a major flooding event hits the south with more rain on the way. even as that system moves east, michelle michelle grossman is tracking the one-two punch. a military transport plane crashes in russia with the fiery explosion caught on camera moscow pointing the finger at ukraine, saying 65 prisoners of war were on board. we're live with a lingering question the faa gives boeing a path back to the skies for the 737

max planes, as the company's ceo faces tough questions on capitol hell deadly watch party fans of the kansas city chiefs gather at a friend's home to cheer on their team. days later, they were found dead outside the home a house divided. ahead of the lions-niners game, one house in detroit is torn over who to cheer for. why these life-long lieons fans are hoping for a 49ers went. "early today" starts right now i'm frances rivera millions of people across the south are under flood alerts at this hour. flood-prone southeast texas was slammed with heavy rain. more than a month's worth of rain has fallen within days in some cities. some schools have been forced to close as drivers are left stranded by the high water

in montgomery county north of houston, firefighters say they rescued 17 people and 15 pets. officials there warning everyone not to try to drive, because the conditions are still dangerous life-threatening flash flooding is also reported in the new orleans area, as the storm pushes to the east let's get an update now on the forecast for today meteorologist michelle grossman is here with the latest. >> great to see you. today's going to look a lot like yesterday. looking at this radar, it looks a lot like what we saw yesterday with lots of lightning do you know to the south. heavy rain once again. where you see the bright colors, reds, oranges, yellows, that's where we're seeing the heavy rain falling but this rain extends all the way through the tennessee valley into the northeast on the cold side wd side we're we're looking at snow and freezing rain. portions of the south central states into the mississippi valley, portions of the

appalachians as well this is what it looks like area of low pressure bringing heavy rain torrential rainfall and storms in the central gulf. periods of rain in the northeast, you'll need your umbrella and we're looking at 6, 7 inches in some spots. generally 3 to 5, but where you see the darker colors, that's where we're looking at the most rain also talking about a warmup in just a few minutes >> the warmth comes with the wetness. now to the race for the white house. nikki haley is not letting her loss in new hampshire slow her down her campaign is now focussing on her home state of south carolina where she was governor haley spent a million dollars on new ads there, trying to make the case that she's better suited than donald trump to take on joe biden in november president biden is making it clear he expects a rematch with trump. his campaign just got gassed up by the united auto workers

union. >> reporter: hitting the accelerator to the next phase. general election season, after the biden campaign declared that former president trump has all but locked up the gop nomination the united auto workers convention well coned comed pre biden. >> it's great to be home >> reporter: many of these workers live in critical midwest battlegrounds. a test of donald trump's appeal to the working class and president biden's history backing labor. >> he's been there for us. he's shown it. >> reporter: the uaw praised mr. biden as the first president to stand with workers on strike >> i went to picket line, donald trump went to a nonlabor shop and attacked you >> reporter: he was interrupted by protesters waving a palestinian flag and calling for

a cease fe-fire in gaza. that tension over foreign policy on top of bleak polling. in our latest nbc news poll, president biden's approval rating is just 40% disapproval at 57% some union supporters also expressed worry. >> he does have a problem with younger voters but those of us in labor, we pay attention e. >> reporter: next up for the president, travwisconsin, then l travel to south carolina it comes ahead of the democratic party's first primary in the cycle that awards delegates. >> okay, kelly, thank you. the republican frontrunner could testify in court today as donald trump's civil defamation case is set to resume. the jury must decide how much in trump owes writer e. jean carroll in damages trump had indicated he wanted to testify and the trial cwas

delayed because of covid exposure it is unclear if he still plans to take the stand. a russian military transport plane crashed killing everyone on board 65 ukrainian prisoners of war were on that flight. the cause of the crash remains a mystery, but russia is pointing the fixeen fenger at ukraine >> reporter: russia accuses ukraine of shooting down that plane with two missiles fired from the kharkiv region, which is under control of ukraine. it also says ukraine was very well aware that that plane was carrying at least 65 ukrainian prisoners of war that were going to take part in a prisoners

exchange at the border with ukraine and saying that act of terrorism, this is what they called it, is proof that ukraine disregards the lives of its citizens in all response, the ukrainian military command said it was aware there was going to and prisoner exchange but russia did not tell ukraine how the prisoners of war would be transported to the handover point and russia did not tell ukraine to ensure the safety of the airspace around the belgoro region ukraine did not confirm nor deny that it downed the plane but it considers ministry planes, russian military planes approaching the belgorod area as legitimate targets president zelenskyy of ukraine accused russia of playing with the lives of ukrainian prisoners of war and called for an international investigation and sergey lavrov called for an

emergency meeting in the u.n. security council expected to take place today at 5:00 p.m. eastern. frances? >> claudio, thank you. the faa is pumping the brakes on future production of bowing 737 max planes, saying there won't be an expansion until the agency is sure that problems are resolved. it all comes after the mid-air emergency where a door plug blew off an alaska airlines jet the ceo of boeing was in the hot seat on capitol hill yesterday, facing tough questions from congress about the incident. he made this promise to his customers. >> we fly safe planes. we don't put airplanes in the air that we don't have 100% confidence in. >> a public hearing with the ceo is expected in the near future meanwhile, the ntsb will return to boeing's plant as part of the investigation.

in ohio, the senate agreed to override a veto of a bill barring transgender athletes from participating in women's sports dewine initially vetoed it to protect children and parent from medical overreach. in arkansas, a massive manhunt is under way for two inmates who escaped from a detention center in pine bluff they are considering how they got out of the jail undetected it was 48 hours before anyone realized they were gone. police have warned local residents about the fugitives. all right, we're getting a weekend break from the arctic blast. let's bring in michelle grossman, who is tracking what's ahead. we're getting ready for the downpour, rain coats instead of puffers, right >> right

already mild in spots. we're going to see temperatures well above normal in some areas. we have 70s in new orleans, charleston near 80 degrees 19 degrees above normal and raleigh, 22 degrees above normal for this time of year. we'll keep the spring preview in place. as we go through the beginning of next week, we're going to be back t skies we'll see stormy weather in parts of the south central states and along the gulf coast. all right, that's your thursday forecast e >> thank you for the run down

michelle coming up, a moment of zen in this election year, jon stewart is returning to the daily show but with a catch. the growing questions after three chiefs fans were found dead in a back yard days after the game in a back yard days af the game. a mystery! jessie loves playing detective. but the real mystery was her irritated skin. so, we switched to tide pods free & gentle. it cleans better, and doesn't leave behind irritating residues. and it's gentle on her skin. tide free & gentle is epa safer choice certified. it's got to be tide. ♪♪ vicks vapostick provides soothing,

non-medicated vicks vapors. easy to apply for the whole family. vicks vapostick. and try vicks vaposhower for steamy vicks vapors. now to a shocking and mysterious case in missouri. three men reported missing after watching a kansas city chiefs game at their friend's house found dead two days later in the friend's back yard there are no suspects and no cause of death has been released, leading to even more questions. steven romo has the details. >> reporter: a mystery in kansas city, missouri three chiefs fans found dead after a gathering at a friend's home to watch the team's last regular season game. police headed to the residence after loved ones couldn't find the deceased one of the men was dead on the back porch and the two other bodies in the back yard. >> you're grieving, but you're also mad, because you don't know

all the circumstances, but you've been hearing bits and pieces and what you're hearing isn't good >> reporter: the trio, ricky johnson, david harrington and clayton mcginny, missing for two full days from sunday january 7 to the following tuesday >> i wasn't aware that they were missing until the police knocked on his door tuesday night. >> reporter: attorney john pazerno represents the homeowner. his client had no idea the bodies of his friends were right outside his door >> said good-bye to the other three, and it was his belief at the time that they left outside through the front door, and that's the last time that he saw them >> reporter: kansas city police telling nbc news the homeowner is cooperating and neither he nor anyone else has been arrested or charged with any wrongdoing there were no obvious signs of foul play and there is not believed to be any threats to the community according to investigators. >> they were left out in the cold, and then they had to wait

for their bodies to thaw out for them to do an autopsy. that's something thaw dot you d ever want to hear. >> nobody know what is happened on that night. it's just, i don't have any answers. he has to know something >> reporter: the homeowner facing backlash online people posting on social media, how he didn't realize his friends' bodies were right outside his house. the medical examiner has yet to release a cause of death which investigators say will determine how they move forward. meanwhile, pazern o maintains that his client is shocked at the death of his friends >> this has hit him hard >> reporter: in lieu of answer, the family and community are lining on each other david harrington's mother creating a gofundme to help pay for the funeral costs, writing, quote, i now have to put my son to rest.

this was something we did not expect, as no parent ever does i am asking for help today the account getting $10,000 from one donor alone. friends and family minimums also gathering to celebrate the lives of their loved ones. >> we're just going to keep praying and keep going keep sharing our story >> our thanks to steven for that report still to come, a much-needed moment of zen for the world of late night comedy. we break down jon stewart's estated estate anticipated return. estate antstate anticipated retn e anticipated return ate anticipated return te anticipated return e anticipated return anticipated return return. anticipated return. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ austedo xr significantly reduced kate's td movements. some people saw a response as early as 2 weeks. with austedo xr, kate can stay on her mental health meds— (kate) oh, hi buddy! (avo) austedo xr can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease.

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to the late night staple in addition to his new role as executive producer, he will host the show only on monday nights through the 2024 election. the roster of correspondents will take over hosting duties the remainder of the week. the second tenure is set to begin on february 12th, as we are full swing in the election season what a voice we've been missing. >> he's so good, so witty, so fast i'm excited. ahead of her second go-around hosting snl, dakota johnson is making sotudio 8-h he own. >> it stands for 800, which is how much lorne bought the studio for in 1812. and this is where they write the cue cards, which is so cute, because i'm going to say whatever i want. >> how good does she look?

t she hosts along with justin timberlake haven't seen him in a while either > jennifer lopez has been tapped for next week's show >> she is blazing. her career is stratosphere level. >> look at her she's just better than ever. most people would be flattered to be mistaken for spiderman, but not if it costs you a big payday that's british actor tom hollander. he once received a hefty box office bonus check for the avengers the only problem, he was never in the avengers. his talent agency confused him with tom holland h hollander brushed off the loss of what he called a seven-figure sum to the ups and downs of showbiz. but right now tom hollander is

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and long-lasting gain scent beads. part of the irresistible scent collection from gain! jim harbaugh is taking the family motto from ann arbor to los angeles. >> you did a great job took care of job number one. got to work. that's what we believe in. you know the question. who's got it better than us? >> nobody! >> on wednesday, fresh off a national title with the michigan wolverines, harbaugh was hired as the new coach of the l.a. chargers the michigan man has the challenge of conjuring a

much-needed spark. the kelces are well-known for their in-house division between the eagles and chiefs. but this year there's a new family rivalry jake moody is a michigan native who grew up in a house of avid lions fans our detroit affiliate talked to moody's parents about where their loyalties will lie during sunday's game. >> i've been lion's fan basically since birth. >> reporter: they brought him to lion's training camp in the '70s but this is a house divided. >> you know what's going to happen it's going to end up the 49ers versus lions, you wait and see it's just going to happen. >> reporter: they keep a jason hanson autographed lions helmet

next to jake peace 's michigan t lisa is also a lion's fan. but jake's picture shows you all you need to know >> the second a team plays against ply smy son, i'm going o root for my son. i had to do the same with michigan and michigan state. >> it's tough. we're going to root for 49ers. our son's on the team. >> reporter: yet a negotiation seems to have taken place. lisa teaches in the livonia school district. >> the boys want my son to lose, and i said youcan root for the lions, but not for jake to miss his kicks. >> if the 49ers do happen to lose, i will be breaking out my lion's gyear for the super bowl >> or they could do a split jersey or two-thirds

now to a beach side rescue featuring an adorable seal if you ever spy a baby seal alone, just like this one, they say stay at least 150 feet away. don't touch it adorable, as you can see, but call in the experts. thanks so much for watchin

♪ ♪ right now at 5:00, preparing to strike. hundreds of teachers across the east bay threatening to hit the picket line. we will tell you from your child's school could be impacted. plus, teaming up for a new project aimed at keeping you safe. and the 49ers/lions game is this weekend. of course, you know that. but do you know how much the tickets cost? i will tell you about that so you can feel good about watching at home on your