it's tough not having her here but i can't wait deal struck. congress ends the government shutdown, but with the fate of all dreamers hanging in the balance, what's next? we'll head to capitol hill for a live report. >> hunt for survivors. the frantic search for the missing this morning as a fire explosion tares through an oil rig in oklahoma. >> inside north korea, lester holt has exclusive details from within the secretive regime and what north korean senior officials are telling him about their nuclear program. >> plus heads roll at us usa gymnastics in the wake of the larry nassar hearing. >> surprise announcement from a music legend. >> and a beloved mouse finally has her day. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. after three days of being closed, the government shutdown

has ended and federal workers will head back to work at least for now. the majority of senate democrats signed onto a brokered bipartisan deal to fund the government for another three weeks. it's in exchange for a promise to vote on daca protections for dreamers. if lawmakers can't reach a broader immigration deal by the time funding runs out. >> as long as the government remains open, it would be my intention to take up legislation here in the senate that would address daca, border security, and related issues. >> we expect that a bipartisan bill on daca will receive fair consideration and an up or down vote on the floor. >> and while there are those celebrating the government reopening this morning, some progressives are casting blame instead, zeroing in on the democratic leader in the senate, chuck schumer, for what they deemed a massive concession to republicans. >> i'm disillusioned. i think they're caving.

you know, democrats are pretty good at articulating values, but a little weak on defending them. >> overnight, the president who has not been heard from publicly since the shutdown took place friday, signed the bill to reopen the shuttered government, tweeting, big win for republicans as democrats cave on shutdown. now i want a big win for everyone, including republicans, democrats, and daca. but especially for our great military and border security. should be able to get there. but where will all this back and forth leave the country in just less than a month? for more on this we go to nbc's tracie potts live on capitol hill for us this morning. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: hi, phillip. good morning. let's talk about what's in this deal. in addition to keeping the government open for another three weeks, it extends chip fund being, children's health insurance for six years and suspends several taxes from the affordable care act. the cadillac tax for two years, medical device tax for two

years, health insurance tax for a year. it does, as you noted, not address immigration. the daca problem. now, did this shutdown work? who were the winners and losers here? politico says this was a big loss for democrats, that they lost the shutdown war. it was obvious when they voted to reopen the government with little to show for it. the white house agrees. >> look, i think that democrats realized that the position that they had taken frankly was indefensible. they agreed with everything that was in this c.r.. the president stayed firm. republicans stayed firm. and democrats i think realized that they had to move past that piece of legislation. >> reporter: so, as of this morning the shutdown is over, negotiations continue, and a lot of federal workers are relieved they're going back to work. >> tracie, what can you tell us about the president's involvement in these negotiations? >> reporter: so, that's interesting. we haven't seen a lot of president trump on the face of

it. the washington post talks about that, saying that the president was largely behind closed doors, that the shutdown strategy for the white house was to keep him contained, keep the president in the tweeting out of it and let this play out. however, the white house giving a lot of push back, saying that the president was on the phone and working this behind the scenes. >> however it got done, it got done. thank you so much, tracie. >> three usa jim fast ticks board members resigned after the sexual complaints against former team doctor larry nassar. the resignations will allow it to more effectively move forward in implementing change. this as the sentencing hearing against nassar continued for a 5th day with more emotional testimony from his accusers. nbc's kevin tibbles has the latest. >> reporter: another day of emotional heart breaking accounts of abuse at the hands of disgraced former usa gymnastics doctor larry nassar. >> larry nassar, i hate you.

>> reporter: 15 yoe-year-old em ann miller said after years of abuse, her mother is still being billed by michigan state university. >> msu sports medicine charged me for those appointments. my mom is still getting ibmed for appointments where i was sexually assaulted. >> reporter: when reached by nbc news, a spokesperson for msu state said former patients of nassar who was fired in 2016 will not be billed. nassar, who is 54, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of child sex abuse. part of his plea deal includes having to listen to his victims. to date as many as 150 accusers have come forward. crystal wake man said she was 16 when she was abused and she told her mother at the time. >> but she didn't believe me because my sister had been going to him for years. >> reporter: some accusers have blamed organizations like msu and usa gymnastics for allowing nassar to operate unchecked for so long. including olympic gold medallist

aly raisman who testified last week. >> but how are we to believe in change when these organizations aren't even willing to acknowledge the proob? >> reporter: usa gymnastics said they reported nassar soon after learning of the allegations. in the wake of this scandal, three of its executives have resigned. kevin tibbles, nbc news. >> a frantic search continues this morning for five people still missing after an oil rig explosion in oklahoma. it happened just before 9:00 a.m. monday in the town of quinton. authorities say 16 people escaped the structure with no injuries. another person also escaped but had to be flown to the hospital with burns. fire and smoke were still pouring out of the building several hours later, but fire crews said it was contained and they were letting it burn itself out. the rig is owned by patterson uti energy which said it is cooperating fully with authorities. the cause of the blast is still unknown. >> there are new rules in the air this morning for coming into the u.s. from six airlines operating in the middle east. the tsa says while there is no specific threat, the foreign

carriers operate out of airports in egypt, saudi arabia, qatar, jordan, and the united arab emirates. the agency says they were chosen for extra scrutiny because of a demonstrated intent by terrorist groups to attack flights from those countries. under the requirements, the airlines must admit more information to customs and border protections about cargo bound for the u.s. before loading and departure. >> now to a major winter storm from the midwest to the northeast, unleashing heavy snow and strong winds, officials are advising drivers to keep off the roads due to those whiteout conditions. and the morning commute was a nightmare in rochester, minnesota. wet snow and freezing rain triggered slide offs and accidents. many schools remain closed and hundreds of flights have been canceled. >> let's get the latest now from nbc meteorologist bill karins, where it's headed and what is what it's doing. good morning. >> minnesota and iowa were the brunt of it yesterday, through wisconsin, now much of the snow has end ed in that area. winds will come down and things will improve for the clean-up.

little bit of snow in areas of milwaukee, even a tiny bit of snow in central illinois. all of the green and yellows that's rain that is racing through the east today. bring the umbrella with you the cities in the mid-atlantic to the north eels, the only areas cold enough for freezing rain, freezing drizzle and also snow in areas of northern new england. especially from boston to mass pike north wards. temperatures ranging right around 29 to about 25 degrees. snowfall not expecting a lot, only northern maine could get 6 to 12. it is the freezing drizzle that causes travel concerns. southern new hampshire, half of maine almost to just outside of boston. no problems from texas through the southeast. today we're getting rid of the rain early. today in north flour, and there is all that rain moving through the big cities during the day today. do expect airport problems. boston all wait down to d.c. that's a loo and the today show will carry it

live. we'll be right back. le would st. psoriasis does that. it was tough getting out there on stage. i wanted to be clear.

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naomi parker frayly posed while working at a factory in alameda, california in 1942. the image of her flexing her arm with the caption, we can do it, became an iconic symbol of feminism. for decades the portrait was believed to be of somebody else until finally in 2016 when a scholar revealed her identity after a six year investigation. >> leading the news this morning the attempts to move past the extra marital affair that thrust him into the spotlight two weeks ago, he held a news conference on a state's budget plan but invariably the affair, allegations of blackmail and raj mathai he recalls of an fbi investigation into his conduct all came roaring back. >> a lot of what's been put out is not true. there was no blackmail. there was no violence. there was no photograph for blackmail. there was no threat of using a photograph for blackmail. there was no threat of violence. and to set the record straight, i have never been and

my attorneys have never been contacted by law enforcement on this or any other matter. >> this morning several missouri lawmakers both democrat and republican continue to call on him to resign from his post following those allegations of blackmail. >> bill cosby took the stage for his first public performance since his sex abuse scandal. and he was joking that he used to be a comedian. cosby entertained the friendly crowd at a philadelphia jazz club for about an hour, telling jokes and honoring old friends in the audience. afterward he played drums with the band and it was cosby's first show since may of 2015 after dozens of women accused him of sexual misconduct which he has repeatedly denied. his retrial is set to begin in april. >> it is a busy time to be a royal on the social calendar. it got packed. there is another royal engagement, this time fergie and andrew's daughter. she is set to marry her fiance jack brooks bank. the princess said her grandmother the queen was one of the first to know.

>> granny, yes, she knew right at the beginning she was one of the very few people at the beginning. we left her this weekend and had a lovely time and she was very happy as was my grandfather. >> the wedding will be held later this year at saint george's chapel at windsor. the same place where harry and megan will tie the knot in may. a lot of planning and then another baby, third baby for william and kate. >> a lot going on over there. just ahead, new details on why this year's flu season is one of the worst in years. plus, neil diamond says he's no longer touring and reveals a surprise diagnosis. you're watching "early today." but why go back there, when you can stay home, with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection, which could lead to hospitalizations. in a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. applied the day of chemo, neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day,

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a surprise announcement from music legend neil diamond, he says he's retiring from concert touring because of parkinson's disease. the sweet caroline singer has canceled the australia and new zealand legs of his 50th anniversary tour, but he says he will continue to write, record and work on projects. >> turning now to the flu epidemic that's already three times worse than this time last year, and showing no signs of letting up any time soon. >> this year it's been deadly, even for healthy people, not just the elderly or those with weak immune systems. nbc's ann thompson went to the front lines of this emergency to find out why. >> reporter: 10-year-old niko, a 4th grader who loved hockey and the outdoors, mourned in

connecticut. a victim of the swift and increasingly deadly flu. >> he was a strong, vibrant, energetic kid. >> reporter: an active child dying just three days after first feeling ill. it caught him off guard, his mother told time magazine. you have to be aware of your child. one of a growing list of apparently healthy lives ended by this flu. why is it that someone who seems healthy can die so quickly from this disease? >> sometimes this year's vice seems to be very strong and there are times when the body's own immune response is sometimes too vigorous. >> reporter: creating what doctors call a cytokine storm, it makes you sicker. resulting in shock, sepsis, and/or began failure. >> it can tip the pendulum and lead the body to damage its own organs. >> reporter: the my monday disease emergency room in brooklyn reports a spike in flu cases. every part of the continental

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...right from her phone! geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more. one set of siblings is putting an unexpected spin on the dance off. the brother and sister battle it out in complete silence. video of their epic, albeit music-free moves have gone viral with over 3.5 million views in a week. the pair live in georgia, say they dance like that all the time. so, kind of seemed natural to post videos of their antics. it is hysteric when you think is this on mute, what's up with this? no, it's just how they do it. >> first i'm surprised they're not laughing at each other. because it is kind of funny they'd be doing that. number two, they have to be really exceptional dancers because to not have music in your head and have rhythm. >> and feel the beat or hear it inside. >> that's impressive. some hard core taco bell

fans in alabama proved just how deep their love goes after their beloved restaurant burned down in montgomery, about 100 loyal customers held a candle light vigil in honor of their store. organizers spread the word on facebook saying may we never forget the o.k. customer service and long wait line for those oh, so delightful baja blasts. the owner said they are overwhelmed by the support and hope they reopen soon so they can get their okay customer service and blast back. >> if they're going to do that, you know, candle light vigil for when it burned down, can you imagine the opening, grand opening? >> fireworks, fireworks. >> the annual tongue and cheek razzie awards for worst picture, transformer's the last night from the action toy-based franchise. the film starring mark wahlberg earned, i should say, nine nominations with worst acting nods for most of its star studded cast. other films that made the list

include the emoji movie, 50 shades darker, the mummy and bay watch. johnny depp was for pirates of the dead men. he is joined by tom cruise, jamie dorn an, mark wahlberg and zac efron in the category for worst performance by an actor is jennifer lawrence was nominated for her role in mo they are. it is up against the likes of tyler perry, kathryn hike l, emma watson and johnson. the winners are voted online and will be announced march 3rd right before the oscars. >> how did jennifer lawrence and johnny depp go from being so acclaimed to being razzies? >> maybe you can't have a full career unless you win just once. >> they're still doing just fine. just ahead lester holt has an exclusive report from in side north korea. plus minnie mouse finally gets her due. and you look amazingly comfortable. when your v-neck looks more like a u-neck..,

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breaking right now on nbc 10 news today, first look at 4:00, hail of bullets. r. trt taining again. here what cosby is saying about his night out in front of a crowd. they're singing the eagles song. late night rally. jimmy fallon and the roots toast the eagles super bowl dream on the "tonight show" show. welcome back. >> it's nice to be back with you. >> nice to meet you. >> yeah, you're tracy.

>> let's start with meteorologist bill henley to talk about the weather. yeah, bill what's happening? >> happy new year, first of all. welcome back. eagles are going to the super bowl. and if you're headed out the door, you'll want to grab your umbrella today. i'm tracking some thunderstorms, adin some potentially very strong winds this afternoon going that's going to make for a messy day. go to the north and you can see the first downpours and just some moderate showers moving through western berks county and some of those moving through north eastern maryland. we'll start with a few showers right now on the way to new castle county in delaware. but the temperatures, not bad at all. upper 40 for new jersey, and delaware in the 40s along with the lee high valley.

we will see some wet weather today. those showers and thunderstorms likely to come in this morning. and this morning we will see temperatures warm into the upper 50s and 60s. then it gets a little bit coolwcooler with the winds. first jessica boyington has the traffi traffic. the construction is back. right around the schuylkill expressway around the vine street express wri, it's closed. and it'll be there at least until 5:00 this morning. now, the westbound side isn't closed but we have lane restrictions there, too. on the moorland road right around allison road, watch for tat. and moving around 95 through delaware, not seeing any problems there. and speeds into the 60s. >> jessica, thank you.