. extremely critical fire conditions grow more dangerous as the santa ana winds whip up gusts to more than 70 miles per hour while evacuations spread. palestinians call for days of rage over president trump's recognition of jerusalem as israel's true capital. the growing chorus of senators calling for al franken's resignation will come to a head day. temporarily blinded by laser while rushing to an emergency seen leads to an arrest. and important health news involving breast cancer in women taking birth control. "early today" starts right now. california is still seeing no relief from the deadliest and most destructive fire season of the year.

tearing through los angeles right now, driven by fierce santa ana winds and dry conditions. the thick plumes of smoke are so dense, they're even visible from space. hundreds of thousands have fled their homes in ventura county and los angeles. >> president trump offered his thoughts and prayers to those affected. schools have canceled most classes and residents are being advised to stay indoors due to the dangerous air conditions. and more evacuations have been issued. ride hailing app lyft is offering free rides amid fears that wind strength will strengthen today. scott, good morning. what are you seeing there? >> good morning, phillip. it's all about the wind. it kind of comes and goes. but the forecast is for those winds to pick up as the early morning hours go on. that's bad for firefighting. you combine that with all of the dry vegetation. and we're talking about a fire risk that's as bad ashe

think about it. that 90,000 acre fire that's burning here in ventura county. that's 140 square miles, or roughly the size of the city of detroit. it blew up in the space of about 36 hours. and now with the fire risk escalating, it's all hands on deck. >> there is a lot of potential for some large fire growth. on the north and west side of this fire in the next 24 to 48 hours. resistance to control is going to be very difficult because of the large probability of spot fires that will establish easily and spread rapidly and tend to confound control efforts. >> so fire crews are on the lookout for these so-called spot fires that come from embers that come from the main fire, and trying to knock those down as soon as possible so that the

five fires burning in southern california. these santa ana winds are expected to continue blowing, perhaps peaking today, but continuing into the weekend. phillip, frances? >> all right, scott, thank you. we bring you now bill karins who joins us about the massive wind gusts. what can you tell us about that, bill? >> the problem is going to be as we go through the morning and the santa ana winds peak, and as they do reach 60 to 80 miles per hour in the mountains, lower 40 to 60 with extreme fire conditions for 20 million people, the spot fires and embers are possibly going to start new blazes. here are the peak gusts forecast for the cities themselves. again, it could be higher in the mountains. l.a. up to 45. santa ana around 60. oxnard around 50. again, they'll peak this morning, but they'll stay gusty right into the upcoming weekend. >> all right, bill. thank you very much. now the protests that have erupted across the middle east after president trump upended decades of u.s. policy by recognizing jerusalem as the capital of israel. demonstrations broke thought the west bank almost immediately. leaders not just in the arab world, but

denounced the move as a detriment to permanent peace. but the president insists the status quo isn't working and something must change. nbc's hallie jackson joins us with more. good morning. >> frances, the president is making a risky bet here, that doing something different will eventually end up productive for peace talks. but he is about the only one making that bet. this decision, which is not likely to be undone by future presidents someone of the most controversial and consequential of his administration. >> all challenges demand new approaches. >> reporter: seven decades of u.s. policy changed in an instant. >> today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that jerusalem is israel's capital. >> reporter: president trump will also move the u.s. embassy to jerusalem, which could take three or four years and which puts the u.s. on an island. every other country, more than 80 of them with an embassy in israel has theirs in tel aviv. >> well, previous presidents have made this a

promise, they failed to deliver. today i am delivering. >> reporter: there are reasons those other presidents change their views. like widespread consensus and united nations policy that the fate of jerusalem should be one of the last decisions negotiated between israelis and palestinians. but this president made a promise. >> we will move the american embassy -- >> reporter: and he wants to make good on it. domestic politics at play here, like a legal deadline, and pressure from evangelical supporters, leaving a little wiggle room, the president is not taking a position on the controversial question of whether or how jerusalem should be divided. and he says he is not ending u.s. support for a two-state solution. but in reality experts say any solution looks exponentially more difficult now. >> by giving this unilateral concession to the israelis today and getting nothing for it, the president has weakened the american position, made it less likely that we'll get progress from the israeli a

negotiating table. >> as one of the world's most diplomatically difficult disputes now gets even more complicated. hallie jackson, nbc news, the white house. now to ron allen in jerusalem with reaction to the president's announcement. ron, where do we stand with the days of rage that were called for by the palestinians? >> reporter: well, phillip, there have been some incidents reported in the west bank. we're in east jerusalem now. but in the west bank the police are saying there is an increase in rock-throwing incidents, an increase in molotov cocktails there have been some protest there's. there are calls for more people to go out into the streets today in a couple of hours. there is also a general strike that has been called, and there are shops that have been closed. some are open. it's something of a mixed bag. the big concern beyond today is tomorrow, friday. friday prayers when the masses go to mosque, and when the imams are delivering sermons, some of them very fiery. and all of that no doubt will be about jerusalem, and it will no doubt inflame some passions. and the result of that could

potentially confrontational violence. the other thing i should say is we also spent some time on the west side of jerusalem. the israeli side. there jubilation. there are signs saying god bless donald trump. we love donald trump. the people that we talked to were almost completely unanimous in their agreement and their applauding of this decision, saying that it's well overdue, that it's long overdue, and that jerusalem will always be the capital of israel. so a big contrast in opinions on one side and the other, but that's the story here. that's what's happening. that's the nature of the conflict that has been going on for so long. phillip? >> ron allen for us in jerusalem. ron, thank you. now with the growing number of sexual allegations being hurled at minnesota senator al franken, a stampede of lawmakers are now demanding that the democrat resign. the senator is expected to make an announcement today. the onslaught was brought on following another allegation of misconduct, this time from a congressional staffer, accusing franken of attempting to forcibly kisser

before he entered politics. franken, according to politico, then reportedly telling the woman, quote, it's my right as an entertainer. for more we go to nbc's tracie potts who is on capitol hill. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the tide is turning against franken among his own colleagues now. 35 democrats so far have said they think franken needs to step down to resign. and this groundswell happened after that seventh accuser came forward on wednesday. in a tweet, franken's office says no decision has been made, that he is talking with his family. he'll make an announcement in d.c. tomorrow. that's today. but reports of a final decision at that point they said are inaccurate. as for that seventh accuser, that politico reports, franken, in a statement says it's categorically not true. and that he would claim as his right as an entertainer to forcibly kiss her, he calls preposterous. heay

cooperating with that ongoing ethics committee investigation. we'll find out today whether that's the case. meantime, one of the first democrats to come out against him was senator kerstin gillibrand of new york. >> enough is enough. this is a conversation we've been having for a very long time. and it's a conversation that this country needs to have. and i think when we start having to talk about the differences between sexual assault and sexual harassment and unwanted groping, you're having the wrong conversation. you need to draw a line in the sand and say none of it is okay. none of it is acceptable. and we as elected leaders should absolutely be held to a higher standard, not a lower standard. and we should fundamentally value women. and that is where this debate has to go. >> reporter: now franken may or may not draw that line on his career. we'll find out some time later today. frances? >> all right, thank you. the house approved a bill along party lines wednesday that would make it easier for gun owners to legally carry

lines with permits. a bill strongly backed by the nra. it's the first major gun legislation to move forward since the deadly mass shootings in las vegas and texas. the bill now heads to the senate where it is likely to face a much tougher battle. it also includes a measure to improve the federal background check system for gun purchases. but that faces an uncertain future. all right. turning now to our weather. and let's check back with bill karins to see what's in store, especially with these really critical fires. >> good morning again. i want to show you the maps. i want to explain why southern california is such a bad risk today. this goes back to march. this was after a very wet winter. look how green all the mountains were. so as we fast forward through this, and we go through the very dry summer, notice how brown all the map turns. that's all the vegetation drying up, some of it dying. and that has let to the extreme fire conditions. we have a lot of vegetation to burn. we have active fires and wind gusts today up to 60 to 70, maybe even 80-mile-per-hour winds. and that's why this has the potential to explode and burn

to 90,000 acres in just two days. and unfortunately, there is no rain at all over the next seven days in this area. so the wet season has been the opposite of that. it's been extremely dry. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now sheer closer look at your day ahead. well, as we look towards the southeast, and also into the deep south, we've been watching cold, chilly rain the last 24 hours that will continue on and off today. san antonio, especially into south texas. look at the cold air coming down through minnesota and wisconsin today. definitely winter has arrived. well, turning to sports. it was a tough night for two of college basketball's best teams. second ranked kansas jayhawks were handed their first loss of the season at home at the hands of the red hot matisse thibaut. he led the huskies to 74-65 victory. now november one saw that coming. unranked loyola delivered the upset to number 5, florida on florida's home court. the

the field. they lost 55-59. >> losing at home. >> thanks, bill. a new study affecting millions of women taking birth control pills and its connection to cancer. that's next. weekend at kohl's. and take an extra 25% off! give joy with the pj masks headquarters a star wars playset or a kid-friendly digital camera! and for a limited time only yes2you members earn double points! give joy! get joy this weekend at kohl's. achoosnap achoo! snap achoo! achoo!

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woman. a woman at the gas pump was injured, though not seriously. there were no passengers on board the plane. now important medical news for millions of women who take birth control across the united states. a new study finds that those pills could increase the risk for breast cancer, the most common type of cancer found among women. researchers say it's a new cause for concern and something women need to talk about with their doctor. dr. john torres filed this report. >> reporter: doctors had hoped new forms of birth control using fewer hormones might be safer. but tonight's study reports they still increase a woman's risk of breast cancer. a study in a "new england journal of medicine" following nearly two million women found their breast cancer risk jumped 20%. after ten years, that risk grew to 38%. a special concern for women in their 40s since their risk of breast cancer is already greater than a younger woman's. this increase may seem like a lot, but overall, the risk of developing breast cancer is still relatively low. obesity raises your odds more

hormonal contraceptives. it just means that each person really needs to look critically at their reasons for taking it. >> reporter: the study also found it's not just pills that increase cancer risk, but any contraception that uses hormones, including the vaginal ring, certain iuds and the patch. other options for birth control without hormones include condoms, diaphragms, and one type of iud. >> i don't think that any woman should panic. >> reporter: doctors say the study does not mean women should automatically stop taking birth control, especially those taking it for other medical conditions. coming up, who topped the forbes list of highest paid musicians? we'll tell you about that. plus, you will not believe the size of this avocado. look at that. you're watching "early today." t. psoriasis does that. it was tough getting out there on stage. i wanted to be clear. i wanted it to last.

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♪ we still here, you're rocking with the best, don't worry if i write rhymes, i write checks ♪ >> he is the boss. whether you know him as puffy, p. diddy or sean combs, he is the 27th highest paid musician. the rapper, businessman and producer raked in $130 million this year thanks to his reunion tour, vodka and selling 1/3 of his sean john clothing list. followed by beyonce earning $105. rounding out the top five you have drake, the weekend and

found the world's largest avocado. check this out. pamela wang found this massive five-pound avocado under a 40-year-old tree that overhangs a street that she regularly walks along. in hawaii, the fruit that hangs or falls in a public place is free to claim. so she has submitted an application to the world guinness records committee to see if it's the largest avocado ever grown. she better hurry that thing will turn quickly. >> avocado toast buffet at her house. rover.com relates its annual dog names for 2014 said the names divided by gender bella and max top. on the female elle was popular with losely, luna making the top five. guide dogs had buddy and jack. more than half of the top names were also in the top 100 baby names of 2017. the report found 53% of the owners named a dog after a celebrity or tv or book character. it's fitting that the same kind of names for

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saturday and even into sunday. looking at a pretty dry and calm conditions, but cold in areas there of the east. you're watching "early today." all right, bill, you know what? it's not too early. 1 you get wednesday over with, it's okay to start looking ahead. especially it it's going to be colder for some of us. we've got to make our plans. >> the indoor plans. >> that's right. >> if it does snow in the southeast, all bets off. >> that would be so crazy. i can't believe that. >> but if they don't get it every once in a while for the kids and families who are not used to it, get the muffins out, the skarvegs itcarves. >> it's more fun than anything else. great to see that happen here. especially you grew up in that part of the country. so you know how it is. >> so rare, yeah. this is "early today" on a thursday. not too early to look ahead to the weekend. we'll be right back. >> that's right. well, here's to first dates! you look amazing. and you look amazingly comfortable.

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next on "news4 today," days after opening, a new push to change the express lanes n 66. a meeting taking place today. no doubt you noticed it yesterday. the colder air came in and it's here to stay. temperatures 30s to around 40 degrees here this morning. but there's precious little in the way of a warmup z2m7ez z16fz

y2m7ey y16fy good morning everybody. i'm chris lawrence. thanks for waking up bright and early with us. >> we're talking early. >> pretty dark out there. we're starting out in the storm

bell because it's cold and it's going to get colder. >> cold this december, who would guess? who would have ever guessed. >> it's our first blast. we probably wouldn't think twice about this in mid-february. >> shock to the system. haven't had a lot of cold yet. it's here to stay. i'm here to tell you. the flood gates have been opened to the north. as a result, the cold air filled in yesterday is filled in. what about snow chances. nothing on storm team 4 radar anywhere close to us. plenty of mid and high level clouds around. these aren't going to be snow makers. temperatures don't seem too bad yet. there's not going to be much of a warmup today. most areas stay in the 40s. mid to upper 40s for most of us. we'll get filtered sunshine. if you're expecting bright sky, it will be -- no rain or snow chances today. better chance