good morning. coming up on "early today," the manhunt for the ferguson shooter who wounded police heats up as attorney general eric holder lets loose on the gunman. >> this was a damn punk. a punk. who was trying to sow discord in an area that is trying to get its act together. a massive cyclone with the power of a category 5 hurricane is posing a deadly dilemma. plus death-defying testimony and video revealed in the boston marathon bombing trial. a caught on tape moment as a woman is thrust through a plate glass window and walks away. president obama faces critics with "mean tweets" on this friday the 13th. "early today" starts right now.

good morning. police manhunt heats up in ferguson missouri. cops shoot ss searching for the shooter who opened fire during a protest early thursday morning. no arrests have been made. both officers have been released from the hospital. crowds gathered outside the ferguson police department for a candlelight vigil. community leaders called on the crowd to bring an end did all senseless violence. chris pollone, what's the latest with the manhunt? >> reporter: the streets of ferguson are quiet this morning. the rain that has come in around midnight effectively ended that protest outside of the ferguson police department late last night. police say that they have interviewed some people and gathered some evidence. but at this point, no arrests for the shootings of those two police officers. as they've done many times since the december of michael brown in august, people took to the

streets of ferguson missouri. but this was not a protest. instead, a prayer vigil. >> we're going to continue to heal. we're going to continue to educate our community at large. we're going to continue to heal and have those tough conversations. >> reporter: the group prayed for the two police officers who were shot as they stood outside the ferguson police department. one officer shot in the face, the other in the shoulder. both men have been released from the hospital. witnesses say the shots came from about 100 yards away. >> we're lucky by god's grace we didn't lose two officers. >> reporter: the attack was just hours after ferguson police chief tom jackson resigned the sixth city employee out of a job in the wake of a justice department investigation that revealed widespread racial bias. the missouri state police and st. louis county police have taken over security from the ferguson police department during future demonstrations as they did following the michael brown shooting. after the prayer vigil, a few dozen protesters returned to the area across from the ferguson police department. they dispersed as heavy rain

moved into the area. it's expected to last into saturday. everyone here still uneasy knowing a gunman who's not afraid to shoot into a crowd is still out there. leaders here say there are rewards totaling at least $13,000 for information leading to an arrest. finding whoever shot those two police officers. >> president obama talked about ferguson with abc's jimmy kimmel. he compared the events in ferguson to the selma civil rights march. >> what was beautiful about selma was reminding ourselves that real social change in this country so often has happened because ordinary people are willing in a nonviolent fashion to make their voices heard. and i think that what had been happening in ferguson was oppressive and objectionable and was worthy of protest. but there was no excuse for

criminal acts. >> the president did, however, serve up some lighter moments with kimmel. including a fan favorite, a special presidential edition of "mean tweets." ♪ >> is there any way we can fly obama to some golf course halfway around the world and just leave him there? well i think that's a great idea. how do you make obama's eyes light up? shine a flashlight in his ears. that's pretty good. >> kimmel got a chance to ask the president some personal questions. >> when you're at home can you run down to the kitchen in your underpants in the middle of the night if you're hungry? >> i mean, i could. i don't. >> do you ever drive? >> i cannot drive. i mean, i -- [ laughter ] i'm able to drive. >> does that mean you don't have a birth certificate? >> this morning lawmakers are demanding answers following the latest secret service scandal.

two agents are being investigated for driving to the white house after an evening of drinking and possibly disrupting a bomb investigation. nbc's tracie potts is live in washington for us. what could this latest incident mean for the agency's new director? >> reporter: well, it's the first incident like this on his watch. so it's going to be a huge test for him. especially here on capitol hill where lawmakers are extremely frustrated. they've got a lot of questions, they want them answered quickly. joe clancy came in and cleaned house at the top quickly but these lawmakers do not think that was enough. it was all caught on video. and lawmakers want to see it. two senior secret service agents ran into a white house barricade during a bomb investigation last week. after what "the washington post" called a night of drinking nearby. >> does it really need to be said that you can't show up drunk at work? especially when you're in the secret service. >> reporter: the house oversight and government reform committee is asking director joe clancy

for a briefing by wednesday. >> he better deal with it swiftly. it's totally unacceptable. >> he has talked about zero tolerance. and i expect him to react accordingly to these reports. >> there's absolutely no doubt that heads need to roll. >> reporter: clancy was brought in to clean up the agency after a series of embarrassing missteps and security beachreaches. lawmakers are fuming at reports a supervisor let the agents go home. >> you see extraordinary disparate treatment between the agency themselves and the general public. >> reporter: homeland security is investigating. so far, no word from the agents at least not directly. people who are close to that investigation have told nbc news those agents are devastated that they're embarrassed and ashamed about what happened. >> nbc's tracy potts, thanks. two pieces of dramatic security footage you have to see. first in colorado. watch a car smash through a

giant plate glass window into a pizza shop. on the front hood, a woman who happened to be walking by. she's actually okay even got up and walked away. and new video of the attempted abduction of a newborn baby at a hospital. the man in the black shirt there is the father. and the child is actually inside that white plastic bag. the baby was born at home and arrived at the hospital with traces of drugs in its system so the arizona department of child safety was planning to take custody. the father tried to smuggle the baby away. he's charged with child abuse and drug possession. the south pacific island chain of venewatu has issued a red alert as cyclone pam approaches. it's now a category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. the cyclone has already destroyed homes and damaged other pacific islands. the weather channel tweeted this satellite photo of pam's massive eye. nbc meteorologist bill karins is

here with more on that tropical storm. >> it's weird to know right now this devastation is taking place in the island. 60,000 people on the main even land in venewatu. port villa is the biggest city and the eye of the storm is almost over the top of it now. there's 60 people in their homes and shelters praying and hoping for their lives at this point. 160-mile-per-hour winds. this could maybe end up being one of the strongest landfalling and most devastating storms we see throughout the spire tropical season, atlantic pacific, and typhoons. port that villa, you can see the eye of the storm. it's meeting a beeline straight to the south. in the southern hemisphere the storms spin in the opposite direction, clockwise. the winds are like this and smack right into the island right now. going through the strongest portion of the storm too. so we'll have those pictures for you tomorrow or maybe a couple of days from now when it's safe for people to get in there and help those people out.

in the west more of the same. these temperatures on saturday and sunday and sunday are ridiculous. 90 degrees in l.a. 22 above average will be your high temperature tomorrow. today more of the same. 90 phoenix. the warmth and drought in the west just continues to move on and get worse. there will be more clouds and showers this week in the northwest. seems like they can't catch a break in southern california central california, and the dry season is knocking on the door. >> those record numbers are quite impressive, i have to admit. i guess lucky for those who live in southern california to have nice sun. just ahead, a fascinating and heart-pounding day of testimony in the boston marathon bombing trial. jaw-dropping before and after weight loss images unlike

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available at walmart for a low price every day. at the boston marathon bombing trial jurors were shown dramatic video of the man who was carjacked by the tsarnaev brothers three nights after the bombings. more from our sister network necn. >> please help help someone took my car. >> reporter: for the first time thursday jurors in the marathon bombing trial heard the terrified pleas of a carjacking victim who, as you can see in this surveillance video, escaped after he had just been taken on a harrowing ride, threatened and robbed at gun point by two men he later identified as bombing suspects tamerlan and dzho tsarnaev. >> they say they are -- they did the explosion, marathon explosion. >> reporter: the carjacking

victim testified he had pulled his mercedes suv over on bright ton avenue in boston to respond to a text message 10:30 p.m. april 18th when a green honda civic pulled up and a man later identified as taller man knocked on his way. he rolled it down thinking tamerlan wanted directions. suddenly he put his hand through my window unlock the car, and jumped in very quickly and closed the door. he said tamerlan asked him, do you know the boston marathon explosion? he said yes. tamerlan asked, do you know who did it? i did it and i just killed a policeman in cambridge. as they drove from boston to watertown he thought about trying to escape when they took his bank of america debit card and withdrew money from a watertown atm. he couldn't get up the nerve to do it until the brothers drove to this shell gas station on memorial drive in cambridge and he was forced to go inside and pay for the gas in cash. he testified, tamerlan didn't have the gun in his hand both his hands were on the gps twice.

i count down one, two, three, four, unlocked the door. i could feel he was trying to grab me. as you can see in this surveillance video, he ran from the shell gas station across the street to the mobile station, running inside shutting the door, and pleading for the manager to call 911. >> please help help me, please. they have guns. >> that was alicia palumbo reporting there. from boston to cape c and the spectacular night launch as nasa sent a rocket with four satellites into orbit. the mission, studying explosive cosmic phenomenon known as magnetic reconnection. a dog that would meet jenny craig now. dennis is 56 pounds in that photo there. after adoption, a strict diet of dry food and a few surgeries to remove the excess skin after weight loss here he shrunk down to a more healthy 12 pounds. he can finally fit in that red

sweater. just' head will ferrell makes his mlb debut over and over again. plus this guy set a new world record for pullups in a 24-hour period. can you guess how many? check out the arms on that dude. sports is next. start the interview with a firm handshake. firm, but not too firm. make eye contact...smile. ay,no! don't do that! try new head & shoulders instant relief. it has tea tree and peppermint that cools on contact. and also keeps you 100% flake free. i use it for cooling scalp relief in a snap. mi bebé ha crecido tanto. try new head & shoulders instant relief. for cooling relief in a snap. "ride away" (by roy orbison begins to play) ♪ i ride the highway... ♪ ♪ i'm going my way... ♪ ♪i leave a story untold... ♪

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this morning on "today," al

roker sits down with former model and tv host bee smith who opens up about her heartbreaking diagnosis of early onset alzheimer's. time now for your friday sports headlines with betty nguyen, good morning. >> good morning. thrillers on the hard court. kyrie irving goes off scoring a season high 57 points. the cavs rallied for overtime victory. ncaa tournament thriller. >> cole gets it in to morris. 5 seconds. here's morris. morris the shot, good! >> a buzzer-beater win for iowa state, monta morris the game winner. cyclones stunned texas in the big 12 quarterfinals. they'll face oklahoma today in the semis. 67-61 overtime victory, the mauls ket tiers punched their ticket to the semifinal matchup against second seeded

georgetown. will farrell made his rounds during spring training in arizona, suiting up for ten teams in five practice league games playing all nine positions, even pitcher. it was part of a funny or die project in association with hbo and mlb. farrell did it to raise $1 million for the charity cancer for college, which gives scholarships to cancer survivors. all of the uniforms and equipment will be auctioned off for the cause. the agency angles find a replacement for lesean mccoy. cowboys running back demarco murray finalized a five-year deal with philly for $42 million with $21 million guaranteed. dallas teammate dez bryant sent out this tweet to murray. i wish you would have stayed but i understand your decision. congrats you deserve it. all eyes on marcus mariota. the heisman trophy winner put his passing skills on display. he can go as high as number one in the nfl draft. a 54-year-old texas man broke the world record for number of pullups within 24

hours. look at mark jordan go. he broke the previous record of 4,210 by over 100. he did 4,320. look at those arms. you know what they say, everything in texas is bigger. >> incredible thanks betty. just ahead, is tom hanks a girl scout? kind of. we'll explain. robert downey jr. comes through big-time as a real-life superhero. you're watching "early today." milk! that's lactaid®. right. 100% real milk just without the lactose. so you can drink all you want... ...with no discomfort? exactly. here, try some... mmm, it is real milk. see? delicious. hoof bump! oh. right here girl, boom! lactaid®. 100% real milk. no discomfort. and for a tasty snack that's 100% real dairy try lactaid® cottage cheese. almay celebrates the true spirit of american beauty. which rises from

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now to entertainment on this friday the 13th. starting with leonardo dicaprio donating $500,000 to adrian grenier's kickstarter fund to fund a documentary about the loneliest whale in the world. the campaign raised over $400,000. tom hanks surprised a group of girl scouts in los altos, california. he not only bought four boxes, he helped them sell more cookies on the street. funny may be andy samberg will host the 2015 emmys in september. but this sunday "the royals" premieres on e! inspired by the british monarchy featuring lit beth hurley as queen helena. >> in case you've forgotten, we are not a normal family. disney announced they're producing "frozen 2."

while a release date hasn't been announced check out the "frozen fever" short which plays before the cinderella movie opening in theaters day. iron man with a heart of gold. he partnered with the collective project and limitless solutions which produces 3d prints and donated an iron man bionic arm to a 7-year-old boy. >> look at that it's a marriage of robotic technologies. bang, nailed it. >> that is awesome. >> i want a robot arm. >> absolutely incredible. you're going to be watching "the royals" this sunday? >> i don't know, maybe. i get sucked into things. are you? >> probably not. i will not be watching that. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc. introducing preferred rewards from bank of america the new banking rewards program that rewards

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leading the news in a "usa today," cook offered jobs his liver, new bio reveals. late apple cofounder steve jobs had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. the company's ceo tim cook offered to donate a portion of his own live tore help his mentor. cook said jobs refused saying he could never let him do that. on nbcnews.com, first photographs emerge of new pacific island off tonga. the south pacific island began to form in january from a volcanic eruption. a tongan native captured these stunning photos. unfortunately scientists say the island won't last more than seven months. another american has been infected with ebola at a

treatment center in sierra leone. the worker will be transported back to the u.s. today and admitted to the national institutes of health in bethesda bethesda, maryland, for treatment. days after the "blurred lines" verdict it's reported jay-z will pay a jazz musician a portion of royalties for his song "versus." the exact amount of royalties owed to the 79-year-old musician is not disclosed but it will bring an end to the 18-month legal battle. senator joe man sin is speaking out over a new bill which passed the statehouse yesterday, would allow a person to carry a concealed gun without a permit or safety training. manchin criticized the proposal saying there is not one west virginian whose second amendment rights will be infringe the without this bill. the first lady stopped by the "ellen" show to bust a move. the first lady is promoting "give me five" which is part of her "let's move" campaign take

a look. >> i have tried to learn the dance. and so if that's your challenge -- you have learned the dance? >> yeah you know. i'm busy too, you know. [ laughter ] ♪ >> michelle obama's appearance on the talk show is set to air monday. it's incredible. >> choreography was good. >> there's definitely some training involved in that. >> i think they learned it on their own and -- like at home then they went and did it together. but still. it's a lot of pressure. >> you've got to give it to the obamas. they do have a sense of humor. they have pushed the envelope in doing these. incredible. celebrating birthdays today. grammy-winning rapper common turns 43. actress dana delany is 59. actor william h. macy is 65. thanks for watching "early

today." have a great friday.

the man accused of gunning down this oakland mother prepares to make his first appearance in court. >> plus a hotel in wine country, scrambling to figure out how two of its employees tested positive for hepatitis a. the dispute over a million-dollar lottery ticket heads to court. >> a look outside at the bay bridge all lit up this morning, friday, march the 13th. this is "today in the bay." good friday morning to you. it's 4:30. i'm sam brock. >> i'm kris sanchez. laura garcia-cannon is off. lots to get to this morning. first let's check your forecast with meteorologist chris