any use of chemical weapons will be a blatant and brutal violation of international law, the ban on the use of chemical weapons. at the same time we know that russia has used the chemical agents in europe before against their own opponents. >> concern over chemical weapons as the war rages on in ukraine, now entering its 26th day with over 10 million people fleeing their homes since russia started the war. reporter ellison barber gets up close with the children who fled ukraine for safety.

now that a million and a half no longer have a place to call home breaking overnight, supreme court justice clarence thomas has been hospitalized. the latest on his condition plus a preview of judge ketanji brown jackson's hearings that begin today. and the march miracle that is saint peter's the school with just a few thousand students is the cinderella story of the decade "early today" starts right now thanks for starting your week with us. i'm frances rivera >> and i'm cori coffin we begin with breaking news overnight. a health scare on the high court. supreme court justice clarence thomas is in the hospital battling an infection with flu-like symptoms. the court said in a statement that the 73-year-old justice was admitted on friday and has been receiving intravenous antibiotics, adding he could be released in a day or two the court says thomas will participate in any cases that he misses by using briefs and transcripts.

the news comes as historic confirmation hearings get under way for the first black woman nominated to the supreme court arbery jackson will have a preview of what to expect in a few minutes. president joe biden will be traveling to europe this week to coordinate with nato allies. the white house confirming that the president will participate in a nato summit in brussels on thursday and hold a bilateral meeting with poland's president on friday. the trip will not include travel into ukraine this comes as the united nations reports that at least 900 civilians have been killed since the invasion began and 10 million people have been displaced, either moving within ukraine or fleeing to other countries. to demonstrate the incredible oss, empty stroller were displayed in lviv ukrainian officials say they represent the 109 children who have been killed so far. and one of the most devastated cities is mariupol russia demanded that ukrainian forces surrender the town this morning. ukraine has defied that order. nbc's molly hunter joins us live from volovets, ukraine

ukraine is accusing russia of forcing thousands of mariupol residents into camps >> reporter: yeah, frances good morning and this is right now just an accusation this is just a ukrainian claim we don't have any evidence at nbc this has actually happened but the claim came saturday from city officials it said thousands and thousands of mariupol residents were forcibly removed with their passports and taken to a russian town called tagarod. "the new york times" reported the city officials had no proof either that these citizens would be doing forced labor but said that was the assumption. we'll certainly chase any more on that, frances >> i want to ask you about russia claiming they have used hypersonic missiles at least twice in ukraine what do we know about those weapons? >> reporter: frances, that's exactly right. this was a dangerous escalation. russia claimed both saturday and sunday to have used hypersonic missiles these travel up to ten times the speed of sound they can deliver both conventional warheads but also

nuclear warheads and it's definitely a dangerous escalation in the eyes of the west and the rest of the world frankly. russia claimed to use them saturday on an underground missile and ammunition storage site in the west again, on sunday they claimed to use them destroying a fuel depot near mykolaiv. we are certainly again chasing confirmation a lot of claims flying around this morning, frances. >> all right, molly, thank you for the update the russian invasion has devastated communities none more than the children who are suffering the most according to the u.n., more than 1.5 million children have fled ukraine. nbc's ellison barber spoke to some of them >> wow >> reporter: when you watch children playing in the makeshift refugee shelters now scattered across poland, you see a lot of smiles. talk to the same kids and you get the sense that they laugh and play not because they're unaware of the horrors they survived but because it is their way to survive those moments in

hell what is war? >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: so the war is when everybody's in a battle and they're fighting >> translator: and we saw -- we saw equipment. we saw vehicles. and then i don't remember anything >> translator: it's a river of blood. it's loud noises it's terrible. >> reporter: it's hard to talk about scary things, isn't it >> translator: yes yes, it is we don't even have our house anymore. >> reporter: over 3 million refugees have fled ukraine what's her name? >> tatiana >> reporter: tatiana unicef says half are children. like margarita and her sister zlata. before all of this started what were you doing >> translator: my plans were to

go out, to hang out, to study. but not to leave i wanted to be an actress. >> reporter: how have you changed in the last two weeks? do you feel you've had to grow up >> translator: i started -- i started to value everything i have as much as i never did before. i worry about everyone now i worry about my relatives, my loved ones >> reporter: for the older kids there's a determination, a necessity to help. >> i'm looking for my little sister and my little brother i help them. >> reporter: has that been hard because you're just a kid too. >> not so hard >> reporter: pain. instead of fueling hate, galvanizing compassion >> our thanks to ellison barber for that report. the supreme court showdown begins today in the senate as historic confirmation hearings

get under way. we'll hear opening statements and then judge ketanji brown jackson will spend the next few days answering questions from the senate judiciary committee nbc's brie jackson is in d.c. with a preview brie, good morning this is historic in every sense of the word. >> reporter: good morning, frances. absolutely president biden's first pick for the supreme court is also the first black woman nominated to the high court judge ketanji brown jackson was appointed to the influential d.c. circuit court of appeals last year with bipartisan support. she has ivy league credentials and a distinguished legal career she also clerked for justice breyer, who she would be replacing. you can expect a bipartisan tone right from the start a conservative bush appointed d.c. circuit court judge and a pin law professor will introduce judge jackson today ahead of opening statements then questions get under way tomorrow now, sources tell nbc news that jackson has prepared for this hearing for weeks and has braced

for republican attacks around being soft on crime. >> her supporters look at her resume and deduce a special empathy for criminals. i guess that means that government prosecutors and innocent crime victims start each trial at a disadvantage that isn't my assertion. that is what the nominee's liberal supporters are all saying >> judge jackson has been scrutinized more than any person i can think of this is her fourth time before the senate judiciary committee three previous times she came through with flying colors and bipartisan support >> reporter: the white house has not said where president bide lenn watch the proceedings today, but the administration remains confident she'll be confirmed. the question, though, is whether she'll garner republican support. we'll find that out soon the hearings will get under way at 11:00 a.m. eastern time today. frances? >> okay, brie, thank you for the

preview. nbc meteorologist bill karins has been tracking some active weather overnight good morning, bill >> good morning. we're watching the storm kicking through the four corner region when it reaches texas later today, we're going to see some explosive thunderstorms. we have a chance for not only large hail and damaging wind but maybe even significant tornadoes. this will last at least two days, possibly even three, tracking from texas to the east coast. the storm currently located into areas of southern arizona. it is cold throughout much of the central rockies. this pocket of cold air is going to swing through the south and with it's going to come some severe weather here's the severe weather risk for today. it's a large one it includes a lot of population centers. 22 million people included in this from wichita falls to dallas, san antonio, austin, to houston. the area in the middle of it's our enhanced risk for storms, our greater concentration of storms we may even see a strong torntd. keep an eye on the sky, make sure you have a safety plan for your family over the next two days and then tomorrow we even have a moderate risk, maybe even

those storms will sweep to the east. cold behind the storm today in colorado it's not just severe weather, too. flooding will be a big problem with this storm also >> what a mess all right, bill, thank you time now for today's quick hits reggaeton star daddy yankee who made hits like "gasolina" is retiring after 32 years in the business his career will end with a new studio album and world tour. >> kanye west has been banned from performing at this year's grammy awards. it's due to his "concerning online behavior. and the suspected robbers who stole over $300,000 in equipment from the paris show of the netflix show "lupin" have

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to help you get a great night's sleep and wake feeling refreshed. live bountifully. nature's bounty. nail-biters and upsets as the men's ncaa tournament nears the sweet 16 >> they did a nice job sliding his feet >> for the tie >> the horned frogs were a thorn in the side of top seed arizona but the wildcats were able to force overtime tcu had no answer for benedict matherin in the o.t. the pac-12 player of the year had six points in overtime as arizona beats tcu 85-80. earlier in the day duke found themselves down late to michigan state but the blue devils closed the game out with a 20-6 run coach k gets win number 1200, and his team lives to play another day as duke beats the

spartans 85-76 and down goes number 2 auburn it was all about the u in greenville isaiah wong led the charge with 21 points as miami eliminates the tigers 79-61 and the 2 seeds weren't any safer in the women's tournament. >> the number 2 baylor bears were held to just four first quarter points on their home court. it was the 10 seed coyotes that played predator. south dakota led wire to wire and upset baylor 61-47 and in iowa city lauren jensen played spoiler for 2 seed iowa she led creighton with 19 points one last chance for the hawkeyes comes up short at the rim and the upset is complete. the creighton blue jays advance with a hard-fought win 64-62 and who doesn't love a good underdog story especially with these tourneys a college basketball team has stunned the sports world nbc's emily o'ikeda is at saint

peter's university with this march madness miracle. >> wow >> reporter: it turns out peacocks can fly better than you think. >> the peacocks get back defensively! >> reporter: as number 15 seed saint peter's just soared to the sweet 16 >> and it's over saint peter's has done the unthinkable! >> reporter: this moment -- >> peacocks in uncharted territory. >> reporter: -- setting off an explosion of cheers back at home in new jersey. >> it's crazy. i never thought this would happen it's crazy >> reporter: the scrappy underdogs welcomed back to its jersey city arena. the university of just 2,100 has never won an ncaa tournament game before. >> it goes it show you can never count out the lower person because at the end of the day it's march, anything can happen. >> reporter: in a stunning show of dominance this weekend the peacocks fanned their feathers >> you can feel the madness! >> reporter: first upsetting powerhouse kentucky, a number 2 seed, and then murray state. >> another block

and that's going to do it. saint peter's never trailed. >> reporter: the weekend shaping up to be one of the greatest cinderella stories in ncaa history. could you have ever imagined being in this position, heading into the sweet 16? >> i mean, is a kid. i think every basketball player dreams about this. >> reporter: the last new jersey team to make it this far was in 2000 with shaquille holloway as point guard for seton hall now he's coaching the players shocking just about everyone in the country except for the team itself >> i got guys from new jersey and new york city. you think we're scared of anything we haven't had guys trying to outmuscle us and tough us out? we do that >> reporter: saint peter's next game is friday in philly but the peacocks already standing victorious, winning over america's hearts >> and they are jersey city strong >> reporter: with its bracket-busting run. emily ikeda, nbc news, jersey

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new this morning, four u.s. marines were killed friday in an osprey helicopter crash. it happened during a nato cold weather helicopter exercise in norway captain matthew j. tomk ofrmt vich, captain ross a. reynolds, gunnery sergeant james w. speedy and corporal jacob m. moore. the cause of the crash remains under vex. the osprey aircraft has had a troubled history in its two decades it's been flying a mass shooting outside a car show in arkansas has left

one person dead and nearly 30 others injured in happened in the city of dumas on saturday. at least six children were among those wounded. investigators believe the shooting started as a gunfight between two people one person thought to be connected to the shooting has been arrested on unrelated charges. officials are still looking for two more suspects. well, it is no doubt that the price of gas is hitting millions of americans hard according to aaa the national average is now set at 4.26 a gallon with millions forced to pay more at the pump two states are doing something about it in georgia governor brian kemp signed a bill temporarily halting the gas tax until the end of may maryland did something similar they're passing a gas tax holiday, suspending that tax until the end of the month with more updates to follow after that as well >> certainly doesn't take much anywhere traveling near or far something you're going to feel up next, bill's got your monday forecast. plus inside the fight for trans unprecedented number of

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check out this beautiful sight in washington, d.c the cherry blossom festival has kicked off now that spring is pushing out winter as much as possible the festival lasts until april 17th bill's back with a look at some flash flood threats over the next few days. hi, bill what are you watching? >> yeah, it's not just that tornado threat but flash flooding could even be widespread from areas from lufkin to shreveport, maybe all the way up to memphis. we just had a new area, all of central mississippi has now just been included in this flash flood watch. again, this will be later on tonight and then all day tomorrow as these storms travel over the same areas. we are watching a chance for two to four inches, widespread yellow, but that area from shreveport to memphis could be the heaviest by far. today's forecast enjoy the cherry bloss sxmz a beautiful day, guys, up and down the eastern seaboard >> all right thank you so much, bill. soccer legend david beckham

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live bountifully. soccer star david beckham lent his instagram story to give a look at working conditions in kharkiv. >> [ speaking foreign language ] that's irina she showed us how doctors treated newborns as the war developed. she also gave a look at some of the hospital machines that were donated by unicef. beckham's instagram account has over 70 million followers.

ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy shared this photo of a video call with mila kunis and ashton kutcher the actors raised $35 million to support ukrainian refugees steve martin, billy porter and audra macdonald are among the stars joining a ten-hour telethon to raise money for ukrainian humanitarian relief. the stars in the house special will air on youtube on saturday. epic games announced it's collaborating with xbox to donate all of its proceeds from its video game fortnite for the next two weeks to ukrainian aid. vermont state police are donating body armor to be sent to ukrainian military units. officials say over 100 vests have been donated so far and an italian bakery is raising dough to help ukrainians leaving their country. matteo consolo is selling this blue and yellow peace bread with proceeds going to help refugees heading to italy now to an important consumer alert. volkswagen is recalling 246,000 sport suvs in the u.s. and canada because of a faulty

wiring issue that can impact the brakes, airbags, and windows of the car. the recall includes the 2020 through 2023 volkswagen atlas cross-sports models as well as the 2019 through 2023 volkswagen atlas. the company will notify dealers and owners by mail on may 10th of 2022 if their vehicles are impacted florida highway patrol is thanking the good samaritans who stepped in to help a trooper during a scuffle >> let's go. >> no! >> dash cam video shows drivers racing to the rescue after the man punches the officer in the face officials say the 24-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer. state lawmakers are introducing a record number of anti-lgbtq plus bills. back in 2018 just 41 bills were filed. that number has surged to a record 238 so far this year, and about half of the proposed bills

target transgender people specifically according to an nbc news analysis of data from the american civil liberties union, nearly 670 anti-lgbtq plus bills have been filed since 2018 and today is national single parents day. to all o

we are live thon 26th day of the war in ukraine as the russians set a deadline demanding the ukrainian military lay down their arms. >> an investigation into ghost guns and how easy they are to acquire and fire without a trace. overnight, supreme court justice clarence thomas hospitalized with flu-like symptoms as the senate begins the questioning of ketanji brown jackson. and then there were 16 as arizona survives a tcu upset during