felicity huffman expected to plead guilty in court today in the u.s. college admissions scandal. the pressure is building surrounding iran as secretary of state pompeo cancels a trip to russia to meet with allies did the president's top economic adviser just contradict him over chinese tariffs he says will be paid for by consumers and businesses remembering peggy lipton, the it girl from the "mod squad" days former wife of quincy jones. mother and of rashida jones. we'll look back at her remarkable life. plus meet the world war ii veteran with the fierce determination to receive the college degree she began in

1949 and game series buzzer beater >> leonard defended by simmons. is this the dagger >> oh! >> hello, monday "early today" starts right now >> good morning. i'm marlie hall. >> and i'm frances rivera. felicity huffman back in the spotlight getting ready for another high-profile day in federal court. huffman is expected to plead guilty the actress admitted to paying large sums of money to help her daughter get into college. today we'll know what type of agreement a judge will hand down in exchange for her guilty plea. nbc's kathy park has the details. >> reporter: actress felicity huffman is expected back in court. she's agreed to plead guilty for her part in the college admissions scandal the "desperate housewives" star admitted to paying $15,000 for a proctor to change her daughter's answers on the s.a.t.s, improving the girl's score

in a statement she wrote, "i accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequence that's stem from those actions. legal experts say her swift apology may work to her advantage. >> felicity huffman is like many white-collar defendants who are in trouble for the first time. she's racing to court to plead guilty, cooperate with the government, get the lowest sentence possible, and just move on with her life >> reporter: she's among the dozens of prominent parents charged with paying big bucks, in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars, to get their kids into selective schools. while some parents have agreed to plead guilty, actress lori loughlin and her fashion designer husband are not among them >> this is government prosecution 101. the longer she waits, the worse it may be for lori loughlin. >> reporter: this fbi sting dubbed "operation varsity blues" is a storyline made for hollywood and is already being scripted for a small screen series and after felicity huffman's

plea hearing she'll be sentenced at a later date. she could be looking at anywhere between four to ten months in prison frances? marlie >> all right, kathy, thank you breaking news overnight. secretary of state mike pompeo is skipping today's planned trip to moscow amid rising tensions with iran. according to a state department official, he's instead heading to brussels to hold talks with eu officials last week european leaders said they want to save the iran nuclear deal after tehran threatened to begin stockpiling nuclear materials again. nbc's tracy potts has the latest from d.c good morning >> hi there, marlie. good morning good morning, everyone so the secretary of state mike pompeo in the region trying to figure out where the u.s. fits in here with the europeans wanting to salvage this deal and president trump ready, past ready to pull out, believing that it's not working. so while he is overseas dealing with that the word has come from washington that more warships

are head to the middle east amid reports that iran is ready to attack u.s. forces and u.s. assets there iran denies that but confirmed over the weekend the u.s. is now sending an aircraft carrier and a number of other assets to that region to be ready for such an attack centcom, the u.s. central command in that region, apparently requested backup after three officials confirmed to nbc that in fact iran may be looking to attack u.s. forces in that region. marlie >> tracie, thank you the stage is now set for a subpoena showdown between the white house and democrats in congress president trump is pushing back on at least 20 investigations into his administration and personal finances. the president vented his frustrations in an epic tweetstorm over the weekend, posting nearly 100 times total

nbc's matt bradley has more. >> reporter: the white house is building another wall, this one, against a siege of subpoenas and legal demands from mostly house democrats. "the democrats have nothing," the president tweeted, quoting republican consultant ed rollins, "they just want to distract from this president." the "washington post" list at least 20 separate investigations with the white house blocking nearly 80 demands for documents, testimonies, and other evidence, including the president's tax returns, testimony from his son donald jr., and an unredacted version of robert mueller's report into russian election interference the president's resistance has some democratic leaders pondering drastic measures >> if the courts take too long, we use our own judicial process within the congress. look, i think if you fine someone $25,000 a day to their person until they comply it gets their attention. >> reporter: some democrats even calling for arrests. but for some republicans the legal maneuvers look like pure

politics >> so this is really i think degenerated into partisan politics and the best thing we could do at this point is say let's get on with the country's business >> reporter: and the president believes democrats' full-court press will ultimately backfire >> they want to do investigations instead of investments. they want to do what they're doing, which looks so foolish. and maybe i read it wrong, but i think it drives us right on to victory in 2020. >> reporter: these cases could last months or years, maybe even past the president's term. but at least one could come to a head soon when the president's accounting firm will face a hearing this week. frances? >> matt bradley, thank you the u.s. is bracing for retaliation from china this morning after a dramatic escalation in the trade war. on friday president trump hiked the tariff rate on $200 billion worth of chinese goods but beijing didn't flinch, warning the white house to expect stiff countermeasures and the president's chief economic adviser says americans

could feel the pinch >> fair enough in fact, both sides will pay both sides will pay in these things >> the president says china doesn't -- it pays the tariffs they may suffer consequences but it's u.s. businesses and u.s. consumers who pay. correct? >> yes to some extent i don't disagree with that i think this is a risk we should and can take without damaging our economy in any appreciable way. >> futures are pointing to losses at the open as wall street waits to see how china responds a major storm system has caused chaos across the south. louisiana and mississippi are among the latest areas to be hammered by severe weather and flash flooding officials urging people to stay away from flooded roads with rescue crews coming to the aid of people trapped in their homes and cars as the storm moved east, strong winds and a torrential downpour slammed into gulf shores, alaba alabama. the gulf of mexico, which is about 100 yards away in this video, isn't visible for more on the impact of this extreme weather we go to nbc's

tammy leitner. >> reporter: this latest storm system pounding the south. >> look at that. from tornadoes town relenting rain the system already wreaking havoc across six states with more than a foot of rain from texas up to kansas and down to louisiana. bringing record-breaking rainfall to the state in the month of may and dangerous flooding louisiana declaring a state of emergency. dramatic rescues in a neighborhood in mississippi. 15 people trapped in their homes and cars the torrential rain causing several dams and levees to swell and burst in the southern part of the state flash flooding may to be blame for this freight train derailment more than 20 cars toppled but no one injured. as strong storms move through the area, residents in new orleans awoke sunday to flooded

streets and submerged cars after several city water pumps lost power. >> the weather was really, really bad and i came out like 7:00 and it was all flooded. and you have to use a boat out here >> reporter: the only way for some residents to get around, by kayak. this storm making the month of may one of the wet west springs we've seen tammy leitner, nbc news. all right. let's bring in bill care winz a look at our travel forecast. >> good morning. the south deserves a break, and they're going to get it this week we're not going to watch severe weather or heavy rain. all the rivers are still flooding too now we're still left with is this mess in the northeast and the storm system over areas of the ohio valleys let's talk about your travel weather for today. if you're going to be at the airports, especially in new york city during the middle of the day into the afternoon and evening will be the worst. philadelphia same for you. d.c. the morning boston it will be more toward this evening if you're driving on the roads, especially this afternoon and this evening, the worst of the drives will be 80 from cleveland to new york and i-95 from massachusetts. to boston righton

we're going to do that again tomorrow too and areas of new hampshire and areas of maine yeah, i was mentioning the chances of snow. we actually have snow in the mountains tomorrow in new england. >> that's insane a lot of us can't get a break. i know i hope that turns around bill, thank you. >> thanks, bill. a man in florida was arrested for speeding while sitting on top of the sunroof of his car. florida highway patrol caught leonard olsen barreling down the road at 100 miles per hour when they pulled him over, the 70-year-old told them that he'd rather go to jail than go back home to his wife, saying she treated him like a servant well, 4rer7bd got his wish he was charged and arrested for reckless driving still ahead, a world war ii vet gets her degree 70 yrsea

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freshen up, don't cover up. febreze. joous. happy mother's day >> i see you accept you and -- >> there was no shortage of love for oprah on mother's day. it's her first since her mom passed her students made sure she was celebrated supermodel chrissy teigen used her platform to call attention to postpartum depression offering support to other moms first-time mom meghan markle shared a new photo of baby archie's feet. in the uk they celebrate mother's day in march but the duchess showed us she's still american at heart and fuhr few things cuter than baby feet. hollywood is mourning the death of actress peggy lipton.

the mod squad star had a long career as a model, singer and actress is and shared the spotlight with a famous husband and daughters. they announced her passing this weekend after a battle with cancer nbc's kate snow takes a look back >> reporter: peggy lipton made her biggest mark at the height of the '60s. the 21-year-old starring at undercover cop julie barnes in the tv hit "the mod squad. >> you >> oh, sure. seems only the natural choice. >> reporter: the series a landmark in television one of the first to feature an interracial cast it also cemented lipton's status as one of hollywood's first it girls. >> i just wanted to get out and be seen or be known. and yet along with that was don't look at me, i don't want to be seen >> reporter: "the mod squad" earned lipton a golden globe award for best actress in a television series. she would later step offscreen to raise a family with then husband music producer quincy jones.

the couple divorced after 16 years of marriage, having two daughters, both actresses, kedata and rashida jones lipton returned to the spotlight several times. most notably in a role on the tv cult classic "twin peaks." co-star kyle mclaughlin tweeting "the the rr diner is dark today. we've lost a beautiful soul. her daughters released a statement about their mother saying "peggy was and will always be our beacon of light both in this world and beyond. she will always be a part of us." >> actress peggy lipton dead at the age of 72. just ahead, from server to savior how a waiter saved a customer nearly half a million dollars. and game of names. fr t in ndnsraonpiti omherothrone next d bathroom trips you may have overactive bladder, or oab. ohhhh... enough already! we need to see a doctor.

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i like this one. >> "avengers: endgame" topped the box office for the third weekend in a row the superhero flick brought in a whopping $63 million domestically and over $102 million internationally. that brings the grand total to $2.5 billion second place went to "detective pikachu. the live action pokemon movie debuted with $58 million and in third place, "the hustle" starring anne hathaway and rebel wilson took in just over $13.5 million. >> still going strong. >> yeah. it was a rainy, rainy weekend for a whole lot of people. and also mother's day treat.

>> yes definitely and getting hard to avoid the spoilers for those who haven't seen it. >> absolutely. for? kids out there "game of thrones" will never end the social security administration released data on 2018 baby names and many parents seemed to be inspired by the characters more than 2,500 children were given the name arya and 560 were named khaleesi, making it more popular than ann or julie. other notable appearances on the list were yara with 443, lyanna with 319, and 58 tyrions were born last year more of these stats are available on nbcnews.com but the good thing is they're all nice names >> really pretty i know one arya strictly because of "game of thrones. famous momager kris jenner shared an instagram post dedicated to her daughters who have children of their own the 63-year-old posted a collage of photos of her daughters kim kardashian west, khloe kardashian, kourtney kardashian, kylie jenner, and one daughter

obviously missing. 23-year-old supermodel kendall jenner, she doesn't have any kids kendall noticed and playfully replied to kris's post "i love you too mom. it's mother's day. not forgetting our kids but extra special honor for the kids who do >> but no shortage of kids in her life she's got lots of nieces and nephews. a new york city pizzeria waiter became a hero to a woman who lost her life savings check at a restaurant. while cleaning armando marcaj found an envelope with a nearly half a million-dollar cashier's check inside the owner of the check called the restaurant after recognizing her mistake but called the wrong location after five days of searching marcaj and the restaurant owner were able to track down vinocur with help from the daily news. she's very lucky zbln oj that that's going to come back around, that kind of good deed there is karma in the universe that's going to bring it right back to her. >> yes still ahd,ea the college graduation moment that's 70 years in the making. you're watching "early today."

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all her life that i should fix it. now it reminds me of her. i'm just glad i never fixed it. listen, you don't need to go anywhere dad. meet christine, she's going to help you around the house. the best home to be in is your own. from personal care and memory care, to help around the house, home instead offers personalized in-home services for your loved ones. home instead senior care. to us, it's personal. in today's quick hits, some tense moments aboard a myanmar flight while making an emergency landing without its front landing gear the pilot dumped extra fuel before touching down all 82 passengers and seven crew evacuated safely no injuries were reported. it's official. you can now own nunchakus in arizona after governor doug deucy signed a bill removing them from a list of prohibited weapons. arizona was one of several states that banned them in the

1970s due to the popularity of martial arts movies. a federal judge is requiring 32 of florida's 67 counties to provide spanish language ballots, selection materials and assistance to the state's growing number of spanish-speaking voters before the 2020 presidential primary. all right. bill is back with some more soggy news for us. >> yeah, for some people we need a break, though, in areas of the south especially texas, louisiana, mississippi, all the areas that had all the flooding over the weekend. for today we're drying the south. you get your dry day today rainy day in areas of the northeast. the above average temperatures continue all wait through the rockies and the plains by the time we go to wednesday mostly drying out in the northeast. still relatively quiet on the map. new system comes into the west and that will be the storm we watch moving across the country thursday into friday with a little bit of light rain here and there. no big severe weather outbreaks which is great for may >> we'll take it thank you, bill. still ahead, an insane buzzer beater in toronto it's our "early today" shoof e y.t some things are out of

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it's off to leonard. defended by simmons. is this the dagger oh >> the raptors proving that they are king of the north. with under five seconds to go, kawhi leonard nails the jumper, the game and the series against the sixers with this 92-90 nail-biter toronto now heads to the eastern conference finals. to another game 7. with the denver nuggets facing off against the portland trail blazers. c.j. mccollum delivering blow after blow, scoring 37 points, including six during the final three. portland beats denver 100-96 and is headed to the western

conference finals. a 99-year-old woman is inspiring america with her fierce determination she's a world war ii vet who completed her teaching degree in 1949 but it wasn't until friday that she was finally able to accept her degree in person in north carolina here's nbc's molly hunter. >> reporter: it took elizabeth barker johnson seven decades o'get here >> excitement's not the word >> reporter: the 99-year-old finally accepting her college diploma with all the attention the moment deserved. nbc's tammy leitner spoke with her. >> i just was determined i wasn't going to give up. >> reporter: in 1943 johnson joined the only all female african-american army corps overseas during world war ii their job, delivering mail to the soldiers after the war she became the first woman to enroll in what was then winston-salem teachers college on the g.i. bill she earned her degree in education in 1949 but couldn't attend the ceremony because she was already teaching and had no one to cover her class >> i think the thing for me if

not for her is to turn that tassel, to say i finally did, it i've done it >> reporter: and then at her 99th birthday party -- >> we are inspired by you. >> reporter: -- news that she would finally get to walk at graduation [ applause ] and there a bright red gown made just for her >> first time i've seen it >> reporter: on friday almost 1,000 other graduates, most of them 70 years younger, were on their feet cheering on the newest member of their class molly hunter, nbc news >> i love that i love her smile so well deserved for 99 years i can't wait to see what's in store for her 100th birthday >> that's right. so inspiring it's never too late. red bull cliff diving world series took place over the weekend in dublin, ireland for the very first time. this annual international competition consists of divers diving from platforms and heights of more than 65 feet but with water temperatures near 50 degrees fahrenheit the results of the event won't count

toward the world series overall standings. it just looks cool feels much colder. >> definitely. better them than me. thanks for waking up with us i'm marlie hall. >> and i'm frances rivera. on thetoday" sho "

welcome to welcome to welcome to monday morning. the first measurable rain we have seen in weeks. i'm lawyer i'm laura garcia. >> a live look at san jose. starts out dry. there may be rain headed our way. lots of it. we are going to still enjoy the sunshine today. low 50s as you step out the door. mid- a