on the brink, oklahoma teachers threaten to walk out despite a pay raise as the national trend of teachers demanding more gains steam. >> done negotiating, president trump says there is no deal on dacas he rants against democrats, mexico, immigrants and more. what he gets right and what he gets wrong. >> plus china strikes back against the u.s. with new tariffs. how that could impact your wallet. >> hey, millions of saks and lord & taylor credit card holders, a breach at one of the largest retailers. >> we have a college acceptance reaction. that's not all he got. >> and an acclaimed live version

of jesus christ superstar graces the small screen. we honor the man behind it all. "early today" starts right now. and good morning to all of you. ai uchida richard lui in for frances. >> and i'm phillip mena. schools across oklahoma will be closed today as teachers join a growing nationwide movement demanding better pay. emboldened by the teachers strikes in west virginia, as many as 30,000 teachers are preparing to walk off their jobs today. this just days after the state legislature approved pay raises and more school funding. but teachers say those measures are still not enough. nbc's maya rodriguez has more from oklahoma city. >> did the easter bunny come? >> yeah. >> reporter: for third grade teacher heather cody, this past spring break got a nickname, spring broke. >> it's paycheck to paycheck literally. >> reporter: she's one of thousands of oklahoma teachers planning to walk off the job following in the footsteps of those in west virginia, kentucky, arizona. >> you don't feel respected as

an educator. >> pay our teachers. >> reporter: some parents and students backing the teachers' plan to walk out. >> my kids' teacher deserves respect and they're not getting it. >> reporter: according to the national education association, oklahoma teachers are some of the lowest paid in the nation. last week the state legislature approved a raise for the first time in ten years. on average giving teachers about $6,000 more a year. >> that is a remarkable historic figure for our state. it is something i think we should all be very proud of. >> reporter: not good enough, say educators, who want a $10,000 pay raise over three years, and several $100 million more to replace outdated textbooks, broken chairs and desks, bring back foreign language and arts classes, and end four-day school weeks. the result of budget cuts in some districts. >> while this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect. >> reporter: back in tulsa, cody says she is committed to

teaching the next generation, but wonders how she'll pay for surgery she needs this summer while raising her daughter as a single mom. >> there you go. my daughter is in day care. i have car payment. medical bills that i pay. >> reporter: her current solution? living with her parents and monday's walk out. >> i'm not walking out on my children or my students. i'm walking out for my students. >> reporter: oklahoma's department of public safety estimates as many as 30,000 people could rally today at the state capital. officials say the walkout could last indefinitely. philip? >> maya rodriguez for us. thank you. >> the daca deal seems to be d.o.a. after the president spent his easter sunday blasting his political opponents for the country's immigration woes, hitting democrats for inaction on the daca program currently protecting the nation's 800,000 dreamers from deportation. he tweeted this. quote, border patrol agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the border because of

ridiculous liberal laws like catch and release getting more dangerous, caravans coming. republicans must go to nuclear option of pass tough laws now. no more daca deal. also adding here this just before attending church service sunday. take a listen. >> a lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of daca. and we're going to have to really see. that a chance, the democrats blew it. can't happen that way any more. >> but it was not just democrats the commander in chief targeted here. casting blame on mexico as well, even threatening a dramatic policy shift that could have a ripple effect on the economy. for more now we go to nbc's tracee pots in washington. good morning to you. >> reporter: richard, good morning. the president is threatening to walk away from our trade deal with canada and mexico known as nafta in order to pressure mexico to do something about what he says is this flow of immigrants coming over the border. the president tweeted about that

as well, saying that mexico is doing very little, if nothing, to stop people from flowing into mexico through their southern border and then into the u.s. they laugh at our dumb immigration laws, the president says. they must stop the big drug and people flows or i will stop their cash cow nafta, and then he reemphasizes there, need wall. keep in mind some of the president messaging about daca was just factually incorrect. he seemed to conflate the number of people coming into this country with the 800,000 undocumented immigrants already here. the president also seemed to be watching fox news because some of the language in his tweets talking about the caravan of immigrants directly reflected one of the banners that they had on screen. what does the nation feel about all of this? well, there is a new cnn poll that shows 83% of americans favor a daca deal. that's the majority of democrats, republicans, and

independents. so, why hasn't it happened? a spokesman for nancy pelosi, the house speaker, says time and time again the president walked away from bipartisan proposals that are exactly what he asked for. richard? >> a lot happening and a lot of break down there for us. thank you so much, tracie. >> this morning there is a new and potentially crucial development in the u.s. trade wars. starting today china will impose new tariffs on 128 u.s.-made products. a 15% tariff on 120 kinds of american fruit, and a 25% tariff for certain pork products. the chinese government says the move is in response to president trump's decision last month to apply tariffs to imported steel and aluminum products. >> if you shop at saks fifth avenue or lord & taylor department stores, you may want to check your credit card statements today. according to cyber security firm gemini advisory hackers have stolen as many as 5 million credit and debit card numbers. the parent company for saks and lord & taylor say they are

working to contain the breach and there is no indication digital platforms were affected. the company also says customers will not be liable for fraudulent charges there. >> there's a lucky person out there walking around half a billion dollars richer after the winning numbers were pulled in friday night's mega millions drawing. the single winning ticket was purchased at a gas station in new jersey. it's worth an estimated $521 million. so far no one has come forward to claim the prize, however the gas station that sold that winning ticket will get their ceremonial bonus check later today. >> pope francis delivered an easter message for the world from his balcony at the vatican sunday. speaking to christians on the holiest day, it calls for peace and reconciliation. lucy cavanagh has more for us. >> reporter: pope francis, the messenger of hope on the global stage this easter calling for peace in a world marked by war

and conflict, nearly 80,000 worshippers from around the globe attended mass under tight security in st. peter's square in rome. the pope calling for the need to end the carnage in syria, demanding aid be delivered to the needy. he also urged for reconciliation in israel where 15 palestinians were killed in clashes on the border with gaza. he said he hopes mutual respect will prevail in yemen and the entire middle east. on relations between north and south korea, the pope said he hoped talks aiming to ease the long-standing tensions on the peninsula would, quote, advance harmony and peace. he also celebrated newcomers to the faith this easter, including a nigerian migrant who became a hero in italy for disarming a thief with his bare hands. his actions and the pope's message urging christians to act in the face of injustice and to keep their hearts open.

the message delivered on what is the most important holiday on the christian calendar, celebrating the resurrection of jesus. lucy kavanagh, nbc news, london. >> for today's shot of the day we head to columbus for the women's ncaa title game. check this out. >> for the win! good clm ! >> she nailed that miraculous buzzer beater to lift her team over the mississippi state bull dogs. the junior guard also hit the game winner against uconn in friday's game final to put the irish in sunday night's title game. after a season plagued with injuries, they were able to come back in the fourth quarter to overcome a double digit deficit to win this year's championship. it was their first in 17 years. and the madness is not over yet. the men's national championship game is tonight in san antonio. the villanova wild cats will square off against the michigan would have reasons.

>> let's go to nbc's meteorologist bill karins who is watching a snowy forecast. >> april fool's forecast. the snow has been moving overnight through ohio, west virginia and also through the state of pennsylvania. during the morning commute it will be the hardest around philadelphia, new york city, maran roa main roads should be okay. secondary roads and bridges could get snow on them. this is for grassy areas. it will be less on the sidewalks. 1 to 3 inches through new york city, southern portions of new england. also on long island. how about the storm brewing in areas of northern minnesota and also montana? it started in montana today. look at the swath. that purple is 6 inches of snow for a good chunk of southern minnesota, central wisconsin and northern michigan. apologies to everyone that is going to be shoveling in t heg gone.

the roads will be just be wet. areas in the south are saying what snow? give me the sun screen. well, festive hats and crazy costumes are on hand as thousands gathered along the parade route in new york city. 5th avenue's annual easter parade is more of a showcase than anything else. and creativity and extravaganza are the themes of the day. the manhattan tradition -- look at the hats. dates back to 1800s. judy garland and fred a stair taking part in the easter parade. >> there are no fascinators there, fascinating, but no fascinators just saying. >> leave that there, right there. just ahead, a fitting tribute -- >> see you back tomorrow. >> this is it. >> he'll still be here. we'll be right back in two minutes. so will richard. >> yes, mate. goin' up the country.

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chinese space station hurling towards earth is now no more. u.s. military officials say it reentered the atmosphere last night mostly burning up over the south pacific. some debris from the 18,000 pound spacecraft was found in the ocean between california and hawaii and luckily it was too far from land to pose any risk to people just as scientists thought. >> leading the news on this monday, california authorities now say an suv crash that killed a family of eight may have been intentional. they say it appears the vehicle came to a full stop before speeding off the cliff at up to 90 miles an hour. police say no suicide note was left and they are now searching family computers and bank records for some clues. the bodies of jennifer and sarah harte along with three of their six adopted children were recovered there. the other three children still missing. among them, da varks ante harte famously photographed hugging a police officer at a portland rally in 2014. >> the pacific division title,

the team honored victims of the concert outdoor shooting that happened last october. an emotional pregame ceremony, the they rierd number 58 on saturday and raised a banner with the names of the 58 people killed in the mass shooting on the vegas strip with the words, vegas strong on top. this is the golden knights inaugural year in the nhl. they will now move on to the playoffs. >> you've seen it before, may have felt it yourself. opening a college acceptance letter. feels like winning the lottery, right? that was certainly the case for 17-year-old michael brown. but what makes this story special is not only did brown get this acceptance letter, he got 20 of them. all top schools, too, harvard, princeton, yale to name a few, gave them a full bright scholarship. he has not made his final decision. i guess he's just going to put one of them in a hat and pull it out. >> can't go wrong. we'll be right back. another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® works in just one week.

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fast forwarding into monday, jury selection is scheduled to begin in bill cosby's sexual assault retrial. the 80-year-old comedian is accused of drugging is molesting a woman in 2004. cosby has repeatedly denied these and all other allegations of sexual misconduct and says the sexual encounter was consensual. >> either an couch, the so-called a influenza teen who killed four people and injured nine in a 2013 drunk driving accident is expected to be released from jail in tarrant county, texas.

the 21-year-old served two years behind bars for violating his probation. >> and president trump and the first lady host their second white house easter egg roll on the south lawn, the white house tradition bates back to 1878. >> this easter message this year, pope francis spoke about the conflict in syria, calling for a swift end to violence and the need for aid there. >> this morning we are taking a closer look at the per ills of syrian activists who all too often go missing. their fate a constant source of pain and confusion for the families. here's nbc's kelly cobiella. >> reporter: they were like any other couple, madly in love. but nor a and basil were also part of a revolution. both arcti active in syria's pu in 2011. >> we felt for the first time we were free to express ourselves. >> reporter: especially basil, a self-taught software engineer using his computer skills to spread videos of syria including this one to the outside world.

his best friend fellow computer wiz from missouri john phillips begged him over a beer on a business trip in poland not to go home. the forces were snatching activists off the streets and basil was a target. >> i'm like, you're going to die, man. you're like -- this is it, you're going to go back and you're going to die. that's it. it's game over for you. >> reporter: basil didn't listen, returning to nora and the revolution. on march 15, 2012, syrian military intelligence arrested him. held first in one of the country's notorious military prisons, then transferred to a civilian jail. journalist aldin was his cell mate. >> translator: i was tortured by beatings, electric shocks, a stick full of nails. i witnessed many people dying around me. >> reporter: yet nora was able to visit basil then marry him. one day he called her. >> he told me they came to take

me, but i don't know who they are and i don't know to where. >> reporter: last summer more than five years after his arrest, basil's family and friends finally learned the truth. basil was executed days after that last phone call. there was no trial. >> i didn't see body like all the syrians. i didn't get a death certificate. >> reporter: nora is now campaigning across europe for the estimated 65,000 syrians like her husband who have disappeared since the start of the uprising. >> these people are real people. they are not pictures. they are not numbers. >> reporter: to this day she's still waiting for her husband's body, a funeral, and a final good-bye. kelly cobiella, nbc news, london. t. it was tough getting out there t. on stage. i wanted to be clear. i wanted it to last. so i kept on fighting. i found something that worked.

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andrew lloyd webber is having a moment. his tony award winning musicals have been seen by millions and now he has a new autobiography out called unmasked >> last night on easter sunday nbc staged a live production of his early hit jesus christ superstar. nbc's kate snow sat down with andrew lloyd webber at the majestic theater right here in new york city. >> i started writing musicals when i was about 7, 8 years old. >> reporter: 7 or 8? >> yeah. i built myself a little toy theater and i staged musicals which i got my brother to help sing. >> reporter: that formative love for musical theater propelled andrew lloyd webber to icon status with broadway hits like avida. cats.

♪ ♪ phantom of the opera. this theater, this is where phantom is every night and has been the longest-running show on broadway. ♪ ♪ you, i've heard, bought a secondhand copy of the book, the novel phantom, for 50 cents. >> 50 cents, not very far away from here on 5th avenue. >> best investment you ever made? >> well, it wasn't a bad one. >> reporter: he has his critics, but the fans are just as loud. a great story, he says, is the key. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: he wrote the title song for jesus christ superstar on the back of a napkin. >> i thought of the tune before. i said, could i have a napkin, please? >> reporter: so you wouldn't lose the tune? >> i was worried. i had forgotten it once before. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: he calls sara's

version of i don't know how to love him one of the most astonishing he's seen. it all comes as broadway is reinventing itself. >> there is a generation of young writers who are embracing, you know, new plots, new ideas. evan hanson, hamilton. >> reporter: they're taking risks. >> i think so. it's very exciting time. just settle a bit more. >> reporter: and the 70-year-old says he's not done yet, revealing he has a new idea for a show. >> i can't really say what it is yet. >> reporter: just a little hint. >> could make a great story. it involves a person who is alive. >> reporter: the next big idea for a guy who calls himself incredibly lucky, kate snow, nbc news, new york. ♪ ♪ >> i don't recognize that one. >> jesus christ superstar, back of the napkin. >> there it is. i'm not a big broadway guy. i hadn't been until i moved here and starting to go to shows here and there. so, now i have to start learning about all the brilliance, opera,

school of rock. >> give that man more napkins to write on definitely. >> does well for him. >> thanks for waking up with us. i'm richard

good monday morning to you as we start our day with a live look out on san jose. as you can see, it is still dark outside. but we're up and bright and bringing you the sunshine for you this morning. thank you so much for joining us. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm kris sanchez. not too shabby. >> not at all. it will be a beautiful day. we're seeing cooler temperatures to start off, but eventually we'll warm up to the upper 60s and mid-70s for today. san jose 53 right now, mountain view 50. san francisco at 53. napa, about 44 degrees. as of right now, our temperature trend does show