breaking overnight, a major volcano came back to life on hawaii's big island forcing mandatory evacuations. >> mayor rudy giuliani speaking to nbc news late last night. new details on stormy daniels' pay out involving president trump. >> it started with a trip to coasta rica for a calendar shoo. now members of the washington redskins cheering squad are claiming sexual exploitation. >> two modern day mind blowing hollow grams that are blowing people away. >> and britney spears teams up with her boyfriend for a couple of workouts to get you going on this get away friday. "early today" starts right now. great being with you on a friday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena.

we begin with breaking news out of hawaii. an emergency proclamation has been declared after its most active volcano erupted late at night. the massive plumes of smoke began rising from the volcano hours after magnitude 5 earthquake rattled the big island. it was the most powerful telemun trembler to strike since last week. >> those alarms were sounded as lava cut through neighbors in the puna district. some 1800 people in lay lanny had been forced to evacuate to red cross shelters and nearby communities. residents captured these dramatic images of lava flows spanning several hundred yards oozing out of cracks and roadways. some cracks reportedly measured up to 18 inches long and 2 inches wide. governor david is urging residents there to follow instructions and is activated the national guard to assist with evacuations and security.

the hawaii volcano's national park where the volcano is located is also closed off some 16,000 acres. >> more rints hints from the trump administration that the three americans detained in north korea could soon be released. during his national day of prayer remarks, president trump saying some very good announcements are coming soon. plus one of the president's new attorneys, former new york mayor rudy giuliani suggested that the release is a done deal. >> we got kim jong-un impressed enough to be releasing three prisoners today. >> white house press secretary sarah sanders could not confirm if the detainees had in fact been released but said it would be a, quote, sign of a good will ahead of potential meeting between kim jong-un and president trump. and as planning for that historic meeting continues, "the new york times" reports president trump is ordering the pentagon to reduce u.s. forces in south korea with over 28,000 soldiers currently stations on the peninsula. sources tell the times the draw

down is not intended to be a bargaining chip, neither the white house nor the defense department responded to requests for comment. >> now to developments in the president's continued battle with porn star stormy daniels. rudy giuliani just wrapping up a phone call with nbc news's white house correspondent kristen welker. he went on the media blitz that led him to ultimately revial mr. trump did, in fact, repay his own attorney for that $130,000 hush money payment made to stormy daniels just days before the 2016 election. while daniels says the money was kept to keep her silent about an alleged encounter a decade ago, which the president is denying the claims head on. he calls the claims false and extortionist and acknowledged the first time he did reimburse mr. cohen for the payment. but this morning we are now learning just why giuliani surprised the political world by revealing that payment information. giuliani says he spoke out, quote, because i wanted to get out in front of the special counsel and the southern district of new york because at some point they would realize

this information and leak it. giuliani tells nbc news he learned about $130,000 repayment from michael cohen after being told about the existence of documents that show proof of the reimbursement. giuliani tells nbc he shared that information with the president about a week ago. quote, i don't think the president think realized he paid him until we, his legal team made him aware of the paperwork. adding mr. trump's response to the news was oh, my goodness, i guess that's what it was for. >> the overnight developments come as questions are raised over whether president trump will find himself in any new legal jeopardy over giuliani's revelation. after the former mayor seemed to suggest that the hush agreement was about the campaign after all. >> imagine if that came out on october 15th, 2016 in the middle of the last debate with hillary clinton. >> so to make it go away they made -- >> he didn't even ask. cohen made it go away.

he did his job. >> michael avenatti, the attorney for stormy daniels weighed in on all of it. the discussions regarding that hush payment were well before the 2016 election. >> there were extensive communications between michael cohen and keith davidson in october of 2016 relating to the timing of this payment and the need for the payment to be made prior to the election. extensive communications relating to the need for the payment to be made, when it was made, and as it related to potential influence on the election, period. >> adding to the concerns here, nbc news has learned federal investigators were keeping a log of michael cohen's phone calls before that raid on his home and office and identified at least one call placed from a cohen line to a white house line. >> arizona teachers will return to the classrooms, ending a six-day walk out that forced the closures of schools all over the

state. legislators pulled an all nighter on wednesday to approve a 20% raise for teachers by 2020. but teachers didn't get everything they wanted. but they agreed to end the strike that included days of demonstrations outside the state capital. the protests were part of a nationwide red for ed movement demanding increase for education funding. the washington redskins say they are looking into the mistreatment allegations stemming from a "the new york times" report where five cheer leaders say they were sexually exploited. now some of those women and other former nfl cheer leaders are speaking out to nbc news. tammy leitner has the story. >> reporter: this costa rica photo shoot should have been paradise. >> we are coming to you from costa rica. >> reporter: yet washington redskins cheer leaders on this 2013 trip tell nbc news they felt sexually exploited. >> the first shoots of the week are about to begin. >> reporter: the cheer leaders said they were required to pose topless, though the photos did not show nudity. some of the women added, they were told to escort the team's

financial backers to a night club, making them feel pimped out. the cheer leaders weren't paid and the teams took their passports upon arrival. the organization is concerned by the allegations, adding they are immediately looking into the situation. and that they have spoken to current and former cheer leaders, hearing very different first-hand accounts that directly contradict many of the details. nbc news spoke with three former redskins cheer leaders who would not speak on camera for fear of retribution. one woman said the sluttier we looked, the better the chance we would make the team. i was benched for a game because i gained a couple of pounds. >> i was completely horrified and, of course, i believe these girls. i know it takes a lot of courage to stand out and say that, but i'm honestly not surprised that this happened. >> reporter: former nfl saints cheer leaders bailey davis filed a lawsuit against the nfl. >> there have been many

situations that left us feeling uncomfortable, but it's nothing we complain about. they tell us so many times there's a hundred girls that would do your job for free. >> reporter: nfl cheer leaders asking for respect on and off the field. tammy leitner, nbc news. >> all right. we do a lot of weird stories in the news, but this one really takes the cake and it's really kind of gross, too. police in new jersey arrest aid so-called serial pooper, yeah, dee filing a high school track and field. turns out public enemy number 2 is the superintendent of a nearby school district. we're naming names here. thomas tremalini was caught in the act during an early morning run. police say they set a trap after the high school complained of finding human feces near the track on a daily basis. he is now on paid leave of absence from his high school at his school district. he is charged with lewdness, littering and defecating in public.

sir, the accusations, but why? high school rivalry. >> i don't know. i have no idea. i have no idea. >> read the number, was the inmate number 2, public enemy number 2? >> good line there. oh, my goodness. this register as -- >> maybe a short career. >> let's talk about weather, bill. can we do that? >> we can do that. the severe weather threat continues. yesterday we had 7 tornadoes reported. no damage or anything like that. but today areas from pittsburgh, buffalo, albany, everywhere in between, we will see wind damage threaten today, large hail threatening this these areas. the timing of the storms is typical. we are hit and miss this morning. storms will be racing through columbus and cleave lapped. that's where they'll be forming. from 3:00 to

washington, d.c., richmond has a good shot of getting into the low 90s. the weekend forecast will be cooler for many, but it will also be rainy for some. details coming up. >> what a teaser. all right, bill. thank you. and thanks for letting us move on from that last story. >> until you brought it up again. >> more importantly, i know, right? let's talk about the mtv movie and awards. wakanda forever with the nomination list. "black panther" leads the pack with 7 nods including best movie, best performance and a fan favorite best fight. they find competition from wonder woman, thor and the avengers. stranger things behind. bobby brown and thin wolf are the favorite to take home the golden pot corn. >> twitter alert. the company is encouraging users to change their passwords. we'll tell you why. after moistur but there's one... that blows them all out of the water.

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the numbers. atlanta falcons quarterback matt ryan is now the highest paid nfl player ever. after agreeing to a five year contract extension worth $150 million with 100 million of that guaranteed. youtube ceo susan announced 1.8 registered viewers are watching on the platform every month, not including those watching without accounts. and sony's latest god of war video game has sold 3.1 million units in just three days, making it the fastest selling playstation 4 game ever according to the company. >> several people are lucky to be alive this morning after a case of bad timing at a railroad crossing in omaha. cell phone video captured it. just before the impacting, two cars had a head on inclusion as they crossed the intersection. they struggled to exit their car after the train approached.

they were taken to the hospital and expected to recover. >> china has the latest invention, the 3-d hollow graphic projector. the purpose is to display images without using 3-d glasses. the projector is made of a fan-like blade with l.e.d. lights that can project images like a butterfly like you see there to a movie car. the high speed rotation creates the moving picture in the air and displays the visually enhanced effect. the holo graphic was invented by a chinese start up. it took three years to develop the parts for this device and is being put into mass production, the company has received about 10,000 orders for it. pretty cool. >> especially when they start coming over here. everybody is going to want one. it will be the new high tech digit spinner. there is uh na new privacy concern from twitter. they say it is a precaution after they discovered a bug

without concealing them on a log. twitter never removed the passwords. they do not believe it left the system or was misused. >> sure it was president. can't wait till we find that out. a court side warning for rapper drake. plus a new number one, most influential instagram member in the world. who do you think it is? plus a comical collaboration, a sound track single that's sure to be a hit. you're watching "early today." ra group of remarkable people. to help save the universe... from paying too much on their car insurance. hey, there's cake in the breakroom... what are you doing? um...nothing? marvel studios' avengers: infinity war, in theaters april 27th. now...where were we? your crops might your ovebe in 1st grade.a pants.

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before the break we asked you who is instagram's top influencer. so, did you guess correctly? according to d. maria analysis -- analytics, i should say, kylie jenner is claiming the top spot as social media queen passing beyonce and sister kim kardashian. they calculate one of her posts is worth over a million dollar. add add equivalent value. she is the first member of the kardashian/jenner klan to reach the milestone. >> good influence. it's incredible. a cultural phenomenon. all they have to say is something is cool and immediately it's sold out. >> they are a force, love them or hate them. >> all right. what happens when you mix an award winning singer with a superhero? you get the number one video in the country.

♪ ♪ >> your eyes are not deceiving you. that is "deadpool" dancing in celine dion's movie video ashes. the video already has 2 million views and counting. dion tweeted, over the years i've received incredible songs and ashes is one of those songs. of course "deadpool" himself, ryan reynolds put out a tweet saying, showtime, mama, #"deadpool 2." >> that's hysterical. she's game with it, yeah, all right, i'll have you in that video. >> he's got some moves there like in the movie. >> it is brilliant marketing when you think about t. britney spears and her boyfrie boyfriend prove that couples who work together stay together. the pop queen posted this video with a grueling workout. look at this. leg lifts, push out with spears on his back, even bench pressing her at one point. spears caption the video,

stronger together. it is paying off and working out. her pictures, she's probably in the best shape that she's been in her life. >> yeah. >> even -- >> peak pop star. she had the kids. went through a whole 2007 kanye going through now. look at her now. all right, rapper drake has been on his worst behavior. he has been warned during game one of the eastern conference semi finals between the cavs and the raptors. he had a heated exchange with kendrick perk inch kendrick perkins. he had to be ushered out while drake continued apping. the canadian born musician is a huge raptors fan and is always sitting court side. cleveland narrowly won that game 113-112. >> still ahead, cinco de mayo, the best deals to celebrate. you're watching "early today." any object. any surface.

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areas of tampa, watch out in nashville, even towards washington, d.c. could have a period of rain saturday. as we go into your sunday, some of those rain showers will be much cooler weather in areas of new england. going from 90s to 60s this weekend. sunday doesn't look the best in areas along the east coast. >> good thing we have good stuff for saturday. a lot going on. cinco de mayo. there are a lot of companies getting in on the fiesta. applebee's offering margarita special. get $10 off specially marked bags of tostitos chips. >> dollar margarita, watch out. just ahead, the buzz behind a bee colony with a new home in hawaii. you're watching "early today." ♪ hey allergy muddlers: are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool?

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there is a lot to look forward to this weekend from cinco de mayo, the kentucky derby. willie geist has a guest on tap this sunday sure to have you glued to your tv. willie, what do you have in store? >> good morning, guys. good to see you. my guest this week on sunday today is ron howard. we'll talk about a career that began at the age of 6 with his role as opey taylor, then on to richie cunningham on happy days before a career as an oscar winning director. he's now out with one of his biggest thrills and challenges, directing the latest "star wars" movie solo. our sunday sit-down with ron howard plus the latest as always in news and politics this weekend on sunday today. you can catch us on sunday morning or set the dvr and watch any time. ly see you on sunday and for now send it back to you, frances and

phillip. >> always good stuff on sunday with willie. thanks. >> kamille cosby, the wife of bill cosby made her first public comment since the comedian weas convicted of sexual assault. she lashed out at the media, a frenzied demonization of cosby. and unaccepting of the accusers allegations without any attendant proof. she compared her husband to emmet till, a black teenager lynched after falsely being accused by a white woman in the 1950s. >> when it comes to cosby, he and roman polanski are kicked out from the oscars. the academy of arts and sciences voted them out of the membership. this is to stay in line with their new standards of conduct prompted by the harvey weinstein scandal and the me too movement. cosby was convicted of sexual assault last week and polanski fled the u.s. after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in the '70s.

>> answered prayers for congressional house chaplain pat conroy who will now get to keep his job on capitol hill. speaker paul ryan reversed his decision thursday just hours after father conroy released a scathing letter rescinding his resignation. ryan ignited a fire storm last month when he asked the jesuit priest to step down from his post. conroy had stated he believes his ousting was politically motivated. ryan maintains the original decision was based on job performance. >> the cincinnati zoo is welcoming a colony of bees with an unusual history. home renovations uncovered this bee colony. they have been living in the walls of an ohio home for an estimated 20 years just two miles away from the zoo. the bees were tucked away behind a solid wall. they will be removed using a gentle vacuum and placed in a box and taken to the zoo. they will be placed with flowers that after two long decades, the colony will pollinate. no wonder there is a lot of honey behind those walls. >> let them bee.

i wasn't trying to do that. i would not mess with those things. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. your news continues herewe )ve .

live look at bay bridge it is friday, we made it through the week and now have to make it through the day. a live look at the bay bridge. people are getting a jump on the weekend. we'll check in with mike in just moments. thanks for joining us, i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. >> the forecast is looking good again today. we'll see clouds for the morning hours and slight patchy fog and then we will get some clearing today. here's a live look outside in fremont as you get ready to head out the door. no issues there, temperatures will be in the low 50s as you head out and then low 70s already by noon. we're going to have a quick warm-up for 80 degrees for parts of the inland areas and we'll look ahead