the triple meat and cheese you need... the secret sauce you love... plus curly fries and a drink. it's...a pretty legit combo. and it's just $5.99. only at jack in the box. attacks on asian-americans are on the rise as new video emerges of the suspected atlanta massage parlor shooter, and today the president and vice president will head to georgia to meet with local leaders. the u.s. is well ahead of joe biden's goal of 100 million shots. covid cases are on the rise now in some 13 states. tense times in alaska as top u.s. officials sit down with their chinese counter parts after they slam china. kids and adults are getting excited over the opening of the

new super nintendo world. lester holt goes behind the scenes on a movie many of you will be inspired to watch this weekend. it's friday, march 19th. "early today" starts right now >> good morning, i'm frances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. newly released surveillance video shows the gunman outside of a shop and police are pulling up four people were murdered at that location. meanwhile, the president is heading to atlanta today our blayne alexander is there with more. >> reporter: phillip, good morning to you atlanta police say this is just the beginning of their investigation and they are still working diligently to determine a motive meanwhile, an official in a separate jurisdiction is coming under fire of his own for comments he made during a news conference with families in mourning. fear and frustration

>> we stand proud. we stand a little bit scared and shaken, but at the same time we stand resilient. >> reporter: 48 hours after police say a georgia gunman stormed three separate spas opening fire, atlanta police are still unable to release four names. >> we need to make sure that we have a true verification of their identities and that we make the proper next of kin notification. >> reporter: at the white house flags fly at half staff. across the country an emotional outcry. >> people that look like me are being harassed, attacked and now we're being killed. >> reporter: they show support for them >> she likes to make people smile and i'm going to miss that. >> reporter: paul michaels, an army veteran as investigators continue their work, one official is facing

criticism of their own >> it was a really bad day for him and this is what he did. >> the cherokee county sheriff writes in parts the captain's words were not meant to disrespect any of the victims or express empathy for the suspect. phillip, here in atlanta, candlelight vigils were held >> blayne, thank you across the country, asian-american communities feeling increasingly vulnerable. this weekend asian-american churches will hold special services calling for action. on capitol hill the house heard testimony on asian-american crimes. we have the details. >> reporter: good morning. there were fireworks on capitol hill in this house judiciary hearing focused on why there's so much antiasian hate in our country and what needs to be

done for the first time in more than 30 years congress is holding a hearing on antiasian discrimination. >> i am not biased, and when you say things like that it hurts the asian-american community so please stop doing that. >> reporter: the hearing originally prompted by an alarming rise in antiasian hate nationwide over the next year quickly devolved into a painful partisan battle. >> my concern about this hearing is that it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric in a free society, free speech and away from the rule of law taking out bad guys. >> your president and your party and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country that you want but you don't have to do it by putting a bull's eye on the back of asian-americans onacross this

country. this was to find solutions and we will not let you take our voice away from us >> congresswoman doris matsui pointed to the words of president trump. >> kung flu. >> it was awful. >> how worried are you that this is going to happen >> i am very worried we have a big job to do and we have to do it now. >> this is not just an issue of white people versus asian people or black people versus asian people, it is a question of everybody versus access hate and bigotry. it's part of the history of america. >> reporter: as for what's coming next for concrete steps, congresswoman judy chu of california telling me there are two pieces of legislation that they hope to move forward. the idea is to increase the

ability for people to report hate crimes and to get it documented so less of this happens in the future. guys. >> jo, thank you. president biden will be heading to atlanta today to meet with asian-american leaders in the wake of the horrific shooting spree nbc's tracie potts joins us with more the president has come out strongly condemning the violence >> well, he certainly has. he'll meet with asian and pacific islander leaders in atlanta today with legislators, with advocates to bring a message of peace saying that he wants to combat hate and xenophobia and intolerance the white house will be there to support and listen to the fear that many in that community have had as you've just heard throughout the last year he's also ordered flags be flown through half staff monday in honor of atlanta's victims while in atlanta he plans to visit the cdc headquarters down

there to get an update on covid after announcing he's met his 100 day goal of 100 million vaccinations >> 58 days into our administration we will have met my goal of administering 100 million shots to our fellow americans. in the last week we've seen increases in numbers of cases in several states scientists have made clear that things may get worse as new variants of this virus spread. getting vaccinated is the best thing we can do to fight back against these variants. >> reporter: those new variants are pushing new cases up in 13 states we're seeing those numbers rise in those states right now. herd immunity where everyone is protected, that's something that dr. anthony fauci says we may not see until fall when teenagers start to get the shot. >> that's what we're looking for. that's what we need, that herd

immunity thank you so much. new covid infections are on the rise in over a dozen states. the uptick comes as air travel is up and more states roll back covid-related restrictions nbc's miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: after covid cases dropped dramatically nationwide in 13 states infections are on the rise fueling new worry the u.s. could face another surge. in michigan, cases are now up 64%. >> it's not over yet no time to spike the football. >> reporter: with virus variants circulating in every state, dr. fauci warning the u.s. could see a surge like europe. but with more americans vaccinated, on capitol hill he was challenged. >> let me just state for the record that masks are not theater. masks are pro tech tants. >> if you already have immunity, you're wearing a mask to give comfort to others. you're not wearing a mask

because you need a mask. >> i totally disagree with you. >> reporter: as president biden gets set to mark 100 million vaccination shots after less than 60 days in office, so far 12 states will allow anyone-sixteenth and older to be vaccinated before may 1st. within 90 days officials say the vaccine supply will quadruple and that should keep americans out of the hospital. in colorado sargeant nate kyleberg spent four weeks on a ventilator. >> this last week he came out of it and we were all like cheering i get emotional. >> reporter: progress amid a growing reminder of the risk we all face miguel almaguer, nbc news. a summit between top u.s. and chinese officials is underway in alaska secretary of state anthony blinken and jake sullivan met for the first time with their chinese counterparts what should have been a quick opening event turned into a

drawn out argument nbc's janice mackie frayer joined us from beijing it looks like the talks are off to a pretty rocky start. >> reporter: phillip, good morning. what was supposed to be pleasantries turned into a sharp exchange both sides wanting to come into the meeting from a position of strength that seemed to stoke the tension from the outset. china accused the u.s. for inciting other countries to attack china they were supposed to each have two minutes of opening statements starting with secretary of state blinken but then china's top diplomat took considerably longer, a lecture that took 17 minutes to translate. the u.s. side accused the chinese of grandstanding secretary blinken wanted the press to stay for his rebuttal here's more of what he had to say. >> i have to tell you, what i'm hearing is very different from

what you described i'm hearing deep satisfaction that the united states is back, that we're re-engaged with our allies and partners. i'm also hearing deep concern about some of the actions your government has taken >> reporter: so our four-minute photo op turned into an hour of tension, but it's all playing out well here. it's a top topic on chinese social media with more than 600 million views. the two sides aren't even sharing meals together because of covid concerns on the u.s. side that tension will be lingering when those meetings resume later today. >> two powerhouse countries there. two completely different agendas. that might happen. janice, thanks. we're getting ready for two big events tomorrow. first day of spring, number one. number two, a birthday for somebody in our "early today" team happy birthday, janessa.

>> oh, golly you're making me blush i'm a spring baby and i want to bring people sunshine for tomorrow because we definitely deserve it after this week man, we've seen destructive tornadoes across the south and we're still seeing rain across the carolinas to virginia. we've seen a little snow this morning. trace amounts from new york city all the way into the boston area then we're going to completely get rid of this storm system there's a ton of sunshine behind that cooler temperatures. about 1/4 of an inch across the carolinas and looking for gusts up to 50 miles an hour aoscr0s miami, 85 with a few storms.

charlotte, 59. we'll take a look at that first day of spring forecast coming up, guys. >> important for you especially. celebration day. thank you. golfer on the pga tour soaked up some sun when his ball got soaked in a water hazard he sank his shot into the drink. he dipped into the water his pant leg rolled up he was able to get out of the hazard. he ended up bogeying out the hole he evened up the tan a bit. still to come, super mario jumps into action at universal studios in japan. >> from ruiaitloss wh ve they give the green light to the kremlin's sputnik vaccine. stay with us [sneezes] stick with zyrtec.

zyrtec starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. zyrtec. muddle no more. and try children's zyrtec for consistently powerful relief of your kids' allergies. start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, consistently powerful relief your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whitest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. up at 2:00am again? tonight, try pure zzzs all night. unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. fall asleep. stay asleep. [growling] [sfx: toaster ding] meet the 4-year-old who refused to wear pants this morning. why, andi? i'm a dinosaur. won't wear pants, will eat eggo waffles. get your wins where you can when you l'eggo with eggo.

♪ get your wins where you can freshness and softness you never forget, with downy. feeling sluggish or weighed down? it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at it's best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day. leading the news several european nations may plan to resume using the astrazeneca covid vaccine after

it was halted due to blood clot incidents. on thursday they ruled the vac seen safe and effective. the restart comes as the republic of san moreno ordered russia's sputnik vaccine we turn to claudia levango good morning as we get a reminder there of the time of day. >> yes absolutely now this looks like, as you can see, a typical beautiful medieval burst on the northeast of italy, it is. this is a country in its own right. it is one of the smallest nations in the world and even though it is within italy, within europe, it's not part of the european union which is why somebody could have access to the sputnik v russian vaccine which has not yet been authorized in the european

union. the citizens here have already been immunized and are being immunized with the russian vaccine. there are many americans because 10% of the population here is made up of experts from the u.s. yesterday i spoke to one of them, a lady who grew up in detroit and has since moved to san marino i asked her how it feels to be one of the first americans to receive the russian vaccine. let's take a listen. >> i felt that it was pretty safe everybody told me that it was pretty safe so i was happy to. i would have preferred if it would have been american or from san marino we take what we can, right >> reporter: well, pia doesn't seem to be the only person that minds being vaccinated with russian vaccine. health authorities said they received hundreds of requests from people outside of san marino who want a russian jab.

many from switzerland, france, germany and as far as from canada. >> the pandemic and vaccine putting san marino on the map. looks beautiful. thank you. still to come, a love letter to the latin culture a new look at the broadway hit heights. super mario, inside the newest edition of the place in japan. i don't even have a stand-in. of course, you do. hold on, is that drake?? that's right. drake from state farm. (in unison) like a good neighbor (in unison again) like a good neighbor hey, stand-ins don't have lines. oh, okay. like a good neighbor, state farm is there rinsing the dishes before they go in the dishwasher? well, new cascade platinum has 50% more cleaning power, like a good neighbor,

so you don't have to. its food-seeking enzymes break down food into particles so small they can flow right down the drain. plus, it's powerful enough for the quick-wash cycle. new cascade platinum with 50% more cleaning power! how did kellogg's combine crunchy oat clusters with a touch of honey... plump, juicy raisins and tasty fiber into one delicious cereal? it took a lot of bran-storming. get it? kellogg's raisin bran crunch. two scoops of delicious. is skincare from around the world better than olay? to find out, olay faced the world. get it? we tested our vitamin b3 formula and beat japan's top moisturizers. south korea's most innovative. and even the $400 french cream. olay regenerist faced 131 premium products in 12 countries, over 10 years. olay's hydration was unbeaten every time. olay. face anything.

today's all we got so we cannot stop. this is our block. >> in the heights. ♪ ♪ >> we're getting our musical fix. a special time for fans for the tony award musical "in the heights. it's hitting theaters and hbo max on june 18th it was set to premiere last summer but it was delayed due to the ongoing health crisis. great to see >> i feel like we've been waiting on this for years and years. they've been talking about it. i missed it. it hasn't been on broadway before the pandemic. >> need a lin manuel fix, too. super nintendo world in japan, no waiting anymore. it has finally opened at universal studios in japan

visitors are encouraged to buy wrist bands. you can punch blocks, beat bad guys and see how you rank. they're being built in los angeles and orlando. we should note universal studios is owned by one of our sister companies. that looks cool. >> really cool this is the closest we're going to get to it still to come, the ground whe w y movie challenging us to a olnewaof looking at the world. its highly active peroxide droplets swipe on in seconds. better. faster. 100% whiter teeth. crestwhitesmile.com this is kansas. and this is country crock. we start with farm-grown ingredients,

slow-churned in the middle of the country. we've also been at the middle of tables for generations. no matter where your table is, bring the country in. and free, and free, and free, and free, free, and free, and free. free, free. and free, and free, and free, and free, free, that's right, turbotax free edition is free. free, free free free. did you know prilosec otc can stop frequent heartburn that's right, turbotax fbefore it begins?ee. heartburn happens when stomach acid refluxes into the esophagus. prilosec otc uses a unique delayed-release formula that helps it pass through the tough stomach acid. it then works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. with just one pill a day, you get 24-hour heartburn protection. prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. - hi sabrina! - hi jen! hi. so you're the scientist here. i just have to ask.

does my aveeno® daily moisturizer really make my dry skin healthier in one day? - it's true jen. - really?! this nourishing prebiotic oat formula moisturizes to help prevent dry skin. - one day? - for real! wow! aveeno®. healthy. it's our nature.™ and for twice the moisture, try the prebiotic oat body wash, too. i gotta say i'm still impressed. very impressed. [growling] [sfx: toaster ding] meet the 4-year-old who refused to wear pants this morning. why, andi? i'm a dinosaur. won't wear pants, will eat eggo waffles. get your wins where you can when you l'eggo with eggo. get your wins where you can struggling to clean tough messes with wipes? try mr. clean magic eraser sheets. just wet, squeeze and erase icky messes in microwaves and on stovetops for an amazing clean, get the power of mr. clean magic eraser in disposable sheets.

it will be a delightful start to spring. enjoy your weekend we'll be right back. gives you 24-hour protection. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. ♪ is delightful chew with pepto bismol chews. [music: "i swear"] jaycee tried gain flings for the first time the oer day... and forgot where she was. you can always spot a first time gain flings user. ♪ how did kellogg's combine crunchy oat clusters with a touch of honey... plump, juicy raisins and tasty fiber into one delicious cereal? it took a lot of bran-storming. get it? kellogg's raisin bran crunch. two scoops of delicious.

is. the story behind the little films sending a big message. nominated for an oscar it challenges us to see the world in a different way lester holt has the story. >> reporter: it's about a man names arty who is both deaf and blind. a sign he displays and the young man compelled to help him. feeling through was inspired by the real life encounter with a deaf blind man. >> what was it about that moment that was so impact fl and it stayed with you.

>> it was making this really heart felt connection with a man from a community i had never experienced before and immediately getting any assumptions i might have dispelled. >> reporter: roland worked with the helen keller center to help audition people from the role. the star was a worker in the center's kitchen robert is deaf and legally blind with an extremely narrow field of vision turned out to be a natural actor. through a sign language interpreter, we talked about his role in an oscar-nominated film. >> your first time out, your first acting role, what does that feel like >> i am very, very happy of course, completely unexpected, but very happy to find out the momentum we've been gaining and i'm just thrilled with it >> reporter: the film breaks ground as the first to star a deaf and blind actor

oscar winning actress marlene mat lynn who is deaf is the film's executive producer. >> people watching i think, i would hope would say, oh, yes, don't feel sorry for a deaf blind person they'll change their minds and say, look, there's a story of two people meeting beyond just the disability, beyond the color of the skin, beyond whatever person or whatever they represent. >> reporter: after the film was completed, doug roland was finally able to track down the real artie >> it was amazing to reunite with him, to let him know he has inspired this whole experience was amazing. it's a great opportunity for people to be moved by and feel connected to a person who's deaf blind and be inspired to learn more about the community afterwards. >> thanks to lester for that feeling through is available on youtube now. it goes to show you when souls connect, it goes way beyond

being able to hear, being able to see >> robert touranga, i haven't seen this movie yet but you can tell his presence and energy lights up the screen looking forward to checking that out. >> thanks for waking up with us.

john tyson's motto was, " when better chickens are hatched, we will hatch them." it's why all of the tyson chicken that bears his name is raised with no antibiotics ever. every nugget, strip and drumstick. keep it real. keep it tyson. a normal walk on the street, especially for asian elders. >> now at 4:30, on high alert. amid an alarming uptick in violent attacks against asian american said, a new show of support. >> a money race for a bay area grandmother who fought off an attacker. >> plus, covid variants and vaccines. the new concerns about the effectiveness of shots and what top health experts are saying now. >> also -- ♪♪ >> are we on the verge of a concert comeback in california? well, the decision made