breaking wide open over night. two brothers who jami jussie smollett hired them to stage an assault seen buying materials they claim smollett told them to purchase. well now smollett is charged with a felony for making up the attack. >> new details this morning upon self-identified whiteo kjell every person and oergt. today the coast guard officer face as judge over a star high players when the nike sneaker explodes off his foot. the fallout on the injury. plus would you risk life and limb to travel at speeds up to 70-mile-per-hour on a snow shovel? all for the thrill of victory? early today starts right now. "early today" starts right now.

great to be with you on this thursday mop i'm francis riviera and i'm parly hall. >> the tables turn in the jussie smollett with the actor going from victim to suspect. he is facing a felony charge for filing a false report about the hate crime. meanwhile variety reports that fox is considering removing the actor from the hit show empire after producers learn of the charges. here with the latest is miguel they say he filed a false police report, a felony. th to be a victim of a hate crime. law enforcement officials tell nbc news chicago police issued a dozen search warrants scouring financial and phone records, looking to link smollett to the men he claimed attacked him. >> they called me a [ bleep ]. they called me a [ bleep ]. there is no which way you cut it. >> police say ola and abel

osundairo smollett hired them to stage the assault. they bought the red hat and ski masks they say smollett told them to get. the brothers entered a grand jury room to testify. the fbi is also looking into smollett's claims he received this death threat by mail. if he lied the actor could face federal charges. local media reports smollett cooked up the schemes for attention. detectives have presented evidence before a grand jury. >> there is lying to police. false police report, fraud mail. terrorist irk threats by mail. all of these are upn dozen carefully to piece together the officers have been working case. investigators now rewriting the actor's story saying smollett's lies are now expose the. jussie smollett is expected in court later today for his first court appearance in a bond hearing. marlie, back to you. >> that's so much miguel.

developing overnight a smocking arrest a u.s. coast guard lieutenant accused plotting a terror attack. the prosecutors say it was on a scale rarely seen in the country. christopher paul hasson was arrested on gun and drug charges. he had an arsenal of weapons including 15 firearm and 1,000 rounds of ammunition prosecutors say. nbc's tracie potts joins us with the latest. we hearing a list of high profile targets. >> lots of democrats and media, tv hosting and other people in the were on the list of people he said he wanted to kill. in a draft email authorities found he said he had been dreaming of killing nearly every person on earth. and that arsenal of weapons and ammunition, 1,000 rounds, certainly seemed to back that up. now hasson was actually arrested february 15th. this is just coming to light because of court papers filed record regarding his detention. authorities obviously want to

keep him behind bars as this case progresses. he had worked at the coast guard headquarters since 2016. and it was his internet searches at work that actually flagged the coast guard that something may be wrong here. he is facing illegal weapons and drug charges. prosecutors have called him in court papers a domestic terrorist. although there were no clear actual attack plans, but certainly the intent according to prosecutors to do so. the question now is will he remain behind bars as authorities get more details on in case? francis. >> all o his investigation into russian election meddling and possible linksmlin as next woke. theus early mueller will present findings to new attorneyeneral whoill be made public. nbc's pete williams has the latest. >> reporter: rare words of praise from president trump from

the new man in charge cht justice department saying the decision of what to make public will be up to attorney general william barr. >> he is a tremendous man, a tremendous person who really respects this country and respects the justice department. that will be totally up to him. >> reporter: several government officials say mueller's work is nearly done and he will likely present his report to barr in the next week or so. federal reports say the report is confidential saying at his confirmatios mun as poss but suggested it could be his summary nmueller's document. >> the special counsel report is confidential. and the report that -- t report that goes public would be a report by the attorney general. >> but members of congress demanded more including some republicans. >> the only way i know for the taxpayers to hold anybody that spends the taxpayers money responsibly is through transparency because that brings

accountability. >> even sew it's clear it is chlorit won't be like the starr report publicly released in 1998 on the clinton scandal. but many legal investigators say just because he is done doesn't mean the investigation stops. >> it will continue in federal prosecutor around the country. >> the material send to congress weighed 11 pounds in three volumes. public expectation for the mueller report is high, butorng rules. and his report will be nothing like this. marlie. >> pete, thank you. cold war tensions heating thup morning. the war of words between the u.s. and russia took a dramatic from vladimir putin. during his state of the nation address, the kremlin leader vowed to target the u.s. with its high-tech new weapons if america deploys missiles in europe. our foreign affairs correspondent has the details. >> reporter: vladimir putin

threatening to point hypersonic mitchells at the u.s. a weapon that can evade at u.s. missile defense. if the united states deploys missiles in europe. and russian tv showing off a new weapon, a submarine launching a nuclear powered underwater drone, the toughest saber rattle attention since the u.s. withdrew from a arms control treaty blaming russian treating. >> one side is not tleerg. unless they are going to tleer we shouldn't be the only one. >> but critics sayre huge propaganda advantage. >> i think russia is trying to treaty. united states from he is trying to make it costly for us and exacerbate a rift between the united states and our european allies. >> thanks to are for that report. new developments in a sore we've been following. president trump said wednesday he directed secretary of state

mike pompeo not to allow a woman who fled alabama to become an isis bride back into the u.s. hoda hment mutaa pleaded to return four years after going to syria. >> pompeo says she is not a u.s.stone but her family says she was born in new jersey. >> in newark, new jersey a specialed needs student bus may have been got into a accident because the driver may have been high on heroin. the driver was students, 5 to 13, on a bus when she collided with a tree. first responders found the driver uncash and use narcan to treat her for the precaution. we are learning stunning details in the wake of trial of drug king pink jauquin el chapo guzman. one juror claims at least five fellow jorps regularly violated judges orders not to watch news coverage of the trail. in according to a vice news report. vice claims to have a video

interview with one anonymous member of the jury who admitted they constantly watched news reports and checked twitter feeds for updates on the story. the vice report claims the juror says the media didn't have an effect on the jury decision even reechlg that they took no joy in convicting the drug king pin. guzman is serve life in prison, but his defense team vowed to appeal. a duke freshman standout was forc auter he suffered a bizarre injury in the first seconds of thetar forward move when he slipped and e spea sending him to the floor in plain. he limped off the floor to the locker room. duke's coach kay said he had a mild knee sprain and doesn't know how much time he will miss.

meanwhile barack obama showed support for the player by wishing him speedy cover. nba great lebron james tweeted hope the young flo is okay. north carolina updates number one duke 88-72. commuters across the country face dangerous conditions. a car engulfed in flamesin down traffic was stalled on snow cover roads unclear how the fire started. no injuries reported and an ohio traffic camera captured a rare event known as thunder snow. you can see the lightning flashes t t reported over four inches of snow wednesday. >> a lot of dealing with the mess. how about a killeenup today or aybe mother nature will take temperatures here is janessa webb. >> good morning, everyone. we are finally going to welcome the warmer air. but in storm system still brewing across the northeast. so some delays, cancellations this afternoon as we still have

winter weather advisories, also wint storm warnings for 29 million. the bulk of the advisories for northern new england don't go into place until early this morning until the early afternoon. could still see significant snow. but the warmup slowly but surely is going to make its way in. look at west virginia right now. temperatures currently in the lower 50s. the warmer air is lifting to north. flooding rain. sight. people are still seeing cancellations today. but finally warmer air. >> we will take every bit. thank you janessa. >> s.w.a.t. officers are normally tough on the job but one officer in chicago showed a tender side during a tense

barricade situation. they were rescuing a woman and baby from a man who allegedly took them hostage. once the woman and baby are rescued the officer is seen gently comforting the baby. the man is in police custody. >> google searching for answers in privacy scandal. as the vatican begins a summit victims say the church isn't victims say the church isn't ou. derm-proven retinol fas it takes only one week to reveal last week.oking skin. pair with w for 2x the wrinkle fighting power. neutrogena®

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bye, mom. thanks for breakfsat, mom. with quality ingredients like roasted hazelnuts and cocoa, nutella is sure to bring a smile to breakfast time. leading the news, thousands gathered to honor an nypd detective killed in the line of duty by friendly fire. >> never forget that brian lived to protect all new yorkers, and his legacy protects us this morning, that legacy expands as i promote brian simonson to detective first grade. >> brian simonson, a 19 year veteran of the force, was killed while responding to reports of a

robbery in queens last week. an historic summit on sex abuse begins today at the vatican. survivors and advocates have gathered demanding transparency and accountability. pope francis called for this meeting to address the scandal that has rocked the catholic church. for more, we go to nbc's anne thompson. n 30 years of this. >> reporter: milwaukee's peter eisley flew all the way to rome to join other survivors in delivering an ultimatum. >> time is up. it's time to do something. >> reporter: the catholic church facing a cascade of damning revelations of sexual abuse byh acknowledging secret guidelines for priests who father il priesthood. >> zero tolerance. >> reporter: survivors not allowed inside, making their case outside. >> we have secret archived files here in this institution. release them. >> reporter: the latest statistics show more than 6,800 priests have been credibly accused of sexual abuse in the

u.s. since 1950. the number of victims, 19,000. >> we need to act. >> reporter: cardinal daniel dinardo is president of the u.s. bishops, under fire himself for how he's handled abusive priests. why in the world should anyone believe that those who are suspected of being part of the problem can solve this problem? >> i think one reason is first of all that the pope has called us together and has put the line out about what we are to do. >> thanks to anne thompson for that report. juscdond's are pulling ads off youtube. and a party fit for a duchess. inside meghan markle star-studded baby shower, next.

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mueller and his prosecutors are still reporting to work as frequently as ever, with some even comingon well, of course. of course. that's their presidents' day blowout. everyone in the oval office must go! now to gwyneth paltrow who is fighting back against a man who accused her of crashing into him at a utah ski resort. the actress says he was actually the culprit in the collision and is trying to, quote, exploit her celebrity and wealth. the accident allegedly took place in 2016 at deer valley resort. paltrow's counterclaim filed wednesday says sanderson knocked

her down delivering a full body blow. sanderson's lawsuit claims the opposite and that he suffered multiple injuries. he is seeking over $3 million in damages. gwyneth is seeking symbolic damages of $1 plus lawyers' fees. we're learning the exclusive detailsin meghan markle. the star-studded event featured celebs like gayle king, amal clooney, and serena williams. e! news reports that amal and serena rented the penthouse of a hotel in new york for a whopping $75,000, and it was a baby shower fit for a royal. the room was decorated with peonies and had a harpist as their entertainment. not including s, was rumored to cost about $83,000 and of course her gal pals footed the bill. must be nice to have rich and famous girlfriends. >> no kidding. can you imagine what's in the gift bag, the giveaway bags when they go home for all the guests? really good stuff in there. still ahead, why a growing

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with quality ingredients like roasted hazelnuts and cocoa, nutella is sure to bring a smile to breakfast time. she's doing it again. (vo) no cover up spray here... it's the irresistibly fresh scent of febreze air effects. cheaper aerosols can cover up odors, burying the smell in a flowery fog. switch to febreze r opellant to leave behind use anywhere odors can spread. freshen up, don't cover up. febreze air effects. good morning, everyone. who's ready for a taste of spring? if you're out towards the east here, you're going to see abnormal temperatures. we're above normal here, about 9 degrees above normal out towards new york city. i haven't forgot about you. if you are across west, it's a cooler weather pattern currently in place. salt lake only going to see

ytime highs tomorrow afternoon of 32 degrees. that bitter cold for the upper midwest here. so two different patterns happening. as we head into the weekend, little rock, highs in the 70s. man, that's like shorts and t-shirt weather for me. >> even with those warm temperatures, who says that shoveling can't benext, we'll iu to a unique winter sport. ok i'll admit. i didn't keep my place as clean as i would like 'cuz i'm way too busy. who's got the time to chase around down dirt, dust and hair? so now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters. for hard-to-reach places, duster makes it easy to clean. it captures dust in one swipe. ha! gotcha! and sweeper heavy duty cloths lock away twice as much dirt and dust. it gets stuff deep in the grooves other tools can miss. y'know what? my place... is a lot cleaner now. stop cleaning. start swiffering.

bye, mom. thanks for breakfsat, mom. with quality ingre nutella is sure to bring a smile to breakfast time. in today's top stories, michael cohen is ready to testify. president trump's former lawyer and longtime fixer has agreed to a public hearing before the house oversight committee next wednesday. the news comes after a judge

agreed to postpone the start of cohen's prison stint for 60 days while he recovers from shoulder surge. he must now report may 6th. meantime roger stone is due back in court today. he was ordered to appear after he posted an image on instagram mondayf crosshairs near her head. he later apologized. op> big name brands are pulling le networks on the website. disney, nestle, and mcdonald's have suspended advertising in the wake of the controversy. some are using video time stamps and the comments section to objectify children. in a statement, youtube said it took immediate action by deleting accounts and channels. privacy concerns over google's nest home security systems. it turns out a hidden microphone which can be used to access other google devices. but google never told anybody

about it. the company telds business insider the mic was never intended to be a secret and should have been disclosed. a little minor detail. a little asterisk there on the packaging to let everybody know. americans hings people need to curse having to shovel all the snow this week, nbc's gadi schwartz shows us a unique sport that turns those shovels into a daredevil's dream. >> reporter: in the mountains of new mexico, fearless riders sitting on something that's pretty groundbreaking. >> good to go. >> reporter: these are the 40th annual world championship shovel races at angel fire mountain. here's 9-year-old charles with the scoop on how it works. >> go as fast as you can to win the race. >> reporter: all you need is a normal shovel with a lot of wax. >> you need a little special sauce just to get you out of the gate a little faster. >> reporter: this is one of last year's champions, jackson. his strategy, don't crash.

>> i skid if i hit the walls. >> reporter: every year, there are some spectacular wipeouts. >> oh, my god, that was brutal. >> reporter: a tradition dating back to the '70s and chair lift operators having a little fun after work. we call it the poor man's luge. this man has been racing since 1981. >> i'm trying to pass the torch to the new generation because it's just so a $500 grand prize and bragging rights. until the next batch of champions shovel off at full speed. gadi schwartz, nbc news. i'm frances rivera. i'm frances rivera. >> and'm mar i li♪ fresh, fresh as the ocean breeze, fresh as the waves... ♪ guys, i love that it smells fresh like the beach so fresh but i'm trying to read shhh ♪ ooooo air wick, new pure beach escapes

we need to find the hidden world. woo hoo! we have one shot at this. i thought this was supposed to be a "stealth mission." yep, we forgot to fire proof his butt. i thought this was supposed to be a "[ screaming ion." show them what you've got, bud. [ mumbling ] wow. sorry we're late for the party. [ screaming ] [ bleat ] february 21st. ad lib live picture - bay bridge to you. taking a live look outside the bay bridge. nice and clear for us this morning. what a great day to be here on a thursday. and a good morning to you.

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. let's talk about the forecast. >> it's breezy after the cold front moved through. we're feeling cooler temperatures. we're back in the mid-30s as you head out the door in the north inner bay as well asi-valley. south bay. them as we get a look outside, we've had a couple of sprinkles ayving by south b clearing out. low 40s heading into the low 50s by noon today. it will be a cool