it's tuesday, march 8, and coming up on "early today," a commuter train derails and rolls into a creek. more than a dozen people are injured as emergency crews scramble to help. a jury has awarded $55 million to sportscaster erin andrews for that naked video of her shot by a stalker. voters went to several polls with the big prize being michigan and a lot of delegates. a funeral today for former first lady nancy reagan. dangerous weather around the country. there is incredible video of a plane crash landing and a bizarre scene on a texas highway. "early today" starts right now.

good morning, i'm danielle serino. breaking last night, several people are injured after a commuter train derailed. in happened in california just east of san francisco. the train left the tracks, and that's when it derailed, tipped over and plunged into a creek. that car, which is a corridor express train, weighs 120,000 pounds and has 130 seats. luckily there were just six passengers and one crew member on board. the second car also derailed but didn't flip over. all of the passengers got off the train. one commuter in the first car who was on his way home described the accident to us. >> so -- well, i was in the first car that went down into the river. it felt unreal, honestly, because everything was normal. thank god i didn't sleep or anything on the train so i was aware of everything, but it shifted the gravity all of a sudden and we were all just kind

of -- there were two people hurt pretty badly. one member was just under the mudslide so we were trying to dig her out while the train was hanging. it was a pretty big thing, and one portion of the train was missing in the beginning. >> it was the last train of the night traveling from san jose to stockton, investigators say. it was raining pretty hard when the train derailed. all service on that line is canceled for today. after months of consideration, billionaire michael bloomberg announced he's not entering this year's presidential race. the former mayor of new york city says he doesn't think he could win, and he's worried if he ran, he would help either donald trump or ted cruz, and he doesn't want either of them in it. mitt romney is also still attacking the donald. he recorded anti-trump robo calls for marco rubio. although romney said he'll help any of the other candidates beat trump. it may be a little too late for that, though. a brand new nbc news

surveymonkey poll shows donald trump with a 19-point lead nationally over ted cruz. they face off today in mississippi, idaho, and hawaii. this morning's poll has hillary clinton with a 17-point lead over bernie sanders. nbc's tracie potts joins us now from washington with more on this, and it never gets boring, tracie. >> no, it doesn't, danielle, and that poll and the spread we've seen just in the last week shows why michigan is so important for bernie sanders today. today's michigan primary could be bernie sanders' last chance to beat hillary clinton. he's disputing her claim that he voted against saving the state's auto industry. >> what i did not vote for was a middle class bailout for the crooks on wall street. >> reporter: in a fox news town hall, clinton reached out to sanders supporters. >> i hope to win the nomination. if i am so fortunate, i hope to

work with him. >> reporter: republicans are are focused on today's mississippi primary. >> raise your right hand, everybody! do you swear that you're going to vote for donald trump tomorrow? raise that hand. i love you! >> reporter: ted cruz is going after trump supporters there. >> we're seeing folks who had been supporting donald trump who are realizing he isn't who they thought he was. >> we need someone who will unite this party, and i can and i will. >> reporter: in florida, marco rubio, the underdog, now facing attack ads from trump. >> all talk, no action. >> reporter: the latest poll shows rubio closing in but still eight points behind trump in rubio's home state. florida votes next tuesday. and so does ohio, the other big winner take all state, danielle. kasich is doing better up there than rubio is doing against trump in florida. kasich is about four points on

average behind trump in his home state. a national jury has awarded sportscaster and network tv star erin andrews $55 million in her lawsuit against the stalker who secretly recorded her naked in her hotel room and the companies that own the hotel. after several days of testimony, which included andrews herself and her convicted stalker, the jury took only a matter of hours before finding in andrews' favor. nbc's morgan radford has the details. >> reporter: it was a tense day in court for erin andrews, but it only took seven hours for this. >> was the defendant, was he incorporated to be at fault? answer 12, yes. >> reporter: the jury awarded andrews $55 million. michael barrett is responsible for 51% of that amount, the hotel and management company, 49%. the decision was unanimous. the judge then ordered the courtroom camera turned off so that andrews could speak to the

jury. andrews sued for $75 million for emotional distress after a video taken of her undressing in her nashville hotel room eight years ago went viral. >> i think the thing that's really hit home for me and hurts me the worst is when girls, high school, college, they say i want to be erin andrews except for the marriott stalker thing. i can't control that. >> reporter: she claimed the hotel granted stalker michael barrett's hotel room next to her. they say barrett is a criminal who manipulated their reservation system. >> banks created bank robbers. are banks responsible for bank robbers? >> reporter: barrett testified by video after serving 21 months in prison. he admitted he was wrong. >> i felt bad for her, i felt bad for everybody else. i didn't know it was going to affect a lot of people. >> reporter: finally after hours of testimony, a decision. >> she can talk about the distress she's going to have the

rest of her life, but she can't put a monetary figure on it. that's why the jury came back with a lesser figure. funeral arrangements are set for former first lady nancy reagan who died sunday in california. mrs. reagan, who was 94, will lie in repose at the ronald reagan presidential library tomorrow from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and then again on thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. a private funeral is being held on friday at 11:00 a.m. the white house says michelle obama will be among those attending. she'll be laid to rest near her husband president ronald reagan who died in 2004. president obama paid tribute to the former first lady. >> as someone who has been lucky enough to have an extraordinary partner in my life as well, i know how much she meant, not just to president reagan, but to the country as a whole. >> the president has ordered

flags to half staff at the white house and all federal buildings. now, this is something you don't see every day. a naked woman dancing on the cab of an 18-wheeler in houston. deputies were called to the area monday morning after an accident was reported, and when they arrived, they found this woman here. police say they're not sure why she climbed on top of the truck, but it took about two hours to coax her down. >> she was talking about all sorts of things, wall street, the cia, aliens and all types of things. >> the woman who was taken into custody -- she was taken into custody, rather, and the incident caused this traffic jam which had cars backed up for miles. check it out. a powerful storm system dropped buckets of quarter size hail across parts of colorado monday, and it was a close call when storm chasers caught a semi truck almost taking out another semi on a slick roadway. we've got more severe weather on the way. meteorologist bill carans is

here with the forecast. have you ever gotten hit by hail? >> i was in kansas jogging and got hit by hail. >> left a mark, eh? >> i'm still recovering. the storm is in the lower half of the country. california is now radar free, no echoes whatsoever, so no precipitation falling. in arizona a little bit less here in the mountains west of tucson as the storm now begins to push into areas of new mexico and texas. and this is where we've had severe weather overnight. big storms in san angelo. numerous storms up in oklahoma. this is where you'll see the pictures tomorrow. flash flooding will be an issue, maybe even a few tornadoes. tornado alley, people call it, from oklahoma down into central texas. from san antonio to houston, there's also some in corpus christi. the rain may be the bigger story. a band of thunderstorms, a lot of moisture available, a lot more than typical for this time

of year. it's going to drench this region in the next two days in a row. rainfall estimates, about 7 to 10 inches of rain right up the mississippi river valley from lake charles and shreveport all the way back to little rock. that is an impressive rainfall. today's forecast, nice and drying out. still a little cool out by today's standards. of cool. we'll call it the 40s in most spots. temperatures in the 50s as you head into the mountains. that other storm heading to the west, though. we'll have more on that coming up. >> storms versus just rain. >> yes. >> okay. we'll take it. national pancake day.

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made for real, real life. just moments ago, all the way in venice, high seas confrontations, protests against a high speed train line took to the water this morning as demonstrators clashed with police. environmental and budgetary concerns are fueling the protests ahead of rouhani's meeting in the city today. in illinois, video showed a driver cruising down the road with a 15-foot tree stuck in the front of their car. they eventually pulled over and the driver was charged with dui. on long island in new york, cameras captured a plane falling out of the sky. the pilot and his daughter were returning from a college visit in rhode island when the engine died. fortunately, they were able to pull the plane's parachute.

the pilot suffered only a minor injury. former wrestling star hulk hogan testified monday in his $100 million lawsuit against a website gawker. he says he's defending his first amendment rights. let's get down to business with cnn's morgan dowdy. good morning, morgan. >> good morning. if you want to fulfill your dreams of becoming a pilot, the airline is taking applications for 24 spots. no aviation background is needed. the program costs about $125,000 and will take four years, but you could be flying a 100-seat passenger plane. uber in a key market, new york city. the ride hailing service, ridership has increased 500% last may, and that's partly due

to cost cuts in new york and marketing efforts. have a craving for some flapjacks? it is national pancake day and ihop is giving away free pancakes 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. you are encouraged to doe nature to the children's network. we have the coolest dunk of the day in the nba. and a tearful goodbye to one of the best who ever played. se. symptoms worsen because your heart isn't pumping well. (water filling room) about 50 percent of people die (dog whimpering) within 5 years of getting diagnosed. but there's something you can do. talk to your doctor about heart failure treatment options. because the more you know, the more likely you are... (dog whimpering)

to keep it pumping. choose your match new revlon colorstay™ 2-in-1 compact. expertly-matched foundation and concealer deliver a flawless, complete look that lasts. choose love new revlon colorstay™ 2-in-1 compact. pepper discovers jimmy dean delights, made with real egg whites, lean cut meats, and whole grains. an excellent source of protein, it fuels her up with energy to help power through her morning. with jimmy dean delights, good mornings lead to great days.

take a look at this. rescuers pulling a dog out of an icy reservoir in utah. sadie had escaped from a yard last monday and got stranded on the ice. she kept running away from rescuers, and it wasn't until she fell through the ice on friday that they were finally able to save her. it's finally time for sports with dara brown. good morning. what do you have for us? >> good morning, danielle. after a tough loss to the lakers, the golden warriors are on track. he was the first nba player in history to make as many 3-pointers in a season. they won their record 45th straight home game.

zach levin reminded everyone of why he's the golden state champion. impressive, yes, but not enough as the hornets won this one 108-103. maria sharapova, the number one ranked tennis player in the world tested positive for meldonium which was just add to do the banned substance list this year. sharapova said she failed to check the updated list and had legally been taking the prescription for health issues for over 10 years. she has been provisionally suspended while her case is investigated, possibly missing the games in rio. the five-time mvp all-time leading passer and winningest quarterback ever in the nfl walked away saying this. >> because every moment, every drop of sweat, every bleary-eyed

night of preparation, every note i took, every film i watched, was about one thing: reverence for this game. it was really fun playing quarterback, it really was. i had great coaches and players. it wouldn't have been possible without that. so, omaha. >> at age 39, we can almost certainly expect to see peyton as a coach. quite a career both on and off the field. danielle, back to you. just ahead, rockers acdc forced to cancel concerts. we'll tell you why. plus, samantha bee is downright trumpy on senator mccain. you'll watch her on "early today."

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crest 3d white toothpaste... ...removes 5 times more stains... ...than the red box. for a smile like that, crest 3d white... is the way to whiten. now to entertainment news. j. k. rowling is auctioning off the chair she used writing her first two novels. it comes with a letter show wrote to the would-be winner, but beware, the opening bid is $45,000. country star dolly parton announced a new album in her upcoming tour. it includes a bonus disk in some parts her favorites. it's to be released tomorrow. ac/dc was forced to cancel ten shows after the lead singer

re was diagnosed with a hearing loss. prince george along with princess charlotte got all bundled up with what appears to be a fun family vacation. charlotte bee called on john mccain yesterday on "full frontal." >> does anybody else who leaded party to a full-out loss want to weigh in. >> the armed services committee chairman called trump's national securities position, quo, uninformed and dangerous. >> oh, don't you dare! don't you even dare! the guy who gave us trump 1.0 does not get to complain about the latest outbreak. >> there is a lot of material out there and people are taking advantage of it. >> they'll do it all through the political season. >> it keeps it interesting. i'm danielle serino, and this is "early today." choose your match new revlon colorstay™ 2-in-1 compact.

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leading the news, in the daily beast, cop fired for cheering black activist's suicide. an officer in ohio reportedly wrote, love a happy ending on the facebook page. it was two days after shawn mccarol, a well-known local activist, shot and killed himself on the steps of the ohio state house. on msnbc.com, paul ryan joins trump and cruz to talk about an agenda. he was trying to bring some nominees that people could

actually grasp. to a wild police chase in north carolina as a suspended shoplifter led authorities through two counties yesterday. authorities finally caught up with the man. the car he was driving was also stolen. now you see it, yep, now it's gone. a section of the 80-year-old daniel boone bridge in st. louis was demolished because of age and traffic congestion. a new bridge designed to handle interstate traffic will be built upstream. starbuck's removed breakfast sandwiches from 250 stores due to listeria concerns. cheddar cheese sandwiches were taken out in texas and oklahoma. no one was reported sick. pandas were given names honoring their country. the male cub was named

giagia pang pang naming union of hope. the cubs, who will eventually be sent to china, are called bears of cooperation. they roll over and lay on their back and it's funny. >> watch them all day. panda cam. >> yep. the first lady michelle obama will mark international women's day at washington, d.c.'s union market. she'll be talking to dozens of girls as part of the let girls learn initiative. it's in global primary schools and expands them to help adolescent girls complete their education. happy birthday to "she's all that" to cameron who is 55, lester holt turns 57, hey, hey, lester holt turns 57, hey, hey, and former monkeys star mickey

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plus, a break in the rain, but it's only a breather. when the next series of storms will hit in your morning forecast. voters in several states heading to the polls and what could be a turning point for the democratic and republican candidates. "today in the bay" starts right now. and a good tuesday morning, thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >>