it's st. patrick's day, march 17th. coming up on "early today," donald trump warns there could be riots if he doesn't get the gop nomination. plus the republican senate doubles down on the supreme court pick. nike may be changing the way we wear shoes forever. plus ole blue's son frank sinatra jr. has died. and much more on a busy thursday. "early today" starts right now. good morning. president obama has picked merrick garland as his nomination for the next supreme court justice. >> i've made my decision. i've selected a nominee who is widely recognized not only as one of america's sharpest legal

minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency, modesty, integrity, even handedness, and excellence. >> garland, a federal appeals court judge is known for his more centrist and moderate views. he was confirmed to the d.c. circuit in 1997 and held the support of seven current gop senators including orrin hatch who said his intelligence and scholarship cannot be ask questioned. garland is also a former prosecutor who led the prosecution of timothy mcveigh as well as unabomber ted kaczynski. his confirmation won't be smooth sailing. >> let's let the american people decide. the senate will revisit the matter when it considers the qualifications of the nominee the next president nominates. >> nbc's tracie potts joins us

now with more. what's the issue of this nomination? >> well at issue is whether or not this president should be nominating someone at all. and right now there is a political showdown going on between the white house and capitol hill over that. this nomination less than 24 hours old is now in limbo. >> hard work and fair dealing. >> reporter: a handful have decided to meet with supreme court nominee judge merrick garland on capitol hill today. the white house is encouraged. >> that's a good thing. there's a constitutional responsibility that members of the united states have to consider the nominee to seat in the supreme court. >> reporter: chuck grassley may meet with garland in april after the break. others are undecided. >> if i do meet with him, it may not be a good use of his time because i'm not going to change my position because it's based on the principle.

>> reporter: the top republican spoke with him by phone but said he won't meet face-to-face. mcconnell calls waiting for the next president's nominee a fair and reasonable compromise. the house speaker agrees. >> the president has every right to nominate whoever he wants to. but the senate has every right not to act on that nomination. >> reporter: this afternoon senate democrats will rally outside the supreme court urging republicans to act. >> if merrick garland can't get bipartisan support, then nobody can. >> have the guts, the guts to vote yes or no. >> reporter: but for now, republicans vow no hearing, no vote. now we're also hearing from the nra, the national rifle association, and they say after going over the judge's record, they will strongly oppose this nomination. >> all right. tracie potts, thanks. turning now to the race for the white house with hillary clinton and donald trump edging closer to securing the nominations, they're now both setting their sights on each other. andrea mitchell has more.

>> reporter: game on. hillary clinton and donald trump going after each other as though they were already their party's nominee. trump firing off this instagram video showing clinton as a weak commander against putin and isis, showing her barking like a dog as she told a joke on the campaign trail. the tag line, we don't need to be a punchline. afterwards, clinton ridiculed trump. >> our commander in chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it. >> reporter: clinton's strategy, don't get in the mud with trump as some of his republican rivals did. go after him on policy, on immigration, the ban on muslims, embracing torture. highlight how he dodges questions about foreign policy on "morning joe." >> who are you consulting with so you're ready on day one?

>> i'm speaking with myself because i have a very good brain and i've said a lot of things. my primary consultant is myself and i have a good head for this stuff. >> the contrast will be clear on issues of who supports a minimum wage increase, who supports pay equity for women, who supports the president's actions on immigration. >> reporter: the risk, trump's ability to make his rooils play defense. he's ready to keep hitting clinton hard. >> hillary's a disaster, by the way. you know that. look, you know she's guilty. we have numerous polls that show me beating her easily and i haven't even started on her yet. >> andrea mitchell reporting there. to secure the nomination, clinton needs to win 35% of the remaining delegates. while trump needs 55% including the 60 leftover from tuesday. if it does come down to a contested convention for the gop, john boehner says he will

support current speaker paul ryan for the nomination. but a boehner spokesman clarified his comment saying he has endorsed governor john kasich. his off the cuff comments this morning were about a hiefl scenario in which none of the current candidates are able to secure the nomination at the convention. meanwhile, nikki haley has switched her allegiance to ted cruz. she calls the texas senator a strong leader who is action minded. governor haley previously endorsed marco rubio. and oklahoma senator james inhofe has switched his endorsement to john kasich. this is kasich's second endorsement but first from outside his home state of ohio. not to be outdone, donald trump picking up the endorsement of governor rick scott who says it's time to accept and respect the will of the voters and coalesce behind trump. sad news to report. frank sinatra jr., the son of

legendary actor and singer frank sinatra has died. ♪ start spreading the news ♪ i'm leaving today ♪ i want to be a part of it ♪ new york, new york >> sinatra followed in his father's footsteps as a crooner and eventually worked for ole blue eyes as his musical conductor. when sinatra jr. was 19, he was kidnapped at gun point. his family paid ran some at the time. the kidnappers were eventually captured. later in life he kept his father's spirit alive by performing his songs. he died of cardiac arrest while on tour in daytona, florida. his older sister nancy sinatra posted a statement on facebook saying, sleep warm frankie. frank sinatra jr. died at the age of 72.

a colorado convenience store clerk is being called a hero for saving a woman's baby. surveillance video shows the woman checking out with her infant. she talks to the clerk and then appears disoriented. >> i grabbed the baby's arm. she started to sway and wouldn't answer me. she was locked in space. i thought i better take the baby, something doesn't feel right. and then right then she started to fall. >> after calling 911 for the woman's seizure, she said she was just following her instincts and feels bad she didn't catch the woman. it was a mind blowing reunion at a naval station in san diego. a german shepherd who fell off a fishing boat nearly five weeks ago has been found. she was presumed dead after a week-long search but somehow this dog luna managed to make it ashore and was spotted by the navy on tuesday. she's now with her family.

she's said to be in good spirits. love a little happy story to start out the morning. we're going to check out the weather. do you have happy news for us? >> in a lot of places, yes. we are watching the weather pattern that's pretty tranquil. the jet stream is doing a big dip. we have a huge ocean storm. where the jet stream is dipping all the way up and then diving back down. this is leaving everyone in the west with high pressure building over the region. temperatures have been warming up. that's why you're going through a nice stretch of weather right now. as far as the rainfall forecast, the next three days, this is after a wet stretch. the northwest is enjoying this. at least for the next 72 hours look good. we may get more rainfall. especially in areas of northern california up into the northwest. we'll see if that develops as we head through the upcoming weekend. with st. patrick's day, we have a great forecast out there. boston, of course, has one of the bigger ones out there. you're looking good today. temperatures in the 50s. that's warm. that's almost like t-shirt

weather. new york city not bad at all. they have a really great time. the population triples for st. paddy's day. great time. 79 degrees. in mobile, they have a big parade too. 75 degrees today. not many problems out there with all thee to be nice and mild. sacramento today, that's pick city. 76 and sunny. that's like my perfect number. 76 and sunny, i'll take it. >> and all the green fountains and rivers won't freeze over. that's good news for st. patrick's day. we have a scary situation to tell you about for angelina jolie. plus a big announcement from michelle obama. and the shocking scene at a medical marijuana dispensary. you're watching "early today." stay with us. see me.

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shocking video that may be hard to watch. a room burst into flames at a new mexico medical marijuana dispensary. one worker had to run through the blaze to get out. that fire left two men with third degree burns. the video appears to show the workers extracting thc to make cannabis oil. angelina jolie visited the u.n.'s refugee agency headquarters in greece. it's home to a migrant tent camp. she spoke with several children telling one to stay strong. and had some sharp words for the crush of reporters. >> the press needs to be more thoughtful. the press needs to step back. the kids are going to get hurt. >> jolie later met with the greek prime minister to discuss the migrant crisis. at south by southwest, michelle obama ruled out one

career possibility. >> i'm going to continue to work with our young people all over the world. not as president. i will not run for president. no, no. not going to do it. >> mrs. obama said her daughters have already had to deal with the pressures of being the children of a president. check out this video released by a canadian court. two inmates escaped from a prison in 2013 via helicopter. the chopper dropped a rope but the prisoners were unable to climb up. it flew off with the men dangling. they were recaptured hours later. let's get down to business. christie's auctions off what they call the holy grail of publishing. the auction house will be selling the first four editions of william shakespeare's plays. they were published in 1623. asking prices will range between $1.1 million and $1.7 million. nike's unveiling the

hyperadapt 1.0. it's the latest in active lacing. when your heel hits a sensor, the laces tighten. but they'll be available only to members of nike plus this year. if you're too lazy to tie your shoes, you aren't doing anything that needs sneakers. probably not that athletic. these three female royal brunei airline pilots were the first to fly into saudi arabia where women aren't allowed to drive. breaking boundaries. and coming up, steph curry's reign of dominance as the winning streak rolls on. sports is next. soup and sandwich and cannonballs and clean and real and looking good and sandwich and soup and a new personal best.

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this morning on "today," the end of an era after intense criticism seaworld announces a major change to its killer whale breeding program. find out what it is later on "today." and my friend betty nguyen is here with sports. >> we are through the first four. the crusaders managed to hold off southern university. they will advance to play number one seed oregon in their first ncaa tournament victory in 63

years. and then it was michigan taking on tulsa for the last slot. the wolverines pulled ahead in the final minutes of play. they advance to take on notre dame friday night in brooklyn. president obama fills in his ncaa brackets. >> pick carolina, they win. two other times in your presidency, you picked kansas and they didn't win. so what do you do here? >> bill owes me. i'm putting kansas in here. coach, i'm just teasing. i'm not putting pressure on you. >> no pressure? are you kidding me? that is his third kansas pick of his presidency. and they didn't win either time. so we'll see if it works this year. now to the nba's steph curry. his golden state warriors just won a win against the knicks as golden state crushed them 121-85. ouch. back to you.

just ahead, a '90s heart throb becomes an american citizen. can you guess who? plus the story behind this cute little twerker if you want to call him that. you're watching "early today." here's a little healthy advice. take care of what makes you...you. aveeno® daily moisturizing body wash an with active naturals® oat. used together, they provide 2x the nourishment for beautiful healthier looking skin. aveeno® naturally beautiful results®

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fridays. it premares may 11th. mark wahlberg and dwayne the rock johnson is in trouble with their hbo series "ballers." two claim they stole their idea that was pitched for them for another show in 2007. it's a good show though. they have yet to comment. in a new interview, olivia wilde told howard stern she was turned down for the role in "the wolf of wall street" because she was too old. she was only 28 at the time. >> she looks like she could be 24 too. it's not like she looks older. >> she said it wasn't all bad though. she said after that, she got a role in "vinyl." tvland has announced a series based on the movie "heters" is in the works. >> one of your favorites? >> it has so many influence on our lives. the comedy will take place in the present day.

model and romance cover model fabio is now a u.s. citizen. he was one of more than 6,000 immigrants who took the oath in los angeles yesterday. the 57-year-old said it was one of the happiest days of his life. i'm thinking sometimes you could be more discriminatory in who we let in. just kidding. love you, fabio. jimmy had something to say about donald trump. >> trump gained a lot of delegates with his primary wins last night. looks like he hit is really significant number. take a look. yeah. when trump said he was good at making deals, i didn't know he was that good. >> this election cycle is just making it too easy for the comedians. this is "early today." (baseball on tv in background) with heart failure, danger is always on the rise. symptoms worsen because your heart isn't pumping well.

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leading the news in usa today, pennsylvania man pleads guilty to celebgate nude photo hack. ryans collins is just one of the internet hackers that tricked their way into e-mail accounts of people such as jennifer lawrence to steal their nude photos and videos. in politico, the economist rates trump presidency among its top ten global risks. the economist intelligence unit says a trump presidency could disrupt the world economy, lead to political chaos in the u.s., and heighten security risks for the nation. the economist gave it a risk assessment of 12 out of 25. that's the same as that of the rising threat of jihadi terrorism. the washington, d.c. metro system reopened this morning

after wednesday's unprecedented day-long shutdown that left 700,000 commuters facing gridlocked highways. inspectors worked overnight to repair a dozen damaged cable lines. it was an effort to prevent electrical fires like the one that happened monday. mexican officials recovered 19 firearms from the hideout of drug lord el chapo guzman. but it was revealed this week that one of the guns found was tied to operation fast and furious. that's the botched u.s. operation that enabled the flow of guns into the hands of criminals. a crash landing in baltimore put an suv right on top of a parked car after it ran a red light and was hit by another vehicle. three people were injured in the crash but are expected to be okay. i've never seen that. now, some little piggies go to the market, this piggy went to work. caught on camera. >> that work. >> caught twerking to rihanna's

latest tune "work." i don't think that's what he's doing. can pigs dance to music? we need answers on social media flooding in. >> of course they can. pigs can fly. they can twerk. >> so cute. now a look ahead. we have president obama's supreme court nominee merrick garland heading to capitol hill. he'll meet with harry reid. new york city will hold its 255th consecutive st. patrick's day parade. millions are expected to line the streets clad in green. this is the first year gay and lesbian troops will be able to march under their banners. happy birthday to rob lowe who turns 52. he's in so many things. gary sinese. and kurt russell is 65 years old. keep it right here for an equipment failurehacould

shock the whole sysmbart is trns morning from sevel dned t an equipment failure that could shock the whole system. b.a.r.t. is trying to recover from several down eed train car that could pass along is to all riders. supervisors and accusations of off-line communications. communications that if are true, would violate public law. the net getting wider for cal's basketball program after an assistant coach is accused of sexual harassment. the school's internal review is marching right up the chain. "today in the bay" starts right now. but, first, a little luck of the irish this morning. live pictures from dublin, ireland for st. patrick's day. look at all the leprechauns we say in the streets this mor.