developing right now, southern california braces for the worst storm it has seen in years. i inherited a mess. i turn on the tv, open the newspapers and see stories of chaos, chaos. the leaks are absolutely real. the news is ke. the tone is such hatred. i'm really not a bad person. >> a press conference unlike any other from the commander in chief. what it reveals about the direction of our nation. overnight, passenger jets from frontier and southwest clip wings in phoenix. a major recall for parents with toddlers. and, the catch of the day. "early today" starts now.

happy friday to you, i'm frances rivera. a potentially life-threatening storm is expected to drench southern california with the heaviest rain in six years. let's get to meteorologist bonnie schneider who is tracking the storm. how bad is it going to get? >> very bad. it's just beginning now. the flash flood warning in effect as we watch the rain work into southern california. the watch will go straight through saturday morning. watch for mudslides. this is going to be the strongest storm of the season. very dire language from the national weather service to take this seriously. we are looking at the threat of wind damage. 34 million people at risk. the wind gusts could get to 60 miles per hour. very intense wind. it's a multi-prong situation because the storm will intensify this afternoon. we have a second storm coming in on sunday. busy weekend for folks in california. >> we'll have to brace for that.

bonnie, thank you very much. a full day for the president ahead. the headlines say it all. an off the handle press conference from the president dominates the hacking scandal to race and religion in america. first, the pick to replace mike flynn turned down the offer. robe robert har ward saying it is clearly a personal issue. that announcement came during the first solo press conference of his administration. president trump seemed to enjoy the joust with the media showing shades of his campaign trail. >> reporter: it was a news conference like no other. >> i turn on the tv, open the newspapers and see stories of chaos. chaos. yet it is the exact opposite.

this administration is running like a fine tuned machine. >> reporter: in a firy 1:17, the president touting accomplishments trying to reset after a chaotic start to his presidency. >> i inherited a mess. it's a mess. the tone is such hatred. i'm really not a bad person, by the way. the tone is such, i do get good ratings, you have to admit that. the tone is such hate red. >> reporter: for the first time, addressing why he fired mike flynn, who misled the vice president about discussing sanctions with russia. >> mike flynn is a fine person. i asked for his resignation. he respectfully gave it. he is a man who, there was a certain amount of information given to vice president pence, who is with us today. i was not happy with the way that information was given. >> reporter: did you direct mike

flynn to discuss sanctions with the russian ambassador prior to your inauguration? >> no, i dnlt. >> reporter: would you have fired him because it leaked out? >> no, i didn't direct him, but i would have directed him because that's his job. >> reporter: the president pressed on whether anyone from the campaign had contact with the russians. >> we had a very, very good talk. i have nothing to do with russia. to the best of my knowledge, no person i deal with does. >> reporter: blaming the ouster on leakers. i actually called the justice department to look into those leaks. they are criminal leaks. they are put out by people either in agencies, i think you will see it stopping because now we have our people. >> reporter: the president may have caused more confusion when asked if the latest round of leaks. >> the leaks are absolutely real. the news is fake because so much of the news is fake. >> reporter: the president didn't say whether he would react to provocations by russia,

but it could hurt a russian reset. >> if we could get along with russia, it's a positive thing. the greatest thing i could do is shoot the ship 30 miles offshore out of the water. everyone in the country is going to say, oh, it's so great. it's not great. that's not great. >> reporter: the news conference started with the president listing what he calls successes, creating jobs, starting the process of building a wall, enacting an order on extreme vetting and others. >> i'm keeping my promises to the american people. these are campaign promises. >> reporter: the president still won't let the election go. again, boasting about his 304 electoral vote win calling it the biggest electoral victory since ronald reagan despite obama and george h.w. bush exceeded him. >> reporter: why should americans trust you? >> it was a substantial victory, do you agree? >> reporter: the president asked whether he will work with the

congressional black caucus. >> you want to set up the meeting? >> no, no, no. i'm just the reporter. >> reporter: pressed for a second day in a row without the uptake of hate crimes against the jewish committee. >> i am the least antisematic person you have seen in your life. two, racism, the least racist person. >> reporter: defiant to the end. >> we live in a divided nation. i am going to try. i will do everything within my power to fix that. >> that was kristen welker reporting. new developments on the president's temporary immigration ban. the ninth circuit court of appeals that upheld the suspension on the executive order, deciding not to reargue the case. that's after they said a new executive order is coming next week. the president intends in the near future to rescind the order and replace it with a revised

one to eliminate constitutional concerns. it didn't stop thousands of demonstrators from pouring in cities across the country in a day without immigrants protest. democrats marching including the crack goun on sanction ware cities, the planned worder wall and travel ban. two planes collided at sky harbor international airport. the frontier airlines plane was backing out of the gate when its wing clipped that of an arriving southwest flight. this picture shows the damage. the plane shook a bit and passengers had to stay on board until pictures were taken. a dylan roof type massacre may have been narrowly avoided. this 29-year-old was planning a violent white supremacist attack. the target a myrtle beach

synagogue. he complained about it on facebook ranting about jews and dylan roof. he's planning an attack inspired by roof. the white supremacist was convicted in december for the murder of nine black worshippers in a charleston church. mcdowel, a felon for previous offenses purchased a firearm under a sting operation. the clinton's made a public appearance in new york city for a pbs documentary on may ya angelou. the poet gave a plaque. earlier, secretary clinton attended the unveiling of a commemorative stamp honoring oscar de la renta. >> what a fitting person to be

chosen by our postal service, mentioned, by the way, in the constitution, something we should all read and reread in today's times. and thank you. >> perhaps a subtle dig at the current administration. just ahead, jimmy fallon's take on president trump's press conference. it's priceless. first, meteorologist bonnie schneider is back with the rain that is a one punch. >> two storms taking aim at california. one is hitting now. the flash flood watch now in effect. heavy rain. we are expecting that rain to push south. it really will be a lot. possibly up to four inches in l.a. that's a look at 40s.

this rain will be getting heavy as we go through the afternoon. it will persist straight into saturday. then, frances, we'll be watching for a second storm to make it toward california sunday and monday. >> bonnie, thank you. look at this. impressive reflexes on display. see that? see that catch? the employee catches a toddler with one hand after he fell off the counter. look what he does after, a little celebrating with a flex and thumbs up. he credits sky diving and training for cat-like reflexes. just ahead, a recall for toddlers and parents. plus, did the risk for deportation for undocumented residents just rise? "early today" is back in two. hambone! sally! 22! hut hut!

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are you or anyone on your staff currently in touch with russian intelligence officials. >> for this question, i have to get out my magic eight ball. fake news. fake news. big big. big leagues. big league, big league. china. all signs point to sad. one more shake and this is going to make the ratings go through the roof. foe news, cue the music. >> anymory fallon making big decisions with the magic 8 ball. a recall on a brand of strollers. britax is recalling nearly 700,000 of the be agile and bob motion strollers sold in the united states in 2011. this after the detachable car

seat became unfastened without warning causing children to fall, injuring 26 so far. to see if your model is included visit facebook at nbcearlytoday. lawmakers are expressing alarm that 11 million undocumented immigrants are at risk of deportation. i.c.e. officials met telling them the president's immigration changes put all immigrant communities at risk. members of the hispanic caucus were denied entry to that briefing. only their chairwoman was allowed in. they protested staging a prayer outside the entrance to the meeting. just ahead, police are looking for one of the nfls best players facing serious charges. the stock market surges to new highs. can it last? those details, next. lulu's hair just floats. uhh help me! (doorbell)

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fast forwarding into friday, vice president mike pence begins his first trip abroad as veep. they will attend a security conference before heading to brussels to meet with eu reps. after he was involved in a fight with two men over the weekend, he will turn himself

in. this sunday, nbc celebrates 90 years of television with a three-hour special featuring the peacock networks iconic shows. it's sunday at 8:00, 7:00 central on nbc. the dow on pace for the best week of the year. landon is watching your money. >> good friday morning to you. wall street could take a breather after the markets recent run of record highs. stocks ending mixed on thursday. the nasdaq and s&p 500 snapping a seven-day winning streak down by a drop in the energy sector. training is light ahead of the three-day holiday weekend. at&t is bringing back unlimited data plans for everyone. you can get unlimited data, talk and text without directv or the uverse service. they last offered nonlimited

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throughout this month, nbcblk is showcasing entrepreneurs, artists all 28 or younger. this morning, we recognize clarissa shields, the american boxer to win consecutive gold in london and rio. she's called the tiger woods of women's boxing. for more information go to nbcblk28.com. i want to bring back in bonnie with a look at the forecast with the one-two punch in california. >> under a flash flood watch right now. look at the rainfall totals through sunday. we could see several inches in los angeles. it's been many years since we have seen that. keep in mind, sunday and monday, a new storm approaches

concentrated on northern and central california. we may see rainfall near the oroville dam. for today, 24 million people at risk for the strongest storm of the season. >> thank you very much. time to talk country. keith urban leads all nominees for the awards with seven like entertainer of the year, male vocalist of the year and album of the year. miranda lambert and maren morris are not far behind. the acm awards will be live in las vegas april 2nd. one of the biggest superstars is steaming up the camera. he showed off his chiselled form modelling the latest offerings from his underwear line. he treated fans to the playful side. the portuguese fee nom launched the line in 2013 and models for

it every season. this is what you have. goofiness and a lot of hotness in that ad. time to say so long to an iconic game board token. they are removing the thimble game piece. the thimble got the thumbs down. hasbro will announce the new eight-token lineup march 18th for world monopoly day. a boyfriend put an engagement ring in a box of mcnuggets popping the question with the question, will you mcmarry me. she said yes or maybe she said mcyes. they are planning the wedding day for next valentine's day. mcdonald's offered to cater the event. >> thanks for staying with us. i'm frances rivera. have a great friday, a great weekend and see you again. ok, let's try this.

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ns=:03 =sam/cont.vo= and "reservoir overflowfears"--y source. we'll lookt what mmunities threatening a ...as the rn is nearly-full facility. laura/vo also, "spillway concer"--- our north. the water levels at orovillake . ishat eugh to ste off widespread conce spillway concerns to our north. water levels at oroville have dropped significantly. is that enough to stave off widespread concerns. today in the bay starts right now. and a very good friday morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. as we