this morning new details surrounding t 21-year-old suspected gunman who called 911 to say he had fired shots.pl five peo are now dead and police are looking for a motive. stopped in his tracks. the president stops his sta of the union after speaker pelosi denies access to the traditional house chambers. could this be the beginning ofn crackse wall separating the two? day 34 of the government shutdown, and angry federal workers are becoming more vocal as the senate prepares to vote on two key bills today. a story involving the big hollywood director for the

oscar-nominate "bohemian rhapsody," accused in an expose of sexual misconduct with underaged boys. and rapper meek mill teams up with jay-z and billionaire bob kraft and few other heavyweights to reform our criminal justice system. "early today" starts right now. good thursday morning. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances. rive snow and freezing rain made for dangerous driving conditions across the midwest wednesday. police in fort wayne, indiana kept busy responding to crashes. two of the incents involved semi trucks. one semilyot parti stuck on a railroad track because of the ice and was struck by a train. fortunately the , were no injuries. but this isn't the end of the rough winter weather. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with our frigid forecast. good morning, bill. >> it's amazing because we're going from cold co warm back to and we've got these rainstorms and know snow and ice in the middle of it. the problem is going tonight flash flooding 54 million people at risk of this. this includes boston, hartford, providence, new york city, philadelphia, baltimore, washington, d.c. a lot of our major cities.

the problem is the ground is still frozeownfrom our last cold outbreak and we have a torrential amount of rain from north florida all the way into the southeast through the mid-atlantic and now arriving intort the ast. snow and icy weather, a little bit in areas of maine and a little bit on theack side of e storm in areas of ohio. as far as the rainfall forecast is going to go, we think that some areas could potentially get one to two inches of rain, mostly from philadelphia to new york. some areas of connecticut get uo to inches of rain. in some placesmee've got snow plus frozen ground and heavy rain. it's going to be a lost problems on the roads. >> lots to deal with in thof ded winter. bill, thank you. a suspected gunman is in custody after a tense standoff way s.w.a.t. team in sebring, florida. police say the suspect opened fire inside a suntrust bank killing all five people who were inside at the time. we're joined by nbc's kerry sand oresers, who is in florida. kerry? >> reporter: phillip, this morning the victims' families here are dealing with heartache and loss. it's presumed tlleged gunman entered the bank her to rob it. terror in a florida bank as an

armed man openedfire, take hostages and lives inside a suntrust bank in sebring. >>e're sorry to learn that we have at least five victims, people who were senselessly murdered as the result of his act in this bank. >> the suspect, who is still alive, 21-year-old zephen xaifer.g accordin police, he called 911 himlf at 12:36 this afternoon to report the shooting while still barricaded inside the bank. deputies rushed to the scene. a s.w.a.t. team mov in quickly storming the bank after authorities say negotiations were suessful. they say xaver eventually surrendered. >> he needs to face swift and exacting justice. >> reporter: the victims have not been py identified. a massive law enforcemeio investigatn is under way. the fbi working closely with local auorities. suntrust bank says we are working with officialsnd dedicating ourselves to fully addressing the needs of all the

individuals and families involved. >> we've suffered significant loss at the hands of a senseless criminal doing a sensee.ss cr >> reporter: the alleged gunman now in custody could be in coure la today. phillip? >> all right. kerry, thank you. as we head into the 34th day of the government shutdown, a surprising move by president trump. he is dropping out of the niate of the battle with nancy pelosi, deciding not to deliver his speech whiletweeted last ni looks forward to giving the address in the near future. nancy pelosi responded by tweeting "i hope by saying near futureil you mean you support the house-passed package to end the shutdown that the senate will vote on tomorrow." go now to tracy potts in washington, d.c. and try, it seems like the president -- he con stooed pelosi on the ad mess. does than we might get a little closer toned the shutdown? >> not necessarily. this was sort of a power play on both sides. and while it s ams to be long war when it comes to the shutdown, nancy pelosi is

clearly won this battle. the present conceded afterhe sent a follow-up letter making it clear tt schett would not authorize his visit. in other words, she has that wer on capitol hill to prevent him fromor appearing b the house chamber. so pelosi making it clear the president would not be welcome. there have been questions about whether tte house was looking for another venue so the president could still make his eech on the same day. but now president trump has tweeted not only would he not come to capitol hill, he couldn't without pelosi saying it was okay. but he also says he would not seek an alternate venue because the president put it there is no venue that can compete with the history, the tradition and the importanceamf the house r. frances? >> we'll see where that goes. tracy, another thing we're watching today, the senate is expect to vote on two competing bills to reopen the government. still little or no chance that's going topass? >> no. no chance that either one of

them is going to pass. you've got the republican trump plan that exchanges protections for immigrants for border wall funding and then the democrats' plan is to open the government now ande'll talk about negotiating border security over the next two weeks. but neither plan has enough support to pass day. >> tracie potts for us. thank you. now to a dire warning from air traoul unions that affect millions of flyers. union leaders representing air trafficcontrollers, pilots, and flight attendants released a joint statement government shutdown has reached a critical level. we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at playe nor predict point at which the enti system will break. >> those agencies are calling this risk unprecedented. so far about 800,000 federal workers are on track to miss their second d paychecking the shutdown. this includes tsa agents, air traffic control officers there.a cutouts have reached a record high of 10%, forcing a number of airports to closent checkp because of lack of

staffing. >> we're learning more about hof americanl about this government shutdown as the stalemate drags on a new poll finds that president trups approval rating has dropped to a year-long low. 34% approve of the president's job performance. th's down from 42% last month and close to a record low of 32% in october 2017. 65% call tshutdown a major problem and 60% say president trump bears a great deal of responsibility. about a third of athricans place same amount of blame on ional democrats and republicans. more drama for president trump today with michael cohen backing out of his upcoming congressional hearings.ou cohen aed he will not testify publicly on february 7th, citing attacks from the president against his family. democrats are accusing the president of intimidating a witness. hallie jackson has the latest. >> reporter: michael cohen doesn't want to talk to congress as he'd planned in two weeks. but he may have to if lawmakers subpoena him. cohen postponed his testimony f

out of fea his family, threatened he says by president trump. the response? >> i would say he's been threatened by the truth. he's only been threatened by the truth. >> reporter: a source close to cohen says he's especially concerned about the safety of his father-in-law and wife after references like these by the president online and on camera. >> his father-in-law's a very rich guy. i hear. >> he should give information maybe on his father-in-law because that's the one that people want to look at. >> did he make a deal to keep his wife out of trouble? >> reporter: msnbc contributorch donny deuts is a friend of cohen's. >> he was panicked. he's like he's going after my father-in-law. are my children next? >> reporter: cohen's adviser hinting this might happen last week. >> family is out of bounds. there's only one person in the country, one president in our history that would threaten family as a tactic to make fear of somebody he calls a rat for telling the truth. and that's president trump. >> reporter: the house oversight and intelligence committees led byocrats called efforts to

intimidate witnesses textbook mob tactics "that we condemn in the strongest terms." but they added cohen not appearing at all was never an option. >> i have not decid exactly how we'll go about it, but i promise you we will hear from him. >> reporter: remember, cohen heads to prison, frances, in a matter of weeks here, early march. so even if congress were to issue a subpoena to make him testify, it's not clear whether cohen would be allowed to do that in person. frances, back to you. >> hallie jackson for us. hallie, thank you. >> rationship as volatile as the weather nowadays. bill karins back with us. >> it's a good word for it l tle whiplash we call this in the winter season here. one warm day. appreciate it. this could be the warmest day. the next big chill already on its way down through the northern plains. so today about 15 to 20 degrees hould be fromt boston to d.c., new york, raleigh, everyone down there toward the southeast too. and then there's the cold back behind it. the cold will be on its march through the great lakes as we go

through friday. the wind chill values will just be brutal, the temperature itself not great either. chicago negative 3 for your high. throughout friday excuse me, in the morning low the high will be 3. the high around 4 as we go through the weekend we don't moderate either. ch stays very cold. look at ago. only high of 11 on satayday. 13 on su not quite as bad in areas of the east. the coldest day in the northeast will be on saturday. warms up on sunday. and then there will be another big shot of cold air following otis one next week. you'll hear a about that in the days ahead. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. so behind our big rainstorm it's actually going to be a pretty nice day today from texas right thugh areas oflouisiana, mississippi and alabama after your soaking rain last night. florid you're going to be dodging that heavy rain this morning on the i-40 corridor frompa t all the way up through orlando. take a look at the complete weekend forecast coming up. >> we're getting closer to it. bill, thank you. congratulationsr are in or for country superstar carrie

underwood and her husband mike fisher. 09 announced the birth of their second child on social media yesterday. carrie shared a series of photos from the hospital of her and the family welcoming the newborn in. jacob brianfisher. in the post carrie said that the baby was born early monday morning, addg that his m, dad, and baby brother could not be onhappier. >>atulations to them. >> it's going to be a great family. good-looki family. talented as well. >> they've got it all. lec auilty plea for aeb baldwin. find out what the judge sentenced him to. plus a hollywood honcho accused of misconduct with underaged boys. pill that helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto.

yeah! istry eucerin advanced repairing ecream. for 48hour dry skin relief... goes beyond ceramides with moisturizing factors naturally found in skin... eucerin advanced repair cream for healthier looking skin. my gums are irritated. i don't have to worry about that, do i? actually, you do. harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line. new crest gum detoxify works below the gum line to neutralize harmful plaque bacteria and help reverse early gum damage. gum detoxify, from crest. 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® hi susan!hs) honey? i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad... try this new robitussin honey. the real honey you love... plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? new robitussin honey. because it's never just a cough. leading the news, acor a baldwin was in court wednesday. he was charged with attempted assault ander harassment aft confrontation over a parking spot in new york city in november. the former "30 rock" star eaded guilty to harassment. a one-day anger management class is part of the ple agreement. once that is completed, the misdemeanor attempted assault charge will be dropped.

baldwin has always denied that he threw any punches during the incident a now to disturbing story involving a b hlywood name. bryan singer, director of the oscar-nominated film "bohemian rhapsody," is accused in a new expose of sexual misnduct with underaged boys. nbc's stephanie gosk has more on the allegations and tsinger's denial. ♪ we will, we will rock you >> reporter: "bohemian rhapsody," a movie chronicling the '70s band queen, is rack up accolades. t now that success may be overshadowed. at least six men accuse the singer, irector, bryan of sexual misconduct spanning two decades. all of them underage at the time. the latest accusations revealed in a new report in "the atlantic" after a year-long investigation and interviews with 50 sources. many describe regular hollywood parties where teenage boys were allegedly given alcohol and drug and encouraged to have sex with older men. >> several of the sources we

talked to described that when bryan singer would throw a party it would look like a high school kegger. >> reporter: the 53-year-old was fired from "bohemian rhapsody" with less than three weeks of filming to go after failing to sh up to the set and then asking tor production be put on hold, according to the ma zine. soon afterward cesar sanchez guzman filed a lawsuitth allegi director raped him on a yacht in 2003 when he was 17. sancz guzman games singer said if he told anyone no one would believhim. now "the atlantic" reports that four more men are coming forward for the first time. thme of the anonymously. alleging theyn engaged sex acts with singer as minors. singer categorically denies all the allegations and calls the article aop hbic smear piece, writing in part, "this story rehashes claims from bogus lawsuits filed by a disreputable cast of "individuals. singer, who has never bee

charged with a crime, calls the new report conveniently timed to take advantage of his latest box officehit. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. still ahead, meet the newest members of the westminster kennel club. plus how about taking this type of taxi to work this morning? it's not going to be too long now. you're watching "early today." those travel sites but there was always a catch. like somehow you wind up getting less. but now that i book at hilton.com, and i get all these great perks. i got to select my room from the floor plan... very nice... i know, i'm good at picking stuff. free wi-fi... laptop by the pool is a bold choice... and the price match guarantee. how do you know all of this? are you like some magical hilton fairy? it's just here on the hilton app. just available to the public, so... book at hilton.com and get the hilton price match guarantee. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25% off that stay. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you you'll make my morning, buty the price ruin my day.ou? complicated relationship with milk? pour on the lactaid, 100% real milk, just without that annoying lactose.

mmm, that's good. mucinex cold & flu all-in-one. fights... ...sore throat, fever, cough, sinus pressure, chest congestion, headache, nasal congestion, body pain... all in one. did you really need the caps lock? get tough on cold and flu symptoms. mucinex cold and flu all-in-one. think only specialty stores have what's new? 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. boosted with vitamin c. get your new beauty fix. only by olay.

in today's quick hits, boeing is now one step closer to

air taxi travel. on wednesday the company completed its first successful test run of an autonomous passenger air vehicle. the self-flying prototype took off and flew vertically, and the next move will be horizontal a big oops by the university of south florida st. petersburg. overt weekend the admissions mistakenly blasted an e-mail to around 430 students telling them hey, congratulations, you've been accepted about a hour later the students got a follow-up saying "please disregard the previous e-mail," that it was due to a system error. yikes. >> yeah, right? two newbereeds are going t debuting at westminster dog show next month. the nederlandse kooikerhondjes and the grand basset grion vendeens. those are the two. oh, my god. you know those have g to be some high maintenance dogs with names like that. >> yeah. they should win alone just by to say on being able those names. >> i was so nervous before i had to read that. >> you g it.

take a turn nowhi to ts bombshell discovery made in the sexual assault case at a nursing stilt inarizona. police have arrested 36-year-old nathan sutherland. he's a nurse at the hacienda health care facility. for allegedly impregnating anca incitated woman there at the center. nbc's morgan chessky has the latest. >> the baby's turning blue! >> reporter: it's the frantic 91 call in an appalling crime. >> onent of our pat just had a baby and we had no idea she was pregnant. >> reporter: p phoenixice now say it has a suspect. >> we owe this arrest to the victim. we owe this arrest to the member of the community, that innocent baby. >> reporter: nearly a month after an incapacitated woman gave birth atnd hac health care, police say a dna test now ties the newborn to nathan , sutherla male nurse who cared for the victim. now arrested for sexual assault and vulnerable adult abe. >> this a crime that requires mandatory prison. >> reporter: sutherland faced a judge in state accused him of preying

upon a woman with who capacity to resist or even cry out. the woman's own pregnancy unknown to staff until she went into labor december 29th. >> the baby, i am told, is doin. go i would just say we can't always choose how we come into this life but what we can choose to do as a community is love this child. >> reporter: the family isn't commenting on the arrest. but sutherland's ordered to have zero contact with the victim or her faly, includi the very child police say he's the father of. morgan chesy, nbc news. just ahead, new accusations at the el chapo trial involving his wife. plus rapper meek mill thiows fame behind a new criminal justice reform initiative. you're watching "early today" on a thursday. but we also know how tough it is to keep up with your medication. that's why we're introducing a new and easy way... ...to refill, prepay and skip the line... ...or have your prescriptions delivered.

so you never miss a day. walgreens. trusted since 1901. " when better chickens are hatched, we will hatch them." it's why all of the tyson chicken that bears his name is raised with no antibiotics ever. every nugget, strip and drumstick. keep it real. keep it tyson. yeah right. iand the earth is flat. ahhh!! treat your cough seriously with robitussin cf max. nothing lasts longer and treats more symptoms for your cough, cold and flu. robitussin. because it's never just a cough.

makeup now optional. new aveeno® maxglow™ infusion drops with kiwi to lock moisture. and soy to even skin tone. unleash dewy, glowing skin from within. new aveeno® maxglow™. faat does help for heart ureit looks like this. entresto is a heart failure pill that helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema,

low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. yeah! now let's get into that weekend outlook. there's going to be a theme. the theme's going to be cold. we're not going to talk about snowstorms. this is just a very cold air mass that's going to come down from canada. usually those are dry. as we go through friday, blowing and the drifting of snow possible in areas of the northern great lakes. winds, see some snow a southern chill out there. and as we go through the weekend lake effect snow is what you would expect wheyou have these arctic outbreaks. little bit of rain in south florida and also south texas but that's about it. even into sunday it's very kind of quiet. we're just going to be tracking a lot of >> here's one great thing about that cold. we're going to show you it's d.ing to make a true believer of a winter wonderl to severe plat clearer. and stay clearer. most patients who saw 90% clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks.

tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. before starting tremfya® tell your doctor if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine. tremfya®. stay clearer. janssen can help you explore cost support options. tand, our adulte children are here. so, we save by using tide. which means we use less. three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. those are moms. anybody seen my pants? nothing cleans better. put those on dad! it's got to be tide. i had this chest cold, but my medicine kept wearing off. (coughs) ah! i missed you! then i discovered mucinex. one pill lasts 12 hours, and i'm good. mucinex releases fast and lasts 12 hours, not 4. let's end this.

(alex trebek) $8,000. over $8,000. now, why is this n so important? because $8,508 is the average cost of a funeral. if you've already planned how to help cover your final expenses, like this one, great. but if you haven't, i'm here to tell you about the number one most popular whole life insurance plan through the colonial penn program. if you're between age 50 and 85, the good news is it's not too late, becausyou can start here, right now. so call now. you won't be alone. over half a million people called last year for free information. options start at $9.95 a month, less than 35 cents a day. a good price, 're on a tight budget or a fixed income. ther and no medical exam.

your acceptance is guaranteed. options start at $9.95 a month, even if you haveth prob, and you cannot be charged a higher rate for any health reason. best ol, unlike many plans, once you're covered, your rate is locked in f life and can never go up for any reason. you lifetime rate lock guarantee, plus a 30-day money back guarantee. so call now for free information, and you'llfilso get this free beary planner. this valuable guide is a great help for you and the loved ones you leave behind. use it to remard your important inftion and give helpful dir about your final wishes. and it's yours free st for calling. so call now.

good morning ne. i'm eun yang. i'm aaron gilchrist. another paydayithout a paycheck for 800,00government workers. the state of the union address now the latest casualty in the ongoing government gridlock. chuck. storm team 4 weather alert. if you haven't been outside yet, 'sit i

news 4 kbins wibegins with a we alert. heavy rain, wind, we're in weather alert mode this morning and we're tracking anse int storm system beginning to approach the region.

expect the morning commute to be a messy one. it is 4:00 a.m. good morning everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. i'm e yang. a busy morning this morning on "news4 today." let get to e information you need to know. jack taylor is in for melissa mollet this morning. let's begin with meteorologist chuck bell. it's weirdly warm out there, chuck. >> climbing in the overnight hours as sur of very warm air, not january-like at all has come up the east coast. it's winter and snowing on the back end of this. our temperatures will tumble later on in the day today. no snow in our forecast. but sure is going tbe a windy day today. heavy rain across parts of north central north carolina now. that is the wave of heavy raini thatbe affecting us, especially for the second half of the morning commute. it's raining all over i-95. a few