coming up today, mystery deepens. did the jetliner change course mid flight? authorities haven't ruled out reasons. is this a sign of things to come? senate versus cia. this could be a breech of our constitution. president barack obama expected to use executive privilege to force businesses to pay overtime. find out what started this brawl. it's wednesday march 12th. "early today" starts right now.

good morning. i'm frances rivera. into thin air, more than five days and still more questions than answers on what happened to that missing malaysian jetliner. authorities admit they don't know which what way it was going when it vanished. over the malaysian mainland and small island. mechanical failure, pilot air and terrorism take over are possibilities. >> authoritys in malaysia, united states and other places are trying to see if terrorism played a role in the loss of the aircraft. this is disturbing. it's been several days, and there are no signs of the aircraft. >> the passenger's families are desperately waiting for answers.

the airline is providing meals, emotional support at no cost. they left the coat, we have 115 family members in kuala lumpur. new in florida, something expected to have rippling effects in the nation. a special congressional election, both parties poured $11 million into the race. the speech goes into the november midterms. at the center of the election was the affordable care act a. his democratic opponent did not tuesday. the administration revealed 4.2 million americans had signed up for health plans. open enrollment ends march 31st. poll numbers show how the midterms could be for democrats. president barack obama 's approval rating stands 441%,

lowest in the survey history and down nearly 10 points from a year ago. low numbers are bleeding over. one-third of americans say their vote in november will be in opposition to president barack obama 's policies. tracey pots is live in washington. those numbers aren't good for anyone. >> definitely not good for democrats heading into the election in eight months. always important to put numbers in perspective. you did that compared the president's numbers a year ago. also compared to president bush in the bush presidency. president barack obama numbers are higher. president bush was at 37%. this does not bode well for democrats. a record high 20%, one in five, disapprove of the president of their own party. now taking a look into our poll, who do americans think should control congress? by a 1% margin, within the

margin of error, republicans over democrats. that's pretty much a dead heat. it's more than we've seen for republicans in the past. also, what about getting rid of every member of congress? we've seen this in the past. more americans, 54%, say every member of congress should be replaced. some of this may have to do with what you were talking about. only 35% backing the health law. >> thank you. now to dramatic allegations from the senate's top lawmaker. diane feinstein openly accusing the cia of spying on congress. now tensions are boiling over. >> talking exclusivovely to nbc news. >> we weren't spying on

anything. >> in the speech, senate intelligence chair diane feinstein accused the cia of tracking the investigation in one of the worst abuses in cia houston. this is widely viewed as torture. >> i have grave concerns the cia search may well have violated the search of powers, principles in the united states constitution. >> feinstein charged the cia hacked computers trying to hide the smoking gun of brennan's policies. the terrorist suspects were overseen under george w. bush. brennan denied he interfered with the senate investigation. >> if it is proved the cia did do this, would you feel you had to step down? >> if i did something wrong, i'll go to the president and explain to him exactly what i did and what the findings were.

he is the one who can ask me to stay or go. >> brennan's counter charge in this letter to the senate obtained by nbc, the senate staff improperly took sensitive documents. brennan wrote, it's imperative to learn whether a breach exists. fearing the cia would destroy the evidence. >> the white house is standing by, cia director brennan says the president has great confidence in him. this next story is tough to watch. it might make you grateful for security cameras. thanks to security cameras at the puppy store, there's evidence of an incident. one is the owner sneaking in and setting it on fire. this shows someone dousing the place with gasoline before setting it on fire.

the puppies were saved. amazing video out of washington state. a triggered avalanche went wrong. it brought down more snow than expected taking out trees and a snow lift at a resort. fortunately it was closed at the time. no one was hurt. bill is here to explain. >> sometimes skiers or hikers are there. you don't want to get caught in that. it's not exact science. you don't know when it will give way. the snowstorm in chicago very impressive. a lot of flights are cancelled in and out of detroit buffalo and cleveland eventually too. we've heard reports of thunder snow. it's snowing so hard in indiana it's like a thunderstorm instead of with heavy rain, there's snow

falling. they're getting two to three inches an hour. horrible commute. up to a foot of snow in northern new england. much of the west, we'll enjoy a clear, beautiful, warm day. enjoy it. by the weekend, more clouds for you. it's a beautiful spring, march day. outdoors if you can. san jose 75. you may play hookie today. it's sunny. >> in the east coast we talk about the blizzard and whiteout conditions. >> thank you very much bill. a mega church robbed of 600

grand. and the president sitting between the ferns. and also the actor chris pine and the run in with the law. that's next. [beep] [clicks mouse] nice office. how you doing? good. automatic discounts the moment you sign up. but we're not staying in the kitchen. just start the slow cooker, add meat

and pour in campbell's slow cooker sauce. by the time you get home, dinner is practically done. and absolutely delicious. everyone is cooking with new campbell's slow cooker sauces. and irresistible aroma of nescafe clasico stir what's inside of you. ♪ [ engine revving ] [ tires screech ] ♪

[ male announcer ] that was bold. real bold. ♪ welcome back. president barack obama was in new york city tuesday for heavy duty fund-raisers but found a little time to get shopping in. he stopped by the gap to buy sweaters for his i daughters, athletic wear for his wife and commend the clothing change for raising their wage. president barack obama made digital ways on the appearance "between two ferns." this was to help drive traffic to healthcare.gov. this sent 32 million to the marketplace. laurence o o'donnell talked

last night act the president's sketch and if it damaged it any way. >> the question is asked any time a president does a comedy thing whether the news or saturday night live. it's time to stop asking the question. the administration knew they had to reach an audience not watching sunday morning shows. it's an audience watching internet videos. they embraced that. a massive fire in san francisco completely destroyed an apartment building under construction. it caused large parts of the building to collapse. the five alarm fire is the city's largest in years. things turned to ugly fast in a crowded massachusetts restaurant. one man started throwing punches at another when he thought he saw him looking at his girlfriend. two people were shot in the

brawl. european union thinks their cheese is better than our cheese. they want to ban feta and other cheeses in the united states. it is cutting cheese in european sales. a scare at a new york hospital. some patients may have been exposed to hepatitis b and c and even hiv. it happened at the hospital on long island. staff discovered an insulin pen that may have been used with more than one patient. the hospital says the risk of infection is extremely low. it has contacted 4,000 people to get tested. now for your first look at business. we turn to cnbc. >> frances, the united states attorney's office in manhattan has reportedly opened a criminal

probe into gm 1.6 million cars worldwide. they're looking into whether they're guilty of not contacting millions from the recall. employers are required to pay overtime to salary workers. currently companies don't have to pay overtime to employees that make over $24,000 a year. starbucks will let customers leave a tip with the mobile app. starbucks says 10% of all purchases are made with a mobile device. >> thank you very much. just ahead, teens are going to the ncaa tournament in a bench clearing celebration you've got to see. next. he ncaa tournament in a be clearing celebration you've got to see. next. o the ncaa tournament in a bench clearing celebration you've got to see. next.

here in philadelphia you can access a philly cheesesteak anytime, day or night. just like you can access geico anytime, day or night. there is only one way to celebrate this unique similarity. witness the cheesesteak shuffle. ♪ cheesesteak, cheesesteak ♪ ♪ it's the cheesesteak shuffle! huh! ♪ ♪ every day, all day, cheesesteak, cheesesteak! ♪ ♪ every night, all night cheesesteak, cheesesteak! ♪ ♪ 9 a.m. cheesesteak! ♪ 2 p.m. cheesesteak! ♪ 4 a.m. cheesesteak! ♪ any time (ruh!) >>geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. from crest 3d white, new brilliance toothpaste and boost. after brushing, our exclusive boost polishes your smile and whitens with 3x the stain lifting ingredient for a smile that dazzles. new crest 3d white brilliance. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request.

m'm! m'm! good.® [ male announcer ] when you feel good, no one is immune. emergen-c has more vitamin c than 10 oranges plus other antioxidants and electrolytes to help you come down with a serious case of healthy. emergen-c. making healthy contagious.

this morning on "today," mat laur sits down with the former football coach and alleged child abuser. >> surrounding the time he's been there, what changes have you seen in him? >> a friend had written to him and asked what he missed, what did he take most for granted. he said -- i'm sorry.

he said family meals, fun time with the grand kids, playing ball doing special things with friends. >> watch the wrest of matt's exclusive interview with dottie this morning on "today." jonathan martin is getting a fresh star. the defensive lineman has been traded to the 49ers. he tweeted he feels blessed. it reunites him with his old coach harbaugh. four more teams are guaranteed a spot in the men's tournament. dakota state kept their season going with a win. no longer. the 17th consecutive tournament first win. the university of wisconsin, milwaukee secures their bid with

a 69-63 win over rice state. up next to the nba, tempers flair between houston and oklahoma city. durant led his team to a 106-98 win. >> you see the third baseman following a routine fly pop. instead of a catch, face plant. he lands face first after tripping over the face mask of the catcher. in a small town in maine, the basketball team with the sideline celebration. their reaction to scoring has gone viral. what a better way to show comradery than a dance office. players dropped pads and challenged each other to bust a move. who knows, maybe we'll see sweet moves during their end zone sell

bra -- zone celebrations. tina faye lights up the red carpet with her fuzzy new friends. we'll introduce you next. some more." ♪ that's why walgreens makes it easy to save even more on your medicare part d prescriptions. ♪ just stop on by and leave all the legwork to us. switch to walgreens today where you could save with copays as low as zero dollars on select medicare part d plans. at the corner of happy and healthy. ♪ on select medicare part d plans. [ girl ] roses are red. violets are blue. splenda® is sweet. and so are you. [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. ♪ splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar without all the calories. it's a very good reason

to enjoy something sweet with the ones you love. think sugar, say splenda™

still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. welcome back. it's one of those beautiful spring days. cool, crisp morning in the afternoon when the sun is out. should be beautiful especially to spend time in sunshine. 66 looks great all the way to vegas. maybe cooler than some like in

vegas. 81 one of the warmer spots in the country along with florida there in the 80s. not a lot changes tomorrow. it's not million friday we introduce rain. here's seattle's forecast. chance of rain friday. looks decent over the weekend. >> still hookie weather. thank you very much. breaking news overnight. chris pine has been arrested for drunk driving in new zealand. the 34-year-old has been in the country filming his latest movie. according to police and court officials pine was stopped during a routine drunk driving operation. taylor swift has $40 million in revenue, kenny chesney number two spot. justin timberlake and bon jovi rolled tout top five.

the premiere of "muppets most wanted." tina fey rolled out the non fuzzy cast. ten years from now. it all happened from the "tonight" show. she bumped into lindsey lohan. they're going to try to organize a ten year reunion. >> lindsey is probably free. the top 100 films of 2013, 50% protagonist were women. 30% of all speaking characters were female. some may be shocked. we hope this is just your first stop of the day here on nbc. wisest kid?

we need a new recipe. let us consult the scroll of infinite deliciousness. perfect. [ wisest kid ] campbell's has the recipes kids love. so good! [ wisest kid ] at campbellskitchen.com. [ gong ] m'm! m'm! good!

leading the news in usa today. man freed after decades on louisiana death row. 64-year-old glenn ford was released after nearly 30 years behind bars. the court vacated his conviction in the murder of a business man because of undisclosed new evidence. driver stung 1,000 times by bees. it happened sunday when two cars crashed. one hit a tree that had a beehive. one fell in the street. an la county sheriff had to use a fire extinguisher to get the bees off of her. now to stories you might have missed. president barack obama will welcome ukraine's new prime minister to the white house today. this is after tuesday condemning

actions against its neighbor. the european union could hold sanctions against them by monday. a plea deal is under negotiation. the judge addressed political concerns may have properly influenced sinclair's case. the judge found unlawful command influence in the decision to reject the plea bargain in january. joel olsteen's houston based church has been robbed. $600,000 in cash, checks, credit card information from donations. all stolen from the church safe late monday. houston police are investigating but have not released details. a look at how the pope is viewed on twitter. positive comments without weighed negative five to one.

man used a brick to knock out a car window. the plan backfired when he set himself on fire in the process. despite the misstep of the vandal causing heavy damage to the car, he's still out there. a look ahead and look back. on this day 128 one of the worst civil engineering disasters. the concrete st. francis dam northwest of los angeles collapsed killing 600 people. michelle obama will speak at the special screening of muppets most wanted. oscar winning actress turns 68. we advise you to keep it here

for more news

developing news, almost 12 hours late, firefighters still trying to put out a massive fire at a san francisco construction site. a live look at the scene. you can see firefighters still hard at work. this is how it all started, flames pouring out of the building, consuming a good part of the city block, sending smoke that could be seen for miles away. very good wednesday morning to you. 4:30 now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm scott mcgrew. the fire started before 5:00 last night, at an apartment complex mb360 in mission bay on 4th street between china basin and mission rock. chase cain live on the scene. firefighters pouring water on this. when do they think it will