a weekend with more deadly mass shootings a manhunt in austin, texas is under way after three people were killed. the suspected killer is a former detective. nation on edge closing arguments in the murder of george floyd as the jury will get the casen just a matter of hours to decide the fate of derek chauvin. the u.s. surpasses at least 131 million americans who have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as the world passes a grim milestone of three million dead from the virus. first in flight on mars. today nasa will launch a

helicopter on the red planet just a few hours from now. the suspected poacher pays the ultimate price as elephants at a south african national park fight back and paying it forward one meal at a time with the giving wall some good news as we kick off this pivotal week. "early today" starts right now >> good monday morning i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. out of austin, texas, a manhunt is under way for a former sheriff detective suspected of killing three people police believe stephen broderick gunned down two women and a man just before noon yesterday officers spent hours searching for him before lifting a shelter in place order investigators say the 41-year-old knew the victims, but urged austin residents to stay vigilant. >> he is still at large. we dk that he is armed, and he is very much da charged

with sexual assault of a child in june of last year he bonded out and resigned from the sheriff's office a minnesota carjacking suspect is dead after a shootout with police. according to police, a white man in his 20s was driving a car with stolen plates and then crashed. the suspect seen there, hops out of the slow-moving car and attempts to carjack another vehicle. the man allegedly fired shots at the officers and they shoot back, hitting him. he was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead. the minnesota bureau of criminal apprehension is now investigating the shooting the trial that has garnered international attention could set a precedent for policing today all eyes will be on minneapolis where closing arguments and jury deliberations will begin in the trial of derek chauvin. cities across the country have increased security, bracing for a verdict. our meagan fitzgerald is following the story for us >> reporter: minneapolis on high alert. windows boarded up national guard members on nearly

every block, preparing for unrest as the case against ex-officer derek chauvin comes to a close >> this moment is of enormous consequence for our city, for our state, and for our nation and our world. >> reporter: the jury will hear closing arguments from both sides before their deliberations begin. >> a verdict has to be unanimous. so all 12 jurors will have to vote either guilty or not guilty any split in the juror, even one juror who is a holdout for, for example, not guilty, that results in a hung jury and a mistrial >> reporter: from coast-to-coast, cities are gearing up nypd officers not allowed to take time off. minneapolis public schools halting in-person learning starting wednesday, bracing for widespread protests as some 3,000 national guard members are activated sooner than expected >> we planned for the unexpected clearly, our -- even our phases did not account for specific

officer-involved shooting. just right in the mids of certainly the trial. >> that shooting of daunte wright starking seven straight days of demonstrations in the streets. >> say his name! >> daunte wright. >> reporter: adding fuel to the fire the police shooting of 13-year-old adam toledo in chicago. >> adam, we love you. >> reporter: all eyes are on this courthouse in minneapolis >> i have to believe that the nation and frankly the world will be watching this verdict. >> reporter: as far as deliberations are concerned, jurors can take as little or as much time as they need to reach a decision but legal expert says when jurors are sequestered, which they will be, usually a verdict is returned a lot faster phillip? >> all right, meagan, thank you. the united states marks anothee in the covid vaccination roll-outl adults hat gotten their first dose. that's more than 130 million americans. and today is the deadline marked

by president biden for all states to open eligibility to everyone 16 and over for more, here is nbc's jennifer johnson. >> one, two, three >> reporter: in a race against the pandemic, president biden has set a deadline for states to open up vaccinations to all adults half the adult population now has at least one shot. but the numbers of people with vaccine hesitancy is growing after reports of at least six people developed rare blood clots after receiving the johnson & johnson vaccine. >> my family had appointments today. they all canceled. >> reporter: the cdc has put a pause on the j&j vaccine its advisory committee meets friday, but officials believe it will return to the market in some form. >> i doubt very seriously if they just cancel it. i don't think that's going to happen i do think there will likely be some sort of warning or restriction or risk assessment >> reporter: while some are delaying their shots, hospitalizations and er visits are rising daily new cases are pushing 70,000 10,000 is the goal to better

manage the pandemic. michigan is now seeing 10% of the country's new cases with at least 35 hospitals at 90% capacity >> we're imploring people to take their two-week pause. don't go for virtual learning after spring break. >> reporter: pfizer and moderna have already announced people who got their vaccines will likely need a third shot but dr. fauci says that decision will be made by the cdc and fda, likely by the end of the summer after they study the vaccine's long-term protection jennifer johnson, nbc news, washington let's turn to the global fight against covid. the worldwide death toll has now reached over three million and some countries are reporting their deadliest days as they struggle with new variants and have limited access to vaccine where are we seeing these dangerous surges of the virus? >> good morning, phillip

the u.s. is still the most affected country in the world, of course it is in brazil and india that the viralmost every day. and what's even more worrying in that country is that the new variants of the virus which has been found in brazil is affecting younger and younger people now they're saying they're seeing more and more people under the age of 40 being hospitalized and dying on the other side of the world, as we mentioned india, which has taken over from brazil, the second most affected country in the world recently after a series of religious festivals act as super spreader events well, hospitals and oxygen are quickly running out in the hospitals. and that's and sportsn india is acting not only that country but the vaccine is the solution. india is the biggests the

u.n.-sponsored vaccination program for poorer countries because of what's happening in india, they're delaying the export of the vaccines to solve their own problems first phillip, frances >> we see the worldwide impact on that there. thank you so much for the update doctors say kremlin critic alexey navalny's life is hanging in the balance navalny is serving a 2 1/2 year prison sentence in a russian prison camp and has been on a hunger strike for two weeks because he has been denied adequate medical care. he could die at any moment and the white house warns there will be consequences if that happens. good morning, matt >> good morning, frances well since navalny entered this prison colony about a month or so ago, there has been this abstract possibility, we're all aware of it, that he could die there. just based on everything we heard over the weekend from his

team, it seems to have moved to become a distinct possibility, and everyone is bracing for it now, including the west. we just saw over the weekend biden's national security adviser jake sullivan say there will be consequences if this happens. and i think we have a clip of that so let's take a listen >> we have communicated to the russian government that what happens to mr. navalny in their custody is their responsibility and they will be held accountable by the international community. in terms of the specific measures that we would undertake we are looking at a variety of different costs that we would impose and i'm not going to telegraph that publicly at this point, but we have communicated that will be consequences if mr. navalny dies >> navalny's team has not been waste any time in planning their next move. for the past few weeks we've been waiting for an announcement of the next major protest actions in support of mr. navalny. over the weekend his right-hand man leonid volkov told

supporters now is the make or break moment they don't have the time to wait they've called for a major protest wednesday night. and they've been billed essentially as the opposition's final fight against in their words ultimate evil. the next few days in the story look like they'll be pretty decisive frances? >> next few days decisive, but certainly so many staggering developments in this story so many staggering developments. thank you. a new poll might have texas governor greg about a bat feeling dazed and confused this morning. according to the survey from "the dallas morning news" and the university of texas at tyler, actor matthew mcconaughey holds a double-digit lead against the current governor in a hypothetical head to head. 45% to abbott's 33%. the question is whether the star would say all right, all right, all right to a gubernatorial run. last month mcconaughey told al roker he would consider the idea >> very interesting numbers there. spring is in the air, but snow was again like we've been talking about is in the

forecast janessa webb joins us now with more on that snow. >> good morning. last week we were talking about this next storm system and it's already starting to brew across the rockies into the central u.s. and that's why winter weather alerts, they're in place we have advisories and winter storm warnings we're going to see a good amount of snow for the higher elevations then this snow really expands into the midwest, northeast and parts of the tennessee valley as we go into your midweek. so right now the forecast is calling for an additional 2 to 4 inches in these spots. and we could set some records for the latest snowfall across chicago all the way into detroit.

also, freeze warnings. we'll talk about that coming up. >> not letting up. >> yep strange times. thanks, janessa. indian police found one crazy creature in an animal smuggling raid authorities rescued this pangolin, which is about 4 feet long, weighs just over 30 pounds one person was arrested in the raid the world wildlife fund says the pangolin is one of the most trafficked mammals in all of asia when we come back, surprising new polling on america's views of the u.s. supreme court. plus, the tables are turned on a suspected elephant poacher in south africa. c'mon him? oo, i like him! nooooo... noooo... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty picks up messes quicker and each sheet is 2x more absorbent , so you can use less.

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limits, while the rest did not express an opinion the poll also found that 38% would support expanding the size of the court by adding four more justices the data comes just days after some democratic lawmakers introduce legislation to expand the supreme court to 13 justices some sad news out of charlotte, north carolina where america's oldest living person has died 116-year-old hester ford passed away saturday at her home surrounded by family she was born in 1904 in lancaster, south carolina. she grew up working on a farm, planting and picking cotton and plowing the fields she leaves behind 12 children, 48 grandchildren, and 120 great grandchildren. all right. the animal kingdom fights back a suspected rhino poacher was trampled to death by a herd of breeding elephants in south africa's kruger national park. the man and two accomplices were running from park rangers when they encountered the herd. one of the alleged poachers was

captured according to investigators, the third suspect is still on the run after suffering an eye injury an ax and a rifle were recovered by authorities >>. >> the san jose sharks patrick u is waking up today on the brink of played his 1,767th game. that ties the great gordie howe for the most games played in league history it's a record that howe said 41 years ago. the sharks' next game is tonight in las vegas, giving marleau the opportunity to break that record the soccer world is set to turn on its head with 12 of europe's top clubs announcing plans to break away from their leagues and form a super league. the league says they will have 15 teams before play begins. uefa, the governing body for european soccer condemned the plan in a statement saying threatening bands major competition for players to part take in the league we have much more ahead here

including an urgent consumer alert on peloton's tadllremi and nasa prepares for its first flight on another planet played in reverse] this...is our shot. the covid-19 vaccines are ready. and so is walgreens, with pharmacy experts ready to make it easy for you to get it safely, for free. because this is our shot... ...at getting back together. ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ blots of vitamins a and c.. and only 45 calories a serving. good morning, indeed. v8. the original plant-powered drink. veg up. so you want to make the best burger ever? then make it! that means cooking day and night until... [ ding ] success!

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we're back with an alert for peloton owners the consumer product safety commission issuing a warning about tread plus exercise machines they're aware of at least 39 injuries to children and pets. one child has died following an

accident involving the treadmill. peloton is disputing the claims, saying the machines are safe as listening as owners follow the company's safety instructions. incidents can be reported to safer products.gov it is a another big day for nasa as they prepare for anuity scheduled to take off this morning, potentially marking a groundbreaking first for mars. nbc's erin mclaughlin has the details. >> reporter: nasa's gearing up for another first for the red planet, a history-making powered flight on mars >> i am just on the edge of my seat it is the first time we will ever have demonstrated controlled powered flight on any other body, anywhere other than earth. >> reporter: known as ingenuity, it's 19 inches tall, weighing in at just under 4 pounds, powered by solar panels, scheduled to lift off early you see it here testing out its

blades the very first flight it's expected to take off only a few feet from the ground, hover in the air for 20 to 30 seconds and then land. >> it's actually really hard to fly on mars. there is just not very much atmosphere it's only about 1% of the atmosphere that we have on earth. we actually haveit has to do evn its own. >> reporter: ingenuity arrived on mars attached to the belly of perseverance but the $85 million project operates independently >> we can prove that we can do it, it opens the landscape for all kinds of new ways to explore other parts of the solar system. >> so what are the odds this is going to be a success? >> i think it's almost 100% it's going to be successful. >> reporter: high hopes of ingenuity will soon be known as the little helicopter that could. erin mclaughlin, nbc news, los angeles. >> can't wait to hear how it goes >> janessa is up next with a look at the week ahead in weather. plus residents of an oklahoma town hit hard by this pandemic have found a uniqueay w

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we're back with the story about a small gesture of turning into a larger movement and the town helping those in need get healthy, hot meals nbc's kate snow has more on the giving wall. >> reporter: along historic route 66 in northeast oklahoma, you'll find miama. the town of 13,000 hit hard by the pandemic but its restaurants and residents are making challenging times a little easier. >> 22 we're up. >> reporter: one hot dish at a time >> it's a giving wall here at zack's cafe. >> reporter: on this giving

wall, anyone can offer any amount to pay for a meal up-front >> we've been helped many times when we were in a position where we needed it. >> reporter: anyone can claim it, judgment free, no questions asked. >> each meal we purchased, we added an extra meal to that. and put it up on the wall. >> reporter: the simple idea kicking off a movement of kindness in this tight knit town. >> we're a giving community. we take care of each other >> just like to help people out. >> there are lots of people out there now that need it >> reporter: jennifer white put up the first giving wall back in february at her restaurant, the dawg house >> uknew the talent was awesome but i didn't know they would step up in such a big impactful way. >> reporter: after just one day, the wall was full of free meals. >> all i've done is put up a sign and given people in our town the room the give and they picked up the torch and embraced wit a passion. >> reporter: that spirit quickly spreading just up main street to

zack's cafe. >> we started it and seal see how it goes, and it blew up. the community every day is paying tickets on the wall, every single day. >> reporter: between the two giving wall, the little town has made a big impact, donating more than one thousand meals so far this year. the generosity a lifeline for neighbors like mary and her husband. >> i think that's wonderful. they're good people and i appreciate that. >> reporter: a small town helping when it's needed most. >> these meals truly matter to the people that come in and get them it's been a tough year for everybody. so why not do everything we can to make people smile, make them feel warm inside and out, give them a hot meal. >> so far the movement to provide meals shows no signs of stopping, and frances, the idea has even spread to restaurants in nearby towns. >> thank you, kate and that's the part right there. you do something nice and it spreads. >> i like she said she gives

them the room to give and they did. i want to see the stories beyond the pandemic i love the idea. >> the rate we're going, we might be in good shape sticking around with that kindness >> thanks for watching "early today. i'm frances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. follow u

a nation on edge more mass shootings over the weekend. a manhunt in austin for a suspected killer as the jury in the derek chauvin murder trial and george floyd will hear closing arguments in just a few hours. and the nation braces for the outcome. >> the "new york times" reports at least three police shootings per day since the start of the chauvin trial, but could congress be on the brink of new police reform? half of all americans have received at least one dose of covid vaccine.