that. she is gushing. >> it's s americ top lawyer is out of a job after months of speculation, attorney general jeff sessions isdinally for out by predent trump. now his exit is sparking protests across the country. >> that's enough. put down the smike. cnuld be ashamed of itself having you working for th. you are a rude, terrible person. >> a news conference gets confrontational. why the white house pulled a reporter's press pass over his tense e trump.with president more turbulence for boeing after the deadly crash invoing its new 737-max planes. the urgent new safety warning from the faa. ather reason to wake up and smell the coffee. the newly discovered health benefit to that morning cup of joe. "early today" starts right now.

good i'm phillip mena. with you.ing i'm frances rivera. president trum is cleaning house in his cabinet. before the election day dust couldven settle attorney general jef session resigned at the request of the president. the move not a major surpriser anyone who follows president trump on twitter. since taking office the commander of chief has insulted his chief8 lawyer times. the attorney general was an early supporter of mr. trump, but their relationstep soured sessions recused himself from the russia investigation. nbc's pete williams has a lk at wha comes next. reporter: it's the end of a slow motion fall for jeff sessions, leaving office, the man who was the first u.s. senator to endoram and cpaign for donald trump. >> this is aai camp. this is a movement. g>> reporter: as attorneyeneral sessions was a loyal trump soldier. >> ande wholeheartedly join in the priorities of president trump. >> reporter: but in a letter addressed to the president

sessns says, "at your request, i am submitting my resignation." sessions' ouster wasab inev. he was the target of blistering criticism from president trump. >> therefore, i have recused myself. >> reporter: over his decision to recuself himse from overseeing the russia election meddling investigation because he campaigned for trump. the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein took on the job of supervising the russia investigation and has been consistently supportive of the special counsel, robert mueller. president trump appointed an whitaker,oernlg, matt former u.s. attorney in iowa in w. bush e administration, and sessions' chief of staff. whitaker will now oversee the russia investigation, taking it over from rosenstein. when he was a conservative commentator for cnn, whitaker s wary of giving the special counsel too much power and said the russia investigaould be throttled back. >> i can see a scenario where jeff sessions is replaced with a recessppointment and that attorney general doesn't fire bob mueller but he just reduces the budget so low that higr

investigatiods to almost a halt. >> reporter: and he saw nothing wrong with trump's son meeting a russian lyer who offered dir on hillary clinton during the campaign. >> i've run for public office twice. and you certainly want to have any advantage, any legal advantage you ca>> eporter: though robert mueller retains his full authority as special counsel he'll now have to clear all major decisions with matt whitaker. >> functionally it means that matt whitaker will oversee bob e mus investigation. if mueller needs to do something or seek additional authority or get permissioo charge, mueller has to go through whitaker. >> reporter: whitakerth has ity to fire mueller but only for cause such as misconduct. no word oneiroses future. he was on the job atengd a previously scheduled white house meeting. in a written statement matt whitaker calls jeff sessions a man of integrity who has served this nation well. whitaker's first public function comes later today, attending the for l investture process the new supreme court justice brett kavanaugh. frances? >> all right, pete, thank you.

with sessions out of the picture critics are voicing concerns about the future of the russia investigation. dozens of protests are planned today as a show of support for robert mueller and top democrats are warning theresident not to terfere with the probe into election meddling. nbc's tracie potts joining us now from erd.c. with the latest on this. tracie, good morning. democrats, they do have somehe leeway, right? after they won the house. >> reporter: exactly. so now they'll ben charge of all of those committees that can investigate russia on their own and democrats are already saying they may reopen those investigations, meaning we could see subpoenas and witnesseshat publicans did not allow. president trump already saying two can play thatgame, threatening to investigate f democrat leaking classified information. he called that a war-like sture if democrats open this mueller investigation, threopen r russia investigation. but the big question here on capitol hill now is what will happen to the speounsel

robert mueller in charge of that investigation. >> protecting mueller and his investigation is paramount. it would create a constitutional crisis if this were a prelude to ending or greatly limiting the mueller investigation. >> reporter: kee in mind whitaker can fire mueller but he can only fire mueller for like misconduct. phillip? >> things just heating up now. all rit, acie, thank you. president trump, meanwhile, escalating his attackses on the following a post-election news conference. this time outrightcn banning s jim acosta from the white house after a heated exchange over immigration that embroiled nbc's own pet alexander. >> you are a rude, terrible person. you shouldn't be working for cnn. >> in jim's defense i've traveled with him and watched him. he's a diligent report who busts -- >> i'm not a big fan of yours either.

>> you saidemocrats would leash a wave of violent crime that endangers families everywhere. >> because they're very weak on crime. >> why are you pitng -- >>peter. >> -- americans against one other? >> are you trying to be him? >> no, i just trying to ask a question. >> let me just tell you. because they're very wn crime. >> the question is why are you pitting americans against one another, sir? r>> i'm not. orter: in a statement the white house press secretary says they temporarily pulled acosta's press pass for allegedly putting his hands on anntern while trying to keep control of the microphone. there were plenty more fireworks outsi of that tense confrontation. president trump also went after democrats and even some within his own party who refused to fall in line with his message. nbc'seter alexander has more from the very combative press conference. >> reporter: after republicans lostontrol of the house and expanded their majority in the senate a defiant president trump framed the voters' verdict as a tremendous success for himself. >> i thought it was a very close toomete victory. >> reporter: the president mocking eight defeated members of his own party who refused to embrace him.

>> carlos curbelo. mike kofman. too bad, mike. mia love gave me no love. and she lost. too abad. sorrut that, mia. >> reporter: taking a swipe at outgoing arizona senator jeff flake to i retired him. i'm veryud of it. i did the country a great service. >> reporter: in a combative 87-minute news conference the president appearedilling to reset his relationship with democrats. first praising nancy pelosi. >> it really could be a beautiful bipartisan type of situation. we have a l of things in common on infrastructure. we want to do something on health care. they want to do something onere we can do together. >> reporter: but later threatening to retaliate if democrats use their subpoena power to launch investigations into his administration >> if they do that, then it's just -- all it is is a r-like posture. i could see it being extremely good politically because i think i'm better at that game than thal are ac. >> reporter: president trump brushing off his 11th hour campaign promises including a

vowo end birthright citizenship. and rebuffing questions about his responsibility fueling a divisive c raciallharged political environment, stoking fears of illegal imgration. but when specifically pressed by nbc's kristen welker about his role a a moral leade -- >> i think i am a great moral leader, and i love our untry. >> reporter: -- the president at times angry, sparring with journalists. >> would you pdoase sit ? >> reporter: including a black reporter asking whether he's emboldened white nationalists. >> now people are -- > i don't know why you'd say that it's such a racist question. >> reporter: the president's biggest takeaway from the midterms iwn his words that people like him despite exit polls that showed 54 of voters disapprove of his performance as president. phillip? >> peter, thank you. still credentialed at this houro ele day may be over, but some races are still in limbo. in georgia republicanrian kemp has declared victory in the governor's race against democrat stacey abrams. kemp's press secre saying his current lead is mathematically large enough that remaining ballots won't change

the result. but keep in mind that's based on counts released by kemp's own office, which oversees elections. abrams' team says they do not accept kemp's vtory clai again calling on him to resign and designate a non-partisan office to oversee the results. also declaring victory is rick scott in florida, who is vying to replace incumbent senator bill nelson. nbc news still sewihowing that e edo close to call with candidates separy less than half a percent. that's within the marnlin for mandatory recounth one has not officially been ordered. taking a look at the west coast the arizoen statee race still too close to call. martha mcsally currentlyng lea kyrsten sinema by 1%. some 650,000 votes still need to be counted with the final results potentially still day away. and a shake-up for a new mexico house seat with a high number of absentee votes now beingre rted, democrat soc hichlt o torres small is now leading yvette harris i district 2. and in montana nbc news now

declaring democratic senator jon tester thepparent winner in his re-election bid. turning now to the weath and conditions out there, hats and gloves, that's over, right? we're going to need them in some spots. >> we'll need them s ine spots at least through the weekend. here's that cold air in place. eally dipping m down. that's allowing all that cold canadian air to come in. this sort of acts like a roadblock and keeps the cold air to the north. but that's not the story today. it's dipping down to the south and we'll see temperatures some spots 20 to 25 below what is typical r this time of year. below freezing in minneapolis. 30 degrees. that's 15 degrees below where they are supposed to be right around now. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. here's a closer look at the day ahead. lots of cold air in place. we're looking at temperatures? temperatures just in the 20s. 21 in bismarck. a lot right at the freezing mark. even down to the south we're looking at chilly temperatures in texas, temperatures in the 40 and also lotsf rain there. yeah. it.ou sai we're going to bring those

winter coats out and bringing the hot chocolate back in. 's november. >> michelle grossman, thank you. in today's quick hits, a candlelight vigil held outside the home of utah mayor who died while serving in afghanistan. dozens cameo together remember 39-year-old brent taylor, who was killed saturday during hiso fourth of duty with the army national guard. it is a coffe lover's dream. a study out of canada suggests key compounds in coffee can r's and alzhei parkinson's diseases. but the key is the roasting process, not necessarily the caffeine. lt night saw a whoppg 59% surge in people watching midterm election results on television compared to last tim in all. 36 million viewers tuned in. olay has this season's hottest debut. like new clay stick masks. all mask, no mess. olay hydrating facial mist. for hydration on the go. and our breakthrough brightening eye cream.

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to take in a ship of jewh refugees in 1939, acknowledging the recent deaths ofpl 11 p during the attack on a pittsburgh synagogue, trudeau vowed to do more to protect jewishm canadians f hate-motivated crimes. leading the news this morning, lion air officiare reporting another incident in indonesia. a pajakarta-bounenger jet reportedly crashing into a pole during takeoff. just hours after the faaan issu urgent safety alert for boeing's new 737-max planes. this comes after last week's fatal plane crash in indonesia that killed 189 people. here's nbc's t costello. >> reporter: it's a best zeller for boeing, the 737-max is the latest, most sophisticated model yet. now an urgent safety directive affecting all 246 planes worldwide. 45 of themn the u.s. investigators say the pilots of the doomed flight struggled to keep the plane in the air, pulling the nose up as the plane's cputers pushed it into a fatal dive.

>> the computer introduced a nose-down command, and the pilots fought it. they're trying to maintain altitude. the computer tcontinues, a computer at this point has a more powerful flight control and eventually the pilots lose the ttle. >> reporter: investigators believe one of the plane's sensors like this one was sending bad data, suggesting the plane was flying too slowly. the computers pehed the n forward to pick up speed and avoid a stall. investigators say that same sensor was replaced just a day fore, after air speed indicators malfunctioned on previous flights. >> we're providing our technical pport to the indonesian investigating authorities. >> reporter: now an faa emergency order reminding pilots what to do in similar emergencies. simply s etch off thectric stabilizer trim system. >> investigators includingng boeing are go have to determine whether or not this crew was properly trained. and of course boeing's going to have to focus on whether or not they have a software or technical issue. >> reporter: american, uthwest, and united airlines all say they're complying with

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just a few hours afterrump said the white house is a great place to work his attorney general jeffessions announced

his resignation. can we take a look at sessions? it makes sense that he's leaving now. santta needs him to making toys at the north pole. that's right. he says he wants to step down to spend more time with his brothers, krackle and pop. good for him. >> already tough for jeff sessions item surel >> he gets that ribbing. the keibler elf, too. that's one w aays hear. can you believe it has been 25 years since tom hanks and meg ryan here in "sleepless in seattle"? time flies, right? the movie marks the second of these r times that perfectly paired co-stars have fallen in love on screen. fathom events is bringing "sleepless in seattle" back to the big screen to celebrate the anniversary they're going to have a brand new introduction by meg ryan and producer gary foster. it's going to be shown in more than 400 theaters. and that will happen on december 2nd and 5th. do?ou know what i want to

is google it and see what that kid looks like right now. 25 years later. he's aull-blown ult. >> it can't be as different as jonathan .litnic remember that kid from jerry maguire, right? >> where are they now, right? ariana grande released a new video for her single "breathing." it quickly shot to number one on youtube. ♪ just keep breathing and breathing and breathing and breathing ♪ ♪ i keep on breathing >> the video's been viewed more than 4 million time so the music superstar debuted her song "thank you next" on ellen. her perfoance was inspired by the first wives club. we know all about tde h messages there. especially given her break-up with pete davidson. and went off on it on weekend update on "snl." we'll see if it's going to be continued from>> there. ust named billboard's woman of the year and all that. she's got the mac miller thing. you can't even fathom a bigger roller coaster that someone can go through in their lives, the biggest highs and theest of

lows and all in one year. >> and think back to the nchester shooting too. the ups and downs she's experienced. >> in a very young life as well. stay with us. just ahead we'll have the big winner in the midterms. gues who that was. all of us. democracy. the impact that this record turnout had. you're watching "early today" on a thursday. back. with moderate to severe crohn's disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. is she alright? i hope so. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas

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of cold air in place in the northern and central plains. even down to the southern plains. also an area l of pressure will bring us that rain and snow. we're looking at the potential for up to six inches in some spots, even eight inches around le great lakes. for today we'reking at the central plains. parts of nebraska, also kansas. this slides off to the east by friday morning. we're looking at lots of rain alongbohe eastern sd and then the great lakes, the lake effect snow machine will really mp up over the next couple of days. some spots could see up to eight inches there. by saturday we'll see this areae of low press go off the coast and we'll see some lingering snow and rain for parts of new england.t this is whatooks like right now. we are looking at some snow early this morning in parts of kansas and also nebraska. so you guys, winter is right around thee corner bute experiencing some wintry weather now for some. >> got to be ready. all right. thank you. >> still ahead, wall street wins big in the midterms. why the markets soared.

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replace. change. test. because early warnings help to save lives. that breaking news, word of an active shooting situation inside a bar in southern tlifornia. you're looking a scene outside the borderline bar and grill. this is in thousand oaks, california, about 40 miles

outside los angeles. good morning, everybody. it's 4:00 a.m. now. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. for more than han hoan hour, we been watching federal officials go inside with long guns. chris, what's happening? >> yeah, eun, we've been keeping an eye on this. it remains a very aive scene. we can tell you the fbi and bomb squad just arrived at the scene in thousands. oak authorities said multiple people were injuredinn the shoot at the borderline bar and grill, which was hosting a college country night. but how badly they've been on wounded, we know. we know at least six people have been shot. authorities have not confirmed that the shooter is in custody. pe were able to s with someone who says he and his girlfriend had just left that bar, but he still had some friends in there. we asked him to describe what happened. take an. liste >> i don't -- i don't know much abou