house heats up, so does the rhetoric. donald trump vowing there will be a blood bath if he loses the

election. we are live with the backlash from the biden campaign and even some republicans. a suspected cross-country killer captured, how police tracked down the man accused of killing an officer? new mexico just days after allegedly murdering an e in south carolina. the supreme court sets its sights on your social media feed. the new case that could reshape what we can post online. time to fill out those brackets. march madness is here. who made it to the big dance on selection sunday? and a california family walks away unscathed from a plane crash. the incredible new parachute technology that made their escape possible. it's monday, march 18th. "early today" starts right now. good morning, thanks for starting your week with me, i'm frances rivera. the supreme court could rule as soon as today on a sweeping texas border security law mere hours before it's set to go into effect. sb-4 would allow texas state cops to arrest people for crossing the border illegally.

traditionally that kind of immigration enforcement has been the responsibility of the federal government. so the law has been widely criticized as unconstitutional. meanwhile, in d.c. the deadlock over how to handle the crisis at the border is likely increasing the danger of a government shutdown this weekend. congress has until one minute past midnight saturday before funding for two-therds of the federal government will run out. republican nominee for president donald trump has discouraged party members from seeking compromise. let's turn to the race for the white house. this week is starting with more fallout from comments by former president trump who said at a rally that there would be a blood bath if he loses this election. nbc's brie jackson joins us from d.c. hi, brie. the trump campaign is saying these comments were never about actual violence. >> reporter: good morning, frances. so former president trump and his allies say he was obviously talking about an economic blood bath. mr. trump was speaking about the auto industry and a potential trade war with china when he

gave the warning about a blood bath. take a listen. >> we're going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line and you're not going to be able to sell those cars. if i get elected. now, if i don't get elected it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole -- that's going to be the least of it, it's going to be a bloodbath for the country. that's going to be the least of it. >> now more republicans are being asked if these comments were appropriate. louisiana senator bill cassidy defended mr. trump on nbc's "meet the press" but acknowledged that the rhetoric could be concerning for voters. >> he always walks up to the edge on that rhetoric, again, that's why people are concerned, but sometimes the mainstream media, whether they want to or not, can't resist and they go just a little bit too far which is distracts from what could be the impact. >> now, the biden/harris

campaign released a statement saying former president trump wants another january 6. they say voters will reject his extremism and his affection for violence. before speaking at a rally in ohio, mr. trump saluted as a rendition of the national anthem played by the january 6th prison choir, which features people who were arrested for the attack here at the u.s. capitol. now, mr. trump referred to the january 6 rioters as hostages and patriots. frances. >> brie, thank you. a cross-country manhunt for a suspected killer has come to an end. police taking into custody a man believed to have killed a new mexico police officer and a paramedic in south carolina. here is nbc pre asia reader. >> reporter: a two-day cross-country manhunt has come to an end after a police shootout, 33-year-old jeremy smith was captured after

allegedly killing a police officer in new mexico after being spotted by a gas station clerk. >> during this time as they had an eye on mr. smith, a foot pursuit ensued, shots were fired, some shots striekd smith. >> reporter: authorities say officer justin hare stopped to help smith with a flat tire on friday morning when smith allegedly shot and killed him. police say smith pushed hare's body into the passenger's seat before taking off in his patrol car, which was later found abandoned. >> the last words officer hare uttered on this earth was to offer help to a man who was about to kill him. >> reporter: police say when officer hare first approached smith he was driving a car that belonged to 52-year-old fhone krchl fhonecia machado foer. they say smith is a person of interest in her death. >> we want to extend heartfelt

condolences to that community for their loss of the first responder. >> tributes from across the country are pouring in for the two victims. machado fore is remembered as a mother and grandmother and dedicated first responder and justin hare a devoted father of two girls who had another baby on the way. >> we will be able to spend some time focusing on honoring him in the best way that we can and grieving his loss. >> reporter: nbc news. russian president vladimir putin was reelected this weekend with a whopping 88% take of the vote. in the west his victory is being guarded as a foregone conclusion. international observers and even the u.s. state department say that russia largely conducts, quote, sham elections. let's go live to claudio lavanga who is with us standing by with the latest. remind our viewers why these elections are not seen as free and fair. >> reporter: good morning,

frances. with 93% of the ballots counted now it looks like vladimir putin has another landslide victory at least on paper he won 8% of the votes, that means he's probably going to extend his already almost 25 years in power with another six years as president, but of course as you mentioned this came to nobody's surprise, both the u.s. and other ken tree countries call these elections not free nor fair for a number of reasons. the other contenders in the election were practically unknown, were seen as token rivals and then very limited if no independent monitoring of elections in russia. most importantly the real critics and real political contenders for vladimir putin are either in exile, they are in jail, or they are dead, just like alexei navalny who died in that arctic prison just a month ago. talking about navalny, the embassy, our own nbc news foreign correspondent keir

simmons did ask him about navalny at a press conference yesterday and vladimir putin for the first time mentioning navalny by name said that before navalny died vladimir putin agreed to a prisoner swap in which navalny was involved with russians in prison in western countries and then he said, well, then unfortunately he died and that was -- that's life, he said. well, now nbc confirmed with five sources that that kind of deal was being negotiated but it wasn't imminent when navalny died february 16th. frances. >> claudio, thank you for the breakdown. new this morning more than 30 u.s. citizens were evacuated from haiti on sunday according to the state department. all of them were flown to miami, seen here. widespread gang violence has raised fears of civil war in haiti and there are more than 200 americans registered as seeking further information on how to get out of the country. a state department spokesperson said they are examining their options to evacuate those who

remain. this morning astonishing new images out of iceland where a new volcanic eruption a forcing evacuations. the eruption began saturday opening a two-mile machine long fissure in the earth. lava and smoke spewed into the air. the flow blocking a major road as it encroached on a small fishing town. hundreds had to be evacuated from the blue lagoon thermo spa, one of the top tourist attractions. this is the fourth volcanic eruption in iceland since december. don't put away the winter coats just yet. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking a cold front. >> good morning. we need those winter coats in many spots today in the east. the last day of winter, spring starts tomorrow, still we are looking at freeze alerts as we go throughout tonight into tomorrow. cool day tonight, cool day tomorrow. 22 million people impacted by freeze alerts, freeze warnings in the pink little rock, memphis, tuscaloosa, atlanta, charlotte. temperatures dipping into the 20s, 30s overnight. a chilly day today, this

afternoon nashville 48 degrees, 14 degrees below what is typical for this time of year, just around 50 years in huntsville, jonesboro 49, macon 64, 7 degrees below what is typical for this time of year. cool day today, chilly tomorrow, looking at 59, a little warmer than today. nashville we rebound by wednesday, 70 degrees, same sorry in atlanta into the 50s. chilly day today, also tomorrow and then winterlike along the great lakes, snow falling downwind of lake erie, lake ontario, we could see 5 to 9ash today. we will see sunshine there, though. 61 in montgomery, 57 in atlanta.

all right. that's your monday forecast. >> i appreciate it. thank you, michelle. the stage is set for college sports premiere event, the brackets for the ncaa college basketball tournament were revealed on selection sunday. in the men's tournament uconn is beginning its title defense with the first overall one seed in program history. they will face tournament newcomer stetson on friday. north carolina laid claim to the top spot in the west, while purdue will look to avenge their historic first round knockout from last year. while taking the top seed in the midwest. houston rounds out the top dogs in the men's tournament with the number one spot in the south. on the women's side caitlin clark has a chance to top off her historic final season at iowa with a national championship. the hawk eyes claim the top spot for albany regional 2. undefeated powerhouse south carolina locked up the tournament's overall one seed in albany regional one, while texas and usc round out the number one seeds for the women's tournament. the madness begins thursday night with the men's tournament

first four. coming up, the olympics dive, leap and sprint on to the silver spring. but first, we are back in a minute with a supreme court case that could change social media as we know it. (♪♪) is he? confidently walking 8 long haired dogs and living as if he doesn't have allergies? yeah. fast relief of your worst allergy symptoms, like nasal congestion. [♪♪] looking for a moisturizer that does more than just moisturize? try olay regenerist for 10 benefits in every jar. olay visibly firms, lifts, and smooths wrinkles, by penetrating the skin, to boost regeneration at the surface cellular level. try olay. i love that my daughter still needs me. but sometimes i can't help due to burning and stabbing pain in my hands, so i use nervive. nervive's clinical dose of ala reduces nerve discomfort in as little as 14 days. now i can help again. feel the difference with nervive. mom's gonna love this! alright kids come on. it's time for bed! ( ♪♪ )

good morning, mr. snuggles. make breakfast special with the cocoa and hazelnutty goodness of nutella. ( ♪♪ ) the supreme court is taking up a case that could reshape social media and decide just how far the federal government can go in the fight against misinformation. cnbc's silvia amaro is here to break down the case and what's at stake. good morning. >> good morning, frances. well, in murphy versus missouri there's one key question, can the u.s. government potentially flag harmful content on social media platforms to the respected companies without it being considered coercion of speech? this case actually emerged back in 2022 when two state republican attorneys decided to sue the biden administration,

they were arguing that the u.s. government was actually not respecting the constitution by asking social media platforms to remove content from their platforms that was essentially spreading covid or voting misinformation. now, it is up to the state court to actually decide -- the supreme court to decide what's going to happen next. their decision is only expected around june, but indeed this could be a case that could have wider ramifications for now the u.s. government deals with social media. so let's stay tuned for that. >> certainly watching that. silvia, thank you. the white house is urging the senate to take up the tiktok bill that would force bytedance to sell its social media platform or face a ban. it sailed through the house but the senate has slow-walked the legislation. national security adviser john kirby called on congress to pass the bill yesterday. >> we want to see divestiture from this chinese company because we are concerned, as every american ought to be

concerned about data security and what bytedance and what the chinese communist party could do with the information that they can glean off of americans' use of the application. >> for its part bytedance says it has never shared u.s. usedatt and said the ban would endanger american jobs. still to come, we come to amc theaters to laugh, to cry and to cheer for team usa. find out how you can see katie ledecky and simone biles on the big screen this summer. [dog whimpers] [thinking] why always the couch? does he need to go to puppy school? get his little puppy diploma? how much have i been spending on this little guy? when your questions about life turn into questions about money... there's erica. the virtual financial assistant to help you spend, save, and plan smarter. only from bank of america. want the power of 5 serum benefits in 1?

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( ♪♪ ) ( ♪♪ ) inter peace. inter peace. >> get your surf off my turf. >> dinner, please. dinner with peas in a sesame soy glaze. this is not working at all. >> moviegoers this weekend came back for a second of poe and his pals, "kung fu panda 4" was the

repeat champ. it added another $30 million and became the second film this year to cross the $100 million mark. "dune: part 2" repeated with $29 million while "arthur the king" with 7.5 m$7.5 million. >> my daughter saw it and loved it. >> i was trying to get jeremy to see it and he wasn't into it. >> all good stuff. now to a preview of what's coming to movie theaters this summer. the olympic games, nbc universal our parent company announced they will be partnering with amc to broadcast select daytime events from the summer's paris olympics on the big screen. 160 locations of america's largest movie chain will participate up until the games close on august 11th and of course you will be able to watch around the clock the olympics coverage on the small screen starting july 26 on the networks

of nbc. i'm wondering if we are sitting in the movie theater ami going to eat less popcorn and let me nut m & ms while watching the amazing athletes? >> you might be motivated by all the action and how hard they're working. how cool will it be to watch all of that up close. >> it will be awesome. one avenger playing hero for one of his sideline teammates n an interview with "people" magazine jeremy renner talked about the ways robert downey jr. would cheer him up following his near fatal snowplow accident last year. he joked that he and the newly minted oscar winner would chat like they were dating. it would take him mind off of the pain he was experiencing. he will received visits from scarlett johansson and chris evans. that is what you need to get that uplifting support from everyone around you especially when you are in this condition and you don't know how quickly

you're going to recover. >> or if you are going to recover. he was down and out. it's funny, robert downey jr., whole different things but he was in that whole scene in the '80s and he fought for his life, too, into a different way. maybe he had that motivation of let's just keep going. >> and it actually worked since he is back on the mend. keurig has a new way to enjoy your morning brew without the plastic. tomorrow you may be able to hold on the luck of the irish to take home the mega millions pot of gold. olay retinol24 renews millions of surface skin cells while you sleep. wake up to smoother, younger-looking skin with olay retinol24. can the flavor of a slow cooked smoked sausage be so gloriously delicious that the sight of its sizzling makes your tastebuds weep? if it's hillshire farm, oh, hill yeah.™

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marriage statistics. keurig has unveiled a greener coffee solution with its new k rounds. the plastic and aluminum-free single serve pods are made from ground roasted coffee beans wrapped in a plant-based coating. they are compatible with the new ulta brewer. tomorrow could be your lucky day after friday came and went with no winner. tuesday's mega millions prize has grown to $875 million. it's theen tth largest jackpot ever. we will be right back. everyone wants to be the cadbury bunny. because only he brings delicious cadbury creme eggs. while others may keep trying... (clucking) nobunny knows easter better than cadbury. oh... stuffed up again? so congested! you need sinex saline from vicks. just sinex, breathe, ahhhh! what is — wow! sinex. breathe. ahhhhhh! want the power of 5 serum benefits in 1?

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>> we're getting reports of a plane crash at 76250. >> reporter: this is what first responders saw when they arrived at the scene of a small plane crash in northern california last week. a single-engine sr-22 aircraft split in two and partially upside down. >> the three occupants are code 4 off the ground. >> reporter: on board the pilot, his partner and their two-year-old daughter who suffered only minor cuts and scratches according to the mendocino county sheriff's office. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. oh, my god. whoa. >> reporter: and in washington state -- >> is anybody else seeing this? holy [ bleep ]. >> reporter: this sr-22 crashing in a busy bellevue neighborhood. >> we heard like a loud bang so we thought it was like gunshots or something so we got scared. >> reporter: neighbors saw two men climb out with no apparent injuries. >> i'm not surprised at all to see these stories.

>> reporter: former ntsb investigator jeff gazetti point to the aircraft's built in parachute system, caps for short. >> rather than just having the airplane crash they reach up, pull a t handle, it activates a solid rocket boouser which pulls a parachute out and in eight seconds you're safely swinging underneath the parachute. it's quite revolutionary. >> sounds like once they're used is the survival rate for a crash involving one of these parachutes is it pretty high? >> it's very high. there's just been a handful of fatalities or injuries that occurred even after deploying the parachute. >> reporter: according to the owners and pilots association there have been 128 saves and 263 survivors with this cap system, but he warns a parachute is no replacement for good pilot training. >> you still need piloting skills to make emergency landings. there's so many other aspects,

but on those few select accidents in which a parachute comes in handy, this particular airplane has a very good success story. >> incredible. our thanks to steven for that report. over the weekend cities across the nation celebrated st. patrick's day. boston saw a major turnout for its st. paddy's day parade. in new york an estimated 2 million lined fifth avenue to watch bagpipers, floats and more. further west the windy city kept up its annual tradition of dying the chicago river green for its 69th year in a row. hopefully you were able to celebrate somewhere, wear a little green, not pinch too much. thanks for starting the workweek with "early toda" i'm frances y.ri

russia's vladimir putin saying alexei navalny's name out loud, while tellin