good thursday morning. coming up on "early today," breaking news. a car crashes into a crowd at the south by southwest music festival, killing two. conflicting reports. first the satellite images, are they parts of the missing flight 370 and did the plane fly over four hours past its last confirmed location? horrifying explosion. a number of people still missing as firefighters continue searching the rubble from buildings that exploded early wednesday. plus, a carjacker steals three cars, including a 4-year-old passenger and it is all on tape. an two companies looking for someone willing to spend a year traveling around the globe on $1 million. it is thursday, march 13th. "early today" starts right now.

good morning, everyone. i'm brian shactman. we want to begin with the breaking news out of austin, texas. at least two people are dead after a suspected drunk driver fleeing police crashed through barricades at the popular south by southwest festival. police say 23 others have been taken to area hospitals with injuries. five of them in critical condition. you're taking a look at some the first amateur video coming from the scene. it happened just after midnight last night, local time, outside the popular mohawk bar at the corner of 10th and red river. authorities say the driver killed a man and woman who were riding on a moped and plowed no two dozen pedestrians leaving a concert at the festival. the driver is in police custody after officers shocked him with a stun gun. though an identity has not been made public. austin's police chief says the man faces two counts of capital

murder. now, to the deepening mystery of the missing passenger plane. did malaysia flight 370 fly for four hours after its last radar sighting? it is first of several new details this morning in this baffling vanishing act. 239 people are still missing six days later. wall street journal is reporting flight 370 stayed in the air for about four hours after it reached its last confirmed location. so the radius of the search is just huge now. also, the chinese government posted these satellite photos taken sunday from the south china sea, which is one of the search areas. the photos might show debris from the missing jet. nbc news cannot confirm what the photos show and if they are connected to the missing jet. meanwhile, u.s. officials say they can't confirm the accuracy either, but malaysia civil aviation chief says a search of that area found nothing. the general search spans more

than 35,000 square miles now involving 42 ships and 29 aircraft from 12 countries. as you can imagine, the pain of families visibly boiling over that this video which shows some throwing water bottles at malaysia airlines employees during a briefing, still demanding ansers on how a plane vanishes with their loved ones on board. we have breaking news overnight in new york city. officials have confirmed at least six people were killed by a fiery gas explosion that flattened two apartment buildings. catherine craig from our new york station is at the scene with the latest developments. good morning, catherine. >> reporter: good morning from east harlem. what an awful scene out here. the smoke is rising with the death toll. the wind has picked up in the last few hours or so. you can see that these are strong winds, they're causing the smoke to blow all around us. when the explosion happened, witnesses described people being blown out of windows. the pianos inside of a store

here lifted off the ground. investigators have confirmed that at least six people were killed as a result of this massive explosion. several people remain missing. at least nine of them. dozens went to the hospital with various injuries from bruises to massive head trauma, putting them in kcritical condition. officials believe a gas leak is what caused the explosion that leveled two apartment buildings. the call came around 9:13 yesterday morning. residents complaining of a gas odor and then less than 20 minutes later, the explosion happened. >> we want to find out not only what happened, but we want to find out why it happened. and our whole objective for being here is to make recommendations to make sure that something like this never occurs again. >> reporter: the ntsb will look at con edison's work history in this area.

a spokesman says workers found no gas leaks on february 28th and there hadn't been any complaints until yesterday. you can hear possibly that rumbling above us. there is an elevated train. it is the metro north rail system. and it is functioning, even though some of the smoke is going over the train tracks. that's the very latest from east harlem. catherine craig. back to you. >> thank you, catherine, appreciate it. now to colorado, a man kidnapped a 4-year-old boy, carjacked three different cars and seriously injured a police officer. it is really, you know, you have to watch unbelievable chase, it lasted an hour before finally coming to an end on foot. nbc's miguel almaguer reports. >> reporter: high speed chase apparently somebody took a car in long monte. he's gone both right should and left shoulder. police gave the suspect room. >> this guy is going like a rocket ship. >> reporter: fearing for the safety of a 4-year-old boy indecide the stolen car. >> he's getting into another

car. >> reporter: the chase lasted over an hour. >> another vehicle. he's carjacked a silver van. >> reporter: the suspect stole three vehicles. >> it is very dangerous. we're lucky there was a news helicopter overhead following this guy. he was not going to stop for anybody. >> tremendously high rate of speed. >> reporter: john morrissey has never seen anything like it. >> approaching a stop sign now and not even thinking about stopping. >> it could have been as bad as you imagine. he was going the wrong way on the interstate for, like, 15 miles. >> reporter: more than half a dozen cars were rammed. >> he's doing over 100 miles an hour. easily. >> reporter: state trooper belamn hee was hit and seriously injured. >> he's throwing a young lady to the ground. she's fighting him. >> reporter: the car chase ended with this collision. >> two police officers coming right straight at him. right straight at him. right there. >> reporter: police have their man. >> the suspect is on his

stomach. this is over. >> reporter: 28-year-old rhinestone is in custody. and that 4-year-old boy clutching a teddy bear is safe, back with his family. a wild pursuit that played out on live tv, few will forget. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >> that boy is safe and okay. we want to update the crisis in the ukraine now. u.s. lawmakers will get a firsthand look at the revolution on the ground. senator john mccain leading a bipartisan delegation of eight senators to kiev. the trip comes as a senate foreign relations committee approves strict sanctions on russia aimed at putting economic pressure on the country for intervention in ukraine. on wednesday, the new prime minister met with president obama at the white house. the president expressed his unequivocal support for the new government. ukraine's crimea peninsula votes sunday on a referendum to secede from the crew jaukraine and joi russia.

here at home, a late winter storm tore through the midwest, northeast wednesday night. heavy snow causing a deadly pileup on the ohio turnpike. at least 50 vehicles were involved. three people died with traffic and snowy roads, emergency workers struggled to reach motorists who had to sit and wait in their cars for hours. and, of course, nbc meteorologist bill karins has been dealing with this. but trap that with the west coast which is gorgeous. >> the west continues to be warm. and, you know, usually that's the way it works around this country. one side is cold, one side is warm. we like to average it out. everyone is near normal. that's just not the case. yesterday, record high temperature in oakland of 78 degrees. 72 in san francisco. so we had a little break from the warmth and the drought. we had some storms move through some rain, and now it looks like the drought pattern is sitting right back up again with the warmth building over california. as far as the temperatures go, clear skies, we have cooled it off in many areas, a beautiful

morning in much of california. a little cooler in portland and towards metro, much of eugene, oregon. as far as satellite, not a lot of storminess on the map. you'll see the clouds increasing there in the pacific northwest during the day today. front tonight with some rain. over next five days, here is how the rainfall looks. really the pacific northwest and much of that will be tonight into tomorrow. and notice we're bone dry in areas of california over the next couple of days. 70 degrees today in l.a. another dry nice day. that's your national forecast. >> this weekend, record high temperatures in california. >> all we want. the east -- we want the weather,

we just want warm weather because opening day is like two and a half weeks away for baseball. we'll see you in a little bit. shorter prison term for federal drug offenders. anti-government protesters get more aggressive in venezuela. and that new jersey high school girl suing her parents, well, she makes a deal. we'll have details next. we really wanted to take a relaxing trip to florida. you know? just to unwind. but we can only afford one trip this year, and his high school reunion is coming up in seattle. everyone's going. then we heard about hotwire... and realized we could actually afford to take both trips. [woman] see, when really nice hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. so we got our 4-star hotels for half price. i should have been voted "most likely to travel." ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com book with our app for an additional... $25.00 off your next hotel. so i figured hey, i get it, kids get stains. but we have these three beautiful little girls, and they make us look like amateurs. so i'm living in a world of tiny sweaters and dolphins

and weird greasy mystery stains. i'm gonna get you. but this new tide ultra stain release has a crazy amount of cleaning power and a pre-treat zap! cap that helps me get out pretty much any stain. can i help? aww. just kidding. she got me. [ female announcer ] now with new tide ultra stain release you can help remove 99% of everyday stains. [ video game sounds ] whoa! campbell's has super mario soup.

m'm. gotcha! [ video game sound ] awww. m'm! m'm! good! cut! [bell rings] this...is jane. her long day on set starts with shoulder pain... ...and a choice take 6 tylenol in a day which is 2 aleve for... ...all day relief. hmm. [bell ring] "roll sound!" "action!" welcome back to "early today." clashes between police and anti-government protesters killed three people in venezuela on wednesday. protesters threw stones, molotov cocktails, while government forces used tear gas. the death toll from the month of demonstrations has risen to 25. later today, attorney general eric holder expected a call for reduced prison sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. holder argues the proposal which has bipartisan support would ensure tough penalties for dangerous criminals while

reducing federal prison spending. congressman paul ryan under fire this morning. the republican budget chair appeared on talk radio and said the real problem in the country is an inner city culture of not working. >> we have got this tail spin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work and so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with. >> democratic congresswoman barbara lee called ryan's comments a thinly veiled racial attack that cannot be tolerated. and the new jersey honor student who left home and sued her parents, she seems to have reunited with her family. rachel canning returned home without conditions. in health news, the five-second rule. we have all dealt with this before. you get something you want to eat, you drop it on the floor,

ask yourself that question, i do eat it or throw it in the trash? i personally, if it is not in too bad of shape, i'll eat it. british researcheres say go ahead, eat it. the study says timing is everything and when it comes to the transfer of bacteria, they say a few seconds doesn't matter. but the type of floor, by the way, is important. the five-second rule works better on carpet than on laminate or tiled surfaces. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil. the experts in intimate health. time to get down to business. general motors offering free loaner cars to compacts being recalled for an ignition switch defect. the company says it will offer $500 in cash toward a new gm vehicle. help wanted. luxury travel searching for a candidate willing to take a $1 million trip around the world for free. the applicant would spend one year eating at the finest restaurants, staying at five

star hotels, going to elite nightclubs and the world's most fantastic resorts. so amazing. only requirement, the traveler must provide in depth written reports on their experiences. renegade jeopardy champ arthur chu has been defeated finally. he won almost $300,000 during his 12 day run. just ahead, sports highlights including a disciple of king james showing his pride. details next. save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.ould yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know the ancient pyramids were actually a mistake?

uh-oh. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. chalky... not chalky. temporary... 24 hour. lots of tablets... one pill. you decide. prevent acid with prevacid 24hr. 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.

this morning on "today," a look at the pick libiblical blor cost up in a flood of controversy. what religious leaders have to say about the film noah later on today. to sports, a brush with death is forcing rich peverley to end his hockey season early, maybe even his career. the dallas stars forward will undergo surgery to fix the heart ailment identified as the cause of his collapse on the team bench monday. it caused the game to be postponed. his life was saved by the team medical staff that used a defibrillator to revive him. previously diagnosed with an irregular heart beat, his doctors are unsure if or when he will play again. to the nba, how about the brooklyn nets? they beat the two-time defending champ miami heat on the road. key steal late to win it 96-95.

so we have some interesting stuff going on heading into the nba playoffs. playing in a tight game, nothing new to the heat's lebron james. but had an unusual encounter when he posed for a photo with a fan showing off his lebron james back tattoo. that looks painful, expensive and let's just hope you love him when you're 60. a 55-36 victory over boston university in the patriot league tournament final. they get to storm the court. deservedly so. hockey, two quebec minor leaguers, they end their brawl in unique fashion. they hammered each other. at the end, what do they do? they high five each other and hug, just like pros. hockey is an interesting game. look at the unbelievable end of a high school championship game in the state of michigan.

just awesome. high school sports, they don't get paid, just love of the game, school pride. that gave sacred heart the 49-47 win over fulton. congrats. just ahead, bill karins will tell us if we had our last storm of the winter. please say yes, bill. we'll be right back. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... [ crowd cheers ] the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region

where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel, the number-one biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. [ male announcer ] enbrel, the number-one over one million hours of research. are inside are specific vitamins and minerals to help support your heart, brain and eyes. centrum silver. for the most amazing parts of you. 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. of nescafe clasico stir what's inside of you. ♪ [ engine revving ] [ tires screech ] ♪

welcome back. not a lot of exciting headlines in the forecast today. we'll see late in the day, this evening, the chance of rain in the northwest. during the daylight hours, everything is going to be dry out there and pretty warm. as we look towards friday that front comes through. behind you, breezier. we'll have showers in the forecast. none of that makes it down to california. i was mentioning in weekend, we could be over 90 in the weekend. 90. we'll be a third of that for one day. we'll get warped up. we got a couple of good store whys here. arnold schwarzenegger crushing pianos, cars, and other items with his brand-new tank, all for charity, of course. >> come to l.a. and crush things in my tank. let's crush a taxicab. let's crush a piano. 66 years old, everybody gets a birthday cake. why? because i wanted to crush them.

>> i don't know what it is. just weird. >> cnn's piers morgan got an earful from comedian chelsea handler this week. she called him out for tweeting during the commercial break and not paying attention to her. >> you can't even pay attention for 60 seconds. you're a terrible interviewer. >> you just weren't keeping my attention. >> well, that's not my problem. you're -- >> it is your problem. >> this is your show. you have to pay attention to the guests you invited on your show. maybe that's why your job is coming to an end. >> wow. >> oh, well. >> what a forced laugh. not a lot of good vibes in that one. i'm brian shactman. you're watching "early today." we hope it is your first stop of the day here on nbc. [ female announcer ] so how long have you been living flake-free with head & shoulders? since before jeans were this skinny... since us three got a haircut.

since my first 29th birthday [ female announcer ] live flake free with head & shoulders. with seven benefits... there's no worries from flakes, itch or breakage. i haven't worried about flakes since my grunge days. remember them? trying not to. [ female announcer ] head & shoulders. the number one dermatologist recommended dandruff brand. 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. chalky... not chalky. temporary... 24 hour. lots of tablets... one pill. you decide. prevent acid with prevacid 24hr.

leading the news, in the tampa tribune, a new video released of a movie theater shooting. it showed retired tampa police officer curtis reeves jr. arriving at a florida movie theater on january 13th, minutes before he allegedly shot and killed a man for texting during a movie preview. reeves is charged with second degree murder. and in time, scientists find evidence of massive water reserve near earth's center. scientists say an elusive mineral points to the existence of a vast reservoir that could be larger than all the oceans combined. good sci-fi movie. now to some stories you might have missed. breaking news in austin, texas, at the popular south by southwest festival. at least two people are dead after an out of control car

plowed through barricades. you're looking at some of first amateur video we seved on this. police say 23 people were injured, some critically. the driver of the car is in custody. an 8-year-old minneapolis boy punched for his ipad. his aunt chased after the thief. she didn't catch him, but a nearby store owner did. the suspect is charged with aggravated robbery. thankfully we can tell you the boy is okay. that is troubling. today marks the one-year anniversary of pope francis as pontiff. he ascended into popularity during his first year, took selfies with young catholics, earned rave reviews for his relaxed views on social issues and named "time" magazine's person of the year. cute guys for you, little ones, don't get too close to them when ythey get older, though. a remote camera captured first moments of life for three

sumatran tiger cubs. they're rare. only about 300 left in the entire world. the mother, she hasn't really left their side since those guys gave birth. no names for the cubs yet, but supposedly one has a reputation already, nicknamed trouble. cute. good stuff. here's a look ahead and a look back. the senate foreign relations committee looks into the keystone xl pipeline. lawmakers will hear from supporters, opponents and experts to determine whether the pipeline's approval would be in the nation's best interest. on this day in 1969, apollo nine splashed down in the atlantic ocean, first flight to orbit the earth with the lunar modu module. they performed tests critical to later landing on the moon. happy birthday to emile hersh, 29 years old, actor danny masterson, 38, and william h. macy turns 64. i'm brian shactman. thank you for watching "early today." have a wonderful thursday.

>> we are following breaking news. people dead, dozens injured after a suspected drunk driver plows into a crowd. what police are saying next. >> police, conflicting reports this morning as the search continues for the missing malaysian airlines flight, officials responding after reports that the plane's transponders were shut the off. >> crews are still out at the site of a massive building fire in san francisco, this time tearing it down. >> a live look on this thursday, downtown san francisco along the embarcadero. it's thursday, march 13th and this is "today in the bay." >>