i was operating in a world where hillary clinton was going to beat donald trump. >> james comey is a self-admitted leaker. the guy knew exactly what he was doing. he thought hillary clinton would win and he thought that this would give him some cover. >> fired fbi director james comey' revelations are out and the white house hits back with ferocious rebukes. >> over 1500 flights already delayed today. tornado damage in the south including at least one death and fires in the midwest. nature's fury on full alert today. >> new details on 92-year-old former first lady barbara bush's health. >> outrage is growing over the arrest of two black men at a philly starbucks. the police chief is now speaking out. >> more fire works expected from the kremlin today on the heels of the u.s. military strike on

syria. >> celebrating number 42 across america. and getting ready to run in boston. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. mother nature is blasting large chunks of the country with deadly spring storms. packing a punch with heavy snow, high winds and even tornadoes, at least two people have been killed including a 2-year-old girl in louisiana. she was sleeping when a tree collapsed on her family's rv nearly tearing it in half. the powerful storm system spawned tornadoes in north carolina. it damaged homes and knocked down trees and power lines. over 100,000 customers across the southeast are without power. in parts of the midwest, it's still looking like winter. minnesota is digging out from over a foot of snow and blizzard conditions are wreaking travel havoc grounding hundreds of flights. all this as more severe weather could be on the way. >> all right. let's go straight to nbc meteorologist bill karins. where is the storm now? >> we're watching impacts in the

mid-atlantic region. we've seen the worst of it. we shouldn't be dealing with deadly storms as far as tornadoes or deadly weather. major impacts for the morning commute. heavy rain is through d.c. so that's good for you. it's over the top of baltimore heading for philadelphia as we go throughout the morning rush hour and over the top of new york city for a good chunk of the middle portion of the day. here's the timing of it. notice that pink color in northern and central new england. all-out ice storm during the day today. here we are heading into the middle of april and through the middle of april, it's ridiculous. the heavy rain threat this morning 7:00 a.m. over philadelphia by about 9 to 10 to 11:00 p.m., over new york city by 5:00 p.m. over the top of boston, still some rain showers and snow back through the great lakes. as we mentioned, the severe portion of the storm is over with. we have to worry about damaging winds and that ice storm in new england today. >> all right. lots to look out for today, bill. thank you. former fbi director james comey is firing back at president donald trump in his first interview since being fired by mr. trump in may of 2017, and the explosive interview with abc's george

stephanopoulous, comey blasts president trump saying he is, quote, morally unfit to be president. >> a person who sees moral equivalence in charlottesville, who talks about and treats women like they're pieces of meat, who lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the american people believe it, that person is not fit to be president of the united states on moral grounds. our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country. the most important being truth. this president is not able to do that. he is morally unfit to be president. >> comey also revealed that he believes it's possible russia has material that could be used to blackmail mr. trump. >> you can't say for certain that the president of the united states is not compromised by the russians? >> yeah, it is stunning and i wish i wasn't saying it, but it's the truth. it always struck me and still strikes me as unlikely and i would have been able to say with high confidence about any other president i dealt with, but i

can't. it's possible. >> during the hours-long interview comey explains the thought process behind his highly contested decision to publicly announce a further investigation into hillary clinton's use of a private e-mail server while she was secretary of state. >> a decision many say cost hillary clinton the election. >> i was operating in a world where hillary clinton was going to beat donald trump. i'm sure it was a factor. like i said, i don't remember spelling it out, but it had to have been, that she's going to be elected president and if i hide this from the american people, she'll be illegitimate the moment she's elected, the moment this comes out. >> comey says he would make the same decision again. >> if you knew that letter would elect donald trump, you'd still send it? >> i would. down that path lies the death of the fbi as an independent force in american life. if i ever start considering who is political fortunes will be affected by a decision, we're done. we're just another player in the tribal battle.

>> ahead of the highly anticipated interview, president trump unleashed a twitter rampage aimed at comey calling him slippery james comey and slime ball. in comey's book, he scorches the president's character and in a counter punch the white house attacks comey's credibility. >> james comey is a self-admitted leaker. the guy knew exactly what he was doing. he thought hillary clinton would win. and he thought that this would give him some cover. >> comey whose tenured term as fbi director wasn't up until 2023, writes the election outcome was not expected to affect his job, which is why he was the official who briefed president-elect trump about the salacious unverified dossier. saying, quote, i was staying on as fbi director. we knew the information and the man had to be told. >> former first lady barbara bush who is surrounded by family this morning following a recent series of hospitalizations says the 92-year-old has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care. it will not surprise those who

know her that barbara bush has been a rock in the face of her failing health. the statement continues, worrying not for herself, thanks to her abiding faith, but for others. mrs. bush, of course, hoeltds the distinction of being the wife of former president george h.w. bush and the mother of former president george w. bush. >> on the heels of the massive airstrike against syria, the u.s. is now turning its eye on russia. new sanctions are expected to be handed down today. u.n. ambassador nikki haley calls them a message for russia who has backed the syrian regime. syrian president bashar al-assad is believed to be responsible for a suspected gas attack that killed dozens near damascus last week. assad has denied using chemical weapons. friday's air strikes targeting three chemical related sites in syria, russian president vladimir putin is now warning those strikes could lead to global chaos. nbc's kelly cobiella joining us live from moscow with the latest. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: phillip, good morning to you.

no news on the sanctions from russia. new sanctions proposed possibly on syria and its protecters, russia and iran. nikki haley, the u.n. ambassador saying yesterday on the sunday talk shows, that the sanctions will, quote, go directly to any sort of companies dealing with assad and chemical weapons used. she said, i think everyone is going to feel it at this point. the u.s. has already imposed sanctions on more than a dozen russian oligarchs can ties to putin and russian companies as well. russia has threatened counter sanctions. it is something they'll be debating this week. as i said, they haven't commented on that directly. they have commented on this idea of the possibility of the allies striking again on syria. putin saying if it happens again without united nations approval, it will cause, quote, world chaos. it is still unclear just how far the allies are willing to go.

french president emmanuel macron seems very committed, even saying in a television interview that he convinced president trump to stay in syria, to stick with the cause. the white house pushing back on that, releasing a statement saying the mission remains the same. president trump wants troops home as soon as possible. phillip? >> all right, kelly cobiella for us this morning, kelly, thank you. >> protests broke out at a philadelphia starbucks where two black men were arrested for allegedly refusing to leave. protesters carried signs outside the starbucks before briefly going inside. they said the men should have never been arrested for sitting in the store without buying anything. something witnesses say people do all the time. starbucks has issued an apology saying it will investigate. nbc's morgan radford is in philadelphia. she has the latest. morgan, good morning. >> reporter: frances, this morning calls to boycott starbucks amid growing controversy after two black men were arrested inside while waiting for their friend. now the philadelphia police are speaking out and so are the

people. >> no longer, no longer. >> reporter: protesters calling for justice. after the arrest of two black men at this philadelphia starbucks on thursday. >> what did they do? >> reporter: this video captured by a witness's cell phone show police handcuffing the men while waiting for a friend. the men wanted to use the rest room but the manager said per store policy they couldn't since they didn't buy anything. when they wouldn't leave she called police. >> a group of males refused to leave. >> reporter: some witnesses say the officers over reacted. >> they were chatting on their phones like everyone else was. >> reporter: the police commissioner said the officers didn't do anything wrong. >> they followed policy. they did what they were supposed to do. >> reporter: the men who don't want to be identified by name were held in custody for eight hours before they were released. prosecutors didn't file charges, but their defense lawyer says this was president about the law. it was about bias.

>> a lot of people are saying this issue is about race. do you think this would have happened if your clients were not black? >> i would love to hear the 911 call in this case. what's the call you're never going to hear? this is the starbucks at 18th and spruce. there are two white women sitting in here. one of them asked to use the bathroom and she didn't order a coffee, come quick. >> reporter: starbucks in damage control. >> what we need to do as leaders, we own this situation. we are responsible for this situation. and we'll take accountability for making the necessary changes. >> reporter: meanwhile, video of the arrest has gone viral. many on social media calling it a clear-cut case of racism. >> we should not be going through this. >> reporter: one protester say went too far. starbucks says the manager who called police no longer works at this store. but the criminal defense attorney representing those men who were arrested, she wouldn't yet say whether or not they were considering filing charges of their own. frances? >> all right, morgan, thank you.

>> vicious weather across the country as wildfires scorch oklahoma and snow continues to cover the midwest. in oklahoma 52 counties face an imminent threat as officials there work to keep over 300,000 acres of fire under control. a state of emergency remains in effect through tuesday. and this is minnesota under a blizzard warning with more than a foot of snowfall. minneapolis got hit hard as well. the national weather service calling the storm historic for that area in mid april. >> well, talking about winter storms, here in april and then for the rest of us really soggy day, too. >> it's a squaw line going through the heavy rain. went through d.c. with a good deal of thunder, wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour now it is over the top of baltimore heading for philadelphia as we go through the peak of the morning rush hour. new york city gets here after the morning rush hour. how about the boston marathon today? 40 degrees at the start, winds gusting up to 25 miles per hour. heavy rain in the afternoon. you can forget about that baseball game. just for the marathon runners,

the temperature won't be so bad but just the rain and the wind making it extremely difficult. so, today's forecast obviously the northeast a lot of major traffic delays. areas of the southeast second l ever in any month and it happened this weekend. well, i'm sure after this big storm everyone wants to know what's coming up next. we'll bring that to you. >> we know what we want to hear next. we'll see if that happens. bill, thank you. in today's quick hits, r. lee ermey, hard nose sergeant in full middle jacket died at the age of 74. the role earned him a golden globe nomination. he died from complications of pneumonia.

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major league baseball celebrated jackie robinson day sunday. robinson's widow and children were at city field where jackie robinson foundation scholar threw out the first pitch. players all around the league won the number 42 in honor of robinson who broke baseball's color barrier in 1947. nfl free agent colin kaepernick shared his own tribute tweeting a quote from robinson's autobiography. i cannot stand and sing the anthem. i cannot salute the flag. i know that i am a black man in a white world. >> leading the news on sunday morning today marks the 122nd boston marathon, the world's oldest. sunday on the 5th anniversary of

the bombing, the city becaupaus remember the victims. nbc's dan scheneman has the story. >> reporter: five years after the bomb exploded at the bongs marathon, family of victims laid wreaths. the bombings claimed three lives and forever changed many more. >> these years have been full and filled with hard work and the hard work of healing. >> reporter: at 2:49, the moment the first bomb exploded, the city observed a moment of silence. and the bell rang at the old south church. security at the marathon was heightened after the bombings and police say they are ready. >> we don't want to get complacent after what happened five years ago and that's something we continually stress. >> reporter: on the eve of the 2018 marathon, the mayor believes the tragedy has united the city. >> we have reclaimed the finish line. and boston has emerged with a new strength, a resilience rooted in love. >> reporter: five years after the bombings, boston is strong.

dan scheneman, nbc news. >> just ahead, deniro and stiller reprize the famous lie detector scene from meet the parents with a special snl twist. plus we've got the biggest moments from the acm awards. that's next. great outdoors... especially when you're in accounts receivable. only one detergent can give you a sniff like this... try gain botanicals laundry detergent. one of the many irresistible scents from gain. and back pain made it hard to sleep and get up on time. then i found aleve pm. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid... ...plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. i'm back. aleve pm for a better am.

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most decorated act in acm history with 32 wins. she won female vocalist of the year for the 9th straight year and song of the year for tin man. and chris stapleton had plenty to celebrate. he won male vocalist and album of the year. he wasn't there to receive the award. that is because his wife gave birth to twin boys which is also on his 40th birthday. and carrie underwood maze her long awaited return to the stage since suffering a injury to her face after a fall in november. her powerful performance of her new single cry pretty earned her a standing ovation. >> still ahead here, an update on the severe spring storms impacting at least 15 million americans. you're watching "early today." gr america's #1 detergent? because performance clothes have changed, but the challenge remains the same. and the generation may be different, but the color needs to endure. and the toughest stains come with their own rewards. we've re-engineered tide because no matter what life

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the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty the quicker picker upper. welcome back. so, let's get rid of all these big storms. let's take a look at the week ahead. obviously the ice in the northeast, gusty winds of the squall going through, little bit of snow through the great lakes. here about the storm on the west coast. here comes the next storm bringing rain and mountain snow. by the time we get to wednesday, yes, more snow in areas of minnesota, wisconsin and iowa. apologies, but this really, really should be it. by the time we get to friday everything quite et cetera down. a typical spring storm in the rockies. >> and winter is not letting up at all. >> no. all right. thanks a lot. just ahead, two big food alerts to tell you about when we come back. well, here's to first dates! you look amazing. and you look amazingly comfortable.

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a consumer alert this morning with food safety fears hitting the country, a u.s. company recalls more than 200 million eggs over salmonella fears. an e. coli outbreak spreads to contaminated lettuce. the fda disclosing the largest recall of eggs in the united states since 2010 following a cluster of salmonella outbreaks in multiple states. this deadly strain of the bacteria puts young children and the elderly at risk. investigators tied the contamination to an egg farm in hyde county and traced it to nine states. health officials warning people in 11 states have been sickened by chopped romaine lettuce from arizona. 22 have been hospitalized, three are life-threatening complications. consumers are advised to avoid eating lettuce that may have

been contaminated. >> uber has taken a lot of heat involving safety especially because of drivers. they announced new measures aimed at holding drivers accountable. matt bradley has the details. >> reporter: uber is on a campaign to get on the good side of passengers again, as seen in this promotional video announcing safety measures meant to calm critics, reassure riders and drivers. >> we were not perfect. >> reporter: part of ceo's efforts to revive uber's dismal reputation. >> any time you're growing as fast as you're growing, that's not an excuse. sometimes you get things wrong. >> reporter: turning the page nearly a year after former ceo resigned amid scandal including allegations of gender discrimination within the company and accusations the company mishandled sexual assault claims by passengers. all of which he denied. the company's safety measures launched this summer and include a panic button that directly connects passengers and their locations with emergency dispatchers. there is also an option to share

trip details with up to five trusted contacts in real-time. an annual review of driver background checks. uber is also bringing in former homeland security secretary jeh johnson to chair its safety advisory board. it's the ride sharing app's response to years of criticism and legal attacks. >> 2019 for us is standing for safety. >> reporter: not everyone is satisfied. >> it is a little late. >> reporter: she represented women in assault cases some of which uber settled out of court. she said the high-tech solutions are merely cosmetic. >> if you're being violently attacked in the back seat of a car, expecting somebody to locate their app and press this without the assault ant knocking your phone, it's just not realistic. >> reporter: and she says bolstered background checks still fall short of traditional taxi companies, but it's still a change. for a company that has a reputation for resisting it, matt bradley, nbc news, los angeles. >> we thank you for waking up

with us on a monday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. the news continues right here on nbc and our nbc stions. haveta aa soggy

good monday morning to you. right now 4:30 and we're off to a soggy start to this workweek. a live look at the golden gate bridge on our radar. you can see the rain moving through the area. slick roads during your commute and there is more rain on the way. good morning, thank you so much for starting your morning with us. >> i'm laura garcia. let's get straight to the forecast. will the rain stick around? >> you can see it on the radar, it's going to be off and on and that's going to be the case throughout the day with chilly temperatures. let's get a look out there as we look at the wide view of this storm system moving in, some lightning offshore and i'll be watching for the potential of thunderstorms as we go into the rest of the day. we've seen them mostly just about to move into the cot