negz to the 100,000 u.s. forces now stationed in europe nato established as you know four new battle groups from romania, hungary, bulgaria, slovakia, to reinforce the eastern front. >> military buildup as president biden and our nato allies and partners turn up the heat on russia and the war in ukraine enters the 30th day. new details this morning on an investigation into text messages from jenny thomas, wife of supreme court justice

clarence thomas to then trump chief of staff meadows on january > gassed to the max. giving some relief to residents. we'll hear from the driver of that red pickup truck who survived being tossed around by that tornado earlier this week and one of the biggest fans in the world is taking neutrality to the next level how cold play is using the power of their audience to fuel stadium shows. it's friday. "early today" starts right now >> thanks for ending your week with us. i'm frances rivera the united states and its european allies taking a tough stand against vladimir putin's month long war during an emergency nato summit the united nations released a new wave of sanctions putting economic pressure on russia. brie, good morning what can you tell us about these new measures >> reporter: president biden is

reinforcing solidarity with the 29 nations and doubling down with russia with strick new sanctions. mr. biden warning russian president vladimir putin against escalating his attacks with chemical weapons >> have you gathered specific intelligence that suggests president putin is deploying these weapons, moving them into position or considering their w he did use chemical weapons? >> you know, on th can't answert i'm not not going to give you intelligence data, number one. number two, we would respond we would respond if he uses it the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use. >> world leaders unveiled another round of sanctions targeting more than 400 including members of russia's government and the russia power elite. ukraine's president zelenskyy spoke to the nato allies

virtually warning the alliance still isn't doing enough to help president biden will be in poland today meeting with some of the millions of refugees who have fled ukraine since the war started. >> i'm sure there are heart breaking stories brie, thank you. >> ukrainian forces continue to make advances around kyiv, pushing back russia's ground troops from the capital but the air bombardment hasn't stopped meanwhile russia's offensive in the south took a hit ukrainian forces claim they destroyed one russian ship and damaged two other vessels. nbc's molly hunter joins us now from lviv. good morning the concern is it's concentrating its power in the east like areas around mariupol which has already been so devastated >> rr power but also you mention that russian

ship the ukrainians hit yesterday. you have to get out of the city in private vehicles. there were two humanitarian corridors planned for today. one from mariupol to zaporizhzhia >> we want to ask during his address to nato president zelenskyy accused russia of using phosphorus bombs what do we know about those allegations? >> this was a headline grabbing headline yesterday morning he did not provide any evidence or proof the pentagon has said they don't have proof because they don't have boots on the ground

look, white phosphorus burns at an extremely high temperature and often used to illuminate conflict zones or obscure them with smoke can cause horrific burns, respiratory damage, shock and organ failure. very certain across that red line we've heard western leaders talk about poland has welcomed ukrainian refugees with open arms providing jobs, health care and school for children. but resources in some cities like warsaw, are becoming strained by the influx of people the population has so far expanded by an estimated 300,000 in just a month. nbc's jay gray is on the ground there. good morning keep us up-to-date on the latest >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you well, they're excited about the president's visit here it'll be just behind me at the old castle where they're setting up barricades and things you would expect when the president was coming to town the two leaders will sit down in that old castle tomorrow to

discuss among other things that flow of refugees you talk about and what can be done to boost the humanitarian aid here. president biden travels to a country that continues to give past its means of the more than half 3.5 million refugees that escaped in ukraine more than 2 million are in poland. the burden here is enormous. shelters and cities overwhelmed to support those in need quickly running out. >> this is not something that romania or germany should carry on their own >> reporter: the president announcing a billion dollars in humanitarian assistance and promising to provide an easier path for 100,000 refugees to relocate to the u.s. there are already 300,000 refugees in warsaw alone city services stretched to their

limits with the mayor remaining committed to those who struggled to get here. >> but we're going to do everything we can to help refugees whoever comes to warsaw from ukraine will be helped >> reporter: it's a daunting proposition. as families huddle in places like this underground rail station, others in what's left of a bombed out apartment. more than 6 million ukrainians don't have a place to go in their own country. and as they search for safety most will likely follow the already well-worn path into poland yeah, and, look, some say the second surge will be even greater than the first wesaw frances, that's troubling for those who are trying to help those coming across the border >> such a tough situation. all right, jay, thank you. as many countries move to reduce their dependence on russian oil, canada is hoping to help fill that void. our neighbors to the north say they plan to increase their gas exports by up to 300,000 a

barrel per day this year, which would amount to an increase of about 5% this comes as states here in the u.s. try to find ways to cut prices at the pump here's nbc's miguel almaguer >> reporter: as gas prices in many parts of california easily surge past $6 and towards $7 a gallon, the state's governor wants americans to see money in their wallet it passed by state lenl silaters gavin newsom's proposal would give all state residents with a registered vehicle a $400 debit card regardless of the car they drive or how much money they make >> we would like to see the aid targeted to low and moderate income households, the people who are most negatively affected by rising prices >> reporter: while critics contend newsom sfs plan doesn't adequately help most in need >> instead of just arguing about

who's to blame for it, we decided to take immediate action >> reporter: governors in three states including maryland have already suspended state gas taxes. and while some makers on capitol hill also propose suspending the federal gas tax, taxes only account for 15% of the cost of a gallon >> the gas tax is a minor component of the final price of gasoline it is not the majority of the cost >> reporter: while there's no agreement on how to ease the pain at the pump, what does seem certain there likely won't be any widespread relief anytime soon back to you. >> miguel, thank you breaking this morning, new details as the january 6th house committee is in possession of text messages between former trump chief of staff mark meadows and jenny thomas conservative activist and wife of supreme court justice clarence thomas. according to a source familiar with the investigation the messages on keeping then

president trump in office. the text messages were in a trove of documents meadows turned over to the panel before he stopped cooperating with the investigation. a committee spokesperson declined to comment on the context of the texts cnn first reported the january 6th panel obtained messages. "the washington post" is cnbc obtained copies of the conversation and reviewed them both outlets say they were then confirmed by five people who have seen the committee's documents. nbc news has not reviewed the text messages. the 29 messages took place between november 2020 and mid-january 2021 in one text after president joe biden was projected the winner thomas reportedly told meadows he should encourage trump not to concede. nbc news has reached out to mark meadow's attorney and jenny thomas for comment the post and wall street journal also reported none of the messages mentioned her husband justice thomas or the supreme court. it news comes after justice clarence thomas was hospitalized

for infection. it is unclear he's still in the hospital, and the supreme court did not respond when asked for information about his health it was a night of nail biters and big plays as the men's ncaa tournament reached the sweet 16 >> duke had to fight from behind with texas tech. paolo led all scores with 22 and the coach gets his 100th tournament victory duke wins it the houston cougars pounced on top ranked arizona houston led wire to require to advance 72-60. and the arkansas faithful chanting after a monumental win. ganzaga was the overall number

one team in the tournament but proved to be no match for the razorbacks arkansas completes the upset 74-68. >> the wild cats walked out of the gym with an elite eight birth. the action continues tonight with a cinderella st. peters squad duking it out with perdue. and the creighton blue jays look to fly high against iowa state as we kick off your friday let's bring in nbc meteorologist bill karins for your forecast and how we're looking for the weekend. >> the weather looks a lot calmen than it did earlier this week we do have som with. a blast of winter returns to areas of the midwest great lakes today. and out west and continues to be very warm, record highs are expected once again in many ways at least 37 locations should see record highs between now and

sunday and for today fresno could be about 87 degrees reno up to 80 degrees, too even at the higher elevations still extremely warm you want to talk about cold mornings, wind chills in the teens and single digits this weekend from the midwest minnesota. and we're still watching things drying out finally in the southeast. yeah, it's been a wet period for all those spring breakers in florida. they're going to enjoy the sunshine this weekend, guys. >> they'll deserve it. thank you. in today's shot of the day check this out, an illinois fisherman is now a state record holder for catching this, the largest paddle fish. according to the missouri department of conservation that man caught this paddle fish that weighed a whopping 140 pounds,

10 ounces. this was at the lake of the oswrarks, and this was earlier this month he said it took at least 20 minutes to reel this fish in how one new jersey hospital is donating $70,000 to help the ukraine refugee crisis and rapper 50 cent changes the life of one houston high school student we're back in one minute on sunday night and every night. nyquil severe the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing aching, stuffy head best sleep with a cold... medicine. and try vicks convenience pack. with vicks super c. a daily supplement with vitamin c and b vitamins to help energize and replenish. and dayquil severe. the max strength daytime, coughing, power through your day, medicine. from vicks. trusted for over 125 years. ever notice how stiff clothes coughing, power through your day, medicine. can feel rough on your skin? for softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free & gentle downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin.

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supplies of medicine and health supplies to ukrainian refugees in poland. democratic representative sydney jordan said the state, quote, cannot standideally by while war crimes are being committed. meanwhile ice hockey's governing body called for an independent ethics probe into the iahf president. khl they say was instructed to support the war in ukraine powered by fans and we're not talking about wind turbines. how cold play is using the crowd to go green at the concerts. and all eyes on the auction block as tupac's childhood poems go up for sale -oh, that...? i'm not sure... -it's a nail fungus infection. -...that's gross! -it's nothing, really... -it's contagious. you can even spread it to other people. -mom, come here! -don't worry about it. it'll go away on its own! -no, it won't go away on its own.

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in today's news by the numbers weekly jobless claims dropped to the lowest levels since 1969 amid a robust labor

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tornado while driving in texas earlier this week. leon said he was on his way home from a job interview on monday when he got caught in a tornado that tipped over his red pickup truck and it bounced it right back up right. riley wasn't hurt but his truck was badly damaged. here's the good news, the teen says he got the job, and that's not all. a north texas chevy dealer is gifting him a brand new 2022 red chevy silverado. >> let's take a look back with bill for your weekend conditions >> tranquil weather. no severe storms expected this weekend, which is nice change. watching cold conditions we will see some lake effect snow showers and snow squalls from ohio to west virginia, mountains of pennsylvania and also western new york. by the time we get to sunday that's when we'll see those snow squalls continuing >> cold play taking everything eco inside their most carbon

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try nervivenerve relief. one of the biggest bands in the world is leaving a smaller carbon footprint cold play revamped its concerts to be powered by the fans. telemundo correspondent reports for nbc news >> reporter: it's one of the biggest bands in the world now taking an environmental stand equal to its status on the world stage. and relying on cycling and dancing fans to power its show

that's exactly what a cold play concert will look like from now on the british band said they wouldn't tour again until they were able to rock stadiums and the world in the clean s, most sustainable way possible after they got the formula right they kicked off their world tour in costa rica where we met up with chris and the band to talk about an ambitious project >> we felt like we have to do the best in our business, too. it's all very well to point fingers at other people, but we need to be doing our best. >> reporter: from beginning to end every single detail was considered in order to reduce their carbon footprint by at least half the lights and screens consume less energy, theado system uses 50% less power the stage is made from bamboo and recycled steel new fireworks emit a less explosive charge even the confetti is 100%

biodegradable. and this time the concert will be powered by a battery, the first of its kind made from recycled bmw car batteries and run by the fans themselves this time around cold play has installed these stationary banks in each and every one of their shows. the more fans pedal, the more kinetic energy is created to run the shows. those who would rather dance do so on these kinetic dance floors in the audience. >> we want to show that certain things work so that other artists or other businesses say, okay, you can still do all right and consider all this stuff. >> reporter: an enormous commitment from one of the biggest bands in the world that's bringing music and sustainability together one concert at a time. thank you so, so much. in san jose, costa rica, nbc

news >> well played, cold play. man, other bands i can see them following and doing the same thing. >> that's how you innovate and that is how you follow and lead by example. >> and fans got to love them even more. >> thanks fo test. test.

right now at 4:30, pushing for a new trial. scott peterson is set to return to court this morning. the one person his lawyers want to talk to and why they're having trouble getting to her. >> this is not something that poland or romania or germany should carry on their own. >> a show of support for ukraine, as president biden heads from brussels to poland. his attention now turning to the humanitarian crisis. we're going to break down his new push to help those hit hardest by russia's relentless assault. >> plus, gas, groceries and rent all sky high.

when will we see some