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porn star stormy daniels and new details surrounding donald trump. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. i'm philip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. overnight the house of representatives took what could be the first step in averting a government shutdown, passing a continuing resolution out of its rules committee on a party line vote setting up a critical vote today. and while republicans in the house say they are confident they have the votes to pass a budget and avoid a shutdown, it is an entirely different matter on the senate side. democrats and republicans are at a critical standoff. >> they're playing a political game of chicken over the daca program that protects over 700,000 undocumented people brought into the country when they were younger. the white house even dispatching chief of staff john kelly to meet with lawmakers throughout the day in a final push for a resolution. while dozens of so-called dreamers stormed the capitol demanding action and pressuring democrats to use their leverage to hold republicans' feet to the budget fire. and now the question is will it work or will the government be shut down by this time on saturday? nbc's tracey potts has all of that and more for us this morning. tracee, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. as they go back and forth, the bottom line is what will the president sign because this is a tenuous negotiation. they probably don't have the 2/3 to override. what will the president sign? that is the bottom line. the white house says that the president is willing to do a short-term fix, what they call a continuing resolution, and they are still blaming democrats for insisting on an immigration fix with this budget. >> we do support the short-term cr. however, it's not our first choice. we'd still like to see a clean funding bill. the president certainly doesn't want to shut down. and if one happens i think you only have one place to look, and that's to the democrats. >> on the house side the conservative freedom caucus says they will not go for a short-term fix. on the senate side it is an all-out search for votes. lindsey graham, a republican, says he won't sign something unless it has a fix for daca, the immigration issue, and the top republican says he's still trying to figure out where the president is on this. >> i'm looking for something that president trump supports. and he's not yet indicated what measure he's willing to sign. as soon as we figure out what he is for, then i would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels going to this issue on the floor but actually dealing with a bill that has a chance to become law and therefore solve the problem. >> reporter: well, the president tells reuters he does not like this bipartisan compromise because he says it is horrible on border security, very, very weak on reforms and the opposite of what he campaigned for. so with less than 48 hours to go now still no answers here on capitol hill. philip? >> sounds like quite a standstill. tracie, thank you. now to new developments in the russia investigation. nbc news reports former white house chief strategist steve bannon will answer any questions from special counsel robert mueller in his independent russia probe. it's a far dprcry from bannon's tack with the house intelligence committee in which he declined to answer questions for hours. and it's a taikt also used by trump's former campaign manager corey lewandowski who appeared before the same committee just yesterday. nbc's chief white house correspondent hallie jackson has more. >> reporter: just one week before this moment on capitol hill, steve bannon leaving a marathon meeting. >> great day. >> reporter: a more dramatic one in washington with the fbi showing up at bannon's d.c. home last tuesday, intent on serving a subpoena for the special counsel according to someone familiar with the proceedings. that order means he could come face to face with robert mueller's team by the end of the month, a source close to bannon tells nbc news, adding, "bannon plans to tell all. he'll answer any questions mueller has." it would make bannon among the highest-profile officials to meet with mueller, just weeks after a new book published his explosive comments, later slammed by the presidential, with their relationship on the rocks. >> if there's nothing to hide, then the president should hope that mr. mueller speaks to everybody who was around him. >> is the white house afraid of what steve bannon might say in these interviews? >> not that i'm aware of. >> reporter: bannon, like others who spent time in the president's inner circle, is being questioned in multiple russia investigations, not just mueller's. there's inquiries on capitol hill too. that's where bannon spent nearly ten hours with the house intelligence committee. but the former chief strategist refused to answer questions about his time inside the white house because he says the white house told him not to citing the potential for executive privilege. that privilege allows confidential conversations with the president to stay that way. >> executive privilege is something that goes back decades because it's something that needs to be protected. >> reporter: bottom line, the russia investigations are not over yet as the shadow of the special counsel creeps closer to the oval office. and another familiar face to donald trump is also talking with house investigators. former campaign chair corey lewandowski. but the top democrat on that committee is now slamming lewandowski's appearance yesterday, saying he was uncooperative and unwilling to answer even basic questions about the president. frances, back to you. >> all right, hallie, thank you. overnight the white house chief of staff john kelly disputed claims the trump administration told steve bannon to decline answering the house intelligence committee's questions. he said the white house did not instruct bannon to exert any sort of privilege to shield him from questions. bannon could appear back before the committee as soon as today. the winter storm blasting a vast swath of the south and it's killed at least eight people. several states remain under a state of emergency as snow and black ice continues paralyzing travel, triggering hundreds of highway crashes, canceling and delaying thousands of flights. it's also prompting widespread school closures. tens of thousands of homes are also without power. nbc's blake mccoy has more. >> reporter: parts of the south cripples as rare southern snow combines with record-breaking cold. black ice startling drivers in mississippi. georgia too. a crash on i-85 backing up traffic for miles. snow in shreveport. >> very, very slippery. >> reporter: shocking even veteran weather watchers. >> this is the farthest south i've ever covered snow in 26 years. it's still on the ground. >> reporter: many southern cities also gripped by record cold. just 7 in memphis, 15 in austin, 20 in new orleans. those ill prepared forced to improvise. even places used to wintry weather seeing a messy commute. >> you're off school? >> reporter: school canceled in worcester, massachusetts for the third day this month. >> how hard was it to get out of the house today? >> it wasn't as hard as it normally is. >> reporter: planes spent the day de-icing. thousands of flights delayed or canceled nationwide. the combination of snow and cold air has north carolina under a state of emergency. >> tomorrow morning's commute will be dangerous. >> reporter: a word of warning. with at least three deaths across the south blamed on this storm already. blake mccoy, nbc news. two suspects who narly ran down an nypd officer in times square last weekend are now in custody. 20-year-old arfi santos and 21-year-old william lopez were arrested in manhattan wednesday. police say santos was behind the wheel of this black mercedes owned by lopez. see him just peeling off there in times square. well, they are captured in that dramatic video driving recklessly. 26-year-old officer ian wallace tries to pull them over. right there look what happens. santos steps on the gas, knocking the officer to the ground. and then the officer gets back up and chases the car with claeg colleagues, guns drawn. police say the suspect hit several vehicles during the escape. the officer was treated at the hospital for minor injuries and is expected to be okay. charges against the sfkts are pending. former senate majority leader and 1996 presidential nominee bob dole was award congress's highest civilian honor, the congressional gold medal. the 94-year-old was recognized for his service as a soldier, legislator and statesman in a ceremony held at the u.s. capitol attended by president trump and top congressional leaders. president trump said dole's legacy will show he was a patriot and a hero. >> they will hear the story of bob dole. and in hearing that story they will truly learn what it means to be a great american. >> for nearly 11 out of the 35 years dole spent in congress he served as republican leader. he then resigned after becoming the republican presidential nominee in 1996, but he fell short to incumbent president bill clinton. close call after a piece of firewood crashes through an oklahoma couple's windshield. ian and miranda huff were driving on the interstate when the car in front of them ran over a piece of wood left sitting in the left lane. that piece of wood flipped backwards, hitting the hood of their car, before getting lodged in the windshield. >> just kind of flipped up and then hit the hood and then bounced through the windshield. i'm thankful it hit the hood because it obviously slowed the velocity of the log down before it came through the window. >> well, that flying wood crushed the driver's hand as he gripped the steering wheel, but fortunately that was the only injury. the couple hopes their story will remind drivers hauling heavy loads to properly secure their items. that is so scary. anytime you see anything coming at you. imagine this massive piece of wood. >> it's frightening. yeah. it's very dangerous. we're joined now by nbc meteorologist bill karins with the latest on this very powerful winter storm. bill? >> good morning. we're almost done but not quite yet. still winter storm warnings for eastern north carolina up here toward elizabeth city, virginia beach still 2k3we9ing snow and a wind chill of 10 degrees. pretty heavy snow too for areas out there in eastern north carolina on the outer banks. once we're done with this in the next couple hours we're just left with the cold. freeze warnings all the way from south texas all the way down to fort myers and everywhere in between. so a lot of the snow and sleet that did fall is still sitting out there. and look at these temperatures this morning. we're now down to 32 in orlando and that's when it gets their attention. 15 in atlanta. so this is as cold as it gets. we warm up from 7. "early today" will be right back. ♪ psoriatic arthritis tries to get in my way? watch me. ♪ i've tried lots of things for my joint pain. now? watch me. ♪ think i'd give up showing these guys how it's done? please. real people with active psoriatic arthritis are changing the way they fight it... they're moving forward with cosentyx®. it's a different kind of targeted biologic. it's proven to help people find less joint pain and clearer skin. don't use if you are allergic to cosentyx. before starting cosentyx you should be checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of an infection. or if you have received a vaccine, or plan to. if you have inflammatory bowel disease tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. with less joint pain, watch me. for less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. 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"in touch" magazine made it public pudge actress's interview where she claimed she had a sexual relationship with donald trump starting in 2006. daniels whose real name is stephanie clifford tells the magazine in 2011, "i don't actually remember why i did it but i do remember while we were having sex i was like, please don't try to pay me. and then i remember thinking, but i bet if he did it would be a lot." in the article the actress claims she has had several more sexual encounters with mr. trump over the next few years after their initial meeting in lake tahoe, nevada. "in touch" magazine says her account was corroborate bid her good friend and ex-husband. it has not been verified by nbc news, though. just last week michael cohen, the personal attorney for mr. trump, released a letter signed by miss daniels in which the actress said she had no sexual interaction with the president. nbc has reached out to daniels and the white house for comment on the "in touch" interview but has not received a response. if you've had too many to drink you know to stay away from those car keys, right? but if you're from new jersey you also have to stay away from those drone controls too. in his last day in office on monday governor chris christie signed a law banning people from flying an unmands drone aircraft with a blood alcohol content of 0.8% or higher or while drugged. violators can face up to six months in jail and a $100,000 fine. and the law also bars flying a drone near a prison or in pursuit of wildlife. >> new frontier when it comes to drinking and technology like that. makes sense. still ahead, police officers and kids taking some time to enjoy the snow in the south. find out what's ahead for the rest of the week. that's next. hello, aloe. kelp is on the way! with herbal essences bio:renew made with active antioxidants that work from the inside out... to help animate lifeless hair. let life in with herbal essences bio:renew. let your inner light loose with one a day women's. ♪ a complete multivitamin specially formulated with key nutrients plus vitamin d for bone health support. your one a day is showing. the bathroom. when things go wrong here, you remember. quilted northern is designed to work so well, you can forget your bathroom trips. but little miss puffytail can never forget. 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(vo) more "dper rollres for mom" bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty the quicker picker upper breaking news this morning. crash investigation. police swarm a scene along the admiral witch boulevard overnight. water woes. philadelphia is dealing with so many pipe problems, it's turning to a new way for people to report them. and accused of murder. authorities file charges against a former high school classmate of a penn student who was killed while he was home in california on break. a lot to get too cf1 o thursday. good morning, this is "nbc10 news today" first look at 4. i'm tracy davidson. >> a few minutes before 4:00. temperatures you're waking up to in the teens. it feels like it while you walk out the door. let's get to meteorologist bill henley with the first alert forecast, the most accurate neighborhood weather forecast. good morning. a cold start. the temperatures, windchill this morning, 6 degrees in philadelphia. 2 in pottstown. 5 in allentown. south jersey and delaware in the cold air, too. the wind is really blowing. a steady northwesterly wind. you see it in this view from center city this morning. the wind will be with us all day. fortunately, sunshine is on the way. even though we're getting a cold start in the teens for the lehigh valley, new jersey, the suburbs, philadelphia, 19 degrees. in the upper teens for delaware, we'll see enough sunshine to battle the wind. 31 in the lehigh valley. 35 in delaware. 36 in philadelphia. most neighborhoods will be above freezing. some will be warmer than others. i'll break it down hour by hour and show what's ahead for your neighborhood when i'm back in ten minutes. first, jessica boyington and first alert traffic. starting on the schuylkill expressway this morning. here's at cameras at south street. we actually have a lane restriction on the westbound side. westbound headed to and around the vine street expressway, lanes lost. on the eastbound side, we're closed. closed from the vine street expressway moving to around this area, as well. watching those closures, and that will be there for about another hour, until about 5:00 or so. watching 95, drive times here don't look too bad. we have 11 minutes northbound from 295 to 495. the speeds into the 60s. mass transit is checking out okay, too. >> thanks. now to breaking news out of south jersey. all lanes of the admiral wilson boulevard are back open after an accident investigation overnight. police briefly closed all lanes past 38. we'll find out what's happened and if anybody was hurt. breaking in west philadelphia, firefighters found three people trapped on top of this building early this morning. flames tearing through a structure at 53rd and girard. all three people are supposed to be okay. inspectors are on scene because the owner may be violating city rental laws. another blast of cold water means water problems getting worse across philadelphia. these are just a few of the pipe problems aat