good friday morning. coming up on "early today," weather nation. driving wind and rain, hail and flash flooding is having a major impact on some 51 million americans. mental health. new details on the ft. hood shooter's state of mind. right to know. what would the public learn if a declassified report on interrogation. and vid letterman is calling it quits so he and paul shaffer can get married. paul wa deen's wildly popul restaurant closes. and critics call captain america the most grown-up avengers movie yet. it is friday, april 4th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm francis rivera.

severe weather triggering tornadoes, damaging wind, hail and flooding. the weather channel's mike seidel has the details from north little rock, arkansas. >> reporter: an ef-1 tornado tore through university city, missouri, early this morning. there was the sound of this storm that woke everybody up. 100 homes damaged. trees down. and nearly 7,000 people left without power. in st. louis, the rain came fast and was heavy. flooding streets, and stranding cars. >> it is more than what the drainage system can handle at one time. you have the flash flooding and before you know it, you're in it. >> reporter: at least seven states and more than 50 million people are at risk for either tornadoes or wind damage. >> certainly not done yet. bill karins will tell us what is ahead in just a few minutes. first, declassified, we will soon get our first look into a senate report on post 9/11 cia interrogation methods. let's get to nbc's tracie potts live in washington. tracie, good morning. some called this 6200 page report shocking.

>> reporter: and when we see is inside the thousands of pages, every american can make up their own mind on that. that's what some of the republicans who opposed it wanted to see anyway. the senate intelligence committee approved this report more than a year ago. it is yet to be made public. did the cia cross the line using waterboarding and other techniques to interrogate terror suspects after 9/11? and did it work? is this how the u.s. tracked down osama bin laden? and prevented other attacks? we may soon know. the senate intelligence committee voted 11-3 thursday to give the public a look at the summary of its 6200 page report. >> results, i think, were shocking. it chronicles a stain on our history that must never be allowed to happen again. this is not what americans do. >> reporter: even republicans who voted for disclosure questioned whether this report is accurate.

there are no direct interviews with the cia or anyone in the bush administration. and no republicans join the investigation. they thought it was biased. >> i was never in favor of this report being done. i think it was a waste of time. the general public can make up their minds about whether or not this was done properly. >> reporter: the cia claims the committee accessed information without being authorized. committee chair dianne feinstein accused the cia of spying on the investigation. now it is up to president obama how soon this report goes public. >> we would expect that the actions that are necessary to declassify document like that be conducted in all due haste. >> reporter: we'll see if it happens in a hasty manner. the white house that to pull out everything they think might compromise national security. francis? >> a lot to look into. tracie potts, thank you so much. now to ft. hood, texas. a picture is emerging of

wednesday's shooting suspect who officials say killed three people before taking his own life. nbc's jay gray is live in ft. hood with the details. good morning. so what did we learn now about the soldier's military background? >> reporter: good morning to you, francis. really unremarkable up and before the attacks here on wednesday. look, soldiers and civilians this time of the morning really returning to this area, getting back to their posts at ft. hood and beginning to understand, i believe, that it is going to be a long time before anything is anywhere close to being normal again here. in the wake of the deadly attacks -- >> we have an active shooter currently on ft. hood. >> reporter: -- investigators and so many in this grieving community continue this morning to search for answers. >> it is hard to understand that someone would be out, be able it to shoot people they work with. >> reporter: military officials believe 34-year-old army specialist ivan lopez chose his victims at random after an argument with fellow soldiers. >> a strong possibility that

that, in fact, immediately preceded the shooting. but we do not have that definitively at this point. but we do have strong indications of that. >> reporter: as the shots rang out -- >> 33,000 block of 72nd. multiple gunshot victims. >> reporter: on a post filled with combat veteran, many who moved in to help. >> there were several instances here of clear heroism. >> reporter: the military policewoman who confronted lopez before he apparently turned the weapon on himself. an army chaplin injured as he jumped into the line of fire. >> shielded some individuals, took control of the situation, broke a window and got them out to safety. >> reporter: there were three soldiers who did not escape the massacre, including sergeant timothy owens. >> very proud of him. because he was fighting for our country. >> reporter: the ten-year army veteran served in both iraq and kuwait, but did not survive an

attack here at home. >> to see unspeakable, senseless violence happen in a place where they're supposed it feel safe, home base, is tragic. >> reporter: a tragedy investigators admit they may never fully understand. this community continues to look for understanding as well. they have a prayer service this evening. and a memorial for the victims is planned next week. live at ft. hood, jay gray. francis, back to you. >> jay, thank you. it is a far cry from the movie "gravity," but for the second time in less than three weeks, the international space station had to dodge space junk. nasa says the station fired thrusters to move half a mile to stay away from parts of an old rocket. they say the crew was never in any danger. we're learning of the merck until the ashes after a fire that killed two of boston's bravest and a promise to the widow of one of the fallen.

lieutenant edward walsh lost his life fighting this blaze last week. and when firefighters recovered his body, they couldn't find his wedding ring. they promised his wife kristen they would do anything they could to find it. crews knew lieutenant walsh never took his ring off, so it had to be in the rubble. after hours of searching, they found it tuesday night, the same time as walsh's wake. they immediately rushed it to his wife. lieutenant walsh was laid to rest the next day. the second firefighter michael kennedy was laid to rest yesterday. after a 32 years as late night host, david letterman announced he's wrapping it all up, just two months after jay leno said good-bye to his tonight show audience. david letterman revealed that 2015 will be his last year as host of the late show. letterman broke the news to everyone during a taping yesterday. >> it has been great. you've been great. the network has been great. but i'm retiring. i just want to reiterate my thanks and for the support from the network. all of the people who have worked here, all of the people

in the theater, all the people on the staff, everybody at home, thank you very much. and what this means now is that paul and i can be married. >> of course, it had to end with a punchline. no final date has been set on his successor but we'll tell you who the leading candidates are. i'm going to miss his top ten. you got your top ten of severe weather around the country. >> big story. big fears yesterday going into the afternoon. what was going to happen in the midwest, arkansas, missouri. thankfully we had no fatalities last night. so we keep our streak going. no tornado fatalities in the us thus year. those red triangles are the tornados that did occur. we had eight of them. wasn't a huge outbreak, but a lot of severe weather and wind damage along with it. a lot of cleanup to be done, but we didn't have any injuries or fatalities. now, across the country, see the big storm that is now up in minnesota.

that's responsible for the severe weather. still has a pretty good line of thunderstorms with it. and alabama, down to louisiana. still get something strong storms for the tornado threat appears to be just about over. as far as the weather on the west, a weak system coming on shore, more rain right around san francisco for your early morning commute. it will be over the top of shai. also, not expecting a lot of rain with this, but a brief downpour. over the weekend, looks like the pacific northwest, more significant rain. frontal system coming on shore late saturday and that will bring a better chance of rain to the region. that will not be down in areas of california. for your friday, early morning showers and then we're looking okay. >> talk weekend forecast coming up. >> hope it stays quiet, bill.

thank you very much. a new exhibit will be unveiled today at the george w. bush presidential library in dallas. paintings by the former president himself. nbc's jenna bush hager spoke with her mom and dad about his art work. here is a preview. >> what do you think this teaches people that -- not that you're aging, but that are in the second chapter of their lives. >> i think you got to live life to its fullest and not retire from life. i think you can teach an old dog new tricks. >> you're the old dog. >> he's the old dog. >> dog. didn't say dogs. >> this is the new trick. >> this is the new trick. >> see more of jenna bush hager's interview with an exclusive look at the paintings this morning on "today." a very confused u.s. senator attends the wrong hearing. plus, the government's shocking tv ad to get people who text while driving to wise up. as a kid, i made a list of all the places i wanted to visit. i'm still not going to make it to mars, but thanks to hotwire's incredibly low travel prices, i can afford to cross more things off my list.

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thursday in arizona while participating in a 222 person jump designed to set a world record. at the malfunctioning parachute was unleashed too low to the ground to let her backup chute to open. they complete a special jump in her honor. convicted serial killer tommy lynn sell was put to death in texas on thursday after a back and forth legal battle. lawyers for the killer demanded the state release information about the lethal injection drugs they would be using. the u.s. supreme court denied the lawyers' request and the execution went on as planned. after asking a detailed two-minute long question in a senate hearing this week, indiana senator dan coats realized he was in the wrong meeting. take a look here as he's given a note informing him of his mistake. >> locations, personnel, et cetera. >> i just got a note saying i'm at the wrong hearing.

>> oh, okay. i've got the right room number, but the wrong hearing. >> that would explain why i didn't know anything about this letter. >> makes you wonder if he would have gone on, if he never would have gotten that note. it is friday, we have cute animal videos for you. this is a baboon born last week at florida's jungle island. according to zoo officials, she is happy, and playful and no doubt adorable. time to get down to business on this friday. we'll get a picture of the nation's unemployment situation. they're expecting 195,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate to drop from 6.7% to 6.6%. but if you had a job, apparently, hey, you're not taking vacation. according to a glass door survey, half of all workers who get paid time off only use about half of it and 15% don't take any vacation time at all. start booking the flights. and the department of transportation is taking serious

mu measures to crack down on texting by drivers. >> hello? >> uh-huh . >> nobody likes to be stopped by the police. but if i had seen her texting while driving and given her a ticket, it just might have saved her life. >> no doubt a powerful message. just ahead, the seahawks' pete carol is about to get richer. and one of paula deen's crown jewels comes crashing down. details ahead on "early today." [clucking].

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hi there. we just talked to johnny depp about his new movie. you just transcended right there. >> i did. >> you're freaking me out! did you break any news in this interview? >> no. >> i broke nothing. >> thank you, johnny. >> johnny depp just kissed me on the cheek. tune in to the "today" show and you'll see more. in sports, a memorable final at new york's madison square garden. the back and forth between minnesota and smu. that's up for grabs until austin

hollings drained a three putting the gophers ahead for good. minnesota wins 65-63 giving rick pitino's son richard a championship in the first season as head coach. now to dallas for some of the country's best college basketball players compete ahead of the final four. louisville's shimle beats the guys and girls in the contest. lewis, here he goes, going for it. will he do it? he took home the slam dunk crown. special celebration at the white house honoring the olympic and paralympic athletes. they even busted a move or two. super bowl winning coach pete carol is reportedly set to sign a contract extension with the seahawks. details will emerge later this morning. and next to the big leagues where a foul by adams. the fan talks a little smack. but winds up in the losing end

as the cardinals beat the reds 7-6. popped it up. oh! a collision and baker hopefully is all right. >> ouch. that nasty collision for chicago catcher john baker, but thumbs up as the cubs go on to beat pittsburgh 3-2. and finally, arizona diamondback fans are shelling out, guess how much? 25 bucks to buy 18 inch corn dogs, stuffed with bacon and cheese. and then with all that, you get a side of fries. they sold 300 of them opening day. sorry, though, no dessert. so who will replace david letterman. we have a full list of potential prospects that might surprise you. let's see what you got. rv -- covered. why would you pay for a hotel? i never do. motorcycles -- check. atv. i ride those. do you? no. boat. ahoy, mateys. house?

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welcome back. as we prepare for the weekend, soon enough hopefully, we're watching early morning rain around san francisco, san jose, clears out, okay afternoon. scattered showers in the northwest. not a lot of rain. a more significant shot of rain comes in, unfortunately, to are saturday afternoon evening plans. portland to seattle, be prepared for a rainy saturday night, maybe a nice time to go to the movies. as far as southern california goes, we're dry and pretty gorgeous and nice temperatures, very comfortable through your sunday. on sunday, the northwest will be showery. won't be the steady rains like saturday evening. >> i know you're suggesting movies. >> movies, indoor clean and stuff. not working in the yard. >> we have the movie for you were talking about.

captain america. the winter soldier is set to light up the box office this weekend. that right there is the winter soldier, the russian villain who wreaked havoc on captain america's world in the latest marvel movie. expect the film to break april box office records with close to $100 million. and e-news asked readers who they would want to replace david let americte letterman. they said tina fey and amy poehler. the duo gig would be unlikely. conan o'brien took second with 17%. james franco is defending himself on stwiter after a story broke about him hitting on a 17-year-old girl. whether it was an april fool's joke or not, text conversations surfaced online showing franco trying to pick up a 17-year-old scottish tourist. franco met her after his broadway show and according to the girl, asked via text if he should go and rent a room for

them. don't ask kate winslet to sign any photos of her from the photo from the "titanic." she said people ask her all the time but she's too uncomfortable to do it. and a slew of posters has been released. here is sylvester stallone. then arnold schwarzenegger. and antonio banderas. harrison ford. wesley snipes. mel gibson. and then kelsey grammer. >> like an aarp commercial. >> frazier is either in the movie or he just kind of stumbled on to the set with his crocodile dundee looking outfit. >> the series doesn't do that well in our country, but overseas it is a huge hit. yes. >> you can see why. thank you, bill. i'm francis rivera. this is "early today." we hope it is your first stop of the day here on nbc this friday. let me get this straight... [ female voice ] yes? lactaid® is 100% real milk? right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, no discomfort, because it's milk without the lactose.

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leading the news in the washington times, paula deen restaurant at heart of racism scandal closes without notice. uncle bubba's seafood and oyster house made the announcement on facebook yesterday. a former employee sued paula deen and her brother saying the work environment was filled with racial slurs and sexual innuendo. and blood moon eclipse on april 15th is a special event in usa today. it begins a rare sequence of four total lunar eclipses over the next two years. and other stories in the news this morning, the obama administration is pushing back on the creation of a so-called cuban twitter designed to undermine the communist government. it was first reported by the associated press. the administration says it served an important purpose by helping information flow more

freely to cubans, adding the program was invested and debated by congress and wasn't a covert operation that required white house approval. today, two ships with special equipment are looking for missing flight 370's black boxes before the battery powered devices run out. they can be detected for 30 days after a crash. flight 370 vanished nearly one month ago with 239 people on board. are you a stickler for punctual ty here? the national institute of standards and technology new atomic clock is not supposed to gain or lose a second in roughly 300 million years. apparently the forest was not strong with this presidential hopeful. a rally held to get that man, darth vader, on the presidential ballot. despite the outpouring of support from storm troopers and imperial guard, even a turncoat wookie, lord vader's request was denied. perhaps the empire will strike back with a write-in candidate.

maybe a whole luke's father thing that did it. time for a look ahead and look back. canine teams from around the country arrive in oso, washington, to help in the search for people and remains at the scene of last month's devastating mudslide. on thursday, the number of confirmed deaths rose to 30. on this day in 1968, civil rights leader martin luther king jr. was assassinated as reported by nbc's chet hutly. >> martin luther king jr. was killed tonight in memphis, tennessee, shot in the face as he stood alone on the balcony of his hotel room. he died in the hospital an hour later. last night he said this -- >> we got some difficult days ahead. >> in today's birthdays, illusionist david blaine turns 41. actor robert downey jr. is 49. and actor craig t. nelson turns 70. i'm francis rivera, thank you for watching "early today."

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good friday morning to you. i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm peggy bunker in for laura garcia-cannon. that breaking news happening in oakland. crews at an office of seattle -- of children's hospital rather after a fire. >> christie smith just got to the scene. officials there are calling this quite suspicious. >> reporter: yes, they are. good morning to you, scott. i spoke with a firefighter here and he said here are the circumstances. you have a fire that appears that it started on the outside of the building. they started getting calls at 3:00 in the morning when no one was supposed to be inside or outside. so they are sifting through debris trying to determine what started this single alarm fire at a building