we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. and it was my mistake, and i'm sorry. >> the billionaire grilled about those 87 million facebook users' personal information. we'll take you inside the biggest moments of mark zuckerberg's big day. as president trump prepares to retaliate against syria for the deadly gas attack, nbc has learned the russians are jamming u.s. military drones flying over syria. has a proverbial red line been crossed in the mueller investigation after the president's attorneying office were raided by the fbi. 9 heart stopping moments of terror and bravery for a group of young dancers forced to jump for their lives while their

studio was engulfed. and late night seth meyers and his wife deliver their baby in an apartment stairwell. "early today" starts right now. >> i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. >> we begin this morning with that explosive day on capitol hill. facebook founder and ceo mark zuckerberg making his long awaited appearance before congress. taking the hot seat and withstanding hours of grilling by senators as he sought to clear the air on everything from users' privacy and the cambridge analytica to access to your personal information and russia's disinformation campaigns in 2016 and now in the lead-up to the 2018 midterms. and it made for some tense moments even as facebook's stock soared giving the company its best day in two years as wall street liked what it saw. nbc's jo ling kent has more on zuckerberg's senate grilling. >> reporter: mark zuckerberg ditching his signature t-shirt and jeans for a suit and tie and a grilling on capitol hill. >> what happened here was, in efb, willful blindness.

it was heedless and reckless. >> why should we trust facebook? >> we have made a lot of mistakes in running the company. >> reporter: hundreds lining up to see the 33-year-old billionaire now facing a firestorm for facebook's role in russian election meddling and not protecting users' private information. >> we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. and it was my mistake, and i'm sorry. >> reporter: one senator demanding to know if zuckerberg would want his personal information shared. just like what facebook allowed with its own users. >> would you be comfortable sharing with us the name of the hotel you stayed in last night? >> uh, no. >> if you've messaged anybody this week, would you share with us the names of the people you've messaged? >> senator, no, i would probably not choose to do that publicly here. >> i think that may be what this is all about. your right to privacy. >> reporter: that crossfire coming after revelations the personal data of as many as 87

million unsuspecting facebook users was harvested by cambridge analytica, a political data firm. after questioning, zuckerberg revealing facebook did not notify the federal trade commission even after it discovered it. >> did anybody notify the ftc? >> no, senator. we'd considered it a closed case. >> reporter: zuckerberg also interrogated about facebook's privacy agreement with users. >> when you look at terms of service, this is what you get. do you think the average consumer understands what they're signing up for? >> i don't think that the average person likely reads that whole document. >> reporter: and when asked if facebook would switch from a free service that shares personal dad with advertisers to a paid version that doesn't, zuckerberg leaving the door open? >> there will always be a version of facebook that is free. >> how do you sustain a business model in which users don't pay for your service? >> senator, we run ads. >> he obviously was well versed by his handlers, but certainly not getting really clear answers to how this happened and then

what they can do to prevent it in the future. >> reporter: zuckerberg also claiming that facebook is better equipped to fight russian disinformation campaigns, calling that an arms race. he also said that facebook is cooperating with special counsel robert mueller. phillip? >> jo, thank you. now to washington where there is new fallout from the fbi raid on the president's longtime confidant and personal attorney michael cohen. the commander in chief is now standing by his assertion that he has the power to fire robert mueller. "the new york times" reports overnight that the president wanted the special counsel's investigation shut down in december just as the a.p. reports trump, quote, privately pondered firing deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. he's the man overseeing mueller's russia probe. that all comes as we learn exactly what federal prosecutors were looking for when they sent the fbi in to raid cohen's home and office. nbc's tracie potts has that and more from washington this morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. legal sources are telling us that the focus of this raid was

the money, the payments allegedly made to women who claim that they had sexual encounters with president trump that includes adult film star stormy daniels, who sources tell us is now cooperating with the mueller probe, and also karen mcdougal, a playboy model who allegedly was also paid. that seemed to be the focus of the documents that they were looking for. also we're hearing from cohen for the first time since that raid happened. he's saying that the fbi agents were extremely professional and courteous and respectful and that it was upsetting to be the subject of that raid, not something that he would have wanted to be involved in. meantime, the focus of that raid, it came from a tip from russia's special counsel robert mueller, and the white house is now saying that the president has the authority to fire him. >> does he believe he has the power to fire special counsel robert mueller?

>> he certainly believes he has the power to do so. we've been advised that the president certainly has the power to make that decision. >> reporter: well, that's a non-starter here on capitol hill with both democrats and republicans, urging the president not to get rid of the special counsel. >> tracie, thank you. speculation continues over exactly how and when president trump will respond to the suspected chemical attack in syria. the president promising a forceful response this week with reports his advisers are weighing a more robust strike than last year's 59 tomahawk missiles. the potential retaliatory strike leading to rising tensions between the u.s. and russia. one russian lawmaker warning any u.s. strike on syria will lead to a military response. this as u.s. officials say russia has been able to jam american military drones in syria. nbc's tammy lightener is here with us with the very latest. tammy, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, phillip. president trump's self-imposed

48-hour deadline to make a decision has now come and gone, but the u.s. continues to discuss with allies possible military action. at this point, though, we still don't know if u.s. retaliation will be limited in time and scope or open-ended. now, the u.s. and russia squared off on tuesday during the united nations security council with russia's ambassador urging the council to hold off on establishing an independent investigation to look into the use of suspected chemical weapons in douma. let's go and head and listen to what u.s. ambassador nikki haley had to say after russia vetoed the u.s. draft. >> they have now officially vetoed resolutions that would hold these barbaric uses of chemical weapons attacks by assad six times. history will record that on this day, russia chose protecting a monster over the lives of the syrian people. >> reporter: british prime minister theresa may has told

president trump that britain would need more evidence that the assad regime was responsible for the suspected poison gas attack before joining a military strike against syria. and members of parliament are also asking for a vote in the british house of commons before backing the prime minister in the event of a possible intervention. now, this all comes as inspectors are preparing to visit douma on a fact finding mission. >> the world awaiting our response. tammy, thank you. as actor bill cosby's retrial for sexual assault charges continues, cosby's defense attorney now claims accuser andrea constand only brought on the accusations to, quote, milk him for more than $3 million. cosby continues to deny all allegations and his defense attorney told jurors he believed they would give the 80-year-old actor a fair hearing despite the current cultural climate. nbc's dan scheneman is following the trial. >> bill, how are you feeling? >> reporter: day two of the bill cosby sexual assault retrial began with opening statements

from the defense. attorney tom mesereau calling the case, quote, nonsense and telling the jury accuser andrea constand was, quote, a con artist and quote, madly in love with his fame and money. after detailing a conversation to which a former colleague of constand's is expected to testify to, he asked the jury, quote, does it sound like bill cosby betray her or did she milk him for more than $3 million? prosecutor kevin steele revealed cosby paid constand in a confidential civil settlement in 2006 and began laying out the prosecution saying, quote, this case is about trust. the case is about betrayal, and that betrayal leading to a sexual assault of a woman named andrea constand. steel alleged that the entertainer gave constand drugs that left her unable to consent. following testimony from a forensic psychiatrist, the first of five additional accusers allowed to testify in the case, heidi thomas took the stand.

the trial is expected to last at least a month. dan scheneman, nbc news. meteorologist michelle grossman joining us now. we've been asking for warmer weather, and here we are. >> finally i can deliver it. we've been promising this all week long. some of us are going to feel like spring, and we're going to feel like summer by the weekend. that heat is building finally. it's going to advance to the east as we head through the next several days. today in the northeast, still below normal, but by thursday we're getting closer to normal. today, though, denver, 78 degrees. 17 degrees above what is typical for this time of year. 91 in parts of texas. as we go towards thursday, we're looking at temperatures in the 80s, e look at the south. temperatures in the 80s. lots of sunshine before we see

storms later during the week. all right. so i promised in the northeast tomorrow we'll be warmer. by the weekend, temperatures around 80 degrees in some spots. >> outdoor plans. in this case, not quite the party, not quite the keg party as beer littered the highway in pennsylvania following a tractor-trailer crash. officials are saying it appears the big rig swerved off a ramp before spilling its entire load of those kegs. the crash created a traffic nightmare. the driver was reported hurt. it's unknown if any cars were struck by those kegs. >> party foul. just ahead, a no laughing matter. a comedian faces charges over his call to 911. details on t.j. miller's arrest. and pampers gives all of them our driest best fitting diaper. pampers cruisers with three-way fit. they adapt at the waist, legs and bottom

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it sings the region's anthem when cars drive over rumble strips at over 40 miles per hour. they were installed to lighten up the journey, but it's driving some people crazy. local residents nearby say the music is never ending and keeps them awake at night. authorities have agreed to remove the rumble strips later this week. >> sounds like a cool idea but we only have to hear it for a few seconds. ki see their beef. new on nbcnews.com, former silicon valley star t.j. miller has been arrested and charged for allegedly making a false bomb threat in new york. authorities say miller called 911 last month claiming a woman on an amtrak train heading to penn station had a bomb in her bag. the train was stopped in connecticut, but a bomb squad found no evidence of an explosive. miller was arrested on monday night at laguardia airport for that call. if convicted, he faces five years in prison. another heart stopping escape caught on camera in new jersey. several girls jumped for their lives as a fire ripped through

their dance studio. the young dancers were forced to drop from the second floor balcony. the ladder wouldn't reach all the way up. the mayor said it is one of the bravest things he has ever seen. miraculously, all those girls made it out alive with minor injuries. investigators are working to figure out what causes the fire. anne thompson has the details. >> reporter: this wasn't about how well they could move but how fast. >> report of an active fire. all edge water firefighters please respond. >> reporter: their building on fires, girls in a dance class in edge water, new jersey, crowded onto to a balcony, including nina. >> the exit was blocked with fire, so the only way out was to jump off, of course. >> reporter: she watched as one dancer was rescued by ladder until it fell, forcing others to leap for their lives. the 12-year-old dangled in the air. >> fire was coming a lot closer and sparks were shooting out, and my arms have little blisters

but i'm fine. >> reporter: tony nemmy followed the smoke from his store across the street. >> i saw two girls. >> you could see them through the window? >> you could see them through the window. >> the father of a teenage girl him solve, he climbed onto the roof to reach a pair of frightened students. >> what did you do when you saw the girls in the window? >> my heart dropped. i wanted to get something to be able to go up there and help them. i find the ladder, put it up there, and then i use it to break the window. >> reporter: seven students and two instructors all got out with no major injuries. >> yesterday was a dark day, but we're show people, and the show must go on. >> reporter: their cast miraculously intact. >> i asked tony nemmy if he feels like a hero. he said no, but he did volunteer that his 16-year-old daughter is very proud of him. frances? >> anne, thank you. in today's quick hits, actor tracy morgan received a star on the hollywood walk of fame as one of the most respected and accomplished comedians in the

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leading the news, a robbery over pop singer taylor swift. a connecticut man is behind bars this morning accused of stealing $1,600 from the webster bank in ansonia, connecticut. he claims it was to impress taylor swift, and he added maybe even to donate some to police. he actually drove to taylor swift's rhode island home moments after robbing the bank. the 26-year-old is due in court next month. a florida school district has voted down a measure that would allow arming school administrators. this comes after a wide ranging florida law passed in the aftermath of the devastating massacre at marjory stoneman douglas high school that left 17 people dead. broward county school board members suggested the money could instead be used to hire more officers and private security. on the other hand, one pennsylvania school district has decided to arm teachers with baseball bats. 500 teachers in the mill creek school district were given 16 inch bats following an in

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and welcome back to "early today." the showers and storms, even some severe storms in parts of florida are moving out. we're seeing most of the lightning strikes over the open waters of the atlantic. we're going to be left with a pretty nice day there. temperatures mainly in the upper 70s, low 80s with sunshine finally there. as we move up further to the northeast, still below normal for this time of year. we're chilly in boston, 45. 52 in new york. 60 in washington. we're going to be warmer as we head towards thursday. that warmer air finally impacting parts of the northeast. look at washington, d.c. on thursday, 75 with mostly sunny skies. >> shorts for the first time all year. thanks. just ahead, late night comic seth meyers describes the dramatic delivery of his second son in a stairwell. accounts receivable.

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there has been another major shake-up for the trump administration. the president's chief homeland security adviser tom bossert has abruptly resigned. bossert was forced out by the president's new national security adviser john bolton according to an official with direct knowledge of the matter. a source close to bossert tells nbc news he was unaware of any intention at the white house to seek his resignation and that he had no plans to quit. president trump has quietly signed an executive order aimed at adding work requirements to those receiving federal aid. the order gives agencies 90 days to submit policy changes that strengthen work requirements for americans receiving medicaid, food stamps, welfare, and other safety net benefits. an administration official says the requirements will help

alleviate poverty. advocates say most able-bodied recipients already work and the requirements are just a way to push people off the dole. the officer who forcibly dragged a doctor off a united airlines flight exactly one year ago is now suing the airline, and the chicago department of aviation after he was put on administrative leave and then fired for following an investigation into the incident. the officer, james lawn, blames the department, its commissioner, and united for his lost job, wages, and benefits following this incident. we all remember this image. he asserts in the suit that united airlines should have known calling in security would require the use of physical force. the scandal that rocked the world of college basketball is not over. federal prosecutors now allege that families of top recruits at the university of kansas and north carolina state may have received payments from adidas employees to persuade them to attend the university sponsored by the apparel giant. a new indictment alleges longtime sneaker executive james gad doe helped provide those

payments of $40,000 and $90,000 to recruits through, quote, sham invoices, to also help ensure they signed with adidas when they finally got to the nba. huge congrats to seth meyers. he's now a father of two. the host and his wife welcomed their second son on sunday, and he couldn't have arrived in a more dramatic way -- right in the lobby of their new york city apartment building. meyers shared the story with his late night audience. >> my wife is saying, the baby is coming. the baby is -- the baby is out. and the only way i can describe how my wife looked was she looked like someone who was hiding a baby in a pair of sweat pants. this is how fast it happened. i called 911 and over the course of a minute conversation, i basically said we're about to have a baby. we're having a baby. we had a baby. >> the couple named their son axel. the host joked it was because firefighters were there when he was born. it sounds like a bit. it's perfect for late night and seth meyers joke. that is the real deal right there. >> such a great picture.

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yep, this is my third one today. the new cholula buttery jack. part of the buttery jack family. only at jack in the box. a chaotic scene in san jose.. a stolen vehicle cr right now at 4:30, breaking news, a chaotic scene in san jose, a stolen vehicle crash turns deadly. we're live at the scene. and we're fast tracking more wet weather for the evening commute. when we can expect the rain to move in. good morning, thanks for joining us, i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. >> we start out with mild temperatures this morning and also just a few clouds here and there. we're going to see a mix of sun and clouds as we go throughout the day. here's a live look outside in san jose, nice and quiet. we're going to warm up as we go into the afternoon. reaching into the low 60s by noon. i wanted to show you again what it looks like on the satellite imagery as the clouds start to move into the north bay. we'l s