this morning, new insights into why president trump has been so silent in the wake of the stormy daniels media blitz. facebook troubles continue to mount amid a new probe that the social media giant is recording some users' call logs. nba players from around the league are joining a grieving family in asking for answers as to why unarmed stephon clark was killed in a police shooting. and the former nfl cheerleader who was fired and is how fighting back saying there is a major double standard over players for cheerleaders. "early today" starts right now. good to be with you. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. overnight the trump administration announced a move that could impact the balance of power for years to come. the 2020 census will ask about

citizenship for the first time in decades. commerce secretary wilbur ross announcing the decision following a request by the justice department. the question of citizenship hasn't appeared on the census since 1950, with ross arguing it's needed to better enforce the voting rights act and for accuracy. census data is used for redistricting. electoral vote allotment as well as distribution of federal funds. but opponents, including many democrats say the question would deter noncitizen families from responding, given the trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants. they say it would lead to an undercount that would hurt resources to many communities and change district maps, likely in the gop's favor for years. >> there is also legal pushback. california attorney general xavier becerra says he plans to sue the trump administration over the citizenship question. in an op-ed for "the san francisco chronicle," becerra writes including a citizenship question on the 2020 census is not just a bad idea, it is illegal.

this request is an extraordinary attempt by the trump administration to hijack the 2020 census for political purposes. questions for the 2020 census are expected to be finalized by the end of the week. this morning, president trump is remaining silent on an issue that has overtaken his administration's news cycle, the ongoing saga surrounding stav i daniels after the adult film star sat down for an interview with "60 minutes," laying out several sordid details of her allege aid fair with trump in 2006, with 22 million viewers tuning in to watch. her attorney even dared the president to wade into the battle as he blanketed the airwaves in a media blitz on behalf of his client, even baiting mr. trump with his tweet, quote, the ratings from my kwieclient on "60 minutes" crushed any "the apprentice" show in the last ten years. trump's lawyer and the white house have previously denied any affair, but it is a legal move

avenatti made on behalf of stormy daniels that is making news this morning. nbc's tracie potts has that this morning for us from washington. >> reporter: hey, phillip. good morning. that legal moves involving a couple of things. first of all, in this lawsuit, michael avenatti, the attorney for stormy daniels is now arguing that his client has been defamed because michael cohen, the president's long-time personal attorney, is suggesting that she's lying about an affair that they insist they can prove that evidence to come out at some point later, he says, in court. and second, he is now making the same argument that groups have asked the fec and the justice department look into, asking the court to take a look at campaign finance law, arguing that the president's attorney, michael cohen, broke campaign finance laws when he paid her $130,000, not to talk about this alleged affair. the white house not responding specifically to that. a senior administration official says they have counselled

president trump not to respond directly to daniels because they don't think it's presidential. >> all right, tracie, thank you so much for that. there is some good news for president trump, though, this morning. his approval ratings have rebounded to their highest points since the 100-day mark of his presidency. according to new numbers released by cnn, the president now sits at a 42% approval rating, up 7 points since february. with 54% still disapproving of his job, republicans give him an 86% approval. while 41% of independents give him a thumbs-up. nearly 2/3 of those polled say they believe women who have come forward with affair allegations against trump. 51% say those women should be free to success their alleged relationships with him. the poll, however, was conducted before that stormy daniels "60 minutes" interview on sunday. president trump vows he has some other positive news regarding trade. tweeting trade talks are going on with numerous countries that have not treated the united

states fairly, and vowing in the end, all will be happy. wall street certainly was. u.s. stocks had the best day in nearly three years. the dow jones industrial average exploding 669 points, nearly 3%. the strong bounceback comes on the heels of the biggest weekly decline in more than two years, fuelled in part by mr. trump's move to slap tariffs on up to $60 billion of chinese imports. but tensions seem to be easing after reports that the u.s. and china are willing to hold trade talks in an effort to avert a global trade war. this morning the fbi and military are investigating six suspicious packages sent to military and government facilities in the washington, d.c. area. some of the packages contain explosive material, but thankfully all were neutralized without incident. and now the investigation into who sent them and why. nbc's pete williams has the latest. >> reporter: the first was discovered at the national defense university on ft. mcnair in southwest washington, quickly rendered safe, the military says. but by day's end, similar

packages had turned up at other military and intelligence locations. six in all, including the cia, a white house mail sorting facility in suburban washington, the national geospatial intelligence agency in virginia, and another defense university. in every case law enforcement officials say the packages were sent through the mail. some included letters that one official described as disturbed and rambling, and each time they say the packages were quickly rendered safe. >> bombs sent through the mail are rigged to detonate when they're opened. so they can sit there forever. the bomb squad can do a render safe procedure on a live bomb or it could be a hoax. >> reporter: several federal officials say they do not believe that any of these packages came from mark anthony conditt, who caused three weeks of terror in austin, texas, by placing and sending functioning bombs there. just last week, a man crashed his car after driving through the checkpoint at travis air force base in california. officials say they don't know whether that was an attack or an elaborate suicide.

>> that was pete williams reporting. yesterday we got word that american pioneer has died. trail blazer linda brown. ms. brown was the kansas girl at the center of the 1954 brown versus board of education case that struck down segregation in schools. her father became the lead plaintiff in the case when he tried to enroll her in an all-white school in topeka, fighting all way to victory in the supreme court and changing the course of history. linda brown was 76 years old. an extremeover dose of the synthetic opioid fentanyl cost prince his life according to a report obtained by the associated press. the singer had an exceedingly high level of the drug in his body at the time of his death. the report reveals that the concentration of fentanyl in his system was at a level up to 22 times the amount seen in documented fatalities. the purple rain singer suffered from chronic pain and now toxicology evidence leaves no doubt that fentanyl killed him.

a child is recovering after police say he was thrown through the back window of a car during a crash in winterhaven, florida. according to police, the driver of the buick with two children inside, ages 2 and 3 stopped at a stop sign before a ford pickup truck slams into the driver's side sending it spinning and the 2-year-old flying through the window. the young boy was quickly airlifted to the hospital. thankfully, authorities say he will be released soon. time to check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins with a look at our forecast and how we're shaping up, bill. good morning. >> good morning. it could be an interesting day as far as flash flooding goes. even severe weather overnight. we had some large hail. in the morning mostly dealing with heavy rainfall. headed for the st. louis area, southern missouri and through west texas. later today with another round of new storms, we're going to watch little rock to texarkana. a moderate risk of flash flooding today. and tomorrow we're going to get another round on top of that, and we're going to shift ate little further to the south. so from shreveport almost to memphis. and the rain totals, the red is 3 inches.

the inc. inside of threfire up those storms. also got some snow in colorado this morning that will move out early today. and we'll take a look at where all this mess is going to ned the days ahead. >> you got it, bill. thank you very much. the sticks got hitched a after florida woman marries a 100-year-old ficus tree in hopes of saving it from being torn down. a true story here. neighbors took action after hearing a possible land buyer wanted the ft. myers tree removed. the woman vowed to protect the tree during their ceremony attended by nearly 80 people. the city's beautification board will meet today to decide the fate of the married ficus. >> only in florida. >> i don't know if death will do them part. three living former

presidents are getting together later today. the former saints cheerleader fighting back. for long-lasting, continuous freshness, try febreze plug. febreze plug provides 45 days of freshness, with a unique dual chamber design that alternates between harmonized scents for a continuous renewal of fragrance. plus, febreze plug is formulated with odorclear technology, which cleans away odors instead of just masking them. for freshness you'll notice week after week, try febreze plug. [sfx: mouse click] fortified.tored. replenished. emerge everyday with emergen-c packed with b vitamins, antioxidants, electrolytes plus more vitamin c than 10 oranges. why not feel this good everyday? emerge and see. 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. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of an infection. or if you have received a vaccine, or plan to. if you have inflammatory bowel disease tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. mitzi: with less joint pain, watch me. for less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. for 100 years, ask your rheumatologist heritage and innovation have made gillette the #1 shave in america. now get gillette quality at lower prices -- every day. brought to you by 1200 workers in boston -- we're proud of giving you our best.

gillette. the best a man can get. fast forwarding into tuesday, thousands of firefighters are expected to descend on new york city's st. patrick's cathedral today for the funeral of firefighter michael davidson, killed last week battling a fire on a movie set. the medical examiner determined davidson died of smoke inhalation. former georgia governor and u.s. senator zell miller be laid to rest today. expected to attend and eulogize miller are former presidents jimmy carter, bill clinton and george w. bush. and swimmer katie ledecky is going pro. after dominating college swimming at stanford for two years, the six-time olympic medalist says she will focus on training for the 2020 olympics while still attending classes. ledecky will now be eligible to accept endorsement deals as well. now to the story of how a single instagram post led an nfl

cheerleader into a legal battle against one of the most popular football teams in the country. a former cheerleader is suing the saints alleging the team tries to control cheerleaders' personal lives. it could have a ripple effect on sports teams nationwide. here is nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: for three seasons, bailey davis was a cheerleader for the new orleans saints until she was fired this january, she says, for posting this picture on her private instagram account. >> it was a bodysuit that i got from a boutique. and they saw the photo and said that it was distasteful. >> reporter: the team accused her of breaking rules that prohibit cheerleaders from appearing nude, semi nude or in lingerie. now in a civil rights complaint with the equal opportunity commission, davis argues the saints have two sets of rules. one for its female cheerleaders and another for male players. >> i want us to be treated like professional athletes who have worked hard and do our job well. >> reporter: bailey also says the team fired her because of

rumors she attended a party with players which she denies. the saints require cheerleaders to block players on social media and are not allowed to eat in the same restaurant. >> and this is gender discrimination within their own organization. >> reporter: the team says the new orleans saints do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, and it specifically denies that ms. davis was treated any differently on account of her sex. >> it's not fair. i work just as hard growing up to be a dancer as the football players did. >> reporter: davis says she is not trying to get her job back. she just wants equal treatment both on and off the field. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. just ahead, a family, friends, and members of the nba want answers about the police-involved shooting of unarmed stephon clark. you're watching "early today." hey allergy muddlers: are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool? try zyrtec® zyrtec® starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day.

stick with zyrtec®. muddle no more®. and try children's zyrtec® for consistently powerful relief of your kid's allergies. mother...nature! sure smells amazing... even in accounts receivable. gain botanicals laundry detergent. bring the smell of nature wherever you are. why do people put why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? no more questions for you! ouph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? try lactaid, it's real milk without that annoying lactose. good, right? -mmm, yeah. lactaid. the milk that doesn't mess with you. she's had a tiny cough. see you at 5! seriously? protection. lysol kills over 100 illness-causing germs and viruses, even those that may cause coughs. lysol. what it takes to protect. i can't believe it's head and shoulders.

i thought it was just for like dandruff. the new formula intensely moisturizes your hair and scalp and keeps you up to 100% flake free. and now, try new head and shoulders conditioner.

as we go by the numbers, the associated press released a list of this year's highest paid payrolls in major league baseball. and at the top, the boston red sox at over $223 million. and that ends the los angeles dodger four-year run as the biggest spender. the giants come in second and set to be third, the chicago cubs at $183 million. rounding out the top five are the los angeles dodgers and washington nationals, who will each spend around $180 million. notably here not making this year's top five, the new york yankees, who dropped to seventh place. that is their lowest ranking since 1992.

after days of protest, there are new questions about the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man last week in sacramento. 22-year-old stephon clark was fatally shot by police in his grandparents' backyard. in an emotional press conference, his family asked the all too familiar question, why did it happen? and there are also unanswered questions about why the officers muted their body cameras after shooting clark, stoking more suspicion among his family and protesters. well get the latest from nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: her emotions still raw, tequita thompson, grandmother of stretch clark spoke about her loss. >> great grand babies don't have their daddy. >> reporter: she was at home last week when police confronted clark in her backyard. officers were responding to reports a vandal was breaking car windows when they encountered clark, officers said they thought he had a gun. >> show me your hands, gun, gun, gun! >> called 911, they're shooting. >> reporter: after firing 20 shot, police found no weapon,

just a cell phone. >> they didn't have to kill him like that. they didn't have to shoot him. >> reporter: the coroner said clark died of multiple gunshot wounds. his family has hired well-known civil rights attorney ben crumb, who has also represented the families of trayvon martin and michael brown. >> no family should have to endure this pain and suffering. >> reporter: sunday players from the kings and celtics wore t-shirts with stephon's name. >> say his name. >> stephon clark. >> stephon clark. >> 17 athletes from both teams were featured in a public service announcement seen during the first quarter. >> we will not stick to sports. >> we will not shut up and dribble. >> this is bigger than basketball. >> change can be uncomfortable. >> change is necessary. >> reporter: the shooting has sparked a series of protests, punctuated at times by tense moments in the streets. sacramento's mayor hopes the demonstrations are peaceful and can be channeled into change there. >> are many questions about

policy and protocol that come right out of watching this video. that we're going to do ensure get asked and answered. >> reporter: now clark's family is preparing for his funeral thursday. joe fryer, nbc news. just ahead, we'll look at the buildup to the ncaa men's final four, including the woman at the heart of this year's most popular bobblehead doll. you're watching "early today." you're more than just a bathroom disease. you're a life of unpredictable symptoms. crohn's, you've tried to own us. but now it's our turn to take control with stelara® stelara® works differently for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tuberculosis. before or during treatment, always tell your doctor if you think you have an infection or have flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop any new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs

or recently had a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion, and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions can occur. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. we're fed up with your unpredictability. remission can start with stelara®. talk to your doctor today. janssen wants to help you explore cost support options for stelara®. use pantene shampoo together with 3 minute miracle daily conditioner. their pro-v formula is like a multi-vitamin. making your hair 2x stronger see the difference when you add 3 minute miracle daily conditioner. ( ♪ ) stop dancing around the pain that's keeping you awake.

advil pm gives tossing and turning a rest and silences aches and pains. fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer with advil pm. fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer new kellogg's chocolate frostmmmflakes. chocolatey! mmm mmm mmmmmm yeah, chocolate! chocolatey. crunch into chocolatey gr-r-reatness. they're gr-r-reat! (vo) more "dper rollres for mom" bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty the quicker picker upper

first and obviously, this is a delicate subject. do you have pictures of the president's, shall we say, executive branch? >> yes. >> all right. and does it look like either one of these images? a decorative gourd or a circus peanut? >> both. >> chilling. >> now to the best-selling bobblehead belonging to an unlikely star in the ncaa final four. the nation can't get enough of guess who? sister jean dolores schmidt. she is the 98-year-old superfan and chaplain of the loyola chicago university basketball team. the national bobblehead hall of fame museum says her bobblehead is the best-selling ever. not everyone is buying into the hype, though. final four opponent answer to sister jean is former michigan player jalen rose's 100-year-old

grandmother who has this message ahead of saturday's game. >> sister jean, it's been a good ride, but it's over saturday. >> wow! some trash talking right there. between a 100-year-old and a 98-year-old. >> almost 200 years of trash talking right there. she already has the honor of being the first woman to solo lead a marvel movie. but now oscar winning actress brie larson is showing us she can get seriously ripped to too. she posted this video to her instagram. you can see her working out with the biceps and forearms. does this mean we can look forward to major action scenes in the future when the movie will premier next march? larsson will be starring as carol danvers, one of marvel's most powerful heroes caught in an intergalactic war. you're watching "early today." time for whitestrips.

whitening toothpaste only works on the surface. but crest 3d white whitestrips safely work below the enamel surface to whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. hey, nice smile! thanks! i crushed the tissue test. yeah you did! crest whitestrips. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. also, whiten and protect your smile from future stains with new crest brilliance mouthwash. new kellogg's chocolate frostmmmflakes. chocolatey! mmm mmm mmmmmm yeah, chocolate! chocolatey. crunch into chocolatey gr-r-reatness. they're gr-r-reat! i neverunderwear that's this, but actually pretty.leak always discreet boutique. hidden inside is a super absorbent core that quickly turns liquid to gel. so i feel protected... ...and pretty. always discreet boutique. - there's a common thread i see every time i'm in the field. while this was burning, you were saving other homes. neighbors helping neighbors and strangers alike.

- this is what america's about. - sometimes it's nice to see all the good that's out there. bringing folks out, we have seen it in community after community. the hits keep coming for facebook this mork. the company's stock continues to tumble another 5% as the ftc launches an investigation into their privacy practices with new allegations accusing the company of collecting data on phone calls and text messages from many users without their knowledge. nbc's tom costello tells us more. >> reporter: launching a formal investigation, the federal trade commission now says it has substantial concerns about the privacy practices of facebook. after third parties access to personal data of millions of unsuspecting users. the investigation comes just as some android users express outrage discovering facebook and tracking and saving phone calls and text messages going back years. in seattle, brian wisty says he

agrees to let the instant messenger app access his own phone contacts. >> to find out they grabbed a whole lot more than i intentionally handed them. yeah, i feel like i've been had. i feel like i've been hustled. >> reporter: facebook insists users consented when they approved access to contacts and they can turn it off at any time. calling facebook's privacy issues dire, tim cook joined ibm's ceo in suggesting new privacy laws may be necessary. >> the privacy issues experienced with facebook are actually more serious and bigger than the conversations we had during the equifax breach. >> cyberpros say facebook users should tighten their privacy settings now. if you want to see the information facebook has kept on you, click on settings there and scroll down and click on download a copy of your facebook data. it could include every message, photo, even phone calls you've made. to delete or limit which apps can grab your personal information through facebook, click on applications, then go in and edit or delete each app one by one.

over the weekend ceo mark zuckerberg apologized for the breach of trust. facebook says it will cooperate with a federal investigation, telling nbc news we remain strongly committed to protecting people's information. >> thank you to tom for that report. all right. let's now turn to bill karins for a check on our forecast. bill, good morning. >> good morning once again. this is what everyone has been waiting for, right? the big warm-up. much needed in areas. it was a chilly day yesterday in the southeast, even with the sun. so expanding warmth is coming into areas with our rain unfortunately in areas like arkansas and east texas. we're still below average from d.c. to charleston, but at least we're heading in the right direction. louisville a nice warm-up. new orleans 80 degrees. by the time we get to wednesday, this is where we really warm up through the carolinas and also heading into virginia. 73 in charlotte. by the time we get to thursday and friday, even the northeast warms up. >> all right. good to hear, bill. thank you. and we are down to our elite 8 in our early today munchie madness bracket.

this is the matchup. iconic big mac versus in and out burger. let us know by voting. >> thanks forad lib live picturl

good morning and thank y good morning to you, as we take a live look in san rafael right now. the s curve there. as you can see, cars on their way moving along. thank you so much for joining us on this tuesday morning, i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia who is little by little getting her voice back after a terrible bought of laryngitis, but you can't come back too soon or -- >> mess it up. >> permanent damage. she's going stir-crazy, though. >> i know. >> she really wants to be back, but i'm happy to be here and, kari, that forecast is lovely. >> it is looking good and a good day to call in sick, you know? take in some sunshine. it's starting out cool, but it will warm up as we go through the day. here is