millions in the path of a wicked winter blast. the storm knocking out power to tens of thousands and leaving parts of the country buried in snow michelle is tracking the storm for us did covid leak from a lab? the bombshell new report from the energy department about the origins of the pandemic. a long-running comic stripped from newspapers the controversial comments from the creator of "dilbert" that got the cartoon pulled from hundreds of publications

history on hold. the spacex launch scrubbed a the last minute overnight. when they'll try that launch again. and taking the shot of a lifetime the courtside celebration that meant so much more than just a basketball game. it's the last monday of february "early today" starts right now >> good morning, and thanks for being with us. i'm vinita nair. >> and i'm phillip mena. we begin this morning with the wicked weather wreaking havoc across the u.s overnight, strong winds tore through the southern plains. the national weather service reported multiple tornadoes in oklahoma officials said there were no reports of injuries, but there was damage to homes, gas, and power lines north of interstate 40 some 49,000 households are without power throughout the state this morning and in california, they're still reeling from heavy snow and rain that fell this weekend around 46,000 remained without power there. a mudslide damaging homes in los angeles county on sunday

afternoon. >> and the san bernardino fire department is warning residents in the mountains not to travel as roadways there remain closed due to heavy snow. big bear lake saw the snow iest michigan is still recovering from an ice storm that knocked power out to hundreds of thousands. more than 134,000 are still in the dark there now let's bring in nbc meteorologist michelle grossman, who is tracking these storms for us good morning to you, michelle. >> good morning to you both. it was a busy weekend for. many today is going to be busy too, weather-wise. we're looking at two storm systems, one out west, one in the east that is going to bring the chance for snow. even some freezing rain, rain, gusty winds once again that could add to the power outage number and the chance for severe weather. so this morning, 42 million americans under a winter alert the pink is your winter storm warning. the blue the winter storm watch. even a blizzard warning, that's in purple out west and looking at winter weather advisories in

the white. we're talking about the northeast. new york city expecting snow overnight into tuesday could see a couple of inches there. upstate new york into new england where we could see over a foot of snow in some spots this is what it looks like now on radar still seeing lightning not as much, though. we're going to see the severe weather threat decreasing throughout the day still 6 million americans under the chance for severe storms in the ohio valley. could see some heavy rain where you see the brighter colors. we're concerned about some heavy rain as well we'll talk more about the storm system and what we expect from it in just a few minutes >> all right see you then, michelle, thank you. meanwhile, cleanup at the toxic disaster area in east palestine, ohio continues after the epa announced that shipments of contaminated waste from the site will resume today it came just one day after the agency said they were halting the shipments to disposal sites in michigan and texas over local opposition the waste will now head to two new locations in ohio. residents in east palestine

are still expressing major concerns about their health. federal health agency's outreach efforts to address those concerns are outgoing. and the ohio epa says they'll be installing a number of water monitoring wells at the derailment site to see if the groundwater is being contaminated nearly three years after covid-19 was declared a pandemic, another member of the u.s. intelligence community has issued their conclusion on what led to the spread of the virus for more on this, let's bring in nbc's brie jackson in washington brie, good morning we have wanted to know this for three years now. what led to the outbreak that changed our lives. so what did the department of energy conclude? >> good morning. the "wall street journal" reported that members of congress and the white house received a classified report and briefings from the department of energy the department reportedly assessed with low confidence that the covid-19 virus likely originated from a lab leak in wuhan. the report maintains that they do not believe that the virus

was part of any chinese bioweapon program and the like was likely an accident president biden in 2021 ordered the intelligence community to investigate the origins of the virus, but the agencies have not been able to agree on any conclusion the fbi similarly concluded with moderate confidence that the pandemic was a result of a lab leak, while four other agencies maintain that the virus spread naturally. two agencies remain undecided. the lab leak theory has been a prominent talking point among republicans since the early days of the pandemic. the house gop has already begun hearings on the origins of the covid-19 virus since they retook control of the house republican senator dan sullivan was asked about the issue on "meet the press. >> i think we need to do extensive hearings i hope our democratic colleagues in the congress can support that i know the republicans in the house are certainly supportive of that. but i think if that happens, we

need to make sure every country in the world knows this. look, this is a country that has no problem coming out and lying to the world >> and overnight, the chinese ministry of foreign affairs responded saying relevant sides should stop, quote, hyping up the lab leak theory and stop smearing china philip >> that theory has been legitimize further today all right, brie, thank you as the war in ukraine drags into its second year, three intelligence officials tell nbc news that china is considering sending artillery and ammunition to russia. china denies the allegations national security adviser jake sullivan says there has been no evidence yet that china has provided weapons, but shared this warning on nbc's "meet the press. >> i think it would alienate them from a number of countries in the world, including our european allies, and it would put them four square into the center of responsibility for the

kinds of war crimes and bombardments of civilians and atrocities that the russians are committing in ukraine. >> meanwhile, in ukraine, president zelenskyy has vowed to liberate russian occupied crimea breaking news. nasa has been forced to scrub a mission to the space station this morning with less than three minutes to lift off, the four crewmembers on board were forced to stand down due to a problem with the ground systems nasa will try again tomorrow nbc's tom costello has more from kap kap. >> reporter: while spacex rocket launches can feel routine, there is nothing routine about space travel these days. >> nasa and the russian space agency continue carrying each other's astronauts and cosmonauts to space, even as war rages in ukraine >> this is mission control houston --

>> reporter: while on the orbiting space station, a docked soyuz spacecraft suddenly sprang a leak in december >> and the flight controllers here at michigan control in houston have been noticing a stream of particles coming out of the soyuz ms-22 vehicle >> a coolant leak, likely caused by a micro meteor, leaving a u.s. astronaut and two cosmonauts without a lifeboat in case of emergency. then in february, another leak this time a russian cargo ship docked to the station. again, russia says a micro meteor was probably to blame on friday, russia launched a replacement soyuz lifeboat >> and liftoff >> reporter: crew six includes two americans, an astronaut from the uae, and russian cosmonaut andrey fedyaev steve bowen is the commander >> do you even discuss ukraine >> i don't think we avoid it as it just never comes up we all have the same goal in space. >> reporter: they have been training together for months, even with u.s./russian relations at their worst in 30 years

>> translator: life on the international space station, the live of people, of humans in space is the best example of how people should be living back on earth. >> reporter: 250 miles above the earth, russian and american lives depend on each other >> the crew of four will stay on the station for six months, while the crew that launched last october should come back within a week. the protocol on the station seems to be, don't talk politics and certainly don't talk ukraine. back to you. >> all right, tom, thank you well, lady gaga is being sued for $2 million by a woman charged over the kidnapping of the superstar's dogs back in 2021 in december, jennifer mcbride pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property. the property, gaga's two french bulldog, snatched from her dogwalker who was shot but survived mcbride says she is owed the $500,000 reward because she did return the dogs.

instead, she was questioned by police and ultimately arrested mcbride is also seeking $1.5 million in damages for pain and suffering. representatives for lady gaga did not respond to a request for comment. the new york taxi workers alliance staged a 12-hour strike against uber and lyft at la guardia airport. >> lyft and uber act as judge, jury and executioner, and leave the drivers to fend for themselves >> shame on uber >> the strike ended at midnight with rides resuming just a few hours ago. drivers want more job protections and higher wages a hearing is set for wednesday all right. let's bring back michelle who is tracking some severe weather for us as well as folks who don't have power right now >> hi there, guys. many without power this morning. and we're going see 71 million people under a wind alert. that's going to add to the power outages. we have a powerful storm system moving quickly to the east

so as it does, it's going to spread rain, freezing rain, snow, really gusty winds and the threat for severe weather. as we good throughout the day, we're looking a the severe threat throughout the ohio valley, including ohio, indiana and illinois it's going to move off to the east and linger a bit. so snow still spreading into portions of the northeast as we head towards tuesday morning a really blustery day tomorrow winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour this is what it look likes in terms of the severe storms 15 million people at risk. winds gusting to 60upt record warmth in the southeast. warm too in the southern planes. 82 in corpus christi all right, guys. we're going to take a look at that weekday forecast in just a bit. >> looking forward to it, michelle, thank you. the race to breck a

45-year-old nascar record ended in california. kyle buschtook home the checkered flag the 19th straight cup season that busch has won at least one race he passes the legendary richard petty for most consecutive seasons with a win busch got his first cup series victory on the same track as sunday's race, starting that streak in 2005 coming up, everything everywhere all at once" nabbed nearly everything at the s.a.g. awards mi> first, stripped from the coc panels growing backlash from the creator of "dilbert. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! hmmm, ok. not coughing at yoga? antiquing not coughing? not coughing at the movies?! hashtag still not coughing?! aaah. oww! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. it's not cough season. it's always comeback season.

meet febreze's miracle spray. febreze fabric refresher. i literally use this every day, to make my house smell amazing. after i make the bed, after i catch my dog on the couch. so i can wear my jacket or jeans one more time, before i wash them again. it even makes shoes smell fresh. it doesn't cover up odors with scent but actually fights them and freshens. over one thousand uses. febreze fabric refresher. leading the news, hundreds of newspapers across the country have dropped the "dilbert" comic strip after its creator scott adams went on a tirade denounced as racist. he aired the shocking commentary on his youtube show real coffee with scott adams nbc's emilie ikeda explains. >> reporter: splashed across

newspapers for decades, "dilbert," the syndicated comic strip has long poked fun at office culture >> are we sticking with our ban on useless greetings >> yes >> just checking >> reporter: but this weekend, hundreds of newspapers are wiping the cartoon from their pages after "dilbert"'s creator labeled black people a hate group during a rant on his show, "real coffee with scott adams. >> the best advice i would give to white people is to get the hell away from black people. i'm going to back off from being helpful to black america, because it doesn't seem like it pays off >> reporter: adams is reacting to a recent poll that found that 26% of black respondents disagreed with the statement, "it's okay to be white," a commonly used phrase in the white supremacist movement and since labelled a hate slogan by the antidefamation league. the company that syndicates "dilbert" said it was disturbed by adams' personal views and now a growing list of major publications are no longer running the comic, denouncing the 65-year-old's comments as racist and discriminatory. "the cleveland plain dealer" wrote, "it was not a difficult decision

we are not a home for those who espouse racism." just how sweeping do you think the fallout will be? >> i'm waiting to see. newspapers have an opportunity right now to show who they want to talk to in this country, who they feel should be represented in this country. >> reporter: while reckoning with the rapid fallout in follow-up live streams this weekend, adams accused the media of taking his comments out of context. >> the context is far too many black americans have a negative opinion of white americans >> reporter: this isn't the first time a newspaper has pulled the plug on his work, but even the cartoonist admits, a comeback from this controversy is hard to draw up >> my reputation for the rest of my life is destroyed >> reporter: emilie ikeda, nbc news still to come on this monday morning, let's talk about the whale in the room. brendan fraser's big win at the s.a.g. awards.

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recently, i was told that if i would win tonight, i would become the very first asian actor to win in this category. >> such a god speech awards season is in full swing, and history was made at the 29th annual screen actors guild award. ke huy quan earned a groundbreaking title as the first asian actor to win male best supporting role for his performance in "everything everywhere all at once." >> we're rooting for him every time, right? every time he gets up, he volks all this motion. >> he still sounds like he is from "the goonies". >> sure does all this gratitude can't help but root for him. "everything everywhere all at once" proved to be the evening's

big winner the a-24 film was dubbed best ensemble cast with michelle yeoh and jamie lee curtis taking best actress and supporting actress awards for their performances. and fresh off their recent emmy sweep, the cast of abbott elementary accepted the award for best comedy series meanwhile, brendan fraser took home the best actor for his tomorrows in the drama "the whale. and adding to her accolades for her role in "white lotus," jennifer coolidge was credited with a best actress in a drama series nod she is just having such a resurgence, 20 years after being in "american pie". >> her and brendan fraser. both of them you may have played with a barbie doll or hot wheels as a child,ly but how would you like to play amention them? mattel has you covered the theme park being built in arizona. the company says the park will feature a pair of hot wheel roller coasters, a barbie beach

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and you're not alone in this, ok? so james, all these prescriptions. are they covered? that's right. with your medicare plan you get low-cost copays. thank you. let's talk about making things easier. walgreens is here. ♪♪ welcome back on this monday. we're watching two systems, one in the west that is going to bring snow and a big system in the east that's going bring the chance for rain, freezing rain, really gusty winds and chance for snow as well. even the chance for severe storms in part of ohio, indiana and illinois record warmth in the southeast as we near wednesday, snow spreading, staying chilly there as well. spotty showers throughout the tennessee valley, the gulf coast states and warm in portions of the northeast and the atlantic snow showers and rain showers in the east back to you guys >> all right, michelle, thank you. when we come back, a high

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it's always comeback season. now to the story about the spirit of sportsmanship, and one teenager who won't let anything come between him and his dreams. here is kate snow. >> hut, hut, hike! >> hut, hut, hike! >> reporter: for south carolina high school freshman carson waters, playing sports means everything his mom, mary, and dad, dan, say he's always enjoyed competition. >> he's just really an athletic kid. >> he's been playing soccer and i play pickleball now so he plays pickleball, does tennis, basketball, loves to swim. >> reporter: because carson has down syndrome, his mom says keeping up with other kids his

age hasn't been easy that's why this game was so special. the jv team at phillip simmons high school in charleston was closing out its season earlier this month carson, the team's manager was on the bench when suddenly, coach ryan mccauley waved him into the game he's number three. there's carson's mom in the stands, anxiously watching it all. with his teammates by his side cheering him on, carson gets the ball and shoots. he shoots again! finally, sinking it! and bringing mary to tears before jumping into her arms for a sideline celebration >> being in that spotlight for that moment was very special to him. >> and unforgettable for

teammates darryl and nathan. >> when carson made that shot, it was -- i don't know, it was energy, just went up through my bed, went to the crowd body, went to the players' body. >> it just hit us. i think i jumped higher than i ever did before. man, it was unbelievable >> reporter: coach mccauley says carson's dedication to the team inspires them all. >> carson has been there for the team from day one and he's a part of the team and he's just like everybody else >> reporter: its a message carson's family says is about a lot more than just a game. >> it's about being accepting of not just disabilities, but we're all different. and everyone has a place and if we can open our hearts and open our minds to people who may not look like us or may not act like us or may not learn like us, we might actually learn something from them. >> and with the basketball

season ending, carson will now become the team manager for track and field. back to you. >> all right kate, thank you. i love stories like that carson just inspiring the team not only now, but forever they'll look back on this as such a great

#. another winter wall open the massive storm rip ago is kro the country packing rain, snow, and powerful wind. michelle is tracking a investig the pandemic the covid likely claim from a klin chinese lab. >> the debate raging over where to take the hazardous material left behind by the fiery train derailment in ohio >> go hungry or