statement. she'll be beautiful. we'll all be talking about it. >> bye, everyone. history made. the senate joins the house in passing the biggest tax overhaul. rising death toll. a packed tour bus overturns in mexico. american vacationers among those on board. crash investigation. amtrak focuses its investigation on possible driver distraction and excessive speed as they mourn loved ones. plus a consumer alert about finding cheaper prescription drugs. how you can save big with a few phone calls. south korea speaks to nbc about how they're fortifying the olympic games. as a key amazon service

hacked. "early today" starts right now. good being with you on a wednesday. overnight congressional republicans made history after senate republicans passed the most sweeping tax cut package in a generation. >> the ayes are 51. the nays are 48. the senate reseeds from its amendment and concurs in hr 1. with further amendment the tax cuts and jobs act is passed. >> republicans voting along party lines to patsz their sweeping $1.5 trillion tax cut bill out of the upper chamber. republicans poised to usher in the biggest tax over haul in a generation. >> house republicans encountered an embarrassing procedural hiccup so now they must holds a redo vote this morning before the law can get the to the

good morning. >> reporter: it was supposed to be easy to pass the house with this bill, but as it turns out it senate passed the revised tax bill first, 51-48. 48 democrats voted for this one and 51 republicans or 48 democrats voted against it. now the house will have to make a redo because of procedural issues. now the redo will happen later on today. still, it didn't stop republicans from making a victory lap. >> after eight straight years of slow growth and under performance, america is ready to take off. >> this is a historic night. the democrats have said the american people will remember this night. i hope they do. because we've passed one of the most important tax breaks in this country's history. >> reporter: now president trump tweeted just after the vote happeneday

individual mandate repealed. he added there will be a news conference at the white house this afternoon if the house passes their version of it. americans still a little weary. they believe 63% say this will help corporations and the wealthy. it's only 22% that say they believe it will help everyone. still republicans are okay with that number because they believe once americans see their paychecks with fewer taxes taken out, they believe the poll numbers will turn around. >> thank you. the investigation continues this morning into the deadly amtrak derailment in washington state. the ntsb saying it's recovered both black box. two people were in the cab, the engineer and conductor in training. we learn more about those killed in the crash. here with the

>> reporter: the search for answers continues. ntsb investigators say the amtrak cascade sa501 was travelg 50 miles per hour over the speed limit and the train tumbled off the tracks. the data recorder revealed more. >> the emergency brake was automatically actvated, rather than being initiated by the engineer. >> reporter: positive train control which could have slowed the train was in place but not operational. investigators have promised to look at every possible factor that could have contributed to the derailment. >> distraction is one of our most wanted list priorities. it's protocol for us to look at all of the cell phone records of all the crew members. >> reporter: monday's crash sent dozens of people to hospitals.

effected by the derailment. >> whatever expense, whatever we can do to help had, we're for to help them. >> reporter: three lives were lost in the wreck, including both loved trains. >> those two good guys won't be with us anymore. >> reporter: camry was actually a third generation rail fan starting with his grandpa who worked for a rail company in the midwest and his parents met working on a railroad in montana. and this one in mexico bp at least two people were killed on a tour bus suddenly flipped over during a day trip to the mayan ruins. it's not immediately clear what caused the accident. they're working to determine if american citizens are among the dead. >> reporter: the bus loaded with

americans was headed oen a day trip to mayan ruins when it suddenly overturned. authorities say at least 12 dead. another 18 injured. they're now being treated at four different hospitals. royal caribbean say the injured and dead were passengers on eether the celebrity equinox or the sar made the of the seas. cruise line saying we're doing all we can to care for our guests including in assisting with medical care and transportation. the private bus contractor said the bus picked up its passengers and making a regular trip to the ruins when it inextricably crashed. they're just beginning to investigate what caused this fatal accident. nbc news. new details released by

congress are shedding light on its settlement policies. taxpayers have paid an additional $115,000 to settle sexual harassment complaints between 2008 and 2012. and when you thatd previously disclosed claim , they bring th total to $199,000. the chairman of the house administration committee says he intends to obtain the information for harassments made between 2007 and 2017 as well. virginia continues its path of turning blue. it appears that by a margin of one single vote control of the house of delegates will be evenly split. it was a single rate in the house of delegates. after a recount democrat was found to have received

11,607 votes exactly one deciding vote there that was the race that the state was waiting for. virginia senator tim kaine posting simply every vote matters. bill karins joining us with a look at our wednesday forecast. >> let's talk travel. a lot of snow for northern portions of portions of the rockies. let's pinpoint where the travel concerns are over the next couple days. differ klt in the mountain passes. salt lake city could get a wintry mix. rain showers on the west coast and by thursday a little bit of snow nebraska, iowa, maybe southern portions of wisconsin and chicago for any potential issues. from detroit to tennessee

rain. and here's a closer look at your day aedhad. showers and thunderstorms are quickly movering through areas of louisiana and mississippi and alabama during the day toods but the heavier rains from tennessee and the northern half of south carolina. northern new england with snow showers. have you heard this story? texas rangers star coal hamilton and his wife, heidi, they're not just donating. they're donating $9.4 million to charity. they're gifting the 32,square foot home to camp barnbus. the hamels said in a statement, barnbus makes dreams come true and we felt called to help them in a big way. hats off. >> new hero. thank you. still

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uh-huh it's got to be tide well, it is official that guy right there, john legend is slated to play jesus in jesus christ superstar here on nbc this coming easter. andrew lloyd weber announcing the news via twitter. alice cooper will play king herrod. and saying the traditional image of christ will be seen in a whole new way. leading the news this morning the trump administration is publicly blaming north korea for a crippling global cyber attack. this came over 50 days from the start of the winter games in south korea. and he tells what his country is doing to ease

>> reporter: it's not just north korea's nuclear weapons program it white house is warning about. accusing them of launching a massive cyber attack, dubbed wannacry that crippaled over 300,000 computers. >> we do so with evidence and partners. >> reporter: those partners including the british government went public before the u.s. we met the engineer who first uncovered north korea was behind the cyber attack. >> is it like blowing something up just to show you can do it? >> this is the equivalent of that in the cyber world. >> 6,000 miles away in south korea. president moon told us in an exclusive interview his nation set up a special unit to protect the upcoming winter olympics

right now south korea and the u.s. are working very closely for preparing for any attempts, he said. he spoke to us as he inaugierated a bullet train to the olympic venues. he says the games with athletes from the north invited can be a a path to easing tensions. what message are you sending to the world with these games. "the korean people will be able to send a message of peace to the world" he said. he said joint u.s. and south korea military exercises may be put off for now. and now an amazing story. one family in tennessee has a miracle baby in more ways than one. the mom gave birth to a baby girl who had had been frozen as an embryo 24 years ago. emma gibson. her parents, tina and ben, were not sure they could have children but they took a chance.

took a chance on the implantation. and it worked. given that emma's mom is 26 years old now, that means they were conceived about a year 1/2 apart. there are no official data bases on the embryos when implanted but emma's birth could be a actual world record but while science bringing in this family complete for the holidays. >> they could have been just a year 1/2 apart. that's incredible. we have a consumer alert to tell you about and find out about cheaper prices on prescription drugs. we'll tell you more coming up. you're watching "early today" on a wednesday. i know, hon. he came to st. jude children's research hospital where we developed a new treatment that reduces chemotherapy. and because we freely share our discoveries, we're giving kids like nolan everywhere a chance to beat cancer...

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♪ this morning the "today" continues its hacking your holiday series. a new security flaw that can allow hackers to completely drain value of gift cards. a new report is out that show as huge disparity in what a drug can cost depending on where you buy it. ann thompson on how you can save big by shopping around. >> reporter: when desiree picked up it phone to get it had cash price for her boyfriend's prescrti

she was dialing for dollars. >> and then i called the third place and thought from 600 to 500, 200, to $34.99. >> reporter: the working mom got similar results when we asked her to check again. prices ranged from nearly $600 at walmart to 473 at costco. wall greens was the highest at almost 242 for the generic, the cheapest, costco at $34.99. a consumer reports investigation out this month found similar results in six cities for five common generic drugs. lisa gill is the prescription drug editor. >> for the same drug, for the same dose, for the same quantity you can see price differences

>> reporter: a one month supply of scymbalta a low of $23. so you're telling me in the same zip code you can pay a difference 10 times for the same exact drug? >> yes. >> reporter: why? that's crazy. >> it is crazy. >> reporter: the pharmacy chains say most people pay prices negotiated by insurance companies. the chains say they try to keep prices competitive and point out retail pharmacies have different prices than stores like costco. gill said ask about discount programs and search online at accredited pharmacies like rx where you can compare prices and get coupons. >> reporter: so she thought she got a really good deal

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well, the cold air is on its way. it's still mild across much of the country. but now we're seeing it bleed down out of canada. still mild today. st. louis, dallas, atlanta all well above average. then rapid city, you die down to 25 degrees. by the time we get to the weekend look at minneapolis, friday, 24, by sunday down to 13. louisville goes from friday at 60, to 37 on sunday and this all leads us into the had christmas day forecast i think this is the biggest question is what's going to happen in new england? there's a potential for a christmas morning and day snow storm. just ahead thieves may be able to hack their way into your home. i love you, basement guest bathroom. your privacy makes you my number 1 place to go number 2.

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good morning, 3:58. senators stayed up late to pass the tax cut reform bill. we'll tell you what it means for your paycheck. and i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. i hope you enjoyed the 62 degree ernshine yest

taking a live look at the capital as we start off this wednesday morning. senators were there late last night. gm

i'm chris lawrence. we'll get right back to the breaking news in a minute. we're working for you to get you ready for the day ahead. storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell is here with a look at that forecast. chuck, not bad at this point. i guess things about to change though? >> yeah. they'll be starting to cool down. the colder air is four, five, six hours away. it's anything but cold here early this morning. temperatures mostly in the 40s to near 50s. we'll be dry here the next few days. dry through most of your friday afternoon. big rain chances coming our way and with bitter cold coming our way there's a chance, a chance he says of a wet snowflake on christmas day itself. a low chance but a chance nonetheless. we're in the upper 40s to around 50 degrees now and temperatures will stay pretty much where they are for most of the day. look at that. 46 at 7:00 a.m., 46