it is monday, april 18th. coming up on "early today," the death toll rises as the devastating images of ecuador's massive 7.8 earthquake are emerging this morning. the candidates campaigning hard ahead of tomorrow's new york primary, as george clooney raises what he calls an obscene amount of money for democrats. 26 states challenge prident obama's immigration policy. they head to the premium court today. plus, a stalled storm threatens millions with snow and heavy rains. and a very funny "saturday night live." "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm dara brown. the death toll is rising in ecuador. it is a race against time as rescuers search for survivors after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck saturday night.

right now at least 272 people are confirmed dead. more than 2,000 are injured. so far, there have been more than 230 aftershobs fraftershoc massive quake. miguel almaguer reports from ecuador. >> reporter: a hundred miles outside of the nation's capital of quito, the frantic search for survivors is growing even more desperate every hour. a crowd trying to save the driver of this car, only to realize later there was nothing they could do. ecuador's largest city is in ruins. bridges have collapsed, roads have crumbled, entire neighborhoods are flattened. this woman cries, my cousin is in the rubble. anguish and devastation are everywhere, and so is the plea for help. this woman lives a few hours from the quake's epicenter. >> please help us. my country needs everyone now. >> reporter: in regions hard hit, power is out, phones are down, and many are sleeping in the streets.

>> that was nbc's miguel almaguer. now to decision 2016 and tomorrow's new york primary. hillary clinton is counting on a big night as she edges closer to the number needed for the nomination, while bernie sanders looks to continue on with his recent string of primary and caucus victories. sanders drew another massive crowd in new york this weekend. just over 28,000 people showed up at brooklyn's prospect park. there are 291 delegates up for grabs for the democrats tomorrow. and the latest polling shows clinton out in front by 10%. for the republicans, donald trump has a 33% lead on ted cruz. there are 95 delegates at stake for the republicans. over the weekend, cruz won all 14 delegates at the wyoming convention. he still trails trump by almost 200 delegates. and we have two reports, starting with nbc's jacob rascon, covering the republicans. >> reporter: on the home stretch in his home state, donald trump ahead by the widest margin of the primary season, campaigning as if the race was neck and neck.

12 campaign stops in 12 days. >> we have to win by big numbers because we have a system that's absolutely rigged. it's rigged. >> reporter: determined not just to win, but to mathematically wipe out rival ted cruz. >> when he gets wiped out in new york, which he will, he no longer has a road to the nomination. >> reporter: pivoting confidently past cleveland, the master of name calling -- >> poor jeb. little marco. lying ted cruz. >> reporter: trump now testing political death by nickname on the other front runner. >> crooked hillary. >> reporter: meanwhile, ted cruz betting on a contested convention, shutting out trump delegates again in wyoming, saying this is how elections are won in america. >> thank you and god bless you. >> reporter: but to trump, losing wyoming, where there was no voter primary, is a badge of honor. >> that's not democracy. you know, you're allowed essentially to pay off these people. >> reporter: trump voters buying his argument. >> it sounds like it's rigged. >> the person with the most delegates should win.

>> reporter: or maybe the most merchandise. selling campaign souvenirs since 1992, these vendors say -- >> whatever sells the most per that candidate, that candidate wins every time. >> reporter: the white house? >> the white house. >> reporter: every time? >> every time. >> reporter: their prediction, donald trump. his campaign counting on a knockout before july. jacob rascon, nbc news, poughkeepsie, new york. >> reporter: i'm kristen welker on staten island with secretary clinton. >> we have a big election on tuesday. the democratic primary. >> reporter: she and senator sanders making a final frenzied push ahead of tuesday's primary. >> this is a movement of people who are prepared to think big, not small. >> reporter: this, as clinton is coming under fire after attending two california fundraisers hosted by george and amal clooney. the top tickets for saturday's event, $100,000, prompting some sanders supporters to throw

dollar bills at clinton's car. today, the secretary on defense. >> i am raising money to elect other democrats. i'm a democrat, and i want to see us take back the senate. >> reporter: on "meet the press," clooney echoed that sentiment but also agreed with parts of sanders' argument. >> it is ridiculous that we should have this kind of money in politics. >> reporter: those words giving sanders an opening when asked if clooney is backing the wrong horse. >> well, i think he is, but he's honest enough to say that there's something wrong when few people who are able to contribute unbelievably large sums of money. >> reporter: still, clinton is leading by double digits in new york. sanders' aides acknowledge a loss here would make his tough odds even steeper, but sanders has the money to keep going. his strategy now, trying to win as many delegates as possible and then pivot to more winnable states like oregon and delegate-rich california. >> kristen welker and jacob rascon reporting there.

meanwhile, "saturday night live" took full advantage of it all in the form of a mini "seinfeld" reunion. >> you've been pretty vague in the past, but how exactly are you going to break up the big banks? >> you mean the big bank breakup? >> yeah, big bank breakup. >> you break 'em up! >> how? how? >> once i'm elected president, i'll have a nice schvitz in the white house gym. i'll go to the big banks, sit them down and yada yada yada, they'll be broken up. >> what? no, no. you can't yada yada at a debate. also, you yada yada'd over the best part. >> no. i mentioned the schvitz. now to a growing political crisis out of brazil.

just as that country gets ready to host the 2016 summer olympic games, brazil's lower house voted sunday to start impeachment proceedings against president dilma rousseff. the measure now goes to the senate. rousseff is brazil's first female president, and she's accused of using accounting tricks to maintain federal spending and shore up support. the fight over immigration heads to the supreme court today. the obama administration's plan to protect roughly 4 million people from deportation is faced with a fight from 26 states. texas leads the way, arguing the president does not have the authority to do this. nbc's tracie potts joins me live from washington with details. tracie, how is this all expected to play out? >> reporter: well, we will see what happens when it goes before the eight justices. eight, not nine. president obama wanted to make these changes nearly a year and a half ago. now it's just making its way before the u.s. supreme court. people are already camped out in

front of the u.s. supreme court. this woman is one of them. she's a dreamer, brought here as a child. under obama's plan, both could stay and work legally. this man came to the u.s. alone at age 15. >> we have learned to live with fear. it's horrible. horrible because we have dreams. we know that we can contribute to this country. >> the president's plan would put up to 4 million immigrants on the back burner. it's a delay, not amnesty, they say. congress' jobs and the plan would cost states millions, they sa say. >> the court is evenly split, four conservatives and four

liberals. experts think they would avoid a tie. >> there are plenty of grounds on which they can decide this case. >> the decision is expected by the end of june. there could be a bit of a twist here, dara. they have to decide if texas and these other states even have the legal right to bring this case. do they have standing to bring this case before the court? if they decide they don't, they can end up bumping the case back or throwing it out without even deciding the merits of the imgrags issue. >> interesting details there. tracie potts, thank you for that report. and the rocky mountains got a visit from old man winter this weekend. more than four feet of snow fell in parts of colorado. denver got about a foot of the white stuff. portions of interstate 70 and 80 had to be closed at times due to the heavy snowfall. more stormy weather is in the forecast for today. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with the latest on that. good morning, bill. >> yeah, rain overnight, epic,

col historic, call it whatever you want. 100-year flood event, they're calling it. our radar estimates, this area of white and gray, is up to 15 to 16 inches of rain has fallen in that area. creeks and waterways are quickly rising. water rescues are ongoing, even at this hour. they've been going on all night long. 80 people they're trying to evacuate at a complex. the rains have remained in the same area overnight. picking up 8" of rain since midnight, highest rainfall they've ever had in one day in april since keeping records. we're really in record-breaking territory. once the sun comes up, those pictures should be pretty incredible. houston, very flat. the water doesn't rush out of the area. it meanders out. 2 to 4 inches is possible. isolated total could get up to 7" of rain in addition to what we've already had. stories in the northwest -- this is very extreme, too.

record highs are possible. 80s, the record in seattle today, 80 in portland and we should be 83 and 87. seattle has never 90s from sacramento to redding. we went from snow to flooding to record heat. >> straight to summer. bill, thank you so much for that. straight ahead, a breathtaking encounter between a paddleboarder and whale. on sunday pennsylvania became the 24th state to approve a medical marijuana program. governor tom wolf signed a bill into law but it could take up to two years.

wildlife rescue workers open up a lot of dawn. tough on grease...yet gentle. dawn helps open... something even bigger. go to facebook.com, dawn saves wildlife. why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah. lactaid. the milk that doesn't mess with you.

choose the one new revlon ultimate-all-in-one. our revolutionary mascara delivers 5 lash-transforming benefits. volume, length, definition, lift, and intense color. choose love from the new collection of revlon mascaras. ifor all the wrong reasons.gical you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin®. because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. try zyrtec®. muddle no more®. no, no, no, no, [music] people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too. angel soft. . .

search teams in southern japan continue to dig through rubble and debris. emergency crews continue looking for survivors after two major earthquakes struck the nation. over 40 people have died in the twin quakes. meanwhile in central chile, 4 million people are without clean drinking water this morning. heavy rains over the weekend triggered landslides that polluted rivers and caused them to breach their banks. johnny depp's wife, actress amber heard, has avoided jail time for illegally smuggling two dogs into australia. the actress pleaded guilty this morning to making a false statement on her immigration card. she brought the couple's yorkshier terriers into the country without a permit. the hollywood a-listers publicly apologized in a video posted by the australian government. >> i am truly sorry that pistol and blue were not declared. protecting australia is important. >> declare everything when you enter australia.

and take a look at this magical moment. a whale breaching the waters right alongside a paddle boarder. it was a lucky meet and greet all caught on camera by a woman at a pier. >> let's get down to business with landen dowdy. good morning, landen. >> today we'll get data on home builder sentiment. are small cars running out of gas? new data from edmond's shows consumers pumping the brakes on sedans. car sales were down the first quarter. experts say iing suvs and crossovers are becoming more popular with consumers. and you have a spare $35 million hanging around? if so, shirley temple's blue diamond ring could be all yours,

auctioning off the 9.5 carat ring that belonged to the child star tomorrow. >> thanks for that. this, you've got to see. president obama schools steph curry on shooting hips. and a cringe-worthy moment. yeah...sorry about that. ♪ think about it ♪ there must be higher love ♪ down in the heart what do you think? ♪ and in the stars above hi ted, glad you could join us, we think you're going to like these numbers. ♪ bring me a higher love ♪ i could rise above why does your tummy go ♪"grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right?

mmm, yeah. lactaid. the milk that doesn't mess with you. it's easy to love your laxative when that lax loves your body back. only miralax hydrates, eases and softens to unblock naturally, so you have peace of mind om start to finish. love your laxative. miralax.

time now for sports. for that, we turn to my friend, betty nguyen. good morning, betty. >> good morning, dara. we begin at the white house. president obama schooling nba mvp steph curry for the program my brother's keeper. the program looks at opportunities for young boys and men. the president even offered him some shooting tips. >> all right. release. make sure it's on your fingertips. >> maybe i should shoot lefty. >> you should try. to the playoffs now and the hard court. the red-hot san antonio spurs made quick work of the memphis grizzlies, 106-74. in cleveland, the cavs final points came courtesy of tyree irving, kevin love, and lebron himself, but the home team struggled in this game one victory over the pistons. the final there, 106-101. to the nhl. the st. louis blues scored two third-period goals for a 3-2 win. they take a 2-1 lead over the

defending stanley cup chicago blackhawks. and a cringe-worthy moment. ouch. there it was, made every male watching exactly why he was in such pain. bad bunt from seattle hits home plate umpire in the most sensitive place possible. after a few minutes, he recovered, regained his composure, and got back to baseball. shake it off a little. dara, back to you. >> betty, thank you so much for that. just ahead, which movie took home box office gold this weekend. plus, a protester attacks george clooney's cape crusader. but it's what george said next that's just awesome. esome. tomorrow is not a given. but entresto is a medicine that helps make more tomorrows possible. tomorrow, tomorrow... ♪ ♪ i love ya, tomorrow in the largest heart failure study ever. entresto helped more people stay alive and

out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine. women who are pregnant must not take entresto. can cause harm or death an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. if you've had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, don't take entresto. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure... ...kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. ♪ tomorrow, tomorrow i love ya, tomorrow.♪ ask your heart doctor about entresto. and help make tomorrow possible. ♪ you're only a day away ♪ choose the one new revlon ultimate-all-in-one. our revolutionary mascara delivers 5 lash-transforming benefits. volume, length, definition, lift, and intense color. choose love from the new collection of revlon mascaras.

no, no, no, no, [music] people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too. angel soft. headache? motrin helps you be an unstoppable, let's-rock-this-concert- like-it's-1999 kind of mom. when pain tries to stop you, there's motrin. motrin works fast to stop pain where it starts. make it happen with motrin liquid gels. you brought your own ketchup? yah! i promised my mom i'd stay off high fructose corn syrup. moms know best french's has high fructose corn syrup. tastes great! french's... only real ingredients. to show your roots. with root touch up from nice'n easy it blends with leading shades, even salon shades.

in just 10 minutes. so pick your shade. and show the world your roots... ...with root touch-up. here's the reason for the big region. why we've had the extreme rain and the extreme heat. rain continues today to be heavy. we won't see rain in the middle of the week. we go to the end of the week, we'll add some moisture there. the story is the heat, much of the west coast. >> bill, thank you for that. now it's time for entertainment news and the jungle book took in much more than the bare necessities, earning over $103 million here at home and $136 million more overseas. barbershop, the next cut, came in at $20 million and "the boss"

took third at $10 million. pop culture power couple john legend and chrissy teigen welcome daughter luna simone over the weekend. the social media savvy teigen took to instagram saying, luna, we're so in love with you and sleepy, very sleepy. congratulations to the proud parents. >> good luck with that. >> yes. on friday, george and amal clooney held a glitzy fundraiser for hillary clinton and other democrats. bernie sanders protesters were nearby, flooding them with dollars. clooney tried to talk to a protester who hit him where it hurts. >> he said i was some corporate shell. he said, you know, you sucked at batman. i was like, well, you kind of got me on that one. then i walked away. that was basically it. >> i'm dara brown. this is "early today." yebrows? yebrows? why do people put milk on cereal? oh, are you reading why people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? why is it all (mimics a stomach grumble)

no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? yeah, happens to more people than you think... try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah. i got your back. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you. quilted northern works their bathroom experience. just like they forgot conductor randy, who sees all and forgets nothing. at least he's not constable bob.

leading the news in "the washington post," after 13 years, cia honors green beret killed on secret afghanistan mission. sergeant nathan ross chapman, a cia communications specialist, was the first military casualty to die by enemy fire in the war in afghanistan back in 2002. the cia has not revealed the cause of the delay of this honor. and in the guardian, world's first pastafarian wedding takes place in new zealand. yes, it belongs to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. it's meant to mock american religious fundamentalism as they believe that a spaghetti monster god is just as likely to exist as any other god. new zealand approved the

church's request to conduct legal marriages in 2015. >> i'm glad they found each other. let's take a look at this. a massive fire broke out at this southern california junkyard sunday. firefighters battled steady winds, a lot of smoke. thkfully, no injuries reported. a palm beach zoo is set to reopen today after a zookeeper was killed by a tiger last week. officials say she was performing daily tasks in the animal enclosure when she was attacked. the tiger was tranquilized, but no threat is being made to the tiger's well being. this is the first time a person has died from an animal attack in the zoo's 60-year history. new york university at buffalo is doing damage control after accidently sending out 5,000 accept an e-mails to the wrong e-mail list. a correction and apology was sent out within four hours. all is not completely lost. the applications are still under review, so there is still a chance for the college hopefuls. >> sorry. >> that would be so sad.

well, the ninth annual quidditch cup is under way in columbia, south carolina. >> right up your alley here. >> yeah. over 60 teams from around the country are competing in the sport made famous by j.k. rowling's "harry potter" series. these players cannot fly. >> are you sure? >> but each must keep a broom between their legs at all times as they use dodge balls or bludgers to knock players out and capture the golden snitch. >> what level are you? you play all the time. millions of americans face a midnight deadline to file your tax returns or request an extension. if you live in massachusetts or maine, you're in luck because the deadline to file in those states is pushed to tomorrow in observance of patriots day. it's also the 120th running of the boston marathon. today's event marks three years since the marathon bombing.

i'm dara brown.

there is a frantic search for survivors in ecuador after a 7.8 quake strikes near the country's capital. why people living there are bracing for aftershocks. >> back here in the bay area, a day of remembrance. 110 years ago, the great san francisco earthquake changed the shape and history of the city. the reason the commemoration is this year is different from all others. he made headlines when his beating was caught on camera. why this man is back in court. "today in the bay" starts right now. a very good money for you. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm