excitement across america for this celestial event. tens of millions of people gathering to watch the once-in

a -a-generation moment. former president trump weighs in on abortion. the gop's presumptive nominee sidesteps endorsing a national ban, saying it should be up to states. our team in washington is live with how this impacts the race for the white house. tesla reaches a settlement in a fatal 2018 crash. the incident revved concerns over the company's auto pilot, which was being used during the crash. arabile joins us with the details. the huskies lock in a legacy. and the first team to win back-to-back college championships in men's basketball in nearly 20 years. we break down the highlights. 10,000 miles in less than a year. meet the man who ran the length of africa and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity with each step. it's tuesday, april 9th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. great to be with you this morning. i'm frances rivera. we begin with a stunning show in

the sky, captivating millions at once. moments of unity across the country, as everyone took in the rare view of a solar eclipse. massive crowds gathered across 15 say t 15 states to see the full effect of the path of totality. our jay gray got theiris view f texas. >> reporter: millions of americans looking up. >> this is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. >> reporter: through glasses and telescopes. everyone eager for a view of total darkness during the eclipse. the moon passing between the sun and earth, visible from 15 u.s. states. >> big moment for us, definitely. >> reporter: and to make the moment even more memorable, a couple in texas exchanging vows during totality. for scientists like dr. eric christian of nasa. >> it's an opportunity to share the exciting science of the sun. >> reporter: he's a part of the parker solar probe team, which is moving into the sun's

atmosphere, providing remarkable observations and data about the sun and its impact on earth. >> the earth lives in the atmosphere of the sun. that's the atmosphere that space weather happens, as opposed to terrestrial weather. understanding that and how it gets accelerated up to a million miles an hour is important. >> reporter: a chance to look, learn and witness a total solar eclipse. jay gray, nbc news, junction, texas. let's turn to the race for the white house. reproductive rights once again emerging as a major issue on the campaign trail. donald trump releasing a statement clarifying his stance on access to abortion. drew petramoix joins us. the former president teased this announcement last week. where does he stand on the issue? >> reporter: the big question was whether or not the former president would engorse a national event on abortion. but a video posted to truth social, mr. trump advocated for leaving the decision up to states. he did not call for a nationwide

ban, but he did also not say whether he would sign one into law if he returned to office. president biden shared his own video, reacting to this announcement. >> my view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint. the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. in this case, the law of the state. >> donald trump just endorsed every single state ban on reproductive care nationwide. if maga republicans put a federal ban on his desk, he'd sign it. donald trump is the reason roe is ended. if you reelect me, i'll be the reason why it's restored. >> reporter: mr. trump is getting backlash from the right as well. his former vice president mike pence saying it's a slap in the face to pro-life supporters. trump said in his video he's proudly responsible for overturning the roe versus wade precedent, according to nbc news

polling. only 36% of americans support that decision. >> democrats hope this decision helps to energize voters in november. and donald trump losing a last-minute bid to delay his hush money trial. the team tried to push back the sche sch scheduled start date arguing they cannot get a fair trial. trump's team is seeking a change of venue as well as a stay in the gag order against mr. trump. meanwhile, the judge overseeing the hush money case released the jury questionnaire for next week's selection process. it will be the first of four criminal trials that trump faces. president biden made a campaign stop in battleground wisconsin where he unveiled a new plan for eliminated student ploon loan debt for millions of americans. >> it's almost impossible.

>> reporter: seth had been paying off his student loans for more than 20 years, until $15,000 were forgiven in november. and he's praising the president. >> surprise, gratitude, i honestly didn't think it was actually going to happen, and it did. >> reporter: he's now one of the 30 million americans the white house says will have at least some of their federal student debt eliminated. >> today, too many young people, are saddled with unsustainable debt for a college degree. >> reporter: in battleground, wisconsin, the largest one yet since the supreme court struck down his earlier plan. the white house is now using a different legal justification. but republicans say taxpayers who did not go to college or who already paid back their loans should not have to bail out the 13% of americans with student loan debt. the president making the move as he faces mounting outrage from some younger voters over the israel-hamas war. >> if biden is supporting genocide, there is no lesser

evil than that. so we won't vote for him. >> reporter: candidate biden led trump in 2020, but in january, president biden was up just eight percentage points in that same group. another poll showed mr. trump ahead. are you excited to vote for president biden? >> i would personally say no. >> reporter: they are both sophomores at the university of wisconsin, madison. >> i'm excited to vote for someone that's not trump. but i wouldn't say that it is, i'm excited for biden. >> reporter: even if president biden is able to win back some younger voters before november, a small shift from 2020 could swing the election. back to you. >> gabe, thank you. in gaza, displaced palestinians are returning to the town of khan yunis after an israeli troop withdrawal. many finding only rubble where their homes once stood. one man told "the associated

press," animals can't live here, so how are people supposed to. the destruction is unreal. the israeli prime minister has set a date for the attack on the city of rafah. let's go live to chapman bill. what did netanyahu say? >> reporter: netanyahu standing firm, releasing a video message, saying victory requires entry into rafah and elimination of the terrorist battalions there, and that it will happen. and a date has been set. now when this date is has yet to be released, at least publicly. the u.s. has called a full-scale ground invasion by israel into rafah as a red line. and israel has said such an operation would be preceded by the evacuation of more than 1 million people sheltering there. this follows the talks between the u.s. and israel where the u.s. expressed their concerns, as well as offered alternatives to a ground assault in rafah.

and this as negotiations continue for a cease-fire. now netanyahu did begin his message saying he had received a detailed report on these talks in cairo, and first and foremost, their goal is the release of all the hostages, in addition to total victory over hostage. now hamas has said they will review this latest promotional, but the main sticking point appears to continue. that is hamas will not release the hostages, some 130, though it's not clear how many are still alive, until israel agrees to a full cease-fire. israel will not agree to a full cease-fire until all the hostages are released. so, until negotiators can make a breakthrough on this point, it seems the stalemate will continue, frances? >> all right, chapman, thank you. in michigan, the parents of the oxford high school shooter will be sentenced today. they were both convicted of

involuntary manslaughter and negligence for failing to prevent their son's school shooting in 2021. prosecutors are asking for between 10 and 15 years in prison each. ethan crumbley was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. severe weather is set to bring flooding rain across the south. michelle grossman is tracking the conditions this morning. >> we're already seeing flooding rains this morning. we had a stormy day yesterday. going to continue that today and over the next several days. it's a slow-moving cold front. you can see the lightning and thunder at this hour. 22 million people at risk. we're looking at damaging hail, 3 inches or larger. that could cause damage for sure. looking at a few strong tornados as well. winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour. that could bring down tries and po trees and power lines.

san antonio, houston, waco, over to alex dandria as we head throughout this tuesday. we could see 8 inches in some spots. 5 million people impacted. also a flash flood warning in the maroon. monroe, shreveport, tyler seeing heavy rain. and we do have to be careful of that flooding rain as we go throughout the day. where you see the darker colors is where we are expecting the heaviest amounts of rain and could see up to 8 inches, even higher than that. there's the warm air, jet stream, the threat for severe storms expected on this tuesday, and it doesn't let up tomorrow. we're looking at the chance for a significant tornado threat av

valley, the mid atlantic, northeast, temperatures near 80 degrees in philly and d.c. all right, that's your tuesday forecast. >> appreciate it. thanks, michelle. tesla reaches a settlement in a fatal 2018 crash. >> and, if you're a walmart shopper, how you can cash in on a class action lawsuit about overpriced greeces. overpriced greeces. charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better for a smooth more enjoyable go. charmin, enjoy the go. head & shoulders bare clinically proven dandruff protection with just 9 essential ingredients no sulfates, no silicones, no dyes. dandruff protection, minimal ingredients. job done. [stomach growling] 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.

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while using the auto pilot feature of the vehicle. that happened in 2018. the ntsb investigated and found that the assistance system was partly to blame for the crash. tesla filed to seal from public view the amount of the settlement, how the settlement got put forward, even the terms of the settlement as a whole then. and indeed has been compensating the family. elon musk and others did suggest of course that it did keep you safe and you wouldn't need hands, et cetera, to actually use the model x, auto pilot. of course that certainly wasn't in display in this crash. and the other story that you have brought forward, then, as well. if you bought packaged meat or bagged fruit from walmart in the past five years or so, you may actually be eligible for a settlement payment. that settlement entitles

claimants to 2% of the goods, up to $500. that's because it has agreed to pay back a fraction of what affected customers spent on purchases as part of agreement by the claimants who claimed illicitly higher prices. still to come. purdue is pur-done. the new records broken in women's basketball, right after this. n's basketball, right afte this. with just one capsule a day of advanced hair complex. conquer hair thinning... ...and fall in love with your hair all over again. only from nature's bounty. we live our lives on our home's fabrics. and though we come and go, our odors stay. it's called odor transfer. left untreated, those odors get trapped inside fabrics and then release smells into your air. eww. you need febreze fabric refresher. its formula is proven to deliver...

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the rest of the hurley family. what an amazing run. it is an uconn coronation! the huskies made history. back-to-back national champions. >> the uconn huskies closed out their dominant ncaa tournament run monday with a commanding 75-60 win over fellow one-seed

purdue. dan hurley's squad managed to shut down the boiler makers en route to be the first school to win back-to-back championships since florida in 2007. meanwhile meanwhile, women's basketball history continues to be written. 18.7 million people tuned in to watch the hawkeyes. it is the biggest audience for any basketball game since 2019. and here's what's going to happen. it's going to roll over. kids sports now, whethen it com to girls basketball. all across the board. >> it's awesome. >> fandom that's following. >> and the boys and girls. i love watching that coach. i can't get enough of that coach from south carolina. from one top-tier coach solidifying his dynasty to another one possibly starting a new chapter. john calipari is close to reaching a five-year deal to

coach at arkansas. hall of fame calipari has been with the wildcats since 2009. he led them to a national championship in 2012 and signed a life-time contract with the school in 2019. the twom-seeded wildcats were bounced by oakland. so i feel like this is happening more and more. where they're signing these lifetime contracts, and then things go downhill, whether it's mental or whatever, coincidence. >> the fine print in a lifetime contract was just ten years. he was supposed to stay there for 2028-2029 season. a huge decision from one governing body. the national association of intercollegiate athletics voted monday to effectively ban transgender women from participating in women's sports. the policy which only applies to transgender women, while all athletes are still able to

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month to set a new temperature record. spirit airlines will furlough 260 pilots starting in september, after the company announced it's deferring an upcoming order of airbus planes. the mo the move will help free up $240 million. jonathan majors will avoid jail time for assaulting his exgifltd. r assaulting his exgifltd. with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort. enjoy the go with charmin. head & shoulders is launching something huge. the bare minimum. anti-dandruff shampoo made with only nine ingredients - no sulfates, silicones or dyes and packaged with 45% less plastic - giving you outstanding dandruff protection and leaving hair beautiful and moisturized.

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triumphant. 27-year-old russ cook completing a monumental challenge, running the length of africa. that's almost 10,000 miles or roughly the equivalent of 376 ma marathons over 352 days. >> the realization that my wife got pregnant, we have a baby in the time that he's done this. >> reporter: crossing the finish line in tunisia. after a perilous journey across 16 countries, starting in the southern-most point of south africa last april. >> day 337! >> reporter: cook documented his journey on social media, as he tackled different climates and terrains. but he also had to deal with unpredictable and dangerous scenarios. in angola, he was robbed at gunpoint of his passport and phones. and he escaped locals with machetes by paying them off. >> i was thinking i was about to

die. yeah, getting into the jungle, that was pretty nuts. >> reporter: that terrifying ordeal even making him consider quitting. >> about one minute i thought about quitting and realized i couldn't. >> reporter: and all that wasn't challenging enough, he was initially denied a visa crossing from marr tauritania when he ca on social media for help. >> i saw the post on instagram where he invited everyone out. i was laying on my couch. 20 minutes later, i bought the ticket, and here i am. i couldn't polmiss a crazy opportunity like this. >> i'm a big believer in sport doing wonders for people's lives. and it changed my life. >> reporter: though russ has more in store, for now, he's just looking to unwind. >> i've got a whole list of

ideas. but no, i definitely am keen to chill out for a moment. spend some time with the family and stuff. >> reporter: matt bradley, nbc news. >> he deserves to chill out. what an incredible accomplishment. all right, here's a look now at what's ahead on "today". >> this morning on the third hour of "today", the family behind that famous burger brand, in and out. plus we'll celebrate earth month by talking about sustainable ways to care for your plants. and th that's all this morning on the thir hi, i'm todd. i'm a veteran of 23 years. i served three overseas tours. i love to give back to the community. i offer what i can when i can. i started noticing my memory was slipping. i saw a prevagen commercial and i did some research on it. i started taking prevagen about three years ago. i feel clearer in my thoughts,

my memory has improved and generally just more on point. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. a spectacular show in the sky. millions gathering across the united states to catch a glimpse of the total solar eclipse. our team was there for some of the biggest moments.