it is monday, april 18th. coming up on "early today," the death toll rises as the devastating images of ecuador's massive 7.8 earthquake are emerging this morning. the candidates campaigning hard ahead of tomorrow's new york primary as george clooney raises what he calls an obscene amount of money for democrats. 26 states challenges president obama's immigration policy head to the supreme court today. plus, a stalled storm threatens millions with snow and heavy rain. and a very funny "saturday night live."

good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us today. i'm betty nguyen. the death toll is rising in ecuador. it is a race against time as rescuers search for survivors after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck saturday night. right now at least 272 people are confirmed dead. more than 2,000 are injured. so far, there have been more than 200 aftershocks from the massive quake. nbc's miguel almaguer reports from ecuador. >> reporter: a hundred miles outside of the nation's capital of quito, the frantic search for survivors is growing even more desperate every hour. a crowd trying to save this driver of this car, only to realize later there was nothing they could do. ecuador's largest city is in ruins. bridges have collapsed, roads have crumbled, entire neighborhoods are flattened. this woman cries, my cousin is in the rubble. anguish and devastation are everywhere, and so is the plea

stephanie lives just a few hours from the quake's epicenter. >> please help us. my country needs everyone now. >> reporter: in regions hard hit, power is out, phones are down, and many are sleeping in the streets. >> that was nbc's miguel almaguer. now to decision 2016 and tomorrow's new york primary. hillary clinton is counting on a big night as she edges closer to the number needed for the nomination. while bernie sanders looks to continue on with his recent string of primary and aucus victories. sanders drew another massive crowd in new york this weekend. just over 28,000 people showed up at brooklyn's prospect park. there are 291 delegates up for grabs for the democrats tomorrow. and the latest polling shows clinton out in front by 10%. for the republicans, donald trump has a 33% lead on ted cruz. there are 95 delegates at stake for the republicans. over the weekend, cruz won all 14 delegates at the wyoming

he still trails trump by almost 200 delegates. and we have two reports for you now, starting with nbc's jacob rascon covering the republicans. >> reporter: on the home stretch in his home state, donald trump ahead by the widest margin of the primary season, campaigning as if the race was neck and neck. 12 campaign stops in 12 days. >> we have to win by big numbers because we have a system that's absolutely rigged. it's rigged. >> reporter: determined not just to win but to mathematically wipe out rival ted cruz. >> when he gets wiped out in new york, which he will, he no longer has a road to the nomination. >> reporter: pivoting confidently past cleveland, the master of name calling -- >> poor jeb. little marco. lying ted cruz. >> reporter: trump now testing political death by nickname on the other front runner. >> crooked hillary. >> reporter: meanwhile, ted cruz betting on a contested convention, shutting out trump delegates again in wyoming,

won in america. >> thank you and god bless you. >> reporter: but to trump, losing wyoming, where there was no voter primary, is a badge of honor. >> that's not democracy. you know, you're allowed essentially to pay off these people. >> reporter: trump voters buying his argument. >> it sounds like it's rigged. >> the person with the most delegates should win. >> reporter: or maybe the most merchandise. selling campaign souvenirs since 1992 -- >> whatever sells the most per that candidate, that candidate wins every time. >> reporter: the white house? >> the white house. >> reporter: every time? >> every time. >> reporter: their prediction, donald trump. his campaign counting on a knockout before july. jacob rascon, nbc news, poughkeepsie, new york. >> reporter: i'm kristen welker on staten island with secretary clinton. >> we have a big election on tuesday. the democratic primary. >> reporter: she and senator sanders making a final frenzied

>> this is a movement of people who are prepared to think big, not small. >> reporter: this as clinton is coming under fire after attending two california fundraisers hosted by george and amal clooney. the top tickets for saturday's event, $100,000, prompting some sanders supporters to throw dollar bills at clinton's car. today, the secretary on defense. >> i am raising money to elect other democrats. i'm a democrat, and i want to see us take back the senate. >> reporter: on "meet the press," clooney echoed that sentiment but also agreed with parts of sanders' argument. >> it's ridiculous that we should have this kind of money in politics. >> reporter: those words giving sanders an opening when asked if clooney is backing the wrong horse. >> well, i think he is, but he's honest enough to say that there's something wrong when few people who are able to contribute unbelievably large sums of money. >> reporter: still, clinton is leading by double digits in new york.

loss here would ake his tough odds even steeper, but sanders has the money to keep going. his strategy now, trying to win as many delegates as possible and then pivot to more winnable states like oregon and delegate-rich california. >> crist meanwhile, "saturday night live" took full advantage of it all in the form of a mini "seinfeld" reunion. >> you've been pretty vague in the past, but how exactly are you going to break up the big banks? >> you mean the big bank breakup? >> yeah, big bank breakup. >> you break 'em up! >> how? how? >> once i'm elected president, i'll ave a nice sweat in the white house gym. i'll go to the big banks, sit them down and yada, yada, yada, they'll be broken up. >> what? no, no.

also, you yada-yadaed over the best part. now to a growing political crisis to tell you about. this out of brazil. just as that country gets ready to host the 2016 summer olympic games, brazil's lower house voted sunday to start impeachment proceedings against president dilma rousseff. the measure now goes to the senate. rousseff is brazil's first female president, and she's accused of using accounting tricks to maintain federal spending and shore up support. last night thousands of pro-impeachment protesters took to the streets to celebrate the vote. the fight over immigration heads to the supreme court today. the obama administration's plan to protect roughly 4 million people from deportation is faced with a fight from 26 states. texas leads the way, arguing the president does not have the authority to do this. nbc's tracie potts joins me live from washington with details. tracie, how is this all expected to play out? >> reporter: well, we could finally be nearing an end, betty, to what's been a pretty

immigrat mn plan. he announced it 18 months ago. since then, it's been blocked and tied up in the courts. we do know that this morning lots of people are already camped out in front of the u.s. supreme court. 4 million dreamers, these are children who were brought to the united states when they were under 16 years old, plus parents of legal u.s. citizens, all of them could be shielded from deportation if this plan goes into effect. the administration says they're putting them on the back burner in terms of deportations. they would allow them to get work permits and other benefits. the 26 states led by texas that argue against it say that, number one, president obama doesn't have the authority to do that, only congress does. they also argue that this is

states in terms of the money they would have to spend just to issue driver's licenses. so those arguments begin today, betty betty. then we'll see some sort of decision from the court by the end of june. >> we'll be watching closely. tracie, thank you. and the rocky mountains get a visit from old man winter this weekend. more than four feet of snow fell in parts of colorado. denver got about a foot of the white stuff. portions of interstate 70 and 80 had to be closed at times due to the heavy snowfall. sure is pretty though. more stormy weather is in the forecast for today. no, bill. >> it's all about texas. >> really? >> yeah, they had a ton of rain on the warm side of the same storm that produced the snow. a lot of flash flooding over the weekend. it continues. now it's a life-threatening situation just to the north of houston. this is a four-hour loop. this hasn't moved. this stuff is just sitting here north of i-10. it's not in houston proper itself, but in areas just to the north, about a half hour drive to the north. the water is piling up in a hurry.

downstream towards the gulf. we'll have to watch that during this morning. that's the dangerous stuff. lighter rainfall amounts around dallas, tooil yler and shreveport. you notice all of the red here, that's the areas where we have flash flood warnings with all the heavy rain occurring currently. also, del rio under a flash flood warning. flash flood watch continues for oklahoma, but it will be improving there during the day today. today the real big concern is from houston to victoria to corpus christie. this is where we could see an decisional 4 inches, isolated amounts up to 7. this is on top of the stuff i just showed you. that's the area of greatest concern. everyone east of the mississippi, enjoy an early taste of summer. that's your national weather. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. well, the concern obviously right now is just to the north of the houston area. during the day, those thunderstorms will drift further down to the south, maybe into the city of houston itself. still chilly in areas of colorado.

that's some powder skiing. so you'll enjoy 80s today, betty betty. your friends in texas aren't happy. >> hey, we over here in new york and along the east coast will take this warm weather, absolutely. thank you. straight ahead, a breathtaking encounter between a paddleboarder and a whale. on sunday, pennsylvania became the nation's 24th state to approve a medical marijuana program. governor tom wolf signed the bill into law, but it could take up to two years to set

wildlife rescue workers open up a lot of dawn. tough on grease...yet gentle. dawn helps open... something even bigger. go to facebook.com, dawn saves wildlife. why do people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah. lactaid. the milk that doesn't mess with you. choose the one new revlon ultimate-all-in-one. our revolutionary mascara delivers 5 lash-transforming benefits. volume, length, definition, lift, and intense color. choose love from the new collection of

if your family outing is magical for all the wrong reasons. you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec is different than claritin . because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. try zyrtec . muddle no more . [music] no, no, no, no, people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too. angel soft. welcome back, even. search teams in southern japan continue to dig through rubble and debris. emergency crews continue looking for survivors after two major earthquakes struck the nation. over 40 people have died in those twin quakes. meanwhile in central chile, 4 million people are without clean drinking water this morning. heavy rains over the weekend triggered landslides that

to breach their banks. johnny depp's wife, actress amber heard, has avoided jail time for illegally smuggling two dogs into australia. the actress pleaded guilty this morning to making a false statement on her immigration card. she brought the couple's dogs into the country without a permit. the hollywood a-listers publicly apologized in a video posted by the australian government. >> i am truly sorry that pistol and boo were not declared. protecting australia is important. >> declare everything when you enter australia. >> and there you have it. well, take a look at this magical moment. a whale breaching the waters right alongside a paddleboarder. it was a lucky meet and greet all caught on c era by a woman at a pier. wow, look at that. all right. time to get down to business, shall we? the price of oil has dropped more than 5% in early morning trading. it is now under $39 a barrel. this after the world's largest

to reach a deal to freeze production levels. apple netted $40 million worth of gold last year thanks to its recycling program. about two-thirds of unwanted or broken products were made of reusable materials, including steel, silver, and gold. apple users can join the recycling trend and receive an apple store gift card in return for going green. and this stunning blue diamond ring might set you back around $35 million. the 9.5-carat stone belonged to a young shirley temple. she was 12 years old when she received the ring as a gift from her father. it'll be up for auction on tuesday. all right. well, you got to see this. president obama schools steph curry on shooting hoops. yeah, right. and a cringe-worthy moment every male will understand. sports is next. ouch. hi dad. uh huh. yeah...sorry about that. think about it

down in the heart what do you think? and in the stars above hi ted, glad you could join us, we think you' re going to like these numbers. bring me a higher love i could rise above why do people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah.

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 om start to finish. love your laxative.

here's some sports action on your monday. at the white house, president obama schooling nba mvp steph curry for the program my brother's keeper. the program looks at opportunities for young boys and men. the president even offered him

>> maybe i should shoot lefty. >> you should try. to the playoffs now and the hard court. the san antonio spurs made quick work of the memphis grizzlies 106-74. in cleveland, the cavs final points came courtesy of tyree irving, kevin love, and lebron himself, but the home team struggled. the final there, 106-101. to the nhl. the st. louis blues scored two third-period goals for a 3-2 win. they take a 2-1 lead over the stanley cup defending blackhawks. and a cringe-worthy moment that every male watching can understand. breathe deeply now. a bad bunt from seattle hits the home plate umpire in the most sensitive place possible. you know what i'm talking about. after a few minutes, he recovered, regained his composure, and got back to

just ahead, which ie took home box office gold this weekend. plus, a protester attacks george clooney, but it's wha george said that's awesome. tomorrow is not a given. but entresto is a medicine rr rr that helps make more tomorrows possible. tomorrow, tomorrow... i love ya, tomorrow pp pp in the largest heart failure study ever. entresto helped more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine. women who are pregnant must not take entresto. pp pp can cause harm or death an unborn baby. rrrr don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. pp pp if you've had an oedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, don't take entresto. pp pp the most serious side effects are angioedema, rr rr low blood pressure... ...kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. pp tomorrow, tomorrow i love ya, tomorrow.

about entresto. and help make tomorrow possible. you're only a day away choose the one new revlon ultimate-all-in-one. our revolutionary mascara delivers 5 lash-transforming benefits. volume, length, definition, lift, and intense color. choose love from the new collection of revlon mascaras. [music] no, no, no, no, people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too. angel soft. headache? motrin helps you be an unstoppa ble,

when pain tries to stop you, there's motr in. motrin works f ast to stop pain where it star ts. make it ha ppen with motrin liquid g els. you brought your own ketchup? yah! i promised my mom i'd stay off high fructose corn syrup. moms know best french's has high fructose corn syrup. tastes great! french's... only real ingredients. get ready... to show your roots. with root touch up from nice'n easy it blends with leading shades, even salon shades. in just 10 minutes. so pick your shade. and show the world your roots... ...with root touch-up. here we are in the middle of the night and some of the worst weather of the entire weekend is taking place right now. we have a flash flood emergency in northwest harris county. that's just outside of the houston area.

that's been issued too with that thunderstorm. there are crews out there in boats doing water rescues on some of the creeks in this area. they've had up to 7 inches of rain. these thunderstorms have not moved. very dangerous situation. just picture them out there in these torrential rains with the light thing and thunder trying to go in these boats and rescue people. that's what we're watching outside the houston area. theers are rest of the region looks to be improving. but our thoughts are with the people of houston this morning. those rescuers in the middle of the night doing their thing. >> tough work. important thing though. thank you so much. now to entertainment news kwp . "the jungle book" earning over $103 million here at home and $136 million more overseas. "barbershop" came in second with more than 20 million. "the boss" took third, bringing in $10 million. pop culture power couple. john legend and chrissy teigen welcome daughter luna simone

the social media savvy teigen took to instagram saying, luna, we're so in love with you and sleepy, very sleepy. good luck with that sleep. not going to happen for many years. congratulations to the proud parents. on friday, george and amal clooney held a glitzy fundraiser for democrats. bernie sanders protesters were nearby. clooney tried to talk to a protester who hit him where it hurts. >> he said i was some corporate shil. he said, you know, you sucked at batman. i was like, well, you kind of got me on that one. then i walked away. that was basically it. >> he pulled the batman card? oh, that's a low blow. >> it's always rough. you can't have a hit every single movie you do. it's always the dig. >> batman will live on in infamy for clooney. >> of course. he knows it. >> we all know it.

today." hey there, hi. why do people have eyebrows? why do people put milk on cereal? oh, are you reading why people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? why is it all (mimics a stomach grumble) no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? yeah, happens to more people than you think... try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah. i got your back. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you. quilted northern works so well people can forget their bathroom experience. just like they forgot conductor randy, who sees all and forgets nothing.

leading the news inerthe washington post," after 13 years, cia honors green beret killed on secret afghanistan mission. sergeant nathan ross chapman was the first military casualty to die by enemy fire in the war in afghanistan back in 2002. the cia has not revealed, though, the cause of the delay of this honor. and in the guardian, world's first pastafarian wedding takes place in new zealand. you might have a question. we'll try to answer it.

fly hg spaghetti monster. >> that one. i was there last weekend. fantastic. >> it's meant to mock american religious fundamentalism as they believe that a spaghetti monster god is just as likely to exist as any other god. new zealand approved the church's request to conduct legal marriages in 2015. >> to each their own. >> we will move on. let's take a look at this. a massive fire broke out at this southern california junk yard friday. firefighters battled steady winds, a lot of smoke. thankfully, no injuries were reported. a palm beach zoo is set to reopen today after a zookeeper was killed by a tiger last week. this is so sad. officials say she was performing daily tasks in the animal enclosure when she was attacked. the tiger was tranquilized, but no threat is being made to the tiger's well being. this is the first time a person has died from an animal attack

new york university at buffalo is doing damage control after sending out acceptance letters to the wrong e-mail list. a correction and apology was sent out within four hours. all is not completely lost. the applications are still under review, so there is still a chance for the college hopefuls. that is a heartbreaker. how do you explain that to mom and dad? >> i got in, no. >> just kidding. well, the ninth annual quid itch cup is under way in columbia, south carolina. teams from around the country are competing in the sport made famous in the "harry potter" series. these players cannot fly, obviously, but each must keep a broom between their legs at all times as they use dodge balls or blujers, is that what it is, to knock players out, trying to score and capture the golden switch. got it? sure. millions of americans face a midnight deadline to file your

if you live in massachusetts or maine, you're in luck because the deadline to file in those states is pushed to tomorrow in observance of patriots day. it's also the 120th running of the boston marathon. i'm betty nguyen. this is "early today." he say's we should punish women who have abortions. there has to be some form of punishment. that mexicans who come to america are rapists. they're rapists. and that we should ban muslims from coming here at all. total and complete shut down. donald trump say's we can solve americas problems by turning against each other. it's wrong and it goes against everything new york and america stand for. with so much at stake, she's the one tough enough to stop trump. hillary clinton. i'm hillary clinton and i

the candidates doing last-minute campaigning ahead of tomorrow's big new york primary. new this morning, a vicious attack on the street. police releasing photos of the suspect. and what set off a scare on a local college campus? "today in new york" starts now. good morning. 4:30 a.m. on this monday. it's april 18th, i'm michael gargiulo. >> it's tax day. >> furiously filling things out. >> chris cimino is back with us. reason to celebrate this 18th of april. >> that's nice to hear, too. hope everybody has their taxes done done, if not you have nice weather to head out to the post office 54 in chelsea. carryover from the beautiful weather in the weekend.