bye, everybody, have a great night. >> bye! brace yourself. a rare bipartisan bill to reform the criminal justice system juso ok a giant leap towards passagou we'll tellhat's in it. >> a blistering rebuke from the judge in the michael flynnen seng hearing. but did he misspeak? and did flynn just survi f a worse fat than anticipated? >> shutdown. president trump's privatear able foundation is forced to dissolve, but the reason behind it are fascinating. >> the new details surrowoding the t chicago police officers killed in the line of duty while chasing a call of shots fired. >> amid the holiday shopping and spending, some good news for anyone hitting the road and gassing up in the >> and a league of her own, remembering a fan favorite andl ood trail blazing director, the great penny marshall.

"early today" starts right now. >> good wednesday morning. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. the senate passed a swe criminal justice reform bill that could put a dent in the u.s. prisonpopulation. the first step act aims at lowering the number of people behind bars by making thousands of inmatesbl e for immediate sentence reductions and early releasepr programs. ident trump praised the senate, tweeting that it's his job to fight for all citizens. even those who have made mistakes. rapper meek mill added, this is major. a lot of oversentenced men and women will come home soon. he's been a powerful voice of tiiminal j reform after spending five months in a philadelphia is. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning, tracie. >> reporter: frances, good morning. rare cooperation here in washington on some pretty big legislatio that would affect federal prisoners, and that is an important point. tis does not aff state justice systems. but it does affect what could be tens o thousands o federal

prisoners. what it does is not require mandatory minimum sentences for many low-level offenders. and as you noted, a number would be eligibleor early release on good behavior. also, it provides reentry help, making it easier for them to g back into society after they have served time. this is the biggest change that we've seen since the '90s, even though some critics say it doesn't go far enough. in fact, that's one of the reasons why it's called the first step bill. it will become the first step law if passed by thend house the president signs it. and, in fact, the house is expected to take this up before they leave for the break, before the end of the week. >> all right. and looking ahead to that, tracie, let's talk abouty he possibil the government shutting down. how is that looking so far? >> reporter: we're not seeing the same level of cooperation we saw with the sentencing bill. however, the white hngse is

signalhe possibility that the president may be able to keep the government running and may be willing to sign off on something that is less than thet $5 billion f wall immediately. but we haven't seen anything concreteyet, and that clo is ticking for friday's deadline. >> sure is. closely.e watching tracie, thank you. >> former national security advisor michael flynn who admitted to lying to the fbi,ou appeared in tuesday for sentencing. and he got an earful from a judge w went as far as to wonder why flynn wasn't facing treason charges. after a recess, judge emmet misspeakingitted to about general flynn's conduct as a foreign agent which ended before he joined the white h se 17. then in a surprise turn of events, the sentencing was delayed as flynn continues his cooperation with the government. we go now to nbc's pete williams for more. >> reporte michael flynn arrived at the federal court house in washington with every reason to expec he'd be sentenced only to probation wh prison time. that's what his lawyer said would be appropriate. md robertller's prosecutors

agreed, saying he's been cooperating with them extensively, 19 separate meetings in the p but in a stunning twist, those hopes ran into a buzz saw namede judgeet sullivan, who said he couldn't hide his disgust for what flynn admitted doing. >> flynn was actually smiling during the earlier ption of the hearing and he got a serious look on his face in a hurry. >> reporter: sulvan said it's a very serious offense for a senior government official to lie to the i fbithe white house, something flynn pleaded guilty to doing. he has also admitted he did work as a paidor lobbyisthe government of turkey without disclosing it while he was acting as a foreign policy advisor to the trump campaign. >> the n united states. the >> reporter: judge sullivan said, arguably, you sold your country out, and he even asked if mueller's prosecutors ever considered charging flynn with treason. the judgege repeatedly sed if he went ahead with the sentencing, flynn would probably get prison time. after a brief recess, his lawyers tooknd the hint a formally asked theudge to postpone the sentencing.

>> i think it's possible the judge actually gave flynn a little bit of a break today. if he had imposed sentence today, he may hav given flynn some prison time. >> reporter: in a tweet, wished flynnmp had good luck. the white house said whatever crimes flynn committed he did them on his own. >> maybe he did do those things, but that doesn't have anything to do with the president directly. >> reporter: flynn's best hope now for avoiding prison time ts contin cooperate with prosecutors before he comes back for another hearing. the judge set a new hearing for march 13th. and for now, michael flynn remains out onbail. but here's the question. can he assist prosecutors enough three months to convince judge sullivan that he does not deserve prison time? >> see about that. phillip? pete, thanks. >> president trump's charitable foundation is to be shutdown under pressure from new york's top osutor. the embattled charity is facing a lawsuit alleging that mr. trump use it had to promote his business and his campaign. well, the new york ay general says their investigation found a, quote, shocking pattern

of illegality involving the trump foundation. nbc's llie jackson has more. ct reporter: donald trump's charity more like a checkbook for his campaign, according to the new york attorney general, who announced an agreement with the tt president'sney to dissolve the controversial trump foundation. barbara underwood blasting what she calle a shocking pattern of illegality. the foundation, she arsees, to help the president politically. the lawsuit points to 2016 a poornss li -- ances like this one. >> we just collected $26 million. >> reporter: candidate trump giving out donation s to vet raz right before the caucuses. a "washington post" investigation revealed other donations had benefited the trumps. its biggest one ever, help restore a fountain outsidetr a p hotel in 1989. the smallest? $7 to the boy scouts, exactly thnrlment fee the year donald trump, jr., was 11.

$12,000 that was a portrait that became a punching bag for opponents. >>e took money people gave to the charity and bought a 6 foot tall painting ofel hi >> reporter: the attorney for the trump organization defended the foundation and the $19 million he says it's distributed to more than 700 thcharities. statement, accusing the new york attorney general, a democrat, of an attempt to politicize the agreement and pointing out the foundation has been trying to dissolve ever since donald trump w the 2016 election, something new york state prevented as it pursued its investigation. so what happens to the remaining money in the foundation? will be distributed only to charities the state deems p.putable. phil >> all right, halle, thank you. meanwhile on tuesday, president trump banned bump stocks, the device that allows semi-automatic weaponsire like machine guns. it's lat it est step that began in response to the worst massn shooting modern u.s. history. of course we're talking about the las vegas massacre that happened in october of 2017.

the d justiartment says bump stocks will now fall within the definition of machine gun under federal law. the ban means owners must destroy or surrender their bump ocks by late march. this ban is now expected to face legal challenges asnt ram criticism persists. >> president trump sat down with parents of marjory stoneman douglas high school students along with education secretary betsy devos, to discuss ways to prevent school shootings. >> according to the department of homeland security,av the nce duration of an active shooter,ent in the school, is under 5 minutes, all this carnage take place in a period of time. that's why it's critical tomorrow armed personnel available. >> it came to arming teachers with guns, the panel decided states and schools should micide. the cion explored a range ever issues including mental health treatment, and rolling back obama policies designed to protect minority students from discrimination.

>> a honduran mother and her children photographed fleeing from tear gas last month are now in the united statro. maria castnd her five children were among several asylum seekers who showed upt the otai mesa entry port in san diego. the trump administration has sought to tighten policy and force asylum seekers to wait in mexico while their plans are being processed. castro was caught in the photo as protesters clashed with authorities at several u.s. entry ports. >> we told you yesterday about a father pleadin for hisife to come to the united states. ali hassan held an emotional press conference asking for the monthener of his dying 2-year-old son be allowed to go to california. a yemeni national was blocked by the trumpst adminition's travel ban. after the family's story spread across the news in socia media, the state department granted a waiver and they plan t be reunited this evening. the father said in a statement, this will allow us to mourn with dignity. >> some gre news there in very

troubled time for them. let's turn it over to nbc teorologist bill karins. he's following this storm that's last fogg lasting for days here. good morning. n> when we get to thursday and friday that's we get to significant i am paktsz for the travel. 1 to 3 inches of rain everywhere st of the appalachians thursday and friday. the biggest ioracts airport, miami, tampa late in the day. charlotte,gh ral a lot of hubs in the southeast. on friday, espiallyriday morning, philadelphia and new york city could get heavy rain, en thunderstorm up toward boston as we go through friday afternoon. look at the big weather story of the day. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. well, today the rain has begun in northeast texas. anyone driving from shreveport or anywhere down along i-10 from houston all wait toew orleans, you could be getting in some of that rain. late in the day it will spread through areas of the panhandle of florida. of urse, it' still pretty warm out there, but we'll take a look at the chances of a white

ristmas coming up. >> so there is a chance. >> a few. very few. >> okay. thanks, bill. e'll check back in with you later. you know how there are those emotional support animals around? popeyes has launched a comfort companion you can take on your flight without any restrictions. the emotional support chicken is a three-piece chicken tender combo meal served in a carry-on box in the shape of a chicken. for everyone else, the to go container is only available a limited time passing through philadelphia the international support. the rest of us will have to struggle with the reality of not having that comfort. >> we saw that dog eyeing it down. we'll be right back. ... to be with family, or just to sleep in. strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. in a key study neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta

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complications from diabetes. >> in los angeles, fans laid a wreath of flowers at ma ahall's starthe hollywood walk of fame. nbc's miguel almaguer looks back at her extraordinary life. >> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. ♪ we're gonna do it, give us any chance we'll take it ♪ ♪ >> reporter: penny marshall was known for years as laverne in the shut come of laverne and shirley that ran from 1976 to 1983. >> there it is, laverne. >> i think, um, it was a blue collar show. i mean, weor wereng class girls. we needed to make the rent, you know. it was like people now even, you know, they need to make money. >> reporter: born in the bronx in 194ny marshall could identify with that. >> i had a good time as a kid. doing laverne and shirle everything i could remember from

my childhood, we put into that. >> reporter: her mother was a dance instructor, and in the '50s, penny performed on tv with the marshall ettes on programs such as the jackie glee son show. >> this is my sister ve are, na. >> reporter: family connections helped. penny with her real sister roni and brother writer director gary marshall got many of penny's acting jobs. also ear in hercareer, she made a shampoo commercial with another aspiring actress, farrah >> you know what i think? >> you think you look adorable. >> reporter: in the 1980s, she turned her attention to directing with hits such as "big" in 1988. ♪ >> let me see what happens, rosie. >> reporter: in a league of their own in 1992. >> there's no crying. there's no crying in baseball. >> reporter: those two films grossed over $100 million

apiece, a first for a female director. >> these old stereo types still exist, women don't know how to create a movie for aass audience, they don't know how to do comedy for men. penny was abl to show nonf that really mattered. >> reporter: married and divorced twice, she is survived by her daughter tracy and remembered fondly in hollywood as an extremely funny and talent the woman. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >> penny marshall was rs old. >> wow, such a anloss. making us look up the meaning of flameel, flmazel. >> i was wondering what they said. >> still ahead, the rich celebrities on the planet. we have that list. and the new white house reveal trump christmas card. i couldn't catch my breath. it was the last song of the night. it felt like my heart was skipping beats. they said i had afib. what's afib? i knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke.

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♪ don't care about anything except hearing them sleigh bells ring a♪ ding-a-ding ♪ i wish it was christmas today ♪ ♪ i wish it was christmas today ♪ ♪ >> jimmy fallon got the band bag gether, "i wish it was christmas today." they all stopped by along with the special appearance from ariana grande. so, one of the all-time hits from snl making its way back. >> yeah, we get to -- itatasn't evenday night. how about that? what a treat for christmas. >> all right. melania tr tp took to twitt

debut the official 2018 christmas portrait. the first lady wished followers a merry christmas from the president and herself and shared a photoake not in the cross hall of the white house before heading to the congressional ballast saturday. noticeably absent from the photo are those red cone trees that received a whole lot of mixed reaction online. melania defended her designay choicesg we are in the 21st century and everybody has different tastes. >> yeah, w wonder they didn't put it back there? stand behind it or in front of ithi guess this situation. i love to see him there standing, pointing, smilin oh, man. all right, forbes has released its 2018 list of america's wealthiest celebrities. wall right. he go. "star wars" creator george lucas has topped the list with a net worth of $5.4 billion. he is followed by director steven spielberg at 3.7 billion, th oprah got in there wit a 2.8. michael jordan still making that money. 1.7.

and 21-year-old entrepreneur kylie jenner, her and rapper jay z were tied for 5th with $900 n. mill a mere $900 million. rounding out, the 10, p. diddy combs, and jenner. kylie is the most impressive of all. >> i'm sure she'll keep making the buckss and making like they're doing. >> for decades to come. >> living the life, they are. still ahead, the santa syer gritty gets dirty. ertaking out seval saint nicks right on the ice. yore watching "early today get what is important. like baseball? like you! diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, johan came to st. jude children's research hospital. our discoveries have helped to increase the overall childhood cancer surviva from 20% to 80%. and we won't stop until every child survives.

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it is 3:58 andhere's what we're working on for "news 4 today." al assault inside a library. more on the attacker spotted lurking in the children's section. plus, an underground solution for traffic trouae. look at the tunnel that could be in the future of travel. chuck bell. skies are clear and it's cold uoutside. better

"news 4 today" starts now. 4:00 a.m. just about as we take a live look outside. we've made it halfway. wednesday and we are getting closer to the holiday weekend. good morning, ever i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrist.

the whole news 4 team is back together again, melissa, chuck, some level of better from what they were a couple of days ago. >>ss mes voice isn't all the way back, i can >> she'll be sanitizing everything today. >> please do. >> keeping an eye on the roads for us. >> let's start with chuck bell. chilly weather has turned. no doubt about it. temperatures now below freezing across most of the area. 33 in washington's national airport, but as soon as you're aw from the city and t water, it is noticeably colder. mid 20s now in fairfax. low 20s inmanassas. gorges county. i prince these numbers are 10 to 15 degrees cder than yesterday morning. so a big change for sure. it will be a beautiful dbe t outside today much like yesterday, we'll have plenty of sunshine.