this is already a victory for the ages. [ cheers and applause ] >> a nail-biter of a race in georgia with the leading democrat and the president himself claiming a victory. breaking news overnight, former new england patriots star aaron hernandez has been found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide. the desperate search for the cleveland shooter comes to an end. >> bush 41 hospitalized fighting a bout of pneumonia. >> a $2,000 ikea bag knock off. >> and what some in texas are puck erring up for this morning. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning, i'm gigi stone woods. >> and i'm yasmin vossoughian. we have a lot to talk about this morning. breaking news overnight out of

georgia where a special congressional election pinned as referendum on president trump himself has the political world on edge. there is news this morning the race is heading toward a runoff in june after none of the candidates who vied for the vacant seat received the majority votes needed for a win. the leading democrat in the race and the president himself are claiming victory. for more, we go to nbc's tracie potts. >> reporter: this is a big deal outside of georgia. democrats are pinning their hopes on jon ossoff, the 30-year-old filmmaker who wants to replace health and human services secretary tom price who gave up this long-time republican seat. ossoff won 48% of the vote. check out the results. we learned early this morning the closest republican, karen handel, a former secretary of state in georgia won 19% of the vote. both sides are claiming victory. democrats say this shows that

the people even in a state and in a district like this that's been deeply republican aren't with president trump. republicans say in a crowded field, it shows that democrats couldn't pull off what they expected. here is reaction from ossoff. >> let me tell you this. there is no doubt that this is already a victory for the ages. [ cheers and applause ] so bring it on. because we are courageous. we are humble, and we know how to fight. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: president trump got directly involved, tweeting against the democrat, calling him super liberal, talking about his stance on some issues, and as of this morning, saying he's glad he could be of help. back to you. >> whoever did win this race, a

huge number for a democrat in this state. nbc's tracie potts for us. thank you. >> a lot of people watching that one. we where just learning some breaking news. former new england patriots star and convicted murderer aaron hernandez was found dead in his prison cell overnight. officials say hernandez hanged himself in his jail cell using a bed sheet. he was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival. the massachusetts department of corrections says hernandez attempted to block his jail cell door by jamming it with various objects. the 27-year-old had already served two years of a life sentence in the 2013 killing of semi pro football player odin lloyd. he was just found not guilty in the 2012 murders last week. president george h.w. bush is back in the hospital recovering from a mild case of knew known yeah. in a statement it's said he was

being treated for a persistent cough. the 92-year-old is being held for 23ur they are observation but said to be in good spirits. he's had other health battles in the past including a two-week stint in the hospital back in january. the manhunt for fugitive steve stephens came to a violent end in eerie, pennsylvania. he's suspected of fatally shooting a 74-year-old man in cleveland and posting a video of the murder to facebook. nbc's gabe gutierrez has the story. >> reporter: the nationwide manhunt for suspected facebook killer steve stephens came to a dramatic end here in erie, pennsylvania. a worker recognized him at this mcdonald's drive through where the manager says he ordered mcnuggets and fries, but they stalled. >> told him it was going to be a minute for his fries, which it

wasn't. we were trying to make sure she got in contact with the state police. he didn't want to wait for the fries. >> the unit's psp is behind a white ford fusion. >> reporter: stephens sped off. after a short chase, officials say he shot and killed himself. >> there are a lot of questions, i'm sure, that not only family but the city in general would have had for steve. >> reporter: police say stephens murdered 74-year-old robert godwin at random in broad daylight on easter sunday and posted chilling video on facebook where he also blamed his ex-girlfriend for his actions. seconds after the bloodshed -- >> oh lord, he's dead. >> came the horrified calls for help. >> oh, lord have mercy. oh, my god! >> reporter: for this 911 dispatcher, it was too late. >> ask him if he's breathing. >> is he breathing? he's not breathing. >> i lost everything i had. >> reporter: stephens had no criminal history but filed for

bankruptcy. worked almost a decade at a mental health agency and was a youth mentor. as godwin's family prepares for his funeral, they say they felt an overwhelming sadness and called the killer a coward. fresno, california, recovering from a day of violence after three people were shot to death in less than a minute at three different locations. the victims were described as white men ages 34, 37 and 58. police arrested suspect cory mohammed when they saw him running from the scene. investigators say he posted on facebook he didn't like white people and used the alias, quote, black jesus. officials say he yelled god is arabic while being loaded in the police car. officials say the shooting had nothing to do with terrorism. >> based on the information we've been provided and our investigation has shown, this is solely based on race.

>> mohammed had already been wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a security guard at a motel 6 last week. now he faces four counts of murder. back in washington, the trump administration is 11 days shy of the first 100-day mark. the president is taking a victory lap of sorts. >> no administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days that includes on military, on the border, on trade, on regulation, on law enforcement. we love our law enforcement. and on government reform. >> his comment comes as he signs a new executive order. part of his buy american hire american policy. but it's raising new questions about whether mr. trump's businesses should follow that same message. here's nbc's chief white house correspondent hallie jackson. >> reporter: back on the road sounding like he's back on the campaign. >> buy american and hire american. >> reporter: the president signing a new executive order in wisconsin promising to put

america first, directing an administration review to tighten up the h 1b visa program which let's highly skilled workers back into the country. that's after president trump has used different programs to bring on foreign workers at his own properties. all of it raising questions for one republican senator at her iowa town hall. >> shouldn't he be the first one to bring his company back and manufacture his products here? >> maybe he puts his money where his mouth is and brings some of those jobs here. >> reporter: the president has separated himself from his business and so has his daughter, but conflict questions linger. the ap now reporting ivanka trump's business was granted three chinese trademarks the very same day she joined her father for dinner with the chinese president. >> the question is whether that kind of award of a trademark is a way for the chinese government to curry favor with the president or with the president's assistant ivanka trump. >> reporter: an attorney for

ivanka trump tells nbc news she has had no involvement with trademark applications submitted by the business. and with americans talking taxes, president trump is, too. >> our tax reform and tax plan is coming along very well. >> reporter: but that tax overhaul could be over before it begins with democrats warning they won't play ball unless the president releases his returns. >> i think it's going to be hard for him to make people believe that he's credible in leading some kind of tax reform. is he doing it to benefit himself, his friends? we don't know. >> candidate trump came under a lot of pressure to release his tax returns. president trump may have to relent because he wants to push through tax reform. >> our thanks to hallie jackson for that report. >> turning to severe weather in the south, heavy rains left one texas down inundated in water. several homes and cars were flooded after storms passed through santa fe tuesday and while there were no reports of road closures, some residents had to use kayaks to get around. even some livestock was left looking for dry land.

>> meanwhile, 18 million people in the midwest are at risk for strong to severe thunderstorms. nbc meteorologist bill karins is tracking that for us. bill, what's going on? >> the storm that went through the west about 36 hours ago, the rockies overnight, is moving the the central plains. isolated tornadoes and huge hail will be a problem. a weak storm system is moving along the pacific northwest coastline, dragging showers once again into coastal sections of oregon. we'll see enhancement in northern california and also southern portions of oregon. this is all over with by thursday with the exception of some showers in the pacific northwest, especially at the higher elevations. again, an unsettled weather pattern from northern california up to seattle. ri the 50s, fornia and azona

areas south of sacramento will have an enjoyable day with enjoyable spring time temperatures. >> the west continues to deal with storm after storm. unfortunately more to come. >> we'll be watching. just ahead, reports fox news could be severing ties with long-time host bill o'reilly. >> the launch that seemingly happened in the blink of an eye when "early today" comes back in two. neither water. nor smudge. nor scratch. nor damaging uv rays. nor glare of night can keep you from the clearest vision possible. ask for crizal no-glare lenses. and live life in the clear. finance your glasses with no interest if paid in full within 6 months, and get up to $30 back when you combine select essilor® brand lenses. visit essilorusa.com for more details.

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says the armada president trump said was deployed to the korean peninsula to acted as a deterrent was was miles away. the report says while the president went on cable news to announce the deployment of what he called, quote, a very powerful armada to the shores of south korea, they were instead at, quote, that very moment sailing in the opposite direction to take part in joint exercises with the australian navy in the indian ocean. the u.s. navy posted a photo of that naval carrier nowhere near the korean peninsula dated saturday. >> all right. from the "wall street journal," fox preparing to cut ties with bill o'reilly. the murdock-owned paper is reporting that fox news is looking at how and when to sever ties with its long time host. o'reilly has been plagued with a ex-sl harassment scandal in recent weeks after it was discovered that o'reilly paid out $13 million in settlements

to five different women. o'reilly said he made the set e settlements to put to rest controversies to spare his children. anger has continued to bubble up against the news channel with protesters and sexual assault survivors rallying outside the headquarters as another woman came out with accusations of sexual harassment against the host. his lawyer said he had been subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination orchestrated by far left organizations bent on destroying o'reilly. >> certainly something to watch, considering he's supposed to be on vacation right now. just ahead, why tom brady is heading to the white house, plus a new caffeine fix that will have you seeing rainbows. you're watching "early today." wh- ah- he- [gas pouring]

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fast forwarding this wednesday, today is the 22nd anniversary of the oklahoma city bombing that killed 168 people. hud secretary dr. ben carson is scheduled to speak at the memorial ceremony. >> and the reigning super bowl champions will visit the white house today. as of tuesday, six members of the new england patriots announced they would not be attending the ceremony. four said the reason is because donald trump is president. >> and a huge asteroid the size of the rock of gibraltar will give the planet a close shave.

the rocket will come within 1.1 million miles of earth. it doesn't sound that close, but apparently very close by affidavit nominal khstandards. >> actually close. a surprising announcement from united airlines despite the massive backlash and threats of legal action over its passenger dragging incident cnbc's nancy hungerford joining us from london with more on that story. good morning, landon. >> united says no one is being fired over the passenger getting dragged off the flight. munoz apologized again but said it was a, quote, system failure, so there was never any consideration to fire an employee. despite reporting positive first quarter results, united stock fell 4% yesterday. meanwhile apple is making a bunch of its apps including i movie and garage band available for free at the mac and ios app stores. it's noting these apps are already free for those who bought an iphone, before the

deadline. the internet is losing its mind over the magical new unicorn frappuccino. the coffee chain will offer the drink starting today, only available through this weekend. the unicorn frappuccino is a blended cream drink with sweet pink powder and mango syrup with a sour blue drizzle, starts purple but turns pink when you stir it. the flavor turns from sweet and fruity to tart. yasmin and gigi. >> starbucks opens in about 30 minutes. i'm going to stir it, not drink it. i want to see what it looks like. >> cnbc's landon dowdy. >> high fashion taking on an iconic shopping bag. check out these people, puckering up to a car for two days. you probably want to know why. we will tell you, if you keep watching "early today." it only takes a second for an everyday item

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so find a venus smooth that contours to curves, the smoother the skin, the more comfortable you are in it. flexes for comfort, and has a disposable made for you. skin smoothing venus razors. keeping up with the fashion trends this spring could mean heading to your local ikea. luxury fashion label just released their new arena extra large shopper bag. it will cost you about $2,000. if you're looking for a more affordable option, some people are saying it looks a little bit or a lot like ikea's iconic bag which sells for just 99 cents.

which one would you rather have? i'm wearing ikea. look at the similarities. >> did you have any idea that was called the fracta bag? >> no, i will take it any day. you heard of kiss cams at sporting events. this takes things to a whole new level. you're looking at the kiss a kia contest, people are puckering up because the last man standing after 50 hours is going to win a free car. here is the rules, you have to keep your lips pressed against the car. if you pull away, you're out. contestants get a ten-minute break every hour. i think i would be able to do it. >> so worth it. for a car? easy. >> ten minutes every hour? come on. you're watching "early today." back in two. do people put milk on cereal? oh, are you reading why people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? why is it all?

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welcome back. today's forecast, very warm conditions throughout the southern half of the country. pretty nice in l.a. san francisco not bad at 66 degrees. on and off showers affecting the pacific northwest. we got our official data in from march. now we continue to add up warm month after warm month. here are some of the streaks that are on. we finished the lower 48. the warmest 12-month period from april to march of this year. now the streak continues, warmest 4 months, warmest 36 months, warmest 48 months in a row. for the last four years, never a warmer period recorded in our country's history. climate facts for you as we continue into our warm april. >> very informative. thank you, bill. u.s. officials revealing two russian bombers breached the airspace off the alaskan coast.

they stayed in international airspace and flew close to the aleutian islands. in response, the u.s. responded to intercept the russian planes. there was no communication between them. officials say the russians acted, quote, very professionally. this was the first time russian bombers have flown in that area since 2015. 25 years to life in prison, that is the sentence for the man convicted of killing etan patz nearly 40 years ago. the judge blasted hernandez for causing the family indescribable anguish. he was just six years old when he disappeared from a manhattan bus stop in 1979. the case ran cold until police picked up a tip in 2012 leading them to hernandez. he confessed to the murder and was convicted back in february. his lawyer says hernandez is mentally ill and will file an appeal. just watching this one could maybe hurt your back. the world coal championships. it's real and took place in england yesterday.

male contestants carry 110 pounds of coal in an uphill race, and the females 44-pound sacks. the race dates back nearly half a century and started when one man challenged another man to the feat of strength in a pub. i think it's time to put this to bed. >> a feat of strength in a pub. maybe some beer involved. >> terrible idea. >> it was a true wild goose chase for one police officer in indiana when he stepped outside of the station and ran into a path of cranky canada geese. the bird comes right at him attacking over and over and over again sending the officer running into a bush and bolting towards the building. >> poor guy. >> thanks for watching "early today." i'm yasmin vossoughian. >> i'm gigi stone.

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new england patrts we begin this wednesday morning with breaking news. convicted murderer and former new england patriots player aaron hernandez is dead. according to the massachusetts department of corrections, hernandez was discovered in his jail cell just after midnight our time. investigators say he hanged himself using a bed sheet. staff at the jail tried to save his life when they got inside his cell. he was then taken to a boston area hospital where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. >> this is the hospital where he arrived this morning. investigators say he tried to block his door from the inside by jamming it shut with items from his cell. just last week, he was found not guilty of murder in the shooting deaths of two men back in 2012.