only at jack in the box. /s for the first time financial disclosure documents reveal providing hard evidence connections between the president, his attorney, and the porn star. >> literally crawl under trees to get to the house. it's like a nuclear bomb went off. >> sudden severe storms that took at lst six lives and caused massive amounts of destruction in its path. >> to hawaii where the code red is alarming islanders, while ground shaking tremors are leading many to expect the major eruption. >> a sea of red as thousands of north carolina teachers demand higher pay and more funding for education. >> and the reaction nationwide debate over yanny version us laurel has even reached the person third in line for the highest office in the land.

>> i'd like to declare something that is just so obvious. it is laurel and not yanny. >> "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> great being with you. i'm frances rivera. we start off this morning with a russia investigation. robert mueller's probe now hitting its one year mark with no telling when it would wrap up. so far four former trump campaign associates have been charged. three have pleaded guilty and are cooperating. mueller has also obtained two more guilty pleas and indicted 13 russians and three russian companies. still, the president's personal lawyer rudy giuliani claims it is all a witch hunt and that the investigation needs to be put to rest. bloomberg is now reporting giuliani and his team will used to's one year mark as a weapon against the probe. giuliani claims the special counsel's own team said they don't have the power to indict a sitting president. in fact, here's what he had to say about the probe overnight. >> we're trying to get him to

end this. this is not good for the american people. special counsel's office does president seem to have that sort of understanding that they're interfering with things that are much bigger than them. >> and it all comes after the president made a bombshell revelation by way of his financial disclosure forms admitting to secret payments made last year to his long-time attorney and fixer michael cohen. reimbursing him a six-figure amount for expenses in 2016, the very same year cohen paid stormy daniels $130,000 to stay silent about the affair she alleges with mr. trump. causing government watch dogs to cry foul. nbc's hallie jackson has more from washington. >> reporter: the president now appearing to acknowledge a payoff to a porn star for the first time in financial filings. in a footnote on page 45, confirming he reimbursed his long-time lawyer, michael cohen, for expenses incurred in 2016. >> mr. president, did you know about the $130,000 payment to

stormy daniels? >> no. >> reporter: the president's attorneys have said he didn't know until recently that just before the election cohen paid stormy daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged affair with donald trump. a relationship the president has denied. >> you cannot reconcile what the president said to the american people on that plane with the disclosure form filed under penalty of perjury today. >> reporter:s office of government ethics requires these forms to be file yearly to prevent conflicts of interest. they're not as comprehensive as tax returns, which the president has refused to release. but they do show how much money his hotels are making, like his d.c. property, raking in more than 40 million bucks last year. some ethics experts worry it's become a magnet for foreign governments and lobbyists looking to get in the president's good graces. >> but it doesn't tell us who it's coming from and it certainly doesn't take away the possibility of very significant conflicts of interest. >> reporter: the filings show melania trump's earning power, too. she made money in royalties last year for photos from before her

time as first lady. at least $100,000 and maybe up to a million. at the white house, a powerful platform plus a profit. and speaking of the first lady, she remained at the hospital recovering from that kidney procedure earlier in the week and getting another visit from her husband, who went out to see how she's doing. the first lady said she is feeling great and looking forward to getting back home soon. phillip, back to you. >> glad to hear it, hallie, thank you. >> president trump under fire about his comments about undocument the immigrants. the president spoke out as he hosted california state and local leaders to oppose the sanctuary laws. >> we have people coming into the country or trying to come in, we're stopping a lot of them. but we're taking people out of the country. you wouldn't believe how bad these people are. these aren't people. these are animals. >> those remarks were in response to a sheriff's complaint about state policies preventing her from reporting

ms13 gang members to customs. california governor jerry brown fired back at president trump's round table on twitter claiming the president was lying about immigration and crime. brown added california citizens were not impressed. meanwhile, an immigration battle continues to brew in the house where 20 republicans have signed a petition to bring immigration reform to the floor. only five more republicans are needed to reach the required number to force a vote. assuming all democrats sign on. >> and this morning a former trump confidant is now taking a veiled shot at the commander in chief. ousted secretary of state rex tillerson delivering an apparent swipe at the president warning that the u.s. is experiencing in his words a growing crisis in ethics and integrity. when delivering a commencement address to graduates at the virginia military institute, take a listen. >> if we do not as americans confront the crisis of ethics and integrity in our society and among our leaders in both public and private sector, and

regrettably at times even the nonprofit sector, then american democracy as we know it is entering its twilight years. >> we should note mr. tillerson never mentioned the president by name during those remarks. >> hawaii's kilauea volcano has now spewed ash nearly 12,000 feet in the air triggering a code red alert. planes are being warned to avoid the area due to the threat of acid rain and residents on the ground are preparing for what could be the volcano's most destructive eruption yet. nbc's miguel almaguer tells us more. >> reporter: with smoke and ash soaring 12,000 feet up, kilauea on the brink of a violent eruption. the threat level raised to its highest, code red. >> this is really a historic event and it's something to see. >> reporter: inside kilauea's crater where a hot lava lake is dropping a catastrophic steam explosion is imminent. down wind, paradise in peril. communities like pahala bracing

for a blanket of ash. >> it's humid. it's sticky. it's just bad. >> reporter: with new fissures splitting open, lava bombs and molten rivers are encasing streets in petrified rock. a striking before and after, look at the damage. stretching across neighborhoods and forest land. >> we might have two or three days of no action, then all of a sudden a new vent pops up. >> reporter: kilauea, a double threat. lava destroying communities while its crater rumbles back to life, threatening to blow. even a safe distance away from the fissures, you can feel the ground shake and what sounds like a jet engine overhead. locals say for the last several days, lava has been flying through the air. and while many are people waiting for the crater to explode, the ground here is shaking every day. >> thanks, miguel, for that report. >> incredible video on the georgia coast line shows a fisherman dragging in a wild

catch. beach goers were walking on the sand when all of a sudden they notioned what appeared to be a young shark. turns out a fisherman had hooked the shark. he dragged the shark with his two bare hands. way able to grab it by the tail and bring it inland. it was released back to the water but not before people took advantage of the moment and took pictures to post on facebook. >> because that made it real. >> didn't happen without the post. >> several states in the northeast remain under a state of emergency after a deadly storm blasted. ferocious winds, large hail and even tornados. it caused widespread damage. it is blamed for at least six deaths. all of them from trees that collapsed onto vehicles. we are getting more pictures of the storm's wreckage all across the region. downed trees and power lines littering roads, sparking fires, and putting over 200,000 now in the dark, possibly for days. this is captured by motorist stranded in a flooded parking lot in frederick county, maryland.

emergency crews there rescued more than 60 people stranded in flood waters after the region got more than half a foot of rain. and at least three tornadoes swept through new york. governor andrew cuomo has deployed the national guard to help with recovery efrtsz. >> how about when the doctor on board is the doctor? the surgeon general answered the call for help in a medical emergency aboard a delta flight. dr. jerome adams tweeted about the incident saying he was glad to assist. according to a health and human services spokeswoman, a passenger lost consciousness while the plane was trying to take off in fort lauderdale. dr. adams stepped in and advised the plane to return to the galt where he and two nurses escorted the patient to medics at the terminal. that passenger is stable and thank of the for the help. dr. adams even called the patient's spouse to explain what happened. >> nbc meteorologist bill karins has a look to see if there will be any break with all the green behind you. it doesn't look like it. >> no, it is a murky, murky morning up the east coast. rain heavy in philadelphia moving to new york city as we

head towards the rush hour. flood watches are up. we are expecting heavy rain especially late night into early friday around washington, d.c., baltimore, to philadelphia. those flash flood watches go all the way back to west virginia. here's why. here's the rainfall forecast. the red is 3 inches inside it. some areas could get 4 inches of rain in the next 48 hours. that includes the i-95 corridor from philadelphia all the way to washington, d.c., even our friends to the south in miami and orlando to the southeast will geteavy h extremely hot i texas. 97 today in san antonio and 97 in houston. weekend forecast coming up. maybe a little glimmer of hope for frances. >> i hope, i hope. fingers crossed tight. thank you. john travolta took us back in this video sweeping the internet.

♪ ♪ >> all right. john travolta getting jiggy a little bit with rapper 50 cent at the cannes film festival. i swear i only came out here because of him. travolta's new film premiered at the festival. you're the one i wanted just a little bit. >> john travolta still got it. just ahead, teachers take a stand. and the royal engagement count down. the stage is set. who is going to be there and who won't on the big day. the first, it was love at first touch. and all you wanted to do was surround them in comfort and protection. that's why only pampers swaddlers is the number one choice of hospitals to wrap your baby in blanket-like softness and premium protection. so that all they feel is love. pampers the number one choice of hospitals, nurses and parents

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then i got to make other stuff. then i got to help write a musical. and now i'm back at 30 rock and couldn't be more excited. >> the show's 43rd finale marks the 6th time she'll be hosting. musical guest will be nicki minaj. >> russia's scheme to help win the white house, that's the assessment of the republican ask democratic leaders of the senate intelligence committee which endorsed the intel community's conclusion russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the aim of helping donald trump and hurting hillary clinton. the bipartisan senate report comes in contrast to the gop house intel committee's take. that while putin wanted to hurt clinton, he didn't necessarily want to help trump. a whole foods has rolled out those highly anticipated discounts for amazon prime shoppers. the program launched wednesday include 10% off hundreds of sale items in select popular items every week, free two-hour delivery also available with the whole foods perks to amazon prime members. to get those perks you can scan

your whole foods app or you can put your phone number in at the check out. so far those perks only available in florida, but they will be available across the country this summer. >> in north carolina it is being called the largest teacher protest in state history. a sea of red, thousands of teachers walked off the job yesterday, meaning no school for more than a million students, teachers marched on the capital in raleigh demanding raises and more education spending there in raleigh. north carolina is the 6th state to have teachers walk out in recent weeks. >> now to a massive settlement announced by michigan state university. the school will pay $500 million to hundreds of women who say they were sexually abused by disgraced gymnastics doctor larry nassar. 4 425 million will be split among 332 accusers who have come forward. the amounts to be decided by a mediator. the final 75 million will be set aside for any future claims. and the women who did speak out will be honored at this year's espy awards with the arthur ashe courage award. espn vice-president saying those who spoke out have truly shown what it means to speak truth to

power. >> all right. still ahead chances are you already picked a side here. we are full on laurel. celebrities and politicians alike are weighing in on this. where do you stand? 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? somehow we always leave packing to the last minute. guys, i have a couple of things to wash. we got this. even on quick cycle, tide pods cleans great. 10x the cleaning power, even in the quick cycle. it's got to be tide. a new way to add surprisey, to your kid's day. simply pop, peel, scoop...

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good morning, everybody. welcome to today on a wednesday morning and it's yanny. >> how do you hear laurel? >> you hear yanny? she hears yahoo finance. my producer in my ear hears

laurel. >> it's definitely definitely yanny. >> some say it's yanny, some say it's laurel. and some say they're happy to talk about something other than trump. >> it's true, it's a nice little distraction. with everything that's dividing this country. you probably heard about it yanny or laurel? uber chloe feldman posted the original clip asking people which they heard, the tweet raked in more than 18 million views. and as celebrities weighed in, deaf actress joke beingly told users, don't ask her because she can't hear anything. nbc's gadi schwartz tells us what's behind the auditory illusion that has us wondering if you we can trust our own ears. >> reporter: one word. >> laurel. >> reporter: then the question of the day, what do you hear? online a raging debate. >> i hear a mixture of the two. >> i only hear yanny. >> reporter: how do you hear laurel, bro? >> i just hear laurel. >> reporter: if you were hearing the words laurel and yanny

wondering what was the big deal, let me show you the battle of the frequencies. this is isolating the high frequency where most people hear yanny. >> reporter: and this right here is isolating the low frequency where a lot of people hear laurel. >> laurel. >> reporter: experts chalk it oup to some people being able to pickup a higher pitch others can't pickup at all. it's the 2018 version of the dress all over again, but the bigger mystery, who started this craze? >> i want to give him or her the credit he or she deserves. >> reporter: here's the uber khloe feldman who found it, tweeted it and boom. >> oh, my god, ellen retweeted it. >> literally everything at my show just stopped to see if people hear laurel or yanny. >> reporter: by afternoon it was the talk of congress. >> i'd like to declare something so obvious. it is laurel and not yanny. >> reporter: hollywood all coming down to the final allison rosati bitter. yanni himself resting on his laurels. gadi schwartz, nbc news.

>> man, i cannot wait to see what's going to be next. the striped dress, laurel/yanny. >> next is trump weighing in on this. then it gets real. rain, rain, go away. more wet weather along the east coast. how long will it last? check of our forecast after the break. 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.

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entrepreneur who turned her food truck into a restaurant success story. that is kiki. she built a brick and mortar restaurant from the ground up. and since opening just a year ago, it's landed on best of lists across philadelphia. the restaurant is how she shares her culture and she says she's doing just great. >> we've gotten through. we haven't broke down. >> for more information on kiki, her restaurant and other rising stars check out nbcnews.com/a to z. >> let's get back to bill karins with another check of the forecast. >> weekend outlook. let's finally try to get rid of some of this rain. it doesn't happen on friday, that's when we're going to see the greatest flood risk for the mid-atlantic region in florida. we have storms through the middle of the country. by the time we get to saturday, still heavy rain. it is not till sunday we try to get sunshine late in the day for the east coast. >> somewhere in between there the drama of super fans, security of a royal wedding. at . and around the world...

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♪ ♪ ♪ it was a wedding of the century ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ wedding of the century ♪ >> oh, man, that wedding with century now two days away. prince hair and i meghan markle set to walk down the aisle saturday morning to the an audience of 600 guests. >> that's just who will be inside the church. outside super fans have been lining up for days on the streets of windsor, jockeying for position to see the newlyweds. let's go to our favorite royal correspondent in london, cal perry. >> reporter: it took me a full week to call me your favorite wedding correspondent. the wedding is two days out.

the new couple is certainly looking forward it a honeymoon after all the craziness that has surrounded this big day. speaking of the craziness, the americans are in town. they're in windsor. they're super excited. they're already in line. they're in their seats. take a listen. >> i'm staying here. i'm sitting in this chair and i'm not moving. only to go to the toilet. >> i want them to come through those gates and then i want them to look at me and wave and smile. and that will make it all worthwhile. >> i'm over the moon to think harry's getting married. we've all been waiting a long time for him. even if i have to take out the, i'll take her out for it. >> rehearsals today, the carriage that will be carrying meghan and harry is going to be going through its sort of 25-minute paces with 250 members of the military. and, look, there is the lifelong debate, do people love the royals. a new poll out by the huffington post. it shows us really only one out of four americans and 70% of

brits are not interested. i don't think that's going to matter. i think everybody is going to watch. by the way, tmz has tried to own this story especially when it comes to the markles. it is now reported elton john will be at the wedding doing musical numbs. good news for americans waiting outside for the royalty and the famous people. >> for the people who are different, i have to tell you, the drama is really intriguing. what is going on? the dad had surgery, the sis consider broke her -- half sister broke her foot or something? i mean, what's going on with that? >> dad had surgery. a sister allegedly broke her foot. i say alleged. we have a nephew who crashed the wedding. he owns a marijuana company. the netflix will be tremendous one day. >> we still have 48 hours more to go. who knows what will come out of this next. oh, my goodness. >> and even after they're married, i'm sure the drama will continue way after that when they have kids, everything else, right? >> a lot of fun.

thanks, cal. >> thanks, guys. >> lot of drama there. that's what we leave you with. i'm frances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. thanks for watchg arly toin"edasan jose police surroun

neighborhood right now. we )re live with what )s going on.. praef breaking news in the south bay. san jose police surrounding a neighborhood right now. we're live with what's going on. first, good morning and thanks for joining us thursday morning. i'm lawyers, a garcia prf i'm marcus. we'll get p to breaking news in a moment. first check with meteorologist car irks hall. prf a /* /-