easter celebrations take a tragic turn. bombs rip through churches killing nearly 300 people. now, there are growing questions whether the government could have prevented those attacks. going on the offensive. the white house gets to work trying to clear the cloud of controversy over the mueller report. terror on the tracks. the horrifying moments a woman gets dragged under a moving train. no funny business here. a comedian who plays the president on a hit tv show lands the job in real life. "early today" starts now. a good morning to you. i'm richard lui. >> i'm marlie hall.

president trump is back in d.c. this morning and on the offensive in the wake of the mueller report. he railed against the investigation on twitter tweeting about it five times on easter sunday calling it the worst and most corrupt political witch hunt in the history of the united states. meanwhile, a small group of lawmakers will get their first look today at a copy of the report with far fewer redactions. ranking members of the house as well as the gang of eight will be able to see everything outside grand jury information. tracie potts joins us with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. democrats trying to figure out their next step. where do they go next? they're trying to get the full mueller report and the man who wrote it to come in and testify. worse than watergate that's what one key democrat is calling it.

>> if proven, some of this would be impeachable, yes. >> reporter: will they go there? >> mitch mcconnell will not stand up to the president, it seems unlikely an impeachable is possible. today a small group will see nearly the whole report. william barr testifies next week. plus, lawmakers are asking for mueller by may 23rd and now don mcgahn. the white house said none of it is necessary. >> they decline to indict the president is not going to jail. >> reporter: the president's lawyer insists campaign officials seeking damaging information on hillary clinton from a russian lawyer was not illegal. >> there's nothing wrong with taking information from russians. >> reporter: and the president tweets the mueller investigation was the most and most corrupt political witch hunt in the history of the united states. >> next step to see what happens

with the justice department next week. that full report, including all the grand jury information subpoenaed. democrats want it by may 1st. we wait to see how, when, if the justice department will respond. >> thank you. now to easter sunday celebrations that were marched by deadly attacks in sri lanka after a series of bombs were dead nated tearing apart three churches and three luxury hotels. nearly 300 people were killed and several americans among those dead. a lot -- another 500 were seriously injured. we're there with the latest. what did the government know, if any, before the attacks? >> reporter: well, there are so many unanswered questions here investigators, the government, the fbi is on the ground here trying to help them make sense of it.

officially they're not saying who is responsible for the attacks. there's no immediate claim of responsibility. certain people are pointing to a local group. they arrested 24 people including women taking them into custody as part of this investigation. and the forensic evidence they've collected from six different sites suggests this was the work of suicide bombers. what is troubling an admission on the part of security officials they had a warning that there could be attacks on churches and they have this warning ten days ago. so also factoring into this investigation is why nothing came of that intelligence. there are still several people who have been unaccounted for. more than 500 people have been injured. the secretary of defense telling nbc news today that, yes, they did know that something might have happened. that certain things were happening but they didn't expect anything of this magnitude. and it really is staggering with

the death toll near 300 now. here in the streets, we're seeing a stepped up presence of the military. behind us is the hotel. it was one of the sites targeted. you can see what was left of the restaurant, the explosion ripping through. now there's much more activity in the last 15 or 20 minutes as they're starting to comb through the wreckage. there will be a cur few in place again tonight. there are coms on social media as the government tries to stem the flow of what they believe could be misinformation about the attacks in this search for answers. richard? >> one of the luxury hotels there in asia. janice, 4:00 in the afternoon on a monday. thank you. a tiger at the topeka zoo is back on display today after being involved in a frightening attack on the trainer this weekend. we're learning the zoo keeper's condition is improving and the zoo launches an internal review

to learn what caused the incident. we're joined by cathy park. good morning. >> reporter: richard and marlie, good morning. the trainer survived this several minute attack. the tiger is back to his normal routine. app star at the topeka zoo is back on display after a harrowing attack on his long time handler. >> i'm getting attacked by a tiger. >> reporter: the lead traininger suffered cuts and punctures to her head, neck, back, and arm. she's still recovering at the hospital. >> i'm just thankful that our staff person survived this. >> reporter: all happening just as a park opened to the public. the zoo director says she entered the exhibit for normal

housekeeping. >> the tiger should not be there when it occurs. that's the difference. >> reporter: some park guests witnessed a 10 minute tackle when staff lured the animal away with food. >> we have some staff members that acted heroically. he's part of the zoo's conservation program. only 500 sumatran tigers are left in the while. >> he's great. it's a horrible situation but he's being a tiger. they're under review to keep people and the animals safe. >> reporter: now this attack is the first for the zoo and we've learned that the tiger was in his enclosure where he was supposed to be, when he attacked. richard and marlie? >> thank you. terrifying moments captured on camera. a woman dragged under a moving train after getting her hand caught in a door. molly hunter reports and a

warning the video may be disturbing. >> reporter: video obtained shows a woman reaching for the subway door in san francisco. the door closes on her and her hand is stuck. as the car speeds up, she can't keep pace and pulled under the train. >> it appears there were personnel on scene trying to waive down the operator. >> reporter: she was hospitalized with serious injuries. the city's transportation system is in the midst of a billion dollar upgrade. the problem, the sensors designed to trigger the train doors to reopen don't always work. back in december, another documented case of fingers caught in the door. in a statement to nbc news, the city's transportation spokesman said the doors on the new trains are safe and operate as designed. even before the latest incident, they added a second safety sensor to 7 of the 68 trains.

not the entire fleet. >> the additional enhancement will help reduce incidents. >> reporter: the testing of the new sensors shown here to reporters was inconsistent. after the incident earlier this month, the state is now investigating. molly hunter, nbc news. some good samaritans jumped into action saving the life of a woman who drove her car into the schuylkill river. several men swim toward the vehicle as it started to sink. they tried breaking into the car but it wasn't until a third man came with a tire iron they were able to bust out the back window and save the woman. people on a dry began boat gave them life jackets. no word on what caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. christians gathered to celebrate easter. pope francis greeting crowds in saint peter's square to deliver his easter address. taking the opportunity to issue a heart felt appeal for peace.

he condemned what he called the cruel violence of the attacks in sri lanka. he also prayed for the resolution of conflicts in war torn parts of the world. the uk queen elizabeth ii had two things to celebrate. there was easter and her 93rd birthday. queen elizabeth attended services at windsor castle to mark the day. she was joined by several members of the royal family including prince william and kate middleton. noticeably solo is prince harry, whose wife is expecting their first child this month. back here in new york city it means incredible hats. thousands of people and pets put on their best easter bonnets and hitt hit -- headed back to fifth

avenue. all right. so we have a pretty nice easter weekend in areas of the northwest and much of california. we have a weak new storm coming in. it will bring light rains to people. not a lot. i think some areas will remain cloudy and stay dry. here is the timing. the green shows the light rain. yellow is moderate rain. we get a little bit of that in the cascades. probably a little bit of a shadow effect in the pug et beautiful spring weather. temperatures in the mid to low 80s in the central valley of california with low humidity. we'll take a look at the week ahead forecast. it will be a pretty nice week for much of the country. >> that's a warm california. fast forwarding into monday

for you. president trump and the first lady will host the annual easter egg roll on the south lawn of the white house. this tradition goes back to 1878 when the first easter egg roll was held under the administration of rutherford b. hayes. the celebration of queen elizabeth's 93rd birthday continues. a 41 gun salute will be held in her honor. followed bay 62 gun salute at the tower of london. on this earth day it goes into effect in los angeles. customers in restaurants with 26 employees or more will only be given a plastic straw if they ask for one. we'll be right back. here's another cleaning tip from mr. clean. cleaning tough bathroom and kitchen messes with sprays and wipes can be a struggle. there's an easier way. try mr. clean magic eraser. just wet, squeeze and erase tough messes like bathtub soap scum and caked-on grease from oven doors. now mr. clean magic eraser comes in disposable sheets. they're perfect for icky messes on stovetops

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comedian won ukraine's election in a landslide. the actor is a star of a hit ukrainian show of a teacher who becomes president. in a case of real life imitating art, he received 73% of the vote. a resounding review to president petro poroshenko. a woman in san diego is now in custody after witnesses say she threatened a church on easter sunday holding a baby and a gun. our affiliate nbc 7 reports she made a bomb threat. the pastor was able to usher most of the congregation out while talking to the woman statement. four parishioners tackled her and grabbed the gun and the baby. a baby and one of her children are now in protective custody. the leader of an armed militia group detaining migrants at the boarder is in custody himself. larry mitchell hopkins is in court after authorities arrested

him for being a convicted felon in possession with a firearm. he leads the united constitutional patriots. last week members of held hundreds of migrants at gunpoint in new mexico before turning them over to border patrol. the song "it remains the same" how notre dame's choir is helping. you are watching "early today." 'y 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. ♪ here i go again on my own

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the price of gas has jumped, again. the average price for a gallon went up more than 12 cents the past two weeks to $2.91 a gallon according to the latest survey. unfortunately, experts say drivers won't see any relief soon. prices have risen more than 60 cents since january. contributing factors include crude oil costs and ethanol shortage from flooding. thousands gathered for easter mass near notre dame. the archbishop of paris dedicated the service to the firefighters who rescued the precious relics and extinguished the fire. the pipe organ suffered the flames, but suffered water damage. the organ is the largest in france with the over 88,000 pipes and now the cathedral's choir may have been left with no church or organ but it didn't stop them from lifting their

voices. matt bradley has that story. ♪ >> reporter: victor hugo described notre dame as a vast symphony of stone. when the cathedral burned last week, many in the choir worried after 850 years, the music had also stopped. this concert may only miss a few measures. >> still here. like a relative that is sick and we can't see for a while. >> reporter: the stunning spire, timber roof and attic went in the blaze. other choir members were given special access to that attic last year. >> when we saw this was burning, everyone said remember when we sung. it was in the dark and it was so silent. yeah, this is gone. >> reporter: notre dame was the choir's home but they won't be homeless. the choir's director said he had hundreds of offers from cathedrals throughout the world to host his singers.

it's not dead, it is sick, he said. the choir isn't sick, it will continue to live. for holy week, they sang at the historic -- peace. easter sunday service at the nearby church. for the very firefighters who saved their cathedral. >> the acoustics sound kind of notre dame-like, but nothing sounds like notre dame. >> reporter: now, the choir hopes to turn tragedy into opportunity to take the music to the world. >> i hope i get to travel to america. that will be lovely. ♪ >> reporter: matt bradley, nbc news, paris. still to come, a sharp way to celebrate the soon-to-be born royal baby. beverly hills goes to the dogs. you are watching "early today." 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.

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and cat allergens. if it's not from irobot, it's not a roomba. breathe freely fast, with vicks sinex. my congestion's gone. i can breathe again! ahhhh i can breathe again! ughh.. vicks sinex, breathe on welcome back. good earth day to you. we'll see some storms in texas, especially the middle of this week. it could be one of the bigger national stories. a little bit of wet weather today in the pacific northwest. sunny and dry in most areas on tuesday and wednesday. a little warmer in the desert. 94 in phoenix by the time we get to wednesday. by the time we get to friday much of the west coast remains dry. we could hit triple digits. >> oh, wow. >> and thank you, bill. ahead, gavin degrow's national anthem ends on a nasty

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. all right. let's take you to the most pampered pooches in the world. they took the stage in beverly hills a the dog show in true hollywood style. they strutted their stuff along the doggy red carpet. but there could be one winner. and it was bono the havanese who beat out more than 1500 others of the top show dogs to take home best in the show. >> he's living his best life. >> he is. he's loving it. >> yes. >> he is. saved by the bell may have ended over 25 years ago, but bay side's finest are back. over the weekend, most of the cast from the hit '90s sitcom reunited for dinner in l.a.

in attendance were mark paul s gossler, elizabeth berkeley, and mario lopez. they shared the word on social media. no word why dustin diamond and lark vories didn't join the party. >> i hoped somebody would take the picture in the same spot. of course they weren't. we have more easter sunday celebrations to share with you. >> bunny, go! >> thank you, easter bunny! >> you're welcome. >> savannah guthrie's little one delighted by a visit from the easter bunny. hoda kotb shared the first family photo.

much to the delight of chis si teigen, her husband suited up as the easter bunny. he did a full hopping dress rehearsal that he will maybe not want to see five years from now. he did that before the kids woke up. >> i'm delighted to see that. that matters most. >> john legend in a bunny suit. why not? if you're excited about the royal baby. you may want to visit whole foods. a royal cheese is coming to certain stores. it has a tropical fruit pulp. they released a cheddar aged for one year in honor of prince george's first birthday. royal cheese. >> royal cheese with the pulp. it doesn't sound so good. it looks like singer gavin degraw needed a pair of skates. he was finishing up his rendition of "the star spangled

banner." he loses his footing and it could have been worse. by the way, in instagram he said he was okay. >> that's one way to make it memorable. >> yeah. thank you for waking up with us.

sri lanka in shock after bombs ripped through easter celebrations at churches across the country, killing nearly 300 people. now there is new scrutiny, whether the government could have prevented the attacks. plus -- >> there is nothing wrong with taking information from russians. i probably wouldn't. i would have advised don't do it. >> president trump's attorney kicking up a new controversy while defending his boss in the wake of the mueller report. >> a dark chapter in the history. how slave owners