we'll see you next time. it is thursday, april 14th. coming up on "early today," it's a game of military chicken between the super powers but why are the russians getting a little too close for comfort. and the donald stirs the pot and a secret meeting with fox's megyn kelly. and steph curry nailed over 400 three pointers as his warriors win 73. plus, who earned what? we'll show you. "early today" starts right now. good morning everyone and

i'm betty nguyen. we begin with a risky encounter. russian fighter jets flying dangerously close to a u.s. navy destroyer in the international waters of the baltic sea. peter alexander has more. >> below the bridge wing. >> reporter: a pair of russian fighter jets rushing the uss donald cook. and once within 30 feet of the navy destroyer. so low, the plane caused a wake in the water. these photos revealing how close they came. the fly byes, more than 30 in all. they say the cook was in international waters 70 miles

and condemning russia's behavior. watch them swooping over the deck, simulating a maneuver that would be used in an attack. department of defense officials taking note. >> i hear the rushzs s russians are up to their old tricks again. >> for the russian military, including russian military aircraft has come close enough to other air and sea traffic to raise serious safety concerns. >> reporter: the u.s. european command warned the russian jets as could raise tensions and cause serious injure or death. just last october, two jets intercepted a pair of russian jets and a jet rushing a uss destroyer in the black sea. it's happened before but not like this. now to politics and new york

massive rally for 10s of thousands last night. >> jane and i left new york city when we were kids. it is great to be back. thank you. [ applause ] and when i look at an unbelievable crowd like this, i believe we're going to win here in new york next thursday. >> the campaign estimates 27,000 showed up. and the busy vermont senator also appeared on the nightly show where the native new yorker stood by his new york values. >> it's me, bernie brooklyn-born sanders and guess what, ted cruz, i have new york values. [ applause ] and when you say having new york

insult my city, my state, my culture, and my heritage. and the truth is new york values are american values. there is no difference. [ applause ] >> earlier in the day, sanders and democratic rival, hillary clinton both took the picket line showing solidarity with verizon's union workers who had just walked off the job to strike. they have their last debate tonight before new york's primary. and chris matthews will have full post-bait analysis on msnbc. and it appears donald trump and fox host, megyn kelly have buried the hatchet. they met at trump tower presumably as part of her desire to have trump on her fox network special airing in may.

his campaign manager won't be prosecuted relating to reporter michelle fields. an official announcement is exect ped pected later this afternoon. this comes as hundreds protest a trump rally in pennsylvania. the protests were reportedly mostly peaceful and senator ted cruz says he's not ruling out marco rubio as a possible running mate. >> look, anyone would naturally look at marco as a terrific person for vp and we're in the process of considering a number of different options. he would be someone you would be a fool not to look at seriously. >> senator cruz and governor john kasich will appear in back to back town halls on msnbc at 7:00 p.m. eastern. did you see it? the end of an era in the nba?

excited as everyone else, tweeting big night of basketball warriors chasing 73 and a fair well for an all-timer, kobe bryant. first to l.a. after a 20-year career, scoring the third most points in league history, kobe bryant scored 60 points on 50 shots and sticking it to the utah jazz in a 101-96 victory that even some of the world 's biggest stars were speechless. kobe is just the fifth player in nba history to play 20 seasons and the first to do it with just one team. he has five championship rings, 18 all-star selections and 33,643 career points. he said this after the game. >> this has been absolutely beautiful, guys. i can't believe it's come to an end. you will always be in my heart and i sincerely, sincerely appreciate it. no words can describe how i feel

thank you from the bottom of my heart. god, i love you guys. i love you guys. >> wow. what a career. bank for the memories, kobe. well, just across the street, the other hottest ticket in the nation, the feeling was electric in oakland where the warriors were chasing history. and steph curry led golden state all season in their quest to beat a 20-year record many thought was unbreakable. and curry also became the first plovayer to nail over 400 three pointers in a single year. getting 10 on the night and finishing the season with 402 to be exact. they defeated the grizzlies to rewrite the record books with 73 wins and just nine losses and excited president obama tweeted congrats to the warriors, a great group of guys on and off the court.

bulls' record, i'm glad it's them. the so-called affluenza tine has been sentenced to two years in jail. the judge gave him 180 days of jail time for each of the four people he killed in a drunk driving crash. >> you will remain in the county jail at this time. you're not getting out of jail today. >> you may recall couch received 10 years probation in juvenile court after they argued his life of privilege left him with no life of responsibility. he fled to mexico and was found and returned to texas in january. new details in the shooting death of former nfl star, will smith. we're getting information on the preliminary autopsy report and for the first time, his wife's report. >> reporter: through her

recovering in the hospital gave her first account of the shooting death of her husband, former nfl star, will smith. >> that night as he always does, was protecting her. >> reporter: they say the car stopped suddenly. >> they slammed on their brakes on magazine street. >> reporter: so they drove off. >> suddenly this hummer drove up at great speed behind them and rammed the back of their car. >> reporter: police say an argument between the two men esks escalated and hayes opened fire. >> he actually stood over will smith's dead body. >> reporter: did mr. smith ever threaten to go get his gun inside the car? >> i'm not aware of any threats by mr. smith to go get a gun. >> reporter: but police confirmed they found a fully loaded gun in smith's car, raising more questions,

investigators more than two days to find it. the coroner said smith was shot eight times. seven in the back and once in the left side of his chest. and we're hearing from the attorney of hayes's passenger who called it justifiable homicide. a public viewing for smith now scheduled for friday as the investigation into his final moments intensifies. nbc news, new orleans. now something much lighter. a california man arrived home from mexico with an unusual surprise, pulling into his driveway, he heard meowing coming from his car. he found a cat stuck inside his front fender. the local fire department arrived to free the furry stow away.

to get the bumper. they took the whiskerred tag along to the local humane society. >> that's a name. tag along. tagging along? >> we have a little bit of light rain, little rock and atlanta. just showers. the only real heavy stuff is southern louisiana. you could get more down pours in new orleans just like yesterday. not as bad today but not that picturesque blue sky. all the way through north florida. atlanta northwards, dry throughout the day. and the warmth all the way to the canadian border. spring fever taking over. as we go into friday, the warmth does arrive. we're going to start to turn our attention to the middle of the country. looks like two or three days of

and just east of there, of course into colorado, including garden city kansas and only about a million people at risk of severe storms. now a closer look at your day ahead. so far today, again, it's not going to rain all day long. definitely not a beach day in northern gulf coast or florida for that matter. and a beautiful spring afternoon. enjoy. that's the theme. if you're in the eastern half of the country, the warmth is heading your way. >> bring it. one of the world's biggest musicians just canceled a concert in response to north carolina's bathroom bill. and airlines speak out against unbearably long lines. you're watching "early today" 347 it was serious. fortunately, my doctor had a game plan. treatment with xarelto . hey guys! hey, finally, somebody i can look up to... ...besides arnie. xarelto is proven to treat and help reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots.

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that is the warning from american airlines after nearly 700,000 people missed their flight over spring break because of check point delays. the tsa remains woefully understaffed. airports across the nation now threatening the tsa, telling them to replace their missing staff or be replaced by private contractors. meanwhile, the fight over lgbt rights raged on in the south. the latest fight in south carolina. a majority of critics slammed the bill saying it mimic's north carolina's antitransgender law. and even beatle ringo star canceling a june performance in north carolina over the state's bath bathroom bill. stating

earn protections after the governor barred discrimination against state residents. and the royal couple fed a group of orphan baby elephants and rhinos using adorable oversized bottles of milk. and just ahead, the inside scoop on how much money celebrities are really making. did oscar winner leo dicaprio come out on top or did singer turned actress, lady gaga? pll pll...about my toothpaste and mouthwash. but she's a dentist so...i kind of have to listen. she said "jen, go pro with crest pro-health advanced. " advance to healthier gums... ...and stronger teeth from day one. using crest toothpaste and mouthwash makes my... ...whole mouth feel awesome. and my teeth are stronger too. crest-pro health advanced... ...is superior to colgate total... ...in these 5 areas dentists check. this check up? so good. go pro with crest pro-health advanced.

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this morning on "today," al roker visits the set of the "ghostbusters reboot" and sits down with the stars. can't wait to see that. it is something we all love to know-how much money is sitting in your favorite celebrity celebrity's bank account? wait no more. nbc's mike wilbur reports. >> reporter: thanks to parade magazine's what people earn issue, we're finding out just how much cash the stars are pulling in. both lady gaga and leonardo dicaprio have had a successful year. lady gaga on the hit "american

and leo with an oscar win with the "revenant" but it's actually lady gaga who's estimated to rake in more cash, 59 million. but don't feel bad for leo, he's bringing in 29 mill. between taylor swift and rapper jay-z it's taylor swift, estimated at a cool 80 million. and jay-z an estimated 56 million bucks. mike wilbur, nbc news. >> the rest of us are in the wrong business. all right, well, winter is coming to the white house. we'll explain. plus the newest spiderman villain. you're watching "early today." listerine kills 99% of bad breath germs. this is 100% useful for a 100% fresh mouth. what's it like to not feel 100% fresh? we don't know. we swish listerine . as do listerine users.

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now to entertainment news. "game of thrones" has one very powerful fan and that is that guy right there, president obama. he requested advanced copies of the series, highly anticipated. and guess what, they quickly obliged, saying -- >> it's not fair. >> it was ana ha moment for them where they knew they had made it. actress elizabeth banks is confirmed to direct the new

and michael keaton is slated to become the next spiderman villain, in 2017. bono, from u2 spoke before a yoouls u.s. senate committee and he suggested that the best way to stop violent extremists is comedy. he suggested that we send comedians like chris rock and amy schumer and sasha barren cohen to the middle east. maybe we start with bill cosby and see how that goes. >> oh, he had to go there. >> i was going to say. obviously no comedians are lining up. >> i never thought of sasha barren cohen with his "borat" that could be hilarious.

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the most read story on the washington post.com, octopus slips out of aquarium tank, crawls across floor, escapes down pipe to ocean. yes, it did. >> just like nemo. >> he slipped through a gap left by maintenance workers and squeezed his football-sized body and squeezed into the pacific saying seeia. and on msnbc.com, after dropping out, the fll

senator asked them to keep his delegates. but some will be up for grabs at the convention and local party chairs are warning that if rubio is not on the ballot, his delegate said can vote however they want. the chicago police department could be over hauled over claims of quote laung long-standing systemic racism. the report found african americans accounted for 74% of police shootings from 2008 to 2015. mayor rom emmanuel had this to say. >> there's no doubt we have a lot of work to do in not only restoring trust but rebuilding what i think are essential values of transparency. >> the shooting of mcdonald, an unarmed black man is said to be the tipping point.

that the zika virus does in fact cause birth defects. this after researchers found unborn children are vulnerable at any stage of pregnancy. mosquitos carrying the virus have been found in 30 states. the white house criticized the measure as two month s s late and $1.9 billion short. there's a new edition to the house of mouse but it's not a ride. walt disney resort opened a mickey mouse shaped solar park. energy from the 48,000 solar panels will help meet the power needs at the disney resort and several other nearby hotels. now, that is a great idea. >> every time you fly into orlando international airport, you can see from the air the disney complex and i'm sure you can see that too.

celebrating birthdays today, buffy the vampire slayer, sarah michelle geller, and anthony michael hall 48. and pete rose, 75. th . tragedy in the bronx.

fast moving fire while witnesses say their mother was across the street. what police are doing right now to figure out what was wrong. also ahead, the countdown to the big debate. the democrats prepare to face off in brooklyn tonight. a perfect ending. fans go wild as kobe bryant stuns on the court for the last time. "today in new york" starts now. good morning everyone. quite a night. it's a thursday morning. april 14th. i'm darlene rodriguez. i'm michael gargiulo. raphael miranda here with the forecast. raphi, i'm still waiting for this warmup. >> it's 45 degrees. better than yesterday. just a bit. it's going to take a while. it's gradual, it's slow. it's day by day. here's a look at storm tracker. no rain or snow. get used to that picture. we'll be nice and dry the next few days. back to the mid-50s by the middle of the day. lunchtime is beautiful and bright.