a historic announcement this morning from buckingham palace and queen elizabeth ii? is today the day repeal and replace is a reality? confident republicans put the future of america's health care to a vote. >> details into how an auto auction turned deadly when one of the vehicles accelerated killing three including this young mother. >> rising rivers and flooding causing havoc in the midwest with more troublesome rain on the way. >> after incidents of short tempers and violent outcomes on airlines, american cutting leg room and others may follow. >> jimmy fallon's take on this may the fourth.

courtesy of smash mouth. ♪ you're an all-star, get your game on ♪ ♪ >> "early today" starts right now. >> love that. good morning. i'm gigi stone woods. thanks for being with us. >> i'm frances rivera. today house republicans could finally fulfill their 7-year promise to repeal obamacare after late into the night agreeing on amendments to the american health care act. enough conservatives were won over to perhaps get the bill passed through the lower chamber. house majority leader kevin mccarthy all but guaranteed passage. >> going forward tomorrow? >> tomorrow, yes. >> you have the votes? >> yes. >> pass this? >> i feel great. >> moderate republicans worry those with preexisting conditions will be excluded from coverage or forced to pay higher preem yumts as groups like aarb

and the american medical association blast releases in opposition to the bill warning, quote, serious harm it could cause. the concern shared by democrats. here is cory booker's assessment. >> the craven bill i see coming to vote tomorrow is just cruel and just wrong. this will cost american lives if it ever becomes law. >> for more we're joined by nbc's edward lawrence from washington. good morning to you. what makes the majority leader so confident this will pass and then what? >> reporter: good morning, francis. last-minute negotiations with republicans on the fence over this health care bill seemed to have worked. it looks like it will eke by todayment under this revised bill, states can omt out of mandated coverage with pre-existing conditions. to get the moderate republicans on board, they added an amendment giving $8 billion over five years to insurance

companies in order to offset the premium costs for those folks in those states that opt out of this coverage. this should pass today. the house is going on an extended vacation, so to speak, or break tonight, so they wanted to get this done today. the bill goes to the senate after that. it will be an even bigger fight over the pre-existing condition clause. it's not a done deal by any stretch. franc frances. >> a lot to watch between now and then, edward lawrence, thank you. massive flooding wreaking havoc in the middle of the country. since saturday at least five people have died due to flooding. officials say most will remain shut down until they can inspect for safety. in northeast arkansas thousands were ordered to evacuate after a levee broke causing a flash flood emergency. dozens of national guard soldiers were deployed to the area. and further south a very scary few moments for kids on a louisiana bus. trying to make it through before

getting stuck in the flood waters. fortunately, officials say the kids were rescued and everything is okay. nbc neatologist bill karins says more rain is in the forecast. he'll join us in a few moments. >> a car auction turned to horror when a jeep slammed through a wall killing three people. witnesses captured the aftermath on cell phone video. police say an employee in his 7 os was driving a jeep suv up for auction when it suddenly accelerated. >> just gave it gas, don't know what happened. flew by me. and instead of hitting the cars in front went through the lane of people. >> one man and two women were killed on the scene. among them 36-year-old lazandra uponte on her first day on the job. her brother says she leaves behind three children. >> she loved the family, she was a family would be. >> nine others were injured, one with life threatening injuries. police are investigating what caused the crash.

today marks national prayer day across the country. and with it a dramatic move from the white house. with president trump set to sign a religious executive order appealing to the vast number of social conservatives who got him elected. according to one news outlet the order would protect and vigorously promote religious liberty, alleviating the burden of a previous law that prohibited religious leaders from speaking out about politics, while making it easier for employers with religious objections not to include contraception coverage and more. the white house has not released many details on the order but groups like the american civil liberties union are gearing up for a fight. >> fbi director james comey will head to capitol hill to brief house intel members on his investigation in russia's interference in the 2016 election. it is his second consecutive capitol hill testimony after he explained for the first time ever the october surprise that took the presidential campaign by storm days before the election. with the fbi reopening the investigation into the clinton

e-mail scandal. it was a move clinton pointed to as reason for her failure and one comey concedes he was sickened by, revealing new details what was discovered in his clinton probe. nbc's pete williams has details. >> reporter: a public and passionate defense from the fbi director for his decision to disclose less than two weeks before the election that the fbi discovered potentially important clinton e-mails, he said he faced two painful options. >> so i stared at speak and conceal. speak would be really bad. there is an election in 11 days. lordy, that would be really bad. concealing in my view catastrophic. not just to the fbi but well beyond. >> reporter: hillary clinton said the disclosure was a big factor in her defeat. in response to that president trump tweeted that comey gave her a free pass for many bad deeds. comey said he has no second thoughts. >> this was terrible. it makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had impact on the election. honestly, it wouldn't change the

decision. >> reporter: he said the last-minute discovery was 40,000 e-mails sent by clinton huma abedin to a laptop to her husband anthony weiner, 12 turned out to be classified. >> why did you conclude neither committed a crime? >> with respect to miss abedin we didn't have any indication she had a sense that what she was doing was in violation of the law. couldn't prove criminal intent. >> reporter: he did not reveal the fbi was looking into the trump campaign during the election because it doesn't make its investigations public. he said the clinton e-mail case had already been disclosed by the justice department after the intelligence community raised red flags. he strongly hinted that the u.s. is moving ahead with criminal charges against wikileaks founder julian assange saying its dumps of classified documents make it more like a hostile intelligence service than a news organization with first amendment protections.

>> it crosses a line when it moves from being about trying to educate a public instead becomes about intelligence porn, frankly, just pushing out information about sources and methods. >> arresting assange would be tough. he's holed up at the embassy in london. >> thanks to pete williams for that report. school officials in oklahoma city release dash cam of a horrific crash last wednesday when a pickup truck crossed into traffic, collided with a car and flipped over. three people were hospitalized. fortunately the truck stopped short of slamming into the bus which was carrying nine students. >> we all fight with our partners and spouses. doctors say a colombian woman swallowed that, at least $7,000 in cash to hide the money from her husband after an argument. surgeons extracted the money from the woman's stomach and intestines. the 30 yard woman said she saved the money for a vacation with her husband.

>> the original cast of "happy days" were reunited for a not so happy reason, gathering to honor co-star erin moran, not in attendance, henry winkler currently filming a show. a big announcement from the british royal family. as facebook approaches 2 billion users, find out what mark zuckerberg is doing to prevent future heartbreaking events. >> first, nbc meteorologist bill karins has the latest on the flooding. >> one more day of this and then clearing things out. from st. louis to indianapolis, flash flood watches continue, another one to two inches. expect more pictures we've been showing you, the rivers very high, maybe even a couple levee breaks like we saw yesterday. the pattern will stay cool and a little damp. not the tremendous amounts of rain like we've had.

yesterday 70 degrees in the pacific northwest. we should do it again today with 100 degrees in areas of southern arizona. for today, 100 in phoenix, 104 on friday. cooler by the time we get to saturday. san francisco cools baoff a lite happening now on twitter. =add= we )re following the latest developments in san lorenzo -- you've been this year. today's highs in the 70s, a slight chance of a stray shower in seattle. we'll take a look at what lies ahead as we look at the weekend. just ahead, a frightening new warning from the tsa for truck owners and those who rent moving vans. just days after a grueling few weeks for the airlines, one major carrier says they're cutting back on passenger leg room. come on, is that really such a good idea?

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that plane ride is about to get tighter for us. american airlines is shaving off up to two inches of leg room on some of its new jets. the distance between seat backs will drop down to 289 or 30 inches depending on the row. a spokesperson says despite the close quarters the seats are designed to maximize knee space. it comes in the same week airline executives appeared before congress where lawmakers demanded improved customer service. leading the news the tsa warning truck owners and rental agencies against terrorists ramming attacks according to a new report by the agency. it notes that in three years at least 173 people have been killed and more than 700 wounded in 17 ramming attacks around the world. the majority of those were carried out in just the past 10 months. the tsa report urges truck owners to quickly report theft or other suspicious activities.

google says it has shut down a scam affecting 1 million gmail users, asking users to give permission to a google docs ap. it would use the contact list to send out the same phony e-mail. sensitive information doesn't appear to have been accessed. adoption agencies in alabama can now legally turn down same-sex couples thanks to a new law. new governor kate ivy signed the legislation allowing agencies to follow faith-based policies including refusing to place children with gay parents. governor ivy says the bill protects religious liberty and ensures children can find permanent homes through religious entities. a major announcement about the british royals, plus it's may the 4th, the

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>> all that glitters is gold. ♪ >> isn't that brilliant. >> today is may the 4th. may the 4th be with you "star wars" day. a sci-fi dream come true arrived just in time for the unofficial holiday, a pop-up bar which brings elements from the galaxy far, far away under one roof. fans can sip cocktails dressed as their favorite characters until the end of june, also in celebration of may 4th. so cute. having a great time. also, plenty of fish finds users who listed "star wars" wednesday an interest were 61% more likely to start a relationship. top cities are los angeles, san

antonio, san diego, las vegas and orlando. >> you have the awesome bar everyone is going to be headed to. they should playing that "all-star," that was pretty amazing. think of the editing it took to find exactly those words to make up the lyrics. >> a bonding experience, bringing those star-crossed lovers together. >> as we all celebrate may 4th. after criticism of violent videos popping up on facebook live, ceo mark zuckerberg describing the recent events as, quote, heartbreaking. he says the company will add 3,000 people to the force to police videos of crimes and suicide. the social media giant reporting a strong first quarter estimate as the site approaches a milestone of almost 2 billion users. you're on snapchat, instagram, it's just us old people on facebook now, but that goes to show -- >> it's not true.

facebook is still cool. legal jeopardy, while laughing out loud landed one woman in hot water. plus, palace instreeg, what's behind the mysterious meeting of britain's royal family. we'll tell you. you're watching "early today." that wasn't fair to any of us. i was covered. i tried lots of things over the years. but i didn't give up. i kept on fighting. i found something that worked. that still works. now? see me. see me. i found clear skin that lasts. see if cosentyx could make a difference for you- cosentyx is proven to help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...find clear skin that can last. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting cosentyx, you should be checked 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. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. if you have inflammatory bowel disease, tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen.

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fall. nbc's bill neely is live in london with the details. prince philip stepping down from his royal duty, bill, good morning. >> feverish speculation about what this might mean, concerns about prince philip's health. one newspaper briefly reported online prince philip is dead. he's not. very much alive. at st. james' palace working at the chapel royal. buckingham palace announced he will give up his royal duties later this year. he will continue until about the end of august and he will step back from public life, age 95. 96 not month, so not unreasonable indeed that he should step back from public life. he's very active. he had 110 days of engagements last year to give you some idea of what that means, that is more than prince william or prince harry carried out last year.

he, alongside the queen, has been very active. in fairly robust health. he was out yesterday opening a new stand at a cricket ground, a sports ground in london. he looked terrific and he was joking at one point that he was the world's most experienced plaque unveiler as he opened that stand. but he will step back from public life later this year, probably by the end of august. frances. >> certainly well deserved time alone or with just the queen by themselves certainly the case. bill neely, thank you. we will continue to monitor buckingham palace for any developments. just ahead, find out which super markets top the list of the best in america. plus the annual steamboat race in louisville. you're watching "early today." (vo) more "doing chores for mom" per roll

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welcome back. here is a look at the weather pattern across the nation. we're dominated by the storm causing all the flooding problems the last couple days in the middle of the country. as we head towards the weekend, this cool and unsettled with on and off rain. no flooding. in the west, the huge ridge going through the rockies, warming in the plains. unfortunately for areas of california this upper level low is going to be coming on show. that will mean cooler temperatures and wet weather into the weekend. not today, enjoy the warmth while you have it. 80 in los angeles. salt lake city 76. phoenix 102. tomorrow warm in the desert southwest but we notice a cooling trend in the pacific northwest. >> bill, thank you very much. a jury convicted a 61-year-old woman on misdemeanor

charges for laughing during senate jeff sessions confirmation hearing. the woman, desiree fairooz was protesting when she let out a burst of laughter after sessions spoke positively of his history with race relations. her sentence for disrupting the hearing doub up to six months in jail. a man in oregon walks out of a bar, minutes later crashes his suv straight through the tavern's wall. one person inside suffering major injuries, taken to the hospital. the 29-year-old driver, however, did not get hurt in the crash. he was arrested at the scene on multiple charges including driving under the influence. >> so scary, just the change in the angle he would have run right into the people at the bar. really scary. consumer reports is out with the analyst ranking the best supermarkets in america. customer score the grocery stores on cleanliness, quality, prices, checkout speed and also staff courtesy.

what's on top? wegmans stayed at the top slight. market basket was two. trader joe's kept the third place rank for a second year. publix and fareway stores made the top five. ken the annual spiel boat race took place wednesday on the ohio river, and the bell of cincinnati took home the crown over the hometown bell. the captain from cincinnati accepted the unique prize. here it is, silver antler, what you always wanted. don't miss nbc's extensive coverage of the kentucky derby. it begins saturday at 2:30 eastern on nbc. so fun to watch. >> i always say it's fun to watch the fastest two minutes in sports, but everybody's hats, too, and the fascinators, of course, sipping the mint juleps. until then, cinco de mayo tomorrow. >> more celebrations in store.

i'm gigi stone wood. thanks for %$4ll it )s thursday morning--- and

some changes are in the works for your weather. this is a live look at san jose...the city lights visible thursday morning, we have changes to tell you about in the works for your weather as we look outside at san jose, the city lights vizable from a distance there. we're seeing fog rolling in along the coast today. that's one changes, today in the bay starts right now. thank you for joining us on this thursday, i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's get things going. it was so hot yesterday. >> it was really bad. that was the peak of the heat. things will be cooling down into the next several days and will even go below average for this time of year so some huge extremes here. here's a live look atan