oh, my god! this thing is freakin' huge. look at this thing! holy cow! huge! >> severe weather ahead. a multi-day threat is under way right now with tornados and large hail possible. >> i feel raped. raped, frightened. >> strong words. trump's personal physician of 35 years describing how he felt when his office was raided for mr. trump's medical records. it's a nbc news exclusive. to new details about an inferno and high rise with people trapped inside. and a tanker swerving frighteningly out of control. plus the latest kanye west

controversy that you have to hear to believe. early today starts right now. i'm phillip menna. >> i'm frances rivera. resident of kansas and nebraska shared these images of funnel clouds. they knocked down power lines and caused minor damage to homes. there are no reports of serious injury so far. at least two tornados touched in nebraska, packing 80-mile-per-hour winds and dropping hail the size of golf balls. the severe weather is expected to ten over tcontinue over the days. let's go to bill karins. >> no huge a significant damage. minor damage to a couple homes. we got through most of day one okay. now we have to get through day two and day three. now from today we go to chicago

all the way to texas, but it's this area from oklahoma northwards through kansas and kansas city, that's our greatest threat of tornados. some of these areas will be hit three days in a row. also possibilities of flash flooding. as tomorrow goes, we're going to add another 29 million people to our severe weather threat targeting kansas city and southern portions of iowa. very dangerous for those places and keep it tuned in this afternoon. now to overnight breaking news that could have a massive impact in the ongoing russia probe. the "washington post" now reporting that special counsel robert mueller has threatened donald trump with a presidential subpoena. the post writing often the closed door negotiations between the councsel's office and trumps lawyers. for more on all this, let's go

to tracie potts in washington. >> reporter: this is the first we've known of a subpoena threat to the president of the united states in this russia investigation. here's how the post broke it down, saying there was a tense conversation in early march, with the president, his team and the special counsel, saying that mr. trump's lawyers insisted that he had no obligation to talk with the federal investigators involved in this russia probe. and robert mueller, the special counsel responded that he could issue a subpoena for the president to appear before a grand jury. now the attorney for president trump, ty cobb, has no comment on this, but according to the post, one of his former attorneys, john dowd, is actually saying that, as dowd put it in the post, this isn't some game. you're screwing with the work of the president of the united states. quoting john dowd there from the "washington post." adding to nbc overnight that it appears that this was the case,

that it is true that there was a subpoena threat. whether there's actually a subpoena coming, that, we don't know. >> that, we will still have to see. all right, tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. the president's physician is in headlines this morning. this time it's an entirely different trump doctor makingness. nbc news got an exclusive interview with trump's long-time personal their. -- dr. he used adjectives like astonishingly excellent and extraordinary saying he is the healthiest individual ever elected. now he is revealing to nbc how some surprise visitors connected to the president raided his office, demanding he turn over all the president's medical records. it ultimately soured their relationship. we have more on the head-spinning account. >> reporter: donald trump's doctor for more than 35 years is telling nbc news about the raid

that ended that relationship. >> what exactly were they looking for? >> medical records, pictures, anything they can find. >> reporter: bornstein says weeks after the inauguration, men including keith schiller and the top lawyer for the president's business, the trump organization showed up unannounced and took all the president's medical records. >> i feel raped. raped, frightened and sad. >> reporter: the incident happened two days after bornstein provided private medical information to the "new york times," revealing that for years he prescribed mr. trump a hair growth medication, pro peasha. that disclosure a violation of medical laws that bornstein is still defending. >> it's not a breach of medical laws to tell someone they take

pro peasha to grow their hair. what's wrong with that >> as standard operation for a new president, the white house took possession ever the president's medical records. >> reporter: he acknowledges he may have handed over the records in violation of privacy laws. >> he felt intimidated. this is what not routine at all and never received a medical release form signed by the president. >> reporter: the president's veteran doctor who once praised his patient as the healthiest president ever elected said to have removed that photo from his wall, that he told president trump's long-time personal assistance that assistant that he should be the white house doctor. >> she said, you want to be the white house doctor? forget it, you're out. . >> reporter: the trump administration has declined to comment. but we've confirmed they took the original medical records leaving dr. bornstein without

any copies. frances? now this morning there's another development. dr. bornstein says that hyperbole-laced letter in 2015 wasn't actually written by him. take a listen. >> i will also tell you that that letter that showed up in the times about his health he wrote himself. and me, from where i come from, the end of it was just black humor. it wasn't meant to be a serious comment. rapper kanye west right now is being blasted for comments he made about slavery during a wide-ranging interview with tmz, take a listen. >> you hear about slavery for 400 year. for 400 years? that sounds like a choice. like you was there for 400 years and it's all y'all? >> after the interview, kanye asked staffers if they thought he was quote, thinking free. and it led to this heated interaction with van leithen. >> while you are making music

and being an artist and living the life that you've earned by being a genius, the rhys of est in society have to deal with these threats to our lives, the marginalization that has come from the 400 years of slavery which you said for our people was a choice. >> the comments have sparked outrage on twitter with roxanne gay tweeting that kanye is not a free thinker but a free moron who doesn't read. he clarified that he does know slaves weren't put in shackles of their free will and he claimed once again he was being attacked for presenting new ideas. during the interview, he also touched on his love for president trump and explained that he wore a make america great again hat because he felt freedom in doing something everyone tells you not to do. it is a baseball record but not one the league is likely to celebrate. for the first time ever, players

recorded more strikeouts than hits in a full calendar month. there were 6,656 strikeouts in april compared to just 63, a little more than 6300 hits. the lack of action could be problematic for a sport struggling to reel in younger fans with the commissioner telling the ap he hopes it's just an anomaly that doesn't continue through the season. let's check in with bill karins. >> we have storms that are not severe anymore, but we have them rolling through northern portions of missouri. also what was left of the severe storms in iowa rolling into the green bay area. we have their hu-- this humge a, one thing that sticks out is how warm it's going to be. just about everywhere east of the storm. the warm air is pumped up the east coast. temperatures in the 80s to near

90 around washington, d.c. once again, this is such a slow-moving storm system, there's another impulse behind d missouri. look at some of the warmth today, spreading finally to the northeast. warmest day in a long time. so, again, we're talking about the warmth coming to the east. storms in the middle of the country. >> thank you very much, bill. a horrific red light collision caught on camera. watch as the hair-raising video shows someone on a motorcycle approaching an intersection when out of nowhere a semi runs up toward him. avoiding direct impact with the truck. and can you believe he walked away with only scratches from that. outrage over a violent

arrest in alabama. plus new information in that deadly 20-storey blaze in brazil and the warnings ahead of the building collapse. you're watching early today. rox. party's over, 'six legs', she's got simparica now. simpari-what? simparica is what kills tick and fleas, like us. kills? kills! studies show at the end of the month, it kills more ticks in less time than frontline plus and nexgard. guess we should mosey on. see ya never, roxy! use simparica with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. the most common side effects are vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. say goodbye to ticks and fleas... with monthly simparica chewables. are confusing quilted northern for robes. they're both cushiony, comforting, and add elegance to your home. but quilted northern is not a robe. it's just really nice toilet paper. you won't find relief here. congestion and pressure? go to the pharmacy counter for powerful claritin-d. while the leading allergy spray relieves 6 symptoms...

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respect her. >> both the waffle house and the police department say the arrest was appropriate. the altercation allegedly started when she refused to pay 50 cents for plastic utensils, but police say she entered with alcohol and threatened employees. fire officials in brazil are still searching for victims in the rubble where a building collapsed. they expect to find the body of a man who to his death from a 26-story building. >> reporter: the horrifying moment caught on cell phone video. neighbors watched helplessly. witnesses saying they could hear people trapped and screaming for help, when suddenly, the entire building collapsed in flames. burning debris crashing down on the streets. victims feared buried in the smoldering rubble. the fire started at 1:30 in the

morning local time in sao paulo. it quickly spread. the tower more than 20 storeys high was an old federal police headquarters turned makeshift she shelter for homeless people. one man says he warned for months it was a danger to the public. they're not sure how many are missing or who was in this towering fireball when it came crashing down. >> that was kelly cobiella reporting. it's reported that 50 families were living in that building. still ahead, looks can be deceiving, it targets kids. you're watching "early today." in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® works in just one week. with the fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and wrinkles.

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in your news by the numbers, 61% of americans believe president trump is truthful only some of the time or less. according to a nbc news surveymonkey online poll, with stark differences along party lines. even so, trump's job approval stands at 45%, his highest ever on any nbc news surveymonkey poll. and attitudes toward same-sex marriage are quickly changing. the latest poll finds 61% of couples should be able to legally married, a sharp change from 52% years ago.

this image of real juice boxes. on the left are vape products made to look like them. they are warned to stop packaging in ways that appeal to children. poison control centers have gotten thousands of reports of kids exposed to liquid nicotine. some of us are enjoying nice warm weather and we are thinking about summer plans. but a strong warning is being issued, with officials saying cases of insect-borne diseases are surging. anne thompson now on how you can protect your family. >> reporter: know the names. zika, lyme, west nile. some of the diseases spread by mosquitos, ticks and fleas. insect-borne illnesses are on

the rides, from 27,000 to 96,000. warning states should be doing more to fight off the insects. >> what we've found is four out of five of mosquito trocontrol operations in the country are not fully prepared. >> reporter: back sabatino says lyme disease nearly killed him. >> i couldn't walk. i had bell's palsy. i couldn't speak. >> reporter: the cdc reports there are also new insect-borne illnesses in the u.s., nine of them, including zika. >> when there's warm weather, it tends to produce more outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases and causes ticks to spread into new areas as well. >> reporter: increased global travel and trade play a role, too. to protect your sieve, tself, wt repellant, control ticks and

fleas on pets. and drain stagnant pools of water. still ahead, facebook dips into the dating game. the new feature that could help users make a love connection on the social network. you're watching "early today." careful not to get it in her eyes. i know, i know what a bath is... smile honey. this thing is like... first kid. here we go. second kid. you coming in mommy? ahh not a chance! by their second kid, every parent is an expert and more likely to choose luvs than first time parents. luvs with nightlock plus absorbs wetness faster than huggies snug and dry for outstanding overnight protection at a fraction of the cost. live, learn and get luvs. give mom the perfect giftsale

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one large blaze left residents without power, but officials were able to gain control of the blaze quickly. thankfully no one was injured. that time of year, warm and windy in the east. here we go with a warmup. a lot of people have been waiting for this. but a lot of people are going from heat to air conditioning in two days. soaring highs in the east, 20-25 degrees warmer than normal. 85 today, richmond, 89, chicago 82. so it continues warm, even into thursday. this is a slow-moving storm. look at washington, d.c. could hit 90s for the first time. 80s in areas like raleigh. warmth will continue in the east. it's like summer. >> spring, we'll catch you next year, right? >> the tulips, all gone. new safety orders from the faa in the aftermath of that deadly crash. simpari-what? simparica is what kills tick and fleas, like us.

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later today, president trump will preside over the swearing in of his new secretary of state mike pompeo. a welcome ceremony was held tuesday at the state department for the top diplomat. he brings back swagger to the department. pompeo was sworn in in a private setting. a formal ceremony and photo op will be later today. the federal aviation administration plans to expand its emergency order for inspections in the wake of that southwest disaster. a broken fan blade is blamed for the april 17th engine explosion that killed a passenger and forced an emergency landing.

president trump honored the memory of that passenger while welcoming the captain and crew of that flight to the white house. the president praised captain tammie jo shults. eharmony, match.com and others are about to get competition from guess who? facebook. mark zuckerberg announced that the social media giant will be adding a dating option. the feature will be opt-in and will not match you with any of your friends. you'll be able to use similar users by making your new profile discoverable for others to see. i know what you're thinking. yeah, the whole security thing. zuckerberg says there will be privacy features. after all of that is correct some people may be wanting to pump the brakes a little bit. >> i'm surprised it took facebook this long to get into the dating game. police say it is very lucky that no one was injured after this scary accident in

massachusetts. check this out. this tractor-trailer has 12,000 gallons of unleaded fuel when it slammed into a utility pole snapping it in half and sent sparks flying apartment transformer burning. a bird flew in and hit him in the head. he has been charged with reckless driving. now dale earnhardt junior has a baby on board. the nascar legend and his wife amy announced on twitter the arrival of their first child, a little girl, ila rose earnhardt. the new dad adding it is a new beginning. everything i do will be for her and amy. congratulations to the earnhardt family. we'll see if it runs in the family when it comes to racing. >> he's retired now. he'll have more time to spend with his new family. >> i'm phillip menna.

>> i'm frances rivera. your news continues right here on nbc on your nbc station. we )

the week. ad li welcome to wednesday morning. we've made it halfway through the week. kind of what got me out of bed this morning. as we take a live look outside, s curve in san rafael. >> good morning to you and thanks for joining us, i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington, right now the weather. >> we're looking at more sunshine even though we start out with clouds and fog this morning. in fremont, you can see the flag waving there, a nice little breeze and people up and out the door. we're going to see mostly sunny skies as we go through the day and up to 68 degrees by noon. hers