the justice department and director general wants to get to the bottom of the fbi handling of the clinton ee mails and comey's actions. yesterday the house acted and gets ready to vote on the future of obamacare. just how did the president surprise the vice president in broad daylight with a high honor. shielding your identity. plus, leaving the white house. the touching message from one set of first kids to another. "early today" starts right now. good morning. happy friday to you. i'm frances rivera. >> and i am ayman mohyeldin. that's a sweet note from the bush sisters to the obamas. there is a major new developme

want to tell you about this morning. that's the inspector general michael horowicz who says he will investigate comey's handling of james comey's handling of the e-mail scandal. here's nbc's pete williams with all the details. >> reporter: the justice department's independent watchdog said he'll look at public disclosures by james comey and others about the e-mail investigation. word of the review is welcomed by clinton supporters who say they believe the fbi affected the election. >> when a law enforcement agency breaches its protocol in such an unusual and unprecedented way, i think for the confidence of that agency everybody should get to the bottom of what happened. >> inspector general horowicz said he'll look at how they blasted the e-mails. >> they were

in the handling of the information. >> reporter: it will look to the letter comey sent to congress revealing new e-mails had to be reviewed. nothing significant was found. it's easily the most pointed d.o.j. review ever of an fbi director's conduct. >> these are the types of questions that the inspector general typically looks at but it's not an everyday matter for it to be the director of the fbi. >> reporter: comey brushed aside questions on capitol hill. in a written statement he says he welcomes the review. he said, quote, everyone will benefit from thoughtful evaluation and transparency in this matter. horowicz launched this after hearing from both parties. >> there were strange things from both sides of the aisle. >> reporter: the review should have been launched much earlier right after the unusual news conference in july. >> if he had opened an investigation then it might have prevented comey from

that letter in october which i think ultimately might have been decisive in the presidential election. >> thanks to nbc's pete williams. the review won't affect the election but could affect comey. multiple high level intelligence sources have told nbc news that comey had a private conversation with trump last friday after his intelligence briefing on hacking. those sources say that comey spoke with the president-elect about the existence of a so-called dossier with ties to the russian government. the opposition group found the information. >> today the house is expected to take up a budget resolution that would look at obamacare. they narrowly passed the measure thursday. they are pushing back because there is no replacement plan in place. house speaker paul ryan said they can repeal and replace at the same time. >> we are determined to provide relief as

because this law is collapsing while we speak. and working with the new administration, taking actions step by step, that is what we are going to do. >> i call it the cut and run approach. cut the benefits and run away. cut the access to medicaid and run away from it. cut the advantages to medicare and run away from it. >> meanwhile, the full senate passed an exception that will exempt general james mattis to be out of the military for at least seven years. >> in what might be the crowning moment of the ultimate white house bromance president obama surprised vice president biden by bestowing him the highest honor. the commander in chief switched gears and awarded the vice president with a medal of freedom with distinction, an honor at a level so rare it's the first for this administration. stick around. just

the surprise all went down. now to the latest on a horrific house fire in northeast baltimore that claimed the lives of six young brothers and sisters. the children's mother and other siblings are in the hospital. kerry sanders has the latest from baltimore. >> reporter: flames racing through the wood framed house. inside, mother katie and her nine children. ranging in ages from 11 years old to just months. >> report of nine children inside, nine children inside. >> reporter: as the house burned neighbors ran to the scene. >> i heard the kids crying. my daughter heard them. they said, help, help. you know? couldn't save them. couldn't save them. >> reporter: an 8-year-old daughter was able to rescue two younger brothers all stumbling out of the house with their mother. >> we have three children relocated they're in the backyard, they're

all of their bodies were recovered. >> very heartbreaking for us all. >> reporter: katie malone has worked for maryland congressman elija cummings for decades. he found it hard to find words. >> it's a very difficult time for our office. >> reporter: investigators still don't know what caused the blaze. the children's father, who was working the night shift at a restaurant, told officials that there was a smoke detector in the house. >> nbc's kerry sanders reporting there. fire officials plan to demolish the home this morning. the cause of the fire, as we just heard there, remains under investigation. absolutely tragic. >> heartbreaking. taking a turn now, winter weather is wreaking havoc out west. five people in oregon escaped injury when heavy snow caused a warehouse roof to collapse. several businesses throughout portland are still without power. the snow has gotten so bad in colorado and sierra nevada even ski reports are shutting down in fear of avalanches.

wednesday when two snowboarders survived getting buried by an avalanche in summit county, utah. >> bill karins is here watching all of the potentially crippling ice storms unfolding in the hartland. >> we could see significant power outages. it could last up to two to three days. the pink on the map is starting up in southern missouri and oklahoma. we have 10 million people under ice storm warnings from kansas to missouri even including st. louis, kansas city. freezing weather advisory including oklahoma, indianapolis. ten different states will be affected by this storm. this is one of our computer models. this is the rpm computer model predicting the amounts of ice. when you get above half inch that's where you get downed trees. it's pinpointing north texas, obamacare, southern kansas. that's a look at the big weather story of the day and now here's a closer look at your day ea

the air masses as we call it. 78 in san antonio but only 36 in amarillo. so the cold arctic air is trying to come down from the north. at the same time the warm air coming up from the gulf. that's the ingredients of our ice storm. it looks like the ice storm will be ending on sunday. on sunday kansas city has the nfl football game playoff. that will be very interesting to see how difficult that is. >> you know what, those fans, that's not going to stop them. >> the fans will be there. >> nothing slows down nfl fans. just ahead, president obama changes on something that caused a problem between cuba and the united states. >> the length people will go to to protect themselves on the road. "early today" is back in two. from leaving me at a higher risk of stroke. that'd be devastating. i took warfarin for over 15 years. until i learned more about once-daily xarelto®... a latest-generation blood thinner.

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enthusiast successfully completed the jump from over 1800 feet above the river below. it was ove in just 81 seconds. the daredevil released his parachute just ten seconds. >> watching it feels like a really long time to wait for the parachute. >> and 81 seconds to get on solid ground. i bet if asked he would do it again. >> it's pretty impressive that that bridge, you can cross it. >> leading the news this morning, days before leaving office president obama is taking further steps between normalizing relations with cuba. on thursday the obama administration announced it would end the policy of wet foot/dry foot which allowed cuban residents when arriving on soil. cuban nationals who attempt to enter the u.s. legally and do not qualify for

relief will be subject to removal effective immediately. this way cuban migrants will be treated the same as any other migrants to the u.s. some disturbing numbers from the transportation security administration especially in light of last week's shooting. the tsa says the number of guns seized from carry on bags at airports has reached an all-time high. screeners at airport checkpoints recover nearly 3400 firearms in 2016. that's up 28% from the year before. most of the guns, 83%, were loaded. firearms are prohibited from being stored in carry ones although they can be transported in checked luggage just as long as they are not loaded. >> a scary thought to think of all of those guns that are going to potentially get on the planes. the obama administration has agreed to pay more than $2 billion in disability benefits to marines exposed to con tammy dated drinking water while assigned to camp lejeune. this will come from the department of veterans affairs.

and show they were stationed at the base for at least 30 days between 1953 and 1987. so far eight medical conditions have been proven to be connected to the contaminated water. the v.a. estimates that as many as 900,000 service members were potentially exposed. >> all right. when you're driving the highway you get a toll sometimes. it's a pain to have to stop, slow down. one florida driver caught going to great lengths just to avoid paying the tolls. watch this. now you see it, now you don't. the florida highway patrol who they say installed that device on his car. you push that button and then the license plate is shielded from cameras that snap the image when a toll isn't paid. troopers say they were right behind that man, 27-year-old driver, when he allegedly dropped the curtain over his tag. since they can't determine how many times he's gotten away with it. he's been charged with a felony for $1.25 toll.

him at least maybe $100 to install that thing. that's 100 times going through the tolls. >> unless he travels even more than that, too. maybe it evens out. >> all right. just ahead, fallout continues over the u.s. government's accusations of fear of chrysler emissions cheating. plus, wall street faces an important test for the trump rally. tomorrow's the day we'll play something besides video games. every day is a gift. especially for people with heart failure. but today there's entresto... a breakthrough medicine that can help make more tomorrows possible. tomorrow, i want to see teddy bait his first hook. in the largest heart failure study ever, entresto was proven to help more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine. women who are pregnant must not take entresto. it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't if you've had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine,

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inauguration just one week away, homeland security secretary jay johnson will discuss security at the big event. representatives from the fbi, fema and the d.c. national guard are all expected to be there. world championship cubs are breaking a long standing tradition for teams to visit the white house during the regular baseball season. they have accepted an invitation from president obama and will visit on monday. >> little presidential perc there, i think. don't miss lester holt's interview with the president. barack obama, the reality of hope. airs tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central right here on nbc. on this friday wall street faces an important test for the trump administration. we're joined from london with the details. hi, julia, good morning. >> good morning, frances. you quite rightly said, investors asking questions, what does earnings season mean for the rally that we've seen in

i can tell you banks kick us off today. we have jpmorgan, wells fargo. this sector is pivotal. the hope is that the numbers we get will justify in some way why they've rallied so much. now oh, boy, let me tell you about the drama that was seen for the automakers. takata, the japanese name, they're set to plead guilty to criminal conduct charges in the state. they say the faulty airbags, the fine could be to the tune of $1 billion. that's higher than expected. it took the stocks down double digits overnight. then the big one phi as chrysler, u.s. regulators yesterday accusing them of also using these emission cheat devices. we spoke to the ceo yesterday. he was incandescent with rage. he denied all charges. they're going to fight for the worst case scenario here could cost the firm $4.5 billion. investors were spooked so it has actually r

it's the case of watch the space. guys, back to you. >> the hit volkswagen took. that happening as well. julia, thank you. just ahead, life imitates art for one chicago fire actor. plus, the moment that brought many in the white house to tears. we're going to tell you about that. you're watching "early today." prescriptions. at walgreens we make it easy for you to seize the day by helping you get more out of life and medicare part d. now with zero-dollar copays on select plans... ...and rewards points on all prescriptions, walgreens has you covered. so drop by and seize the savings! walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy. because it knew an ordinary wastissue was near.ar. the fiery tissue left her nose sore and red. so dad slayed the problem with puffs plus lotion, instead.

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bromance between president obama and joe biden has long been a source of smiles and joking. the two are as close as anyone can be. it was a surprise. what happened to pull it off that has everyone talking. nbc's andrea mitchell picks up the story from there. >> reporter: joe biden thought he was coming to the state dining room for a farewell toast of the obamas until he saw the biden clan, friends. >> the best vice president america has ever had. >> this gives the internet one last chance to talk about our bromance. >> reporter: celebrating a life of public service spanning nearly half a century obama and biden sounding like a white house buddy movie. >> and when the pope visited joe was even kind enough to let me talk to the holiness as well. >> reporter: he's been his vice president for his occasional profanity like when they signed obama care.

[ bleep ]. >> it is as joe said, a big deal. >> reporter: but the big surprise for the man the president called his brother. >> for the final time as president i am pleased to award our nation's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. >> i can say i was part of, part of the journey of this remarkable man who did remarkable things for this country. >> reporter: earlier biden telling me barack obama called you a brother. what has -- what has he and michelle met to you and jo? >> we've become a family. michelle -- i think michelle is the finest first lady in history. i mean in history. >> i had to quote an irish poet, think where man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was i had such

me i'll be there for you and i want to thank you very, very very much. >> reporter: andrea mitchell. >> it was a remarkable event. i was watching it live. i was caught up in the emotion. joe biden, he has been running for office or serving in an elected office for close to 46 years in his life. january 20th, 2017, will be the first time he's stepped down from a continuous run of nearly 46 years in office. >> and really remarkable. he wears his heart on his sleeves. you know, it's right there. you see the emotion there on his face to think of the past years he's been through and losing bo and being there and all the speculation whether he would make a run for the presidency and now to culminate it with this. really remarkable. this is "early today." stay with us. more "doing chores for mom" per roll

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one suspect, multiple sex abuses. now on news 4 today, the rush to track down a man d.c. police say is groping women against their will. a community in mourning. six children killed in a massive baltimore fire. the struggle for the family as a mother and three children recover. flooding, ice and wintry weather, the dangerous storm taking shape as millions as cross the country brace for a big change. it is 4:26 now. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. chuck has the week off but we will throw things over to sheena parveen for a look at our forecast. >> it was gorgeous.

some very big changes as we go into the start of your weekend. now, today you're going to notice that temperatures will be dropping through the day. currently, we're in the 50s. 55 degrees in the district. fredericksburg is at 60 degrees right now with but that is going to quickly change. temperatures will be dropping as we go through the day into the 40s. but this morning, we're mild. you will notice around sunrise, things are going to start to get cooler. we have a weather alert as we go into tomorrow. hazardous travel. so far, we have a winter weather issue off to our west near the shennendoah valley, i-81. freezing rain advisory. this will go from midnight to 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. right now, we have a crash out there. melissa mollet with the details. >> good morning. brand new problem in ashton, maryland. this is between nevada avenue and mink hollow road. this is a tractor-trailer,

some time this morning. outer loop, block the right lane. westbound independence avenue near lincoln circle has some inauguration staff blocking the right lane at this moment. and taking a live look right now, 270 at montrose road, no problems. an update on the problem in montgomery county, coming up. 4:28 now. developing this morning, d.c. police trying to track down a sexual abuse subject between wednesday and thursday morning. they say women were assaulted at three locations in northwest.. take a look at the photo here. police say this man was likely involved in all three cases. they say he would approach women and grope them against their will. it's believed he was wearing a red flannel shirt at the time. if you know anything, contact d.c. police. there were a lot of unanswered questions about an unimaginable tragedy for a baltimore family. six children, siblings, all killed in this fire. this morning, the mother and two other siblings are

thursday morning in northeast baltimore. one neighbor said he tried to help get the kids out, but the fire was too powerful. >> because i was right there and i tried my best to help them. we heard the kids yelling. just couldn't do it. the flames was out of control. >> fire officials are now working to find out how that fire started. the mother, katine malone works as a member for congressman elijah cummings district office. one of the children who survived the fire is out of the hospital this morning and back with her father. he was working the night shift when the fire began. right now, there are several missing people police need your help finding. we start with this missing mother and her 4-month-old daughter. montgomery police say 34-year-old maduba polans was last heard from

she may be driving a 2005 going cara van with a maryland license plate. in fairfax county, 17-year-old venus iraheta is missing. police believe she may have run away. they received anonymous information that she had been threatened by gang members. and 72-year-old violette lafleur has been missing. d.c. police say she may need medical attention. if you know of the whereabouts of any of these missing people, call police immediately. right now, police are trying to track down the person who shot a bullet into a fairfax county day care center. the situation unfolded at the bright horizons day care center yesterday afternoon. two adults and eight 3-year-old children were in the