call from president trump to russia's putin. a hunt for the attack. >> the nuclear option of the neil gorsuch nomination. >> equal pay day. why it's providing a major rallying cry for women. >> tom brady's jery stolen again and baseball's opening day. >> redemption for the unc tar heels. >> to jackson. down. >> national champs for the sixth time. "early today" starts right now. good to have you with us on tuesday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> late night for those watching basketball that's for sure. welcome. i'm yasmin vossoughian. last night president trump phoned russia's vladamir putin for their first time phone call.

the beginning of the new administration. mr. trump offering condolences over the subway bombing and offered full support as russian police search for suspects in the st. petersburg attack. at least 11 were killed and 40 wounded. a second bomb was found in another subway station. there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. a russian news agency without specifying its sources reported that police now suspect the attack was the work of a suicide bomber. keir simmons joins us. what more do we know? >> reporter: you guys pretty much said it all. we know that they are claiming that a kyrgyzstan 23-year-old was behind this attack. it's not clear whether it is a suicide bomber. the news agency in russia did issue a picture of a man. it said russian authorities wanted to find, but then there

were further reports that the man had gone to authorities to say that it wasn't him. russian authorities also say that they found a second device in another metro area. that device was defused. at the moment russian officials say the 45 people were injured, 11 people killed. frances. >> keir simmons for us. thank you. this morning also new develops in the growing russia scandal after nbc cob firms that erik prince at blackwater served as a representative for then president elect trump. "the washington post" first published the scoop reporting the meeting was with a quote russian close to the president vladamir putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back channel line of communication between moscow and then president elect donald trump. the plot thickens from there with the report saying erik

prince donated $250,000 to the trump campaign and groups supporting trump's candidacy. he happens to be the brother of betsy devos and seen in the transition new york offices in december. senior administration officials calling the suggestion of a trump-putin back channel ridiculous. sean spicer released this statement. quote we are not aware of any meetings and erik prince had no role in the transition. the white house says it is seeking a path forward on health care saying efforts to repeal obamacare are far from dead. vice president mike pence, the chief of staff and budget director mulvaney for a late night meeting with the house freedom caucus. >> how was the meeting? >> is there going to be a vote on health care? >> we're talking. >> so far no new deal in principle but conservative group says it is interested in what the white house had to say.

>> we're encouraged by at least the idea, intrigued by the idea, but certainly need a lot more information before we can take any action either in support or opposition. >> the meeting comes after christian welker spoke with the president in the oval office telling her he is serious about working on health care reform. reversing course on fighting democratic support for a compromise. but health care isn't the only fight on the president's hands. senate democrats and republicans embarking on a historic showdown over neil go such who is one step closer to confirmation. for more we're joined by tracie potts and democrats seem to have enough votes to block that this week so will that be enough? >> reporter: well, it certainly could be enough to set a precedent here, something that we have never seen before, a filibuster of a supreme court nominee. i want you to look at something. there are four democrats who essentially have flipped and

said they won't filibuster, they won't try to block this nomination. it is notable that several of these are from red states, and they will be up for re-election. there are 42 democrats who have said yes, they will try to block this nomination and that is what's leading to what you keep hearing over and over, the nuclear option. republicans saying they may have to lower that threshold from 60 votes which is what it normally takes to get a nominee onto the supreme court, to a simple majority of 51 in which case they can do it without any democrats at all. and that may happen before the end of this week. they are hoping to have him confirmed and sworn in on saturday. the issue here is, if they use that nuclear option it doesn't build a lot of good will for some of the things they have got to work on here and moving ahead like tax reform. >> a lot to happen between now and then. tracie potts for us in washington.

thanks. we teased at the top of the show gonzaga lost one game all year. in a battle it was the university of north carolina that came out on top, redemption for the tar heels and head coach roy williams after losing last year on a buzzer beater to villanova. this is coach williams' third national championship passing his late mentor dean smith who won two. they were celebrating big time in chapel hill. this is the school's sixth national championship and their first since 2009. >> sure a lot of them are still celebrating. today is equal pay day across the united states as activists look to the gender gap. each year demonstrations from coast to coast as pro equity activists look to even the field trying to catch up on male colleagues. women earn 79.6 cents for every dollar men make. it's that statistic those like sheryl sandberg are trying to break down. the #20 percent counts, arcing

that if women make 20% less than men they should at least pay 20% less for purchases. local businesses are getting in on the action with 300 businesses in over 25 major cities offering 20% discounts or special offers today. and later this morning on capitol hill, democrats will reintroduce legislation to strengthen protections for women in the workplace. harrison ford is free and clear, ford will not lose his pilot's license or be fined after that airport scare that saw the actor coming in for a landing on a taxiway instead of a runway at a southern california airport back in february. flying right over the top of a packed passenger jet. the faa completed its investigation with no punishment for the actor. ahead another major sexual harassment lawsuit at fox news, advertisers pulling out. in louisiana funnel cloud tosses a car around look here, like a toy, strong winds in georgia rip add roof from a fire house. lightning blamed for an

apartment complex fire in alabama and more severe storms are expected today. let's check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins who is tracking it all for us. >> good morning. active weather ahead. we go throughout the morning the worst is in new england, not severe just a lot of heavy rain, maybe localized flooding. and that wet weather continues through the great lakes. as far as the southeast goes, late tonight we'll have a severe weather threat into early tomorrow morning at mississippi and alabama. but springfield, oklahoma city, this is going to be a severe thunderstorm threat with large hail. then wednesday, this could be the worst outbreak of our early spring season, already a huge enhanced and good morning, i'm meteorologist bill henley. tracking light showers through wilmington, philadelphia, into lower bucks county. heavy downpours overnight. there's more wet weather on the way. if you're getting ready to leave the house, grab your rain gear. you'll need it today. update at 4:30.

here's a look at what we're working on for "nbc10 news today" -- >> eric frein on trial. opening statements begin in the trial of the man accused of gunning down two pennsylvania state troopers killing one. a new jersey teen admits to wanting to assassinate pope francis during his visit to philadelphia in 2015. a movie classic returns to a theater today. hear why "1984" is coming back. welcome to saturday.

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for the st. louis cardinals. and then you have tom brady who celebrated opening day in a different way. so here he is finally reunited with his once long lost jersey. you see that? foiled again by rob gronkowski. they tackled one another to the ground. the red sox went on to win. maybe that jersey was lucky after all. >> it was entertaining for the fans. leading the news, a 17-year-old from new jersey pleads guilty to trying to hire a sniper to assassinate the pope. prosecutors say santos colon wanted to kill the pope during his visit to philadelphia back in 2015 while coming up with his scheme colon spoke with someone he thought was a sniper but was actually an fbi agent. officials say colon wanted to set off explosives at the pope's mass which around 100,000 people did attend. he faces up to 15 years in prisonment >> in colombia the death toll

climbs reaching 273 victims 40 am the deadly mud slide. rescue workers are searching for signs of life among the carnage. more than 200 people are still missing. authorities have started releasing the identified bodies and families have begun burying loved ones. a promise donald trump's first quarter salary as president has been donated. he gave his income a total of $78,330 to the national park service. sean spicer announced the move during his daily briefing accompany bid ryan zinc handing over the check. the funds are going to maintain historic battlefields across the country. more about ailment when's you have a tough sleep schedule or like this one up this early a health alert for diabetics. a study finds people with type ii diabetes may have a harder

time controlling blood sugar if the they have overnight schedules. y researchers followed diabetics working the night shift and saw higher spikes in glue glows compared to day workers regardless of the diet or sleep. experts to be cautious taking medications, also exercising and eating a healthy diet. nearly 6 million americans work a permanent or rotating overnight shift. hello, "early today" crew. how many more ailments can we have? >> i'm deiabetic i have to go. why playing 1994 today. major advertiser pulling out of the no spin done. could more follow in the sex harassment suit. turbotax agent: hello mr. dumpty, do you have a tax question? humpty dumpty: i've recently had some unforeseen medical expenses. turbotax agent: oh, i hope it's not too bad. humpty dumpty: uh... it's pretty bad. humpty dumpty: anyway, can i get a tax deduction

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fast forwarding today, may be 2017 but it's 1984, that's all the rage with george orwell's story taking on new meaning for anti-trump activists and a day in a global protest against the president over 200 theaters are screening the famous film. prepare yourself for a brain freeze. free cone day is back with ben & jerry's at locations coast to coast. the company has been keeping its free ice cream tradition for 40 years. expected to give out over a million free cones. p host bob harper opens up on

his near fatal heart attack. in an interview with today's savannah guthrie. that is this morning on "today." also inmorning new allegations in the sexual harassment scandal plaguing fox news. new accusers against roger ailes and bill o'reilly after the network paid out millions to settle complaints against the star. and this morning it's pulling ads from the show. nbc's stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: former fox news commentator accused the network's biggest star bill o'reilly of sexual harassment. >> knew how to behave and i simply said i'm sorry, i can't do that. >> reporter: wendy says she refused o'reilly's offer to go to his hotel room. >> he got very hostile very quickly. he told me flat out forget any career advice. >> reporter: her appearances on his show soon stopped. walsh's accusations part of a

"new york times" report revealing fox news or o'reilly paid $13 million over a dozen years to five other women who alleged similar harassment. her accusations come as fox news drys to move beyond a sexual harassment scandal that led to the resignation of its former chairman and ceo roger's. >> they made some changes but the current leadership at fox news is part of the old guard of roger's loyalists. >> reporter: o'reilly posted a statement on line that reads in part just like others i'm vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals who want me to pay them to avoid negative publicity. as a father he says he acted quickly when accused to put to rest any controversies to spare my children. fox news was also hit with another lawsuit accusing ales of sexual harassment. his lawyers called it total hog wash. management urged employees to come forward if they have any concerns. >> if they are serious about

this they are going to have to change their entire culture. >> reporter: the car company mercedes says it is pulling advertising from o'reilly's show. the scandal fox news hoped it had overcome continues to take a costly toll. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. ahead a breakdown of the country's most stressed out states and the dwis we didn't see coming. how one company is tracking employees on a whole new level. ! uh, excuse me, waiter. i ordered the soup... of course, ma'am. my apologies. c'mon, caesar. let's go. caesar on a caesar salad? surprising. excuse me, pardon me. what's not surprising? how much money matt saved by switching to geico. could i get my parking validated? fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. you need to eat this special.

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♪ okay. a little more than just some jimmy fallon lip-syncing. >> plenty of things that stress americans out. a study by wallet hub monitored work, money, family, health and the most and least stressed states. the south, they actually scored the worst with alabama the most, louisiana, mississippi, west virginia and kentucky. states in the midwest, they seem to be more relaxed. minnesota the least stressed with north and south dakota, iowa and utah in the top five. i thought new york would be on the bottom of the list. >> i believe the midwest being one of the lesser, surprised me the south. south everybody is so chill and

easy. >> i agree. i'm surprised. parents trying to read teens minds for years. google may have answers for us. researchers designed a guide to generation disease for example companies to market to teens so they call it its lit. how teens define cool. something unique, impressive, interesting, amazing or awesome. so when asked by them to rank coolness you got youtube, netflix, google, play station and nike that came out on top when it comes to coolness. and some of the snacks generation disease loves, piz ar, oreos, chips and ice cream. i think that spans all the way from generation diseajennegener. >> ahead a bizarre explosion sent a boiler in the sky. three have died. the smoother the skin, you are in it.

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right now, eric frein's day in court. the murder trial begins for the man accused of opening fire on pennsylvania state troopers. suing seth williams. former district attorney lynn abraham hits the current d.a. with a lawsuit and hopes he will resign his post. on and off showers, they've moved and out all night long. more rain is possible this morning and this afternoon. good morning, this is "nbc10 news today." i'm katy zachry. >> i'm vai sikahema. we want to hear about the on and off showers. meteorologist bill henley has the first alert neighborhood forecast, the most accurate forecast in town. bill? they're on now for many neighborhoods, wilmington to philadelphia. they're not very impressive. you see scattered showers in

montgomery and bucks counties, as well. a few showers this morning, and a chance that we're going to get more later this morning and this afternoon from that line that's moving into western pennsylvania. we'll get a pretty good break in the rainfall. still a few light showers in philadelphia, 60 degrees now. a warm start in the suburbs, too. 55. look at new jersey at 55 degrees. a little cooler, but definitely rainy in the lehigh valley. cloudy skies. damp from the showers overnight. delaware now is 57. this wouldn't be bad for highs this time of year, but we are going warmer. 80 degrees this afternoon in delaware. 70s into philadelphia. 75 in the suburbs and new jersey and into the lehigh valley, 70s this afternoon. yes, you will need your rain gear at times. i'll show you when showers are likely to come back into your neighborhood when i come back in ten minutes with the futurecast. first, jessica boyington has traffic. thanks, this is the vine street expressway where we're starting this morning. around 24th is where the camera

is looking. this is westbound, moving toward the schuylkill expressway here, eastbound toward 95. no problems or delays reported yet. you can clearly see the roads are wet. watch getting on and off the ramps and moving around any sharp curves. in new castle, watch for the flooding. this was closed for the past two days or so around airport road between highway 37 and i-95. the p.a. turnpike looks okay so far. at least according to the drive times. you see westbound and eastbound, 23 minutes at the most from route 1 to valley forge, speeds into the mid 60s. katy? >> thanks. happening today, the trial begins for the man accused of targeting and shooting two pennsylvania state troopers. corporal brian dixon was killed, and trooper alex douglas was wounded. >> eric frein is on trial for the ambush shooting and could get the death penalty once the jury decides his fate. we have a closer look at the case. matt, tell us