/s it may be mid april, but a treacherous spring storm is bringing fire and ice to millions. causing closures at several airports. we have the late e. >> the attorney general drops a bombshell saying the trump campaign was spied upon and the purg at homeland continues. but who is really running the department? >> frankly, there's only one person that's running it. you know who that is? it's me. >> a massive explosion rocks downtown durham. this morning we will get the latest on what caused this deadly blast. >> the jeopardy juggernaut continues with the phenom james adding another 50 grand as he approachesd of

one of the kickoff national petht now. day. show them some love as we >> good thursday morning. i'm pll vera. we are following a historic springtime storm sweeping across the country. in the central plains, states still recovering from the last bomb cyclone are seeing blizzard conditions. up to 2 feet of snow could fall in colorado where they've already reported over 9 inches. we did find someone who is super excited about snow in april. look at this guy. golden rye treefr having a great time in minnesota where they could feel the impact of this storm until at least tomorrow morning. >> many areas are being hit with powerful winds. in northwest kansas, slick conditions and strong gusts led to numerous accidents like this u.p.s. truck that careened off a bridge. the driver did walk away unhurt. then to the south where high winds prompted the national weather service to issue an extremely critical fire risk. officials in palm springs reported a brush fire that

burned 40 acres. about 20 homes had to be evacuated. and a dust devil was caught on camera in fairfield, you can see a man there getting swept up and twirled around in that noby at that park was injured. let's get right over to meteorologist bill karins who is tracking all of that for us this morning. bill? >> well, good morning. the peak of the storm is going to be today. we're watching it rapidly developing into what will eventually be another bomb cyclone. we are seeing six states that are blizzard warnings. almost all of south dakota where interstate 90 is closed. they're telling people stay where you are, don't get trapped on the roads. the winds are going to start picking up dramatically today. we'll get the blowing and drifting of the snow. this is the additional snowfall forecast. and anywhere from here through central minnesota, that's still another foot to a foot and a half of snow on top of what's already on the ground in many areas. notice that minneapolis is kind of right on the edge of the heavy snow. right now we're thinking somewhere total 6 to 8 inches by the time it's all said and done. we mentioned airports at the top of the show, minneapolis

obviously today huge problems. and also windy conditions even for chicago with thunderstorms as we go throughout the next 24 hours. >> a whole lot getting impacted by that. thank you, bill. a powerful explosion that rocked durham, north carolina is under investigation this morning. officials say firefighters were responding to a gas leak when the explosion took place, leveling a building and showering the streets with debris. 61-year-old carl lee died in the blast. six more people are in it critical condition this morning. one is recovering in a burn center and several others have been treated. we go now to nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: frances, multiple city blocks here in downtown rh search and recovery operation is underway. witnesses say that they didn't just hear this massive explosion. they felt it around the city. the blast shook downtown durham. >> we got a big gas expln. >> reporter: thick smoke billowing into the air. >> we need at least a couple blocks closed down. >> reporter: witnesses not only saw it, but felt it.

>> the whole apartment shook. debris from the ceilings like fell down. the windows blew out. >> reporter: listen closely. this security camera nearby captured the moment of impact. >> it was just a really loud boom and you could hear the explosion all the way on the other side of town. >> reporter: at least one person was killed. 17 others were injured, including a firefighter. >> gas leak was caused by a contractor who was boring under the sidewalk. he hit a 2-inch gas line. an explosion occurred which actually caused a partial building collapse. >> reporter: it's the latest gas explosion to rip through a populated area. in february a blast in san francisco damaged five buildings and shot a tower of flames into the sky. last year dozens of explosions erupted in three towns just north of boston. and in 2013, at least 14 people were hurt when several buildings ignited in kansas city. experts say any time you smell gas, evacuate and call 911 immediately. also, you can buy a methane gas

detector at home improvement stores. >> there's going to be hot spots for a while. we're going to have smoke and steam awhile. >> reporter: authorities are searching for any more survivors and say parts of downtown will be closed for days. frances, what's incredible is this could have been even more deadly. authorities got the first call about the gas leak around 9:30, but the actual explosion didn't happen until about half hour later. they were able to quickly evacuate people during those crucial minutes. frances? >> so important, gabe. thank you. >> there are new devop the nationwide fight against the measles outbreak. hundreds of cases are spreading throughout the country, and now there is a spike in measles infections in new york city. eight new cases confirmed, all linked to . here's otop measles from spreading further. >> reporter: new york's westchester county, home to the nation's latest measles out break. eight cases including six siblings from six months to 14 years old.

two requiring hospitalization. >> i've had people tell me there's no measles here so why should i vaccinate? well, hello, today we have measles. >> reporter: why are measles so contagious? spread by droplets, the virus can live in a room for up to two hours after the infected person has left. that person is contagious for four days before the red rash appears, and four days after. nine out of ten people who were not immune and exposed will get the disease. what would you say to a reluctant parent? >> your child's biggest risk is from getting measles if they aren't vaccinated. and i can guarantee you that if hey aret the measles, t going to be ahance that they co die. >> reporter: teresa ward was one f those parents two youngest changed her mind. seeing so many so sick with preventable diseases. >> i don't want to suffer. we don't want disease. it's just a step in that direction. >> reporter: a dane donald trump's uptick in a disease science has already conquered. ann thompson, nbc news, white

plains, new york. >> president trump is setting his sights on the mueller probe or more specifically the start of the investigation. he once again claimed total exoneration on wednesday, but said that the investigation was an attempted coup. this after a bombshell from his attorney general. during a senate hearing, william barr suggested that american intelligence agencies spied on the 2016 trump campaign. >> i think there was a spying did occur, yes, i think spying did occur. spying on a political campaign is a big deal. >> nbc's tracie sro emocrats over those is there evidence? we don't know. barr said there was some basis suggest this with no evidence. for his suggestion tther that b. he said he's not investigating the fbi. it is an internal review, and that the inspector general should have a report on that sometime in may or june. we are also following this interesting news about former obama white house counsel greg

craig. according to his attorneys, he may be indicted for his consulting work with ukraine. if that sounds familiar, it's the same thing that got former national security advisor michael flynn in hot water. here's craig about to face that indictment. and we are following all of the resignations in the department of homeland security. president trump asked whether his advisor stephen miller should be running the agency. s your homeland security. have you ever thought amaking s. representative? >> steven is an excellent guy. he's a wonderful person. people don't know him. he's a -- been with mero beginning. he's a brilliant man. and frankly, there's only one person that's running it. you know who that is? it's me. >> reporter: so now you know. now, there are six top spots in the department of homeland

security that are currently open. they are filled with acting officials, secretaries, deputy secretaries, commissioners, but not people who have been confirmed by the senate. >> all right, tracie potts for us. tracie, thank you. >> john legend and chrissy tiegen made a big splash at the annual house democratic caucus retreat. >> if there was one word you would help particularly women use more frequently, what would that one word be? >> [ bleep ] you. >> you can see there they did not hold anything back when i tiegen and legend are both long-time supporters of the democratic party. tiegen also spoke emotionally about trump's policies on family separation for immigrants. the subject is a soft spot for her whose mother is from thailand. >> a major weapons bust out of new jersey, authorities say there were three people who were driving a brightly colored tonka truck with knives and ballistic

le over the vehicle for a cracked windshield around 8:00 a.m. near the new jersey side of the holland tunnel on tuesday. that's when they discovered what was inside, an arsenal of weapons including two long range weapons as well as five handguns, multiple knives and body armour. a law enforcement official said they found drugs. officials say the three suspects are so-called gun enthusiasts and were not linked to terrorism. >> a new push by new york state officials is urgently warning distracted drivers to be careful. after one motorist was caught on camera plowing into the back of a truck and then flipping over onto the median. the new york department of transportation posted this video to twitter message about just how dangerous distracted driving can be. no word yet if there were any major injuries from that crash. >> seems like we'reabout distra. let's check back with bill karins and see what we can expect with more of these storms. >> travel issues because the wind will be big. we dropped a lot of high wind warnings.

we have a few left in kansas and colorado. wind advisories extend in the midwest and ohio valley. 30 million people affected by that. this is going to be the peak wind throughout the day today. the worst ben bernanke on the northwest side of the blizzard. north platt to minnesota with gusts up to 16 miles per hour. of course with it a lot of airport delays and low visibility. a lot are saying don't travel if you don't have to in areas of south dako andtaill windy and wf texas. yesterday the dust was unbelievable. when we come back, we'll give you your weekend forecast. it features another big storm. this one could have tornadoes. we'll give you the details coming up. >> bill, thank you. fast forwarding into your day, we will remember explain rapper and community activist nipsey hussle. the staple center in downtown

los angeles is hosting nipsey hussle's celebration of life. b.e.t. will broadcast the 1:00 p.m. service live as well as stream it on its website. >> a senate hearing is looking to get rid of robocalls. they will give an update on the efforts. >> a rocket launch at 6:35 p.m. eastern, high winds at the kennedy space center forced the company to scrub the launch yesterday. we'll be right back. cuz i'm way. 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.! 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. 98% of us don't get enough omega-3s. which is why megared advanced 4in1 packs more omega-3 power into one small softgel.

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leading the news, the national enquirer is on the chopping block. parent company american media is exploring the sale of that and several other tabloids. according to the "washington post," the pressure comes from the company's board of directors. their concern with the financial difficulties of the tabloid business and the enquirer's reporting practices. >> the lawyers for patriots owner robert kraft continue to push back against the release of the massage parlor videos. his lawyers believe the footage prosecutors say show the billionaire soliciting a prostitute would irreparably

harm mr. craft. the businessman and sports team owner a owner is one of dozens charged with soliciting prostitution in florida. there would be no way the 77-year-old could get a fair trial. kraft denies all allegations and is looking for a jury trial. a hearing about those videos set for tomorrow. >> all right. if you're wondering if your amazon smart device is actually listening to you, the answer is yes. somebody actually is. several employees reportedly told bloomberg news that dozens of amazon employees from around the world listen to voice recordings taken by amazon's echo systems in order to improve alexa. so once the team listens to the voice recordings, they are transcribed, annotated and fed back into the software. it's part of an effort to eliminate gaps in alexa's understanding of human speech. but here's the important part. you can opt out. amazon says alexa's privacy settings allows users to disable the use of their voice recordings. they don't make that the default

setting. they have to make you go out of your way and figure it out and, you know, turn it off. >> i can't say any of us are surprised to hear that. we always thought alexa was listening. the 2019 wnba draft kicked off wednesday night in new york city. it was a spectacular evening for notre dame. they lost the national championship game but they gained a whole lot here. junior guard jackie young was the number one overall pick by the las vegas aces. she becomes the second irish player to be drafted first. the first four of more of her fighting irish teammates to be drafted. liberty took asia. a 5'10" guard from louisville. followed by selections from indiana fever and chicago sky. >> still ahead, the jeopardy juggernaut continues to steam roll the competition and rack up more money faster than anyone in history. those details next. care routine without sacrificing results? try olay total effects for a 7-in-1 solution.

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i'm camping on this stage until bgs gets here. >> pick a favorite. >> the others would find out and they would feel hurt. >> love it. emma stone and the women of snl getting hyped up to see bts perform. and we're all excited here at 30 rock. he returns this weekend for a fourth time. >> she just needs one more and gets one of those cool smoking jackets when you're a five timer. >> the jeopardy contestant who won a record $110,000 in just

one game of jeopardy continues his hot streak and his birthday shout outs. >> jeff? yes, and happy birthday. pete, is that going to be the wager? let's see. the 21st of january -- >> no, november 22nd is the closest i could get. >> james holzhauer add $54,000 to his grand total. now sits a hair below $300,000 in just five days, and that puts him at number eight on the list of top jeopardy winners. pete is going to want some nice birthday gift on top of the shout out. lot of cash. >> he's going to be able to afford that. some sports fans have it worse than others. way and now we know who's got it worse as espn comes out with its rankings of the most miserable fan bases in sports. they rank the list based on things like championships, playoff wins, and those heart breaking losses. all of the sacramento kings fans know what we're talking about. they come out as most miserable

in all of pro sports. they're followed by the san diego padres, buffalo bills and the florida panthers. it's no surprise who is on the other end of the fan spectrum. of course, the patriots who have the happiest fan base in all of sports on the heels are the warriors, penguins and the spurs. >> bill karins is back there. what about the new york jets? new york jets fans haven't won -- he's like this is the year. probably not, bill. probably not. >> the hope is there. >> just ahead, is this the luckiest shot of all-time? you be the judge next on "early today." 25% of your mouth.

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right now - at kohl's. here it is. possibly the luckiest penalty kick ever. a young soccer player in mexico kicked the ball, it hit the goal post, flew up in the air, bounced back down into the net. >> that's crazy. check in now -- >> come on. >> got one job. >> exactly. let's bet into the weekend forecast. watching friday the snow and the wind from today exiting. storms in the deep south continues into there o "early today." and you look amazingly comfortable. when your v-neck looks more like a u-neck... and you look amazingly comfortable. try downy fabric conditioner. unlike detergent alone, downy helps prevent stretching by conditioning and smoothing fibers,

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1947, jackie robinson played in his first kbibttion game with the dodgers, taking on the yankees at ebb its field. he would go on to shatter the color barrier in his regular season debut just four days later. and in 1981, president reagan returned to work at the white house just 12 days after he was wounded in an assassination attempt by john hinckley, jr. >> next a story that some of our more squeamish viewers may want to be aware of. doctors in taiwan say they found four bees in a woman's eye and they were feeding on her tears. they originally thought it was an infection experiencing stinging pain. the woman said that she was pulling out weeds at a family member's grave when she got dirt in her eye. the bees were reportedly removed alive and the patient is expected to make a full recovery. so many questions, right? >> yeah. >> wouldn't she think there's a massive bulge in your eye? >> when you have a hive in your eye, i would say you would notice. my god. we don't have enough time to

delve into all the questions we have. police arrested a suspect in connection to the fires that destroyed three historically black churches in louisiana. saint mary's baptist church, greater union baptist church and mount pleasant baptist church were all destroyed. police haven't released the suspects' identity but will announce later at a news conference this morning. they will investigate whether the fires were intentionally set for racism or extremism. >> the top selling f-series trucks recall affects 327,000 trucks and covers f-150s from 2015 to 2019. as well as super duty trucks from 2017 through 2019. the company recalled over 800,000 trucks in december. ford says owners took trucks to dealers for the fix, but an inspection may have inadvertently damaged the cables. the company says all owners will get new cables when parts are available. >> there may be one of the

kardashians following in her famous father's footsteps. kim kardashian west has announced her plans to become a lawyer in the state of california. this comes months after public involvement in high-profile legal work. the reality star and business woman said in an interview with vogue she plans to take the bar exam in 2022. she added that this came after a long reflection and a four-year apprenticeship that she began with the law firm in san francisco just last summer. california happens to be one of four states that do not require law school before taking the bar. >> all right. well, her dad, i'm sure, is smiling from above. >> proud. >> today is national pet day. what better way to celebrate than with viewer photos. kerry from illinois sent us this picture of ike and macy lounging on the recliner. buddy the dog spends time riding around with luke and los angeles. heather is refbing her sweet cat charlie. charlie. he loves to nap.

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let's start our day with a live look outside. ah, the gore gus golden gate bridge, it's illuminated through the evening. we'll check the morning commute. thank you so much for joining us, i'm laura garzia. >> i'm marcus washington. let's find what we can spee with that clouds, in walnut creek, those clouds have not arrived. >> that will keep our temperatures down as well. we are heading into the upper 60s in san jose, 68 in