/s i wouldn't take anything off the table. these are horrible photos. we're looking into the attack. >> count down to retaliation, the u.s. and our allies are right now planning a response to a heinous gas attack that killed dozens in syria. >> an overnight vigil in canada for the 15 members of a junior hockey team who perished in a school bus crash. >> high drama at the white house, syria, tension with chief of staff, new stormy daniels legal challenges and a looming trade war with china. >> late breaking details of a packed bus hitting an overpass on a busy new york freeway with multiple injuries. and ultimate fighter rhonda

rousy makes the crowd go wild. >> using explosives to get rid of mother nature's creations. "early today" starts now. >> good to be with you. i'm frances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. glad to have you back. >> good to be back. >> syrians have been killed in yet another suspected chemical attack. this one outside of damascus in the town of douma. eight groups and opposition activists say at least 40 people were killed including several children. many found suffocated inside their homes. the syrian american medical society said more than 500 were brought to medical centers with signs of exposure to a chemical agent. nbc news has not yet verified those claims. >> president trump condemning the possible 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 cal perry is live in london with the very latest this morning. cal, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frances. that airstrike in central syria,

the french joining the americans, the pentagon putting out a statement saying they are not responsible for that airstrike. we can show you that statement now. it says at this time the department of defense is conducting excuse me, not kulking airstrikes in sear yachlt however we continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those responsible who use chemical weapons. we were showing you some of those pictures. this chemical attack, this alleged chemical attack happening saturday night as many people huddled in their basements taking cover from airstrikes in that eastern suburb of damascus. just horrific pictures showing children sort of choking on their own vomit in the basements of these buildings. some of the worst pictures we've seen in this several en-year war. now, you sort of referenced the tweets from president trump. the big question today is going to be whether or not he's boxed in the united states to responding to this chemical attack. he blamed president obama for the situation saying that he should have gone across that

threshold to military action after he laid down that, quote, red line in the sand. frances? >> all right, cal, thank you. >> the canadian town of humboldt, saskatchewan gathered for a vigil to honor the 15 lives lost when a semi truck collided with the bus carrying the hockey team. coach, assistant coach and captain were dead along with the bus driver. 14 others were injured. various nhl teams showed their solidarity with moments of silence and signs displayed in memory of those young players. nbc's dan scheneman reports on the small town now dealing with tragedy. >> reporter: an arena usually filled with cheering fans was filled with mourners. >> god, we ask you to be with us tonight. >> reporter: on friday, a bus carrying humboldt's junior hockey team the broncos collided with a semi truck. 15 people including the team's coach and ten players were killed. 14 people were injured. the tight knit community of

humboldt heartbroken. >> not many people are talking see people, but they don't really say much. >> reporter: there has been an outpouring of sadness and support. donors waited up to three hours to give blood. >> trying to help out anyway i can. >> reporter: a gofundme page has raised millions of dollars for families of the team. messages of remembrance are all over town. >> all you have to do is look around at what's going on and how we've come together and know that this is what makes us -- this is why we live here. >> reporter: a community coming together to support its team and each other. dan scheneman, nbc news. >> breaking overnight, two dozen people are injured after a bus struck a bridge overpass on a new york highway. someone shot this video showing people standing on the side of the bus with debris littering the street. police say the bus was traveling toward long island on the southern state parkway in lake view when the accident happened. authorities say one person was seriously injured, but there are no immediate details on the conditions of the other 23 people hurt.

>> to washington now where there is talk of yet another top trump official possibly on his way out, after reports were published this weekend indicating chief of staff john kelly could be leaving the administration. following incidents in which kelly grew so frustrated with the commander in chief 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 tracie pots has more from washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. this stems from a report in the washington post over the weekend that john kelly got so frustrated after the va secretary david shulkin was fired that he threatened to quit several times. according to the post, three sources telling the post that he threatened to quit several times, that he said that he's out of here, and there was some discrepancy as to whether that meant he was quitting or whether he was just so frustrated he was leaving early that day. the president to his defense on twitter criticizing the post as made-up garbage, poorly written

novel, not good reporting, quoting what he says are sources, many of which don't exist. he says it's just another hit job. the president also defending his epa administrator scott pruitt who has been under attack for renting a condo, for some of the decisions that he's made on the job. but the president tweeting about pruitt that he's doing a good job, that he's spending more money on security because he's got death threats because of that job. and he goes on to say that the rent on that condo was market rate and that his travel expenses are okay. so, both of them getting a nod from the president today amid reports that, in fact, that scott pruitt may be on the chopping block and that john kelly may be ready to go. >> for now those operative words there. all right, tracie, thank you. >> actor and comedian bill cosby is due back in court outside philadelphia to be tried again on charges he sexually assaulted

andrea constand back in 2004. cosby's first trial last june result ed in a hung jury. this new trial will begin in the same courtroom in front of the same judge, but with some notable differences. it also comes amid a new culture climate, the era of me too. nbc's kate snow gives us a preview of what we can expect. >> reporter: last time around the jury deliberating bill cosby's fate came in from pittsburgh. this time the 12 jurors are from the philadelphia area. >> we will want them to erase everything that they heard outside this courtroom when they come in for monday. >> reporter: cosby has a new lawyer. tom mesereau famously defended michael jackson against child molestation charges. >> they've been more aggressive pretrial. they have fought hard to try to get an additional witness in who would potentially raise the question of whether ms. constand is pursuing this for financial gain. >> reporter: on friday, the defense objected to one of the

chosen jurors saying he'd already decided cosby is guilty. the biggest change since the last trial, of course, the me too movement, women stepping forward with accusations of sexual assault and harassment in hollywood and beyond. in the retrial, the judge is allowing five other cosby accusers to testify in addition to andrea constand. >> if they are believable, it will enhance her credibility significantly because there were things jurors obviously had a problem with in the first trial about her recollection of dates, recollection of places, the fact that she continued to have contact with cosby. >> reporter: cosby has denied all the allegations against him, but during the civil suit constand filed against him in 2005, he admitted to sexual contact with constand and to obtaining quay lewds with the intention of giving them to women he wanted to have sex with. that case ended in a settlement. the details of the pay out were not heard in the last trial, but the judge indicated he might allow it in this retrial. >> thanks to kate snow for that report.

>> a series of ice breaking detonations made for a beautiful sight in northeast china. take a look. blasts broke up the frozen river to prevent ice jams as it melts which pose a risk to people who live nearby. workers placed explosives along a three-mile stretch of the river on the border between china and russia. the explosion sending plumes of ice soaring into the air and creating that spectacular sight. >> kind of like a las vegas show. here's michelle grossman with the weather. how is it looking? >> we're starting with cold air in place. we can't shed those winter coats quite yet. below freezing in some spots. here's that cold blast continuing at least today, tomorrow and then we get a little bit of a break as we head towards mid week, and even more and more towards the weekend. but right now for today we are

looking at temperatures 20, 25 degrees below what is typical for this time of year. so as we walk out today it is going to feel a little bit more like february. minneapolis 36, typically we're supposed to be around 56 today. chicago 41. louisville 51. same thing as we head towards the northeast. we're looking at temperatures in cleveland right around 40 degrees. so, another below typical for this time of year. 40s in the northeast, 38 degrees up in maine. so, again, a cold day today. we've been dealing with this for many, many weeks. there is a little bit of reprieve as we get towards the weekend. a little taste of spring temperatures, some spots near 70. >> another reason to look forward to the end of the week. thank you, michelle. the world of pro wrestling where rhonda rousy entered the ring. she took to the ring when she

faced stephanie mcmahon. a tag team match up at new orleans super dome for wrestle mania 34. it sold out to a crowd of over 70,000 who were not disappointed as rousy ended up taking her first match. >> straight ahead, north korea says it is ready to talk denuclearization with president trump. and captain america is back. the masters has a new champion. 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! you look amazing. and you look amazingly comfortable.

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stick with zyrtec® and muddle no more®. powerful skincare,s now light-as-air a breakthrough moisturizer whipped for instant absorption feel a light-as-air finish in a flash new olay whips ageless leading the news, north korea says it is ready to talk denuclearization with president trump. an administration official confirms. the message from pyongyang comes ahead of a potential meeting between president trump and north korean leader kim jong-un. the administration has long said there would be no point to any negotiations if denuclearization is not on the table. according to the washington post, some u.s. officials are warning that north korea has broken agreements in the past. a date for the meeting has not yet been confirmed. >> president trump has vowed friendship with chinese president xi jinping despite their trade differences as he

and his aides seek to ease market fears of trade wars between the two countries. in a tweet president trump says he and president xi will always be flenriends no matter what happens with our dispute on trade. china has vowed to counteract, quote, with great strength if president trump slaps on another $100 billion in tariffs and has denied american accusations of unfair trade practices. nbc's janice mackie frayer is live in beijing. she brings us the very latest. janice, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frances. this is the pattern that we are seeing with president trump where he'll call out china on trade and then talk up his personal warmth with chinese president xi jinping. but china is not backing down from this and it's xi jinping that is directing a tougher stance against the u.s. china has vowed to counterattack with great strength if president trump makes good on that threat of another $100 billion in tariffs. china could go after the service trade where the u.s. actually has a big sur plus, or against

u.s. multinationals doing business here in what is the world's largest consumer market. china says that it's impossible to negotiate now and we're seeing a ramping up of the nationalist rhetoric in editorials here, painting the u.s. as a public enemy of free trade. on tuesday xi jinping will give a speech at a forum of global business leaders. this will be the first time that we hear from him since these trade threats started, and it's unlikely that president xi is going to be mentioning president trump by name. frances? >> all right, janice, thank you. >> in today's quick hits, the moanster energy nascar series traveled to texas for the o'reilly 500. kyle bush was able to hold on against red hot kevin har which can to capture the title at texas motor speed way. >> over 830 days john i mny manl returned to football. he threw for a touchdown, his

first in over two years. his football rights are held by hamilton's tiger cats. >> the 2018 masters champion is patrick reed. in the final round of the masters reed finished 15 under to earn himself the green jacket. reed is the fourth straight masters champion to become a first-time winner. you're watching "early today" on a monday. 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, allergic reactions, kidney injuries, and capillary leak syndrome have occurred. report abdominal or shoulder tip pain,

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a harrowing experience this weekend for a family in dallas.

their house exploded and the blast was caught on a home security camera across the street. a car had lost control and crashed right into the house. it struck a gas line, causing the explosion. three members of the family were injured along with two police officers. >> oklahoma teachers are continuing to protest against low pay. across the state walk outs are expected to continue today as well as into the week. but teachers are getting a little unexpected support. nbc news's blake mccoy has that story. >> reporter: teachers in oklahoma preparing for week two of a walk out are finding unexpected allies. >> i am so proud of our teachers for walking out and striking. >> reporter: becky murphy is a lawyer. she and nearly 200 of her female law colleagues will visit the capital monday to mediate a resolution, or they say they'll run for the legislator's seats come november. >> if you're not willing to come up to the table with a solution, then i'm going to find somebody who will do that for you. >> reporter: it's the evolution

of a movement that started simply as a facebook group by middle school teacher alberto morjan. are you surprised how this has taken off in >> it surprised me a little bit but it doesn't because there's a problem. i mean, you hear them now. there is a problem na needs to be fixed. >> reporter: educators demands are far from met. $10,000 raise for teachers over three years, 5,000 for support staff, an additional 200 million for classrooms. this is where things stand. despite signing off on that average $6100 raise, governor mary fallon has taken heat for comments teachers say are out of touch. >> sometimes it's like a teenager always wanting a better car. you give them one thing but they want something better. >> reporter: this morning the teachers union believes they are reaching a tipping point, but once again parents must figure out what to do with their kids, child care. it has many wondering how long this can last. phillip and frances? >> all right, blake, thank you.

it started in west virginia, exactly, and we didn't think at the time it was going to spill over to the rest of the country the way it has, at least in these states. >> we saw the success they had there in west virginia and we'll see if that happens in oklahoma and other states as well. a lot to watch. >> the movement continues. >> still ahead, we have some snow in the forecast. michelle grossman is next with all the details. oriasis does th. it was tough getting out there on stage.is does th. i wanted to be clear. i wanted it to last. so i kept on fighting. i found something that worked. and keeps on working. now? they see me. see me. see if cosentyx could make a difference for you- cosentyx is proven to help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...find clear skin that can last. don't use if you're 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.

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spots this morning, especially in the midwest into the northeast and we're not going to see a whole lot of snow today. just some flurries for most of us as we go throughout the rest of monday. one flurry is too many in the second week of april. otherwise we are looking at some cold temperatures once again. we need those winter coats the next couple days before things begin to moderate. today's temperatures as we go throughout our monday, 39 in chicago. typically we're supposed to be in the 50s. could see snow and rain mix there. minneapolis 39. 63 in atlanta. 49 degrees in washington. 46 in new york. again, we're supposed to be in the 50s there as well. boston 47. you real have i to go to the west coast to see some very warm air. 95 degrees in phoenix. almost feels cool, right, living here and seeing that. 60 degrees in salt lake city. that's a look at the big weather story of the day and here is a look -- actually i'm going to toss it back to you guys. >> thanks, michelle. keep it right here, "early today" will be right back. any object. any surface.

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the defense department says it is not currently carrying out airstrikes in syria following an alleged chemical attack over the weekend. syrian state media claim possible u.s. missiles were striking an air base in central syria. in a statement the d.o.d. denied the claims saying it is not conducting airstrikes but continues to closely watch the situation. >> skyrocketing gas prices could keep rising in the coming months. that's thanks to higher oil prices jumping as exporters continue production cuts. the price for regular gallon of gasoline is up about 8 cents over the past two weeks according to the latest lundqvist berg survey. the nationwide average is 2.74 a gallon. >> porn actress stormy daniels is continuing her battle against the president this morning.

she is renewing the effort to get her attorney's questions directly under oath. daniels' lawyer filed a motion in federal court seeking a jury trial asking for sworn testimony from mr. trump that his personal lawyer michael cohen about the $130,000 hush agreement made to daniels just before the 2016 election. both mr. trump's lawyer and the white house have repeatedly denied any affair with daniels took place. >> after an outpouring of support more importantly hard work, a hurricane ravaged community is bouncing back this morning from a devastating storm season. nbc's stephanie ruhle has more on that little island that could. >> reporter: hurricanes irma and maria pummelled the united states last season leaving billions in damage. but for the small u.s. virgin islands the damage was especially rough. devastation i saw firsthand during my reporting last fall. it truly looks like a war zone. now good news. the islands are on the fast track to recovery. i was on this spot seven months ago. this beach was a boat graveyard.

now thanks to hundreds of volunteers and a whole lot of love, it is almost back to normal. the secret? volunteer organizations and foundations swooping in to provide critical relief and supplies. >> i think that we all just wanted a way to help out and to give more than just money. we wanted to give time. >> reporter: all hands and hearts is made up of hundreds of volunteers lending a hand to an island in need. during my visit one of the most striking things my crew and i noticed, the love and gratitude from residents to the hundreds of volunteers. >> it was just amazing. we would not be where we are today because they needed -- we needed people like you. >> reporter: the tourists are back and enjoying the beautiful beaches, scenery and people of the virgin islands. what's the real secret to recovery? >> have love in your heart as long as you got love and god in your heart, everything is possible. >> reporter: stephanie ruhle, nbc news, u.s. virgin islands.

>> looks beautiful there. just in time for summer, too. >> you can see beautiful in their spirit and their hearts, too. we thank you for being with us.n

gate bridge it is monday morning. taking a live look outside this morning at the golden gate bridge, it is monday and we're going to ease into this workweek. they actually let me back in the building. >> whose voice is that? >> it's a little different. i'm back. good to have you back. >> nice to see you back. >> i'm laura garcia, in case you forgot. >> this morning we want to get at what's going on weatherwise. ka rmt i hall is also back. >> i enjoyed my spring break, thank you very much. we had rain that moved through the bay area towards the end of last week. that's all out of here