tensions soaring between president biden and the israeli prime minister. the leaders set to speak today

for the first time since an israeli strike in gaza killing aid workers with the world central kitchen. we're live with what to expect from this high-stakes talk. taiwan on edge after its most powerful earthquake in a k quarter of a century. at least nine are dead and hundreds hurt. powerful storms rip a trail of destruction across several states. hurricane-force winds and driving rain. meteorologist angie lassman is tracking the threat that remains this morning. a hollywood twist for an iconic studio. the new report on merger talks for paramount. and more than a billion reasons to be disappointed. nobody hit the powerball last night. the jackpot now surging to the fourth largest in history. and netting more accolades. iowa super star caitlin clark

pulling pulling off the repeat for player of the year. it is thursday, april 4. "early today" starts right now. good morning, and thanks for joining us, i'm jessica layton. this morning, there is growing fallout after israeli airstrikes in gaza killed seven aid workers with the world central kitchen. that group's founder, celebrity chef jose andres got emotional during an interview with israeli tv, later accusing israel of targeting their cars directly. nbc's brie jackson joins us live from d.c. with more. what is the latest on that investigation? >> reporter: good morning, jessica. since this happened we've learned that israel wrongly suspected there was an armed man in the world central kitchen convoy. the idf initially struck one car and then two more when the survivors tried to take cover in other vehicles. in that interview, jose andres ridiculed the idea that this could have been an unintentional attack as israeli prime minister

benjamin netanyahu has claimed. >> they were target systematically car by car. this was not just bad luck situation where oops we dropped the bomb in the wrong place. can yo you cannot be destroying every building, every hospital, every school. you cannot be targeting humanitarian, humanitarian. you cannot be targeting children. can you not be targeting the basis for what humanity is standing for. >> reporter: also on the agenda the looming israeli push into rafah. mr. biden has called the potential incursion a red line. nbc news has also learned that during a virtual meeting on monday between officials, the u.s. objected to an israeli proposal to evacuate nearly 1.5 million palestinians from the area. in response, sources say that

israeli government minister ron dermer began yelling and waving his arms while defending the plan, while u.s. officials kept calm and did not respond. an israeli official who attended the meeting said, quote, that is a misrepresentation of what occurred in the room, calling the meeting constructive and respectful. jessica? >> all right, brie, thank you. now to breaking news from taiwan. more than 600 people are still trapped after yesterday's deadly earthquake. overnight, six people were rescued from a mine by a helicopter. at least nine are dead, with more than a thousand injured. the 7.4 magnitude quake was the strongest to hit the area in a quarter of a century. nbc's janis mackey frayer spoke with an american who's living there. >> reporter: the whole world starts shaking, what was it like? >> it was pretty scary. in all the years that i've lived here and in southern california

before that, i've felt a lot of earthquakes, but this was by far the strongest and most frightening. and it just went on and on. i think it was close to two minutes. >> more than 40 people are still unaccounted for. nearly a thousand have been evacuated. hundreds are living in shelters. now to the trials of donald trump. the former president's attempt to delay his hush money trial has been rejected. judge juan marchand denied a motion to push the trial start date until the supreme court rules on his claims of immunity. marchand also refused to keep evidence out of the trial based on presidential immunity, saying trump waited too long to make that request. trump's attorneys are trying to block evidence, including tweets and public remarks that they consider to be official presidential acts. jury selection in this case is set to begin 11 days from now on april 15th. the university of texas at austin is eliminating dozens of positions to try to comply with the state's controversial

anti-dei law. while the school did not give an exact number, the texas conference of american association of university professors says 60 people who previously served in dei roles have been fired. the firings come after a gop state senator warned the university to better comply with the law. critics say ut has already overcorrected, and this latest round of firings is another overreaction. turning now to an update on the baltimore bridge that collapsed last week killing six workers. during a news briefing, maryland governor westmore said the francis scott key bridge will be rebuilt, but the first priority is recovering the bodies of those killed, as well as clearing the wreckage below the river's surface. >> in our recovery efforts, we need to do more work cheering t clearing the channel.

and current didn'tsconditions m unsafe for divers to return to the water. we will move fast, but we will not move careless. my directive is to complete this mission with no injuries and no casualties. >> the governor also said that the poor weather has made it necessary to use advanced technology to map out that wreckage. rashee rice is speaking out about the car crash in dallas that injured four people. the wide receiver for the kansas city chiefs has been linked to one of the cars involved. in a new statement, he said he will continue to cooperate with authorities. he says he takes, quote, full responsibility for his part in the crash and apologizes to everyone involved. so far, no charges thisin this . let's turn now to that extreme weather that has been slamming so much of the country. the powerful system pushing through the northeast overnight causing power outages and triggering flood warnings for millions. here's nbc's maggie vespa.

>> reporter: the liethal system races east. >> not happy about the weather here, buts it what it is. >> reporter: flood watches in effect for millions from west virginia to new york. storms wreaking havoc for travelers. >> i'm really hoping it doesn't get delayed. but who knows. >> the time kept shichting from, you know, an hour and a half to an hour. >> reporter: a southwest airlines flight making an emergency landing amid severe turbulence, sending two people to a medical facility. the mondster storm clearing a path to the southeast. flipped semi trucks and toppled trees and power lines. near louisville, kentucky, a mom says she barely got her kids downstairs before violent winds ripped the roof off their second-storey bedrooms.

>> we were running down the basement when we heard the pop. we weren't even in the basement yet. >> reporter: you didn't even make it down. >> no, it's just crazy. it's still an early part of the year to have all this tragic storms. >> reporter: kentucky's governor touring damage, saying as many as seven tornados tore through his state tuesday, some turning deadly. >> we have confirmed one weather-related fatality. this came in campbell county in a car accident. >> reporter: 19-year-old brady delaney, remembered by family, saying he was loved by so many. >> we'll be praying for him and for his family. >> reporter: outside atlanta, several people were injured in storm-ravaged neighborhoods. while in michigan, some residents saw up to 14 inches of snow. a week of wild weather dragging on. >> our thanks to maggie for that report. for more on the massive storms that are still impacting the country, let's bring in angie lassman. a lot still happening out there.

>> a lot still happening. a lot of folks ready for drier weather, jessica. good morning to you. unfortunately, we're still going to be dealing with snow across parts of new england. the rain is going to be there with off an on showers scattered through the region. we've seen some of these flood alerts come down. still flash flood warning in effect for the pittsburgh area. and we have those wind advisories. 17 million people included in that. 40, 50, even 60 mile-per-hour winds. i'm sure you heard. we've got the lingering shower activity when it comes to the rain and snow through the day today. we're going to eventually see that low scoot on out of here. but this one kind of gets stuck leaving us dealing with unsettled weather as we get into tomorrow. whether when it's all said and done we could see some of the highest snowfall totals this season. 6, 9 inches, even some locations in the higher elevations pecting exe upper

50s. st. louis will deal with cloud cover and barely make it to the upper 40s today. and that's a look at your forecast, jessica, back to you. >> okay, angie, thanks so much. lottery fever is also in the forecast for the weekend. there were no big winners in last night's drawing so the jackpot has grown to $1.2 billion. the future largest in power balance history. the next chance to win is saturday night. "early today" is back in a minute with the tinsel town talks of a merger and the out of this world designs for the next generation of lunar rovers. nex generation of lunar rovers. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!!

not coughing at the movies!? hashtag still not coughing?! ahh! mucinex dm 12 hour doesn't just quiet coughs, it treats coughs caused by excess mucus at the source and controls them for 12 hours. it's comeback season. stubborn chest congestion? try mucinex 12 hour. inez, let me ask you, you're using head and shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. tiny troy: he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. he's the best. - make every wash count! - little help please. welcome back. disney has fended off an activist investor angling for a board seat. but first, paramount merger

talks are gaining steam this morning. arabile gumede joins us with the details. good morning. >> good morning, jessica. the merger talks are massive. that's what they thought 2024 was going to be about. that's certainly the case. sky dance, responsible for "top gun" they are nbidding for paramount global. they think it would be a good fit for the company. paramount did fend off and say no to apollo not so long ago in a $26 billion bid for paramount at the time. so clearly there are 30 days to sort out this bid structure to come to the fore. but whether it will happen is a big question mark. on the other hand, you spoke

about disney. bob iger has kept the keys to the castle, hasn't he? nelson wanted to be a board member. and that was rebuffed. the board seats remain pretty much the same as they were. a lot of stories though, and a lot still to be done then for disney. >> a busy report. thanks, arabile. apple services are back up and running after a brief but noticeable outage on wednesday. the app store with apple tv, podcast and more went down for about an hour. while apple has not confirmed why this happened, we know meta services, including instagram and whatsapp also dealt with outages a few hours before that. so far, none of these companies has released a statement. get ready for some moon buggies. nasa has announced the three companies picked to come up with designs for lunar terrain vehicles or ltvs, the idea is

that one day those ltvs will take astronauts to the moon's south pole, then become self-driving once the astronauts come back to earth. nasa work with each of the companies for about a year. then they choose one design to build. still to come, two late-night icons are making their way back lhere to 30 rock. we preview kristen wiig's return to snl. that's right after this. to snl. that's right after this. it's nothing... sounds like something. ♪when you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion♪ ♪upset stomach, diarrhea♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes for fast relief when you need it most. when anyone in this house wears white, it doesn't stay white for long. white? to soccer? i'm not gonna slide tackle. but now with tide oxi white, we can clean our white clothes without using bleach. it even works on colors. i slide tackled. i see that. tide oxi white. can an oven roasted turkey breast

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with the place? >> kristine. i love it. some things may have changed. but there's no question that one of snl's greatest will pick up right off where she left ofleft ooff. i don't know if you've seen the repr reprise of the target lady. >> you saw in her box of things that she took from the room. there's maybe some indications of skits we will see. now to another nbc legend in his own long-delayed homecoming. conan o'brien is set to appear on the "tonight show." the late-night icon succeeded jay leno for a six-month run in 2009. he then returned before krcedin

the desk to jimmy fallon. his show hits max on april 18th. it's going to be a show where he meets some of the guests on his podcast. norway and argentina are set to be seen in that. >> nobody makes fun of himself better than conan o'brien. the matrix is coming back online. warner bros. announced wednesday that a fifth installment in the beloved sci-fi action franchise is in the works. there is no word yet on the involvement of stars like keanu reeves and carrie ann moss. the creator is on board as executive producer. that's what we want to know, is keanu reeves on board?

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with no heavy perfumes or dyes. ( ♪ ♪ ) we are back with what you need to know "early today." the first man to receive a genetically-modified kidney transplant from a pig is now back home. this comes two weeks since the history-making surgery at massachusetts general hospital. the patient had been battling end-stage kidney disease. spotify prices are on the rise again. the company will increase prices for premium subscribers in several markets rising by up to $2 by the end of the month. price hikes for the u.s. of course are set for later this year. the raid we city rockettes are already prepping for the holiday season. wednesday was the first day of open auditions to find new dancers for the 2024 christmas spectacular. the ladies will go through a number of call backs over the next few days, and ensemble

dancers will be cast next week. yum. national burrito day is here. and so are the deals. taco bell is offering buy one, get one half off. while an iowa-based chain is giving out 10,00 10,000 free0uri that looks way too delicious at this hour. we'll be right back. we'll be ri. inez, let me ask you, you're using head and shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. tiny troy: he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. he's the best. - make every wash count! - little help please. ahh. it's a good day to cough.

oh no. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing at the movies!? hashtag still not coughing?! ahh! mucinex dm 12 hour doesn't just quiet coughs, it treats coughs caused by excess mucus at the source and controls them for 12 hours. it's comeback season. stubborn chest congestion? try mucinex 12 hour. it is yet another milestone in caitlin clark's historic year. the best player in women's college basketball scored the nesmith national player of the year award in cleveland ahead of

the weekend's final four matchups. it came after the game with lsu broke viewing records. >> back door. easy two. >> reporter: the numbers from the iowa-lsu matchup are in. the duel between caitlin clark and angel reese shattering records. with 12.3 million viewers it ranks as the-most-watched women's college basketball game ever. >> it was the thing that everyone felt they needed to plan their day around. and if you didn't you felt like you would be missing a cultural moment. >> reporter: it was a long-awaited rematch between clark and reese after the lsu tigers beat clark's hawkeyes last year. reese famously taunting clark in that game. but it was clark who got her

revenge in monday's matchup. >> clark, oh, my! from schenectady. clark! she's possessed! >> reporter: torching the tigers with 41 points and 12 assists, setting records of her own. >> most career threes in division one history. >> reporter: punching the hawkeyes' ticket to the final four. >> this time, it's iowa! >> reporter: re-s >> repo reese ditching the trash talk for this game. >> i think they both going to the w is going to be huge. absolutely, they'll continue to play. and i think we'll be turning the tv on to watch them square off against each other no matter what team they're on. >> reporter: huge stars like clark and reese help super

charge viewing. and espn signing a new deal to carry the women's tournament, valuing it ten times higher than the previous deal. but for most fans, the focus is on this weekend's final four. >> being so close last year, i think that's what just drives you. >> reporter: as caitlin clark tries to crown her dream season with a championship. >> we don't want theiis to end. we are fighting for one more week and extend it for as long as you possibly can, i guess. >> our thanks to antonia. by their sunday night, we will have a new women's champion. thanks for watching "early today." i'm jessica layton. we hope you have a great thursday. we'll see you back here tomorrow bright and early. bright and early.

a major cross-country storm wreaking havoc on the east coast as the powerfu