world on edge as the u.s. and our allies decide on how to respond to the reported gas attack that killed dozens in syria. >> white house infighting publicly the president denies any infighting with chief of staff kelly, but privately he's frustrated by kelly's attempts to bring order to the free wheeling west wing. >> trouble for drivers as gas prices are on the rise again. we'll tell you how much. >> we are just hours away from opening statements in the bill cosby sexual assault retrial. big changes this time around. we have the preview. >> and john krasinski's a quiet place had them screaming in the aisles at the movies this weekend. "early today" starts now. good to be with you on this monday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena.

yet another suspected chemical attack, this time-out side of damascus. one of the last opposition strong holds, and eight groups and opposition activists say 40 people were killed including several children many found suffocated inside their homes. the syrian medical emergency society said 500 were brought to medical centers with signs of exposure to a chemical agent. nbc news has not yet verified the claims. >> president trump condemning the attack on twitter calling it mindless and sick, and promising a, quote, big price to pay. and now reports of a military airstrike against syria. nbc's kyle perry is live in london and he brings us up to date with the very latest. cal, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frances. the horrible pictures coming in from the eastern suburb of da pl damascus saturday night. they were taking cover from barrel bombs, crude weapons where they package chemicals.

some chemicals in those barrels. at least 40 people killed, many of them children's huddled in their basements. in the past few hours, five hours ago, an airstrike on an air field. nobody has taken credit for the airstrike yet. the french and the americans and we have a statement from the pentagon. quote, at this time the department of defense is not conducting airstrikes, they say, in syria. however, we continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those who use chemical weapons in syria otherwise accountable. you saw there and you showed those tweets from president trump on sunday morning saying that there would be a, quote, high price to pay, raising the question across the world, will the u.s. get involved? did he box the united states military into some kind of response in what is an already complicated and horrible situation in syria. frances? >> certainly a crucial we to be answered there. cal, thanks. >> adult film actress stormy daniels is continuing her legal battle against the president this morning. renewing her effort to get the

president to answer her attorney's questions directly under oath. after daniels' lawyer filed a motion if federal court seeking a jury trial asking for sworn testimony from mr. trump and his personal lawyer michael cohen about the $130,000 hush agreement made to daniels just before the 2016 election. it is all part of a nondisclosure agreement daniels is trying to invalidate. for his part, the president said just last week he didn't know where the $130,000 payment came from, referring questions to mr. cohen. both mr. trump's lawyers and the white house have repeatedly denied any affair with daniels took place. >> to washington where there is talk of yet another top trump official possibly on his way out, reports published this weekend indicating chief of staff john kelly could be next. it follows incidents in which kelly grew so frustrated with the commander in chief that he threatened to resign. publicly at least the president is standing behind his chief of staff as his epa chief remains under fire. nbc's jeff bennett has more from the white house.

>> reporter: president trump ripping the latest report that he and his chief of staff john kelly are at a breaking point. tweeting, story on john kelly isn't true. just another hit job. blasting the washington post reporting on kelly's clashes, repeated threats to quit and fading white house influence. while the president publicly defends him -- >> i think general kelsey doing a great job. >> reporter: privately he's frustrated by kelly's attempts to bring order to a free wheeling west wing. mr. trump considered firing kelly last month and weighed essentially acting as his own chief of staff. three people familiar tell nbc news. >> you cannot run the white house the way you run the 26th floor of trump tower, and that's the lesson of the first year of this presidency. >> reporter: while kelly's future appears in question, epa chief scott pruitt seems safe for now. despite escalating ethics scandals over pricey travel and his 24/7 security detail. so far, the president has pruitt's back. >> scott has done a fantastic

job. i think he's a fantastic person. >> reporter: all this as the president gets ready to welcome a trio of new hard line advisors who will help guide the u.s. approach to hot spots around the world. those hawks, john bolton starting today as national security advisor. mike pompeo moving from cia to state, and gina haspel tapped for cia director, both facing tough senate confirmation. all this ahead of president trump's proposed summit with kim jong-un. administration officials confirming that the north koreans are willing to talk denuclearization if and when that meeting takes place. frances in >> jeff, thank you. >> president trump has vowed friendship with chinese president xi jinping despite the trade differences as he and his aides seek to ease market fears of a trade war between the two countries. in a tweet, president trump says, he and president xi will always be friends no matter what happens with our trade or dispute on trade. china has vowed to counteract, quote, with great strength if

president trump slaps another $100 billion in tariffs and has denied american accusations of unfair trade practices. nbc's janice mackie frayer is live with us in beijing with the latest. janice, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, phillip. this is a pattern on the part of president trump to call out china on trade and then talk up his personal warmth with chinese president xi jinping. but china is not backing down and it's xi jinping who is directing this tougher stance against the u.s. china is vowing to counteract with, quote, great strength if president trump does make good on this threat of $100 billion in tariffs. china could next target the services trade where the u.s. actually has a surplus and could also target u.s. multinationals in what is the world's largest consumer market. phillip? >> all right, janice mackie frayer for us live in beijing this morning. janice, thank you. >> from captain america to the

2018 masters champion, the prestigious green jacket will be going into the closet of patrick reed. he becomes the fourth straight masters champion to capture his first major. reed had to overcome a tough pool of challengers. one of those hot on his heels, jordan spieth. after a stellar first round which found him leading the pack, spieth fought all the way down to the 16th hole where he drained a putt to tie reed. he finished 13 under in third place. it was rickie fowler and patrick reed down the stretch. after a clutch 18th hole, he nailed a birdie to put in 14 under. fowler took the lead over reid, reed needing a par to win it all, came down to this shot from reed. >> yes, it will. captain america captures augusta. >> just inside 5 feet, won the

masters by one stroke over fowler. reed wasn't the only one celebrating big moments at the masters. take a look at the shot of the day. >> and that was a 6 iron. [ cheers and applause ] >> it is clear what that is. that is charley hoffman sinking a hole in one in the 16th hole there. he finished 6 under to tie for the 12th. so he got that hole right there. >> yeah, 12th place, but he'll always remember that. bucket listing right there at augusta. right now let's go to meteorologist michelle gross. good morning, michelle. >> good morning. we're looking not too great in the weather department. looks a lot like february. we'll continue that the next couple days before we see a warm up. there is a cold chill coming from canada. most of us east of the rockies dealing with temperatures.

typically we're right around 56. in kansas city 48, chicago 41, louisville 59. and then we're going to move to the east and still see cold temperatures. milwaukee 47, cleveland 40, and bismarck 37. we have a couple more days of really cold chill and then we're going to start to see temperatures moderate closer to what's normal for this time of year. zooming off to the east, temperatures in the 40s. that is about 20 degrees below what is typical this time of year. so, again, it's a cold one but we're going to warm up. i promised you that earlier when we were talking. we're going to see temperatures close to 70 by the weekend. >> love the promises when that comes through. thank you, michelle. fast forwarding into your week you could see a big change

on facebook this afternoon. the company will let you see which users are connected to the app and what they are permitted to see and prevent them from collecting more personal information should they choose. >> the website update comes before ceo mark zuckerberg is set to testify before congress on news that cambridge analytica accessed information. >> carrie underwood tweeted the world with one image. what's up with her? thou hast the patchy beard of a pre-pubescent squire! thy armor was forged by a feeble-fingered peasant woman... your mom! as long as hecklers love to heckle, you can count on geico saving folks money. boring! fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. well, here's to first dates!

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donald glover and woody haralson. i love anything he's in. leading the news this morning developments on the fire in trump tower that destroyed an apartment and killed a man who lived there. firefighters said when they arrived on saturday the apartment on the 50th floor was completely engulfed. more than 200 firefighters responded, six were hurt with non-life-threatening injuries. while the cause of the blaze is still being investigated, the fdny commissioner confirmed the residential floors of the building do not have fire sprinklers because the city did not require high rises to have them when trump tower was completed back in 1983. this morning we are learning more about the resident who perished in the fire. his name was todd brassner, 67-year-old was a prominent art dealer and a friend of andy warhol. the president thanked the first responders for putting out the blaze. mr. trump, first lady melania and son barron were not in trump tower during the incident. >> a heart felt thank you from a

13-year-old who survived a long thaw in a sewer system. he responded to those who rescued him on easter sunday. he plunged 25 feet into a sewer pipe while playing with kids in a park. a river of sewage swept him away. they used cameras to scour a labrinth of pipe. a half a mile away they found him. jesse said he's a little scratched up, but otherwise he's okay. >> an incredible rescue there. skyrocketing gasoline prices could hurt those that are going to hit the road this spring. that is thanks to higher crude oil prices jumping as exporters continue production cuts. according to the energy information administration, average gas prices reached $2.70 a gallon last week. that's 30 cents higher than a year ago. petroleum analysts say by this summer gas prices all across the country are likely to be the highest we've seen since 2014. >> a harrowing experience this weekend for a family in a suburb of dallas. their house exploded and the

blast was caught on camera here from a home security camera across the street. a car had lost control and crashed into the house striking a gas line and causing the explosion. three members of the family were injured along with two police officers. >> just ahead, an update on the bus crash in canada that killed 15 people. plus "black panther" overtakes one of the highest grossing movies in american history. can you guess which one? that's next on "early today." just for a shot. but why go back there, when you can stay home, with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection, which could lead to hospitalizations. in a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. applied the day of chemo, neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day, so you can stay home. neulasta is for certain cancer patients receiving strong chemotherapy. do not take neulasta if you're allergic to neulasta or neupogen (filgrastim). ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems,

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look at the weekend box office, a quiet place took first place led by actor and director john krasinski. the horror film took in a hefty $50 million and reaching another milestone, "black panther" overtakes titanic becoming the third highest grossing film of all time. titanic $659 million comes in shy of "black panther's" $665 million in domestic sales. it continues to grow. >> what a power house this "black panther" is. we're hearing more and more about it when it comes to popularity of it. it's about time we see it, i think. >> the last people on earth it feels like. >> we have to get a jump on that right now. now taking a turn to the canadian town of humboldt saskatchewan, 15 lives were lost whether a semi truck collided with a bus carrying the town's junior hockey team. various nhl teams showed their

solidarity with moments of silence and signs displayed in memory of the young players. nbc's ron mott filed this report over the weekend shortly after the tragedy. >> reporter: on this sunday in humboldt, mass celebrated. >> a moment of silence. >> reporter: a devastated community at once grateful and grieving. the broncos are more than just the hometown team to root for. the bond is much deeper. by necessity in this small town where host families become home away from home. >> it's not just that they are our hockey team that we go and watch and cheer and love, you know, they're pillars in the community as well. >> reporter: at today's pancake breakfast some managed smiles, a fund-raiser for the team adding to a gofundme adding to the $4 million goal. so this is a personal lost for everyone in humboldt. >> the whole community, yes. >> reporter: help is abundant. some may say it's the canadian

way. a 3-hour wait to give blood. >> do what you can to help out the hockey community. >> reporter: the sudden deaths on an ill fated bus trip friday have touched hearts far and wide. nhl teams honored them throughout the league, a moment of silence in philadelphia, chicago and winnipeg players taking on their name. humboldt's mayor thrust into the role of consoler in chief. >> it's going to take some work, some support from not only the community, but from elsewhere to get through this. >> reporter: a day of prayer concludes with a vigil at the arena where the broncos play. hockey as always, bringing people here together. ron mott, nbc news, humboldt, saskatchewan. >> just ahead a look at your monday forecast plus the heart warming reason this one little girl conquered kilimanjaro. you're watching "early today."

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why are you sending the national guard to the mexican border? doesn't that seem, how do you say, pointless? >> we have to keep our border secure. mexico is sending caravans full of immigrants toward us and i've seen these caravans truck after truck, barrelling across the desert. the trucks are covered in metal and spikes. there's a guy strapped in front whaling away on a flaming difficult far and they are freaking dudes on poles. >> mr. president, i believe you

are describing the movie mad maximum fury road. >> yeah, another alec baldwin sighting this weekend. >> another weekend, another good snl. >> let's toss it over to michelle gross man. michelle? >> we want to show you some images that happened in weekend. there was a land slide in pittsburgh. crews have been working since saturday morning when a section of a major roadway completely collaps collapsed sliding 30 feet overnight. they are going to be dealing with cold temperatures cleaning up. it's going to take two months or three months to clean up this. also dealing with a little bit of snow in april. feels more like february in most parts of the eastern half of the nation. so we're seeing snow in parts of the midwest. even as far as the northeast. we are also watching temperatures in the 40s. you're watching "early today." any object. any surface.

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students across the country are getting ready for proms, finals and graduation and that's certainly the case at marjory stoneman douglas high school. almost two months after the deadly shooting there. >> another rite of passage, year books. for the year book committee they're putting together this year's chronicle has been an emotional seesaw balancing mention of the tragedy with memories of their loved ones. here's nbc's kerry sanders. >> check the captions. >> reporter: in a cramped classroom, the year book staff at marjory stoneman douglas wres lz with still raw emotions. >> there have been moments like you need to like step back for a couple seconds. something happens and you need to like push the computer away. >> reporter: it's not easy for anyone, much less teenagers to memorialize a keepsake like a

year book 17 individuals, friends murdered on campus, victims of gun violence. it's never happened before. >> columbine, it was too yat in the year. virginia tech it was a college, didn't have a year book. >> reporter: the horror on valentine's day began with so much love. documented by the year book staff. photos of the love that morning will be in the year book as will photos cara took earlier in the year of those who died like nicolas, kiera's friend since seventh grade. >> he looked so happy in that picture. even after the fact his family reached out to me and they said thank you so much for that photo. that's brought so much light to their family. i broke down crying when i read that message from his dad. >> i'm just fixing this. >> reporter: 452 pages, 40 more than usual, but students and their advisors say they will not let the carnage define so many of their school's bright spots. >> we want to honor those we lost, but we are all survivors. so, we need to tell the

survivors' story, too. >> is there anybody that will not be mentioned in the year book? >> we will not be mentioning the shooter. it is an affirmed no. >> reporter: and everybody agreed with that? >> of course. >> reporter: high school year books, time capsules of happy days. now in parkland also a tribute to how the memories of 17 lives are making a difference in the world. kerry sanders, nbc news, parkland, florida. >> so remarkable to see these kids coming together as they have done in the days and weeks and months after. >> yeah, it's one of the toughest tasks you can possibly imagine putting that together. they're doing so with class and dignity. >> they are. all right. an adventurer at heart, this 7-year-old girl has become the youngest to climb all the way up kilimanjaro. she wanted to get closer to her father after finding out he was up above the clouds. he passed away when she was 3. the family says with mom's help, montana kenny of austin texas scaled the 19,341 feet to the highest peak in after cavity it

took 6 1/2 tough days and bad weather. she was alrdy triathlonea a

president trump ordered his first military strike over a year ago in syria. now, on the heels of a reported chemical attack that's killed dozens, how and when will he react? a looming tit-for-tat trade war with china is heating up with billions at stake, and millions of americans about to pay the price. bill cosby is just hours from hearing opening statements in his retrial for sexual harassment. but this time more alleged victims will be allowed to testify. no sprinklers at the trump tower fire. we're learning more about the man who died there and his connection to andy warhol. and did rapper cardi b. just enjoy the biggest weekend of her personal and professional life? "early today" starts right now. good to be with y