hollywood's biggest night

was all about anora, a comedy drama taking home some of the biggest awards for the oscars. we wrap the other big winners. the funniest moments of the big night and some of the best looks from the red carpet. the secretary of defense orders the military to halt all cyber operations on russia. we're live with how europe is stepping in after friday's oval office clash. a state of emergency in south carolina, as firefighters race to put out nearly 200 wildfires across the state. those fires fueled by dry and windy conditions. michelle grossman has the latest. the harrowing video from on board a cruise ship, caught in rough waters tilting to the side. plus it's spring break season. and a crackdown to try to tame rowdy crowds and prevent violence. why they say their measures are

working. it's monday, march 3rd. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera. less than two months after the devastating california wildfires put its very existence into question, the show went on at the dolby theater sunday. hollywood's brightest stars gathered to honor the best films of 2024 at the 97th academy awards, hosted by conan o'brien. while many thought the field was wide open, it was a small indy that had its greatest day. >> and the oscar goes to -- are they playing a song? >> no. well, maybe. anora. >> it emerged as the big winner, taking home five awards, including best picture.

anora's final award went to its breakout star, mikey madison who won best actress for the title character. the historical epic, the brutalist was runner-up with three wins. adrien brodie won best actor for the architect. and the night began with kieron culkin coming one step closer to an egot. and capping off the schofilled with historic wins, zoe saldana became the first american of dominican origin to win for emilia perez. new this morning. secretary of state pete hegseth has ordered the pentagon to cease offensive cyber operations against russia. that's according to a top u.s. official familiar with the

matter. president trump is trying to restore diplomatic channels with russia as his administration seeks a quick end to the war in ukraine. it's not clear how long the order will last. a senior u.s. defense official declined to comment on the decision due to operational security concerns. it comes as ukrainian president zelenskyy gets a warm welcome in london two days after the disastrous meeting with president trump in the oval office. for the latest, let's go to matt bodner. how is europe dealg with the fallout from the trump-zelenskyy meeting? >> reporter: it is difficult to overstate how shocking those scenes from the oval office were for allies in europe. yesterday's summit in london was a testament to that. while russia celebrated the alignment with moscow's preferences, european officials called for the fortification of ukraine.

ursula von der leyen said they need to turn into a steel porcupine. she said it is time to prepare for the worst. that said, european leadership is not yet ready to fully give up on the united states. uk prime minister keir starmer, who embraced president zelenskyy this weekend had this to say. >> europe must do the heavy lifting. but to support peace in our continent, and to succeed, this effort must have strong u.s. backing. nobody wanted to see what happened last friday, but i do not accept that the u.s. is an unreliable ally. >> reporter: it is important to keep in mind that starmer, for the moment, has no real choice other than to say this. not only has he been the most successful leader to engage with trump so far, but the fact is that europe is not prepared militarily to lose america as an ally. and many hope to salvage the situation. but friday's disaster in the oval office fundamentally changed the tone of the

conversation over here. frances? >> matt bodner for us, thank you. israel stopping the entry of food and humanitarian goods into gaza. under a new proposal, hamas would release half of the hostages at the start of the extension. hamas is accusing israel of blackmail. benjamin netanyahu says israel will not allow a cease-fire without the release of hostages. but israel is facing some backlash with egypt and qatar accusing israel of violating humanitarian law by using starvation as a weapon. there are new concerns for the social security administration. elon musk saying on a podcast that the benefit is a ponzi scheme. the comment sparking outrage, but the house speaker defended musk on "meet the press."

>> what he's finding with his algorithms crawling through the data is enormous amount of fraud and abuse. >> the internal watchdog found less than 1% of benefit payments were improper. >> don't believe it. hey, don't believe it. >> half of elderly people are trying to get by on $30,0,000 a year. 22% on $15,000 a year. we've got to raise social security benefits, not go after these programs which are so important. >> this all comes an after the social security administration announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs and close some regional offices. some democrats plan to invite fired workers to the president trump's address to congress tomorrow night. a deadly crash shut down a highway for hours. at least four are dead and two

are in critical condition. >> reporter: flaming wreckage covering an arizona freeway. this video capturing the aftermath of a fatal pileup west of phoenix. rescuers arriving 1:00 p.m. saturday to a fiery scene. as a massive dust storm moved in. >> you've got one, two, possibly three semis, and a lot of heavy blowing dust out here. visibility is down to a quarter mile. >> reporter: this traffic cam with the video sped up captured the dust blowing through around that time. investigators believe a single accident created a domino effect on interstate 10 with both cars and semis slamming into each other. officials confirming four people died and eight others were injured, as conditions grew worse. >> visibility's down to zero now. >> reporter: the national weather service issuing multiple dust storm warnings, posting a significant plume of dust is seen on satellite and is crossing i-10. investigators now examining conditions as a potential cause. months ago, weather also blamed

for this 50-car collision outside new orleans, where an incredibly dense super fog led to a nearly mile-long pileup, injuring 33 people. with two survivors in critical condition and others recovering, investigators poring over charred remnants trying to piece together the tragic scene. morgan chesky, nbc news. now to a state of emergency in south carolina as officials race to get a handle on wildfires that have burned thousands of acres and forced people out of their homes. it's north of myrtle beach, and the fire has burned 1600 acres and is 30% contained. the fires fueled by dry conditions and strong winds. no injuries have been reported, and no structures have been destroyed. further north, smoke filled the sky in north carolina. now let's get to michelle

grossman who is tracking a severe weather threat for parts of of the southern plains. >> we're looking at a really busy week weather wise. we have a big system in the west, impacting portions of the high plains into the rockies. that's going to move to the east as we go through the rest of the workweek. we're looking at a chance for blizzard-like conditions, the chance for severe weather as well. severe weather in the plains and into texas. also looking at a fire risk, especially in eastern new mexico, western texas, parts of the southwest into the south central states. plenty of sunshine in the southeast into parts of new england. it will be chilly in new england. the storm system moves off to the east by wednesday. notice the darker colors, the reds, oranges, yellows, that's where we could see heavy rain falling. on the backside, we're seeing that colder air come in. so we're looking at snow in portions of the upper midwest. by friday, we're going to clear it out along the east coast.

we're looking at sunny skies, rain and snow for portions o cod atlantic, parts of the northeast. 41 in philadelphia. 23 in bangor. that's your monday forecast. >> thanks so much, michelle. pope francis remains in the hospital this morning in stable condition. the vatican says the pontiff rested well overnight after a breathing scare on friday. pope francis did not need breathing assistance sunday, though he was still getting extra oxygen. the vatican says the pope was able to participate in sunday mass and issued thanks for the prayers of well-wishers. strict security measures in place this year.

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we are back with the dramatic new video of a cruise ship rocked by rough seas last week. the water spilling out of the pool onto the deck as the ship tilted. and inside, pots filled with food clattered onto the floor of the kitchen. at least 16 were injured but all are expected to make a full recovery. spring break is under way in miami ach. they are gearing up with strict rules to prevent the deadly violence from years past. >> potential curfews, are you [ bleep ] kidding me? >> reporter: it's a spoof video, but the message is clear. >> this year we want folks to have a reality check. >> reporter: miami beach police chief wayne johns walks with us where one of the deadly shootings happened two years ago. >> the deadly shooting on ocean

drive. >> reporter: the deadly chaos of spring 2023 has led to a second year in a row of strict measures. behind me, of all of the beach entrances, only three of them are going to be open. this is one of them. beach bag checks, dui checkpoints, closed streets, up to $100 parking, measures that police say they have the data to show it worked. >> 23% decrease in felony arrests, which is ge, huge. >> reporter: and there were no fatal shootings. but businesses like miami beach's palace bar and restaurant are bracing for a different impact. >> this is considered our sidewalk cafe extension. all of this has to be removed. >> reporter: how many feet? >> 178 feet. >> reporter: did you see a

change in revenue from march of 2023 to march of 2024? >> we did. probably 15% to 20%. >> reporter: other counties like volusia county are following the lead. broward county with its own viral video. >> we got beaches, we got vibes. but we got rules. >> reporter: they aren't afraid to rain on the spring break parade. >> last year we did the breakup with spring break. i had a friend tell me you didn't just breakup with spring break, you divorced it. >> there's more to the oscars than just the awards. we recap the biggest men from the red carpet last night. the looks and conan o'brien's biggest laughs. (mom) not really. blue life protection formula's got deboned chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, oatmeal, barley... (mia) well purina one has chicken, rice flour, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal...

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now i know in the past this show has gone long, okay? that's not going to happen.

♪ ♪ >> guys? i thought we were all doing this. >> now, for no good reason. chopsticks on the piano. >> here -- are -- the -- nominees - - for production design. >> it's great to be back with conan. usually when he calls, he's stuck in a tree. >> okay. one more thing >> it wasn't just conan o'brien. kieran culkin told about a story about his wife and the future of his family. >> oh, god, i did say that. i guess i owe you a third kid. and i turned to her and said really, i want four. and she turned to me and said i will give you four when you win

an oscar. >> one of those funny moments. and there's the start of a speech had to be bleeped, because he threw in a couple of f-bombs there. but a lot of upsets when it comes to oscars. anora kind of took it all. >> i don't even know who won because i slept right through it. >> if you don't want spoilers, we got them here. >> the fashion, the oscars red carpet delivered. zoe saldana was pure elegance. cynthia erivo defied gravity and the fashion game in this custom green louis vuitton, a perfect match for "wicked." she always looks so good. halle berry, looking like a walking mirror ball. and the men were oscar red carpet worthy, too. look at andrew garfield in a

full brown gucci moment. then there's coleman domingo in a custom red and black suit. if there was an award for the best-dressed dare devil, give it to him. hollywood showed up and showed out in full oscar style. >> halle berry is one of my favorites, with all the mirrors in there. and she looks timeless. when we come back, the super hero holding down the top spot at the box office. and new treatments for brain injuries. we got the details on a new nasal spray study. oking. 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.

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a new study showing promise for an anti--body based nasal spray. it found to produce healing. captain america brave new world raked in another $15 million domestically. last breath took second with 7.8 million. and the monkey took third with $6.4 million. spacex is set to launch tonight from texas. it comes as the faa continues the investigate the mishap that led to an explosion. '6 se claims. choose neuriva plus — which supports six brain health indicators, including memory, with clinically tested ingredients. it's time to switch to neuriva. travel can make you smell kinda funky. but aluminum-free secret whole body deodorant gives me 72 hour whole body freshness. for long layovers. surprise gate changes. and heavy luggage. and it's totally middle-seat approved.

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good news to kick off your week. >> reporter: talk about a home run. cub super fan denise and kathy bonded over baseball, becoming friends during spring training games in arizona. so when kathy, a retired teacher, found out denise desperately needed a kidney transplant, she stepped up to the plate, surprising the navy veteran at, where else, the ballpark, with the news she would be her donor. >> i am your donor. >> are you serious? >> yes, i am. i am your donor, girl. >> all right! yeah! >> reporter: their recent surgery at dignity health st. joseph's hospital in phoenix a life-saving gift that will keep denise swinging for the fences for years to come. >> it was just overwhelming and amazing, emotional. >> when i learned denise needed a kidney, i knew i had to try. you don't let a cub fan die. >> reporter: near ft. worth, texas, high country elementary

school librarian kathy facet noticed this fourth grader kept checking out the same book over and over and over. it was "we shall overcome." so she secretly contacted the author, and then this happened. >> the author sent you your own -- [ screaming ] >> reporter: mrs. facet getting zoe two signed copies of his books all for her very own. that kindness meant the world to zoe and her mom angela. tell me about the day that were you surprised with, you know, not one but two surprises. >> it was so beautiful. i started crying. and i loved how he put martin luther king in the center. >> reporter: as a parent, how do we process something so beautiful as what your daughter experiences? >> i was so glad that ms. facet, the librariaian took note, out all the students to notice my child. i was, just, you know, i appreciate librarians. >> reporter: zoe's love for

reading so inspiring we decided to give her a surprise, too. >> bryan collier? >> it is a pleasure to meet you. >> it is a pleasure to meet you, too. i love your books. >> you warm my heart when you say that. >> reporter: her favorite author sharing his words of wisdom. why did you step forward and say, yeah, i want to give her these books. >> the very notion that somebody's attracted to words and books, i love the way booking feel and how much they weigh and the stories that they tell. it's a time machine. u can go anywhere in the world in a book. >> those stories are going to make a great start to your week. thanks to you for