president tsmp predi an incredible year ahead for our nation. but right now his credibility is being called to the carpet. in a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. a weekend scare for "snl" cast member pete davidson's well-being after he tweeted that he didn't want to be on this eart'l anymore. have the latest. then car shoppers beware. can you spot the car that was to be from a flood only a ticking time bomb of corrosion? a double win day for one bears player who also got the answer he was looking for. and sir paul mccartney rocks out big-time ahead of his major u.s. tour. "early today" starts right no good morning. i'm marlie hall in for frances ri pra. >> and illip mena.

so new insights this morning into wt americans think about president trump and the mueller investigation. new numbers from an nbc news/"wall street journal" poll reveals a majority of americans now believe president trump is not telling the truth when it comes to the russia investigation. and 6 in 10 americans say president donald trump has been untruthful about that topic, saying the investigation has given them doubts about the presidency. this report comes after new developments into the russia probe including michael cohen's sentencing. nbc's tracie potts joining us live from washington. good i hear rudy giuliani has ramped up his defense of the president over the weekend. >> he did. went on tour on the sunday shows defending president trump. first of all making c itar that michael cohen will not be getting a pardon, that theyn won't e be talking about that. also making it clear that president trump will not be doing an interview with mueller in this russia investigation. "over my dead body" is the way it. he also talked about these campaign finance violations that cohen pleaded guilty to, the

payments to women who were alleged mistresses of mr. trump that he denies. giulianiaid there was nothing illegal about that. >> it's not a crime. it's not a e,cr george. paying $130,000 to stormy whatever and paying $150,000 to the other one is not a crime. the swards case determi that. >> reporter: meantime, democrats here on capitol hill emphasizi the fact that the president, as they put it, wasig hiding a deal that he was trying to do with russia, building trump tower in moscow during the campaign. it's one of the things that cohen pleaded guiy to. meantime, the president going on a twitter tirade over the weekend talking about the investigation as a democratic scam, and he called cohen a rat. back to you. >> happy holidays, right? all right, tracie, thank you. the "washington post" has obtained a draft of a new rort prepared for the senate that shows the extent of russia's interference in our 2016

ection.ntial the report studied millions of social media posts provided b technology firms and found that russia used every major social media platform t help elect trump. on facebook alone the russian campaign reached 126 million people, and on instagram another 20 million. he report not reviewed by nbc news also revealing that all of moscow's messaging was intended to benef the republican party. specifically donald trump. just last year facebook, google, dd twitter reveale that they had identified russian meddling on their sites. the senate plans to release this reportater on this week. as the threat rs terrorism ts, the french city of strasbourg will no forget the victims of the deadly christmas market attack. they gathered sunday in a vigil of grief a remembrance. a fifth person has now been confirmed dead after the gunman, 29-year-old charif chakat, opened fire last tuesday evening on the crowd streets there.

dozens of others were injured. chakat is now deceased. and this morning a new development. the father of thgunman says his son was an isis supporter as a nation strugoes t cope with this horrific form of widespread evil. french president emmanuel macron has paid tribute to the victimss visiting thee of the deadly shooting attack and laying down that white rose there as an homage. police here in new york were called in to check onsarday night live" star pete davidson saturday after a troubling instagram post wre he wrote, "i'm doing my best to stay here for youuaut i ay don't know how much longer i can last." davidson, who had been open about his struggles with mental health, made only a brief appearance on "snl" this weekend. nbc's kathy park has more. >> it's "saturday night live"! >> reporter: on the last "saturday night live" of 2018 viewers tuned in to see if cast member davidson would come to work. >> once again, mark ronson and miy cyrus. >> reporter: he didn't address a heeshow scare.

earlier saturdayomedian started a post on instagram with "i really don't want to be on this earth anymore." when he then deleted his account, fans and friends began to rry. machine gun kelly wrote, "i'm in the plane now on these way t pete. gonna make sure he's good." jada pinkett smith tweeted"i'm aying for you, pete." the comedian put a spotlight on "snl.ruggles before on >> as some of you may know, i was recently diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, depression. >> reporter: but this time the dark message came with a welfare check by the new york police. it's unclear what prompted his alarming post, but earli he sided with kanye west and supported him for standing up r mental health, an issue brought to light during a twitter change between west and ariana grande. grande originally tweetet and then d aid number of posts including one that read "i'm so sorry. wanting everyone to be healthy happy."

there's history between grande and davidson just two months ago they were engad. their relationship became part of his act. >> god forbid we split up and she takes half my sneakers. >> reporter: and inspired her number one hit. ♪ and for pete i'm so thankful despite their brief romance she shared her support for him on socialmedia. a reminder that he doesn't have to battle this personal fight behind the curtains. kathy park, nbc news, los angeles. >> a if you orone you know is in crisis you can call the national suicide prevention lifeline 24/7 at 1-800-273-talk. cbs is following up on a vow to donate $20 million to groups dedicated to eliminating sexual harassment after their former ceo lesef moonves l the company amid allegations of sexual misconduct. cbs announced that the money will go to 18 recipients including the time's up legal defense fund, wen in film angeles, futures without violence, and girls for gender

equity, or the me too movement. in a group statement the organizations thanked cbs for the donations and said that the money would help drive real progress but added that the absolve not erase or decades of bad behavior. the $20 million were taken from ckonves's severance e. the cbs's board of directors, they still must decide wheoer or not telease the remaining 120 million to the ousted ceo, who says that all sexual relations were consensual. now to japan, where a dramatic explosion at a restaurant has left dozens injured. at lea one seriously. in all, 42 people were hurt when a powerful bst rocked a neighborhood in northern japan. this set off a fire that burned for six hours during theer diime rush. the blast destroyed buildings, house the restaurant and a estate office. witnesses described the explosion as feeling like an earthquake. right now a gas expsion is the suspected cause, but the case is still under investigation. now to a bitter battle between the united states and north kore with north korea threatening to

shatter any deal at denuclearization if the u.s. continued itsst sanctions again the country. the increasing tension comes after months -- comes ponths aftesident trump sat down with north korean leader kim jong un in singapore, where those two leaders committed to denuclearization, even though no specifics were offered. nbc's ali arouzi joining u live from london with more. ali, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, phillip. indeed, a stark warning from north korea that the path to denuclearization on the korean peninsula could be blocked re r. the regime deeply unhappy about new u.s. treasury sanctions on three senior figures within the ruling elite ove alleged human rights abuses. now, these threats and warnings shouldn' come as much of a surprise because those talks that kim jong held, those historic talks that kim jong un held with president trump didn't really yield many results beyond a vaguely worded statement between the two of them and not much has happened since. nd that's why these new round

of sanctions shouldn't come as a huge surprise. the u.s. has always mailained it weep ratcheting up the pressure until results are produced. nor should north korea's reaction be a surprise. they said in a statement that the state department was bent on bringing dprk and u.s. relations back to the status of last yeard which was mary exchanges of fire. a referenceo the kore ballistic missile launches, nuclear tests, not to mention angry verbalxchanges between two countries' leaders. now, eve though north korea said this pressure was a grave mitt cculation by the u.s., there was some praise for the president, saying that donald trump had shown willingness to improve relations. t no two sides were meant to meet in new york in september. that didn't take place. and they haven't rescheduled any talked yet. phillip? >> ali arouzi thank you for bringing this very important story back to the forefront. ali thanks. millions of people along the east coast are drying off after days of relentless rain. the downpours flooded roads in

virginia and maryland, causing traffic chaos and leaving some drivers stranded. at least six people in fairfax, vi had to be rescued by boat. even animals needed help. this llama was pulled to sety the howard county fire department in maryland. the rainfall shattered records. 2018 will be the wettest ever for baltimore with 67 inches of rain and washington, d.c. with 63ches. meanwhile, northern california remains under a high surf advisory as the national weather service warf waves reaching up to 50 feet. five back-to-back storms are expected to hit the west coast this week. >> let's kick off the week. nbc meteorologist bill karins >>joining us. e're not done in d.c. either. we're going to keep adding to the ra two, maybe three rainstorms on the east coast before the end of the new year. let's fast forward. kind of quiet the b inning of thek. if you have travel plans on wednesday, thursday, friday, we're going to talk about this next rainstorm in areas of the south as we go through wednesday. potentially areas of mississippi to memphis all the way through

panama city to pensacola. then by the we get to thursday we take this rain up through the southeast with significant rain. atlanta, charlotte, to raleigh, d.c. late in the day on thursday. for the new york city areas and new en and friday's your day for the heavy rain and potential airport delays. keep that in mind this week as we headhe toward holidays. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. and here's a closerouook at yr day ahead. so tode're watching a little bit of rain, drizzle and a little bit of snow and ice in a few spots, especially the high elevations of centdl new englxiting early this morning. couple of winter weather advisories out there. if you want some great weather today the southeast looks nearly perfect for december. t that december trend. warm and rainy. >> all right. thanks, bill. a florida couple made a christmas tradition part of their weddirg. on their f date brad and jessica bond went to target and donated to toy for tots. and they've done it every year since. on their wedding day theyin ted their guests to paicipate, giving everyon gift cards and taking them to

target. >> so if we can make some kids didn'tn christmas, it matter if it was one date or relationship, it was successful. >> the toys will all go to children in need this christmas. i love that idea. >> it is. great call. way to start off the marriage. sti to come an incredible archaeological find 4,400 years in the making. ks to you, st. jude children's research hospital is changing how the world treatsncnd defeats childhood . we freely share our science to help find cures and save kids with cancer everywhere. and no family pays st. jude for anything...e becal a family should worry about is helping their child live. visit stjude.org or shop wherever you see the st. jude logo.

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breathe freely fast, with vicks sinex. my congestion's gone. i can breathe again! ahhhh! i can breathe again! ughh! vicks sinex. breathe on. leading the a news, young man in chicago reportedly gave his life f hisdog. celice say 26-year-old tao jang fell through the at the mckinley part lagoon on saturday afternoon trying to save his pup. he was taken to the hospital in ical condition but died within the hour. authorities said the man's dog was retrieved from the wat and is expected to survive. this morning the endung mystery of ancient egypt has a new twist. experts have discovered a rare 4,400-year-old tomb. the tomb near cairo was untouched by looters and exceptionally well preserved.

archaeologists are calling this a one akind discovery thanks to rich hieroglyphic decorations and statues. officials say they expect to find even more treasures in the coming months as they continue to excavate. >> fans at the chicago bears game on sunday were in for a treat. >> jennifer marie ross, lu be jennifer marie leno jr.? >> yes. >> will you? you accept? >> yes. >> you accept? >> yes. >> i love you baby. >> so sweet. left tackle charles leno jr. proposed to his girlfriend jennifer roth at midfield right after the team beat the green bay packers to win the nfc north. now he has a second reason to celebrate, calling it one of the greatest days of h. li that's awesome. congratulations to them. zplik see why. we'll have ighlights from that game in just a few seconds. it was week 15 in the nfl. let's start, though, with football night in america and the los angel coliseu where the ram were huge favorites over the toeagles. dd gurley had an early touchdn here but eagles backup

nick foles would answer. handing off here to joshedams for thscore. the game would be tied at 13 at the eclf. in the sd half the eagles pulled away. the rams did have ne last chance on this throw to tie it. but he overthrew it. the eagles upset the rams 30-23. now to pittsburgh, where santa and one of his elves there trying to give the steelers a big gift ahead of christmas. big ben roethlisberger had two touchdowns s theel curtain stopped tom brady not once but twice when he was in the red zone. in the fourth quarter the steelers stoppedheir three-game skid with a 17-10 victory. now to chicago. that newen engagt went down after the game. that is abanged-up mitch trubisky. he still passed for 235 yards and two touchdownsding the bears to tir first nfc north division title since 2010. the packers' aaron rodgers could ont find the end zone. only the other t that critical throw there. final from soldier field 24-17. in santa clara it was a back

ord forth battle. seattle lookingot a playoff , trying to clinch it on this day but it was n going to be after richie james with this impressive 97-yard kick.wi russell lson, he thougghfought, thou, as he always does. very acrobatic catch in doug baldwin. the game would go to overtime tied at 23. but the niners have a pretty good kicker. roie gould would seal i in overtime. n francisco holds on 26-23. just ahead, sir paul mccartney is just warming up for a major u.s. tour. we have got a preview. in one week... a lot will happen in your life. wrinkles just won't. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair's derm-proven retinol works so fast, it takes only one week to reveal younger looking skin. making wrinkles look so last week. rapid wrinkle repair® pair with new retinol oil for 2x the wrinkle fighting power. neutrogena®

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♪ it's been a hard day's night ♪ and ie been working like a dog ♪ ♪ it's been a hard day's nig ♪ i should be sleeping like a log ♪ that is sirey paul mccartn playing to a packed arena in igndon last on the third stop of his fshen up tour. the 76-year-old former beatle played some of his classic hits like "hard day's night" all m loving and ob-la-diob-la-da. he knows how to pack a venue. >> he does. you've got to catch him while you can. 76 years old. starts in norleans. paul mccartney in new orleans, can't find a better night than nap after a maryland third-grader lost a class electionhe got a letter from a woman who's been there. martha kennedy morales lost here

class presidection tie boy by one vote. when hillary clinton heard abo it, she wrote that 8-year-old a letter.ma ha's dad frequently posted about his daughter's campaign on facebook and it caught at tenseon of s close to clinton. in her heartwarming letter clinton hpeaks from experience, congratulating martha for running and saying the most important thing su for what you believed i and that is always worth it. >> that's so cool she took the time to write that letter. >> again, that is historic. you keep that forever. lost by one vote to a boy. >> absolutely. well, still ahead, buyer beware. what you may not know about the insides of that used car you're thinking about buying. ♪ the beautiful thing about care, is knowing that it's always there... ...and that it always will be. ♪ walgreens. trusted since 1901.

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talk to your doctor today, and learn how janssen can help you explore cost support options. remission can start with stelara®. welcome back. let's get into the week ahead forecast. we are still watching still in new england a fewpo icy pushing into higher elevations. we're going to get rid of that storm as we go ear throughout the day today. we still have a lot of significant weather on the west coast we're going to be dealing with. e of those little pieces of energy from those storms comes down and we get more rain returning to areas from texas to louisiana and then thisess thursday into the southeast, friday on the east coast. again, if you have travel plans on thoseays it's not an ice or snowstorm but there will be some thunderstorms, there will be some heavy rain and there will be some travel delays at the airports. >> rinse and repeat, huh, bill? spidey spins his web to the top of the box office. you're watching "early today." .

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commuters on the red line. what that m for your commute and what it could do to rush hour just ahead. >> wall or nothing. o days away from a partial

government shutdown. the president wants billions for a border wall or there could be a shutdown at ohe end the week. >> the busiest week of the year for mail cawsiers. has tips to make sure that your holiday preacceptabilities show u on ti -- presents show up on time. >> thanks for joining us. the wettest year we have ever seen in the d.c. area. we broke the record. >> probably still raining for some of you when you went to bed lanight. jack taylor is tracking what's happening on the roads for our monday morning drive. >> but we begin with storm team 4 meteorologist lauren rickets andoping we'll see some sunshine. >> i think we'll be able to get some sunshe and that's going to be good news for everybody because we are all due for a ttle sunshine after that soggy weekend we had. the south winds will help push the temperatures into the 50sda so it is a nice, mild morning