declaring all those affected areas are now and will remain under a state of emergency as we go about completing the assessments. >> severe storms claiming multiple lives over the weekend. as tornadoes touched down in the south destroying businesses and homes along the path. >> president trump says the u.s. has the legal right to apprehend and relocate illegal immigrants across the u.s. >> tiger woods wows millions across the globe with a career comeback story for the ages. >> and "game of thrones" fans, this is for you, in addition to watching the series, how would you like to live it, too?

we'll tell you where that's happening. "early today" starts right now. >> good monday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. we are following yet another round of extreme weather. a spring struggles to get under way, chicago experiences one of its snowy est days late in the season. some areas recorded more than 5 inches of snow. >> meanwhile small towns across the south are working to recover this morning. there have been at least seven confirms deaths after a powerful storm swept through the region. for more we go to nbc's tammy leitner. >> wraparound. >> reporter: as the skies opened up, cecil and his family linked arms and prayed. >> the goof was gone. the wall was laid out. i didn't go through the front door. it was already there. >> reporter: his grandson 6-year-old malachi was scared for his life. >> the house started moving and then i was just crying. i thought my mom was gonna get hit by the tornado. >> reporter: cecil's home, one of 75 buildings destroyed, when at least two tornadoes pummeled

tiny alto, texas. >> i've been here all my life and it's hard. >> reporter: for chief jeremy jackson, it was personal. >> we couldn't protect them. it was out of our hands. >> reporter: 50 people injured here. 50 miles away another twister him. hymns for jason dylan creel, brothers who died when a fallen tree crushed their car. the local pastor sharing their family's heart break. >> they're hurting, no doubt. as i talked to the grandfather this morning, he said god's still good. >> reporter: nearby, franklin, texas, was devastated, too. mississippi wasn't spared, getting heavy tornadoes and rain. in troy, alabama, aftermath from another possible tornado. back here in texas, as the storms continue moving north, this community determined to rebuild. >> it's not going to be what i know, but we'll make it.

>> reporter: we were here with the homeowners yesterday, and we now have a better idea of the widespread destruction. we've gotten confirmation of yet another tornado in shelby, ohio. phillip and frances? >> tammy, thank you. >> for the latest let's say good morning to janessa webb. hello. >> tough weekend for all across the south. now we are taking a look at the mid-atlantic as severe storms continue to roll through. we have a squall line that is forming from the mid-atlantic to the northeast. unfortunately, and that is causing a tornado watch to be issued. from the carolinas to new york until of a.m., this is a very strong line of storms here. potential damaging winds and an isolated tornadoes. as it continues to make its way across the northeast, it will definitely lose its force. it's going to cause areas to see minor flooding potentially a half an inch. this has been a strong storm system and it's not letting up

just yet. >> all right, janessa, thank you so much for the update. >> president trump is using tax day to tap the republicans tax reform law. he will head to minnesota this morning for a business round table as part of a push to make the new tax law a cornerstone of his reelection campaign alongside immigration. meanwhile democrats are pushing back against the president's proposal of sending asylum seeking migrants to sanctuary cities around the country. nbc's kelly o'donnell has more. >> reporter: a destination detour for central american migrants. a debate ignited by the president, who claimed the absolute legal right to relocate, apprehended illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities, places where local authorities do not enforce federal immigration laws. typically in democratic strong holds. president trump, who visited his private virginia golf club, teed off, adding, we here by demand that they be taken care of at the highest level, especially by

the state of california. press secretary sarah sanders pulled back to describe the idea as simply an option under consideration. >> we don't want to put all of the burden on one or two border communities, and democrats have stated time and time again they support open borders. they support sanctuary cities, so let's spread out some of that burden and let's put it in some of those locations. >> reporter: seattle is among the abc news's sanctuary cities. mary jenny >> derek: entells nbc news migrants are welcome and the president's words are no threat. >> we will not let this president demon eyes people or marginal ize them and treat them as if they are a commodity to be shipped from place to place. we must deal with this humanely. >> reporter: but put willingness aside, democrats argue president trump cannot legally pay for migrant relocation. >> the president has no right to spend money appropriated by congress for other purposes to ship immigrants all over the country. >> he's using the immigrants as pawns in his political game of

chess. he's not really interested in a solution. >> reporter: and an unusual kind of rebuke on a separate issue, house speaker nancy pelosi accused president trump of hateful rhetoric that creates real danger for minnesota congresswoman ilhan omar. pelosi is demanding the president delete his tweet that links omar, who is muslim, talking about 9/11, to graphic images of those attacks. the speaker said she asked law enforcement to assess the congresswoman's security and monitor threats she faces. frances? >> kelly o'donnell for us. kelly, thank you. >> it is patriots day, or as it's known to the world's most elite runners, marathon monday. in just hours, over 30,000 athletes will set off for their 123rd boston marathon. and as if running 26.2 miles isn't grueling enough, rain is expected to put a damper on this morning's race. the marathon is always held on patriot's day commemorating the

first war. they are racing to finish their taxes. it's tax day. unless you requested an extension, you need to file by the end of the day. >> it might go down as the greatest comeback in sports history. tiger woods is back on top after winning the masters, overcoming injury and scandal, to bring home his first major title in more than a decade. the golf legend secured his 5th green jacket and left legions of fans wondering what's next. kathy park has more on tiger's return to greatness. >> here it is. the rush return to glory. >> reporter: tiger is back, and he did it on the biggest stage in golf. woods winning at the masters for the fifth time. his first major championship victory in nearly 11 years, bringing fans to their feet. two shots back from the leaderboard, he didn't start the day swinging. but disaster on the 12th hole for player, after player gave

tiger the chance to drive ahead. the 2008 u.s. open was his last major title. and after four back surgeries and personal turmoil, it appeared his career had peaked, which he acknowledged. >> you never give up. that's a given. you always fight. >> reporter: but on the hallowed grounds of augusta, woods made history again. the first time he shared the moment with his father in 1997, an emotional moment echoed with his own children 22 years later. >> for them to see what it's like to have their dad win a major championship, i hope it's something they'll never forget. >> reporter: with his fifth green jacket, tiger is back on par to becoming the greatest of all time. kathy park, nbc news. >> hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in frankfurt, germany, because of a world war ii bomb. 600 people had to leave their homes when an unexploded 550

pound bomb was identified. they were evacuated to a shelter in city hall. they found the american-made bomb during a diving training. >> let's check back in with janessa webb for a check of the weather. good morning. >> off to a rough start. we're watching tornado watches across the mid-atlantic. to the northeast, we have a squall line that has already started to form. this tornado watch is in place from new york, washington, to the carolinas until 7:00 a.m. so currently we have 4 million under that flood watch throughout your morning here. we're going to see this front really pass fairly quickly. but behind it, northeast, ohio to pittsburgh, potentially could see we are drying out for the south and southeast.

so this really impacts the early morning commute. but by 10:00 a.m., i think we're really in the clear. >> all right, janessa, thanks. a story from your hometown. we have dozens of skiers who battled the elements as they battled the slush cup. the cup took place to see who could slide across the water without falling in. some people made it across the water just fine. others like that guy not so much. he >> never done that, janessa? >> she has no interest. >> just ahead, check your fridge. a major melon recall linked to salmonella. a harrowing rescue in d.c. how a good samaritan prevented a tragedy next. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics and cleans them away as it dries. use febreze every time you tidy up

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determine a cause ask say it's a possibility that it started with a golf cart. there are no reports of injuries. foreman did thank all of the firefighters on twitter, and said, don't worry, all is well. >> now to a consumer alert, you may want to check your fridge. there is a major recall of pre-cut melons after 93 people got infected with salmonella and 23 had to be hospitalized. so far the outbreak has spread to nine states. the dee distributor cato foods, llc, have urging people to throw away water melon, honeydew and cantaloupe. the number is on the screen. >> a rieder rushed to help a blind man to help a blind man before the train buld into the station. the passenger falls over the edge of the platform and into the tracks. they rush to pull him back to the platform. they managed to do that seconds before the train finally arrives at that station. he was taken to the hospital. thankfully he's expected to be

okay. >> wow. all right, bird owners, beware, authorities say a man in florida was killed by his casawary, a large flightless bird when the man fell on his property. they call it the world's most dangerous bird. they stand up to 6 feet tall. they weigh up to 130 pounds, and they have a four-inch dagger-like claw on each foot. the man in florida who is apparently breeding the birds was killed by the sharp talons likely. it is unclear, though, what happened to the bird. >> the worlds's largest plane just took its first flight. the strategy-o-launch is longer than a foot ball field. it has a wing span of 385 feet. it took off from mojave air and space port before landing safely. it is designed to carry loads of up to 650 tons it was founded by late microsoft co-founder paul allen in hopes to use the new plane to send small rockets with satellites into orbit. >> fascinating to look at this

thing. all right, still to come, why for profit colleges are accused of preying on our nation's heroes. vacation where the "game of thrones" fantasy becomes a reality. coming up here on "early today." whimper yap yap yap yip licking, scratching, scooting, and rubbing... may be signs of allergic itch, a medical condition that may require fast-acting, prescription apoquel. apoquel has helped over 6 million itchy dogs get the relief they deserve. apoquel goes right to the source of itch to provide relief in as little as four hours! woof because nothing should come between you and your furry friend... ...especially not allergic itch! apoquel is for the control of itch associated with allergic dermatitis and the control of atopic dermatitis in dogs. do not use apoquel in dogs less than 12 months old or those with serious infections. apoquel may increase the chance of developing serious infections and may cause existing parasitic skin infestations or pre-existing cancers to worsen. do not use in breeding, pregnant or lactating dogs.

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on this day in 1947, jackie robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball when he made his official debut as a brooklyn dodger on opening day

at ebbots field. every year major league celebrates jackie robinson day by wearing his number 42. >> here's a question for you. could for profit colleges be preying on the veterans admission in? vets say it received complaints saying they didn't receive a quality education after shelling out thousands of dollars from for profit schools. heidi przybyla investigates. >> reporter: after four tours of duty in iraq and afghanistan, sergeant figueroa was ready for a new career. >> i was always interested in becoming a cameraman or working in television. >> reporter: so he googled film schools, met with a recruiter from full sail university and enrolled. >> they said it was a top three school, film school in the united states. >> reporter: we found it was ranked number 50 here, though full sail told us it did rank in the top five on this list. 14 years ago. figueroa says the training wasn't worth it. >> a waste of time.

>> reporter: he's still paying back a $23,000 loan. taxpayers paid the rest, 46,000 through the g.i. bill. the v.a. has received 40 complaints about full sail. the school says any dissatisfied graduates can return and audit classes for free. >> the university is proud of our student veterans. >> reporter: dozens of other veterans have filed complaints about ashford university. >> so what we were are salespeople. >> reporter: eric dean recruited students for ashford. eight we were expected to make 100, 150 dials a day. >> reporter: when asked about graduation or employment rates? >> wouldn't lie, but we wouldn't tell them either. we would just say, well, you know, people go to other schools and drop out, but it's up to the individual to be successful in these endeavors, like education. >> reporter: the v.a. says over the last two years, ashford received more than 70 million taxpayer dollars. ashford says vets makeup only 8% of its enrollment and denies misleading prospective students. >> certainly they prey on veterans because they know these

future students come with cash, real cash. >> reporter: california attorney general xavier becerra is suing ashford for making false statements to students. he stepped in because education secretary betsy devos has not. devos has reversed regulations that reigned in the legislation. >> i'm not going to tell you the sector is perfect. this sector grew too much, too fast at the height of the recession. >> reporter: he says his schools don't target veterans. and believes for profit colleges were unfairly singled out by the obama administration. >> let's have one set of rules for all schools. >> reporter: secretary devos agrees and says schools should not be targeted because they're for profit. as for anders figueroa, he has found a new career, but not in television. he's now a wind turbine safety instructor. heidi przybyla, nbc news, washington. >> still ahead, legendary singer tina turner heads for the great

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date of november 7. that is just weeks before the legend's 80th birthday. >> nbc meteorologist janessa webb is back with us with our boston marathon forecast. >> have you run any marathons? >> no. >> it's very vital that the wind coops cooperates here. they want to bask in the sunshine. it's not going to happen this morning. we have a severe line of thunderstorms making its way through. no tornado watch for boston currently, and it does look like things will start to dry out before the start of the race. just maybe a few lingering showers. but temperatures are going to be in the 60s. this is really important. the winds are coming out of the south, so the runners are going to be able to run a little bit faster if you have a slower time by the end of that race, the west winds pick up. >> we're cheering them on, thank you. when we come back, living the fantasy. we'll take you inside the real life world of "game of thrones."

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last night, winter arrived in millions of homes as hbo premiered the first episode of "game of thrones." without giving away any spoilers, last night's episode has been well received with vulture calling it the best premiere of "game of thrones" since the pilot. rolling stone saying it was rousing, crowd pleasing and very funny. >> you may not know this, but a thriving tour i am snd stri has developed around the block buster series. nbc's kelly cobiella went to see it for herself in northern ireland. >> reporter: in the ancient forest of toly wort, figures emerge. they come from far away lands on

a pilgrimage to visit the sacred site where the dire wolves met in "game of thrones." they're call throners, passionate fans like melissa and rachel painter who traveled all the way from new jersey to northern ireland. >> season 8 is coming. this is the best "game of thrones" lives. >> reporter: castle ward, this is where it all began. tourists aiming to experience it in real life with real axes and arrows, taught by william vandekels. >> we're getting between 25 and 30,000 extra people coming along to do experiences. >> reporter: it's not just for visitors. one local told me if you see a guy with a beard, he's probably been in "game of thrones." in this country side, they shot for 25 days with 500 extras for one of the show's most epic battle scenes. the series has transformed this

corner of the world, creating a tv and film industry and boosting the local economy by nearly $280 million over the last decade. from the local jeweler who made the crowns. >> very amusing. >> reporter: to the inn where the cast stayed, now serving "game of thrones" banquets. life changing for so many. including molly metcalf, tour guide and an extra seen here in the final season's promo. >> you love "game of thrones" so much and it becomes part of your life. i think definitely there is a legacy left here now. >> when you play the "game of thrones," you win or you die. >> reporter: but here, the fantasy world lives on. kelly cobiella, nbc news, county down, northern ireland. >> "game of thrones," that's it, that's the setting. >> it's going to be tough now that it's done and all wrapped for the town. but there will be tourists. >> like "star wars," forever more there will be people heading out on that pilgrimage

to check it out. >> maybe a theme park. it can happen. >> invest now. >> thanks for waking up with us. i'm frances rivera. >> i'm phillip. savannah guthrie kicks off a week of series from her trave to ls

weekend tornadoes flatten towns across the lone star state. half a dozen killed in the aftermath. more nasty weather and travel delays ahead for the north and east travel delays ahead for the . >> we don't want to put all the burden on one or two border communities. democrats stated time and time again, they support open borders and sanctuary cities. let's spread that out. let's put in some other locations. >> the white house doing more than the idea of sending bus loads of them around the u.s. inside the world of julian assange. the first video