/s hundreds of earthquakes have added to the dangers of the world's most active volcano in hawaii's big island forcing 1700 from their homes. >> boom, your whole life comes to a screeching halt. >> gina haspel, president trump's choice to head up the cia and to be the first woman to do so, is now facing new challenges this morning. >> it was a deadly weekend on a road in nebraska where five died, flash floods catching drivers by surprise in a busy city that washed away cars with ease. >> then to chaos aboard the carnival cruise ship dream, flooding from within the massive vessel. >> hello. >> stormy, this is michael

cohen. are you alone? >> yes. >> and what are you wearing? >> saturday night live pulls out all the stops this weekend. "early today" starts right now. good to be with you on this monday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. we begin with the disaster unfolding on hawaii's big island. residents there are facing a trifecta of natural threats after its most active volcano started erupting on thursday. as many as ten fissures have broken out some spewing lava 200 feet into the air. >> molten rock pouring into the neighborhood slowly with tremendous impact as captured by the video. it is smoldering everything in its path from vehicles to power lines. officials say 26 homes have been destroyed and nearly 2000 residents have been forced to flee from two subdivisions in the puna district. uncertainty of whether they could return home. >> you know, one night it was fine. there were little cracks in the

pavement. the next morning, boom, no one had any warning. >> boom, your whole life comes to a screeching halt. just the thought of like losing everything we've worked so hard for. >> more than a thousand earthquakes have rocked the area since last week triggered by the massive magna flows including a 6.9 magnitude quake friday, the strongest to strike in over 40 years. another threat unseen to the eyes but no less dangerous, lethal concentrations of toxic sulfur gas in the air. officials warn residents to be on high alert as they hunker down for what could be months of upheaval. >> now to the growing fight over the next leader of the central intelligence agency with director nominee gina haspel set to face lawmakers in her confirmation hearing wednesday. just days after broaching the idea of withdrawing her own nomination. haspel reportedly not wanting to relitigate the cia's role and the harsh interrogation techniques used after 9/11. political opposition to haspel centers on her time after 9/11

running a secret cia prison in thailand where a terror suspect was water boarded and her passing on the order to destroy videotapes of inr enhanced interrogation sessions the senate labeled torture. if confirmed haspel would be the first woman to head the cia and this morning sources tell nbc news the president and haspel spoke over the weekend and that mr. trump is not looking to replace her. with haspel now deciding to go ahead with her confirmation hearing later this week. >> an unexpected final few moments on a southwest flight from florida to baltimore when a pickup truck crashed into the airplane. southwest says the plane was pulling into the gate at baltimore/washington international airport when the truck came into contact with the aircraft. no injuries were reported and all 172 passengers were dee planed via air stairs. >> back to washington now where the president and his top attorneys are playing damage control with mr. trump's legal team looking to clean up last week's miss steps surrounding the stormy daniels case. with trump's personal attorney rudy giuliani hitting the

airwaves again this weekend as he looks to correct his previous comments on the case. but he's leaving more questions than answers in his wake. let's go right to nbc's chris pollone on capitol hill for more. chris, good morning. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, phillip. it was quite a sunday for president trump's personal attorney rudolph giuliani as he tried to both clarify his comments 2his comments last wee about the stormy daniels matter claiming he didn't know all the facts yet. listen to what giuliani had to say in his evolving story that started last wednesday and proceeded through yesterday morning. >> that money was not campaign money. sorry, i'm giving you a fact now that you don't know. it's not campaign money. imagine if that came out on october 15th, 2016 in the middle of the last debate with hillary clinton. cohen made it go away. he did his job. even if it was for campaign purposes. if it was to save his family to, save embarrassment, it's not a campaign donation. as far as a know a long-standing agreement michael

cohen takes care of situations like this, then gets paid for them sometimes. gets paid for them sometimes it's reimbursed in another way, depends whether it's business or personal. >> reporter: meanwhile, giuliani continues to maintain that that payment did not violate any campaign finance laws, calling it a personal matter. he says still, though, he doesn't know when the president knew about that payment or whether he knew what it was for. meanwhile when it comes to the mueller investigation, giuliani is now leaving open the possibility that the president could plead the 5th amendment if he is subpoenaed by robert mueller. >> what happens if robert mueller subpoenas the president? will you comply? >> well, we don't have to. he's the president of the united states. we can assert the same privilege as other presidents have. >> are you confident the president will not take the 5th in this case? >> oh, how can i be confident of ha? >> reporter: the president continues to maintain just saying again friday that he does want to speak to mueller even though in the past he has said

that only the mob pleads the 5th. phillip? >> he said a lot of things similar to that. all right, chris, thank you so much. >> we have a deadline on the iran deal. just days away, britain takes a turn at convincing president trump not to walk away. u.k. foreign secretary boris johnson is in washington this morning, meeting with officials including secretary of state mike pompeo and vice-president mike pence to lobby for the united states to stay in the landmark deal. in a "the new york times" op-ed johnson writes, of all the options we have for ensuring that iran never gets a nuclear weapon, this pact offers the fewest disadvantages. for more let's go to nbc's allie arouzi in tehran. good morning. >> reporter: that's right, frances, boris johnson has urged president trump's administration not to give up on the iran nuclear deal, saying at this juncture it would be a mistake to walk away from the deal. he's the last of the three big european powers in recent weeks to visit washington, in part, to try and convince the white house

to stay in the accord. as you mention, he wrote an op-ed in "the new york times" saying only iran would gain from abandoning nuclear restrictions. and he said it has its weaknesses certainly, but he said he's convinced that the weaknesses can be remedied. but frances, at this point it doesn't appear as if iran is in the mood for any remedies or fixes. rouhani has insisted iran has plans to respond to any move by president trump, saying that he's given the order to iran's atomic energy organization to confront america and that his country would make and store as many missiles as needed. adding that the u.s. will have historic regret if it pulls out of the nuclear deal. frances? >> we'll see what happens in these few days. thank you, ali. >> as vladimir putin prepares to be inaugurated today for a fourth presidential term, riot police confronted thousands of protesters who took to the streets all over russia to voice their discontent with the country's leader and government. opposition leader and activist

alexis who was barred from challenging putin in russia's 2018 presidential election was dragged away by police within minutes of arriving at that rally. nbc's cal perry is joining us live from london with the latest details. cal, good morning. >> reporter: hey, phillip, good morning to you. so, we're about 90 minutes away now from president putin being sworn in as you said, now in power for some 18 years. those protests taking place across the country, 19 different cities and at least a thousand people detained. some of those pictures there. now this is an ever increasingly isolated vladimir putin, of course, we're talking about that potential election meddling in the united states. the annexation of crimea from ukraine, recently accusations that the government poisoned a former russian spy here in the united kingdom using some nerve agent. all of that something we're going to be watching over the next six years of the prime minister's -- excuse me, the president's term. by the constitution this will be the last term that he's able to

serve unless of course he's able to change that constitution. phillip? >> and that is certainly always a possibility with mr. putin. thank you so much, cal. >> it was a deadly day on the roads in nebraska sunday. officials now investigating several accidents there with five people dead after three different crashes involving several vehicles. at least one with a chain reaction accident involving two semi-trucks. officers believe the driver may have been texting while driving. >> a massive flood swept through the turkish capital of ankara. vehicles have washed through the roads and residents remain shocked. look at this video rain. expected to last three hours saturday afternoon. all of this coming down in nine minutes. in all four people were injured and more than 160 cars and 25 businesses sustained injuries -- occurred damages, rather according to the mika brzezinski stri of labor. >> certain-- images of labor. >> bill karins? >> good morning, everyone. the northeast saw some rain yesterday and that is clearing out for your monday. just a few showers left over.

as we go throughout the afternoon hours, we'll watch this little storm system over the appalachians. we'll see some hit and miss showers. southern pittsburgh, pennsylvania, mainly north carolina, hit and miss showers at worst. the storm system slowly clears out. but as you can he tell there is not a lot of bad weather out there. hot in texas, oklahoma, gorgeous in the south east and no comp warm afternoon after a gorgeous morning with highs in the 80s in most locations. chances of storms in miami. >> bill, thank you. fast forward into monday, more than 50,000 workers at the university of california are going on strike. union leaders cite growing concerns over income disparity,

also higher health care costs and outsourcing jobs. the striking service workers nurses and technical workers. >> attorney general jeff sessions heads to the mexican border near san diego after asylum seekers arrived there. sessions will discuss the immigration and enforcement efforts of the trump administration. >> and get ready for the high fashion of 2018 met gala hosted by rihanna, amal clooney. the theme heavenly bodies, fashion and the catholic imagination. rvous about buying a house? a little. thought i could de-stress with some zen gardening. at least we don't have to worry about homeowners insurance. just call geico. geico helps with homeowners insurance? good to know. been doing it for years. that's really good to know. i should clean this up. i'll get the dustpan. behind the golf clubs. get to know geico. and see how easy homeowners and renters insurance can be. well, here's to first dates!

you look amazing. and you look amazingly comfortable. when your v-neck looks more like a u-neck... that's when you know, it's half-washed. add downy to keep your collars from stretching. unlike detergent alone, downy conditions to smooth and strengthen fibers. so, next time don't half-wash it. downy and it's done. jimmy dean delights frittatas. a delicious, savory egg breakfast, without all the bread and carbs. made with real ingredients. an excellent source of protein to help power through your morning. jimmy dean delights frittatas. 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. dinner date...meeting his parents dinner date. why did i want a crest 3d white smile?

so i used crest. crest 3d white removes... ...95% of surface stains in just 3 days... ...for a whiter smile... that will win them over. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. ♪ dixie® ultra's flexproof™ technology makes it twice as strong as the leading store brand. that's strength you can count on. leading the news, the university of florida is apologizing after complaints that many minority students were rushed off the stage during a commencement ceremony. video of the incident shows students dancing as they walked across the stage. an usher physically grabs them and rushes them off leading to boos from the crowd. on sunday president w. kent fox issued a statement significant, we were inappropriately aggressive in rushing students across the stage. i personally apologize. the practice has been halted for

all future ceremonies. >> investigators in florida say that a man is dead after a vape pen exploded inside of his home. firefighters determined that 38-year-old talmadge suffered injuries to his face and burns over 45% of his body. a small fire was set off by that e-cigarette explosion. they have not yet learned the immediate cause of death but they say he was likely killed in that blast, or knocked unconscious and then trapped by the fire. e-cig explosion deaths are uncommon in the u.s. but fire marshals warn these devices can be as dangerous as detonated fire krarkers. >> this is a big weekend for nasa with the launch of a billion dollar spacecraft headed for mars. the mars insight probe blasted off from van den berg air force base in california. it will take six months to travel 300 million miles to mars and when the rocket lands it will study the interior of mars including seismic activity. >> very cool. >> waterer spurted from the walls flooding the hallways in 50 rooms of a carnival cruise ship traveling to new orleans

and impacting nearly 100 guests. according to a company statement it resulted from a water line break. the passengers on the seven-day caribbean cruise were safe as crews scrambled to get flooding under control. some passengers were prelocated to the spa where they laid ma tregses down for them. nbc's my a rodriguez tells us more. >> reporter: the carnival cruise ship dream returning to new orleans after a watery nightmare for some passengers. >> i was going to get my love jacket. >> reporter: water spewing from a pipe into the state rooms. passengers using their cell phones to capture the unfolding mess. >> we were just walking down the hall to go to dinner and all of a sudden we heard this pop and all this water started draining through the ceiling. >> reporter: the water line break happening on thursday, coming from the ship's fire suppression system. crew members forming an assembly line to clean up. carnival says the flooding impacted about 50 state rooms and that the company offered those passengers a full refund and a discount on a future

cruise. in a statement to nbc news, carnival added, quote, we appreciate our guests' understanding and sincerely apologize. we also thank our crew members for their quick action and hard work. this isn't the only incident carnival has had to nachl quit recently. including one in february when a massive brawl broke out among 23 members of a family on one of carnival's australian cruises. meanwhile back at the carnival dream, some passengers say it's a trip they won't forget. >> it was a bumpy ride. >> but it was a great experience. >> reporter: carnival said the water damage was repaired with the ship heading back out to sea in search of smoother waters. may a rodriguez, nbc news. >> if you happen to miss snl this weekend, don't worry, we have the highlights for you next. if you didn't get an invite to harry and meghan's wedding we have the next best thing. that's why pantene, the world's #1 conditioner brand,

has conditioners for every hair type. from air-light foam for fine hair, to nourishing 3 minute miracle for thick and curly. and the moisture-infusing gold series collection. giving more women great hair days - every day. pantene. world's number one... conditioner brand. you'll make my morning, buty the price ruin my day.ou? complicated relationship with milk? pour on the lactaid, 100% real milk, just without that annoying lactose. mmm, that's good. (vo) more "dper rollres for mom" bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll.

bounty the quicker picker upper nourishing oils meet fast absorbing lotions. refined with indulging scents. for beautifully nourished skin. new nivea oil infused lotion.

mr. trump, i don't know what to do. you keep changing your story on the stormy daniels payment. >> look, let's get rudy giuliani on the phone. he'll fix this. he's got the sharp est legal mind since my cousin vinny. >> is everyone on? >> yes. >> call up stormy daniels and fix this once and for all. >> stormy? this is michael cohen. are you alone? >> yes. >> and what are you wearing? >> i know you don't believe in climate change, but a storm's a coming, baby. >> instant classic on snl this weekend. it was. and the musical guest this

weekend was childish gambino. you woke up america with his performance. listen to this. ♪ this is america, don't got you slipping now, look what i'm whipping now, always be tripping now, yeah ♪ ♪ >> gambino debuted his new song this is america, also dropping his new music video. that still here, that has the social media world buzzing and the video he tackles race relations, gun violence, police brutality and what it means to be a person of color living in america. donald glover, a.k.a. childish gambino. >> you can see it taking off the start of that song. excitement in the air for the royal wedding of prince harry and meghan markle even here at home, there is a pop-up bar in washington that dubs itself the royal wedding pub ahead of the nup sha nuptials on may 19. it is decked out to look like

the church. poster pictures with cut-outs of the royals as they sip on cocktails. as you can imagine, the line to get in on this day are wrapping around a block. i can imagine leading up to it, the wedding day itself will be huge. >> going to be packed. pop tart fans, this is something to get excited about. kellogg's is releasing two new pastries, side by side combinations. pop tart splitz. the frosted strawberry and drizzled cheesecake as well as drizzled sugar cook and i frosted browny batter. the first time they have joined in and part of the pop tarts lineup. >> keep it here. you're watching "early today." psoriasis does that. it was tough getting out there on stage. 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. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. if you have inflammatory bowel disease, tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. never give up. see me. see me. clear skin can last. don't hold back... ...ask your dermatologist if cosentyx can help you find clear skin that lasts. ♪ dixie® ultra's flexproof™ technology makes it twice as strong as the leading store brand. that's strength you can count on. the smoother the skin, the more comfortable you are in it. and now there's a new way to smooth.

introducing new venus platinum. a premium metal handle boosts control... to reveal up to 100% smooth skin. venus hitting the mid-morning wall? with up to 24 grams of hearty protein jimmy dean bowls help you avoid it. shine on. 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... claritin-d relieves 8, including sinus congestion and pressure. claritin-d relieves more. your hair is so soft! did you use head and shoulders two in one? i did mom. wanna try it? yes. it intensely moisturizes your hair and scalp and keeps you flake free. manolo? look at my soft hair. i should be in the shot now too. try head and shoulders two in one.

welcome back. time for your week ahead forecast. lot of outdoor plans this time of year and this looks like a great week for you. spotty showers, montana, dakotas,' larry beil i can dakotas, appalachians, a really nice monday. dry all week long in the desert southwest. the southeast looks great. and the northeast holding on to some great weather monday into tuesday. by the time we get to friday, some showers and storms in the middle of the country. there's a lot of great weather. >> bill, thank you. your top stories straight ahead including the woman who could be joining one of the most exclusive men's clubs in the world. er®.

no other sunscreen works better or feels so good. clinically proven helioplex® provides unbeatable uva/uvb protection to help prevent early skin aging and skin cancer all with a clean light feel. for unbeatable protection. it's the one. the best for your skin. ultra sheer®. neutrogena®. see what's possible. in the water, in the water, you ready for this? she doesn't like it... you've gotta get in there. okay. 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.

in today's top stories there was another deadly sunday in afghanistan where at least 14 people were killed when a bomb went off inside a mosque. an improvised explosive device blasted those nearby as they waited for prayers. it occurred in the eastern province where the mosque was being used as a voter registration center. more than 30 were wounded. there was no claim by isis or taliban. they have targeted them before. >> now that a touching moment in nashville. ebony earned her right to walk across the stage with her brother deangelo. he tearfully accepted his degree alone. his sister's life was taken two weeks ago in the deadly shooting

at the waffle house. in a standing ovation, her mother accepted her degree in social work. the president of the university said while our hearts were broken, we had a chance to celebrate her life together. belmont officials say they will be creating a scholarship in her honor. >> one man in england is happy to be reunited with his stolen dog thanks to jeff bezos. the man's pooch went missing after an amazon driver delivered dog food to his home in buckinghamshire. in a final desperate plea he e-mailed its founder. bezos delivered. amazon used gps to track the driver down and returned roma home. the company spokesperson said the incident is inexcusable and it will never use the driver again. but, hey, talk about going straight to the top right there and getting results. >> can i talk to the manager, manager, just let me talk to jeff bezos. there is a possibility some big changes will be on the way in the sidelines of the nba. it's been announced former wnba

superstar and current san antonio spurs assistant coach becky hammond will be interviewing for a head coaching job with the milwaukee bucks. the search follows the dismissal of former head coach jason kidd. the bucks' originally met with her a year ago to discuss the team's general manager opening, but with hammond's 20 years of professional experience as a player and coach, the bucks are liking what they see on the court. the date for her interview has not yet been announced. she was already the first assistant coach in the nba. >> there you go. blazing those trails. >> it will be cool. >> for the second week in a row, the avengers estimated 1 $12 million domestically and over $1.2 billion worldwide making it the first film to hit the billion dollar mark after only 11 days in theaters and it hasn't even opened in china. you can see all the people coming to see it there. rounding out the top three are over board with 14 million and also a quiet place with 7 million. so, big day for a lot of people.

>> almost ten times as much money as number two. >> and counting. i'm frances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. thanks for kicking off your monday with us. the news continues right here on nbc.ad lib live picture-- bay be

good monday morning as we start it workweek. we can see the bay bridge lit up and ready to get us started. good morning and thanks for starting with us, i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. let's get straight to the forecast. >> we're going to see awe few more clouds moving in and sunshine this afternoon. it's going to be a warmer day if you enjoyed the comfortable weather for the weekend. expect it to be a few degrees above that for the afternoon. check out the temperature trend, 73 degrees but we're going to love that today. reaching in the upper 70s in the south bay and san francisco today 69 degrees. we'll talk more about that and