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

fourth explosion just this month. two people passing on bikes were injured when a bomb exploded in travis county. they are in good condition. police are urging people within a half-mile radius of the incident to stay inside. until 10:00 a.m. local time. one resident said the explosion was so loud he could hear it from his home even with the window shut. >> this is a quiet neighborhood, we have lived here 20 years. not a lot happens here. it's a family neighborhood. yeah, it's -- it's concerning. >> police are working under the belief the latest incident is connected to three previous package bombings that killed two people and seriously injured two others. but they say this is different from the other explosions. >> it's very possible that this device was a device that was activated by someone either handling, kicking or coming in contact with a trip weir that activated the device. >> we need the community to have an extra level of vigilance and

pay attention to any device that looks out of place and do not approach it. over 500 law enforcement officials are investigating. at least two schools are delaying classes due to police activity. the school district says late arrivals and absences will be excused. officials are offering a total of $115,000 for information leading to an arrest. after a week of turmoil culminating in the firing of deputy fbi director andrew mccabe president trump lashed out on twitter, focusing his frustrations not just at mccabe but also at special counsel robert mueller, calling him out by name for the first time. this as the white house attorney insists the president is not considering firing the special counsel. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the latest. good morning, tracie. >> good morning. lawmakers are warning the president not to do that after firing mccabe two days before his retirement. that firing coming from the fbi

and inspector general's report we have not seen yet, said that he leaked information to a reporter and then misled authorities about it. mccabe is refuting that in a pretty long statement, also saying he's turned over note to the fbi of his meetings with president trump. the president tweeting that those notes must be fake memos because he never saw mccabe taking any notes. now the big question is any of this going to affect special counsel robert mueller? >> are you worried the president is preparing to fire mueller? it looks that way from his tweets. >> as i said before, if he tried to do that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency because we're a rule of law nation. >> reporter: the president tweeting as you said for the first time about mueller, 13 hardened democrats are helping to run that russia investigation and new from "the washington post" this morning, a report that senior staffers were

required by president trump to sign a nondisclosure agreement. >> all right. very interesting. tracie, thank you. as president trump's legal team attempts to move the stormy daniels to federal court one legal analyst says it is a risky move. nbc news danny sa val has says the plan of attack is clear, move the case to federal court briefly and ask that court to send the case to arbitration. arbitration would heavily favor president trump but only if his team succeeds in getting there. if the case stays in court, he opens himself up to a deposition he cannot refuse to answer. for more on the legal analysis head to nbcnews.com. russian officials are responding to claims of voting violations in vladimir putin's recent landslide victory, keeping him in power for another six-year term. surveillance footage from moscow and three other locations showed incidents of ballot stuffing. activists allege other violations such as forced

voting. nbc's richard engel tells us more about this. >> 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 crowd. >> russia is a 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 russians would still come out for a shoe-in. it's a focus of putin's rivals, the opposition leader wasn't allowed to run so he told his supporters to head to the poll not to vote but observe looking

for irregularities. in this videos verified by the ap, voters seem to insert multiple ballot, one 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 with a brief accept speech, looking energetic he thanked them for their trust, hard work and unity, ending with 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 engel, thank you. the cinderella stories continue when it comes to march madness and this year's ncaa tournament. in detroit, the 11th seed syracuse orange took on tournament favorite michigan state, coming off of their upset over tcu. the orange stunned the number 3 spartans to move on to the sweet 16. now to a thriller as a 7th seed nevada wolfpack rallied from a 22-point deficit in the second half to shock 2 seed cincinnati 75-73. they move on to face red-hot loyola chicago. for the second straight year, the florida state seminoles played the xavier musketeers in the second round of the tournament in an up-and-down game setting the musketeers to advance in the tourney. and seventh seed texas a&m took on the defending national champions in tar heels in charlotte. the aggies cruised to victory 86-65. now the shot of the day. >> rifles it in front to ahman. at mid court, extra pass.

and it goes for the win! >> michigan freshman jordan poole nailing the buzzer beating to lead the wolverines over houston and helped the team advance to second consecutive sweet 16. a storm could bring a flood threat to california and bill karins has all the details. >> so much for our dry winter. all of a sudden we will have a rainstorm coming to the west. the culprit spinning in the middle of the pacific and heading towards the west coast. today is okay but this will drag a ton of rain through tomorrow and into wednesday. we'll get some snow at the high elevations but the biggest concern is the heavy amount of rainfall in the burn areas where we had the fires in the fall and this will linger all the way back into thursday too. here's how much rain is expected. the red is 4 inches of rain. near santa barbara where we had the fires and, you know, four to five inches of rain over a two-day period. we're going to have mud and debris flows with this. this could be a big story by the

middle of the week and wouldn't doubt if ecuationsvagon to washington state not bad in the intermountain west but highs in the 50s. you can't win in california sometimes. you need the rainfall and snow. get the mud and debris flows, fires. can't win. in today's quick hits on sunday, democratic congresswoman marcy kaptur of ohio became the longest serving woman in the house of representatives with more than 35 years of service. 71-year-old kaptur was first elected to the house in 1983. >> it took ten seconds, more than 300 pounds of dynamite to bring down this 12 story building in ft. worth, texas, that used to house luxury apartments and recently was an assisted living facility. >> check out this gorilla at the

philly zoo. he uses his hind legs to walk upright like a human so he can keep his hands clean. we'll be right back. d my hygiens but they're not all the same. who knew? i had no idea. so she said, look for one that's shaped like a dental tool with a round brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to gently remove more plaque, and oral-b is the first electric toothbrush brand accepted by the american dental association for its effectiveness and safety. my mouth feels so clean. i'll only use an oral-b. oral-b. brush like a pro. however, q4 does have... hitting the mid-morning wall? loaded with premium ingredients, protein packed jimmy dean bowls help you avoid it. shine on. are confusing quilted northern for robes. they're both cushiony, comforting, and add elegance to your home.

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know the rules. keep your eggo. l'eggo my eggo. okay. new on nbcnews.com, president trump is set to unveil his plan to combat the nation's opioid crisis later today. among the proposals stiffer penalties for drug traffickers including the death penalty. kate snow has details. >> reporter: the need for help is urgent in places like dayton, ohio. >> we need more boots on the ground. >> reporter: they lost more than 500 people. not just here. a report out last week found over three decades drug related deaths went up in every county across the entire county. in one county in west virginia jumping 8,000%. >> we're here today to support foa. >> reporter: at a fund-raiser for the group families of addicts. >> this year august 26th.

>> reporter: the founder said what they need most are treatment options. >> we're running short on therapists and doctors that can 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 a drug dealer and don't even put him in jail. >> reporter: the controversial part of the white house plan, stricter penalties for drug traffickers seeking the death penalty where appropriate under current law. many who work in the substance abuse field strongly oppose that. >> it worries me we're not learning from some of the mistakes of the war on drugs. we can't arrest our way out of this problem. >> reporter: there is some support for stricter punishment. >> i'm not advocating the death penalty for every dealer but if you're bringing fentanyl in our

community you need to be held accountable. >> reporter: laurie's 18-year-old son chase died after a friend injected him with heroin and left him in the car. >> the guy making the big money there has to be harsher punishment. i don't know if the death penalty is the answer. something has to give. >> reporter: this doctor who attended a recent white house summit worries the plan is more talk without enough action. >> if we want to see overdose deaths start to come down we have to build out a treatment that doesn't exist yet that will require a massive federal investment. thanks to kate snow for that report. two suspected thieves at a costco got a surprise when officers caught them rethanded. when they recognized one of the suspects from a previous incident. don't go back to the same store. the police positioned themselves at the store's exit and caught the thieves as they tried to escape. nice work. officers also arrested the robber's getaway driver and the

suspects may be responsible for another theft at a different costco the same day. bonnie and clyde they are not. spread out your crimes. >> the employees are good at looking at your receipts when you leave costco but this is a different level trying to leave the store with the goods. the battle, now a lawsuit between tinder and bumble that's heating up and you're looking at what might be the smallest computer in the world and costs 10 cents. so cute. powerful skincare, now light-as-air a breakthrough moisturizer delightfully whipped for instant absorption feel a light-as-air finish in a flash new olay whips ageless are confusing quilted northern are confusing quilted northernf. for a bouncy castle.

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what's happened? >> wakanda forever, especially at the box office. "black panther" would not give up the number one spot earning $21 million in ticket sales. the film topped the domestic box office for a fifth straight week becoming the first film to do so since "avatar." it's whopping total is $605.4 million. that's not even counting for global sales. the rebooted "tom raider" at second place with more than $23 million. what an unexpected surprise was a drama called "i can only imagine" which opened with $17 million followed by "a wrinkle in time" n fifth "love, simon" with more than $11 million. to wall street where investors will watch a fed meeting and a building legal battle between tinder and bumble. cnbc's meg terrell is watching it for us on a monday morning.

good morning. >> good morning. wall street is set to open in the red on the first trading day of the week despite a gain on friday stocks posted a loss last week weighed down by fears of a possible trade war and more white house turmoil. this week investors will turn their attention to jerome powell's first policy meeting. the two-day meeting kicks off tomorrow and the fed is widely expected to raise interest rates for the first time this year. and dating app tinder is suing competitor bumble for patent infrigment. the lawsuit claims bumble copied tinders design. bumble was created by former tinder executives and the major difference between both apps is bumble's women talk first marketing strategy. tinder's parent company match group unsuccessfully tried to buy bumble last year for a reported $450 million. ibm unveiling what it claims to be the smallest computer. that's not an exaggeration. the new computer is smaller than a grain of salt and will cost less than ten cents to

manufacture. it will work with block chain applications to track the shipment of goods and detect fraud. back over to you. >> fascinating. thank you very much. >> looks like an industry disrupter to me. just ahead what about eating chipotle for 500 days. we'll tell you what it can do to you. full details of one man's burrito journey when we come back. stay with us. mitzi: psoriatic arthritis tries to get in my way? 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. it's a different kind of targeted biologic. it's proven to help people find less joint pain and clearer skin. don't use if you are allergic to cosentyx. before starting cosentyx you should be checked for tuberculosis.

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had to do the firing, attorney general, jeff sessions. >> hello. look at me. i still got a job. >> sir, sir, can you give us the exact reason mccabe was fired? >> well -- yes. listen, mr. mccabe was in clear violation because of his lack of candor. i don't know. i can't even dance around -- trump made me do. it mccabe, he saw too much, you know. >> that was great. bill hader as host over "snl" this weekend. good stuff. now the hip-hop trio three migos with drake and the throwback to the '70s in homage to "soul train." >> good evening, i am ron delirious here with the culture ride. i'm the hostess with the mostest. >> that's jamie foxx playing the role of don cornelius with them

and donning afros in the latest video. drake takes part wearing a jerry curl wig. it's featured on the "culture" on the billboard charts. >> looks like drake is having a good time. jamie foxx can do no wrong when he does an impersonation. something you don't hear about an ohio man bruce wayne, at chipotle, he ate it every day for a record 500 days. he broke the record for most consecutive meals at the restaurant in december at 426 days. to mark that milestone, chipotle pledged to donate $10 for each of the days and that was the average amount he spent per day for the meals. pretty impressive. but he didn't get bored with that. that's determination, i guess. >> we'll be right back. my gums are irritated. 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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paralympic winter games came to an end a blaze of fireworks in north korea. -- south korea. it was a thrilling end. with a minute to go, canada holding a 1-0 lead, team usa, tied it up sending the game to overtime. then it was farmer who scored again winning it for the americans and giving team usa its third straight parahim pick gold. the u.s. led the way of medals, 13 of them gold. really impressive. >> an experienced cirque du soleil aerialist fell 20 feet at a show in florida.

38-year-old yann arnaud was performing in cirque shows for 15 years. he was considered one of the company's most experienced entertainers. the death is the third involving a performer in the company's 34 years, according to cirque du soleil's president. let's take a turn and check back in with meteorologist bill karins to see what's in store for the week. >> lot of big weather stories making national news. severe weather threat, that time of year in the deep south, expect to get a few in march and a chance of tornadoes today, possible tennessee, northern alabama and north georgia. then the east coast could deal with a nor'easter by wednesday with some snow possibly heavy in the mountains of the appalachians and at the same time the worst effects from the west coast shore tuesday into wednesday with the heavy rain, flash flood threat and the highest of elevations some pretty heavy snow. by the time we get to friday we start to calm things down a little bit in southern california, that's nice, still dealing with rain and mountain

snow from northern california to oregon and washington state. middle of the country a light wintry mix. but i think you get the theme here. possible tornadoes and a nor'easter on the east coast and a flash flood threat and heavy rain event in california. >> what a week it will be. thank you. makes you want to stay home and eat kaushs and pizza lovers rejoice because this chain made a promise they have to delivered. they promised a the beginning of the ncaa tournament if a 16 seed knocked off a 1 seed they would give away free lunch combos. when umbc shocked the world beating virginia they had to stay true to their promise. i'm sure they never thought it with would happen but april 2nd run into any little caesars between 11:30 and 1:00 p.m. and pick up a free lunch combo. that is the best price there is. >> fast food and march madness go together. here at "early today." you still have a chance to vote for your favorite fast foods in our munchie madness bracket. we're headed to the sweet 16 so head to our social media pages

to vote. thanks for watching. i'm frances rivera. >> i'm gigi stone wood. we leave

we had a report of an explosion. we have two victims that have been transported to the hospital. i want to put out now the safety alert for the neighborhood. stay inside your homes until we have had a chance to deem this neighborhood safe. >> breaking overnight, a fourth explosion in austin. two injured. police are looking into a connection with the previous explosions that claimed two lives. >> president trump gets personal using the special counsel's name for the first time as he let loose in the approach to tweet slamming the russia investigation and attacking mueller's team. >> opioid emergency over the past three decades, deaths went up in every county in america. today president trump unveils his plan to stop