breaking news overnight. did our new attorney general lie about meetings with a russian envoy during the campaign? democrats are demanding his resignation. today the company behind snapchat goes public as the trump rally pushes the dow soaring well past 21,000. a dangerous bout of severe weather whipping through our nation, major damage. and a billionaire oprah winfrey just announce a possible run for the white house to replace this guy? >> this is tnn. >> "early today" starts right now. good to be with you, i'm frances rivera. nbc news is following the breaking news on the investigation into russia's

alleged election meddling. several democratic lawmakers are calling for resignation of attorney general jeff sessions after a new bomb shell report says the a.g. had contact with russia's ambassador on more than one occasion. it is a fast moving story developing throughout the night. >> 9:22 eastern time and here we were with preexisting plans to take on this topic for two hours tonight. the washington post is out with a headline that reads, "sessions, the attorney general, spoke twice with russian ambassador during trump's presidential campaign, justice officials say." now quoting from that piece, "sessions did not disclose when asked about possible contacts between members of president trump's campaign and representatives of moscow during sessions' confirmation hearing to become attorney general." here now is that moment from his confirmation hearing on january 10th.

>> if there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the trump campaign communicated with the russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do? >> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate or two in that campaign and i did not have communications with the russians, and i'm unable to comment on it. >> and the d.o.j. released this statement saying, there was absolutely nothing misleading about sessions' answer. last year the senator had over 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors as the senior member of the armed services committee including the canadian, australian, german and russian ambassadors. he was asked about communications between russia and the trump campaign, not about meetings he took as a senator. but reaction was swift against sessions as details unfolded. >> now you have al franken

now who was on the committee saying he should recuse himself. but nancy pelosi now saying he set the standard for all u.s. attorney's throughout the country. i don't think that's a good place for him to be. >> it very clearly indicates he must now recuse himself. >> it is clear to me that jeff sessions who is my dear friend cannot make this decision about trump. so, they may be not -- there may be nothing there but if there is something there that the fbi believes is criminal in nature, then for sure you need a special prosecutor. >> and now two key dems including fire brand elizabeth warren has come out against sessions demanding he resign. others saying he should at least recuse himself from the investigation. meanwhile, a second report is rattling washington with "the new york times" headline that reads, the obama administration rushed to preserve intelligence of russian election hacking. quoting within the story, in the obama administrations last days, some white house officials

scrambled to spread information abtz russian efforts to jurnds mine the presidential election. the paper cited a half dozen official. american allies had provided information on meetings in european cities between russian officials and trump associates. the paper also reports american intel agencies have intercepted communications between russian official. some within the kremlin discussing contacts with trump allies. well, that all comes as we get word the house intel committee is now agreed to investigate whether there was any collusion between russia and the trump campaign. president trump has denied his campaign had any contact with russian official. well, the president did a celebrity treat and the post election gains and the 15-year high in consumer confidence. wall street is excited as snap chat is set to trade on the new

york stock exchange for the first time. it's offering 200 million shares at a starting price of $17 each. several years ago the snapchat co-founders turned down a $3 billion offer from facebook to buy the company and it looks like they made the right choice with snapchat's expected value of $24 billion. now to another highly anticipated ipo this year is uber, but the company has come under fire recently for a number of controversies. in the latest one the company ceo apologizing after a heated exchange with an uber driver went viral. nbc's miguel almaguer has the tape. >> there it is, there it is. >> reporter: the controversial uber ceo was in an uber when the confrontation began. >> i lost $97,000 because of you. i'm bankrupt because of you. >> reporter: travis was in an uber black, his company's high-end car service when driver

criticized the founder for slashing price and the income of drivers. >> you dropped the prices. >> on black. >> yes, you did, $20. >> reporter: the heated exchange ends when cal nick leave the car. >> you know what? >> what? >> some people don't like to take responsibility for -- [ bleep ]. >> reporter: the dashcam video went public and the ceo apologize zed. to say that i am ashamed is an extreme understatement. it's clear this video is a reflection of me. i must fundamentally change as a he leader and grow up. for uber, it's another high profile problem. the company is investigating a sexual harassment claim made in a blog post by a former engineer. in january, some 200,000 deleted their accounts in protest after the company failed to participate in a taxi strike during the president's refugee ban. now another bump in the road for a ride sharing service under fire. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles.

how does oprah 2020 sound? the daytime tv queen just suggested she might run for president. oprah told bloomberg's david rubenstein that she had never considered running before, but then rubenstein pointed out her popularity and alluded to president trump's lack of experience. >> it's clear that you don't need government experience to be elected president of the united states, right? >> that's what i thought. oh, gee, i don't have the experience. i don't know enough. now i'm thinking, oh. >> oh, so we're going to have to see if she'll campaign giving everybody a car. all right. right now a blizzard warning is in effect what is likely the last place you might have expected. two mountain summits on hawaii's big island are expected to get between 6 and 10 inches of snow along with wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour. snow isn't uncommon at those elevations which reach nearly 14,000 feet. back on the main land, a powerful line of storms are racing east. wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour with 104 million people in its path. hail pounded parts of alabama and relentless wind and rain in tennessee.

storms tripping a trailer in kentucky. severe weather a across the country caused over 2000 flight delays on wednesday. more wet weather heading for the pacific northwest. here is bill karins with more. >> 30 tornadoes, 700 wind reports, that is crazy. a new storm coming to the pacific northwest. this is the average storm for this time of year. a lot of it is going to miss southern california. here are the rainfall totals. again, over the next couple three to four days. today is the northwest then the front dives southward. two to three inches of rain in the mountain areas. significant rain. winter storm watches for the northern sierra mountain rage. much of california, arizona, and the beginning of the stormbelli.

medford looking at a beautiful late spring type day, temperatures 50s and 60s. again, we are not going to see a lot of damage with this storm in the west. >> thank you very much. you may have seen the trailer of the live action version of "beauty and the beast." gaston's side kick doesn't know if he wants to be gaston or kiss him. he gets a nice exclusively gay moment. the movie hits theaters march 17th. he did olaf's voice in "frozen". she called immigration authorities for protection to be arrested herself. you are watching "early today."

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you're watching trump news network. this is tnn. i was big last night. i was so big. so, so big, big. did you see my speech? everyone's saying i was so presidential. because i started talking like this. [ laughter ] >> for more analysis we're going to check in with kellyanne conway who is currently in an important meeting. >> hi. um, great job. i'm in a meeting right now. >> kellyanne, wasn't my speech fantastic? >> it was so good. you didn't tell lies or whatever. >> i know. i didn't. >> jimmy fallon having some fun with his speech to the joint session of congress and the kelley ann con way coach controversy. speaking of kellyanne, the white house said conway acted inadvertently when she promoted ivanka trump's clothing line on tv.

the office of government egtd iks believe she violated ethics ruled and recommended she be disciplined. she's keeping her job as presidential counselor, though. in a newly released letter the white house says conway was defending the president's daughter in an offhand manner. wonway has reviewed the rules and promised to never do it again. immigration authorities arrested a 22-year-old dreamer shortly after she participated in a proimmigration news conference in mississippi. danielle vargas who was brought as a child asked president trump to protect her from deportation because her deferral expired. vargas and her friend were driving away from the event when two i.c.e. officers pulled her over and arrested her. she didn't say why she was targeted instead stating the priority is on public safety threats. vargas's attorney says she does not have a criminal record. another high honor for former vice-president joe biden who received a 2017 congressional patriot award, the bipartisan award honors exceptional leaders who show political courage throughout their careers.

and in the spirit of bipartisan ship, former republican senate leader bob dole and former democratic senator george mitchell were on hand to give biden the award. it comes weeks after he received the presidential medal of freedom from men, president barack obama. stars of the big bang theory are asking for generous pay cut to give two of their cast mates a raise. the five original cast members a reportedly agreed it take $100,000 out of their 1 million per episode salaries to increase co-star's beale and melissa rogers pay. the two joined the cbs sitcom in its third season earning 200,000 per episode. contract negotiations started this week. just ahead, imagine ordering a hot delicious pizza from your sneakers. plus, can the trump rally on wall street lead to a block buster ipo for snap? we have the answers for you. that's coming up next. per roll

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so he can grow up to invent this thing. sutter health. proudly caring for northern california, birthplace of pioneers. proudly caring makewith instant moisture utes from k-y ultragel. fast forwarding in the third thursday, president trump will talk about military spending aboard the military aircraft carrier the uss gerald ford. the president's proposed budget called for a $54 billion increase for military spending for what he says is to rebuild the military. the full senate will hold a vote this morning on dr. ben carson's nomination to be secretary of housing and urban development. car southern is expected to get the simple majority needed to

get confirmed despite having no government experience. and new orleans pelican player is helping those impacted by tornadoes that hit southern louisiana on february 7. he says he'll donate $1,000 for each point and assist he records during friday night's game against the san antonio spurs. well, stocks soaring to new heights with the dow surging past the 21,000 mark. with the other indices also setting records. and the dow industrials on a tear since election day, up over 15%. well, today's big ipo keep the market hot? cnbc has the latest from cnbc global headquarters, good morning. >> good morning. stocks on the best day of the year with the dow closing above $21,000 for the first time. they are focusing on president trump's speech and the strength of the economy. the parent of snap chat makes its debut after pricing the highly anticipated ipo above the expected range. it will be the biggest tech offering since 2014 and could

spur other start ups going public this year. marissa is giving up -- due to the data breach they suffered under her watch in 2014. she stood to collect $14 million from the awards. it belonged to 500 million users. you have heard of high top sneakers, what about pie tops. they can order pizza via a special app. 64 pairs were made. back to you. what will they do next? >> not a complicated order, extra toppings, all from the push of a button. we'll see. thank you. >> thanks. find out who was banned from the oscars for life. may not be hard to guess.

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looks like alec baldwin found a new way to mock donald trump. >> what now? >> the "snl" impressionist is teaming up to write a book on the new president. it's called you can't spell america without me, the tremendous npds story of my fantastic first year. k. >> we are only a month in. >> now for the latest on the epic oscars flub. it keeps going. both involved in the mix up that announced it are getting security protection after photos of their homes were posted

online. they say the two are keeping their day jobs, but the pair, don't expect them back on the red carpet anytime soon. they have been banned from working at the oscars. steve harvey announced the wrong miss universe. he decided to weigh in on the ordeal. >> i was actually in vegas, but i got about 900 texts, all at once. they sent me clips of it, and i just sat there with a warm smile on my face. i spent a whole year of, oh, my god, how could he? that's the dumbest thing i've ever seen anybody -- he's an idiot. okay. so, now it's not just me, is it? you are watching "early today." per roll

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we are close enough, let's talk about the weekend forecast. we are dealing with a storm as the cold front drives to the mountain snow. rain from portland to medford. saturday, we continue to watch the storm creeping to the south and get northern california into the mix on saturday. by the time we get to sunday, it spreads throughout much of the inner mountain west. again, following the storm. it's a slow mover. >> bill, thank you very much. we continue to follow the breaking news with a bombshell report from "the washington post" that attorney general jeff sessions met with the russian ambassador more than wunsz. he said the meetings were as senator, not connected to his work for the trump campaign. however, it runs counter to what

sessions said during his confirmation hearing when he denied communication with russian counter parts. that comes as a developing new york times report says the obama white house and aides worked furiously about the russian meddling and trump ties. the paper of record says american allies have proof of european meetings between russian officials and trump associates and intercepts from moscow that show them describing their trump contacts. the president looks to deliver his first public remarks since the tuesday night speech to congress. if you live in massachusetts, congratulations, you live in the best state of the nation. new england nailed the top two spots. it ranks high in education and health care. southern states make up the bottom with with louisiana coming in dead last. the pelican state ranks high.

the report is based on state performance and not many western states. new mexico right there. but you know what? give it to massachusetts along with their super bowl ring and their championships. >> they are on top. they won't stay there forever. >> there for a good chunk of time, married there, first kid there. >> you are biased. >> but i love new york. >> biased. >> i live in new york. talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. an artist lived inside a rock for a week. he carved out a body shaped slot in a limestone boulder. air entered through breathing holes, he had access to water and food. he says he is dazed, but happy to experienced it. >> he was in that for a week straight? a giant boulder port-a-potty. >> you have to use the restroom. >> let's not ruin it.

>> this is "early today." joining us.

i'm sabro. laura/2shot and i'm laura garcia cann. =4shot= good thursday morning. thank you for joining is us. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. you know what we just heard? 70 degrees possibly today. >> every thursday. >> friday eve, i should say. >> why not? it is is going to be warming up today. we'll be raising the roof to some sunshine today. as you get ready to head out this morning, just so cold. we're still starting out with 30s and 40s out there. hard to believe it will be so warm when you start out at 36 degrees. it is is 46 in san francisco. east bay, 43. upper 60s for the south bay. 65 for the peninsula. there you ,