defying expectations the shocking new numbers on the southern border the first weekend since title 42 was

lifted debt limit deal. a big week for president biden as he resumes negotiations with republicans to raise the debt ceiling. will both sides be able to come to an agreement? providing critical care for mothers of color how one group is helping save lives in and out of the delivery room and turning the tide for the sake of science. we are diving 30 feet under water to meet the man sleeping with the fishes, quite literally. it is monday, may 15th, and "early today" starts right now and good morning to you. i'm jessica layton >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera we want to begin at the southern border where crossings have plummeted since the end of title 42 the department of homeland security says the the number of migrants stopped by border patrol has fallen by 50% since the covid era restrictions were lifted some migrants in el paso told nbc news that rumors spread quickly that the best time to arrive was before title 42 expired. now asylum seekers must make

appointments on an app before entering, and those who cross illegally could face criminal charges and be banned for five years. president biden on sunday called for more help from congress. >> how you think things are going at the border, sir >> much better than you all expected >> are you confident that the numbers have peaked, that they'll continue to go down? >> they have gone down my hope is they'll continue to go down, but we have a lot more work to do we need some more help from the congress as well >> the rush of people who arrived last week is straining cities like new york, where the famous roosevelt hotel in midtown manhattan is being reopened as an emergency shelter. >> and it is important to remember why so many of these migrant families come to the u.s. many are running from extreme violence, poverty, hunger, and they are willing to make extremely dangerous journeys to find a better future our jose diaz-balart spoke with a family about what they've been through.

>> at nearly two years old, she has already witnessed so much death, experienced so much fear. >> reporter: porque? why leave venezuela? whatever he says goes. we can't survive with the money one makes even to have food. >> reporter: her mother traveled with her parents, making the treacherous month-long journey from venezuela through jungles and mexico to the u.s. border. that journey, how would you describe it? tough. difficult. very difficult she said they lived in terror for most of it a lot of kidnappings fear of being kidnapped or worse. when they made it to the u.s. border, they turned themselves in, but the family was separated. her husband will be deported she says she will join him

porque why? "because i came with my american dream with my husband. if he is going to be deported, i'm going hand myself in so i can go with him. she will be leaving behind her daughter and granddaughter how are you going to say goodbye? "god will give me the strength." at least i know that my granddaughter will have a better future here. and one day, one day we'll be able to see ozone watch other again. >> our thanks to jose for sharing that story the city of buffalo on sunday marked one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at top supermarket the racially motivated massacre left ten people dead and wounded three others new york governor kathy hochul spoke at sunday's event.

>> the white supremacists did not win on that day. racism did not win on the day, that the people of buffalo said that love will come out and be the winner on this day >> in february, the shooter was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to murder and other charges. the family of move the victims has spent the last year pushing for the u.s. to enact stricter gun laws in a usa today op-ed on sunday, president biden honored the victims and called on both the federal and local governments to pass an assault weapons ban. congress is racing against the clock as the debt limit deadline inches closer after a tense meeting last week, neither republicans nor the white house seemed any closer to compromise. still, the president is hopeful an agreement can be reached before june 1st. >> i'm an optimist, but i really think there is a desire on their part as well as ours to reach an agreement, and i think we'll be able to do it. >> but it's only going to get

tough their week president biden is going to japan on wednesday ahead of the g7 summit, leaving very little time to strike a deal. florida governor ron desantis stepped into a trump-shaped void in the hawkeye state. the likely 2024 republican contender spent the weekend traveling through iowa, the first state in the gop primary this came after former president trump canceled his appearances due to the threat of severe weather. nbc's allie raffa has more >> reporter: the signs in iowa this weekend said "desantis 2024 cle. >> we must reject the culture of losing that has infected our party in recent years. >> reporter: and he ramped up attacks on the gop front-runner former president trump >> the time for excuses is over. >> reporter: desantis even taking advantage of mr. trump having to cancel a saturday night rally in des moines due to weather. making a surprise visit there himself.

>> i think florida and iowa are a source of hope we're going to have a chance pretty soon to make sure that's done in every state in this country. >> reporter: desantis, however, has still not declared be. nbc news has learned he'll have to soon. his political staff set to move into a new base of operations monday according to new source, a move that will cost enough money to trigger disclosure requirements and the need to file candidacy paperwork with federal election officials within 15 days this weekend, his superpac rolled out endorsements from 37 iowa state legislators the former president countering that by announcing the support of 150 iowa elected officials. >> then we're going to make america great again. >> reporter: kept from the gop's key early state by the weather, mr. trump instead called into a far r right conference at his south florida hotel hosted by his formrmer national security adviser michael flynn, whom he fired early in his administration for lying to the fbi. >> general flynn is some

general. he is some man he took abuse like nobody could have handled. >> reporter: the former president vowing to bring flynn back into his administration if elected. >> we're going bring him back. >> reporter: the latest primary polls show the former president leading desantis in iowa by nearly 20 percentage points. but gop activists in the state insist there is still room for someone other than mr. trump >> allie, thank you. abortion continues to be a major issue in the 2024 presidential race. gop candidate nikki haley is breaking way from some of her fellow republican stance on the issue. tim scott, who is exploring running for president next year has recently endorsed a federal 20-week abortion ban haley was asked about this on cbs' face the nation, and she declined to endorse a federal ban, saying it was unrealistic when a senate filibuster would likely stand in the way of passing it >> why not talk about the fact that we should be trying to save as many babies as possible and

support as many mothers as possible i think the media has tried to divide them by saying we have to decide certain weeks in states? yes. at the federal level, it's not realistic. it's not being honest with the american people. >> republican candidates have struggled to find consensus on abortion >> the people of turkey on sunday went to the polls to cast their vote for president but with the winner still yet to be declared, the country might find itself going back to the ballot box sooner rather than later. for more on this, we go to claudia lavanga. good morning where do things stand in turkey this morning after election day? >> good morning, frances with 99% of the votes counted, it looks like none of the candidates reached the 50% threshold needed to win the first round of elections outright so the two main rivals will have to now face a runoff on may 28 they are the current president

recep tayyip erdogan who ruled over turkey for the last 20 years, first as a prime minister and then as president, becoming more and more authoritarian, especially after the failed coup atent in 2016, which led to a crackdown on opposition, on civil rights and on free speech. and the other one, the main contender is the leader of the opposition, kemal kilicdaroglu, who pledges to bring democracy back to turkey, as he said, and also to repair the economy, which has been battered recently by high inflation and devaluation, frances >> thank you president erdogan has maintained his position in power for over two decades. so why is he seen as vulnerable now? >> well, there are three main factors that are affecting his chances. one is the young people's votes who have basically grew up for 20 years with only one leader. the other one is high inflation, which led to the rising of the cost of living and the third one is the management or mismanagement of

erdogan of the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, which killed 50,000 people in february at the border with syria, and which led to and rendered countless other people homeless. frances? >> all right claudio la vang lavanga. thank you. michelle, good morning. >> good morning to you both. great to see you and the rain continues in the south. with a nearly stationary front that's sort of draped across the area we've seen rain day after day the past few days. we're going to continue to see that today and we do have that flood risk continuing that's because we're going to add an additional 1 to 2 inches. it's all due to this area of low pressure we're going to see showers and storms triggered along this front. the good news is we're not expecting widespread severe weather like we've seen the past few day, but we could see a few gusty storms you can see how long this stretch is into the southeast. we do have a marginal risk for

damaging winds ae 80s, but also looking at a chance of showers. maybe even some gusty thunderstorms. 84 in houston. all right, guys. happy monday we're going to take a look at the rest of the forecast for the week in just a bit >> all right, happy monday thanks, michelle >> sure. we're back in 60 seconds with a new study that digsnt io lyme diseaease >> and d calls s for mentala hotline for new parents. how much scent is released so it doesn't fade. ooh. does mine have a microchip? - uh-uh. - ohoh. febrbreze stayss fifirst-day frfresh for 5050 . - uh-uh. - ohoh. thatat is a shocockingly long t time. febrbreze also h has a refill r reminder lilig. thatat is a shocockingly long t time. itit even remiminds you to r refill it?? so i neverer miss a day y of freshneness... itit even remiminds you to r refill it??

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disease but had lingering symptoms it's what the um moon cells use to tell the body to fight off bacteria or viruses. if the levels are too high, it can cause pain, swelling and fatigue. a small study made up of 79 people diagnosed with lyme found only a link between the immune system marker and persistent symptoms a larger clinical trial would be needed to affirm that connection america has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries. now according to the cdc, the number of pregnancy-related deaths rose up to 41% in 2021. racial and ethnic disparities drive those numbers up even further for black women. maternal mortality is 2.6 times higher than their white peers. zinhle essamuah spoke with a group of moms who are working with doulas to get better care

>> reporter: kaniya king's first pregnancy in 2021 was traumatic. >> everything that could go wrong, went wrong. >> reporter: she went into labor early at just 24 weeks and had a serious infection. >> you know, doctors kind of use the big words thinking you would know, but i didn't it was my first time >> reporter: but the st. louis native had support from a doula, robin lloyd. >> miss robin would literally stop them like hey, stop let me talk to her, and she would tell me exactly what it meant. >> reporter: birthing doulas are trained nonclinical professionals who support clients through pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum. >> we also are going through the same things. >> reporter: the doulas offer one-on-one education. >> no question is a dumb question. >> reporter: and group courses for expectant and new moms kaniyah credits robin for helping her get through it all >> what are you feeling? >> i'm very grateful, very

grateful for because if she wasn't there, i don't know what would have happened. >> reporter: do you think you would be here and your kids would be here if you hadn't had a doula? >> not at all, no. >> reporter: the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists finding doulas improved outcomes for women in labor. they're especially critical for black women, who are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. >> you're so cute! >> reporter: her doula robin works with parents as teacher, motived by her own life-threatening delivery. the nonprofit receives state funding, making it possible to provide doula services to families cost-free of the nearly 320 families they serve, many unhoused, 95% are people of color, and all of their doulas are black women why is it particularly important for women of color and black women to have access to them >> i think access is the key we wanted to make sure that we had black doulas serving those

families that resemble them. >> reporter: now kaniyah is expecting a baby boy in just a few weeks, with robin by her side. >> i'm going to be there you're going to have that support and not to worry. >> reporter: zinhle essamuah, nbc news, st. louis, missouri. still to come, we'll introduce you to a man who is breaking rececords by y taking s reresearch to new w depths necessarary next herere on "ear totoday. but do i i have to g give upup sweets? ifif you work k out a dietet , nothing isis off limitits. you drdropped it!! i don't t know if i i can affd all thesese prescripiptions. wewe've got didiscount prorog, you've gotot options.. i'm m just glad d i have you to talalk to aboutut this. that's's what i'm m here for. the cgm,m, still l getting usused to it. lelet's take a a look. whenen you need d to talkk diababetes, ouour pharmacicists are hehe. that's me before dawn powerwash. [sigh] now, powowerwash givives me [sigh] the power r of an overernt soak in miminutes. [sigh]

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we want to take you under the sea here where that researcher has been living for the last 2 1/2 months. that's dr. joseph daturi he broke the record for the longest time living under water, performing medical and ocean research off the coast of florida. he said he won't be back on dry land until early june when he completes 100 days of the ocean. he says he loves living under water, but he really misses the sun. i'm sure his body does too, because it needs that vitamin d.

that's part of his study and trying to figure out how it is living with all the hyperbaric pressure he's got about 600 square feet living in there. so he looks happy. >> and we just don't have enough time in the show to explain how this is possible because there are so many questions. >> right. >> but this is the things we can do today with our research, right? incredible >> and the god that it's going to do. >> absolutely. can't wait to see what he comes back with. well, michelle is back after the break with some heat in the west that could break records. > and later,r, take a ndgae where a a mother goooose decide hatch her r eggs with newew febreze e air mist.. thatat's right! febreze e now has a a new, fifiner mist t that floatss in the a air longerr and ququickly filllls the m to fightht even your r toughest o odor. and ququickly filllls the m to fightht leftover f fried fish h fun? ininstant freseshness! gaming teeeen odors? instanant freshnesess! spray new w febreze aiair mt toto keep yourur home instanant freshnesess!

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in the northern plains looking really nice. temperatures in the 70s. sunshine and the northeast looking really good too. seasonal temperatures with lots of sunshine. then by wednesday, we're looking at rockies rain. looking at really warm temperatures as well flood risk continues in the south. staying dry throughout the northeast, parts of the midatlantic, and friday we're looking at storms possible still in the southern plains back to you to you both. >> thanks, michelle. nearly a year after giving birth to her first child, we finally know the name of rihanna'a's baby boy we have e the highlyly anticipad rereveal, afteter this ♪♪♪ bobold... ♪♪♪ rich.... ♪♪♪ intenselely deliciouous darkrk chocolatete. ♪♪♪ intenselely deliciouous darkrk chocolatete. ghghirardelli i intense dad. ♪♪♪ ghghirardelli i intense dad. mamakes life a a bite bettt. ♪♪ mamakes life a a bite bettt. dr. z!

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anni hop parking lot amber diaz has more on how the restaurant is welcoming this mother goose >> it is the highlight of the day. you come through here, you notice the goose. >> reporter: while the chefs at ihop are cooking eggs inside for customers like mike -- >> the goose is always here, always. >> reporter: this mother goose is cooking hers in the middle of the parking lot. >> i just think it's great it's mother nature taking its course, doing its thing. it's awesome. >> reporter: since mid-april, this mother goose has been watching her goose like a hawk, tending to them, and not letting anyone near her or her nest. >> some people are really good, and they keep their distance but there are also the kids that come and bother her. and i'm like can't really do that she'll attack you. >> reporter: even her mate has chosen to take watch about 50 feet away. >> he knows to not bother her too much, but to still protect her. >> reporter: colton brown rescues all types of animals. >> typically it's squirrels, raccoon, bats, stuff like that

that are in people's houses, but this he says is a first. >> well, they called about the male they said there is a male sitting in the parking lot not moving so they were concerned that it got hit, because no movement at all with the bird. and then i showed up just to check on it. and then i saw the nest. >> reporter: he has been checking on them daily, even putting caution tape up around her. and when the time comes and the eggs hatch, he is planning on being there to take them safely to water for now, he says drive slow near this mama to-be and just observe. >> it's unfortunate that they chose a parking lot to lay their legs, but at the end of the day, we'll do whatever we can to make sure they can survive and be healthy. >> and our thanks to amber diaz for sharing that story i love how the mama knew to be at ihop, just in case she has it on mother's day. have pancakes after. >> cravings coming up. hopefully she got a little spoiled as well on this special day. and while the mother goose waits on her baby birds, the

u.s. social security administration dropped the top baby names of 2022 for the past four years in a row olivia has been the most popular name for girls followed by emma in second and charlotte in third. amelia and sophia round out the top five all those names are in my daughter's class >> same. my son's >> liam has been the most used baby boy name for the past six years. last year saw noah and oliver take second and third, followed by james and elijah. and meanwhile, in other baby boy news we now know the name of rihanna and a$ap rocky's baby. according to the magazine, they named the baby rza after the rapper

guns in america. the growing divide over assault weapons, despite the rise in mass shootings in