breaking overnight. police in colorado are desperately searching for this woman considered armed ask dangerous and obsessed with the columbine shooting 20 years ago. as area schools are suddenly closed today and communities remain on edge. >> millions of people are in the path of a severe weather outbreak. janessa is here with the latest forecast. >> reports many white house insiders are braced for the mueller report over the concern they will be exposed as cooperating with the special counsel. >> what was that that flew over the night sky in our nation's capital overnight? >> here in america, television news is king.

we're going to give them a vision of the world the way they want it to be. >> and russell crow roars with our first look at the loudest voice in the room. "early today" starts right now. good wednesday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. severe weather is on the way today for areas still recovering from the last massive storm. let's get right over to nbc meteorologist janessa webb tracking it all for us. good morning, vanessa. >> good morning. we're getting started with the severe weather. it's going to start to happen this afternoon into the evening hours across the plains into the south here. right now sitting out to the southwest from phoenix to albuquerque and will make its way across the midwest. so we have a good chunk of the nation, 32 million under that severe weather risk. potential now is damaging wind gusts, up to 60 miles per hour, also large hail possibility of tornadoes. now, this is going to be a multi-day event into your thursday, friday as well. so you can see the areas of low

pressure from iowa to dallas, major cities really going to be impacted throughout the day. dallas, houston, along with oklahoma. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. we'll get to that in just a moment. >> thanks, janessa. >> some breaking news. a number of schools are closed due to a massive hunt for an 18-year-old woman who poses a credible threat to at least 20 schools in the denver metro area. officials searched the florida home of the suspect who is described as obsessed with the columbine shooting of 20 years ago. she traveled from miami to colorado, armed herself with a shotgun and was last seen near the foothills. >> she has had an infatuation with columbine and the perpetrators of columbine. she made comments to that effect. but she hasn't identified a specific threat to a specific school. we identified that she departed the airport and went to a store where she did procure a weapon.

she obtained a pump action shotgun and ammunition. >> i know that this opens a wound, especially on an anniversary week for those families who were most deeply impacted by this. we want our schools to be a safe place for kids to learn, and where they can be productive. and that's why we take this threat seriously. >> just hours ago, a wave of denver metro area schools announced schools will be closed today and all after school activities canceled due to the ongoing safety concerns. all facilities are closed and employees are to report to work. >> the wait is nearly over. in just over 24 hours we will have the mueller report in our hands. attorney general william barr is expected to publish the special counsel's findings. after spending weeks redacting sensitive information. meanwhile, the release is stoking concerns among former and current white house officials who cooperated with the investigation. nbc's tracie potts is joining us from d.c. with the latest on this. tracie, good morning.

any sense how the president is feeling about the pending release? >> reporter: he says the results are already out there, no collusion, inconclusive on obstruction of justice so he's not worried about it. probably doesn't want to read it. but there are a lot of people who work with him, very closely with him, or have worked with him who are worried about this release in just over 24 hours from now. a lot of people who work at the white house had to cooperate, to testify, to speak with the special counsel. what did they say that could be damaging or embarrassing to president trump? despite the outcome of the report, we are now about to get the details and more than a dozen of those current and former white house employees tell us they're worried about whether they will be identified in this report. we simply do not know. as for the white house, as for the president and his lawyers, his legal team, they are bracing for what's to come. >> i think that the president's

lawyers quite rightly are anticipating that there is going to be new information on obstruction that has not yet been publicly disclosed and they are trying to identify the ways that they can rebut it. >> reporter: because, remember, mueller was inconclusive on obstruction of justice, couldn't say one way or the other based on the evidence on both sides if there should be prosecution. it was the attorney general who decided based on that same evidence that the president should not be prosecuted. and as for those anxious white house staffers and former staffers, we are told that several of those witnesses have had their lawyers asking the justice department, am i going to be identified this this report? and they haven't gotten an answer. phillip? >> a lot of sleepless nights, a day away. tracie, thank you. >> scorched, but still standing. president manuel macron has vowed to resurrect notre dame after the burning of the

steeple. they are in solidarity with france. they are launching an investigation into what triggered the inferno. matt bradley joins us from london and bringing us the very latest. matt, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frances. you know, as you mention, parisians are now taking stock about a day and a half since this fire first started. and what's clear is that the structure, as you can see behind me, is very much intact, even despite all of the threats that this building would not be able to be saved while the firemen were still trying to put out the blaze. now it seems that most of what was built 800 years ago is still standing. that 150-year-old roof, all of the wooden beams that really lit up quite quickly during the fire, that is almost entirely destroyed. 60% of that is gone. most of the most valuable relics and pieces of art managed to be rescued before the blaze was put out. so the tunic of san louis and

what is believed to be the crown of thorns jesus is thought to have worn on the cross, those were also saved along with several other priceless pieces of artwork that were actually carried out by a human chain formed by police officers and firemen when the fire was still raging. but as is often the case, with these sorts of situations, what's left now is politics and an investigation. some 50 investigators have been trying to interview workers who were on the scene when the fire started, trying to determine what started this fire and how to prevent it in the future. and they're also looking into how to rebuild this roof and the cathedral around it. manuel macron addressed the nation last night and called for unity. he also said he was going to be suspending politics along with other political parties. hard to see how long that is going to last in this fractious political environment. we'll have to look forward to that and rebuilding. frances? >> along with the millions coming in in private donations.

hundreds of millions in private donations to rebuild. matt bradley for us in paris. thank you. >> new word from faa after air disasters involving boeing 737-max jets. those planes are grounded worldwide. nbc's costello covers aviation and joins us with details. tom, what can you tell us? >> reporter: phillip, good morning. the faa says pilots will be required to undergo additional training before they are allowed to fly the max again. but boeing still hatzant formally submitted the software update for faa approve. when that happens, the plane will still have to be recertified. the faa right now telling airlines pilots will be required to undergo new training on that mcas system blamed for the crashes in ethiopia and indonesia that killed 346 people. the software fix is what they have been working on. the pilot training can be

completed on a computer. with the max grounded, there will be fewer planes flying for the upcoming summer travel season. so watch your schedules closely to ensure that your flight is, in fact, taking off when they say it is going to. back to you, phillip. >> tom costello for us, thank you, sir. >> there is a new bombshell in the jussie smollett saga. newly released text messages from cook county state attorney kim foxx reveal that she called him a, quote, washed up celeb, and that she was concerned he was being overcharged. trina orlando from our nbc affiliate wmaq in chicago has the details. >> reporter: states attorney kim topix told assistant states attorney empire actor jussie smollett was a, quote, washed up celeb who lied to cops. the text message one of many communications between foxx and her top deputy now being made public. jussie smollett told chicago police he was the victim of a hate crime when he was allegedly attacked by two men who shouted

racial and homophobic slurs at hem. they determined smult was nollet a victim, but staged the attack. charges were dropped later by the states attorney's office. communications between foxx and begets, foxx believed is he was overcharged and compared the case to r. kelly, pedophile with four victims, 10 counts, washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16. just because we can charge something doesn't mean we should. the city of chicago is suing smollett to recover expenses related to the investigation, meanwhile the fbi continues to investigate a hate letter allegedly sent to smollett where the studio is filmed. when asked for a response to the documents released tuesday night, the state's attorneys office said we are not able to comment on specificities on this topic. we look forward to the inspector

general office's review of how we handle this case. >> thanks to wmaq's trina orlando. >> all right, time to see how our wednesday is shaping up. janessa, good morning. >> location is really key here. to the west and northeast we are seeing primetime conditions. we are also tracking just a few showers across the northeast right now, but they are really going to exit as we step into the rest of the morning. the big weather story is this large storm system currently going to take over the midwest into the plains as we step weat temperatures really steaming. so the bulk of this system makes its way in this afternoon, and will be thursday, friday afternoon unfortunately. >> all right. two days to look forward to

that. janessa, thanks. >> we don't think it was the mueller report landing, but dozens of people reported seeing an odd white streak of light shooting through the d.c. area sky overnight. it happened around 11:00 p.m., the driver's dashcam captured the stunning sight of what is believed to be a meteor lighting up the d.c. sky. the video was posted to twitter and has over 61,000 views. >> i don't know if i could keep the car steady if i saw something like that. just ahead, check your pantry. dee tames on a major cookie recall and why michelle obama's latest jab at president trump has single fathers up in arms. luckily for all your hard-to-wash fabrics... ...there's febreze fabric refresher. febreze doesn't just mask, it eliminates odors you've... ...gone noseblind to. and try febreze unstopables for fabric. with up to twice the fresh scent power, you'll want to try it... ...again and again and maybe just one more time. indulge in irresistible freshness. febreze unstopables. breathe happy.

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consumers who have the product are urged to throw away the cookies and can call this number. 844-366-1171 for more information. >> leading the news this morning, former first lady michelle obama is raising some eyebrows with her apparent criticism of president trump without mentioning his name during a speech in london. she compared the president to a divorced dad that the rest of the country is forced to live with. the white house has yet to comment, but the metaphor faced some backlash on social media from single parents. nbc's kristen welker has more. >> reporter: it was a rare rebuke, breaking precedent. former first lady michelle obama taking aim at the current president. >> it's tough, you know, sometimes you spend weekends with divorced dad. it feels like it's fun, but then you get sick. that's what america is going through. we're living with the divorced dad. >> reporter: mrs. obama speaking sunday in london, never mentioning president trump by name, saying, it may feel like a dark chapter, but any story has

its highs and lows. it comes as the white house braces for the mueller report. some current and former officials who cooperated with mueller tell nbc news they're concerned the report could expose them as the source of damaging information about the president. >> i heard it's going to come out on thursday. that's good. and there can't be anything there because there was no crime. there was no anything. >> reporter: as for michelle obama's comments, we reached out to the white house and so far no response. phillip? >> all right, kristen, thank you. >> still ahead, a hairy situation for bearded men. a study that may have you reaching for the razor. and a television transformation for the ages. our first look at russell crow as the late fox news roger ailes. that's next here on "early today." that we just hit the motherlode of soft-serve ice cream? i got cones, anybody wants one! oh, yeah! get ya some! no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico.

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here in america, television news is king. we're going to give them a vision of the world the way they want it to be. >> can you recognize him there? it's so hard to believe that is russell crowe stepping into the shoes of late fox c.e.o. roger ailes for a new showtime series, the loudest voice will explore his rise at fox news and downfall as a rultd of sexual conduct allegations in 2016. the mini series will premiere on june 30. that reminds me of the movie "vice" that came out, with christian veil with all the makeup to become dick cheney. >> it's not like it's multiple

decades since some of this happened. it's recent history for these cases. some big congratulations are in order for two of our nbc news family who became moms on tuesday. hoda kotb broke into tears to announce she adopted a second baby girl named hope. katy tur and her husband welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named theodore. the baby reportedly arrived 6 pounds 5 ounce and stretching nearly 20 inches long. nice fun baby boom for everybody here. >> we hear his name is tony. >> after dad, yeah. >> we welcome to extended family here at nbc. >> and hope for hoda's mom. >> that's wonderful. all right, from good news to bad news, for hipsters, that is. new study revealing men with beards have more germs than the fur on a dog. researchers in switzerland compared the back dear i can't on 18 bheerded men and 30 furry

dogs. it turns out the bearded bros had a higher microbial count compared to 33 of the dogs. seven men had so much bacteria it was harmful to human health is how they categorized it. there you go. i guess the beard is dead. >> if we can somehow unknow that, i think we'll all be better off. >> just wash yourself. >> still ahead, how a florida man's dinner at olive garden landed him behind bars. you're watching "early today." ...patients get their day back... ...to be with... ... family... ...or just to sleep in. strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. in a key study... ...neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17%... ...to 1%... ...a 94% decrease. neulasta onpro is designed to deliver... ...neulasta the day after chemo... ...and is used by most patients today. neulasta is for certain cancer patients receiving strong chemotherapy. do not take neulasta if you're allergic to it or neupogen (filgrastim). an incomplete dose could increase infection risk.

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diners at a florida olive garden witnessed an unappetizing scene when a drunk and shirtless man was arrested for cursing at customers and shoveling spaghetti into his mouth with his hands. police say they were called after 32-year-old ben padget was causing a disturbance asking patrons for money and yelling at customers. when authorities put him in handcuffs, they say he began smashing his forehead on the metal cage in the police car. he has been charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting without violence. >> they have bread sticks. right on. >> i'm all about those carbs. weather wise we are watching severe weather make its way across the south, southeast, it makes its way to the northeast. could potentially see 2 to 3 inches. i need to get to l.a. look at all that sunshine. temperatures in california back in the 70s. >> i'll take miami. >> we'll be right back. no matter how much you clean, does your house still smell stuffy?

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this is houston. say again, please. >> houston, we have a problem. >> you may remember this iconic scene from the 1995 film apollo 13 when nasa commander jim lobo played by tom hanks notifies mission control that an oxygen tank exploded crippling the spacecraft as it headed to the moon. on this day in 1970, four days after the rupture, lobo and his two crew mates landsed save in the pacific ocean. >> another chair in the control room as we had splash down. >> wow, it's amazing to see

that. it just donned on me now i hadn't seen that footage before. i watched the movie and loved it, i've never seen that footage. >> that's what you remember. amazing to see that footage now, fascinating then and fascinating, space exploration now. now to a investigation that is underway this morning in montgomery county, maryland. after a man pretending to be a rideshare driver robbed a woman inside her bethesda apartment, officials say the victim was targeted after a night out with friends. when she got into the wrong vehicle, assuming it was her ride home. the suspect is seen here on video attempting to snatch the woman's purse. police say moments later he entered her apartment, stole property and ran. detectives determined the suspect did not work for any of the ridesharing companies. he's still on the run. >> now to a standoff in san antonio where an armed suspect barricaded himself inside his home and lit it on fire with people trapped inside. police were called to the home after reports that the suspect and his wife were fighting. when they arrived, the man started shooting at them with a rifle. authorities exchanged gunfire. the home continued to burn until

firefighters got the all clear. one woman, rather, was able to escape. the suspect was killed as well as a neighbor. the suspect's wife was taken to the hospital and treated with severe burns. >> 3-d printing is proving to be one of the most gain saving technologies and researchers in israel say they have made a major scientific breakthrough by printing the world's first 3-d heart with blood vessels. it was a pink and blue 3-d rabbit-size heart that took about three hours to print. but the team says larger human hearts require the same technology. the hearts can contract, but with further work, they hope to teach them how to behave like hearts. their findings were published in the journal advance science. >> human ingenuity right there. there is one airport travelers probably don't mind being delayed a little bit. the airport in singapore is long ranked the best in the world. it is officially opened, the tallest waterfall. it is described as 130-foot rain for vex and the center of a four

story tier garden. they plan to include 164-foot long glass bottom bridge. another testament to human ingenuity right there. thanks for joining us. i' phillip mena.m

wwelcome to wednesday morning. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. meteorologist kari hall has been tracking the weather for us. >> we start out with temperatures in the mid-40s in the inland valleys and low 50s near the coast and inner bay. concord, we'll be about 49 degrees through 7:00. all clear skies. no issues today. and quickly warming temperatures will be up to 65 at 11:00. aoo