we'll see you next time, folks. it's thursday, march 3rd. coming up on "early today," breaking overnight, astronaut scott kelly back on u.s. soil after a year in outer space. and the republicans prepare to square off in the fox hole. court room bomb shell. a key witness caught in public watching a naked video of erin

plus a brazen snatch and grab. and a wanton felon takes off a police officer at the door. and 17 labrador puppies. "early today" starts right now. good to be with you. breaking news. astronaut scott kelly is back on american soil. he landed in houston at 2:30 this morning and greeted by his family, including his twin brother, former astronaut mark kelly. >> it was a very long trip. when i left here in february, i don't even know what day it was. i was 50 and now i'm 52. so -- but it feels great.. it's great to be back in texas, in u.s. -- on u.s. soil. it's an unbelievable feeling to be back here on planet earth, back in our great country and back with my family and friends.

they talked about my year in space. it's not my achievement, it's nasa's achievement and our country's achievement. >> he spent 340 days aboard the international space station. a record for an american astronaut. and he actually grew two inches in height. a blistering super tuesday has republicans regrouping. and ben carson stopped short of officially ending his campaign. that leaves just four republicans on tonight's stage. donald trump will face off with fox news's megyn kelly for the first time since the august debate debate, which donald trump boycotted the second fox hosted debate. and many are wondering if there's any way to stop a juggernaut.

press conference. presses say he'll speak on the state of the republican race, leading to speculation that he plans to slam the run away candidate, which garnered a series of tweets calling him a failed candidate. jimmy felon pulled levity from trump's super tuesday's speech with a littleal help from a two-dimensional chris christie.ie >> this has been an amazing night. we've already won five states and it looks like we could win six, or seven, or eight or nine. maybe a mail illion. i want to thank governor christie for his unblinking support. he's like my mini me except bigger. he's like my mega me. you can go home. good boy.

greeted a crowd at amare radio city misic hall. >> people in every corner of the country came out to support the future we're building together. >> and new york governor andrew cuomo couldn't help but take a shot at the gop frontrunner. >> we build a wall, the big wall, a thousand mile wall, like the china wall. ium -- i'm going to build a wall. >> and that may not long. reports signal the e mail controversy might spring back to life. both papers report that the fbi investigation is now trying to determine if a crime was

saying there was wrong doing. nbc news has reached out to the justice department for confirm it -- conformation, but have yet to respond. and bernie sanders promising to fight on. and after out raising clinton by over $10 million in february, he has a war chest to take the battle many more months. and part owner of the oklahoma city thunder died yesterday in a fiery car crash this is one day after being indicted for conspiring to suppress oil and natural gas prices. he faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine. they said he was traveling at a high rate of speed well over the speed limit and that he drove through a field before crashing

time to get back on the road. it wasad so badly burned, it was unclear if he was wearing a seatbelt. watch as a video shows a group of about 10 disguised burglars using the chains to pull the security bars right off the building and in total the thieves made off with more than 50 weapons and caused extensive damage to the store. they have made arrests but multiple suspects are still at large. they're offering a $5,000 reward leading to more arrests. president obama is bet vetting iowa james kelly as a potential nominee. the fbi has started conducting background checks on kelly. this could pose a difficult decision for iowa senator and head of the senate judic yare

committee, who have vowed not to take up any of president obama's nominees. but he long timed praised the public defender and she was confirmed unanimously to her position. and now to a new twist in the $75 million lawsuit brought by sports caster, erin andrews after a stocker secretly taped her naked in a hotel room. there are new information that an executive was seen in public tuesday watching the stocker video with friends while they commented on it. here with more details. >> reporter: erin andrews arriving the in the court house for day six of testimony. but there would be a delay and a bomb shell. >> do you have any comment? >> reporter: neal, an executive with west end hotel partner, which owned the hotel where erin

he testified on monday. he and two friends were at a nashville restaurant where andrews' naked viral video was played from a cell phone. a waitress said they were making fun of her body. in a statement he says his friends started view thag ing the video. i asked them to stop but it wasn't as quickly as i hoped. i sincerely apologize for my participation in what happened. exposure like this is what andrews has emphasized all week. >> this will always be on the internet. there will always be a reminder. >> reporter: her worst nightmare

and we're ready to celebrate for -- pump the brakes, but, but, but. >> slam on the brakes. >> we could be close to winter's last hurrah. >> i like to say this will be the coldest until next winter so i certainly hope so. it's negative wind chill in caribou caribou. and even the big cities on i 95 are in the 20s. a very cold morning. and the great lakes are in the 20s and as far south as lexington, kentucky, it feels like the 20s.he this storm is going to move briefly just close enough to some of the cold air for snow. we have a little this morning, chicago, south, we're not getting a lot of snow but a little coating out there. fort wayne will get a little bit of snow.

this, area of northern indiana couldna pick up one to two inches of snow. just a coating in areas of northwestern ohio. and we could get a little bit of snow in virginia, maybe even enough to plow around areas like richmond richmond. that's your national weather, now a closer look at your day ahead. we've had thunderstorms over night in arkansas, those will push through mississippi and alabama. there's that cold air in northern new england. so, virginia, not often they get snow in march but that will be the case tonight. >> they'll be ready for it. thank you very muff. just ahead, on the loose in a busy time's square. and a traffic stop ic stop

is better for your skin than wearing no makeup at all? neutrogena cosmetics. powders, concealers and foundations in new shades for more skin tones. with vitamins and antioxidants. your skin will look beautiful when you wear it and even after you take it off. neutrogena cosmetics see what's possible. a heart attack doesn't care if you run everyday, or if you're young or old. no matter who you are a heart attack can happen without warning. if you've had a heart attack, a bayer aspirin regimen can help prevent another one. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

[music] no, no, no, no, people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too. angel soft. you can help prevent blindness in undernourished children all over the world. when you get your vitamins at walgreens, you help give life-changing vitamins to kids across the globe. get vitamins here. change lives everywhere. walgreens. at the corner of

welcome back. an unexpected clue from the disappearance of malaysia flight 370 off the coast of east africa. >> airplane debris that i found on february 27th. >> that's blain gibson, an american traveller who had been plane. he tweeted that there is a high possibility the debris belongs to a boeing 777 but also urged to avoid undue speculation as they continue to speculate. today is the third day in

for suing for a sex tape of him published in 2012. and knocking out a side mirror of a car. and look at this police dash cam video of a wanted felon in new mexico, driving off with a sheriff's deputy. garcia, who hit the gas only drove about 500 feet and finally stopped the vehicle and the deputy began hitting him with a flashlight flashlight. facebook announced yesterday that it now has 3 million active advertisers which is a 50% jump over a one-year period. there is still plenty of room to grow with 25% of american small businesses still off line. sports authority will close almost a third of its locations. executives hope the move will allow the chain to upgrade its website and instore experience.

fine of a lifetime in a crumpled up paper bag. kellogg's frosted mini-wheats ... 8 layers of wheat... and one that's sweet. to satisfy the adult and kid - in all of us. nutritious wheat for the adult you've grown into and delicious sweet for the kid you'll never outgrow... feed your inner kidult with frosted mini-wheats . try new kellogg's mini-wheats harvest delights with sweet drizzle and bits made with real fruit. what body aches? what knee pain? what sore elbow? advil liqui-gels make pain a distant memory nothing works faster stronger or longer what pain? advil. choose your match new revlon colorstay 2-in-1 compact. expertly-matched foundation and concealer deliver a flawless, complete look that lasts. choose love

it's easy to love your laxative when that lax loves your body back. only miralax hydrates, eases and softens to unblock naturally, so you have peace of mind from start to finish. love your laxative. miralax. i'm lucky to get through a shift without a disaster. my bargain detergent, it couldn't keep up. so i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated... so i get a better clean. voted 2016 product of the year. if it's got to be clean, it's

this morning on "today," jeff rossen take as look at the erin andrews case. seeing how many hotel front

room next door to you. and one second on the clock and watch when the action goes. boom, the wolf pack with the buzzer beater. and 73. boston college, 72. and it was setting a big 10 record hitting 11 three pointers as they pulled away with an easy 97-66 routing. and malik iverson make as beautiful steal and an epic failure when his wind mill dunk goes wrong. still, wisconsin beat minnesota 62-49. the spurs join golden state in clinching playoff spots.

proved he's still got game. high flying reverse alley-oop. amazing as his grizzlies out class the kings. and great grandchildren found these, seven identical and very rare ty cobb baseball cards between 1909 and 1911 and valued in the 7-figure range. and the shot of the day. this is 11-year-old taylor teeing off in front of -- when else? tiger and not only that it happened at tiger's designed blue pack golf course. nails it, hole in one. big hug from tiger. crowd goes wild. can't beat that, especially that nice hug from tiger woods.

upcoming "baywatch" movie. and tina fey verses rachel maddow. who's the who's the ailure, danger is always on the rise. symptoms worsen because your heart isn't pumping well. (water filling room) about 50 percent of people die (dog whimpering) within 5 years of getting diagnosed. but there's something you can do. talk to your doctor about heart failure treatment options. because the more you know, the more likely you are...v (dog whimpering) to keep it pumping. quilted northern works so well people can forget their bathroom experience. but sir froggy can never forget. "what's worse", he thinks... "that my arms can never relax or my eyes can never look away?" choose your match new revlon colorstay 2-in-1 compact. expertly-matched foundation and concealer deliver a flawless, complete look that lasts.

i've been claritin clear for 14 days. when your allergy symptoms start... ...doctors recommend taking one claritin every day of your allergy season... ...for continuous relief. with powerful, 24 hour... ...non-drowsy claritin, live claritin clear. every day. know how you earn the title ... world's best mom? by starting each day with a perfectly balanced mug of... i've got this.pmom! mccaf\ coffees brew a smooth blend. that's not too strong, but never weak. mommy's not a napkin honey. so you can savor every sip. mccaf\. shop kohl's... friday night owls and saturday early birds... for the new sonoma goods for life collection... save 50 to 60% on everyday apparel for him and for her... and 40% for the kids.

your home too. plus get kohl's cash. kohl's. oh, look... ...another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena rapid wrinkle repair works... ...in one week. with the... fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and... ...even deep wrinkles. "one week? that definitely works!" rapid wrinkle repair. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair. neutrogena . "see what's possible." all right, who's ready for some entertainment news? you got it, dude. just one week after the series aired on netflix, it's all ready con

>> seeing as how that academy awards thing went so well, i got to thinking that maybe it's time. you know. maybe it's time for me to do my own thing. >> what's that? foofighters releasing their gag video after all the speculation they were breaking up. rumors started after frontman performed solo at the oscars. and pieces of dillen's include lyrics, photographs and letters. it will be on display at the university of tulsa. hey, listen, i don't know if the world is ready for both of us. are you ready? >> come on, man, rocking the hoff. . i was born ready. >> there ain't no bay without the hoff. "baywatch" get ready.

the cast of the new "baywatch" film. what about pamela anderson? maybe. after 14 years, nickelodeon's "hey arnold" is set for a sequel. it will be a two-part, two hour jungle movie. and ellen degeneres gave us an exclusive look at her new trailer for "finding dory." remember her with the bad memory from the "finding nemo" series. it's been a while. and last night rachel maddow got schooled on all things cheese. >> parmesan. >> drunken goat. >> shev.

>> judges. is that the same thing as goat? feels like a bmw. reminds me a little bit of like an audi. so, this car supports apple carplay. siri, open maps. she gets me. wow. it also has teen driver technology. it even mutes the radio until the seat belts are buckled. i'm very curious what it is. this is the 2016 chevy malibu. and it sells for? it starts at twenty-two five. what? oh wow. i mean with all this technology. that's a game changer. (politely) wait, wait, wait! you can' t put it in like that... ... you have to rinse it first. that' s baked- on alfredo. baked-on? it' s never gonna work. dish issues? trust your dishwasher

it powers... ...through... your toughest stuck-on food. better than finish. cascade. leading the news on nbcnews.com trooper in sandra bland traffic stop formally fired. you might remember that sandra bland, the 28-year-old woman who died last summer in jail after trooper. while her death was ruled a suicide, the case sparked investigation. and he face as perjury charge.

preapproved experts to hack the pentagon. vetted hackers delved into pentagon systems sunday to test the caliber of its cyber security. it's part of ways to identify security gaps in their network. if you were a smoker, how far would you go for a cigarette? one broke into a closed convenience store but he left $6. holding it up to the security camera to pay for the pack of sig art e are of cigarette said s that he took. he's out on $400,000 bail just to get that hit. and labrador retriever has most puppies to be born with 17 born on monday. two puppies short of the world record which is 19.

found an unexect pected guest. a nearly 300 pound alligator. he noticed bubbles in his pool and found the gator resting at the bottom. and the trapper eventually took it away. today is the 25th anniversary of the rodney king beating by l.a.p.d. officers. >> reporter: it happened in this middle clasnarbld s neighborhood early sunday morning in the san fernando valley. a black man whose car had been stopped by los angeles police officers was in the street. an apartment dweller across the street took the video after hearing the hearing the ruckus going on. he said it appeared the man was cooperating when the beating with night sticks began.

riots, looting and arson. keep it here for more news, weather and sports. i so appreciate you being with us this morning. i'm frances rivera. this is "early today."

right now a blast. a homemade explosive hidden under a rental car. what we learned about the investigation overnight. plus, on the run. what sent an nypd horse galloping leaving a trail of destruction through one of the busiest areas of the city. new this morning, specifics about what the commute would look like if there's a new jersey transit strike. "today in new york" starts now. good morning everyone. it's thursday morning, march 3rd. i'm darlene rodriguez. i'm michael gargiulo. let's check on the forecast with chris cimino. you have a change. >> quite a change. almost 30 degrees colder this morning than yesterday morning. we're in the mid-20s in the city. down to 26 right now. same in larchmont and secaucus. still wind out there. the temperatures feel more like 16 in central park. feels like 15 in jfk. windchills towards the north.