coming up on "early today," a city on edge. six officers suspended. baltimore residents want answers and the justice department is now involved. at this moment u.s. warships are stalking an iranian convoy off the coast of yemen. it's the ship's cargo that has our interest. actor ben affleck is speaking out about his slave owning ancestors. one of general motors' coolest concept cars ever. a dicy night on the coast of maine and much more as "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm dara brown. outrage continues to grow in baltimore following the death of a man who suffered a spinal injury while in police custody. hundreds of people poured into the streets tuesday demanding answers about what happened to freddie gray. as nbc's kirk gregory explains, the feds are now getting

involved in the case. >> reporter: the justice department announced tuesday it's conducting its own investigation into how freddie gray suffered a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody. on monday police released a timeline of the arrest. >> get off me, yo. >> reporter: gray was taken into custody around 8:40 a.m., seen in cell phone video provided by the family's attorney. sometime between this moment and paramedics being called less than an hour later, gray's spine was nearly severed. the 25-year-old succumbed to those injuries sunday. >> what we don't know and what we need to get to is how that injury occurred. >> reporter: in the days that followed, hundreds have taken to the streets, peaceful but persistent in their search for answers. >> we're very, very concerned this is a pattern here in baltimore city. >> reporter: over the past four years more than 100 people have

won court judgments or settled with baltimore over police brutality and civil rights violations. even more gathered tuesday marching from the spot gray was arrested to a police station. >> i have a son, and i would never want this to happen to my son. >> reporter: tensions growing in baltimore, the latest city to come under the glare of the national spotlight. and harsh questions concerning their police. kirk gregory, nbc news. the head of the drug enforcement administration is stepping down following a sex scandal within the agency. michele leonhart has led the dea since 2007. last week she testified before members of the house oversight and government reform committee. she was questioned about dea agents who admitted taking part in sex parties with prostitutes paid for by colombian drug cartels. after the hearing members released a bipartisan statement saying they had, quote, they had no confidence in here. to the high-stakes high-seas standoff playing out near yemen.

u.s. and ally warships are prepared to possibly intercept an iranian convoy that may be trying to deliver weapons to rebel forces in yemen. nbc's tracie potts is in washington. tracie, is the white house prepared for this to turn into an international situation? >> reporter: dara they are preparing but hoping that's not the case. they are preparing by sending eight warships so far into that zone not to block the iranians but at this point they say they are just watching. this u.s. aircraft carrier is hovering in the waters off yemen this morning, not far from seven iranian cargo ships. the u.s. fears they're there to deliver weapons to the rebels fighting yemen's government. >> that's a problem. we're not sending them obscure messages. we send direct messages about it. >> providing weapons to the -- only exacerbates the violence and instability in this region. >> reporter: there's an arab blockade to keep iran away. the u.s. is not part of that. the state department says we're there to reassure allies and

keep shipping lanes open. >> our partners in the region rely on these for a lot of commerce, economic value. obviously that's something that's important to us. >> reporter: if iran's goal was to scare saudi arabia, it may have worked. the saudis announced they're ending air strikes against the rebels and backing peace talks. >> reporter: the saudis say that's not the case at all. they stopped the air campaign because it worked. they were able to destroy the weapons they were going after. the war with the rebels is not over. >> thanks for the did he taste. now an update on ben affleck's ancestry controversy. the oscar winning actor took heat when it was revealed that he lobbied pbs to not include his slave owning ancestor in their genealogy show, "finding your roots." affleck says he regrets his actions. pbs and wnet are conducting an internal review. affleck took to facebook to answer his critics saying, quote, i didn't want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves. i was embarrassed. the very thought left a bad

taste in my mouth. he finished off by writing, while i don't like the guy is an ancestor, i am happy that aspect of our country's history is being talked about. the facebook post garnered over 8,000 likes. the "new york daily news" revealed exclusive pictures of what the paper claims is bruce jenner in a dress. the photos purportedly show him wearing a striped dress outside his malibu home. since his divorce from reality star kris jenner in december, there's been speculation about jenner transitioning into a woman. this friday jenner will be interviewed by diane sawyer. many expect him to discuss his rumored transition. to a followup we showed you two weeks ago. the man beaten by san bernardino police after being chased on a horse is getting a $650,000 settlement. the brutal arrest was captured by a knbc helicopter crew. francis pusok fled from deputies

carried out for an alleged identity theft. the 30-year-old led deputies on a five-hour chase before being arrested. the settlement was approved by supervisors in a closed meeting and it was to avoid the cost of litigation. and in exchange, pusok agreed not to sue the county. san bernardino county is investigating. ten deputies have been placed on leave. stormy weather across the southern coast of maine on tuesday. dash cam video showed the waves crashing over the seawall causing transformers to explode. power was knocked out to area homes and businesses, but it was quickly restored within a few hours. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with the forecast. good morning, bill. >> could be a rough morning. happy birthday to you. all eyes texas, oklahoma, louisiana at risk. already people waking up to a strong line of thunderstorms. oklahoma city carnegie nasty thunderstorm with large hail heading their way. it's one of those days. about three days in a row we'll be watching storms in the

region. storms in the east yellow and orange kind of new, an enhanced risk of severe storms. that just eclipse northern half of dallas-ft. worth area metroplex. about 3 million people in the enhanced risk. if we get tornadoes, in the orange or near the orange oklahoma city on the north side dallas-ft. worth, wichita falls in it of that's the area of concern. we will see a lot of wind damage with the storms and large hail with the strong supercells. three-day outbreak. by the time we get to thursday new orleans, houston, austin san antonio, dallas. huge population centers in this region come thursday and even upgraded to an enhanced risk by the time we get there. the forecast for today isolated storm in the eastern u.s., worst of the weather in the central plains. how about our friends in the northern great lakes, temperatures in the 40s. there's been snow showers this morning. no problems in the areas of the west at all. coolest type day in san

francisco yesterday. highs 50. today will ms. santa rosa try to get you mid-70s, sacramento in the 80s. hopefully we'll probably see a couple tornadoes, rural areas over the open farm plains. >> thanks so much bill. now with the death penalty phase of the boston marathon bombing, a shocking message from the bomber himself. we'll show it to you next. on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that game show hosts should only host game shows? samantha, do you take kevin as your lawfully wedded husband... or would you rather have a new caaaaaar!!!! say hello to the season's hottest convertible... ohhh....and say goodbye to samantha. [ male announcer ]

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offensive images that the prosecution says are central to its case. >> reporter: some jurors wiped away tears as victims who were seriously injured by the bombs recounted the terror, chaos and excruciating pain. celeste corcoran who lost both legs said it hurt so much she thought she might die and at one point hoped she would. a somber courtroom heard for the first time the sounds captured by a video recorder in the moments after the bombing. >> unless you were there, unless you saw those pictures, i don't think anybody can begin to imagine -- you can't begin to imagine the horror of that day. >> reporter: her husband kevin said last week during a court recess that dzhokhar tsarnaev should get the death penalty. this phase of the trial began with the prosecution urging the jury to impose a sentence of death, saying those killed by the bombs had time to feel pain but no time to say good-bye. tsarnaev might have been radicalized by his brother, but all that matters is what he

believed, what he did. the jury was shown a photo of tsarnaev taken in a holding cell before a hearing making an offensive gesture three months after the bombing. prosecutor nadine pellegrini said his gestures showed he was uncaring and untouched by the grief and loss he caused. it was, she said, his message to america. >> nbc pete williams reporting. from the "new york times," mta must run bus ad from pro israel group. a federal judge ruled the metropolitan transportation authority must display the ad and it shows a man with a scarf on his face and the words, quote, killing jews is worship that draws us close to allah. that's his jihad. what's yours? the mta claimed it could be seen as a call for violence while the group claimed free speech violation. the judge noted a similar ad ran in chicago and san francisco in 2013 with no incidents. nine people were indicted tuesday in a theft of $100,000 worth of bourbon. the scheme involved barrels of wild turkey, pappy van winkle

and even a barrel eagle rare valued at up to $12,000. authorities also discovered anabolic steroids with the barrels. let's get down to business now with cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning, landon. >> good morning. chipotle says a third of its restaurants this year after chain discovered a supply that didn't meet animal rights standards. doesn't expect to be fully restored until fall. plan to raise prices to offset higher booth costs. google launches new wireless service that allows you to only pay for what you use, uses sprint and t-mobile but only available on nexus 6 phones. gm unveiled prototype for self-driving car. it looks like something ut of a sci-fi movie. you can swivel around and face people in the back. the car uses eye recognition as

a starting mechanism. back to you. >> thanks that's amazing. one step closer to football in l.a. plus a total stoppage in the middle of an nhl overtime thriller, where is the puck and why is the goalie undressing? up next in sports. jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen.

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this morning on "today" meet 5-year-old jacob who was born a girl but is now living life as a

boy. >> were you always the brother? >> not always. >> what were you before? >> a sister. >> how come it changed? >> because i wanted to be a boy. >> his extraordinary story later on "today." now to the latest in sports. for that i'll send it over to betty nguyen. good morning, betty. >> good morning, dara. we begin with a triple overtime thriller in the blackhawks-predators game. in the first over time, predators goalie manages to lose the puck in his pads. he and the ref spent nearly three minutes looking for that puck. it was scoreless so went to triple overtime. the predators goalie loses the puck once again as it zips by him, hawks win it at 2:16 a.m. eastern this morning. they take a commanding 3-1 lead on the series. champion's week continues at the white house continues. nascar sprint cup champion was

honored by president obama. >> kevin had a new team, a new crew chief to adjust to. it usually takes a little time for a driver and crew chief to find their groove. kevin and rodney seemed to figure out each other in a hurry. sort of like when joe biden joined my team. so they had instant chemistry. as kevin can tell you, when you have a trusted partner shouting world class advice into your ear at every turn, you can't lose. in california the carson city council unanimously approves a stadium for the san diego chargers and the oakland raiders. the $1.6 billion plan will transform a former municipal landfill into a state-of-the-art, 72,000-seat stadium. check out 5-year-old jack carter. he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a aaa baseball game yesterday. carter was born with one hand that did not fully form and only had use of his thumb. yesterday he received a 3d printed prosthetic that looked like his favorite superhero,

that being iron man, of course. dara, back to you. >> thanks betty. just ahead gwyneth paltrow goes from conscious uncoupling to legal uncoupling. jon stewart leaves "the daily show" in august but is already getting job offers. we'll tell you about the latest one next. i bring the gift of the name your price tool to help you find a price that fits your budget. uh-oh. the name your price tool. she's not to be trusted. kill her. flo: it will save you money! the name your price tool isn't witchcraft! and i didn't turn your daughter into a rooster. she just looks like that. burn the witch! the name your price tool a dangerously progressive idea. my cut hurts. mine hurt more. mine stopped hurting faster! neosporin plus pain relief starts relieving pain faster and kills more types of infectious bacteria. neosporin plus pain relief kills the germs.

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enbrel helped relieve my joint pain. but the best part of every journey... dad! ...is coming home. ask if enbrel, the number one biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists, can help you stop joint damage. good wednesday morning to you. all right. now let's see when the west is

going to get some stormy weather. this is a european model long are not forecast for the next seven days. it almost takes out into may. as we advance through the maps we will see a little rain through the rockies, a tiny bit in the northwest. not much in california. maybe a few showers here. lighter green to lighter green. a half inch or less for a whole week. in other words no major systems. all the heavy rains should be in the south and southeast. so the forecast for today with that more ominous news for me temperatures will be just fine cooler in the coast, inland areas just fine. 75 salt lake city, 73 tomorrow 63 san francisco, l.a. 68. even phoenix a little cool by their standards, 82 tomorrow. the headline is no rain in sight. >> no rain in sight. thanks so much, bill. now for entertainment news. after 11 years of marriage and a conscious uncoupling, gwyneth

paltrow filed for divorce from coldplay front man chris martin citing irreconcilable differences for the breakup. "dancing with the stars" derek hough found himself in the er monday night. he was injured during rehearsals for the show's tenth anniversary special. hough purportedly suffered a broken toe, sprained ankle and possible ligament damage. lindsay lohan attempted to post an inspirational quote to instagram, it showed the words "you're beautiful" with the words written in arabic above it. only one problem, the actual translation of the arabic writing is "you are a donkey." >> how do you do that? >> i don't know. she has taken it down from the website now. the top eight contestants have been revealed on "the voice," singers rob taylor and deanna johnson of team adam head home. shortly after jon stewart announced his final day hosting "the daily show" would be august 6, he already received a job offer from guest jeff garland. >> i'm offering you a role on "the goldbergs" as my new friend toby. >> toby, toby, toby!

>> you own a lotion shop next to my furniture store, and you and i talk about things. >> to be yrngs -- toby is a logs man. >> i don't think he'll be the logs guy. >> i think we see a cameo. i'm dara brown. we hope this is just your first stop of the day on nbc. your brain can send information to the rest of your body at 268 mph. three times the speed of a fastball. take care of your brain with centrum silver men.

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the clock is ticking to royal baby bonanza round two. there's already a crowd gathering outside the hospital where william and kate's second child is expected to be born any day now. nbc's annabel roberts is in london for us. annabel, those are some pretty excited fans out there. >> reporter: that's right. expectation is mounting. quite a few people but we've just had changing of the guards marching bands and soldiers marching around. we understand william is by kate's side at kensington palace a short distance from here. more importantly a couple miles from the hospital. he's completed helicopter training in the east of england. that's now done. he hasn't got to work again until june. so they are standing by no

doubt, very important bags sitting by the door for the hospital. we are standing by at the hospital outside. those fans my goodness, they are absolutely ready. >> we can't wait. we can't wait to see it. >> i have been here a week on my bench waiting. in fact, i felt at times i was having a baby waiting. >> i hope it's a little girl for william's sake because his mom always wanted a little girl. by him having a little girl, it will fulfill his dreams. >> if it's a boy. ♪ congratulations and celebrations, la, la, la, la, la ♪ ♪ it's a boy, it's a boy, it's a boy ♪ >> well, he's pretty excited. it didn't happen on queen elizabeth's birthday. the next key date is kate and william's fourth anniversary that's in a week. i think no one wants to wait that long least of all kate. dara. >> thank you annabel.

we'll have to see what kind of fans show up for the rest of the week. some diehards. annabel for us. a happy ending in georgia after a seven-week-old puppy had to get rescued. they were able to return the pooch to its 4-year-old owner who could not be happier. it's a cute puppy. to a different kind of rescue in japan. this 3-month-old white tiger cub had trouble getting out of the pool in its habitat. so like any sibling, his brother came over to help. it took a few tries and some supervision from mom. in the end, though, the little guy made it out. time to look ahead, president obama will mark earth day visiting everglades national park in florida, delivering what the white house is billing as a major speech about his climate change agenda. happy birthday to "hairspray" director john waters who is 69. actor jack nicholson is 78. music legend glenn campbell is 79. i'm dara brown. thanks for watching "early today." have a great and happy earth day and a great wednesday.

attacks on a local trail while taking a stroll. a woman says she was forced to the ground and assaulted he showed up to class, then vanished. the latest on the search for a missing south bay teen. plus suing the feds. why one woman says this u.s. marshal was way out of line. it is earth day, april 22nd this is "today in the bay." a very good morning. 4:30. i'm laura garcia canon, and i'm sam brock. we're tracking some rainy conditions this morning. >> hey, good