i think there's more that's going to come out. and the question becomes, what did the president know, and when did he know it? >> bombshell revelations this morning as the paper of record reports on intercepted calls linking donald trump's campaign team to russian intelligence officials during the election, while questions swirl around what the former security adviser knew in the days before his resignation. tens of thousands cleared to go home, but is the coast clear? and harrison ford's close call with a passenger plane. and every dog has its day, but only one is best in show. "early today" starts right now.

good to be with you on a wednesday morning. i'm francis rivera. one day after mike flynn is shown the door, there are new and troubling revelations regarding the trump team's connection with russia this morning. the "new york times" has come out with a bombshell report that several trump aides had repeated contact with russian intelligence in the year before the election and the revelation it that's shaking up washington. one member of congress likening it to treason and others calling for a full-blown independent investigation. former campaign staffers were apoplectic. and robby mook tweeting, i'd like the fbi to explain why they sent a letter about clinton but not this. many are calling for hearings and probes into mike flynn's

actions. they want to know what the white house knew, when they knew it, and what if any national security risk flynn posed in the west wing. nbc's kristin welker has the report. >> reporter: mounting questions at the white house after national security adviser mike flynn was forced to resign after misleading the president and vice president. >> this was an act of trust. whether or not he actually misled the vice president was the issue. and that was ultimately what led to the president asking for and accepting the resignation of general flynn. >> reporter: the key questions, what did the president know, when did he know it, and why did he keep flynn on board for nearly three weeks after the president learned he'd been misled. nbc news learned that pence was not told for 15 days after the white house knew, meaning nobody told pence.

this all came to a head amid revelations that on january 26 the acting torn general informed the white house counsel about russia. even suggesting flynn could be srupb r vulnerable to blackmail. the president's counsel then informed him and other top officials. >> we had to review whether there was a legal issue, which the white house counsel concluded there was not. the white house insisting they did not know and didn't give the order to talk about sanctions. >> he has no problem that he acted in accord with what his job was supposed to be doing. >> reporter: the white house has been under fire over flynn since president trump first took office. december 29th, flynn spoke to the russian ambassador, the very same day obama announced sanctions. one day later, russia's president putin stunned the obama white house, announcing he wouldn't retaliate. january 12, a bombshell in the

washington post. flynn and the russian ambassador talked about sanctions and the call was recorded. january 15, mike pence playing defense, protecting flynn by saying sanctions never came up on the call. >> it was strictly coincidental. >> reporter: six days later, he was told about what happened on the call. while negative headlines piled up even as top advisers were adamant. but just before 11:00 p.m., flynn was out. >> our thanks to kristen welker for that report. moments ago donald trump reacted tweeted this. and the white house's troubles don't end with flynn. this morning we are learning the top republican is asking for a probe into the trump administration's handling of sensitive information, and

it follows the open air strategy session in response to north korea's missile test. that comes as the office of government ethics concludes kellyanne conway committed a quote, clear violation when plugging ivanka trump's fashion line on tv. the ethic's office says an investigation and disciplinary action is warranted. however, the white house did notch a went after former wwe executive linda mcmahon was confirmed and sworn in as the head of the small business administration. and today israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu will meet with mr. trump for the first time since the inauguration. this amid reports that the united states will not insist on a two-state solution for israel. one senior official says peace is the goal whether it comes to two-state solution if that's what the parties want or something else. tens of thousands were allowed to return home after an evacuation. the immediate threat of

catastrophic flooding has ended, but residents should remain prepared for the possibility of another evacuation order. officials are still working to reenforce the dam's emergency spillway. they're also continuing to release water from the reservoir, and they project it will have the capacity to handle additional rainfall as forecasted storms roll in. also president trump has approved a california emergency declaration. this allows fema to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide federal funding for measures that protect property near the dam. the faa is investigating a dangerous incident involving pilot and actor harrison ford. he was involved in what some call a close call in southern california. he mistook a taxiway for a runway, flying right over the top of an american airlines jet. tom costello now with the story. >> reporter: harrison ford may best be known for his acting, but he's also an accomplished

pilot, though the faa is vetting a potentially dangerous incident involving ford and his single-engine husky in california. aviation sources tell nbc news he had been cleared to land at the airport but instead he lined up on c or charlie where planes taxi before takeoff. he flew right over the top of an american airlines 747 that was heading before preparing for departure. it was loaded with 110 passengers and six crew members for a flight to dallas, unclear if anybody on board knew what happened. once on the ground, mr. ford radioed, was that airliner supposed to be beneath me. and he was told i landed on c. landing on a taxiway is a clear faa violation. the question, was ford distracted?

>> unfortunately, we've seen this sort of thing before, where somebody mistakenly identifies a taxiway for a runway, and in this case, the runway that he was to land on was very narrow. >> reporter: it was just two years ago that ford was injured when his world war ii era plane crashed on a golf course. the crash was later blamed on an engine failure. he is declining to comment. he could receive a warning letter or have his pilot's license suspended, though that seems less likely. tom costello, washington. residents in southeastern texas are recovering after six tornados battered the houston area. flattening homes and uprooting trees and knocking the power out for thousands. the tornado threat is now over, but some residents suspect it will take months to repair all the damage. meteorologist bill karins is here with an update on the rain threat for the orville dam area. >> right now the focus of the

heavy rain is in the areas of the northwest, and freezing rain in interior sections of washington state, and we could get three or four storms in seven days. the river is all the way out here in the pacific. sometimes we call it the pineapple express because it's north of hawaii, and the rainfall totals are going to be on xcessive areas, andther will shift down to northern california in late tonight and tomorrow morning shift into central california. a photographer captured a times lapse video of a natural

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show. nearly 2,800 dogs from 200 breeds entered and competed. leading the news, the standing rock sioux tribe, their attorneys say president trump abandoned a previous commitment to an environmental review when he ordered the army corps of engineers to rush approval of the project. activist have protested for months saying it threatens native-american lands and waters. the latest filing comes a day after a judge refused to grant a restraining order blocking construction. police say a 28-year-old woman was identified from surveillance video where an attack took place on kim jong-un's brother, and he may have once again marked one of his own relatives for death.

>> a cold-blooded execution straight from a spy movie local media reports say, and kim jong-un's half brother apparently targeted by two female assassins. he criticized north korea's supreme leader, and the hit staged at a airport in malaysia, and he was seen struggling for help but died in an ambulance. north korea's ruthless ruler showing no mercy. kim jong-un had his own uncle put on trial and executed, and his latest apparent target, his father's son. in 2001, he was caught sneak into japan with a false passport want to go visit tokyo's disneyland, estranged from the family he questioned his

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lady, melania trump says the tours will resume at the white house on the 7th. last year u.s. airlines had the lowest rate of lost luggage and passengers getting pumped off planes in decades. and then the modeling icon will talk about her return to the "sports illustrated" swimsuit issue, and she's at the age of 63. astounding to be that age and look like that. and then amazon makes moves on its delivery system, and what is moving the markets this morning, landon. >> the markets will try to reach greater heights today after the markets closed at new records

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earlier we talked about the rain in the northwest and head into northern and central california later today but how about what is going to happen to friday and saturday in southern california, and i think we will have flooding out of this and horrible commutes, and this is santa barbara and los angeles, you are in the red here, and flash flooding a good possibility, and maybe mud and debris flows in any of the burn areas, and this is a unusually strong storm system for southern california. that's not today. today we're okay, fog in l.a. today and no problems in phoenix, and maybe a little severe weather in the southeast, and as far as thursday goes, that's when we see the rain moving a little further to the south in san francisco, but

here, francis, los angeles has four to five inches of rain in the forecast and that's a rare event. >> yeah, having quite a bit this season, thank you. a little boy is dead after a drive-by triple shooting in chicago. he was riding in this car with his pregnant aunt and her boyfriend when shots rang out from another vehicle, and the toddler died at a local hospital and he's the third child shooting victim in chicago in the last week, and the driver was an alleged gang member, and they are resraoug video chapterchapte chaptered by the boy's aunt on facebook live. u.s. officials say an action was violated. this comes a few days after

russian jets buzzed the destroyer in the back sea, and the russian aircraft flew close to the destroyer at high speeds. the navy did try to contact the jet over radio but there was no response. one panda mama was caring for her cub, and then just drops him. >> the baby is okay, right? >> yeah, they have the platform there, and the other cub was watching. this is obviously the second cub, because we know first you are so caution and careful, and then the second one is like, it fell on its noggins. >> this is relating to our own lives? >> this is how i treat my second. thank you for being with us on a wednesday, and be sure and

crews are working around the clock and cities around oroville are getting back to normal. but getting back to normal proving tough for some residents. what the rain is forecasting to do to lake levels. when will highway 17 be back open? mudslides have made it murky for days. crews evaluate a new timeline. today in the bay starts right now. a very good now wednesday morning. thank you for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. you will remember wednesday. on the heels of the great weather. tuesday. at one