new jersey sent an unmistakable message to the entire nation. we are better than this. >> election day 2017 ends with euphoria for democrats as they take governorships and statewide offices across the country. but what does it mean for the gop in next year's midterms? the president arrives in beijing for the third leg of his asian tour as he tackles north korea head on, warning pyongyang do not underestimate us. plus, new revelations on the warning signs missed in the texas church gunman's past, including his escape from a mental health facility before the massacre. a new report about harvey weinstein and how he used an army of ses

a startling new report out about the link between alcohol and cancer, and how americans are raising their risk. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm phillip mena, and i'm goran ivanisevic in for frances rivera. parts of the nation are waking up to a changed political landscape after a monumental election day left democrats positively euphoric with wins boosting their morale heading into the 2018 midterms. in new jersey, democrat phil murphy handily defeated kim guadagno. in a long expected victory given christie's dismal approval ratings with exit polls showing 9% 79% of the public disapproving. >> democrats were intent on making last night's results a referendum on his administration. here is governor-elect phil murphy just after the election results came in. >> this is one of the first major elections since donald trump was elected.

unmistakable message to the entire nation. we are better than this. >> but it was voters in virginia that dealt a huge blow to the republican party and president trump. and democrats are hoping that it spells doom for the republican party heading into 2018. for more on this we go to nbc's edward lawrence in washington. good morning, edward. >> good morning, gigi and fli . fellowship. ralph northam used campaign ads to tie his opponent to the president. there was a largest than expected voter turnout which led to an easier win than they expected. northam the candidate summed it up in his victory speech. he said that the doctor is in to heal virginia. >> you know, it was said that the eyes of the nation are now on the commonwealth. today virginians have answer and have

divisiveness that we will not condone hatred and bigotry. and to end the politics that have torn this country apart. >> in the weeks before the election, president donald trump had tweeted his support for the republican candidate ed gillespie. this morning the president backtracked. in a tweet from asia, the president saying he did not embrace me or what i stand for. then the president pointed to some positive numbers, saying the election -- or saying the economy is doing record numbers. now we shouldn't read too much into this. that's because some exit polling in new jersey and virginia show that voters believe the president was not a factor in the election by large percentage you see there. 49% of virginia. 57% in new jersey. now the real test will be the 2018 election for senator and the house races.

gigi, philip? >> thank you. president trump's fast-paced tour of asia continues in china this morning. but not before he issued some more harsh words against north korea from seoul. speaking to south korea's national assembly last night, the president said it is the responsibility of both nations to confront the danger posed from the north before it grows larger. calling on other countries in the region the help. he also called north korea a country ruled as a cult and issued this warning to leader kim jong un. >> i hope i speak not only for hour countries, but for all civilized nations when i say to the north do not underestimate us. and do not try us. every step you take down this dark path increases the peril you face. >> the speech comes just hours after the president attempted to make an unannounced visit to the demilitarized zone between north and sth

due to heavy fog. he and the first lady are in china, the third of five countries that i they will visit. chris jansing joins us now from beijing. chris, obviously the relationship with china is more crucial than ever. what is the president looking to accomplish in china right now? >> two big things, north korea and trade. this obviously is the most important stop on the president's tour of asia, and it's already gotten off with a lot of pomp and circumstance. the chinese are calling this a state visit plus, what they consider to be essentially reciprocal for when president xi came and was hosted in the united states at the mar-a-lago estate in florida by president trump. they're now in the forbidden city. that sprawling beautiful complex of the ming dynasty. they are having formal tea. both of the first couples. having said that, they will very soon be getting down to business. president trump and president xi. on the topic of north korea, president trump yesterday saying that it was time

really put more financial pressure. and they believe that that is the only way that there is going to be a peaceful resolution to the nuclear standoff with north korea, and a hodge divide on trade. and the president has been pushing that strongly throughout his time in asia. in fact, he is traveling here with about 40 u.s. businessmen. but in the meantime, president xi is hoping to impress president trump. he comes into this meeting with a lot of standing, having come out of his party's recent congress with five more years in office and putting himself essentially on the same footing as the founder, mao tse-tung. right now there is a lot of pomp, ceremony, something the president likes. but the question is will there be deliverables coming out of it. and what will the president have to say? people watching that very carefully. twitter of course is banned here in china. but gigi and phillip, when an official of the white house was asked whether the president will

here, he said the president will tweet whenever he wants. >> as he always does. thank you. investigators are revealing new information on the violent background of the suspected texas church shooter devin patrick kelley. in 2012, just months after beating his first wife and step-son at new mexico's holloman air force base, kelley escaped a mental health facility according to police records. an employee who followed kelley to a bus station in el paso told police he was a danger to himself and others as he had already been caught sneaking firearms on to holloman air force base, and he was attempting to carry out death threats against his superior officers. t they discovered kelley was ordering weapons and tactical gear to a p.o. box in san antonio. >> if you're following his court-martial, kelley once again ran into legal trouble. police investigated after he was accused of rape, though no charges were ever filed.

victims of this terrible massacre. nbc's gabe gutierrez reports. >> reporter: 5-year-old ryland ward shot five times is in critical condition fighting for his life. >> to go hand shoot children. >> reporter: sandra is his grandmother. what do you want the world to know about those kids? >> brooke was the sweetest thing. i keep thinking about -- she would tell me. she wanted to be a ballerina. she wanted to take ballet. emily, she was the sweetest little helper. she was always smiling, always happy. >> reporter: 20 were wounded in sunday's massacre, including survivor roseanne solis shot in the back. she said she could smell the gunpowder as the gunman yelled "everyone die". >> i could see him. i was hiding under the benches. and i could see him, his feet walking back and forth and through the aisles. i didn't want to get shot. >> reporter: we learn more about 2

16-year-old haley krueger loved baby, her mother says, and wanted to be a nurse. air force veteran scott marshall and his wife karen had just moved here from the pittsburgh area. >> my only son too. go there to pray and get killed. >> reporter: robert and shany were from michigan. their hometown now remembering the high school sweethearts. david brown's mother is recovering at a hospital after being shot multiple times. >> the lady she was next to, he started shooting her repeatedly. and so she held the lady's hand. she was crying, just looking at my mom the whole time. and she just told her you're going to be okay. you're going to go to heaven. >> reporter: a community bound by faith, remembering those lost. >> that was gabe gutierrez reporting. major league baseball and fans all across this country are mourning the sudden loss of one of its modern greats. former

killed when his small plane went down in the gulf of mexico. he was just 40 years old. authorities are investigating what caused the crash. halliday was an eight-time all-star and two-time cy young award winner a perfect game and a postseason no-hitter under his belt. he played for the toronto blue jays and philadelphia phillies before retiring in 2013. both teams expressed their condolences. with the official twit other telephone phillies simply saying gone far too soon. rest in peace, doc. he really was one of my favorite pitchers to watch this generation. >> he seemed like a such a nice guy too. really hard story. let's get a check of the wednesday forecast with bill karins. good morning. >> good morning. happily getting rid of that. some people saw their first sleet and snow last night in areas of new jersey, southern new york and southern new england. we're just about done with this. boston, you're now cleared out. just cape cod. the rain quickly ending here. during the day today, it will be chilly, butwi

the northeast. we're watching new rain beginning in areas of texas. a cold wayne dallas, waco, san antonio, a shower or two. and this will be the story towards the end, a cold air is beginning to seep in to the northern plains. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. here is a closer look at your day ahead. well, the temperatures won't even get out of the mid 20s today. bismarck, fargo and duluth. it's going the stay cold for the next couple of days. look how chilly it's gotten in texas. they were just 90 degrees last week. struggle into the mid-40s today in central texas. with the cold air coming in, we'll talk about lake-effect snow. >> no! that's crazy sounding. >> thank you, bill. fast forwarding into wednesday, former president obama is expected to report for jury duty in chicago this morning. according to the chicago "sun-times," secret service agents have been scouting the downtown courthouse, and they're preparing for his arrival. >> the man's got time on his hands all of the sudden. tickets go on sale for the vegas strong benefit concert to raise fun

the mass shooting. they'll feature performances by boyz ii men and imagine dragons. and later on today, sam smith. he will be performing live on the plaza as part of the citi concert series. you're watching "early today." thanks for giving victor the energy to be the rowdiest fan. and joseph, the ability to see monsters. when you choose walgreens, you choose to make a difference... like how every vitamin and flu shot you get at walgreens helps give life-changing vitamins and vaccines... to children in need around the world and here at home. so, really... happy thanks for giving! walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy. i love you, droolius caesar, but sometimes you stink. febreze car vent clip cleans away odors for up to 30 days. because the things you love can stink. it's ihe's at the 30,hilips. he's at the 20,

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as one of those workers, i'm proud to bring you gillette quality for less, because nobody can beat the men and women of gillette. gillette - the best a man can get. is kind of scary. stephen hawking with a warning that the earth could become a giant ball of fire by the year 2600 that would be due to overcrowding and energy consumption. that gives us less than 600 years to escape to other habitable planets. and the physicist believes the break through star shot initiative could help. >> the idea behind this innovation is that the draft drive on the light beat reached pluto in days, innin' a week and reach alpha centauri in over

years. major headlines coming out of election day. not just talking about the governors' races in new jersey and virginia. voters in spain expanded medicaid in statewide referendum seen as bellwether support for obamacare, becoming the 33rd state to expand the system. danica roem became the first transgendered person to be elected to a state's legislature after defeating a 13-term member of the house delegates who was a lead sponsor of the controversial bathroom bill. and an openly transgender person of color was elected to public office for the first time in the nation's history, winning a seat on the minneapolis city council. other noteworthy wins for democrats, new jersey elected its first sikh mayor and new york city mayor bill de blasio won his reelection bid. and washington state turned completely blue with democrats taking full control of the state's government. republicans did get a win with john curtis becoming the victor in the utah special election to

jason chaffetz. however, that came just hurries after two more republican members announce they'd would be retiring putting the total number of retiring gop members under trump to 15. just ahead, two major developments in the scandal swirling around harvey weinstein. a criminal case possibly advancing, and a bombshell report on an army of spies. you're watching "early today." you're not going to want the miss this. ngon stage.e i wanted to be clear. i wanted it to last. so i kept on fighting. i found something that worked. and keeps on working. now? they see me. see me. see if cosentyx could make a difference for you- cosentyx is proven to help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...find clear skin that can last. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting cosentyx, you should be checked for tuberculosis.

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harvey weinstein could soon be indicted. nbc new york is reporting manhattan's district attorney is expected to bring his case against weinstein before a grand jury as early as next week. this comes after the nypd chief of detectives said evidence was being gathered to possibly arrest the disgraced hollywood mogul on rape charges. police say actress la paz de la huerta told investigators last month that weinstein raped here twice in 2010. >> according to weinstein's spokesperson, any allegations of nonconsensual sex are unequivocally denied by mr. weinstein. a new report describes a an army of spies working on weinstein's behalf. correspondent kate snow has the shocking details. >> reporter: it sounds more like a scene from a hollywood thrill they're harvey weinstein could have produced. the new yorkerli

bombshell report about weinstein hiring private investigators, including former israeli spierks harvey weinstein as allegations against him began to go public hired early an army of private investigators. and these were not gumshoes in run-down apartments. these were elite international spying organizations. >> reporter: ronan farrow writes a former israeli defense forces officer posed as a woman's rights activist and convinced rose mcgowan to meet with her four times. i took her to the boardwalk and we had ice cream. the hired agent pressing her for information and recording hours of investigation. other investigators looked for dirt on reporter. >> the intent of this campaign was to stop these allegations from becoming public, to make sure women stayed silent, and to make sure reporters didn't come out with the truth. >> reporter: last year, weinstein reached out to the former prime minister of israel, elude barack who confirmed he

recommended one of the firms weinstein hired. weinstein's lawyer, famous for representing al gore during the 2000 recount and arguing for marriage equality signed the contract. saying i regret having done this. it was a mistake to contract with and pay on behalf of a client investigators who we did not select and did not control. weinstein's spokesperson told nbc it is a fiction to suggest that any individuals were targeted or suppressed at any time. still, several of the accusers said weinstein's actions made it harder to speak out. italian actress tweeted about why she and other women didn't speak out sooner. we were followed by ex-mossad agents. isn't that terrifying? very. kate snow, nbc news, new york. >> it's truly mind-blowing insight into this shadowy world of spy agents that you would never know existed. >> and not over yet. when we come back, some nua

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what we're learning about a deadly accident and whether it could impact your commute. and good morning. i'm storm team 4. meteorologist chuck bell. the clouds are here to stay before a next couple days before a

>> announcer: "news4 today" begins with breaking news. >> that breaking news in northeast washington where someone was killed in a car crash and that crash shut down part of d.c. 295. the road just

minutes ago. it's not clear what led up to the crash or how many people were involved but we're asking police for information as soon as we learn more we'll be sure to let you know. good morning, everyone. i'm chris lawrence. we got to get you started first off the weather because we are now officially heading into this deep freeze, right chuck? >> you bet. so if you are sick of the arm weather and the sunshine that we had last couple of weeks around here, you're in luck because it's going to look and feel more like november. just a cloudy day. you can see there are very light areas of rain now down across parts of central virginia. any rain chances today will be mainly focused south of the d.c./metro area but even here in and around town today i couldn't rule out mist or drizzle. upper 30s to around 40 now. future weather shows a