it's friday, march 18th. coming up on "early today," is the northeast headed for one last gasp from old man winter with a massive snowstorm. the anger and frustration over the flint lead crisis shifted to washington. and some in the republican party vowing to stop dond trump before he leads the party in the race for the white house. plus, soon every car in the land will have a special safety measure. march madness is in full swing and the bracket-busting upsets, plus a whole lot more as we head into the weekend. "early today" starts right now. good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. who's to blame for the toxic water crisis that's poisoned

flint, michigan. in what could be described as a public shaming and a call for heads to roll. >> reporter: with the children of flint still unable to drink the water -- >> do you solemnly swear -- >> reporter: blame on the hill. >> if you want to do the courageous thing, you, too, should resign. >> people who put dollars over the fundamental safety of the people do not belong in government, and you need to resign, too, governor schneider. >> reporter: the republican governor from michigan and head of the epa were hammered on the hill over the lead in flint's water. >> you need to take some responsibility, because you screwed up, and you messed up 100,000 people's lives. 100,000 of them. >> reporter: every resident of flint including more than 8,000 children was exposed to dangerous levels of lead over a year while officials insisted the water was safe. >> this was a failure of government at all levels. we all failed the families of flint. >> reporter: but the democrat from pennsylvania hit back hard.

>> you are not in a medically induced coma for a year, and i've had about enough of your false contrition and phony apologies. >> reporter: epa head gina mccarthy says her agency relied on michigan water officials. >> i wish we had yelled from the tree tops but there is no way that my agency created this problem. [ chanting ] >> reporter: more than 150 residents from flint bused in overnight for the hearing. >> we can't -- we can't just use the faucet like we do here in washington. >> reporter: for some, faith in the government still lingers, even after they were so badly let down. stephanie gosk, nbc news, washington. we are hearing for the first time in the first known american isis fighter to surrender on the battlefield. 26-year-old virginia native mohamad jamal khweis is a native of immigrants captured this week in iraq. khweis made a bad decision to follow a young woman from turk toy syria and then into mosul,

iraq. his kurdish captors released a heavily edited interview of his confession. >> i was with a lot of foreigners, a lot of asians, russians, and people from the surrounding area. i didn't really support their ideology, and that's -- at that point that's when i decided i needed to escape. >> i wanted to go back to america. >> my message to the american people is -- life in mosul -- it's really -- really bad. >> it is unclear how whether he will return to the u.s. or be prosecuted. meanwhile, the new york pizzeria over who admitted he tried to recruit for isis has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. he previously pled guilty for

providing support to isis. the first man captured and convicted of supporting isis in the u.s. an iraqi-born political, a 23-year-old has been indicted on trying to support isis. this comes two months after being arrested and accused about lying to traveling to syria. he faces a total of 15 years in prison if convicted on both charges. it a flight 55 passengers and four crew will not soon forget. an american airlines flight from raleigh d-durham to laguardia struck by lightning and had to make an emergency landing. the strike left passengers stunned. >> it lit up blue inside the plane and it was just such a loud bang, it was like a firework, you know, right there. >> what was that sense of relief when you finally got off that plane? >> just -- so happy we landed. all safely, and all of us were saying that to each other, like, we made it.

>> i'll bet. right? you just heard that plane landed safely. no one hurt and the faa is investigating. to the race for the white house and increased support of the stop trump movement among influential conservatives. inside the effort to derail the donald. >> reporter: two blocks from the white house a secret huddle on how to stop donald trump from moving in. a frustrated group led by influential conservative erick erickson and urging for a call for a unity ticket for the gop and look ahead to the convention. the stop trump movement regrouping to re-assess how to slow him down. two road blocks slowing them down. first, trump could still lock up the nomination before the convention. ads against him, not doing much, as he more than doubled his delegate lead this week even after outside groups spents 13ds million. >> now we're having conversations with donors, gauging interest in moving ahead. >> reporter: anti-trump activists trying to convince delegates to fight the front-runner as a contested

convention. the message to them in the words of one activist, people who built this party have been here longer than the newcomers threatening to burn the whole thing down. but the second issue for the stop trump movement calling for unity without specifying who the party should unify behind. john kasich or ted krucruz. new signs cruz may have the edge. praising him as a conservative, and senator lindsey graham pledging to raise money. >> if you killed ted cruz on the floor of the senate, and the trial was in the senate, nobody could convict you. >> reporter: the unlikeliest of pairings, in an unlikely race, one the stop trump movement never saw coming. >> hallie jackson reporting there. bernie sanders officially conceded to missouri primary to hillary clinton. cl clinton was the apparent winner and sanders won't ask for a

recount. even though behind in total delegates by a wide margin don't expect him to drop out anytime soon. >> we think if we come into the convention in july in philadelphia having won a whole lot of delegates, having a whole lot of momentum behind us and most importantly, perhaps, being the candidate who is most likely to defeat donald trump, we think that some of these super dell guilt who have now supported hillary clinton can come over to us. >> all eyes now turn to next tuesday's contest in arizona, utah and idaho as well as american samoa. interesting to know utah will offer online voting for the republican caucus for the first time. supreme court nominee merrick garland is making the rounds on capitol hill. yesterday judge garland met with harry reid and patrick leahy it may be in vain. republicans vowing not to even

consider his nomination until the next president see lected. some cracks are starting to show. eight republicans would be at least open to meeting with judge garland although some say it won't change their minds. and golf-ball size hail to north texas leaving a lot of broken windows in its wake. sadly tilled eight exotic birds, and a late storm dumped more than two feet of snow in the rockies. more than the town had in the past two months. >> i think it says it's the first day of spring on sunday. right? it does. >> old man winter. march can get late surprises. >> what's up? >> the northeast, the buzz, the target, are they going to get a big nor'easter to end their winter season? looks like we'll see a storm. as of yesterday, a lot of disagreement. now the models are a little more in agreement on a storm track a little more to the east. it would still have a possibility of snow in areas of d.c., even philadelphia, new york, but the significant snow

mostly confined to areas of eastern new england. we'll wait and see how that plays out. anyone traveling may have issues. you can see the models shifted and most of the snow into maine, eastern mass, light amounts in other areas, as far as the american model goes, almost saying no snow at all for this area. still about 50 hours away and time for models to get in agreement. models of a guidance, a piece of the puzzle. the forecast actually made in the days ahead. for the west a beautiful day. no problems from seattle to phoenix and l.a. and san diego. saturday mostly nice. late in the day clouds and showers try to roll in. the next system, wet weather for the west, a storm and cold front arrives on sunday. especially northern california and up

above average the last couple. >> so sunday, a little bit of wet weather for the west especially coastal areas and then another stretch of nice weather. not bad. >> a pretty good winter. can't complain here. >> some of the water, not all, but some. >> thank you very much, bill. seaworld's major decision over the future of killer whales. plus the situation in brazil is getting dicier by the moment. you're watching "early today." no, no, no, no, people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too. angel soft. ...another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair works... ...in one week. with the... fastest retinol formula. ...to visibly reduce wrinkles. neutrogena®.

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23 whales in three parks. the last they will display in captivity. >> society is changing, and if you look at people's general comfort level with orcas under human care, i've seen a real shift in society. >> we are pushing for them to release these orcas to coastal sanctuaries to live out some semblance of a natural life for the rest of their days. >> the change after the critical "blackfish" cost the company merely $100 million in fees. an aggressive form of soft tissue cancer. ford became an international punch line after he admitted to smoking crack and being drunk on the job but refused to resign. in michigan, convicted felon brian earl taylor found a new way to ask for leniency at a sentencing hearing inspired by all people, adele. ♪ hello, there, i want to say

i'm sorry for the things i've done ♪ and i try and be stronger ♪ in this life i chose but i want you to know ♪ that door i close, and, your honor, i'm sorry, sorry, sorry ♪ >> uh-huh. he went on to also say sorry to his mother and the victim. the judge said taylor is "obviously a talented young man" and hopes he will take advantage of educational prison programs. time to get down to business. back in black. the dow erased losses suffered in the early part of the year and entered positive territory. the price of oil and gasoline at the pump has risen and the government announced matsch other automaker makes automatic braking standard in all cars by september 2020. aeb applies the brakes on car or

objects when the driver isn't reacting. this technology will save about 12,000 lives a year, it's estimated. just ahead, own a piece of shirley temple history for just $25 million. and march magic upsets for you. the bracket busters, they're next.

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sunrise over the potomac. ooh, right on cue. that takeoff from reagan airport. right to the madness. making its first appearance in 54 years in the tournament, yale showed they belong by upending the best rebounding team in baylor. 79-75. check out the postgame frustration with this reporter-player exchange. >> how does yale outbound baylor? >> you go up and grab the ball off the rim when it comes off, and you grab it with two hands, you come down with it and that's considered a rebound. so they got more of those than we did. >> that was great. and purdue against arkansas-little rock down by three. josh pulling up and nailing the game-time three pointer. game win is a double overtime another number 12 knocks off a 5th seed, little rock advancing with the win. then the big east scoring

machine isaiah, ice cold and gonzaga ran away with this one. easy 58-52 win. and north carolina roy williams got his 66th ncaa tournament victory breaking a tie with his mentor the late dean smith for second most wins. the tar heels easily defeating florida gulf coast 83-67. in a battle between 8 and 9, utah took on colorado 74-67. another close game, butler pulling away for the win gex texas tech 71-61. today the next round of 16 games kicks off at 12:15. just ahead, why a puerto rican beauty queen is losing her crown. plus, a wacky feature in girls that really exists. how to spend the night there, next. i use what's already inside me to reach my goals. so i liked when my doctor told me i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating what's within me.

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feel like this. look like this. feel like this. with dreamwalk insoles, turn shoes that can be a pain into comfortable ones. their soft cushioning support means you can look like this. and feel like this. dreamwalk. looking at entertainment, the internet is buzzing over the new "x-men: apocalypse" movie just unveiled. debuting in may. and losing her crown yesterday because of an apparent attitude problem. she didn't feel like doing interviews and said she tends to shy away from cameras's officials said it was doing damage to the organization. >> i'm sorry to tell you this, but you've been overexposed. >> overexposed? >> yes. you're everywhere. magazines. this instagram photo on the subway wearing a poncho, amy.

>> what's the cure? >> go away for a while! >> no! amy schumer has been busy from the big screen to hosting "snl" but coming back home to comedy central, it airs april 20th. bring her back. she's phenomenal. pay attention all you girls' fans. featured in a popular hbo series is available to rent. it can be yours for just $137 a night. >> your kids into that show? >> no. kind of glad. gets a little racy. just saying. a rare blue diamond ring belonging to the late shirley temple black is up for auction next month. this diamond over 9 carats and it's blue worth between $25 million and $35 million. and emma watson met up to do things on "gender equality." check it out ♪ i have to laugh how can you

not be equal we'll like half women are like half of the people on earth and yes cutting since byeong ♪ that means all day equal pay every day okay are we really okay ♪ oh, my gosh, you be-bopping it's fantastic ♪ i'm drastically changing the narrative ♪ you kept going, i love watching this, keep flowing ♪ holy cow this is such a meme, thank you, this is the dreambox team ♪ >> that is amazing. >> work like that, that quickly? >> so gifted. can i -- i'm going to be seeing hamilton saturday night. >> you are? >> yeah. >> i heard you had to wait for tickets four years from now. >> i'm lucky i got them. anyway, i'm alex witt and this is "early today." olay regenerist renews from within... plumping surface cells for a dramatic transformation

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leading the news on nbcnews.com, north korea launches ballistic missile in a new show of force. the launch acorred about 5:00 p.m. eastern time yesterday and flewmiles. the latest in aggressive acts which is typical. the state department says it is monitoring the situation. and in "usa today," internet debate alert. how many girls are in this photo? so it's an instagram posted by a swiss photographer divided the internet into two teams. two girls or four? >> i thought four initially. >> i'm thinking two. not picking up on that. maybe spending too much time -- >> no, no. i've been committing to it, too. check out what's caught our

eye in the animal world. a florida woman is fighting to keep her most unusual house pet a six-foot-long alligator. >> he sits on the couch. knows how to work the remote. you know? he's just a housegator. >> hmm -- she obtained a license 11 years ago for this rescued reptile. >> i'm sure this can have a happy ending. >> and named rambo, doesn't have a large enough space for the growing gator, officials say. probably a bunch of other reasons why she shouldn't have that gator. officers from the game commission cuddled three real-life teddy bears on thursday. the cubs were tagged for health and movements throughout the year. a peruvian zoo showed off two treasured additions. bengal tiger cubs one of the world's most endangered species. >> do better than a cardboard box. come on! >> the first appearance since their birth two months ago and in public view at the zoo next week. they are beautiful. we all know that dogs are a

man's best friend but sydney the dog may just be this man's best driver? >> disturbing. >> watch this. >> the owner says he and his pup regularly ride together and it is considered normal. do they have a lot of accidents? >> i would think not. no wearing of helmets or any safety -- >> that's another, like an accident waiting to happen. >> what if the dog saw a squirrel? >> not good. >> interesting. a look ahead now. president obama travels to cuba sunday. the first trip by a sitting u.s. president to the nearby island in nearly 90 years, and nbc news will, of course, be there covering the historic visit beginning with lester holt on sunday. and happy birthday, adam levine from maroon 5, 37. queen latifah, 46 and actress and former miss america vanessa williams turning 53. keep it right here for news, weather and sports. thanks so much for watching

"early today." have a great friday and a great weekend. developing righnow- an

overnight shoong the mission.while details othe crime still emerging,his much developing right now an overnight shooting in the mission. while details of that crime are still emerging, this much is clear. it happened steps from the mission's b.a.r.t. station. and it is still a slow go on b.a.r.t. this morning and expect more delays today. but what about in the weeks to come. we'll explain what the agency is doing to try to remedy a decade's old problem. plus, spring is surging in case you haven't noticed this week beautiful weather just in time for your weekend. a live look right now outside at a relatively clear and cool downtown san jose. "today in the bay" starts right now. and a good friday morning, thank you for joining us. i'm sam