a horrific scene in russia where a jet liner made an emergency landing engulfed in flames. passengers trying to evacuate using emergency chutes, dozens feared dead. a tentative cease-fire half issued after dozens are killed on both sides of the border between israel and gas za after hundreds of missiles are fired by each. about face. president trump does not want robert mueller to testify before congress. more fallout after the disqualification at the kentucky derby. all that and a major chicken recall to warn you about. "early today" starts now. rlie hall. >> i'm frances rivera. amid rising tensions between

the united states and iran, the u.s. is deploying a carrier strike route and a number of bombers to the middle east. national security advisor john bolton said it's in response to a number of troubling warnings from iran and threats to u.s. rcesn the region. he issued a statement on sunday announcing the deployment of the u.s.s. abraham lincoln carrier strike group saying debt employment is to send a clear message to the iranian regime that any attack on the united states interests or allies will be met with unrelenting force. adding the u.s. is not seeking war with the iranian regime but prepared to respond to any attack. the treasury secretary is expected to make a decision about the president's tax mueller report. nbc blaine alexander is following it for us. >> reporter: francis, good morning. he is one of the people we're

watching closely to see if mule ler testify. he weighed in on the possibility overnight in a pair of tweets and it's only escalading the growing feud between the white house and democrats on capitol hill. a new week with new deadlines. house democrats demanding attorney general william barr respond to request for a more complete version of the mueller report by this morning. >> we want the information so we can do our work and the oversight our committee is required to do. >> reporter: barr made a redacted version available but democrats want all members to see. >> muestion is why doesn't he read what is available and then if he wants more, work with the department of justice to figure it out. >> reporter: with lawmakers working to bring mueller before the judiciary committee, president trump said that mueller should not testify tweeting. >> i don't know. that's up to attorney general.

>> reporter: democrats accusing the president of trying to silence mueller. president trump is still consider willing to let former white house attorney don mcgahn testify before lawmakers. house democrats subpoenaed mcgahn demanding documents by tomorrow. president trump could invoke executive privilege. another major deadline we're watching is today and it has to do with the president's tax returns. we could know by today how the administration will respond to a subpoena from house democrats to see president returns. remember, treasury secretary steven men knew shin missed the first deadline but would take final action by today. >> thank you. outside he tiger woods today. he'll receive the presidential medal of freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. michael cohen is waking up to his last morning as a free

man. the president's former lawyer and fixer is due to report to an institution in upstate new york this afternoon. for more on his last hours of freedom and what is coming next, we're joined by cathy parks. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. time is up for michael cohen. today the former fixer for donald trump will be starting a new life as a federal prisoner but this weekend cohen took full advantage of the life he's leaving behind. michael cohen walking around manhattan this weekend enjoying his last hours as a free man. >> did you think when you started working for donald trump you would end up in prison? >> reporter: at one point he snaps at a photographer. >> reporter: moments later he's shaking hands and posing for a photo with a fan. cohen begins a threvasion, lying to congress all while working for donald trump. new

yorker, he doubled down on his former boss asking how come i'm that is going to prison? i'm not the one that slept with a porn star. cohen will serve his sentence here in new york. in the prison's minimum security camp, he'll join the situation from mtv's "jersey shore" convicted of tax evasion. and fire festival founder billy mcfarland convicted of fraud. jack worked at the prison as a case manager. >> you're told when to eat, wake up, when to go. you're counted five times a day. >> reporter: 70 miles from his park avenue apartment but a world away. president trump denied all of cohen's allegations. cohen is supposed to surrender before 2:00 p.m. today. >> cathy, thank you.

flames in leaving dozens dead. a plane caught fire making an emergency landing. russian investigators are trying to piece together what went wrong. sarah harman has the latest. do we know anything about the victims on board? >> reporter: good morning. what a nightmare. at least 40 people dead. a russian wire agency is reporting both of the plane's block boxes have been found. if confirmed, hopefully we'll get more information about what caused this horrific incident. incredibly a number of people managed to survive this fiery crash. they escaped down emergency slides. andids showing the passengers getting off the plane carrying their luggage. there are questions as to whether it could have delayed the evacuation of some of the other passengers. we don't yet know what caused the deadly incident. one focus the investigation is

likely to be on plane itself. this was a russian-made jet. it was flown by the country's flabship carrier. investigators are going to be closely examining video, interviewing survivors and combing through what is left of the plane for clues about why a passenger jet became a fire ball. francis? >> sarah, thank you. kim jong-un pushing the boundaries with the u.s. after north korean state media reporting the leader supervised a drill involving multiple rocket launchers. the united states down playing the threat but mike pompeo hoping to resume deluke are inzation talks with north korea. we are live in seoul with the latest. what do we know about the missiles? >> reporter: u.s. analysts are looking at the possibility this

was a new type of short-range ballistic missile unveiled at a military parade in pyongyang last year. the photos that were released by the state news agency in north korea show the launch, showing kim jong-un overseeing it. also, tout the technical success of the launch. but the reports do not mention the united states or south korea. while the tests could be sign seen as a violation of united nations resolution, the ones unhe moratorium that kim he ballistic missiles. wouldn't test long range however, that's little comfort to japan or south korea where short range ballistic missiles remain a threat as well as the tactical weapon that north korea tested last month. so far, president trump doesn't seem to be bothered by any of this. in that tweet saying that kim knows he's with him.

secretary of state mike pompeo down playing the significance of the test suggesting that the trump administration, for now, is focussed solely on disarmament and may look the other way if north korea decides to test anything over an icbm. >> thank you. let's turn to bill kairns who is tracking storms for us. it's going to be another active week in the middle of the country. west coast is pretty quiet. east coast will be that was today. this is going to be tomorrow. and wednesday is the day. aig weather event.o outbreak in it's most likelgoing to be it's location we've been talking about week after week. rivers are extremely high and adding another 2 to 4 inches of rain won't be pretty. things are pretty nice in the west. no.

lots of clouds in southern california. we'll show you the week ahead forecast coming up. >> bill, thank you veryuc buttio church this sunday. joined by his husband invited to read from the bible the former president reportedly carter's sunday school class. said at the church service he knew buttigieg from habitat day clooney, plus new details surrounding the controversy at the kentucky derby and how the winner was disqualified. ohhhh... enough already! we need to see a doctor. ask your doctor about myrbetriq® (mirabegron). it treats oab symptoms of urgency, frequency, and leakage. it's the first and only oab treatment in its class.

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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. and sweeper heavy duty cloths lock away it leading the news, the disqualification heard around the country. for the first time in kentucky derby's history, this 145 year history, a winner has been disqualified for interfering with other competitors. officials ruled the race's initial victor, maximum security blocked others from being able to pass. it sent shock waves through the racing community. the co-owner is calling the decision egregious. here is ron mott. >> maximum security wins the kentucky derby!

>> reporter: the run for the th maximum security wins the biggest race of the year, jockeying t field this large. >> there is an objection posted on the board. >> reporter: after a delay of 20 minutes, they disqualified the winner for interference. you can see it right there. for the first time in 145 kentucky derby's. the crowd shocked. >> those horses were all affected, we thought by the interference. therefore, we unanimously determined to disquality number seven. >> reporter: that meant a 65-1 long shot, country house, claimed top prize of almost $2 million, returning handsome pay offs to anyone betting against him. >> it's bittersweet. i would be lying if i said anything different. >> they called it the most egregious disqualification in

history. >> the president said only in these political days could such an overturn occur. it's not the kind of feel-good story the derby produces. it comes as the sport d nearly two dozen horse fatalities at the california track this winter. >> yeah, it's not the best timing for horse racing to have it happen, but it is the safest to maintain a straight course, no matter the quality of the race. >> reporter: fans touring the stables largely agreed. >> i have no regrets in how they called it. >> i had money bet on maximum security, so a little upset. >> reporter: those fans who bet on maximum security lost an estimated $9 million. the question some are requesting what has horse racing lost? that was ron mott reporting. and gary west will speak to "today" in an exclusive live interview on his reaction to th.

get ready for red ink to flow on wall street. today, karen tells us what's next and why. first, celebrating birthdays. touched by an angel star roma downey, 59. bob seeger is 74 and baseball hall of famer, willie mays turns 88. two consumer alerts to tell prestige creams not living up to the hype? one jar shatters the competition. olay regenerist hydrates skin better than creams costing over $100, $200, and even $400. fact check this ad in good housekeeping.

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son foods is recalling nearly 2 million pounds of the ready to eat chicken strips because they could be contaminated with metal. it's a smaller recall from march. they have a use by date of october 1, 2018 and march 8, 2019. pf chang is recalling chicken pate and chicken fried rice frozen entrees. they were spruced between october 1st 2018 and april 11th 2019. illnesses. wall street is bracing for a lot of red when markets open as china threatens to cancel the trade talks with the united states. we have the latest developments. good morning. >> good morning, francis.n 7% today. the chinese indices is down.

it's been one of the strongest markets globally this year. a huge disappointment. the vice premier of china was expected to be in washington this week with a 100 person delegation. we've heard this morning that chinese foreign ministry confirmed the delegation will still attend but have not confirmed the movements of the vice premier. there's been a signaling function in the past when negotiations have been negotiations have been serious in a positive direction the vice premier has turned up. watch that closely. 25% instead of 10% where they currently sit and $325 billion worth of goods could be targeted, according to trump. wall street is expecting a 450 point drop on the market. open today. we saw 197 point gain as we wrapped up shop on friday. so, we are starting out on a negative foothold after a stronger market. watch closely.rade today. thank you so much, karen. >> tough start for the week and

the day. still to come, an update on a plane that slid off a runway and into shallow water. why charlize theron turned down a role. you're watching "early today." wrinkles just won't. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair's derm-proven retinol works so fast, it takes only one week to reveal younger looking skin. making wrinkles look so last week. rapid wrinkle repair® pair with new retinol oil for 2x the wrinkle fighting power. neutrogena®

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on history. we shine a spotlight. in an attempt to fill in the gaps in asian-american literature. for more and to read the stories, go to nbcnews.com/writeourstories. bill is back with a bit of a mixed forecast. >> the middle of the country won't be great. one thing we haven't seen a lot of wet weather in the pacific northwest. it's going to be 82 in portland today. beautiful mild weather there. any stormy weather will be the middle of the country. by the time we get to tuesday, that's when the middle of the nation watchout. mild in the northwest and by the end of the week, all the wet weather on the east coast. >> there we go again. bill, thank you. when "early today" returns we'll take you to england for a adrenaline sporting event. jimmy's gotten used to hisleke . yup, he's gone noseblind. he thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this...

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and our top stories after a deadly weekend of violence israeli and g israeli and gaza forces agreed to a cease-fire. this is after 600 rockets were fired into israel from gaza in less than 24 hours. the israeli military says fighter jets attacks 260 targets inside the gaza strip. the palestinian health ministry announcing overnight at least 23 palestinians have been killed and the death of four israelis were confirmed on sunday. hundreds more reported injured on both sides of the conflict. this broke a month long lull in oridence as mediators were ed. a dog and twrats. officials recovered the data recorder and working to remove the plane from the river to retrieve the reporter.

the fire quickly spread throughout the home and damaged one other home. there was a marijuana grow operation inside. two of the injure were treated for serious burn injuries and a third for minor burns. police in australia are on the hunt for an alleged robber who broke into several stores wearing what appears to be a donald trump mask. the man smashed the window of a jewelry store. authorities say he robbed an electronic store with the mask on top of his head. police believe the suspect may be in his 20s. charlize theron did turn down a role in wonder woman, but not the role everyone assumed she was cast for. >> i did not turn the role of wonder w d what does wonder woman do? this person said, no, it's for wonder woman's mom. >> theron, who is 43 and nine

years older than gal gadat, wonder woman. the sport began in 1973 dissolved into a professionally run competition. the racing community is one big family. and i bet all of their lawns are well maintained. >> yeah. in this case, it's not a big priority to get a we see. coming up later on the "today" show, jennifer lopez rocks the plaza with y for star week with us. your news continues here on nbc and our nbc stations. have a great monday!

tragedy on the runway as a passenger plane this russia bursts into flames on a hard landing. at least 40 have died. the susquehanna deploying an aircraft strike route to send a message to iran. >> the day his fixer michael cohen is due to report to prison, president trump says robert mueller should now not testify before congress. we'll hear from some of the survivors of the 737 that skidded off the runway in jacksonville. plus nasa is shooting star, the photographer who captured truly out of this world images over the past 30 years. right n.