y2i1zy y16fy hi, this is president donald trump, and i need alabama to go vote for roy moore. it is so important. >> the president pushing hard for alabama's roy moore, urging voters to come out in favor of the embattled republican over democratic opponent doug jones. >> a full assault from the air as fire fighters drop countless loads of water to battle the ferocious flames as evacuations continue to grow in the region. >> a pivotal week ahead as the fcc will decide how you'll be able to surf the web, which companies can speed up or slow down your searches, possibly costing you a fortune. >> no slacker here. a mantra verses over 200 feet in the air between the eyeful tower on nothing but a slackline. "early today" starts right now.

>> good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. a southern california remains under siege from five massive wind whipped wildfires. fire fighters are now entering an eighth day of battling the thomas fire. it is the largest blaze in ventura and santa barbara counties, now scorching 230,000 acres and is only 10% contained. one official calling it the most taxing fire he has ever seen. ferocious santa ana winds continue driving the flames triggering power surges and temporary outages for tens of thousands of customers. the thomas fire is now the 5th largest wildfire in the state's modern history. nbc's kristen dahlgren has more from the ground. >> reporter: in the hills above carpenteria, luis contreras is on edge. >> highway 150 is way below, three quarters of a mile and just -- >> reporter: watching the fire rush toward his home and avocado groves as fire fighters try to slow the relentless spread. >> if a wind comes it is going to kill this

constant assault. choppers lining up to grab water, one after the other. dousing the flames. but the blaze just keeps coming. the fire fighters gather here, one of them in the truck has been injured. they are trying to treat him. this is where they are trying to make a stand, trying to save these homes. but the fire getting very close to one along the ridge there. the work is dangerous and exhausting. crews who have been on seven days straight barely get a moment to rest. >> that's the nature of the work. we go from zero to 100. >> reporter: now more evacuations ordered in santa barbara county, residents told to run as gusty winds send embers flying. >> this fire is intensified every single day. >> reporter: thoer than 4,000 fire fighters are now battling the thomas fire, the region's largest blaze. >> it's unreal. it really kind of -- it's a gut check on how strong the fire is, just trying to get out of the way and save as many lives as possible. >> reporter: for now, luis contreras and his home are safe. >> we're

>> reporter: but there is no rest for him or fire crews who know what high winds may bring. and as we now watch the fire coming down these hill sides and spreading to more populated areas there is a new evacuation for montecito, frances. >> kristen, thank you. >> the thomas fire closed in on the beach towns of carpentry a, a celebrity haven. among those in the path oprah winfrey writing, peace be still. and actor rob lowe is packing up his home. scott cohn is there where schools are closing over the growing threat. scott, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, philip. that is just one of the many disruptions here. those are the hills above carpentry a still burning. this was not the way the fire crews had hoped that the weekend would go. they thought they were going to be able to get a handle on this thomas fire. instead, in the

it's grown by about a third. it was already a monster. now covering more than 350 square miles. and because it's grown, the containment of the fire, which was at 15%, is now down to 10%. they have their cut out for them because this fire has no shortage of fuel. >> we're in december. the vegetation is as dry as it's ever been. you know, we haven't had rain, what, since last february or something. it's just, it's just so ready to go. >> reporter: it's ready to go, not just because it's been dry lately, but because these hills have not burned for more than 50 years. so, this fuel is old and ripe for burning, and that's just what it is doing. we're going to be keeping an eye on the winds today. they are expected to shift later on. that creates all sorts of new challenges for the fire fighters, but if those santa a

they're hoping they can finally gain the upper hand. phillip? >> scott keeping track of the fires for us. thank you. >> the heated senate race in alabama is set with voters to hit the polls tomorrow to choose between democrat doug jones and republican roy moore. moore has laid low in the midst of sexual misconduct with girls as young as 14. in a new interview sunday moore once again denied the claims. >> these allegations are completely false. i did not date under age women. i did not molest anyone. >> and in spite a strong endorsement for moore by president trump, republicans in congress remain divided. for more we did to nbc's tracie potts. good morning. >> reporter: phillip, good morning. he is now leading in the latest polls. what happens when he gets to washington? he could face an immediate ethics investigation. if he wins, it would be with the

the president with some robocalls to folks in alabama supporting moore, saying that roy moore is the guy we need to pass our make america great again agenda. his vote is in our republican senate and it is needed. that from president trump on those robocalls. but as you noted, here on capitol hill where most republicans said they believed moore's accusers, there is still confusion about whether or not the party should be supporting him. >> are you comfortable that the leader of your par city is all-in for roy moore? >> there are a number of people in my party that are not including myself and many republican senators. >> i didn't vote for roy moore. i wouldn't vote for roy moore. i think the republican party can do better. >> reporter: again, if he wins tomorrow, the issue for lawmakers when they get here is whether or not they should even consider rejecting moore if alabama voters fully knowledgeable about these

meantime, his opponent doug jones is courting support from prominent african-american lawmakers, politicians. we saw him with senator cory booker, former massachusetts governor duval patrick. trying to get a democrat in that alabama seat here. we'll see what happens. the voters begin to decide in just over 24 hours. >> and the country's eyes will be watching that vote in alabama. tracie, thank you. >> gop lawmakers from both the house and senate are continuing to hammer out the details in their proposed tax bill. in search of a legislative victory for president trump in his first year in office. the president appearing optimistic about the negotiations tweeting, getting closer and closer on the tax bill. shaping up better than projected. but there are still some major sticking points. nbc's hallie jackson has the details. hallie, good morning. >> reporter: hey there, frances, good morning to you. you have president trump with that tweet that he sent yesterday, republicans also hoping for a

this 1 1/2 trillion dollar tax cut bill. right now you've got lawmakers trying to figure out how to square the house version with the senate version. both bills double the standard deduction, both cut corporate tax rates, and both benefit the wealthy more than the middle class. but there are some sticking points that you have folks trying to figure out. one big one surrounds capping deductions for state and local taxes. that is something that affects people in high-tax states the most, places like, for example, california and new york. so, republicans in the house in particular who represent those areas have some concerns. lawmakers are also deciding on just how big that corporate tax rate cut will be. will it be 20%, 22%? and then critically whether to make those individual tax cuts permanent or temporary. multiple sources close to the process today expect negotiations to continue today, tomorrow, wednesday, with the goal of getting a final bill to the floor before christmas. frances, back to you. >> a lot to watch. halle, thank you. >> leading the news,

nations ambassador nikki haley said the women who accused president trump of sexual misconduct have a right to be heard. the white house has said the women who accused president trump of sexual misconduct were lying and that the voters dismissed the allegations. however, ambassador haley had this to say while speaking on cbs's face the nation. >> women who accuse anyone should be heard. they should be heard and they should be dealt with. and i think we heard from them prior to the election, and i think any woman who has felt violated or felt mistreated in any way, they have every right to speak up. >> the former south carolina governor added that she was proud of all of the women in numerous industries across the country who have come forward with their stories of sexual misconduct. this morning on megyn kelly today exclusive, she sits down with three women who have publicly accused president trump of sexual misconduct. that is 9:00 a.m. right here on nbc. >> a fight on the field nearly led to a fight in the stands during a seahawks/jaguars game in the final seconds of the

unnecessary roughness as the jaguars took a knee to run the clock. a fan, see that? fan threw a beer in his direction so he, he goes, charges the stands, arguing with jaguar's fans. you saw another beer being thrown. jefferson nearly climbed the stands at that point. eventually taken off the field but he could face a suspension from the league. the jaguars ended up winning 30-24. >> that is not cool. can you imagine the fear of that guy the threw the beer, then sees him coming? >> and the second beer. >> there are consequence. i hope they never let that go go to another game again. bill karins joins us monday morning. >> you saw the football game in buffalo, too, they were stuck in one of those lake effect snow bands. they got crushed. you could barely see the game at one point. there was at least 3, 4 inches of snow on the field during play. probably one of the snowy est games you'll ever see. low scoring as you'd expect. so, we have a next stofrm, we're in those weather patterns storm

today we have the storm through wisconsin, just light snow. maybe an inch or two through areas of michigan today. chicago you miss it. it's going so stay mostly toward the north. by timely monday night, a storm through northern new england taps off moisture from atlanta. especially during the day tuesday, a storm in northern portions of new england. a little too warm in areas south. that that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. you can see a cold day in northern new england. we have some lake effect snow showers we're dealing with. again, those lake effect snows will be kicking off big time tonight off lake michigan and lake superior. as we look toward the midwest no problems there. pretty mild. of course this is a snow forecast map of northern new england, 6 to 12 inches. well, over 1100 smart drones decorating the night sky. i don't know why we don't do more of this. look how beautiful. this is south china. this is incredible. those are light shows. those are on

sky. they welcomed over 1,000 international guests to the 2017 forum. fortune globe forum last week, the drones were seen climbing out of the darkness and into the sky over the pearl river. they form formations such as adam and also a steam boat. >> really impressive. how do they do that? bill, thank you. have you heard about the $67,000 a year university getting rid of college loans then one man's question, why do people bully? it's heart breaking. are you taking the tissue test? yep, and my teeth are yellow. time for whitestrips.

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♪better find a way to smooth things over.♪ ♪if only harry used some... ♪...bounce, to dry. ♪yeah! ♪he would be a less wrinkly, and winning at life.♪ leading the news, a woman says that she and her family were wrongfully forced off of a spirit airlines flight from houston to new york. the passenger said the flight was delayed and that her two-year-old son was hungry and crying so she unbuckled him and began breast-feeding. that's when a flight attendant appeared and told her to buckle the son back into his seats. she complied. the woman was then told she had to get off the flight and was prevented from reboarding as seen in this cell phone footage. spirit airlines has said airline policies require all passeer

and landing. the airline issued the woman a full refund. >> brown university is slashing student loans for its students. the prestigious university will replace loans with scholarship funds beginning in the 2018-19 academic year. the school ultimately hopes to raise $120 million to admit students it says regardless of their socioeconomic background. >> well, simeon booker, the first full-time african-american reporter at the african post has died at the age of 99. the post says that at a time when few african-american reporters were assigned in washington, booker covered ten u.s. presidents and also traveled to southeast asia to report on the vietnam war. he also founded the washington bureau for jet weekly and ebony monthly magazines. simeon booker was 99. we'll be right back. to have more color. and ... i used to have cancer. i beat it. i did. not alone. i used to have no idea what the american cancer society did. research? yeah.

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check out this architectural wonder in the shape of a rubics cube. it is a five story building the brain child of flamboyant australian winemaker chester osbourne. the glass and steel structure inside includes a restaurant as well as wall to wall art. the owners hope to draw a million tourists a year. >> you can see why. that is a really cool building. it is something that a lot of us take for granted. unrestricted access to pretty much everything on the internet and at high speeds. but behind that access is a concept known as net

>> there could be a vote by the fcc this week. business correspondent jo ling kent breaks it all down. >> reporter: laura hosts a popular cooking show on youtube with nearly 3 million subscribers. but these days she and her husband josi a looming threat. >> i've literally lost sleep over the possibility of net neutrality being taken away. >> i'd be really a risk of going out of business. >> reporter: so what's the concern? and what is net neutrality? say you're kriechling a pizza after seeing laura's creation. you pickup the phone and order from your favorite local spot. now imagine if your phone company redirected you to dominos because it had a special deal with dominos. or if your phone provider charged you extra for calling your favorite spot. phone companies must stay neutral, just like internet service providers undercurrent net neutrality rules. they can't block you from watching laura on youtube or charge you extra for bingeing on ne

thursday. >> the fcc is voting its new net neutrality rules setting regulations for providers that currently prohibit them from blocking websites or slowing them down. >> reporter: internet providers like charter, cox or comcast would have the ability to build fast lanes or slow lanes on the internet. the five fcc commissioners are expected to vote 3-2 along party lines in favor of the proposal put forth by president trump's fcc commissioner pai. he wants to roll back obama regulations of internet providers saying the government should stop micro managing the internet. >> could you see the internet providers offering packages? you want the social media package, maybe you have to extra to access netflix. all of these are speculative hypothetical exam plples, but i theory they would be legal and perfectly acceptable. >> reporter: supporters of the

lobbyist. they say it is unfounded. >> consumers care their content isn't blocked, it isn't throttled. those existed before the current rules and they're going to exist after. >> reporter: but fcc commissioner jessica rosen war sell who is voting against the proposal disagrees. >> we know they have the technical ability to do so. we also know they have the business incentive to do so and now the fcc is giving them the legal green light to go ahead and explore those kind of relationships. >> reporter: a record breaking 23 million comments have been filed on the fcc website about net neutrality, but now the new york state attorney general says some of those comments may have been filed with stolen identities up to a million of them with potential russian influence. he is calling for an investigation and a delay on the vote, but for now the fcc chairman plans to hold this vote on thursday. frances? >> all right, jo, thank you. >> just ahead, a sky diving who done it in new york. plus

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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. with less joint pain, watch me. for less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. welcome back on this monday. so, looking at temperatures, very warm across much of the western half of the country, even the middle of the country. staying kind of cool in the east. watch what happens. behind our next storm system is gets much colder. so you're warm today, here comes the cold air tomorrow. you're watching "early today."

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straight ahead on "news4 today," it's going to be a tough day for students at a local high school after their classmates are found dead. what we're learning about the 17-year-old and the circumstances surrounding his death. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell off to a quiet start on a monday morning. the real weather story this week arrives tomorrow into wednesday. how cold it wll be comingi

we start off your day with a look outside as well as the current temperatures. despite what the numbers say, it's going to

there when you step outside the door this morning. good morning everybody. i'm chris lawrence. start off with this storm team 4 center with chuck to show us why. it's not so much what we got now. it's what's coming, right. >> we're all waiting. here's air serious shot of arctic air and arrives late in the day tomorrow. wednesday could be our coldest day of the month. be ready. might not get above freezing. >> i mean -- >> exactly. a serious shot of cold arrives late in the day tomorrow and again wednesday's high temperatures are likely to be below freezing for highs. right now, we're around the freezing mark in most neighborhoods. 32 in frederick maryland. down to 29. seasonably cold outside this morning. but there will be plenty of sunshine on your monday. an increasing number of clouds tonight. that could lead to a stray raindrop or