. >> still ahead, two new sponsors for the u.s. olympic team that seem like a really good fit. plus target brings gift 2k3wi678ing to the 21st century. we'll explain when we come back. ♪ i've tried lots of things for my joint pain. now? watch me. ♪ think i'd give up showing these guys how it's done? please. real people with active psoriatic arthritis are changing the way they fight it... they're moving forward with cosentyx®.

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and the whiter teeth that they want. ♪ celebrating birthdays on this wednesday, singer ciara turns 32 years old. swish swish pop star katie perry is 33. remember happy days mom actress merriam ross turns 89 years young today. >> target might make your holiday shopping experience a whole lot easier. it's a new service called gift now. it lets customers send gifts via e-mail and it's perfect if you have no idea what to get. here's how it works. shoppers can send an e-gift box and the recipient will get an e-mail that lets them accept the gift or exchange it for an equally priced item or gift card before it ships. the recipient can also directly enter an address for delivery. >> makes it so much easier for those returns, right? but then why wouldn't you just give them the gift card if you really want to make it easier? it is a little more personal. >> that's true, you're right. when you get a gift card, people

think it's impersonal. i like it. >> we all like it. with the 2018 winter olympics coming up, team usa has gained some savory sponsors. back in april the nation's slider experts white castle and the luge team said they partnered up for the slider campaign. the sponsorship was the first of its kind. now cheetos is joining in. the cheese curl company is partnering up with the curling team to help build awareness and appreciation for the sport. the company promises many surprises as we lead up to the games in february. you get it, slider, luge, cheese curls with the curling team? smart. >> you have to have that association because they're not chowing down on those getting ready for the olympics. >> we will. >> that's right. remembering a television and entertainment legend coming up. plus cancer breakthroughs that are giving a lot of people a lot of hope. that's next. (coughsah! hey, chad! i missed you. ah! i was in the tree watching you, and then i fell.

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restaurant inferno. a society hill restaurant goes up in flames. the fight to get it under control. on the hand. a teen escapes from police who say he's wanted for a shooting. investigators are searching by air and ground for any sign of them. paying with your phone. the app that could make it easier for you to park in part of the area starting today. wednesday morning. good morning. this is "nbc10 news today" first look at 4. i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm via sikahema. this morning we are taking the show on the road literally. all morning long we'll be on the road at the wawa in upper darby delaware county, meeting and greeting you. serving coffee, and highlighting the community until 9:00 this morning. >> shining a spotlight on upper

darby. meteorologist bill henley with the first alert forecast is there now. >> people have been stopping by there very wawa in west chester pike in upper darby and saying high. it's going to be a great day ahead. a nice morning to get coffee. though it's chilly, skies are clear. nice, clear view of the wawa sign. you should have no problems getting to wawa or anywhere, wherever you're going today. looks like a beautiful day. a little chilly this morning. and there are spots of fog around. right now, we're watching the temperatures in the suburbs. the temperatures have dropped down into the 50s this morning. and could very well drop down into the 40s in some of the suburbs. 51 degrees in some of the suburbs, and it's getting close in exton, 51. oxford is 53 now. north wales down to 50 degrees. as far as fog is concerned, you may have heard we're watching for some fog. in fact, we're seeing a little bit of it in new jersey. mt. holly just seeing some

improvement now that visibility was down to zero. now it's just improved to three-mile visibility. fog in toms river and atlantic city, too. the fog will not last. the free coffee will last until 9:00 this morning. stop by. we've got free coffee starting right now until 9:00 this morning right at this location in upper darby. we'll be here all morning. we've got lots of great stuff to do and show you, and a few gifts to share if you stop by early enough. >> yeah. >> we've got a few giveaways to get you on the road and get you on your way. >> excellent. free, free, free. thanks, bill. we'll be out at the wawa all morning long, jessica and i will join bill coming up at 6:00. coming up, the iconic music venue that calls upper darby home. before jess heads out with