breaking overnight, another explosion in austin, texas. this after three package bombs detonated earlier this month. a $100,000 reward is being offered for information. >> the president gets personal while tweet slamming the russia investigation, calling out the special counsel by nam while attacking the number of democrats on robert mueller's team. >> the tragic accident in front of a capacity crowd at cirque du soleil leaves one veteran performer dead. what went wrong? >> today the white house will unveil a master plan to combat the nation's opioid crisis. >> and olympic gold for the u.s. men's hockey team in overtime against the canadians at the paralympic games. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. i'm gigi stone woods.

>> i'm frances rivera. we begin with breaking news overnight. residents are being urged to stay inside yet another explosion in austin. this time in the southwestern part of the city. seriously injuring two people. they were taken to the hospital and are in good condition. it is not yet clear whether the latest bombing is related to the deadly string of package explosions this month that killed two people and seriously injured two others just over an 11-day period. but officials are examining a suspicious back pack in the area and revealed how this incident might be different from others. >> there have been reports in the media that this device was triggered by a trip wire, and we are here to say that that is a possibility. we now need the community to have an extra level of vigilance and pay attention to any suspicious device, whether it be a package, a back, a back pack, anything that looks out of place and do not approach it. >> more than 500 law enforcement

officials are scrambling for answers. the austin police department now bumping the reward for information leading to a conviction to $100,000. and texas governor greg abbott also offering $15,000. >> after a week of turmoil culminating in the firing of deputy fbi director andrew mccabe, president trump lashed out on twitter with special counsel robert mueller, the target of his frustrations. the president saying the mueller probe should never have started. one again, calling it a witch hunt and insisting there was no collusion. nbc's kelly o'donnell has more. >> reporter: this weekend the president let loose a new approach to tweet slamming the russia investigation. he personalized it, using the special counsel's name for the first time. the mueller probe, the mueller team, and described investigators as 13 hardened democrats, some big crooked hillary supporters and zero republicans. campaign donations and voter registration histories show most of the legal team has democratic ties, but mueller and his

supervisor, rod rosenstein, are republicans. >> it is odd the number of democrats that he's put on board his team. that does raise some flags in some sense there. >> reporter: the president has previously called mueller honorable and fair. publicly insisting he would not remove the special counsel. >> are you considering firing robert mueller? >> no, not at all. >> no, i'm not dismissing anybody. >> reporter: saturday trump lawyer john dowd call for an end to the investigation, but many republicans say the special counsel team should be allowed to finish its work, and that firing mueller would cross a dangerous line. >> if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency because we're a rule of law of nation. >> reporter: and the president's new tone is seen as a warning sign by democrats. >> you have the president through his lawyer trying to shut down the mueller investigation and speaking out against special counsel. members need to speak out now. don't wait for the crisis. >> reporter: concern magnified by the president's treatment of fired fbi official andrew

mccabe. sources close to mccabe told nbc news he gave the special counsel his notes on his meetings with the president. mr. trump tried to undercut that. he never took notes when he was with me. i don't believe he made memos except to help his own agenda. the president's made to order frustrations may cause more trouble, according to former federal prosecutor republican congressman trey gowdy. >> when you are innocent, if the allegations exclude you with the russians and there is no evidence of that and you are innocent of that, act like it. >> reporter: the white house continues to say they are cooperating with the special counsel. an attorney for andrew mccabe says the president's antagonism makes their case that mccabe's firing was political. the inspector general's report was the basis for his dismissal is not expected to be made public for several more weeks. frances? >> kelly, thank you. >> russian election officials are responding to claims of voting violations and president vladimir putin's recent land slide victory keeping him in

power for another six-year term. surveillance footage from moscow and three other locations showed incidents of ballot stuffing. independent election observers and activists allege violations such as forced voting. nbc's richard engel tells us more. >> reporter: even before the polls opened, it was already clear president vladimir putin would win six more years. voters were greeted at the polls by costumed characters, dancing and cookies. tiny enticements to lure the crowds. >> russia is very important country in the world and it's because of our president. >> reporter: the atmosphere here is utterly relaxed. it feels more like a holiday than an election. there is zero expectation of political change. the only question is how many people will bother to show up. turnout is a matter of pride for putin to show that russians

would still come out for a shoe in. it's also a focus of putin's rivals. a alexis a, an opposition leader wasn't allowed to run so he told his supporters to head to the polls, not to vote, but to observe, looking for irregularities. in these videos verified by the a.p., voters seemed to insert multiple ballots. one election official appears to stroll over to a box, stuff it while no one in the room seems to mind. but these would only be vanity votes. putin doesn't need fraud to win. he has deep support. and as the ballots were still being counted, putin came out by red square for a brief acceptance speech, looking energetic, he thanked voters for their trust. promised hard work and unity, ending with a cheer, russia, russia, russia. he's already made clear his priority for his next term, confront the west while the united states is in political

turmoil. the question is was it putin's plan all along? early results show president putin earned more than 75% of the vote with an over 60% voter turnout. the next leading candidate was more than 60 points behind him. gigi? >> richard, thank you. >> president trump is set to unveil his plan to combat the nation's opioid crisis later today. among the proposals, much stiffer criminal penalties for drug traffickers including the death penalty. nbc's kate snow has the details. >> reporter: the need for help is urgent in places like day ton, ohio. >> we need more boots on the ground for law enforcement the >> reporter: in this county they lost more than 500 people last year. it's not just here. a report out last week found over three decades, drug related deaths went up in every single county across the entire country. in one county in west virginia, jumping 8,000%. >> we're here today to support f.o.a.

>> reporter: at a fund-raiser for friends of addicts. the founder said what they need most are treatment options. >> we're running short on therapists and doctors that can help with this, or want to help with this. >> reporter: senior administration officials say the white house plan includes prevention efforts and expanding access to residential treatment for medicaid patients, proposals to reduce the over prescription of painkillers by one-third within three years. and cutting off the supply of illegal drugs, including internet sales. >> they catch the drug dealer, they don't even put him in jail. >> reporter: the most controversial part, stricter penalties for drug traffickers, even seeking the death penalty where appropriate under current law. many who work in the substance abuse field strongly oppose that. >> it worries me that we're not learning from some of the mistakes of the war on drug. we can't arrest our way out of this problem. >> reporter: but there is some support for stricter punishment. >> i'm not advocating the death penalty for every deal erer, bu

there has to be a certain level. if you're bringing in fentanyl in our community, you need to be held accountable. >> it's the worst pain a mother could go through. >> reporter: her son died after a friend injected him with heroine and left him in the car. >> there should be a punishment. i don't know if death penalty is the answer. i mean, but something has to give. >> reporter: dr. andrew kaladny who attended a recent white house summit worries the plan is talk without enough uks action. >> if we want to see overdose come down we need to build a treatment that doesn't exist yet. that will require a massive federal investment. >> thanks to kate snow for that report. >> it was gold at the finish for team usa at the 2018 paralympic winter games in pyeongchang, south korea with a thrilling end in the shred hockey final. with just a minute to go and canada with a 1-0 lead, team usa to be precise tied it up sending the game to overtime. it was farmer who scored again

winning it for the americans, giving team usa its third straight paralympic goilds. >> last night the games came to an end in emblazoned fireworks in pyeongchang. the usa led the way in medals, 36, 13 of them gold. congratulations to everybody heading home. >> so inspiring. now, 19 million people in the south are at risk for severe weather and nbc meteorologist bill karins has all the details. what is going on, bill? >> good monday morning. going to be very active in a changing forecast the next three days. right now we have the storm system coming into the central plains, already thunderstorms this morning around wichita, kansas. this storm system will track pretty much from west to east during the day today. it is plenty warm enough out ahead of this. we have enough moisture available that we're going to get severe weather out of this. maybe even a signator nad owe or two. area of greatest concern, chattanooga, birmingham, it will travel towards atlanta later this evening with the possibility of damaging winds. all of north county florida and southern georgia has a chance for damaging winds and large

hail, too. the forecast concerns down along the southeast, we'll worry about the mid-atlantic andeels like w northeast. with the cold air in place we're setting the stage for snow tuesday into wednesday. so, we still are expecting that coastal storm middle of the week and there will be heavy wet snow. i'll talk about it coming up. >> still snow, really? all right, whatever you say. thanks. wakanda forever, especially at the box office, "black panther" wouldn't give up its spot. the film topping the domestic box office for a 5th straight week. becoming the first to do so since avatar in 2009. total domestic call a whopping $605 million. >> and tomb raider came in

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know the rules. keep your eggo. l'eggo my eggo. okay. it happened in seconds. the fort worth high rise building that was home to luxury apartments and an assisted living facility came crumbling down as you can see. it took 300 pounds of dynamite to turn this 12-zpstory structu into 17,000 tons of rubble. demolition crews cleared out the westchester plaza as it was known. >> leading the news monday morning, tragedy at a circus show in tampa, florida. an aerial performer for cirque du soleil fell to the ground in a performance and died a short time later. nbc's maya rodriguez has the details. >> reporter: shocking moments after a performer fell 20 feet

during the cirque du soleil performance. >> i saw him trying to hang onto the rope. >> reporter: he died from his injuries. witnesses say the big top tent in tampa was packed. anthony all red, a reporter for nbc's tampa affiliate, shot this cell phone video of the aftermath. >> out of the corner of my eye, i could see something happening and i didn't pay attention until i heard a thud. he didn't move any more. >> reporter: in a statement, cirque du soleil said he had been with us for over 15 years and was loved by all who had the chance to know him. just before the show, he wrote on instagram, after so much work and training and staging, our straps duo act is finally in the show tonight. this is not the first time a cirque du soleil performer has died during a show. in 2013, sarah died when she fell 94 feet during a performance in las vegas. at the time it was the first death for cirque du soleil in its 30 year history. now tampa police investigating

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are you okay? >> i'm fine.

i just -- it's just how crazy one day you're the ceo of exxon, a $50 billion company, and the next day you get fired by a man who used to sell steaks in the mail. >> another good snl over the weekend. yeah, cinderella story is continuing in the ncaa tournament. in detroit the 11 seed orange took on michigan state. coming off their upset from tcu, they stunned the spartans to move on to the sweet 16. the thriller 7 seed nevada wolf pack rallied in the second half to shut 2 seed cincinnati 75-73. they move on to red hot loyola, chicago. for the second straight year florida state decembsi december

seminoles. texas a&m took on the defending champion north carolina tar heels from charlotte. they cruised to blow out victory 86-65. and now the shot of the day. >> right in front of us, abdul. mid court extra pass. and it goes for the win! >> that is michigan freshman jordan poole nailing a wild buzzer beater to lead the wolverines over houston. he helps his team advance to their second consecutive sweet 16. a whole lot of action this weekend. you get to chill, you know, get some stuff done. huh-uh, it's full on march madness. >> march madness is better than college basketball. it's fun. all right. pizza lovers rejoice, because this pizza chain made a promise they have to deliver. little caesars made a promise in the middle of the ncaa tournament. if a 16 seed knocked off a 1 seed they would give free lunch combos. when they shocked the world beating virginia, they had to stay true to their promise.

on april 2nd you can run into any little caesars between 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to pickup a free lunch combo. they have to put their money where their mouth is. >> that is so much fun. when you're watching it narrow down to this point. if you can get free stuff compete in other ways, too. >> celebrate that victory. >> no doubt about that. still ahead here on "early today," helping challenged athletes get in the game. motivation up lifting your spirits this early in the morning. you're watching "early today." ? watch me. ( ♪ ) mike: i've tried lots of things for my joint pain. now? watch me. ( ♪ ) joni: think i'd give up showing these guys how it's done? please. real people with active psoriatic arthritis are changing the way they fight it. they're moving forward with cosentyx.

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l'eggo my eggo. okay. welcome back. in the week ahead we have the severe weather threat as we go throughout this afternoon, this evening. north georgia, alabama, southern portions of tennessee. then we get the possibility of snow, maybe even a nor'easter type storm for coastal areas of new england as in the mid-atlantic as we go through wednesday. that could be an i-95 snow event mostly on the grass. it's hard during the daytime to get it accumulating on the roads. anything that falls at night is open game -- fair game, i should say. the northern plains, what a week this is going to be. we go from tornadoes today to another nor'easter wednesday. >> just numb to this whole winter we're having at this point, bill. thank you. still ahead, the paralympians to those just starting out an organization that helps young athletes chase their dreams. tated. i don't have to worry about that, do i? actually, you do. harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line,

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for many athletes with physical challenges, competing wouldn't be possible if it weren't for an organization that helps them buy equipment that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. >> it's called the challenged athletes foundation and it provides grants for prosthetics, coaching and travel. as nbc's steve patterson reports, it is also helping the next generation of athletes get in the game. >> reporter: for 6-year-old david, these are the first steps toward a new life. without legs or a right hand, some might dwell on what's missing. but the challenged athletes foundation focuses on what's not. the dream to compete. for david, it's the chance to run, fast. how fast? >> faster than a cheetah.

>> reporter: faster than a cheetah? >> all he's wanted to do is run, and now he has the tools to run. and i don't think he knows where it's going to take him. and it's going to take him everywhere. >> reporter: the foundation has given out more than $90 million in grants since 1994. they funded more than half the u.s. athletes at this year's paralympics. >> you're giving someone a piece of equipment, and that equipment is going to change their lives, their families' lives, and really their destination. >> reporter: david is a real ironman. he lost his right leg to a land mine. >> i realized i was going to have a battle. it wasn't a quick fix. it wasn't a quick replacement. >> reporter: caf helped him back on his feet. he returned to iraq to command his troops, then on to competition. >> when i did ironman in 2006, won my division, i knew that there were thousands if not millions of people that were watching me and saying, now, that's a role model for my recovery. >> reporter: inspiring others, now part of the routine with the idea that heroes come in all

shapes and sizes when big dreams are given new legs. what do you want to do with those? >> race every single person in the world. >> reporter: now that race can finally begin. steve patterson, nbc news, san diego. >> i love their spirit. they're little, but the spirit is huge. >> it is amazing. >> while your march madness brackets may be busted you still have a chance to vote for our favorite fast food. we are heading to the sweet 16. make sure you head to our social media pages to put your favorite late night or early morning snacks to the elite eight. so, let me just tell you something. if you haven't participate ed in this it really is fun. we always seem to go through fast food debates here. >> what wins? >> what wins, exactly. we'll see. >> all right. >> i want to know what's rising here. >> we have to participate. >> pizza for me. >> it's going to be fun. it's a little fun out there to have a debate for yourself. something we do here during commercial breaks a lot.

>> thanks for waking up with us. i'm gigi stone woods. >> and i'm frances rivera. your news continues here on nbc and your nbc stations. have a gre monday.at

breaking overnight, a city on edge. a $100,000 reward, and a fourth bombing in the austin area. late details just ahead. a tweet storm from the president directed at special counsel robert mueller in the russia investigation as the president takes off the gloves and gets personal. a new legal analysis and where the stormy daniels' legal case may be headed. a horrific accident in front of a capacity crowd at a cirque du soleil performance. and surprise, surprise, your russia's vladimir putin wins another election. ballot-stuffing and all. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm gigi stone woods. >> i'm frances rivera. we begin with breaking news overnight, residents in austin, texas, are on edge after being rocked by a