[ laughter ] a winter storm whips across the country. the midwest buried by blizzards and the northeast braces for heavy rain. the latest headaches for holiday travelers coming up. the head of homeland security making an emergency trip to texas as we learn new details of what led to the death in second migrant child u.s. custody. the new fears as the government shutdown heads in to the new year. no, it's not ghostbusters or aliens, what cast a erie blue light over the skies of new york city. icing out of the competition, we will hear fm th first person to cross antarctica alone.

"early today" starts right now. good friday morning. >> a severe winterrm ss causing problems on travel plans for millions holiday travelers. areas of the dakotas down in to kansas face blizzard warnings and over a foot of snow. >> they are asking for the public's help, after a semi hit a trooper's car and fled on the highway. >> in the upper midwest, the first major snowfall of the year. >> it's great to see snow in minnesota. >> reporter: that snowat c bad road conditions and drivers struggled to stay out of the identify. in north dakota white out conditions slowed down traffic and the arlt had flights cancelled, one traveler hoping to get home to texas for theys holi >> i only get five days home and this will take you another day off of that. so, i will only have four days

ho i. >> reportenew mexico ko-- a snow storm shut down the highway. while some of the coury diggs out, the other parts hope to dry out. storms roll through texas a in austin, two people were saved in a water rescue, in houston, the city i forced to deal with widespread flooding and power out acknowledge -- power outages, more rain and snow is in the forecast. >> good morning, so, how bad is it and where i at this hour? >> right now, we are dealing with winter weather advisories even though the snow is tapering off in parts of the northern plains. we have strong wind that will create blowing and drifting snow. now, n that's a winter weather advisory, that is for northern new england. that is bec fse we look icy conditions as the precipitation, there's a lot of it coming in to the area. you can see heavy rain coming you up from new orleans in to southern louisiana, sweeping across mississippi and alabama,

this is the big flood threat that we are watching as it trains along the area. the front extendsll the way to the northeast, snow in new england and heavy rainha and will impact the travel delays as we go lou the day today. >> a lot of problems. thanks, bonnie. >> a transformer eyolosion in ne lit up the night's sky, turning it bright blue. it was an erie sce from an alienas invn movie. the light could be seen around the city and even from new jersey, the blast sparked a brief fire, causinger p outages and temporarily shutting down laguardia airport. acthe airport is up and running and no one was injed. >> we ar officially a week in to the government shutdown and there's no c sign pcompromise. the senate adjourned until monday. that means it will stretchn to the new year, when the dms will take control of the house.

mewhile, a new to poll shows that president trump is taking the lion's share of the blame for the shut down. you see 47% there blaming the president and 33% say it's the democrats in congress's fault for the latest on the impass. let's go to nbc's scottcfar lynn. so, scott, this had shut down is headed in to the new year. >> reporter: yeah, philip, good morning, it will most certainly go in to the new year. that means for federal worke the uncertainty will go in to the new year. congress hasunted solving in over the weekend or in to early next week. they are not going to do . no formal proceedings or formal votes scheduled. so the debate over the shutdown and the borr wall is happening on social media. ity trump tweeting several times -- president trump tweeting several tim docrats don't want a border wall, because th want to deprive the represent are cans a -- deprive the republicans and

the president, a political ct y. the house democratic w.h.i.p. ng that the president's quote temper tantrum has caused the furlough of federal workers and they are not optimistic that it will end any time soon. >> this is the president's shutdown. he said that it would be his shutdown. the senate voted 100-0, i don't see a scenario where the vernment opens up until a new congress is sworn ndin. >>his morning the national treasury employee's union thatu representseds of thousands of workers has asked the administration to expedite back pay to the furlough workers once it's solved saying had they are gravely concerned about their finances. live on capitol ill hhill had. >> many are living paycheck toy ck, they need that money. thanks.

>> the head of homeland security will visit the border after a second migrant child died in u.s. custody. earlier this week, there wasew measures ordered for detained children,or including m strict medical screenings andme while, we are learning more details about the little boy that passed away in custody on christmas eve. it was confirmed that he died of a flu. we have more. >> reporter: days after his death in the custody of u.s. customs and border protection, these are the first images of the 8-year-old boy. nearly 2,000 miles from the hospital where he died, his mother is in mourning. she said that the family was desperate to escape poverty in ga mall a when -- in guatemala, when he and his father started theirek to america. border agents logged 17 welfare checks between december 20th and

22nd. but on the morning of december 24thnt, an a noticed that the inild was cough and appeared to have glossy eyes. by 11:48 that nigh he was dead with them promising sweeping changes including secondary medical checks on all children, homeland security secretary will visit the u./mexico border but for philippe's family, a hope or a better life, turned to grief. >> caught on camera, a quick thinking police officer in illinois narrowly avoiding disaster. swerving out of the way to avoid slam engine to a speeding commuter train. we have more on this and what caused this near crash. >> a close call captured on dash cam. aic p officer in illinois, heads down the street when a train seemingly comes out of nowhere. going about 50 miles an hour. watc as the driver ahead of him in the blue suv barely squeaks

by. >> that is wild, that is wild. commuter t until the train is passed that the safety gates finally start to come down. >> you never expect something like that. ever. i mean, you know, one of the things you depend on are those signals. crossing is going down. sdpl . illinois's metro said that a short in the equipment caused the problem. >> i hope they are taking a long look in to itnd making sure it's as safe and secure as possible. >> reptster: most acciden at railroad crossings areaused by drivers attempting to go around safety gates. >> oh, he is oing througone, two. >> reporter: but technology and theeduction in the numbe of crossings has cufey tal i-- cut fatalities in half o the policicer knows how lucky he is. i haveought tons of raffle tickets, i thought i was not born with luck at all. little did i know, i had luck.r he is all my luck being used all at once. if i neverth win ag again, i

am perfectly fine with that. no injurs were reported from the heart-stopping incident that could have hadfe a much difrent ending. >> today,e saying goodbye to america's oldest world war veteran anthe oldest man in the u.s. richard overton has died, he was at pearl harbor, o okinawa askand he served on vars islands. he was hospitalized with pneumonia and died in a rehab facility in austin. he was 112 years old. >> a life well lived. we salute you, sir. our meteorologist joining us again. what is it looking like out there,bonnie? >> our big winter storm that doesn't look like much on radar across aref the northern plains and the midwest. but the winds are strong enough

that we have w winterther advisories happening right now, a flood emergency situation in parts of louisiana and mississippi. notice the frequent lightning, there's seven inches of rain on the ground already and the rain is coming. dangerous condit especially in the overnight hours. these advisories will per assist through the daylight time, be careful. if you arefl ng, expect delays. new york, boston and atlanta, all due to the the front works further to the east. well, that was a look at the big weather story o a the day now, here is a closer look at the day ahead. >> temperatures are so mild in advance of the ,system well above normal for this time of year. we will see that highs in the northeast, the atlantic in the upper 50snd where the rain is follalling, it's warm. to the 50s and 60s south. >> if you are driving again, please be careful further to the sout on i-10 and in to mobile, jacksonville, anywhere in that region, that rain will ep coming.

>> all right, thanks for the heup, bonnie. in today's quick hits, lebron james has been selected as this year's associated press malehl e of the year for the third time. sears may be down to e last 24 hours. they have until today to secure a bid for the company or face liquidation. >> sony has announced the title of the bio-pic of mr. rogers. it will hit theaters in october. could lead to way cleaner teeth. she said, get the one inspired by dentists, with a round brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's gentle rounded brush head removes more plaque along the gum line. for cleaner teeth and healthier gums. and unlike sonicare, oral-b is the first electric toothbrush brand accepted by the ada for its effectiveness and safety. i'll only use an oral-b! oral-b. brush like a pro.

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hurry in for up to seventy five percent off storewide and all jeans on sale, with adults from fifteen dollars and kids from ten dollars, only at old navy. the wall street roller g coaster throw investors for yet another loop on the heels of wednesday's historic rally. stocks e hedher thursday after a late surge in the final hours of trading. the dow saw a huge swing, following a 600 point drop earlier in the day. leang the news, an urge

an man hunt of a suspect believed to have gunned down a police officer. we have more on the victim, who was anald singh, immigrant himself. >> reporter: in tiny newman, california, the overwhelming loss. >> i do not want to be here today. >> reporter: is very much sinking in. >> ill give anything not to. >> reporter: the emotional plea from thed police chief hel to find the man who killed the 33-year-old ficer, ron singh. >> my department is hurting. we are struggling through this. >> reporter: singh had just taken this to he toe on christmas with his wife and 5-month old son. five hours later, he was gunned down in traffic stop. singh immigrated from fiji, dreams of becoming a police officer, driving 2-1/2 hours each way to the kaademy, police releasing the images of a

suspect, and not naming had him. >> this had suspect, unke ron, who immigrated to this country lawfully and legally, this suspect is in our country illegally. >> reporter: authorities hav launched astate--wide search. >> reporter: please, help ufi nd this man. andring him to justice. justice to save a town no longer whole of. nbc news. >> a public vigil for the tonight.s planned for well, how are you spending new year's eve? nasa's new horizon spacecraft has big plans the team that brought us close up pictures o pluto will be looking naming a icy object. that is 4 billion miles from earth. it's t furtherest that humans have explored, the fly by is set to happen soon after the stroke ofmi ight, as 2019 begins.

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>> aquaman who has enjoyed a strong start with over $600 million in earnings is expected to flip to the top of the box office yet again. the weekend's new release, stan and olli is about the legendary comedy duo of laurel and hardy at the end of their career. >> john c riley is able to do all things comedy and great actor. the recent indonesia eruption and tsunami was a reminder that mother nature has notone easy on us. nbc's kerry sanersakes a look back. >> had in indonesia,f threats another eruption and tsunami after a wave of destruction t ks weekenilled hundreds. 2018, a year of seemingly

back-to-back-to-back natural disasters.in overall, an econom $55 billion. from the record setting wildfires, nearly 0200,omes destroyed, record people killed and a billion dollars in damage. to the strongest hur wayne in 26 years. >> i'm kerry sanders, hurricane michael, 5 mile per hour winds making land fall in mexico beach. >> the eye has come aasre, to the east of us. scientists warn as global temperatures the to rise, we could see more extreme weather. just like was exp >> it's the biggest threat facing human population. >> butch in mexico beach, >> do you wonder about rebuilding here with what mother nature could dagain? >> no. we made the decision a long time

ago, that this would be home. >> the human misery, that lingers for years. kerry sands, nbc news, mexico beach, y orida. >> reariking when you see it all put together like that. >> i have to be honest, it's hard to stay positiv when you hear scientists are saying, it's with us for the rest of ourli s, we will be seeing images of this, we can only hope to band together and get through it and do what we can slow it down. >> just ahead, the man that hiked across antarctica, we will hear from him and what it was all about.

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quickbooks. backing you. it's an active weather day for this friday before we wrap up 2018. we have winter weather advisories. just through morning. and more winter weather is possible eadn in northern new england. down in the southern section of the country, especially in louisian and mississippi and alabama, we are watching out for flooding. flash flooding is occurring there now. light snow falling across much of the plains, it's the heavy rain we areatching as the system trains in like cars on a railroad track. it will continue to bring a lot of precipitation. we see seven inches onhe ground already. >> have to be safe out there. ank you. just ahead only in louisiana, this is a pot of gumbo, you have never seen before. in one week... a lot will happen in your life. wrinkles just won't.

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just four days left in 2018 and the rain is not through with us quite yet. it's already been a record breaking year for rain and this

morning, a new system aears poised to soak our region yet again. it is 4:00 a.m. now. >> we are in weather alert this morning. how muchre water we talking about here? >>ncaybe another of rain. you look at that stream of moisture here all the way down to atlanta and birmingham. o is is going t an all day soaker for sure. the heaviest of the rain will be between now and 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon but we may notur have last rain drops until well after the sun goes down. all of the d.c. metro area covered in rain this morning. temperatures,wow, way above average. low tid