this is a public health crisis. we must do everything in our power to end this outbreak. >> measles outbreak. as of midnight, just a few hours ago, a state of emergency prohibits unvaccinated children under 18 from going to public places in rockland, new york. but that's not all. i've been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. >> if you want to say you're innocent of a situation, then you take your day in court. i would never, if someone falsely accused me, i would never hide behind a brokered deal in secrecy, period. >> "empire" actor jussie smollett all dropped by the prosecutor. he was not exonerated by

received a virtual slap on the wrist instead as the fbi continues their investigation. arobocalls. plus a new globetrotters trick shot to share with you as we kick off a wednesday. "early today" starts right now. hey there. good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> great to be with you. i'm frances rivera. we are now seeing an unprecedented response to the growing measles outbreaks. health officials are pleading with parents to get their children vaccinated as outbreaks are now being felt across 15 states. a very hard-hit county north of new york city has even declared an emergency and is banning unvaccinated kids from public places. nbc's rehema ellis has more. >> this is a public health crisis. >> reporter: officials are now taking drastic action after a record 153 measles cases in new york's rockland county since last outbreak. >> reporter: as of midnight, a

state of emergency will prohibit unvaccinated children under 18 from going as stores, restaurants, and schools. this woman has worried her toddler is vulnerable. do you think this is appropriate, or is it too drastic? >> when other people aren't vaccinating their children, it's putting my children at risk. >> reporter: measles are so contagious, the virus can linger up to two hours even after an infected person leaves the area. officials say they won't be checking vaccination cards, but instead hope the mere threat of criminal penalties will make more parents vaccinate their children. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. there has been a major development in a case that has captivated the country. chicago prosecutors have dropped all 16 charges against "empire" actor jussie smollett weeks after he was indicted for on himself. the decision has left both chicago's mayor and police superintendent bewildered and angry.

nbc's miguel almaguer has this report. >> i've been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. >> reporter: jussie smollett breaking his silence minutes after cook county prosecutors dropped all criminal charges in exchange for two days of community service and $10,000 in court costs. >> this has been an incredibly difficult time, honestly one of the worst of my entire life. >> reporter: in a stunning move, the "empire" actor, who was arrested for orchestrating a fake hate crime, will now have his criminal case wiped clean. but the lead prosecutor says dropping the charges does not mean he did nothing wrong. >> he is not a victim of a hate crime. >> reporter: in a statement, the prosecutor added, we stand behind the chicago police department's investigation and our decision to approve charges in this case. we did not exonerate mr. smollett. but chicago's top cop, who's outraged, says he was blindsided by the news. >> if you want to say you're innocent of a situation, then you take your day in court.

i would never, if someone falsely accused me, i would never hide behind a brokered deal in secrecy, period. >> reporter: the mayor also blasting the prosecutor's office for fumbling what he saw as a trial headed for conviction. >> this is without a doubt a whi whitewash of justice and sends a clear message that if you're in a position of influence and power, you'll get treated one way. other people will be treated another way. >> reporter: it was just three weeks ago smollett was indicted by a grand jury on 16 felony counts for lying to police. >> the grand jury heard a sliver of the evidence a >> reporter: with the case now police department excepts. >> reporter: on j smollett told police he was beaten on this chicago street by two masked men who yelled "this is maga country," poured a chemical on him, and left a noose around his neck. police say the hoax was carried out for publicity to boost his

profile. but their case and the 16-count felony indictment is now gone. >> now i'd like nothing more than to just get back to work and move on with my life. >> is there no decency in this man? this is a person now who has been let off scot-free with no sense of accountability of the moral and ethical wrong of his actions. >> reporter: the legal trouble for jussie smollett may not be over. the actor still faces federal charges for allegedly mailing himself a fake death threat. but this is a stunning twist in this case no matter which way you look at it. phillip? >> got that right. miguel almaguer, thank you. just shortly afteror mcgregor mtial "the new york times" reports ove sexual assault.estigating arts. according to their sources, the fighter is accused ofua assaulting a woman in december at the beacon hotel in dublin, a known hot spot for ireland's best known sports figures and multi-millionaires. joining us now with the latest details is chapman bell.

what more do we know? >> reporter: good morning, frances. what we have to say now is "the new york times" is reporting that ufc star conor mcgregor is under investigation in ireland after a woman accused him of sexual assault in december, citing four people familiar with the investigation. it's important, though, to point out that mcgregor has not been charged with a crime. the story says he was arrested in january and questioned by law enforcement authorities and released pending further investigation. as you pointed out, this news comes just after he appeared to announce his retirement from hey,decided to retire from the sport. i wish my colleagues going saying, this story has been circulating for some time and it's unclear conner's being reported n retirement today is related to this rumor is absolutely false. should connor fight in the future -- irish police have told nbc news that they do not comment on named individuals and at this time investigations are

ongoing in relation to this case. a file has not been forwarded to the director of public prosecutions. frances. >> chapman, thank you. the battle over the mueller report is raging on capitol hill as democrats fight to see the full findings from the special counsel. and this morning a time line is starting to take shape. senate judiciary chairman lindsey graham met with attorney generalil lt night and says he expects the public to see the mueller report within weeks, not months. senator graham also confirmed the white house will not get a copy in advance. >> he decided that the white house is okay with releasing it without looking at it. >> the president? >> yeah, i talked to him just a few minutes ago, the president. and he said let it out. >> tonight lester holt will sit down with former fbi director james comey for his first interview since the conclusion of the mueller po scored another victory tuesday as the house failed to override his veto, keeping the national emergency order over the border wall in place. and on the other side of the

building, the senate failed to advance the green new deal proposed by congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez. top democrats decried it as a sham vote, but several moderates in the party joined republicans to vote against the ambitious proposal to combat climate change. and republican senator mike lee took it one step further by going prehistoric.uc to do with overcoming communism in the 20th century as the green new deal has to do with overcoming climate change in the 21st. >> ocasio-cortez clapped back on twitter, saying if this guy can be senator, you can do anything. this morning, the trump administration is gearing up for its next big fight, which is a lot like an old one. in a newly released letter, the justice department says obamacare should be thrown out in its entirety. if thishallenge is successful, more than 20 million people will lose their health care.

but president trump did hit at a potential replacement to the affordable care act. >> let me just tell you exactly what my message is. the republican party will soon be known as the party of health care. you watch. >> that's what he said. he did not give any further details, though. the top democrats sense an opening from the move. health care helped propel the party to big gains in the house during the 2018 midterms. a boeing 737 max 8 jet without passengers aboard made an emergency landing in orlando tuesday. it's the same plane that's been grounded following two deadly air disasters. this comes as hundreds of pilots and executives are converging on seattle to hear firsthand from boeing about an urgent fix for those 737 max planes. nbc's tom costello is there. >> reporter: an emergency landing involving a 737 max, a plane without passengers being ferried to california had to return to orlando after an engine problem. >> we just lost our right

engine. >> reporter: everyone onboard safe. under faa rules, a grounded max can be ferried across country if it's flying without passengers. meanwhile in seattle, boeing has been putting 737 max pilots through simulators, recreating the mcas software failure suspected of forcing down the nose of lion air flight 610. "the new york times" reports the pilot tsz in the simulators had just 40 seconds to override the malfunctioning system to avert disaster and they knew what to expect. the lion air pilots did not. now boeing is prepared to show 200 airline executives and pilots the urgent software fix not yet approved by the faa. >> i don't see that the airplane will probably be returned to service for at least several weeks. >> reporter: the faa and boeing now say that on january 21st, boeing submitted a preliminary software upgrade package to the faa for approval, but that was not yet approved by the time of the ethiopian airliner crash nearly two months later. and they say they do expect a

final software application upgrade to be coming out sometime this week. meanwhile, we can tell you that members of the house and senate will today put both the transportation secretary and the fae chief on the hot seat as they find out more about the faa approval process. >> still a lot of questions out there. tom, thank you. a major shake-up in the nfl. team owner reviews ps interference penalties. that includes non-calls like this one, that famous call that likely cost the saints a trip to the super bowl. meanwhile, league commissioner roger goodell also delayed any decision on patriots owner robert kraft, who is accused of soliciting prostitutes at a spa in florida. >> the personal conduct policy applies to everybody, commissioners, owners, executives, players, coaches. and it will be applied to everybody. but it will be done after we get all the facts. >> kraft pleaded not guilty yesterday. let's see how we're doing

weather-wise midweek. here's nbc meteorologist janessa webb. good morning. >> you see all this yellow. that's good news here. that's going to spread to the east. we're still off to a cool start mid-atlantic to the northeast. daytime highs are only in the mid-40s here. hold on. you can see it makes its way across the midwest and northeast as we go into the weekend. alaska, yes, i see you. you're seeing record-high temperatures once again. look at anchorage, sunny and clear start for the northeast and mid-atlantic. seeing record highs in alaska. i promise you they are in shorts and t-shirts right now. >> that's home for you. you know how they're going to roll. thank you, janessa. take a look now at our shot of the day.

♪ harlem the moving roller coaster at the mall of america in minneapolis. this is the first time the shot has been made in the globetrotters' 93-year history. >> banked it in. nice shot there. just ahead, the 750 million reasons to pick up a powerball ticket today. and why your facebook friend list might be a little thinner this morning. but there's one... that blows them all out of the water. hydro boost water gel from neutrogena®. with hyaluronic acid... it goes beneath the surface to plump skin cells from within and lock in hydration. leaving skin so supple, it actually bounces back. the results will blow you away. and now for your body... new hydro boost gel cream from neutrogena® new hydro boost gel cream ♪ when you have nausea,

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dropped 17% in 2018 to an avera average. still, that is double the income of the average american household. time to make some money. tonight's powerball jackpot is worth a staggering three quarters of a billion dollars. look at that c billion. >> it justeeps on growing. still to come, snl hasthing you. we've got a preview. and becoming a best-seller. the milestone for former first lady michelle obama and her memoir. hope you stay with us. charmin ultra soft!

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hi. i'm sandra oh, and i am hosting snl this week. i'm about to cry. i think i just peed a this week. maybe i'll stand somewhere. hi, i'm sandra oh. i'mlll returns this week with hg eve mid season. i need to get on it. i need to get past that. >> i haven't even started it. >> it's huge. it's making her. >> can't wait to see what they're going to do with all that's been happening in the news lately. >> there's so much, right? from first lady to best-selling author. michelle obama's memoir, "becoming" is on its way to becoming one of the most successful memoirs in history. the company announced tuesday that the book has sold nearly 10 million copies globally since being released in november.

it's the number one cover nonfiction best-seller on "the new york times" list and is currently number five on amazon. a research company said it is the second highest selling biography sold in the u.s. behind eat, pray, love. i can believe it. you're on planes, trains, wherever you're atou grays too. she is on now to a reveal that has rocked the k-pop community. toy maker mattel took inspiration from the looks in this music video from south korea's super group bts and they created a line of dolls that will reportedly be released in september. the boy band's army of fans flooded social media with mixed reaction. many supportive, but there's been a lot of criticism about the hairstyles. what do you think? bts is currently on a world tour and recently announced that their next album is coming out on april 12th. >> i think they look like the characters from team america world police. remember that? >> appellayou made it when you e

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in our top stories, former vice president joe biden is expressing regret over the supreme court confirmation hearings for clarence thomas and the treatment of anita hill, who came forward with allegations of sexual harassment. >> we knew a lot less about the extent of harassment back then, over 30 years ago. but she paid a terrible price. she was abused through the hearing. she was taken advantage of. her reputation was attacked. >> biden, who was then the senate judiciary chairman, has been repeatedly criticized over the hearings. he's recognized hill's bravery during the biden courage awards ceremony. a major health scare for

dallas cowboys legend michael irvin. he spent two days in the hospital undergoing tests for throat cancer. the former wide receivee lost his voice cheering after the cowboys beat the saints back in november. well, the problem persisted, so the three-time super bowl champion had a biopsy this week. the 53-year-old said he's terrified since his father passed away at a young age from throat cancer. no word yet on the results. pregnant women who work nights may have a greater risk of mischarge. that's according to a new study out of denmark. the research shows that after week eight of pregnancy, women who work two or more night shifts in a week are 32% more likely to miscarry the following week compared to day shift workers. exposure to light at night has been linked to a decrease in melatonin which is believed to support a healthy pregnancy. if you are one of the millions of people sick and tired of those robocalls constantly flooding your cell phone, the feds and the wireless companies say they hear

as nbc's kevin tibbles reports, there's a new way to fight back. >> reporter: the scourge of every american. >> no one has ever liked them. >> reporter: 5 billion robocalls bombarding us every month. some offer us fake debt relief or fake warranties. >> i just wish they would stop. >> reporter: but the ftc announced it hit back, cracking down on four separate illegal operations, including one masquerading as a veterans charity. >> please consider donating to veterans of america. >> these robocalls tell them they would be giving the money to charity and that wasn't true. >> reporter: these operators are now banned, but the ftc adds. >> we don't think there's any magic bullet to this problem. >> reporter: this comes at at&t and verizon will soon offer free call blocking tools to help stop the calls from coming in. but as with any come-on sales pitch, the ftc says if you don't know who it is, hang up. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago.

>> that is annoying. >> a lot of us don't even answer our phones. that's another reason not to. >> thanks for waking up with us. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. >> i'm frances rivera. the news ctinues right honer how's your cough? i'm good. i took 12-hour mucinex and sent it far away.

hey buddy, have you seen a nice woman with a cough? woahhh! mucinex dm releases fast and lasts 12-hours, not 4. send coughs far away all day. the north bay right now -- but at some point every area here and a good wednesday morning to you. right now that rain coming back down. you soo he it right there in the north bay, but at some point every person here in the bay area will experience some type of rain in their lives today. a live look at our doppler radar powered by storm ranger. we've seen that rain coming down a second time good mork. i'm marcus washington. >> i going to be more saturdayed today. evnorth bay, not everyone is seeing the rain coming down. it's going to be very hit or