and the award for the most dramatic moment at the oscars goes to will smith with chris rock in a supporting role. the slap that stole the academy awards and what will smith said later in his best actor speech plus all the big winners. president biden reaffirms that the u.s. is not seeking regime change in russia after denouncing vladimir putin and his latest in hard-hit mariupol. >> with sinking poll numbers for the president, the administration is proposing a new tax increase that could hit high earners up to 20%. >> president women take center

stage at the ncaa tournament as the peacocks' historic run comes to a tar heel end. honoring trailblazers. a tribute to the tuskegee airmen on a day of commemoration. a busy week kicks off. "early today" starts right now good morning and thanks for waking up with us, i'm vinita nair. >> glad you're with us, i'm frances riff ver have a. the moment that stole the show and changed the tone of the entire night at the academy awards award-winning actor will smith getting physical with fellow actor and comedian chris rock. the contentious moment happened late into the ceremony when comedian chris rock told a joke about actress jada pinkett smith starring in "g.i. jane 2" apparently because her head is shaved she has spoken in the past about experiencing hair loss due to alopecia the joke didn't sit well with husband will smith, who walked on stage and slapped chris, take a look [ laughter ] >> oh, wow wow!

will smith just smacked the [ bleep ] out of me. [ laughter ] >> keep my wife's name out your [ bleep ]ing mouth. >> wow, dude >> yeah. >> it was a "g.i. jane" joke. >> keep my wife's name out your [ bleep ] mouth! >> i'm going to. >> the whole tone of the ceremony shifted after that moment smith came back to the stage after winning best actor for his role in "king richard. in his speech he talked about being a defender of his family >> i'm being called on in my life to love people. and to protect people. and to be a river to my people i want to apologize to the academy, i want to apologize to all my fellow nominees

>> a visibly upset will smith. this year's oscars was hosted by wanda sykes, amy schumer, regina hall ariana debose won best actress in a supporting role for her performance in "west side story," making her the first queer black woman to do so actor troy kotsur became the first deaf man to win an academy award for his role in "coda. jane campion became the third woman to win best director for "the power of the dog. "dune" took home a total of six awards including best cinematography "coda" won three oscars, including best picture, making it the first film produced by a streaming service to win in the category. the war in ukraine rages on, now in its second month. a u.n. reports estimates over 1,100 civilians have been killed, including at least 99 children over 1,700 injured, including

126 children in many areas those who were killed or wounded cannot be counted, including in the besieged city mariupol, left out of that report this as another round of negotiations are expected this week, this time in turkey. we turn to gabe gutierrez joining us live from lviv. what can we expect from these latest talks >> reporter: good morning, frances. it is hard to see where any type of breakthrough, serious breakthrough, could come from these talks. because repeatedly, we have heard from ukrainian officials that they will not compromise on any territory disputes analysts have wondered whether perhaps as part of these talks, perhaps some sort of cease-fire, some negotiation could be reached, some agreement could be reached, where perhaps ukraine could be carved up into separate areas, perhaps russia could take control of the east, the donbas region, in which there have been russian-backed separatists that have been there for years. also perhaps an area of crimea

and people have been wondering whether that could happen. at the same time the ukrainians say that's a nonstarter. so it's hard to see where these peace talks could go but yes, as you mentioned, frances, they are set to begin this week in turkey. even as the fighting rages in this country. >> and as well as the humanitarian crisis there in the city of mariupol it is dire what can you tell us about the evacuation efforts there as russian troops continue closing in >> reporter: frances, local officials say more than 160,000 people are still in that city with no food, water, electricity. we have been speaking with refugees that have been coming from that area, including one woman we spoke with yesterday who said she had to walk 50 miles to be able to reach a bus that was able to take her out of that region. yesterday we also heard, frances, a humanitarian corridor, there were problems reaching the city, that buses were an hour and a half outside of the city. so residents had to make their way to those buses easier said than done with that

constant shelling. disastrous situation there local officials continue to warn of humanitarian catastrophe under way. >> we see that with aid not being able to get in, and siftians not being able to get out. gabe, thank you. the president is back in the u.s. this morning with his fiery remarks still reverberating around the world he went off script during a speech in poland, saying that russia's vladimir putin cannot remain in power. nbc's brie jackson is in d.c. with the latest. brie, the administration quickly walked back those comments >> reporter: good morning, vanita president biden has stepped up his criticism of vladimir putin in recent days just last week calling him a war criminal but this weekend's ad lib took it a step further. the nine words came at the end of a nearly 30-minerallying cry for unity and support for ukraine. some say it was tantamount to a call for regime change in russia >> we'll have a different

future, a brighter future rooted in democracy and principle, open, light, decency and dignity, freedom of possibilities. for god's sake, this man cannot remain in power. >> the kremlin quickly condemned those comments while secretary of state antony blinken clarified what the president meant. >> i think the president, the white house, made the point last night that, quite simply, president putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against ukraine or anyone else. as you know, as you've heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in russia or anywhere else, for that matter. >> a new nbc news poll shows that only about 40% of the country approves of the president's response to the war in ukraine that's in line with his overall approval rating, which is now at the lowest level of his presidency while the war was a top concern for many americans, inflation

and the cost of living were the biggest issues on the minds of most of those polled only 33% of the president's -- only 33% approve of the president's handling of the economy. vanita speaking of the economy, i want to ask you about the economic message we've heard the president say in the past, the wealthier should be paying now. tell us about the plan >> reporter: that's right, the president is targeting billionaires with a new minimum tax. according to a document obtained by cnbc, the billionaire minimum income tax would add a 20% minimum tax rate on households worth more than $100 million half of the revenue would come from those worth over $1 billion. the document says that the tax would make sure the wealthiest americans no longer pay a tax rate lower than teachers and firefighters the proposal would slash the nation's deficit by $360 billion. the president is expected to

unveil the plan as part of his 2023 budget later today. back to you. >> as we've heard, some of these billionaires agree with that proposal as well brie, thank you. an arctic blast hitting the country from the great lakes to the northeast. let's bring in nbc meteorologist bill karins to fill us in, good morning. >> yeah, good monday morning and not what we want to see as we head into our monday, as we head towards the end of march. you kind of hope the end of march is going to be more springlike than winter like, but that's not the case. everyone scrambling for hats and gloves from the great lakes to the midwest. 13 in detroit. syracuse, windchill of 8 new york at 19 negative 2 in northern minnesota. it's a very cold, almost february-type morning across much of the midwest, the great lakes, ohio valley, and northeast. as far as this afternoon goes, it will warm up a little bit but these temperatures are still about 10 to 20 degrees warmer than they should be. this time of year, this is about

as cold as it gets for the middle of the day. tonight, we do it again. another continuation of this cold lows tomorrow morning again well below freezing so just be rockies today and into the central plains it is just brutally cold in the northeast. a lot of people saw snow this weekend, too, guys there's still snow out there this morning, so yeah, it's still march. not april yet. >> things are starting to bloom, then it's snowing. go figure. thank you, bill. one atlanta high school senior has a lot to celebrate after raking in over $1 million worth of college scholarship offers not only is mckenzie thompson's high school resume impressive, so is her list of 49 college

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performers and athletes. they insist this should be extended to city workers the firefighters association president estimates at least 400 firefighters are unvaccinated and at risk of losing their jobs the union leaders have requested the mayor meet with them this week. lawmakers in utah have voted to override the governor's veto of a bill that bans transgender students from girls' sports. republican governor spencer cox had cited data on trans youth suicide as his reason for vetoing the bill during a special session on friday, his fellow republicans in the statehouse and senate secured enough votes to override him. house bill 11 bars transgender girls from competing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. it goes into effect on july 1st. nearly 50,000 grocery store workers in california have voted to authorize a strike. no date has been set for a walk-out in the wage dispute with supermarket chains ralph's, albertson's, vaughn's, and pavilion's contract negotiations are set to

resume wednesday the united food and commercialer workers international union previously dismissed the company's proposed raise as, quote, shockingly low. the workers want an extra $5 an hour, the chain offered 60 cents. teams in men's and women's hoops punched their tickets to the final four >> 3 on the shot clock the drive inside and one. >> texas kept the matchup close with one seed stanford, but the defending national champions proved too much to handle. the cardinals pulled away and advanced to the final 459-50 ten seed creighton busted brackets but the blue jays were no match for south carolina. coach dawn staley has her team back in the final four south carolina takes it 80-50. more teams can punch their tickets with wins. uconn has made 13 straight final four appearances. on the men's side, the shoe fell off in the cinderella run

for st. peter's. the peacocks put up a fight in the second half but the tar heels ran away with it north carolina advances to its twurnst final four, the most in men's tournament history 69-49 kansas blew away the hurricanes. the jays win 76-50. a bluebloods final four is set for new orleans. duke and north carolina match up in the ncaa tournament for the first time ever. there is new evidence that your morning cup of coffee could be good for your health. researchers studied about 500,000 people in a british medical database over the span of ten years they found drinking two to three cups cough a day was associated with a longer life and lower risk of heart disease. these findings will be next month at the american college of cardiology's annual scientific session. >> if you needed another reason for a cup, there it is.

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♪ attention i need attention ♪ ♪ can i have your attention ♪ ♪ you've got questions i need answers ♪ the wait is over for many miley cyrus fans after performing at the lollapalooza music festival in brazil, the singer took to social media to announce her first-ever live album "attention: miley live." it includes 20 new songs and hits such as "party in the usa," "we can't stop," and "wrecking ball." set to debut april 21st. the golden raspberry awards. while princess diana bio-pics

were all the did you say," diane nat musical" is being dubbed worst picture after lead is with five razz zees jared leto was awarded worst supporting actor for his performance in "house of gucci." bruce willis got his own category with "cosmic sin" being called the worst movie in 201. all eyes on will smith this year, but the fresh prince managed to take home a razzie of his own for his work in "king richard. everybody is still talking about that will smith/chris rock slap. the backstory behind it, where it's going to go from here. >> we're going to be hearing a lot more about it coming up on the "today" show as well. celebrating birthdays, singer and actress lady gaga turns 36 years old "10 things i hate about you" star julia styles is 41. "dodgeball" actor vince vaughn is 52. country singer rodney atkins is

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♪ ♪ colombian officials say foo fighters drummer taylor hawkins had ten different substances in his system at the time of his death, including opioids and various anti-depressants tributes are pouring in for the legendary musician singer miley cyrus broke down on stage while dedicating the song "angels like you" to him she said she would have done anything to hang out with him one more time. kiss legend gene simmons remembered him as a kind soul

and monster musician other rockers including ringo starr, nickelback, and smashing pumpkins shared condolences to his family and bandmates. a heartfelt tribute to a group of world war ii heroes family members of the first black military pilots known as the tuskegee airmen attended a ceremony commemorating their contribution to our country. our affiliate wrc was there. ♪ o say can you see ♪ >> reporter: honoring heros who have given so much to this country. ♪ in a time when segregation was the law of the land, this group of pilots didn't hesitate to step up and serve. >> tuskegee airmen were trailblazers, record setters, role models -- >> reporter: the first black pilots in the u.s. military, they flew over 1,000 missions in world war ii and kept the country safe. >> fighting a war on two fronts. one abroad in combat with the

nazis, and one at home in combat with racism and jim crow. >> reporter: the tuskegee airmen never gave up and paved the way for the integration of the military one of them was brigadier general charles mcgee. >> persevere, don't let negative circumstances be your excuse for not achieving. >> he died at home in bethesda just two months ago. but his daughter says through events like these, his legacy lives on. >> i knew dad was well known and well liked i didn't realize until after his passing how much the outpouring of warmth and condolences and thins has been overwhelmed. >> reporter: currently the state of maryland is considering a bill to honor tuskegee airmen day every year. >> to have it finally come this week, i'm sorry he missed it, but i know he's watching us and is very happy that finally came through for the state of maryland. >> reporter: smiles all around and a celebration of lives well led. ♪

>> we want to thank amy cho for that report. i've always been fascinated at what they were able to accomplish, that particular group of men. >> i love that we're hearing the stories after and continue to commemorate it would love to see that happen every year thanks for kicking

this was not a rock, paper, scissors moment. the entertainment world went off the rails after the soon to be named actor lashed out wle protecting his wife. the biden administration continues to clarify what the president said about putin, that he, quote, cannot remain in power as military strikes on lviv continue. the president returns to