will trump take the stand? the former president now invited before a grand jury to tell his side of the stormy daniels' hutchhush money story. millions in california facing floods and feet of new snow a cartel apology, after two americans were killed in mexico a note appears condemning violence and calling for calm. we'll tell you what it says. norfolk southern's ceo in the hot seat testifying before congress as another of his company's trains derails just hours before.

living life in the fast lane why officials are pumping the brakes on ghost cars and cookie crunch. why you might not be able to find the hot new girl scout cookie the shortage that has boxes going for hundreds of dollars. "early today" starts right now good friday morning, i'm phillip mena >> i'm frances rivera. we start with breaking information on of the several cases begins former president trump. the "new york times" reported the d.a.'s office signaled to trump's lawyers that he could face criminal charges, citing four people with knowledge of the matter for more on this, we're joined by nbc's chris pollone this seems like a major step in what has been a lengthy investigation. >> reporter: that's right, frances, good morning to you the "new york times" was the first to report on thursday that prosecutors in the manhattan

district attorney's office have invited mr. trump to testify before the grand jury vet investigating alleged hush money payments saying that prosecutors are nearing an indictment for the former president in this case defense attorneys made clear that he has not been issued a subpoena this is focussed around him paying $130,000 to adult film star stormy daniels this 2016 in order to cover up an alleged affair and this stignals that alvin bragg might be moving into a new phase. a spokesperson called the new developments simply insane and said d.a. alvin bragg even

considering a new political attack is a clear exoneration of president trump in all areas the former president himself issued a lengthy statement on thursday which was simultaneously post netherlands seposted in seven parts on truth social. he added that his supporters are the victims of what he calls a corrupt, depraved and weaponized justice system back to you. >> the outcome could disrupt the upcoming 2024 election we'll all be watching closely, thank you. millions are under a flood watch across california at golden state braces for more wicked weather governor gavin newsom declared a state of emergency for 21 counties across the state with relief efforts gearing up for potentially more power outages and damage from last week's historic snowfall. angie lassman is here to tell us

more >> we've got winter alerts for parts of the eastern half of the country. plenty of flood alerts there's two major storm systems. this one draped across the great lakes and stretching down to the gulf coast is going to continue to move east and impact folks over the next couple days here as we get through the great lakes, northeast and up and down the east coast here's how it plays out. we have snow really crossing over and stretched across much of the great lakes this morning. you'll wake up to wintry weather if you live in places like detroit or milwaukee here. as we look a little farther into the afternoon and evening hours, this starts to move into the interior areas of the northeast as far as the snow is concerned. new york, pennsylvania, you'll get snowfall maybe a couple inches. meanwhile, cold rain stretched across parts of the mid atlantic here as we go through the next couple days. this is something that wilr neid >> we'll do that in a little

bit. but for now we want to bring through stunning apology from the gulf cartel after two u.s. citizens were killed in mexico during an armed kidnapping last week in a letter obtained by "the associated press," the cartel blamed the abduction on what they call errors and suggest the violent acts were carried out by those working against the rules of the organization. this as the bodies of two americans were returned to the u.s. morgan chesky has the details. >> reporter: the stunning photos show five men laying on the pavement, each with hands tied and all but one shirtless. with a hand written letter claiming to be from mexico's gulf cartel, stuck to the windshield a bizarre scene that a senior law enforcement official tells nbc news appears to be an apology from the cartel. following the kidnapping that left two americans dead. the shocking admission almost unprecedented. have you seen a situation like this >> no, i have not. they made a huge mistake

they killed two americans, and they know that mexican government's going after them and that we're going to go after them as well >> reporter: the letter obtained includes apologies to the people of matamoros, the familiar live the woman who was killed and of the americans. the gulf carte cartel skcorpcor strongly condemns the events of friday march 3rd mexican authorities have not confirmed if the men are in custody or are truly responsible. meanwhile, in texas, as officials work to get two slain americans back lome, survivor eric james williams is recovering, his wife sharing doctors placed metal rods in his leg, wounded in the hail of gunfire. the cartel ending their letter asking society to remain calm.

closing with the guilty parties will pay regardless of who they are. now the process to repatriate or recover the bodies of those two slain americans has been ongoing for some days. however, our crew was here just across from mexico when we witnessed that solemn row session, a string of vehicles carrying those two americans from mexico back onto u.s. soil. we're told they're headed to a nearby funeral home where future arrangements are expected. morgan chesky, nbc news, brownsville. president biden was on the road in philadelphia, touting his $6.8 trillion budget plan. the proposal goes after big corporations with a 25% minimum tax on the wealthiest 1% hikes up the corporate tax rate and increases taxes on oil companies. >> no billionaire should be paying a lower tax than somebody working as a schoolteacher or firefighter or any of you in this room.

so my plan is to make sure the corporations begin to pay their fair share >> but, with divided government, that plan is dead on arrival republicans are opposed to any tax increases. the ceo of norfolk southern was in the hot seat on capitol hill, facing lawmakers in the wake of the toxic train derailment and evacuations in ohio alice barr spoke to some residents of east palestine who travelled to d.c. for the hearing. emotions running high as senators push for accountability, from the ceo of norfolk southern railway for last month's train derailment and toxic chemical spill in east palestine, ohio. >> more folk southern will clean the site safely, thoroughly and with urgency >> reporter: but residents living with the aftermath aren't feeling the urgency in the company response so far. >> it's bread crumbs i mean, to be honest, we're looking at bigg issues like

decreased home values, health issues long term >> the right thing to do is to say, yes, we will. >> senator, i'm committed to doing what's right for the community, and we're going to be there. >> reporter: ohio senators sherrod brown and j.d. vance slamming norfolk southern over a series of derailments including one in alabama >> the company followed the wall street business model. increased profits by cutting costs at all costs >> reporter: the pair urging support for their bipartisan rail safety legislation, vance slamming republicans hesitant to get on board >> we have a choice. are we for big business and big government or are awe for the people of eas palestine. >> reporter: worried residents

>> there are moms that are concerned for their families what do you want to say directly to them? >> i would say first of all, i'm not going to forget about them >> reporter: a promise families affected by the devastating toxic spill are counting on. alice barr, nbc news senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is still in the hospital he tripped at a dinner held for the senate leadership fund held at the waldorf astoria he will remain in the hospital for a few days of observation and treatment. eight people were killed in a shooting in hamburg, germany thursday earlier this morning, police confirmed the number of people killed, including the alleged perpetrator. te several others were wounded but they have yet to release numbers. hello, angie

>> hi there, guys. we've got a lot to talk about when it comes to california who's already been inundated and they have flood watches up and down the northern portions of the state, and this will last until at least the late parts of today and possibly into tomorrow 16 million people included in this with heavy rain on the possible anywhere from six to ten inches is possible. and the flash flood risk is going to be immense. high risk of this, flashe upper 70s in mobile to the 80s in new orleans and showers and thunderstorms possible across the area lots to deal with, and additional snow falling in parts

of the west coast. we have an east coast storm, what does it mean for the weekend? we'll talk about it coming up. we're back in 60 seconds with a new trend revving up concerns and we'll take a deeper dive into untraceable get away cars next to untraceable get away cars next has me doing dishes...differently. scrub? soak? nope. i just scrape, load and i'm done. only platinum plus is bigger. with double the dawn grease fighting power and double the scrubbing power. so you can load this, and get this. i'm not the type to break the dish rules...or am i? scrape, load, done. new cascade platinum plus. dad, you alright? the road to college can be expensive. luckily, bank of america lets dad switch his choice cash back category so he earns more on gas. with the bank of america customized cash rewards card, you just can't stop getting rewarded. ready to shine from the inside out? say “yes” to nature's bounty.

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new online campaign to make it easier to report cars like these that are virtually untraceable why is it so important to address now? >> i think it's a big quality of life issue that leads into public safety. >> reporter: since the launch of the online toog tool l more tha weeks ago they've received more than 400 complaints. >> we've seen an uptick in the issue since i've been here for a few months >> reporter: new york city has also been trying to combat the problem. the nypd telling nbc news it issued more than 42,000 citations for paper or covered license plates last year and made more than 5500 arrests. an investigation by nbc new york looked into an explosion of fraudulent paper tags used by criminals across the tri state during the pandemic when many dmv offices were closed making it easier for drivers to register cars. the nypd citing these two gang

land type shootings that happened in brooklyn and late last year in grand prairie, texas. a manhunt for a suspect police say was responsible for the death of an officer was made harder because of the use of a phony paper tag. >> we have fictitious tags all over the place, and quite frankly, it cost a cop his life. >> reporter: investigators turn to modern tech, high-powered cameras that allow police to find their suspect and other cars using the same fictitious tags however, criminals are also getting crafty with tech just last year, "top story" reporting on a case out t offer vof irvine, california back in philadelphia >> hopefully we can collaborate with other cities so they can help tackle this issue like we have been. >> reporter: officials looking to make the issue of ghost cars disappear before more tragedy strikes. still to come. why you may want to check your

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we're back now with a customer alert 3.2 million calico kritse critters toys are recalled over the possibility that there is a choking risk in a statement, the company urges payments to take the bottle and pacifier editions away from their children immediately. the february jobs report will be released within hours. economists are watching it closely to see if inflation is finally, finally cooling down. geoff cutmore joins us with a preview. >> hey, very good morning to

you, phillip let's talk about what's at stake here the speculation is that if we get the 225,000 jobs added that the economists expect and we see wages up 0.4% month on month, then we can begin to believe that it will be a 50 basis point hike on the policy rate of the fed on the 22nd of march expectations now shifting from a peak rate of about 4.75% to somewhere like 5.75% so we'll be watching this number very closely if it comes in a lot lower than that, that could take some momentum out of those calls, critical for understanding whether federat rates are going top out. but the markets are in a funk over other things. we have silicon valleyn valley wright writing up a loss of $1.8 million it perhaps suggests that cracks are starting to show in

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next on behind the series... let me tell you about the greatest roster ever assembled. the monster, the outlaw... and you can't forget about the boss. sometimes- you just want to eat your heroes. the subway series. the greatest menu of all time. right now at 4:30, a stormy start. an atmospheric river is moving through the bay area, already causing flooding, downed trees and power outages. >> also, people are preparing to evacuate, while others plan to stay put, even as rivers rise. we have live team coverage for you. our crews are spread out across the bay area, monitoring current conditions. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, xumo and online. a good friday morning to you. thank you for allowing us to be a part of your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm kira klapper. laura garcia has the morning

off. let's get right to our team coverage. our kris sanchez is live in the santa cruz mountains and has more on evacuation orders issued for parts of the county. >> and mike inouye is tracking the slick roads, as well as the commute and troubles we may have. first, let's start with meteorologist vianey arana, tracking that storm. where are we now? >> we're still seeing this packing quite a punch. we've seen some lightning and thunderstorm activity beginning to develop through parts of the interior. zooming in the radar, you can see it starting to spark up, especially closer toward the sierra. the blue and pink you see is a lot of snow that will continue to come down for the entire weekend, leading into next week. we have a couple of cells moving flew san francisco. notice some pockets of heavy downpours at times through the santa cruz mountains. also expecting to see some rain continue to push through. then it's going to begin to stall out a little bit closer to

the south bay, at least for the first half of our friday. notice a lot of the rain starting to push a little further south through hollister, along the grapevine, heading to l.a. it's going to be an absolute mess for at least the next four to five hours. as far as the flood watch, this is in effect for all of the areas highlighted in green. we do still have a wind advisory. rain totals so far have been pretty significant, especially for some of those higher elevation areas. it looks like we are only expecting to see more continued scattered showers throughout the day. we're monitoring the reservoirs and creeks and rivers closely. but leading us into the weekend, expect to keep the shower activity. we're not out of the woods with the amount of rainfall we're going to see for an extended stretch of time into the next several days. i know there are a lot of flooded roadways. let's get a check of the roads. definitely, the conditions

are major. we have a crash involving six or seven vehicles. i know traffic is forced off of eastbound i-80. if you jump on at hilltop and head toward the bridge, everything is fine after that point. the backup is getting bigger after more cars hit the roadway. a full closure for 580 in oakland around fruitvale. both directions have flooded out lanes. chp has a note talking about three to four hours for that to clear. highway 13 is already and you're okay south of the merge or split with warn freeway. 880 smooth through oakland, but that commute will build and we'll track the ripple effect. a closure for highway 29 for locals. that's important. same for highway 12 and over here in san rafael -- over in mill valley, 101 at lucky drive, that's one of your usual suspects. i called out the exceptions. the usual suspects are obviously going to see flooding today as

well. back to you. >> thanks, mike. one of the areas getting hit especially hard by the latest storm, santa cruz mountains. >> that's one place where there are big concerns about potential new flooding, like mike was saying, one of those usual suspects. that's where we find "today in the bay's" kris sanchez, live right now at the highway 17 summit. kris, you are the expert of this area by now. this same area experienced weather-related closures in previous storms, right? >> reporter: right. so i'm not surprised to hear mike talking about full road closures of big roadways, because that's what we found as we were coming up highway 17. it is downright dangerous out here. between san jose and the summit, we saw a small mudslide, we saw crews clearing a rockslide and there were branches down. i wouldn't want to have to stop anywhere on highway 17. folks are under evacuation orders in felton. we have video from around midnight where officers were

going door to door, trying to get people to leave their homes. some folks wanting to stay put. but it's just not safe to do that. for some of those people, this was not their first time to be ordered out. >> constantly getting displaced. it's one of the only affordable areas to live in santa cruz county, and it's hard to live here now. >> reporter: so santa cruz county did set up overnight shelters. there's one in watsonville at the veterans memorial building. cabrillo college gymnasium is open. then there's a daytime shelter set up at scotts valley community center. these three places may be packed because there are more evacuations coming for felton grove, and there are also folks who may not be able to get home. let me show you video of what's happening.

there's a major roadway, main street, that partially collapsed because the culvert underneath washed away, couldn't deal with all of the rain. there are hundreds of homes in that area and now one of the main thoroughfares is no longer passable. so be ready to leave, have all your items charged in case you lose power so that you can keep track of the information, because this is just the beginning and it's already pretty darn bad. we'll send it back to you. >> kris, stay safe out there. thanks for that update. in santa rosa, this heavy rain already has caused flooding. this is highway 12, under stoney point road. a few nearby streets are closed as well because they're under water. the santa rosa fire department is urging people to avoid driving if you don't have to. our pete suratos is heading up there this morning and we'll have the latest at the top of the 5:00 a.m. hour. a live look at the san francisco skyline where rain has been coming down steadily all