ew minutes with instant moisture from k-y ultragel. the president draws a line in the sand over atrocities in syria as he prepares for the biggest meeting of his career. dozens and dozens of companies have stopped advertising on the o'reilly factor. the president defended the host while a congresswoman says he should be arrested. 49 million americans in a flood watch as severe weather whips through multiple states leaving a trail of damage and washing out the first day at the masters. >> shooting flames launch a manhole cover into the air in one of america's business yet streets. "early today" starts right now. good to see you. i'm yasmin vossoughian, i'm

frances rivera. >> the president says atrocities carried out in syria are now his responsibility. the president declared the horrific attack as an affront to humanity, claiming the attack has changed his mind about syria and its leader bashar al assad. >> these heinous actions by the assad regime cannot be tolerated. when you kill innocent children, babies, little babies with a chemical gas that is so lethal, people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many, many line, beyond a red line, many, many lines. it's very, very possible, and i will tell you it's already happened that my attitude toward syria and assad has changed very

much. >> however the president will not say what, if any, action he'll take against assad while still pointing blame at the obama administration for not take action. despite cautioning against action himself in 2013 saying there was no upside. still mr. trump's new stance and the first real test on his america first doctrine comes as u.s. officials confirm it was a nerve agent used in syria, quite possibly sarin. that news came as u.n. ambassador nikki haley delivered an emotional rebuke of the syrian president while also blaming russia for the tragedy. >> look at those pictures. we cannot close our eyes to those pictures. we cannot close our minds of the responsibility to act. russia cannot escape responsibility for this. time and time again without any factual basis russia attempts to

place blame on others. there is an obvious truth here that must be spoken. the truth is that assad, russia and iran have no interest in peace. how many more children have to die before russia cares? >> russia is offering a dlifrpt explanation saying assad's troops boemed a, quote, terrorist chemical weapons depot. video obtained by nbc news of what victims claim is the impact site shows a crater in an open rode with no depot nearby. another story we've been following, backlash against fox news star bill o'reilly is growing. at least 38 advertisers have abandoned his show after the star reportedly paid out millions in sexual harassment complaints against him. yesterday president trump came to o'reilly's defense telling "the new york times" he's a good person. democratic congresswoman maxine

water whom o'reilly made disparaging remarks had a very different take. >> it shouldn't be in america that you can sexually harass women and buy your way out of it because you're rich. if they continue to do this in the way they've done, they need to go to jail. >> nbc's anne thompson has more on this. >> reporter: as advertisers continue to flee the ol' riley factor, bill o'reilly gained a powerful defender against accusations the fox news star sexually harassed female colleagues. coming to his side, president donald trump. in an interview with "the new york times" trump called o'reilly a good person. o'reilly and fox news settled claims from five women for $13 million according to the times, but trump said i think he shouldn't have settled, adding i don't think bill did anything wrong. that defense of o'reilly who trump says he knows well infuriated attorney lisa bloom.

now representing wendy walsh, a former fox contributor who claims o'reilly harassed her. i simply said, i'm sorry, i can't do that. >> reporter: trump has been accused of unwanted sexual conduct in the past. his comments about an actress during an "access hollywood" taping almost derailed his presidential campaign. trump apologized, but no words from o'reilly, just his statement earlier this week that his fam made him vulnerable to lawsuits and he settled to product his children. a controversy in the headlines during april what the president proclaimed as national sexual assault and prevention month. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. now to the president's schedule. this afternoon he'll head to his mar-a-lago resort to host the chinese president. irt will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two world leaders. it comes as mr. trump lays down the gauntlet with respect to north korea, vowing to take on the rogue nation alone if necessary. he admits he can use china's

help. past comments from candidate trump could make for a tense two days after he used china as a political punching bag on the campaign trail. >> we can't continue to allow china to rape our country, and that's what they're doing. it's the great eflt theft in the history of the world. another major topic on the agenda, trade, the president blaming china for the country's massive trade deficits and job losses. the chinese leader looks to maintain his country's growth, solidifying his own power there. >> the high stakes international diplomacy playing out at mar-a-lago can take a back seat to the political controversy currently engulfing the white house. the president, without any evidence accused former obama national security adviser susan rice of committing a crime as chief strategist steve bannon gets his white house role diminished. nbc's hallie jackson has that repo rt. >> the president's inner circle in a single file line with a

notable exception, steve bannon who has been at every other press conference so far. a source said bannon is working on health care instead. his con speck nous no-show came hours after he was ousted from the national security council, the vice president insisting it's not a demotion. >> this is a natural evolution to ensure the national security council is organized in a way that best serves the president. >> reporter: a top white house official says bannon was originally put on the committee as a check against michael flynn, the now dismissed national security adviser. bannon's goal, originally sources say, to break down the obama-era structure inside that national security team led at the time by susan rice. she's in the president's crosshairs now as he accuses rice, with no evidence, of committing a crime by requesting the names of people connected to the trump team be unmasked. >> there's simply nothing wrong, unexpected, ill lee about doing

that. what would be wrong and ill lee is if she took that name and then e-mailed it to the press. >> i leaked nothing to nobody. >> reporter: the president, yet again, making an unsubstantiated surveillance claim telling "the new york times" it's, quote, one of the big stories of our time. >> that was nbc's hallie jackson reporting. now an update on a story we brought you yesterday. pepsi pulled a 2 1/2 minute ad featuring kendall jenner jointing protesters. she gives an officer in riot gear a pepsi with cheers from the ground. some saying it trivialized the black lives matter movement. pepsi saying the company was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. clearly we missed the mark and we apologize. >> a lot of weather happening throughout the country. nearly 50,000 without power. in south carolina heavy rain caused flash flooding, inundating columbia's downtown

area. some residents even had to be pulled to safety during that storm. powerful lightning bolts lit up the sky sparking dozens of house fires. more destruction in georgia where a naed knocked down trees and peeled the roof off homes. in total at least nine tornadoes hit the region, and over in augusta the storms led officials to cancel the par 3 contest of the masters. this is the first time it was ever canceled in the tournament's 58-year history. >> is it going to be another bumpy day? let's check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> good morning. with very a storm coming into the west with a lot of high winds. this is what's left of the storm stims in the east. a slight area of severe weather possible from washington, d.c. south wards. 15 million people at risk, maybe one or two tornadoes, not expecting a big outbreak. how about the rain in northern california, the storm is just off the coast here. that's going to be coming onshore and that's going to bring heavy rain and high winds,

too, as we go throughout late tonight, into tomorrow. this will be feet of show. this is showing the rain, melted snow. the mountains will get nailed on saturday morning. be prepared for the winds in the west even the coastlines coastline, high wind warnings for coastal areas of oregon and washington state. complete weekend forecast coming up. >> nice to hear that weekend ahead. now the scare in the skies in maryland during an air national guard training mission. an f-16 jet was in trouble and went down a few miles from the u.s. capital. the pilot ejected safely. the jet crashed in this wooded area southwest of joint base andrews. the pilot was treated for minor

injuries. good to be able to report he was able to walk away. >> thankfully he was okay and nobody on the ground was hurt as well. just ahead, did the president's top border guy say there's not going to be a wall after all? and the power of pop, people. early today. back in two. starting thursday at kohl's get play proof kid's gear built for springtime fun like jumping beans dresses for only $12 $7 mix and match tops and bottoms and carter's sandals $19.99. you'll get kohl's cash too. play proof guarantee

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employee following news reports that an agent on vice president mike pence' detail was charged with soliciting a prostitute. a secret service spokesperson says the employee was off duty at the time, placed on administrative leave, stripped on his clearance and banned from secret service facilities pending disciplinary actions. department of homeland security john kelly dropped a bombshell, reversing president trump's longstanding pledge to build a, quote, great and beautiful border wall stretching across the country. >> i will say this. it's unlikely we will build a physical wall or barrier from sea to shining sea but i am committed to putting it where the men and women say we should put it. >> his comment comes as the trump administration reviews border wall proposals from contractors. in texas a stein was arrested after a wild chase. the intoxicated 18-year-old was

being treated in a hospital emergency room and decided to flee the scene. he leads police on a wild high-speed chase, causing cars to swerve out of the way, really dangerous. at one point he even hangs out of the ambulance and drives with one arm, according to police. he was ultimately stopped after hitting a curb, the teen charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and evading arrest. >> quite the takedown, too, once they caught up with him. evacuations in midtown, manhattan after three manholes caught fire and started popping and flying into the air. responding police officers and firefighters had to cordon off the streets and evacuate nearby shops and restaurants. it started affleck cal cables caught fire. fortunately, no injuries reported. good thing they were able to clear the shots.

>> imagine if you were walking by that manhole when that happened. pretty terrifying. not many singers can after foekt an election. this one, i guess she can. britney spears, it seems like her concert in tel aviv forced the labor party to delay theyir election by one day. traffic jams and lack of security staff were among the reasons that party leaders gave for the changing election day. they also said many supporters wanted to attend the concert. so let them and vote the next day. >> big fans. let brit perform. just ahead, student journalists dig up dirt on incoming principal. how do you get emma stone to be your prom date? we'll show you one epic attempt here on "early today." 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

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♪ people say i look like ryan gosling ♪ ♪ and maybe that's a bit far-fetched ♪ ♪ i know my vogt ain't great but please be my prom date ♪ ♪ emma stone please be the one ♪ >> what is that? that is a bold high school student, jacob, who decided to invite his celebrity crush emma stone to prom with his own spin on the "la la land" opening number. the video already has over 65,000 views. jacob is waiting for an answer

from the oscar winner but says he has a backup date just in case. you know who i feel sorry for? the backup date. >> exactly. that's what i was thinking. >> on the b list. >> come on, emma stone, for the win. an incoming principal of a kansas high school is stepping down before she starts the job after a couple student journalists learned a couple credentials didn't ad up. amy robertson said she earned her masters and doctorate degree from a university which they found does not exist >> the most common question is how did the school board not catch this earlier and not follow up on it and how did we catch it before any one else. my response is i think we just did our job as a journalist. >> robertson says when she received her degrees there was no issues, adding the students' concerns were, quote, not based on facts. >> more power to those

investigative journalists, but what about the school board? >> they've got to be embarrassed. if she said she went to that university maybe somewhere in norway. but you're looking at corlins. never heard of that one. which former caped crusader will play dick cheney. and barry manilow on why he waited so many years to come out. you're watching "early today." . it was really scary. a dvt in my leg. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. my doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®... to help keep me protected. xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner... ...that's proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. here's how xarelto works.

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a. a live look outside at san francisco and a look at a city skyline that's changing every single day. the transamerica building is about to be displaced as the king of san francisco skyscrapers. good morning and thank you for joining us on this thursday, i'm sam brock. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> it will shrillwill still be . a new classic >> maybe right behind us right there. what's that? >> we'll get to that in just a little bit. at least it's clear. the weather is change. >> it's going to be very crucial the next couple hours. big changes on the way, t