another round of evacuations in california. this time over mudslide concerns, as a massive rainstorm pummels burn-scarred hills. the same system creating

whiteout conditions and a massive pileup in the pacific northwest. angie lassman is tracking where the system is heading next. overseas, dozens hurt as a car rammed into a crowd in munich, germany. ukraine part of the agenda this morning. as president trump announces that country's leader will have a seat in peace talks with russia. a gop house panel advancing a budget resolution overnight, slashing trillions in taxes and spending. while the president threatens more retaliatory tariffs. it's raising objections, even within his own party. former talk show host wendy williams asking to end her guardianship. what she's saying in a new documentary. and it's valentine's day, from a couple renewing their vows after 65 years of marriage to another who proudly stood at each other's side, long before their marriage was legal. we share two stories of life-long commitment. "early today" starts right now.

thanks for being with me, i'm frances rivera. we begin with an atmospheric river unleashing on southern california overnight, prompting evacuation orders. the heavy rain triggering flooding and turning burn scars into mudslides. a member of the los angeles fire department was swept off the pacific coast highway and into the ocean. he was able to escape his car with minor injuries. parts of the highway were closed due to risk of more debris flow and rock slides. today the region will see some relief from the rain. but, in the midwest, a new storm is brewing. nbc meteorologist angie lassman joins us with what we can expect. >> we're going to start to see improvements for our friends across the west coast. we've got still 27 million people under flood alerts. they include northern and central california. riverside to san diego still under flood alerts. the rain will start to ease as the day goes on. the system shifts a little farther to the east. we'll see the snow spread from the sierra range to the rockies.

nicer, quieter conditions for our friends in southern california to dry out. rainfall amounts between now and tonight not all that impressive. maybe a quarter of an inch in some of the higher elevations. and in the mountainous regions. as far as the snowfall totals, you'll still maybe pick up another foot or snow in some of these spots across the sierra range. we'll see the potential for a foot or so across parts of the rockies. then we turn our attention to the next storm system that's going to cause a whole lot of headaches across the country this upcoming weekend. >> what a week it's been. angie, thank you. the munich security conference begins today in the shadow of a car ramming attack that injured at least 30 people. witnesses say a car plowed into a crowd of 1500 protesters. the driver is a 24-year-old asylum seeker from afghanistan. high-level russian and american officials will meet in munich today. and ukraine is also invited. mr. trump saying ukraine will have a seat at the table in any negotiations.

for more, let's get to daniele hamamdjian. how is the trump administration handling diplomacy on ukraine? >> reporter: well, it's moving very quickly. even if european allies know to expect the unexpected when it comes to donald trump, news this week that he spoke directly with vladimir putin and agreed to begin talks to end the war is a huge surprise to put it mildly. how discussions in munich today will unfold is unclear. but the ukrainians have said there are no talks planned with the russians at this point. but an even higher level meeting appears to be in the works, according to the kremlin. plans are under way for putin and trump to meet face-to-face, possibly in saudi arabia. the u.s. believes that ukraine must give up territory, a position that's frustrating allies who said concessions are already being made to russia before talks even begin. here's more from the new u.s. defense secretary, pete hegseth.

>> simply pointing out realism, like the borders won't be rolled back to what everybody would like them to be in 2014 is not a concession to vladimir putin. it's a recognition of the hard power realities on the ground after a lot of investment and sacrifice, first by ukrainians, and then allies. and then the realization that negotiated peace is going to be some sort of demarcation that neither side wants. >> reporter: and a warning from vice president jd vance. russia has to agree to a deal that ensures ukraine's long-term independence. if it doesn't, the u.s. will hit moscow with sanctions, possibly even military action. frances? >> danielle, thank you. a new risis potentially averted in the middle east as israel and hamas agree to continue the cease-fire in gaza. hamas now says they will release three hostages on saturday. earlier this wk, the group had suspended prisoner exchanges, citing cease-fire violations by israel. mediators say israel has agreed

to allow more supplies into gaza. hamas is expected to release the names of the hostages later today. negotiations for the second phase of the cease-fire are still under way. breaking overnight, a judge has ordered that pause on foreign aid be lifted. a district judge says foreign assistance put in place before president trump took office should resume, while a legal challenge from non-profit groups continues in court. also last night, the republican-led house budget committee approved a budget blueprint which calls for over $4 trillion in tax cuts and sets a goal to slash spending by $2 trillion. the plan will now go to a full vote in the house. for more from the white house, here's vaughn hilliard. >> reporter: facing pushback on his vision from a new federal workforce, president trump pushes forward with his america-first agenda, citing a plan for what he calls fair and reciprocal tariffs on all trading partners.

>> reciprocal makes tariffs really fair. >> reporter: administration officials have 180 days to review country by country to determine the appropriate tariff level for each country. critics, including members of his own party say tariffs will drive up costs for consumers, already paying more. additional tariffs could raise the price of cars to produce. the president says he's going to save taxpayer dollars by cutting back on government costs. his latest target, the department of education. >> i'd like it to be closed immediately. >> reporter: his choice to close the department he wants to cut in the hot seat. linda mcmahon, being grilled on what it would look like if d.o.e. were limited or down sized. >> i'm really all for the president's mission, which is to return education to the states. >> reporter: and admitted only congress can dissolve the agency. >> certainly does require congressional action.

>> reporter: protesters interrupting as she said it should be returned to the states. supporting parents who enroll kids in private education. the senate voting to confirm robert f. kennedy. only former republican leader mitch mcconnell, a polio survivor, voted with democrats against kennedy. in a statement, he said he had watched vaccines save millions of lives around the country and world. kennedy getting sworn in. now another controversial pick, kash patel, nominated to be the head of the fbi, the country's top law enforcement agcy, he is set to go before the senate for a full-floor vote. he's anticipated to be confirmed. but there are democratic senators warning their colleagues that patel could seek to go after adversaries of the president if he is confirmed. in washington, vaughn hilliard, nbc news. in new york, a dramatic set

of resignations by top federal prosecutors after the trump justice department ordered the criminal corruption case against mayor eric adams be dropped. nbc news obtaining a letter from daniel sasoon. her office was prepared to seek additional charges against adams but attended a meeting with top doj brass where the mayor's lawyers suggested adams could help the trump administration with immigration matters if his criminal charges were dropped. sasoon failed to go along, and now other prosecutors have quit. adams' attorney said the idea that there was a quid pro quo is a total lie. adams himself says he did nothing wrong. the severe weather that swept through the south triggering flooding across tennessee. the chattanooga fire department raced to rescue nearly a dozen people and their pets after a homeless encampment flooded. water rising to waste deep levels.

no injuries were reported. let's bring back in angie lassman who is tracking a new storm for the weekend. this is non-stop, angie. >> we made it to friday. but we're gearing up for a busy weather weekend. we've got the rain starting to wind down for the west. quieter skies for the southeast, but this doesn't last. this next storm system takes shape over the plains tomorrow bringing heavy snow, ice, to the midwest to new england. can you see the heavy rain and the potential for strong, even severe storms. tornados will be on the table for some folks as well as damaging winds. by sunday, a lot of this works offshore, but we still have the wintry mix lasting for the northeast coast. this will be impactful for road travel and air travel. this is the bull's eye of the area we'll watch for stronger storms. memphis to for charleston and

washington, d.c. plenty of sunshine in new york city with a high of 35. >> angie, thank you. going to show you one of these videos you have to see. a terrifying moment captured on camera of a kayaker appearing to be swallowed whole by a whale. that video filmed by the 24-year-old kayaker's own father while on the water in chile. he is heard yelling to his son to grab the boat, and he was able to swim to his dad safely. the incident won't stop them from going back out on the water. still to come, love is in the air. and on tv. the most popular valentine's day movies in each state. and we're back in a minute with wendy williams' desperate plea to get out of an assisted living facility. of an assisted living facility. lahari melon and aloe vera line is changing the game. up to five days of moisture and no wash days in between?

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we are back with new images of former daytime talk show host wendy williams, now inside an assisted living facility. she says she no longer need as guardianship. chloe melas has more. >> reporter: wendy williams, once the queen of daytime talk. >> here's wendy! >> reporter: making headlines on thursday after the release of a new tmz documentary on tubi. >> the last 30 days, i went out twice. >> reporter: featuring an interview with williams herself from inside assisted living facility in new york city. >> i want my rights back. i want my freedom back. >> reporter: the outlet showing haunting images of the 60-year-old star, who has been under a controversial guardianship since 2022. pressed up against the window while talking with tmz's harvey levin on a land line. does this sound like someone suffering from aphasia and dementia? >> to me, it's the old wendy williams. it's the wendy williams you saw on tv.

>> reporter: williams who says in the documentary, she has been denied the right to leave, signing an affidavit requesting the judge overseeing her guardianship to set her free, according to a source with direct knowledge of er situation. her court-appointed guardian did not immediately respond to nbc's request for comment. she was first put under guardianship in 2022. two years later, fans got a look at her alleged mental decline in the release of this controversial documentary that included scenes like this where she appears to not recognize her manager. >> i'm sorry. who did you think it was. that's fine. >> reporter: now williams saying, despite her diagnosis, she's doing much better and should be able to live independently. >> you look at wendy williams on that lifetime documentary last year, and you look at her today, and it's day and night. she is not only better, she's back. >> reporter: williams telling

the breakfast club she feels like she's in prison. >> this system is broken, you know, this system that i'm in, you know. this system has falsified, ooh. a lot. >> reporter: following that interview, an attorney for williams' guardian writing to the judge, saying in part, in light of the unusual circumstances present here, the guardian believes that it would be prudent for wendy williams to undergo a new medical evaluation. hope for williams and a health journey that has unfolded publicly for years. in 2017, she shockingly fainted on her live talk show. later revealing to viewers she suffered from an auto immune disorder known as grave's disease. >> it squeezes the muscles behind your eyeballs. that's the reason for -- >> reporter: two years later, she revealed she was living in a sober house.

>> i've had a struggle with cocaine in my past. >> reporter: she is now using her voice this time in her fight for freedom. it's not quite saturday. and it's not studio 8h, but with all these stars, can you really complain? . really complain? . join us every saturday morning on nbc for mutual of omaha's wild kingdom: protecting the wild. and celebrate conservation success stories. stream all episodes on peacock or nbc.com [fighting scene] —ugh! here we go again —wait there's a red hulk now? excuse me... what do i do about this? —we use tide oxi boost. —it's a life saver. the most powerful clean in any universe. lookin good. thank you. see captain america: brave new world. aah, it's a good day to cough. oh, no! bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours?! hmmm, ok. not coughing at yoga. antiquing not coughing?

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game changing for a network show. >> here we go. >> excitement, energy. >> [ bleep ] terrified. ♪ ♪ >> i'm on snl, and you're not. >> snl's 50th anniversary weekend kicks off tonight, right across the street from us here at radio city music hall. the homecoming concert announced new additions. you've got cher, lauryn hill and wycliffe john. the show hosted by jimmy fallon

airs live tonight on peacock at 8:00. there is so much buzz in this building just leading up to it. i can't imagine. and we're not even just talking about the shows. the after parties, which are legendary in itself. it's non-stop. >> it's going to be celebration on celebration on celebration. and i personally can't wait for it. now to the millions of people who might skip the concert tonight because they'll be watching one of these valentines classics. >> wait a minute, wait a minute! >> earlier this week, roku revealed its list of the most popular romance movies in every state across the u.s. the 1987 oscar winner "moonstruck" was the top choice in eight states including new jersey and massachusetts. others included sweet home alabama, crazy rich asians, and

the slasher my favorite valentine. all of those are great. how to lose a guy in ten days. >> what about you? >> too many to list. >> pretty in pink. i'll stick with '80s classic right there. jake ryan to this day, right? when we come back, youtube is celebrating a major milestone today. and, if you deleted tiktok from your phone, now's the chance to get it back. that was 16 candles, too. it bac. that was 16 candles, too. you'r. tell me you're joking. uh, it's a little early for jokes, but here it goes. this muffin goes on vacation— what's happening? you said “joking” three times, that's why i'm here. uh, anyway, so this muffin— well i was just excited about my new car. -new car? oh, you don't need a joke, you need a jake. [singing] like a good neighbor, state farm is there. your state farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. alright, i've got a show, so— you forgot your toothbrush, jimmy fallon! like a good neighbor, state farm is there. can neuriva support your brain health? mary, janet, hey! eddie, no. frasier, frank.

frank? —fred, how are you? —fred! support up to 7 brain health indicators, including memory. when you need to remember, remember neuriva. welcome to the 100° sweat test. which one of these two antiperspirants can stand up to the heat? that's it. take it up a notch. looks like ordinary antiperspirants can't take the heat. ordinary antiperspirants can't fight sweat better than secret clinical. mom's gonna love this! alright kids come on. it's time for bed! ( ♪♪ ) good morning, mr. snuggles. make breakfast special with the cocoa and hazelnutty goodness of nutella. ( ♪♪ ) even when us women's national team forward mallory swanson isn't on the field... ...she always makes the perfect play. thanks to the bank of america customized cash rewards visa card, she'll earn 3% cash back on her purchase after choosing the online shopping category. ♪♪ ohhh, it's mesmerizing. i can't look away. cleaning that greasy mess...

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so it smells first-day fresh for 50 days. 50 days!? and its refill reminder light means i'll never miss a day of freshness. ♪ still congested? nope! uh oh. mucinex 2-in-1 saline nasal spray. spray goodbye. aaaaaaahhhhh! mucinex 2-in-1 saline nasal spray with a gentle mist and innovative power-jet. spray goodbye to congestion. it's comeback season! here's what's making headlines this morning. tiktok returned to apple and google app stores overnight. the chinese-owned app was removed january 18th in response to a national security law. president trump signed an executive order extending the law deadline to april 5th. igloo is recalling 1 million coolers over some that caused amputations. the cooler was sold at major

retailers between 2019 and 2025. nearly 162,000 counterfeit u.s. forever stamps were seized in chicago. if the stamps were real, they would have been worth more than $118,000. youtube turns 20 today. the platform was founded in 2025 by try former paypal employees who opened their first headquarters above a pizza spot in san mateo, california. spot in san mateo, california. l. i heard mielle's kalahari melon and aloe vera line is changing the game. up to five days of moisture and no wash days in between? let's see about that. day two, headed to work, but i feel like i'm about to drop a hit single. all the cuties are at the run club. good thing these curls are curling. can you believe this is day five? i think i could go even longer. up to five days of lasting moisture. endless possibilities. imagine what you could do in five days. can neuriva support your brain health? mary, janet, hey! eddie, no. frasier, frank.

frank? —fred, how are you? —fred! support up to 7 brain health indicators, including memory. when you need to remember, remember neuriva. ♪ it's native ♪ aluminum-free, 72-hour odor protection with just 6 ingredients. have you seen what's in your old stuff? there's more than double the amount of ingredients in this deodorant! clean, effective deodorant isn't a myt—- it's native! this valentine's day, we're bringing you a story of resilience, devotion and the power of connection. lillian anderson and marian

cardosa were inseparable for 50 years long before they could legally marry. their daughter shares the journey of these two women. >> my mother lillian anderson came here from france. she was 18. and she hardly could speak a word of english. and then her partner, marian cardosa. she worked as a mechanic. so she was well-known around the community. she kind of took her under her wing. and protected her. anyway, time went by, and marian had her in her house with her, and they started living together. and it just became a really great situation. they were friends, great friends right from the start. >> how did the community respond to their relationship? >> there was a different kind of lifestyle here on the vineyard. it's an i have small community. i think what, with them just

living the way they wanted to live, it inspired others to do the same. you know. just, you go with what you go, not to care about what anybody else thinks. >> what were some of the challenges they faced as a lesbian couple at that time? >> i don't think there were challenges for them at all, to be honest with you. there weren't any. because they didn't let them affect them. they just shrugged it off their shoulder, and me being in school, how they acted i acted. when someone would say oh, your mom, and i was like, whatever. i didn't care. it didn't matter. >> our thanks for that story. sydney and carol celebrating 65

years of marriage by renewing their vows. they got married in 1960. today sydney and carol credit their longevity on flexibility, never going to bed angry, and this. >> you carry this off, i'll tell you the truth. >> you can tell. >> did you hear that? that's some valentine's day advice. wishing them a very happy anniversary. and we know what they're going to be doing tonight, right? thanks so much for watching "early today." i'm frances rivera. hope you have a great valentine's day. they certainly will. have a good one. have a good one.

major storm cleanup is underway across the bay area. from floods to rockslides. we are monitoring the impacts this latest storm has left behind and the lingering impacts on your commute. plus, it's almos