overnight raids in connection with the london terror attack result in at least eight arrests as britain remains on high alert. >> president trump working the phones all night, in favor of repealing and replacing obamacare today. >> did the chairman of the house intelligence committee just vindicate esident trump over wiretapping claims? forces unite isis joining al qaeda with explosive technology that has airlines on edge. >> the under dogs steal a big one from undefeated puerto rico at the world baseball classic. >> and dog lovers unite. today is national puppy day. >> hope your puppy gets extra love this morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm yasmin vossoughian. a deadly rampage outside of

london, a raid this morning that resulted in several arrests. >> but first and just hours, donald trump and house speaker paul ryan are headed for their first major political test as the clock winds down for republicans to replace obamacare. there are reports that president trump has been working the phones all night to get the 215 votes needed. this after multiple meetings with conservatives. and another on the books for this morning, congressman mark meadows head of the freedom caucus leading the opposition to the bill saying a deal could be in the works. >> the president and i came to an agreement in principle. i think what we're trying to do now is to make sure that our agreement is actually something that can be executed in a way that passes the senate. >> as of this morning our nbc news analysis shows 29 house republicans oppose the plan or lean towards no. at least six of them would have to flip.

otherwise the bill will fail. but speaker ryan says they are nearing the finish line. >> there is a claim to the 24 votes against it. we are getting a lot of freedom caucus members to support this bill. we're adding votes by the day. we're not losing votes we're adding votes and we feel like we're getting close. >> today's vote comes on the seventh anniversary of the passage of obamacare. enlisting joe biden to help their efforts against the repeal. >> i ain't going anywhere. this is not going to pass. elimination of this, the costs are enormous. the costs of law enforcement, the cost to the community. there are so many, so many hidden costs that will be resurrected here if this is repealed. >> nbc's tracy potts joining us from washington. tracy, what sort of last minute deals are we hearing about today? >> reporter: there was a three hour meeting where speaker ryan

met with reluctant members. the president meets with the freedom caucus. could this be costing president trump politically? take a look. the latest poll shows his approval rating dropping to 41%. specifically, he's losing support with the very people who got him into office. men, republicans and white voters, all dropping support. that's just within the last two weeks. now, speaking of politics, the president has said there will be backlash against republicans that don't support this. they may be getting help. the koch brothers are spending seven figures, we don't know how much, to support republicans who say no to the plan during the vote today. they are looking at advertising and other grass roots efforts to help them get re-elected. >> a lot of people going to be affected by the vote. tracie potts, thank you.

>> the het care bill isn't the only high stakes drama playing out in washington this morning. there are stunning new claims from the republican house chair devin nunes. he says communications from donald trump's transition team and possibly the president-elect himself were legally and incidentally collected by u.s. intelligence. and while nunes repeats there is still no evidence former president obama wiretapped trump, it is his decision to bypass his own committee, going to the white house with his new information that is making some republicans sound the alarm on the entire investigation. >> this back and forth and what the american people have found out so far that no longer does the congress have credibility to handle this alone, and i don't say that lightly. >> and democrats are firing back with a bomb shell of their own. nbc's peter alexander has more. >> reporter: president trump says he feels vindicated. >> i somewhat do, i must tell you i somewhat do. i very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found. >> reporter: after the

republican head of the house intelligence committee who advised mr. trump's transition team dropped this bomb shell. >> i have seen intelligence reports that clearly show that the president-elect and his team were, i guess at least monitored and disseminated out. >> reporter: none of it changing bipartisan agreement rebuking president trump's claim he was wiretapped by president obama. including from devin nunes himself. >> was there a physical wiretap of trump tower? no, there never was. >> reporter: and the fbi director. >> i have no information that supports those tweets. >> reporter: devin nunes says the intelligence was legally collect after the election, is not related to any russian connection to trump campaign associates and was not picked up through surveillance directed at mr. trump or his aides. what he says is alarming that the names of some trump team members may have been improperly revealed or unmasked. the intelligence committee top democrat firing back, outraged nunes went to the president before briefing him.

>> the chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation into conduct, or he is going to act as a surrogate of the white house because he cannot do both. >> reporter: nunes defiant. >> why is it appropriate for you to brief president trump given it is his own administration or campaign associates that are a part of this investigation? >> the president needs to know these intelligence reports are out there. >> now the intel committee's top democrat is amping up the stakes saying this about possible collusion between the trump campaign and russia to nbc's chuck todd. >> there is more than circumstantial evidence now. so, again, i think -- >> you have seen direct evidence of collusion? >> i don't want to go into specifics, but i will say there is evidence that is not circumstantial and is very much worthy of investigation. >> all right. back over to london within the last few hours, british police have arrested seven people in multiple raids linked to the worst terrorist attack in london since 2005.

three people were killed in the attack and at least 40 others wounded, including one american. that detail was revealed during prime minister may's address to parliament. take a listen. >> we are not afraid and our resolve will never waive in the face of terrorism. we are in london this morning. what is the latest? >> reporter: well, we've learned more about the attack that rocked them yesterday. they believe it was a single attacker, a so-called lone wolf attacker. they brozenned their stroke of the investigation about the attacker, if he had associated and how he prepared for it. they believe he was inspired by international terrorism. they say it was islamist related terror. last night, and in the early

hours of this morning, the police conducted a series of raids in london and birmingham which is in the west middle of the country. birmingham has a very large muslim population. there's a big police presence where people are getting on with their every day-to-day business. i want to get to the weather. chilly in the east. in the west, the calm before the storm. >> bill karins is here. what are you seeing? >> an active weather pattern. we got rid of this storm. look what's coming. another massive cloud and rain that's going to come with it. let's time it out here. we are dry in the morning. the afternoon, evening rain into california. look at this in san francisco. more showery weather in the northwest. more in the northwest during the day and tonight. heavy rain from coastal section throughouts t oregon and

northern california late this afternoon and evening. interior sections remain dry. an active fat earn. another one behind that. >> thank you. remember that fifth grade teacher in north carolina we told you about here on "early today"? he has that personalized handshake with each of his students to make them feel special. on tuesday he had another surprise for them, a visit from harlem globe trotters who studied the video and very impressively learned every handshake and shimmy by heart. able to do them one by one with the kids there. >> that is so cool. i want to go to a harlem globetrotters game. have you been?

>> no. i want a teacher like that. good samaritans come to the rescue of a boston yan in need. to feel this special... you need to eat this special. ♪ ♪ i love it start your day with crunchy whole-grain flakes... and real strawberries. special k. eat special. feel special. save on must-have trends.'s pair pleats with a feminine top find your perfect bomber jacket and pick up an off-the-shoulder dress. plus, get $10 off when

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the hydro boost skincare line from neutrogena®. see what's possible. on their feet. robertson to third base. he's got it. the u.s. has the wbc title. >> you can see it there. team usa shot out puerto rico, 8-0 to win their first baseball classic. puerto rico has been undefeated. team usa joins two-time winner, japan and the dominican republic. congratulations to them. the u.s. military is air lifting syria and curdish fighters behind isis lines part of an assault on the important town held by isis. a dam there along the river supplies electric power to the

area. they provided close support during the air lift. officials say no u.s. troops were involved in front line fighting. an undisclosed number of military advisers were held. check this out, good samaritans in boston did not hesitate to help a man who fell on train tracks on st. patrick's day. he stumbled before taking a fall on to the tracks. another man takes off his jacket, goes in after him, helping get the man back on his feet. he brings him up on the platform. a grood of onlookers help out minutes before the train comes back. it is dangerous to go after someone who has fallen on train tracks. itis better to call for help. you can imagine the instinct, hey, this guy fell. the instincts kick in and you want to help. tennis took a back seat at the miami open after this. look who popped up on the

scoreboard. little guy, little iguana stopping the match. the reptile evaded staff for several minutes because the wanted to go on a run there scoring across the court. a lot of people liked it even taking selfies there snapping that. putting it on instagram and say hey, everybody, come and enjoy the match. it's a good picture, too. >> he wanted to be part of the game. youtube is about to lose out on millions of dollars. plus as isis teaming up with al qaeda to plan explosives in laptops and other electronics, that's next. we can't stay here! why? terrible toilet paper! i'll never get clean! way ahead of you, big daddy. aww charmin ultra strong. it's washcloth-like texture helps clean better. it's four times stronger... ...and you can use less. beautiful view. (wiggles butt) thanks to charmin. and you, honeybear! awwwww we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin?

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in today's business quick hits, more major advertisers are pulling ads from youtube and other google properties over concerns the search engine may have placed the ads next to terrorism or hate content on the web. among them at&t, verizon, johnson & johnson and enterprise. >> pepsi co. is pulling 12 packs and two liter bottles of its brands from store shelves in philadelphia over the city's new tax on sweetened drinks. the company wants to offer sizes that working families can afford. >> and it took five days for disney's live action block buster to surpass the an mated classic in box office sales in the 1991, 2002 and 2012 releases. the original made $425 million in theaters worldwide. so far the remake has pulled in

more than $428 million worldwide. >> the remake with john legend and ariana grande, a constant replay for my kids. a new ban on electronics for certain passengers coming to the united states. some of the reason the new ban on board was put in place by the u.s. and britain. as nbc's miguel reports, isis and al qaeda may be working together. >> reporter: a senior law enforcement official tells nbc news isis may be getting help from al qaeda. the disturbing development following the new electronics ban. it affects flights into the u.s. from eight majority muslim countries and was ordered after intelligence discovered isis operatives sought to plant explosives in laptops and other electronics. >> i think what you have is two different groups that compete with each other, but both of which have the same mission, to shock the world by bringing down an international airliner.

>> reporter: calling the intelligence extremely sensitive, security officials would not confirm if isis was developing an explosive that could be hidden in a laptop. similar to the attack that blew a hole in this plane last year over somalia, the new policy to be implemented by saturday restricts electronics larger than a smartphone from the cabin. >> it becomes much more difficult to carry out a successful attack if the device is not located on the person of the individual carrying out the attack. >> reporter: officials have long feared al qaeda's master bomb maker who helped develop the underwear bomb may be sharing his trade secrets. for now, the ban affects ten airports, some 50 flights a day. some say the new policy could change the way we all fly in the future. >> that was nbc's miguel reporting. concerns of security ban is implemented in only 10 u.s.

airports, but security experts are telling nbc news for it to be truly effective, it may need to be rolled out at airports worldwide. >> ahead, the cringe worthy way christy wished her teammate luck. jimmy fallon is talking about the challenger who applied for an intern. you're watching "early today." see me. don't stare at me. see me. see me. see me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. i'm not contagious. see me to know that... ...i won't stop until i find what works. discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. proven to help the majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75% skin clearance at 3 months. while the majority saw 90% clearance. do not use if you are allergic to cosentyx. before starting, you should be tested for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur... ...tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms... ...such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to.

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danny rapping. somehow edited daniel out and inserted himself into it changed all the lyrics to show why he'd be a great intern. jake, if you're watching, and you better be watching, the answer is yes. pack your bags, buddy. i can't wait to meet you, man. get ready to work. >> i love that. never minds a letter in the mail. i guarantee you, there will be that on the "today" show. >> they are going to put him on the show. which one of us has aged the best. here is their opinion? colin firth doesn't appear in the trailer and he becomes a target. here is him in 2003 compared to today. can i tell you, he was on the

bridgette jones' latest one, he has a baby. he looks great. >> former figure skating champion tweeted well wishes to her teammate nancy kerry began ahead of her debut. the wording was a little questionable for some people. this is what she wrote. so excited for you, nancy, can't wait to see you grace that ball room floor. break a leg. we know that she meant well, but it might not have been the best wording for her. she was the victim with the infamous 1994 attack that left her with a knee injury. she wasn't fazed fwi tweet. she express the her gratitude. >> it's a saying. >> yeah, break a leg, show business saying. >> i get how it's cringe worthy. details on a $200,000 wine and cheese heist. ♪ hey allergy muddlers

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yesterday, we had startling news from the national snow and ice data. they say the planet has set a record low for floating sea ice in the arctic for winter. this is the third straight year. scientists say it is a key indicator of how global warming is affecting the region of the world hardest hit by climate change. in the summertime, we hit the minimum and the winter the maximum. the third year in a row, the maximum is the lowest recorded. not a bad start to your day in areas of the west. the storm moves in late in the day, with us throughout the night and rainy weather tomorrow. we are going to see severe weather. we'll have pictures and headlines of that. baseball sized hail possible. more of an outbreak on friday in

texas and louisiana. more wet weather in san francisco and louisiana, looks gloody as we head through friday. >> thank you very much. good taste with wine and cheese. they made a huge, huge wine and cheese, look at this, they are stealing it there. police made a huge bust. ten men charged in con negs with the organized crime. it was worth more than $86,000. they stole more than $100,000 in wine. police are looking for at least one more suspect. can you imagine there's truffle in that, too. there are huge parties missing out on wine, cheese and truffle. >> it's not often you hear of a wine and cheese bust. if you are having a party, call me. nfl commissioner, roger goodell is trying to speed up the games. they plan to use a play clock

after extra points and after touchdowns to get back to the action faster. they are expected to rule on these and other changes at the annual meetings, which we gin on sunday. >> in the old days this may have been grounds for excommunication. pope francis thought he was leaning in to kiss a young child. look what she does. look. she had another idea. she reached over and lifted the pontiffs skull cap right after his head. he got a chuckle out of it, too. extra blessings, i'm sure for her, too. it's national puppy day. we are showing photos of the "today" team's furry friends. help save orphan puppies across the globe. visit nationalpuppyday.com. >> who was the pup with the glasses. tell me. adorable. >> i'm frances rivera.

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right now at 4:30, terror in london. new arrests this morning. we're learning about the background of what police are calling a british-born attacker. good morning on this thursday. thank you so much for joining us. i'm sam brock. i'm laura garcia-cannon. i notice a little drizzle on my windshield this morning but nothing compared to yesterday. >> it will be mostly dry throughout the day. patchy fog in spots. this afternoon, going to see sunshine. y he es, we do need it. tomorrow, well, it will be a different story around the bay area. let's look at all our microclimates. feeling mild and 51 degrees. 45 in the tri-valley. 40 in the north bay. 50 in san francisco. already a widean