it's thursday, april 14th, coming up. is it a game of military chicken between the world's greatest super powers, why are the russians getting a little too close for comfort? tens of thousands turn out for bernie sanders, while the donald stirs the delegate pot in pittsburgh and a secret meeting with fox's megyn kelly. and kobe calls it a career, going 60 points, while steph curry nails over 300 three-pointers. and "early today" starts right now. we begin with a risky encounter between the world's biggest military super powers, russian fighter jets flying dangerously close to a u.s. navy destroyer in the international

waters of the baltic sea. u.s. officials are expressing deep concern over what's being described as one of the most aggressive acts in a growing pattern of muscle-flexing by russia. nbc's peter alexander has more. >> a pair of russian fighter jets buzzing the "uss donald cook." the unarmed attack planes once within 30 feet of the navy destroyer in the baltic sea. so low, one official tells nbc news that the plane caused a wake in the water. these photos revealing how close they came. the fly-byes, more than 30 in all between monday and tuesday. u.s. officials say "cook" was in international waters, 70 miles off the russian coast. the ship's commanding officer con determining russia's behavior. watch the jets swooping in over the deck, simulating a maneuver that would be used in an attack. earlier a russian helicopter made seven passes above the

ship, photographing the ship. department of defense officials taking note. >> i hear the russians are up to their old tricks again. >> the white house, too. >> the russian military, including russian military aircraft have come close enough to each other or have come close enough to other air and sea traffic to raise serious safety concerns. >> the u.s. european command warned the russian jets' actions could unnecessarily escalate tepgss and could cause serious injury or death. just last october, two u.s. navy jets intercepted a pair of russian planes flying near a u.s. ship in the pacific ocean. four months earlier, a russian jet buzzing a uss destroyer in the black sea. it's happened before, but never like this. peter alexander, nbc news, washington. now to politics, new york city where bernie sanders held a massive rally for tens of thousands last night. >> jane and i left new york city when we were kids, it is great to be back!

thank you! [ cheers and applause ] >> and when i look at an unbelievable crowd like this, i believe we're going to win here in new york next tuesday. [ cheers and applause ] >> the campaign estimates 27,000 people turned out, including those who packed the streets surrounding washington square park. the busy vermont senator also appeared on the nightly show with larry willmore where the new york native stood by his new york values. >> it's me, bernie brooklyn-born sanders. and guess what, ted cruz, i have new york values. and when you say having new york values is a bad thing, you insult my city, my state, my culture and my heritage. and the truth is, new york values are american values. there is no difference.

[ cheers and applause ] >> drop that mic. earlier in the day, sanders and democratic rival hillary clinton both took to the picket line, showing solidarity with verizon union workers who had just walked off the job to strike. democratic candidates have the last debate tonight before the primary. chris matthews will have full post-debate analysis. on the republican side, it appears that donald trump and fox news host megyn kelly have buried the hatchet for now. the pair met yesterday at trump tower, presumably as part of miss kelly's desire to have trump on her fox special in may. trump aide lewandoski will not be prosecuted for an assault on a reporter. this comes as hundreds protested at trump rally last night in pittsburgh. to make sure no one got out of line. about 500 of the city's 700

officers were there, and about 500 from surrounding departments, the protests were reportedly mostly peaceful. senator ted cruz said he isn't ruling out marco rubio as a possible running mate. >> look, anyone would naturally look at marco as one of the people who would be a terrific person to consider for vp. we're in the process now of considering a number of different options. >> you're not ruling it out? >> he would be someone that you would be a fool not to look at seriously. >> senator cruz and governor john kasich will appear in back-to-back town halls on msnbc, starting at 4:00 p.m. pacific. the end an era in the nba, even the president was excited. tweeting big night of basketball warriors chasing 73 and a farewell for an all-timer, kobe bryant. nba fans feeling like dancing, i guess. first to l.a. after a 20-year career, scoring the third most points in league history, kobe bryant goes out on a high note. he scored 60 points on 50 shots

and sticking it to the utah jazz, in a 101-96 victory. to leave some of the world's biggest stars speechless. the fifth player in nba history to play 20 seasons, the first to do it with just one team. five championship rings, 18 all-star selections and 33,643 career points. he said this after the game -- >> this has been absolutely beautiful you guys, i can't believe it's come to an end, you guys will always be in my heart and i sincerely, sincerely appreciate it. no words can describe how i feel about you guys. and thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. i love you guys. i love you guys. >> we love you, too. what a career, thanks for the memories, kobe. just across the state, the other hottest ticket in the nation, the feeling was electric in oakland, the warriors were chasing history, reigning mvp steph curry led golding state all season in their quest to

beat a 28-year-old record. not only did golden state become the first team to win 73 games and curry became the first player to nail over 400 three-pointers in a single year. getting 10 on the night and finishing the ceasing with 42. 73 wins and just nine losses for the season. an excited president obama tweeted, congratulations to the warriors, if somebody had to break the bulls' record, i'm glad it's them. well, the so-called affluenza teen has been sentenced to two years in jail. 19-year-old ethan couch appeared in adult court wednesday. the judge gave him 180 days of jail tile for each of the four people he killed in a 2013 drunk driving crash. >> you will remain in the county jail at this time. i want you to understand that. you're not getting out of jail today. >> you may recall couch received

ten years probation in juvenile court after his lawyers argued his life of privilege left him with no sense of responsibility. he fled to mexico in december after violating his probation, but was found and returned to texas in january. new details in the shooting death of former nfl star will smith. we're getting information on the preliminary autopsy report. and for the first time, his wife's account of the night her husband was killed. and she was left badly wounded. nbc's gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> through her attorney, raquel smith, still recovering in the hospital from two gunshot wounds to her legs, gave her first public account of the shooting death of her husband, former nfl star will smith. >> that night as she always does, was protecting her. >> he says saturday night the hummer driven by smith's alleged killer, cardell hayes, stopped suddenly. >> they slammed on their brakes on magazine street. did not believe they even hit the hummer. >> they drove off. >> suddenly this hummer drove up at great speed behind them.

and rammed the back of their car. >> police say an argument between the two men escalated. and hayes opened fire. >> we have evidence showed no remorse whatsoever. and he actually stood over will smith's dead body. >> did mr. smith ever threaten to go get his gun inside the car? >> i'm not aware of any threats by mr. smith to go get a gun. >> but on tuesday, police confirmed they discovered a fully-loaded gun in smith's car, raising a number of questions, including why it took investigators more than two days to find it. police say they needed time to methodically execute a search warrant. the coroner said smith was shot eight times, seven times in the back, once in the left side of his chest. and for the first time, we're hearing from the attorney of hayes' passenger, who calls this, justifiable homicide. >> smith had a gun and was going to shoot it and cardell may have saved both of their lives, the attorney tells nbc news, we assume will smith is a saint, but he's not. a public viewing for smith now

scheduled for friday. as the investigation into his final moments intensifies. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, new orleans. let's check the forecast now from nbc meteorologist bill karins. how is it looking out there? >> pacific northwest, not so bad. probably worst weather in the country will be found northern california and the oregon coastline. pretty impressive storm swirling off the coastline, about 100, 200 miles due west of portland. scattered showers northern california and a band of heavier rain is moving into the portland area. this will continue the next two to three hours. seattle, you're clear for now, but eventually some of that rain will head your way. rainfall forecast for today, possibility, especially the higher terrain, one to two inches, but a lot of the valley areas will pick up half an inch. northern california will pick up the higher train, up to two inches. the other story as the trough moves through the southwest, very strong winds are likely

here. we're seeing high wind warnings for the mountainous areas, near palm springs and big bear lake and santa barbara, and wind advisories, gusts up to 60 to 70 miles per hour. for today, phoenix, gorgeous 89, l.a. no complaints either three. south of sacramento and santa rosa, your day will be dry. got to be bad weather somewhere. >> i guess, i got to tell you, i was in l.a. the last couple of days, it felt so nice to have perfect weather. i know we need the rain, but it was perfect, thank you so much. one of the world's biggest musicians just canceled a concert in response to north carolina's bathroom bill. plus tsa turmoil. airlines speak out against unbearably long lines. you're watching "early today."

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well if you think the wait time at airport security is bad now, wait until this summer. that's the warning from american airlines, after nearly 7,000 people missed their flights over spring break because of checkpoint delays. the tsa remains in a tough bind, woefully understaffed and weathering a deluge of travelers. airports across the nation are threating the tsa, telling them to re place missing staffer be replaced by private contractors. the fight over lgbt rights raged on in the south. a latest bill requiring transgender people to use the bathrooms matching that are sex at birth. critics slam the bill, even former beetle ringo starr took action on wednesday, canceling a june performance in north carolina over the state's bathroom bill stating i'm sorry to disappoint my fans in the area, but we need to take a stand against this hatred, spread peace and love.

louisiana's lgbt community did win some protections after the governor issued an order barring state discrimination against residents. india's wildlife safari welcomed the duke and duchess of cambridge on wednesday, they were spotted nursing a group of orphaned baby elephants and rhinos. earlier kate middleton proved her fashion prowess hours after seen wearing this dress at a cricket match in mumbai, the website that featured her dress crashed after hundreds started hunting for it. let's get down to business with cnbc's landon downey. >> futures are slightly lower on wall street today. but wednesday the major averages cruised to 2016 highs with financials leading the rally. look for data today on weakly jobless claims for bank of america. 187 points to 17908. the nasdaq up 75 to 4947.

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on the fx hit "american horror story." >> you were always my fondest creation. >> and leo for "the revenant." between these two it's lady gaga who is estimated to rake in more cash, $59 million to be exact. but don't go feeling sorry for leo, he's still bringing in $29 million. while between pop singer taylor swift and rapper jay-z, it's taylor swift who rakes in the most. >> that's wild. >> she is estimated at a cool $80 million for one year. as for jay-z, his record label, clothing line and other ventures have earned him an estimated $56 million. winter is coming to the white house. we'll explain. plus the newe esest spider- villain. tha 100% fresh mouth.or

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the most-read story in the "washington post".com, in new zealand octopus slips out of aquarium tank, crawls across floor, escaped down a pipe into the ocean. according to researchers, he squeezed his football-sized body into a six-inch drain and headed toward the pacific. how did he know? >> i want to steal this -- he's armed and dangerous. >> last rubio delegates up for grabs on the convention's first ballot after dropping out of the presidential race. the florida senator asked local party officials to keep his delegates, but at least 34 of his 172 delegates will be up for grabs at this summer's convention. en and local party chairs are warning if rubio is not on the

ballot, his delegates can vote however they want. the chicago police department could be overhauled following claims of quote longstanding systemic racism. according to a new chicago police accountability report. demanding sweeping changes. the report found that african-americans accounted for 74% of police shootings in the city of from 2008-2015. mayor rahm emanual who commissioned this report had this to say. >> there's no doubt we have a lot of work to do, in the sense of not only restoring trust, but building what i think are essential values of transparency. >> the shooting of laquan mcdonald, an unarmed black man, was cited as a tipping point for community anger. officials hope new police superintendent eddie johnson can guide the department into the future. the cdc announced wednesday that the zika virus does cause birth defects. this after researchers found unborn children are vulnerable at any stage of pregnancy. mosquitos carrying the virus have been found in 30 states. president obama will sign a bill to help develop vaccines, but

the white house criticized the measure as two months late and $1.9 billion short. there's a new addition to the house of mouse, but it's not a ride. walt disney world resort opened a new mickey mouse-shaped solar park. this new epcot center is part of an effort to be more environmentally friendly. energy from the 40,000 solar panels will help meet the power needs of the disney resort and several other nearby hotels. >> that's a win-win and a huge advertising sign. >> great advertising. >> that's pretty neat. very proud of them. very innovative. >> we should do that with a peacock. >> we should, you get right on that design. celebrating birthdays today, buffy the vampire slayer star sarah michelle gel ar turns 39. anthony michael hall is 48. and baseball's hit king, pete rose turns 75. hard to believe he's 75. now keep it here for more news, weather and sports, i'm alex witt, thanks so much for watching "early today."

have a great thursday, see you tomorrow. 73 wins--- in the books.

the warriors crushing records last night at oracle 73 wins in the books. the warriors crushing records last night at oracle arena and steph putting an exclamation point on his own epic season. an accidental shooting where you'd probably least expect it. the story you'll only see on nbc. years after the asiana crash what the city is doing. "today in the bay quar" starts now. good morning, thank you for joining us. i'm sam broc. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. we're tired from staying up and watching that game. a little rain coming down across the bay area. >> good morn