it makes me feel guilty. weather alert. a nor'easter is on the way with wind gusts of up to 16 miles per hour expected. this as flooding is hitting parts of the ohio and tennessee valleys with heavy precipitation expected later today. in the end, mr. president, the reason nothing has gotten done here is becausehe gun lobby has had veto power. >> it's time that a president stepped up. do you have something? >> no, i think you underestimate the power of the gun lobby. >> president trump pushing legislators on both sides of the aisle as corporate america takes the lead by changing how they will sell guns to the public. hope no more. one of the president's closest and most trusted aides, white house communications director hope hicks resigns. distractions from walking into a moving fire truck to

being too focused on our phones. the dire consequence is growing. and one kid's creative nerf gun tooth pull. "early today" begins right now. good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. march certainly coming in like a lion for parts of the country. another powerful winter blast is taking aim at the northeast with strong winds, coastal flooding and heavy rain snow all in the mix. it is raising fears of potential property damages, power outages, and travel disruptions. the nor'easter has already prompted several weather warnings and watches across the region. nbc meteorologist bill karins has more on what's ahead. a lot to watch, bill. >> yeah, good morning. a lot of impacts. let's get into them. the first one is going to be the rainfall. put this in the minor to moderate category. one to three inches of raining in new england. very wet february and now we're going to add on top of that in the next two days. the winds, airports, a lot of flights will be cancelled with gusts like this, to 60 in atlanta and new york. boston 45 to 50. cape cod could gust up to 60

miles an hour. this is going to be mostly friday afternoon is the strongest winds. and then the coastal flooding we're anticipating major coastal flooding even close to getting near record territory on the jersey shore and eastern portions of new england are going to have water on roads and possibly even into property. so this will be a damaging storm that's going to have long-lasting impacts right into the weekend. >> you'll be checking it all for us, bill. thank you. president trump is shocking members of his own party with his stance on gun control. in a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers the president seemed to embrace many gun control measures long decried by republicans and the nra. president trump promising an executive order banning bump stocks and calling for stronger background checks. he also supported raising the legal age to buy firearms while taking a jab at senator pat toomey. >> it doesn't make sense that i have to wait till i'm 21 to get a handgun but i can get this weapon at 18. i don't know. i'm just curious as to what you did in your bill. >> we didn't address it, mr. president.

i think -- >> you know why? because you're afraid of the nra. >> but some retailers are not waiting for congress to implement change. walmart announcing yesterday evening it is raising the age to buy firearms and ammo to 21. they're also removing anything resembling assault-style rifles from its website. the news coming after dick's sporting goods announced major changes to its gun policy as well. nbc's kate snow has more. >> reporter: after the horror in parkland, florida dick's sporting goods ceo ed stack said they found out the alleged gunman bought a shotgun last november at one of their stores. though not a weapon used in the killings that day, enough was enough. >> we don't want to be a part of the story any longer. >> reporter: the company is no longer selling assault-style rifle or high-capacity magazines and will not sell any firearms to anyone under 21. >> it's a big decision to make as a corporation. why? >> when we looked at those kids and we saw what was -- the grief they were going through and how these kids organized to really

have their voices heard, we talked amongst ourselves and said if these kids can be brave enough to do this then we should be brave enough to make a stand ourselves. >> reporter: assault-style weapons have been used in many mass shootings from newtown to san bernardino to las vegas. and stack says once again congress is paralyzed. >> they really have no intent in my opinion, i don't believe they have any intent to solve the problem. >> it's been a rough couple of weeks. >> reporter: fred guttenberg lost his daughter jaime in the shoot twog weeks ago. >> i am today actually, 14 days out i think, happier than i've been in 14 days because of what dick's sporting goods announced this morning. that to me says what happened here will make a difference. >> reporter: at dick's sporting goods stores the decision welcomed by some gun owners. >> what's an ar-15 for? just to kill people. and we've had enough of that. >> reporter: and dismissed by others. >> bad guys are going to get guns, whether dick's sells them to them or not. >> reporter: no direct response today from the nra but after more than a dozen companies

recently ended special deals for nra members the organization called it a shameful display of political and civic cowardice. georgia's lieutenant governor said he would kill any tax legislation that benefits delta airlines unless the company changes its position. >> are you worried that there could be backlash from the nra? >> we expect there will be. >> our thanks to kate snow for that report. with those changes an emotional return to class for students in parkland, florida. stoneman douglas high school reopening for class for the first time since 11 people were rylled in that mass shooting on sanders has more. >> reporter: the safest school in america was in parkland, florida. hundreds of armed police officers escorting students back to campus. officials wanting to give these survivors a sense of security. >> i almost feel like i'm on an b >> reporter: these students refusing to let suspect nikolas cruz steal it away from them. 16-year-old lizzie eaton did something she rarely does before

school. eating breakfast with her family. >> i love you. have a good day, okay? >> reporter: instead of commuting in her own car -- >> there's traffic. >> i've never seen it like this before. >> reporter: her dad driving lizzie through the maze of police. parents say since the shooting they're obsessed with one question. will my child get home safely? >> i have a lot more faith now seeing all the activity that's going on in the school, and there's a lot of police presence. >> reporter: students started the day with fourth period, reuniting with classmates and teachers who were with them when the massacre began. the principal tweeting, "there is no need for backpacks. come ready to start the healing process." but for many it's hard to move on. >> because like the first day back and like i just keep thinking of like the day it happened. >> words cannot, you know, describe how painful it is to see an empty seat. >> reporter: and when the half-day at school was over -- >> it made me a little sad. but i was glad to just within my

friends again. >> reporter: an emotional day too for taryn hibschmin who lost two friends. >> they're no longer in this world and they're no longer with us. it's something i don't think any human will ever be able to fathom. >> reporter: the focus not just on those who survived but on the 17 faces who were missing. like 14-year-old alaina petty her dad ryan standing outside the school's dpaits. >> there's a hole in our family. alaina's gone and these not coming back. >> reporter: 95% of the 3,000-plus students who go to school here showed up on wednesday. 15 have told the school principal they don't think they can ever come back. meantime, the grand jury will begin hearing testimony in this case next week. kerry sanders, nbc news, parkland, florida. now to the head-spinning shake-up rocking the white house. communications director hope hicks is resigning. one of president trump's closest confidants, someone referred to as the trump whisperer, telling

staff she's leaving the administration, leading? to ask this morning why now? nbc's chief white house correspondent hallie jackson has more. >> where is hope? where is hope? hope, get up here, hope. >> reporter: another dramatic departure in the west wing. this time someone who might as well be family to donald trump. hope hicks, his communications director and long-time aid, resigning. >> hope hicks is a tremendously talented person. >> reporter: nbc news has learned hicks told the president personally according to a white house source and said her good-byes to staff in an emotional meeting. the president saying hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years. she is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person, adding he totally understood when she said she would leave. on seen but rarely heard in interviews or on camera, hicks played a pivotal part behind the scenes. a fierce defender of her boss, by his side for nearly every critical campaign moment.

>> merry christmas, everyone, and thank you, donald trump. >> reporter: and with no prior political experience rocketing to a top job in the white house. word of her departure comes less than 24 hours after she appeared on capitol hill to testify about the russia investigation. apparently acknowledging she's occasionally told white lies as part of her job. >> the whole talk about a white lie is such a bad rap and so unfair to hope hicks. she was asked did donald trump ever ask you to lie. and her answer was that she never told an untruth about anything of substance. >> reporter: white house officials insist that testimony timing has nothing to do with hicks' resignation nor does the rob porter scandal, they say. the former staff secretary who resigned amid accusations he abused his ex-wives. and who had been reportedly romantically linked to hicks. with her departure the white house will now search for its fifth communications director. more turnover in a west wing that's seen plenty.

hicks' official departure day has not been set yet, but it should be sometime in the next few weeks. and while she may be as close as a daughter to president trump i'm told that hicks is looking forward to getting back home and spending some time with her family. phillip, back to you. >> all right, hallie, thank you. one former trump official is patting hicks on the back overnight. short 4ri6d white house communications director anthony scaramucci. here was his reaction to ricks' resignati resignation. >> she's dedicated, she's charming, she's thoughtful and at the end of the day she's going to have an unbelievable career, sean. >> but she's already 29 and had an unbelievable career. >> hope, if you're watching my agent has called me and said please let me represent hope hicks. i said i'll give her a call. now to this. new on nbc news. this scoop reports that special counsel robert mueller is actively investigating whether the president knew about the democratic e-mails that had been stolen by the russians before they were released. "special counsel robert mueller's team is asking witnesses pointed questions about whether trump was aware

that democratic e-mails had been stolen before that was publicly known and whether he was involved in their strategic release." mueller's investigators have asked witnesses whether trump was aware of plans for wikileaks to publish the e-mails prior to wikileaks publishing them. and the nbc special counsel saying looking at the links between wikileaks and trump associates in dits seminating the echlts mails. bill kairnz back with us watching a flash flooding event in arkansas and tennessee. >> life-threatening weather. this is what we feared last night, we'll get the trormz trained over the same areas and they're signature not from little rock southward to shreveport and the memphis area. the flash flooding is ongoing. interstate 40 has water on it, interstate 55 has water on it. it's not going to yum prove anytime soon. especially when you look at the radar and see all the heavy radar lingering over this region. we'll watch the threat moving to tupelo and areas in northern mississippi as the heavy rain moves your way in the next georgia's floor

later today. georgia's fwrofrn saeorgi georgia's governor says he will sign the bill. now? watch me. ( ♪ ) joni: 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. it's a different kind of targeted biologic. it's proven to help people find less joint pain and clearer skin. don't use if you are allergic to cosentyx. before starting cosentyx you should be checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of an infection. or if you have received a vaccine, or plan to. if you have inflammatory bowel disease tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. mitzi: with less joint pain, watch me. for less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. ask your rheumatologist

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caught on camera, a terrifying moment on a drag race track in arizona. watch here as one car's engine suddenly explodes just out of the blue. the force knocked off the protective cover sending the driver crashing into the other car. amazingly despite what all of this looks like both drivers avoided serious injury. >> wow. leading the news this morning, hundreds surrounded i.c.e. offices in san francisco to protest a wave of recent immigration raids. protesters blocked off streets demanding an end to the raids, chanting "shut down i.c.e." they also chalked the pavement with the message "keep families together." i.c.e. officials confirm they've arrested more than 150 people in northern california since the raids began sunday. they say about half of those arrested have criminal convictions as well as immigration violations. a startling new report from the cdc shows one in 14 women still smoke while pregnant, a habit linked to bifth defects.

the report based on birth certificate data from 2016 also found smoke rates varied significantly from state to state. the highest rate at 25.1% in west virginia is highlighted in green. the lowest rate in california at 1.6% is highlighted in dark blue. we're not going to take it. that's the phrase being chanted by hundreds of teachers protesting low pay and rising health insurance costs at the west virginia state capitol. despite governor jim justice's tentative deal with the unions that was designed to end the statewide teachers' strike, schools remain closed today for a sixth day. the pending agreement provides a 5% pay raise for the teachers the first year. however, it doesn't address the ridesing costs of the state employees health care program which the teachers fear could wipe out those raises. still ahead, we are off to the races. you are watching "early today." hey allergy muddlers:

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marley mcdonald, a 6-year-old contestant. >> the world's largest livestock and rodeo show kicked off in houston. and the spotlight was on this adorable 6-year-old. that is young marlie mcdonald. she won this year's first mutton busting championship by riding that streak sheep across the arena. after her win she said when she grows up she wants to be a spy so she can fight for the world against bad guys. so we're counting on you, marlie. we're going to need riding a s.

so adorable. the last 48 hours in washington have been a whirlwind. the barrage of news coming out of the trump administration is enough to make your head spin. >> here are just some of the surreal headlines that emanated from d.c. in just the last two days. white house communications director hope hicks resigned. >> president trump publicly attacked attorney general jeff sessions. >> the "washington post" reports trump's reported efforts to out sessions last year said to be a focus of robert mueller's probe. >> nbc reports mueller is asking if trump knew with hacked democratic e-mails before they were released in 2016. >> former trump campaign chairman paul man anort pleads not guilty to five charges in court. the judge setting november 17th as trial date. >> trump publicly sparring with republicans over concealed carry bill. >> "new york times" reports kushner's family visit got loans after white house visits. kushner stripped of his top secret security clearance. >> hope hicks testified before the house intel committee 50d mitting she told lies for the

president. >> it goes on. "washington post" reports kushner's overseas contacts raised concerns as foreign officials saek leverage. >> news that hud spent $31,000 to replace furniture in the office of ben kars-upon. >> oversight director trey gowdy. >> a federal judge paves the way for construction of a section of trump's proposed border wall. >> and trump announces the hiring of brad parscale as his 2020 campaign manager. >> the president sends a flurry of tweets saying witch hunt. >> the nsa chief tells members of congress trump has not ordered disruption of russia election meddling. so dot dot dot. ellipsees. to be continued. >> need to catch our breath here. and that was just two days of news. just ahead some disturbing new numbers on pedestrian deaths driven by distraction. you're watching "early today." oh, that's lovely... so graceful. the corkscrew spin, flawless... ...his signature move, the flying dutchman.

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wind, rain, and flooding. we're tracking a storm that will impact our entire area. the first alert team has you covered. school threat concerns. the message posted on line that has students and parents on edge. what police are doing to keep kids safe. impacting your wallet. the tax proposal that would end up costing homeowners across philadelphia and why the city says it's needed. good morning. this is "nbc10 news today" first look at 4. i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm via sikahema. we have issued a first alert for tomorrow's storm. get set as it will impact the entire area.

let's get to meteorologist bill henley with the first alert forecast. >> this is a major system coming together that is going to start moving into the area today. we'll start to feel the effects of it come tomorrow. the first alert is for the entire area tomorrow morning into saturday morning. it's going to be a long-duration storm with 50 to 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts. potential flooding, the worst on saturday, and heavy rain, as well. most of the day is going to be dry to start at least. philadelphia just a few clouds moving in. the rain is to the southwest. the storm really hasn't started to come together yet. that is going to be happening as we go into tonight. 45 in the suburbs. 45 in philadelphia. cold outside. this is going to be a rainmaker for us. before the rain moves in, a big warmup. close to 60 this afternoon. rain develops this afternoon, and it will be a steady rain in the lehigh valley and delaware. temperatures will peak in the 50s for the suburbs and

philadelphia, too. then the heavy rainfall will be set to move in tonight. we'll break it down hour by hour and show what to expect in your neighborhood coming up. first, katy zachry watching your first alert traffic. that's right. this early hour, 4:00, we're looking at good news. the vine street expressway is open now. this is a live look now at 18th street. i was checking cameras at broad at 24th, everything is running smoothly. the vine in both directions is open for your early morning commute. these are the drive times, all in the green. average speeds are where they should be, in the low to mid 60s. there are no issues on the roads. 95, 76, and the blue route all looking really good. the typical trouble spots, no problems. good news on 95 northbound. construction just cleared a few minutes ago. this is 95 northbound between bridge street and cottman avenue. when i see you in a bit, we'll look at new jersey roads and tell you about construction spots to be aware of. >> thanks. 4:00 a.m. now. as bill mentioned, we're tracking a major coastal storm that you'll have to be ready