i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. it's been 30 years since the tax code was overhauled. it's 4:00 a.m. in the east. historic day as republicans big tax overhaul is all but a done deal. just a few hours ago the senate approved the final version of the bill scoring republicans for significant legislative win since president trump took office. the measure, yes, has proven unpopular. it passed along party lines. >> the approval came over the objection of democrats and protesters in the gallery. >> restore order in the gallery. >> president trump celebrating on twitter. terrible individual mandate from obamacare repealed. >> the president inviting republicans to join him at the white house this afternoon to tout passage of this landmark legislation. the only hitch, that will have to wait until the house goes through the motions of passing the bill again. >> reporter: without any question at all, the biggest hurdle republicans face as they tried to pass their tax overall, something that hasn't been done in 31 years, getting it through the u.s. senate and that's what they did. every republican that was in attendance voted for the tax plan. republicans say this is something that will benefit the middle class. on the corporate side it will completely overhaul how the corporate tax will stand. the individual cuts they expire at a certain point aren't nearly robust enough. republicans say even though current polling shows that americans don't trust this bill, aren't sure what it will actually do, they're willing to sell it. take a listen to how mitch mcconnell responded. >> do you believe there's a need for republicans to go out and sell this bill given how americans are currently viewing it? >> absolutely. we're looking forward to it. my view of this, if we can't sell this to the american people we ought to go into another line of work. >> in an interesting wrinkle this vote wasn't the final vote. the house still has to vote again. the house voted on tuesday to pass the bill, 227 to 203. another big vote. the expectation was the senate vote would be it. well, not anymore, because of the senate budget rules three small provisions technical corrections were pull out of the senate bill. that means it has to go back to the house. this isn't any type of big problem. the bill is in no danger at all. hou house republicans will pass it wednesday afternoon. >> democratic restoration boiling over that vote. >> nearly 145 million middle class families under 200,000 will either get tax hikes -- can we have order, mr. president? >> the senate will be in order. >> this is serious stuff. we believe you're messing up america. you could pay attention for a couple of minutes. >> scolding indeed. no shortage of reaction after the vote including this tweet from virginia's tim kaine, the former vice presidential candidate. this tax bill in no way truly reforms the system. what we need to reform is congress and that's what we'll do in the midterms. >> so what's in it? what's in it and what does it mean for you? the gop tax bill promises big corporate tax cuts with the hope those tax savings will create more jobs, but in the bill passes just 14% of american ceos plan to boost investment spending on things like new equipment in factories that can lead to hiring. that's according to a survey of top business leaders. the bill slashes the corporate rate. it offers incentives to bring foreign cash back home. unemployment is at a 17-year low so business tax cuts don't guarantee a hiring boom. in fact, a recent survey found fewer than half of ceos plan to ramp hiring in the next six months overall. instead investors expect wall street not main street to help with buybacks. and one businessman calls it pure fancy. bloomberg calls it a trillion dollar blunder writing that ceos aren't waiting on a tax cut to jump start the economy. republican senator jeff flake voted yes on the bill then tweeted early this morning this. a bipartisan bill will be on the senate floor in january. he's referring to the so called dreamer program. >> flake's vote on taxes has been linked to dreamer discussions and dreamers are just one element lawmakers are grappling with as they try to keep the lights on in washington. a government funding bill is due friday. all sides agree on one thing, they don't want a shutdown, but avoiding one is an entirely different story. the main battle is over obama subsidy payments. >> but democrats in the senate tell us they are unlikely to vote for a stop gap measure that does not have enough aid for puerto rico and they don't want to vote for obamacare subsidies who repealed the mandate in their tax bill. president trump's eldest son suggesting a high level conspiracy is at work trying to block his father's agenda. don jr. lashed out at special counsel robert mueller's probe and the media's coverage of the russia investigation and he said government higher ups were backing a scheme to undermine the trump agenda. >> my father talked about a rigged system throughout the campaign and people are like oh, what are you talking about? but it is. and you're seeing it. there is, and there are people at the highest levels of government that don't want to let america be america. >> don jr.'s comments drew serious concern from former cia director general michael hadden. >> when i first heard that earlier this evening that was a little scary. that is -- that is an appeal to the heart of hypocrisy. >> don jr.'s remarks come as some on the right are ramping up attacks on the special counsel's probe claiming it is politically compromised. earlier mueller removed an official from his team after an investigation turned up some anti trump texts he sent during the campaign. president trump's approval rating hitting an all-time low. the president has the approval of 35% of americans less than a year into his first term. 59% of americans say they disapprove of how president trump is handling the job. the numbers, not much better for trump's 2016 opponent. hillary clinton, only 36% of americans rate her favorably with 61% rating her unfavorably. >> a bipartisan bill making lawmakers personally liable for sexual harassment claims is president-elected to be filed by tonight. greg harper is chairman of the administration committee. he says it would require members to reimburse the treasury. we have now learned that congress paid out $174,000 in settlements for eight sexual harassment claims between 2008 and 2012. money that came from a u.s. treasury fund. the information released by the office of compliance does not include the names of victims and does not identify the congress members involved. a single vote, one vote, shifting the balance of power in the virginia legislature. a recount, flipping the seat from republican to democrats, leaving the lower chamber evenly split. shelly simons emerging from the recount as the apparent winner by just one amazing vote. take the seat from republican david yaycey. the outcome ending republican control of the house forcing the gop into a rare power sharing with democrats. 50/50, one vote. don't ever let people tell you that your vote doesn't matter, that you should just stay home. >> it matters. investigators now say available safety measures likely would not have prevented this week's deadly amtrak derailment in washington state. we've got a report from the scene next. ncestrydna, the only dna test that can trace your origins to over 150 ethnic regions. save 20% for the holidays at ancestrydna.com. after a hall of fame career, it's no wonder why i use blue-emu arthritis cream. blue-emu's non-greasy, deep-penetrating formula gets down deep into those joints for big time pain relief. blue-emu, it works fast and you won't stink. so confusion and contradictions in the wake of that deadly amtrak crash in washington state that killed three people. officials now say the stretch of track where the train derailed did not have positive train control, a system that automatically slows down and stops a speeding train. the ntsb says ap different safety system was in place, one that most likely would not have prevented the derailment. >> we have confirmed that ptc was not installed on this line. sound transit had centralized traffic control which is ctc and this is a system that allows for dispatch direction over the train. ctc is not ptc, however. ctc cannot enforce speed restrictions on a train like ptc can. >> two of the three people killed in the derailment have now been identified. jim hamre and zack willhoite were members of the rail passengers association. still no explanation for why the train was going 80 miles an hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone. the ntsb says it is waiting to interview crew members who are hospitalized. more from dupont, washington. >> reporter: dave and christine, we're learning new information from the ntsb about the moments before this devastating train derailment. recovery here at the scene continues. what you're looking at over there is what is left of a passenger car, it just shows the force of the deadly force of a train derailment. the ntsb in their news conference saying the lead conductor at the time of the derailment was not in control of the train. he was in the passenger section, not in the cab and an engineer and a conductor trainee was in the cab. the engineer is still allowed to operate the train. the engineer though, did not hit the emergency brake. investigators have recovered both of the black boxes in the front and the rear of the train. they also are very curious about looking at the cameras, especially the one inside the cab to see what the engineer and the conductor trainee were doing right before the derailment. >> all right. thank you. caught on body cam in south florida. pembroke pines police officer dragged for half a mile through the century village retirement community after reaching into a car to stop a suspected drunk driver. the officer observed a man and a woman asleep in a car along with a clear baggy with an unknown substance. >> the driver gunned the engine, sped off with the officer holding on to avoid being run over. he eventually let go suffering serious road rash injuries to his rm as and legs. he's awaiting surgery last night. cabrera caught by police after a high speed 20 mile chase charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. >> astounding, isn't it? >> the thomas fire now the second largest fire in california history burning just over 272,000 acres. at this hour just over half contained but there are concerns about the forecast. starting tonight into friday, wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour are predicted. fire officials fear that could lead to rapid spreading again. fire weather watch is now in effect for santa barbara county. the parents of a baby that grew from a human embryo frozen for nearly 25 years are ecstatic. she was delivered last month after originally being frozen in october of 1992. she's the longest known frozen human embryo to ever be born. her parents tried for seven years to have a baby. >> i tear up thinking about it because it's just such a blessing. they were like well, tina, this is a world record and i just looked at them and i was like, what? and they're like, yeah, it's been frozen for 24 and a half years and i was like, are you kidding? if this embryo had been born when it was supposed to have been, you know, i was like, we could have been best friends. i'm only 25. >> wow. >> the dad is just yawning there. >> he needs some sleep. >> baby perfectly healthy, 20 inches long. previously the oldest known embryo that resulted in a successful birth was 20 years old. north korea has a nuclear weapon, i mean, who are you going to try to prevent getting one? >> foreign ministers from around the world scheduled to meet about the matter. we're live in seoul, next. [vo] quickbooks introduces rodney. he has a new business teaching lessons. rodney wanted to know how his business was doing... ...so he got quickbooks. it organizes all his accounts, so he can see his bottom line. ahhh...that's a profit. know where you stand instantly. visit quickbooks-dot-com. you won't see these folks they have businesses to run. they have passions to pursue. how do they avoid trips to the post office? stamps.com mail letters, ship packages, all the services of the post office right on your computer. get a 4 week trial, plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. the u.s. and canada are preparing to map out next steps combatting the growing nuclear threat of north korea. a host of gathering of world leaders in vancouver to advance diplomatic efforts. condemning pyongyang's missile testing. it comes as white house officials ramp up warnings about north korea. we're live in seoul, south korea this morning. >> reporter: hello. well, a flurry of comments from top advisors and top secretary of state for example within trump administration. rex tillerson saying it appears to be north korea who's pulling back from wanting to get to the negotiating table. he's clearly pulling back from comments he made during the week saying the u.s. could talk to north korea without preconditions and we talked to hr mcmaster and he was talking about whether or not the u.s. could tolerate a nuclear north korea. he said they could not. and the reason for that is because he said if you give north korea the ability to have nuclear weapons, who are you going to say no to to having a nuclear weapon, especially when you consider the threats that north korea and its regime have levelled against many countries around the world and you also had comments when talking about the cyber attack that happened back in may. the homeland security advisor tom bossert saying the u.s. doesn't have many more options short of starving the north korean people. so we're seeing strong actions, strong words from the trump administration. >> with containment not on option the world wonders what is the red line that the administration won't allow north korea to cross. all right. disgraced former boston cardinal bernard law has died in rome after a long illness. law resigned in 2002 during the church sex abuse scandal. he never faced criminal sanctions in his role in allowing abusive priests to remain in jobs. since his forced resignation cardinal law has served as an arch priest. he was 86 years old. a major rewrite of the tax law will be finalized today. they're ready to sell this unpopular plan. democrats are ready to pounce in the midterms. >> republicans will rue the day they passed this tax bill and the american people will never let them forget it. the ayes are 51. the nays are 48. the tax cuts and jobs act is passed. >> breaking this morning a major rewrite of the tax code is on the way. the senate passed the bill early this morning just hours ago. it gives the republicans their first big win of the year. what does it mean for you and what does it mean in the midterms? a government shutdown could be days away. what's holding up lawmakers and what's most likely to happen by friday? the friday before christmas. don't we love the way government works today. welcome back to "early start." i'm dave senate approved the final version of the bill. >> we don't sleep much. the bill scoring republicans first significant legislative win since president trump took office. the measure has prooun vastly unpopular in most polls. it passed along straight party lines. >> the approval came over the objections of democrats on the senate floor and protesters in the gallery. >> president trump celebrating on twitter moments after the vote. the senate just passed the biggest in history tax cut and reform bill. terrible individual mandate from obamacare repealed. >> the president inviting republicans to join him at the white house this afternoon to tout passage of the legislation. the only hitch, that will have to wait until the house goes through the motions of passing the bill yet again. phil doesn't sleep much either. he has the latest from capitol hill. >> reporter: well, christine and dave, without any question at all, the biggest hurdle republicans face as they tried to pass their tax overhaul, something that hasn't happened in 31 years, getting it through the u.s. senate and early on wednesday morning that's what they did. along partisan lines every republican that was in attendance voted for the $1.5 trillion tax plan. republicans say this is something that will benefit the middle class. on the corporate side will completely overhaul how the code stands. the corporate cuts are skewed heavily in the favor of business. republicans say even though current polling shows that americans don't trust this bill, aren't sure what it will do, they're willing to sell it. take a listen to how mitch mcconnell responded to my question after the vote. >> do you believe there's a need for republicans to go out and sell this bill given kind of how americans are currently viewing it? >> absolutely. we're looking forward to it. my view of this, if we can't sell this to the american people we ought to go into another line of work. >> reporter: in an interesting wrinkle this vote wasn't the final vote. the house still has to vote again. that's right. the house voted on tuesday to pass the bill. 227-203. the next expectation was the senate would be it. because of the senate budget rules three small provisions, technical corrections were pulled out of the senate bill. that means it has to go back to the house. this isn't any type of big problem. the bill is no danger at all. house republicans will pass it wednesday shortly after noon. >> all right. thanks phil. democratic restoration boiling over leading up to that vote. chuck schumer pausing his closing arguments to scold republicans during his remarks. >> nearly 145 million middle class families under 200,000 will either get tax hikes -- can we have order, mr. president? >> the senate will be in order. >> this is serious stuff. we believe you're messing up america. you could pay attention for a couple of minutes. >> tense times. no shortage of reaction after the vote including this tweet from virginia's tim kaine, the secret rushed partisan tax bill in no way truly reforms the system. what we need to reform is congress and that's what we'll do in the midterms. >> the white house standing by claims that the tax bill will cost the president a fortune. here's jim accosta yesterday. >> the president did say this tax bill would cost him a fortune. that was false, right? >> no, because on the personal side, this actually could impact the president in a large way. >> it would balance out corporate versus personal? >> i'm not sure if he's done a side by side but i know there are a number of provisions that would negatively impact the president personally. >> showure would be nice to kno for sure, but we don't because the president says he's keeping his tax returns secret. he says he's under audit. key measures will help the president, his family and estate. that was the bulk of the taxes he paid that year, lowering the tax burden on pass throughs. pass throughs pay taxes through an owner's tax return and make up the majority of the trump business order. commercial real estate for example, like reducing the tax on income from real estate investments and larger deductions on commercial property. and an interesting development emerging from the tax vote. bipartisan daca bill will be on the floor in january. >> flakes vote on taxes has been linked to dreamer discussions and dreamers are just one element lawmakers are grappling with as they try to keep the lights on a government funding bill is due friday. >> all sides agree on one thing, they don't want a shutdown, but avoiding one, that's another story. the main battle between house and senate republicans over obamacare's subsidy payments. several sources predicting a stop gap bill is probably the only way to avoid a shutdown. >> but democrats in the senate say they are unlikely to vote for a stop gap measure that does not have enough aid for puerto rico. president trump's eldest son suggesting a high level conspiracy is at work trying to block his father's agenda. speaking at a conservative student conference in florida don jr. lashed out at special counsel robert mueller's probe and the media coverage of the russia investigation and he said government higher ups were backing a scheme to undermine the trump agenda. >> my father talked about a rigged system throughout the campaign and people are like oh, what are you talking about? but it is. and you're seeing it. there is and there are people at the highest levels of government that don't want to let america be america. >> he went on to say they don't want to let america be america and they don't want the little guy to be heard or have a voice. don jr.'s comments drew serious concern from former cia director general michael hayden. >> that was a little scary. i mean, that is an appeal to the heart and challenging the patriotism of those folks who work in the united states government. >> don jr.'s remarks come as some on the right including him are ramping up attacks on the special counsel's probe claiming it is politically compromised. peter strak was removed from the team after anti trump texts surfaced during the campaign. the president approved by 35% of americans less than a year into his first term. that is the worst rating of any elected president in his first year by a wide margin. 59% of americans say they disapprove of how president trump is handling the job. the numbers not much better for hillary clinton. only 36% of americans rate her favorably with 61% rating her unfavorably. that unfavorable rating sliding five points since june with their completely off the stage. it's now higher than president trump's. a bipartisan bill making lawmakers personally liable for sexual harassment claims is expected to be filed in the house by tonight. mississippi congressman greg harper is chairman of the house administration committee. he tells the new york times would permit the government to pay claims but require members to reimburse the treasury. >> we've now learned that congress paid out $174,000 in settlements for eight sexual harassment claims between 2008 and 2012. it came from a u.s. treasury fund. information released does not include the names of victims and does not identify the congress members involved. a single vote shifting the balance of power in the virginia legislature. a recount, flipping a seat from republican to democrat in the state's house of delegates leafing the lower chamber evenly split. democrat shelly simons emerging as the apparent winner of the 94th district. a winner by just one vote. taking the seat from republican david yancey. forcing the gop into a rare power sharing scenario with democrats. a three judge panel still must certify the election results later today. coming up, the florida police officer lucky to be alive after this. >> whoa, whoa, whoa. >> the suspect takes off as the officer hangs on to his car. how this story ends, next. with 5 times more ethnic regions... ancestrydna can pinpoint where your ancestors are from... and the paths they took to a new home. could their journey inspire yours? order your kit at ancestrydna.com confusion and contradictions in the wake of that deadly amtrak crash in washington state that killed three people. the stretch of track did not have positive train control, a system that automatically slows down and stops a speeding train. the ntsb says a different safety system was in place, one that most likely would not have prevented the derailment. >> we have confirmed that ptc was not installed on this line. sound transit had centralized traffic control which is ctc, and this is a system that allows for dispatch direction over the train. ctc is not ptc, however. ctc cannot enforce speed restrictions on a train like ptc can. >> two of three people killed in the derailment have now been identified. jim hamre, zack willhoite were members of the rail passengers association. still no explanation for why the train was going 80 in a 30-mile-per-hour zone. the ntsb is waiting to interview crew members who are hospitalized. >> reporter: we're learning new information from the ntsb about the moments before this devastating train derailment. meanwhile the recovery here at the scene continues. what you're looking at over there is what is left of a passenger car, it just shows the force of the deadly force of a train derailment. the ntsb in their news conference saying the lead conductor at the time of the derailment was not in control of the train. he was in the passenger section, not in the cab. an engineer and a conductor trainee were instead in the cab. the engineer is still allowed to operate the train. the engineer though, did not hit the emergency brake. investigators have recovered both of the black boxes in the front and the rear of the train. they also are very curious about looking at the cameras, especially the one inside the cab to see what the engineer and the conductor trainee were doing right before the derailment. >> thank you. caught on body cam in south florida, pembroke pines police officer dragged for a half a mile after reaching into a car to stop a suspected drunk driver. look at this. the police veteran observed a man and a woman asleep inside a parked car along with a clear baggy containing an unknown substance. >> after being awakened the driver gunned the engine, sped off with the officer holding on to avoid being run over. he eventually let go, suffering serious road rash injuries to his arms and legs. he was awaiting surgery last night. cabrera caught by police after a high speed 20 mile chase charged with attempted murder of a police officer. >> the thomas fire is now the second largest fire in california history. burning over 272,000 acres. at this hour it's 55% contained but there are concerns about the forecast. starting tonight into friday, wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour are predicted. fire officials fear that could lead to rapid spreading again. fire weather watch is now in effect for santa barbara county. the parents of a baby that grew from a human embryo frozen for nearly 25 years. they are ecstatic. delivered last month in tennessee. the embryo was frozen in october of 1992. she is the longest known frozen human embryo ever to be born. >> her parents tried for seven years to have a baby. >> i tear up thinking about it because it's just such a blessing. they were like well, tina, this is a world record and i just looked at them and i was like what? and they were like yeah, it's been frozen for 24 and a half years and i was like, are you kidding? if this embryo had been born when it was supposed to have been, you know, i was like, we could have been best friends. i was like, i'm only 25. >> a lot more yawning ahead for dad. baby emma, perfectly healthy and checking in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces. 20 inches long. the oldest frozen embryo was 20 years old. >> god bless science. wow, what a gorgeous baby. mcdonald's is launching a new burger unlike any patty before. oh, my mouth is watering. details on moneystream, next. you won't see these folks they have businesses to run. they have passions to pursue. how do they avoid trips to the post office? stamps.com mail letters, ship packages, all the services of the post office right on your computer. get a 4 week trial, plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. and her new mobile wedding business.tte at first, getting paid was tough... until she got quickbooks. now she sends invoices, sees when they've been viewed and-ta-dah-paid twice as fast for free. visit quickbooks-dot-com. the u.s. and canada are preparing to map out next steps combatting the growing nuclear threat in north korea. they'll host a gathering of world leaders in vancouver next month through advanced diplomatic efforts. this comes as white house officials ramp up warnings about north korea. we're live in seoul this morning. interesting to hear from h.r. mcmaster and the secretary of state yesterday. >> reporter: that's right, dave. we are hearing a flurry of comments about north korea given the fact that north korea hasn't launched a missile in recent days, but we heard from the national security advisor who said when asked in a cbs interview whether or not the u.s. could live with a nuclear north korea, he said that the u.s. simply couldn't because if you allowed north korea to have nuclear weapons how do you say no to another country saying considering just what sort of threats north korea rallies against the countries in the world. and you heard from rex tillerson as well, the u.s. secretary of state. he was saying it doesn't appear as though north korea has any interest in coming to the negotiating table, pulling back from his comments earlier in the week saying that the u.s. could actually talk to north korea without preconditions. and all of this is on the back of what we're seeing as well. u.s. and south korean marines training right now. so as you hear these politicians talking about how they will not accept a nuclear north korea, you do seema renos in the snow there, training, skiing, you can see hand to hand combat honing those skills. not sure why they had to have their tops off, but this is what they're doing while the politicians are talking. >> all right. thank you. disgraced former boston cardinal bernard law has died in rome after a long illness. law resigned in 2002 during the church sex abuse scandal. he never faced criminal sanctions for his role if allowing abusive priests to remain in the parish jobs. the scandal in boston echoed throughout the church exposing similar accusations worldwide. the result in coverage and settlements compromising the church's moral authority. since his forced resignation cardinal law had searched as arch priest of a papal basilica in rome. he was 86 years old. a devastating tour bus crash killing 12 people including one child and injuring 18 others on mexico's yucatan peninsula. according to officials 31 passengers were on board including american tourists. the nationalties of those killed have not been released. the injured were sent to hospitals. five people have been released. among the passengers were 27 cruise guests from two royal caribbean ships. those ships arrived tuesday in the busy port of costa maya near the belize border. let's get a check on moneystream. global stock markets mixed. futures are up with the tax bill all but assured. wall street closed lower yesterday. the problem there were tech stocks. the s&p 500 is up 5% since the house first passed the bill in november with bank stocks in particular soaring 9%. banks are expected to be some of the biggest winners of a lower tax rate. the senate banking committee rejecting president trump's choice to leave the export import bank. scott garrett was a fierce opponent of the institution calling it a bank that embodies the corruption of the free enterprise system. the agency provides loan guarantees to overseas buyers of american exports. the rejection was the first time the senate panel voted to block one of the white house's nominees. >> mcdonald's is going vegan in europe, that is. mcdonald's plans to start selling a vegan burger. the sandwich contains a soy patty bun and an eggless sandwich sauce. the food company helps develop the meat free burger. according to the research firm, global sales of vegan foods increased nearly 8% last year. no word yet on when or if the meal will make it state side. i don't know why but i had a funny burger on that one. >> just visualizing eating that thing. >> that sounds awful. "early start" continues right now. the ayes are 51. the nays are 48. the tax cuts and jobs act is passed. >> breaking this morning a major rewrite of the tax code. the senate passed the bill early this morning just happened hours ago, folks. gives the dlirepublicans the fi big deal of the year. what does it mean for you next year? and a government shutdown could be days away. what's hoel what's holding up lawmakers and what's happening by friday? >> i'm getting it together any moment now. >> it's been a long night, folks. it is wednesday, december 20th. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east and let's begin with the republicans big tax overhaul, all but a done deal. in an early morning vote just a few hours ago, the senate approved the final version of the bill scoring republicans' first significant legislative win since president trump took offers. the measure has proven vastly unpopular in every poll. >> the approval came over the objections of democrats on the senate floor and protesters in the gallery. >> restore order in the gallery. >> president trump celebrating on twitter moments after the vote, the united states senate just passed the biggest in history tax cut and reform bill. terrible individual mandate from obamacare repealed. the president inviting republicans to join him t