it's monday, april 25th. coming up on "early today," teaming up to stop the donald. ted cruz and john kasich join forces ahead of tomorrow's primaries. but is it too little, too late? president obama plans to send more personnel to syria to fight isis. the man hunt continues for the killers of eight family members in what police call a

plus, new details surrounding the death of prince. and some dicey weather ahead htas we kick off a new week. "early today" starts right now. good monday morning, everybody. thanks for joining us today. i'm betty nguyen. the stop trump movement has its biggest backing yet in the form of an alliance between ted cruz and john kasich. last night they announced an agreement to coordinate efforts to prevent trump from reaching the 1237 delegates needed to win the nomination before the convention. as part of thete agreement, cruz will focus his time and resources in indiana while kasich will take on oregon and new mexico. kasich has already canceled multiple events in indiana scheduled for this week. other signs of change are already oming into focus. after announcing friday a huge campaign to attack kasich in indiana, the super pac backing cruz tells nbc news they will look over their options and announce new intentions later today. and katy packer, the head of the

she's encouraged by the news. trump has responded, tweeting that lying ted and kasich are going to collude in order to keep me from getting the republican nomination, desperation. and in a campaign statement, trump continued the c weollusion line while also saying, because of me, everyone now sees the republican primary system is totally rigged and that this is yet another example of everything that is wrong in washington and our political system. there are 57 delegates at stake in indiana and nearly as many combined in oregon and new and the latest poll out of inana shows trump with an 8% lead over cruz. kasich is f behind. before all of this played out, trump's oldest son spoke out against cruz, saying he has no chance of winning without, quote, bribing the delegates. tomorrow night five states are holding pry imary ies primaries, all in the northeast. expect another big night for trump. he's ahead by 18% in pennsylvania with cruz and kasich well behind but in a close race for second. in rhode island, trump is ahead

of cruz. meanwhile, prominent republican backer charles koch made some explosive comments about the el tion, stopping just short of backing hillary clinton. >> is it possible another clinton could be better than another republican this time around? >> it's possible. it's possible. >> you couldn't see yourself supporting hillary clinton, could you? >> well, her -- we would have to believe her actions would be quite different than her rhetoric. let me put it that way. >> the clinton campaign responded on twitter, saying she was not interested in koch's endorsement. just like trump, expect another big night for clinton tomorrow. she's ahead of bernie sanders by 15% in pennsylvania. clinton is also ahead >> in rhode island by a smaller but still gnificant percent. for his part, sanders may be seeing the writing on the wall. the senator spoke out about his path forward this weekend in a

>> obviously our goal now is, wha ile we have a narrow path to victory, we're going to fight through that path. we hope to win. but i think the fact that we have shown that there is massive dissatisfaction in this country. people are showing in this campaign the desire to s nd up and fight back. >> both hillary clinton and bernie sanders will appear tonight in back-to-back town halls at 8:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. senior white house officials now confirm the deployment of about 250 additional military personnel into syria as part of the escalating fight against is. the u.s. has agreed to the uptick in what amounts to the first major increase of u.s. forces since november when troops were first sint top syria. the 250 additional military personnel will join the 50 troops already on the ground as they advise iraq ri i forces. this morning the president

angela merkel toured the world's rgest industrial tech trade fair. the president is expected to deliver remarks regarding the new troop deployment at that fair later today. now to a developing story in ohio, where authorities say they are still on the h t for a person or persons responsible for killing eight members of a orsingle family execution style early friday. we are learning that marijuana grow operations were found at three of the four crime scenes. nbc's gabe gutierrez has the latest on this vestigation. >> reporter: the man hunt after a family massacre is tensifying. officers in tactical gear swarming the crime scenes, looking for more evidence with an offer of a $25,000 reward, tips are flooding into ohio authorities, but still no arrests. >> this was a pre-planned execution of eight individuals. it was a sophisticated operation. and those who carried it out were trying to do everything

ostig tion and their osecution. >> reporter: the state's attorney general confirmed that marijuana grow operations were found at three of the crime scenes, but investigators would not comment on a potential motive for the killings. they're offerin protection to the family, who they say was targeted. >> i can tell you, if you are fearful, arm yourself. ifnyou feel that you need to protect yourself or family, do so and contact the local law enforcement. >> reporter: the victims now identified. dana roden and her ex-husband christopher rodent sr., their children chris jr., just 16 years old, hanna, 22, and clarence, 20. he went by frankyi his fiance also ki ed. so were kenneth and gary rhoden. eight lives cut short. >> ma'am, tell me what's going on. >> there's blood all over the house. >> reporter: sheriffs deputies would soon find the eight relatives shot dead in four

hannah rhoden's baby found alive in the same room. >> i just found my cousin with a gunshot wound. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez reporting there. a private memorial service was held for music icon prince at his paisley park compound on saturday. the legend was cremated as crowds of fans gathered outside the fence of where he lived and worked. a representative for the music superstar said the location of prince's remains will be private. prince has b n monumentally celebrated in the days since his death. nielsen reporting the sale of ndover 2.3 million songs and 579,000 albums in the three days after his passing. he was also celebrated with an hour-long tribute that included this never-before-seen clip.

the after party of "snl"'s 40th annilirsary show. moments of panic this weekend when an 18-year-old opened fire outside a wisconsin high school prom. police say the suspect jacob wagner showed up with a rifle and wounded two students as they were leaving the prom around 11:00 p.m. saturday. in a statement, the police chief saou officers were in the parking lot patrolling when they heard shots and immediately fired at the shooter. wagner died early sunday morning. the school district's administrator said wagner was a student with a disability who had graduated. one of wagner's aacquaintances says while he was, quote, fun to be around, wagner's relationship th someone at the high school recently ended. classes are expected to resume today. going to shift gears now because a severe weather system moved through kansas sunday, bringing powerful winds, lightning, and golf ball sized hail. there were also reports of tornadoes with one twister destroyed a trailer home. there is more severe weather expected this week, so be aware.

now fro bill karins. another week, another round of messy weather. >> this one could be bad. a typical setup maybe tuesday lasting into wednesday. severe weather from last night the picture we just showed you, those storms have weakened. later on today, this same storm system will try to move towards chicago, peoria, springfield, and milwaukee with severe weather. we have 13 million people in a slight risk of severe storms, mostly because of populated areas there around chicago. st. louis, possibly isolated strong storms. sa with kansas cit now, let me take you into tuesday. here's what our radar will look like 7:00 p.m. tuesday. all the bright reds are the possibilities of clusters of thunderstorms. it's going to encompass much of tornado alley back up through kansas and into areas of nebraska. this could possibly be our first significant outbreak. we already have what is called a moderate risk of severe weather. here's the scale. marginal to slight all the way up to high. we're already predicting a

get towardsicuesday afternoon, tuesday evening. areaa of greatest concern, oklahoma city to wichita, the i-35 door corridor. the possibility of not only tornadoes, maybe strong toilrnadoes. that's your national weather. now here's a closer look at your da py ahead. so for today, we will have a chance of some storms late this afternoon towards this evening. milwaukee towards areas of chicago and back through central illinois, sweeping towards northern indiana and lower portions of michigan later on tonight. so far, this tornado season, knock on wood, we have been fairly lucky. that all could change tuesday. >> let's keep it that way. or >> hopefully a lot of misses. >> thank you, bill. baltimore braces for protests as the city marks one year since the death of freddie gray. plus, running 26.2 miles 250 mimes above the earth. how a british astronaut took part in the london marathon.

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elcome back, everybody. hundreds of people descended o baltimore sunday, one year after the death of freddie gray, chanting one baltimore, one vision. organizers called for solidarity and p yed for change as they remember the day freddie gray died while in police custody and the days of civil unrest that followed. marchers say the rally was about peace, not protest. they also want positive change ahead of this tuesday's primary elections for mayor and city council. >> because of the uprising, things have we've tried to sweep under the rug are on full display and are going to have to be addressed. polic are investigating two deadly related shootings in philadelphia, one of which was witnessed by a pennsylvania house candidate, who spoke with one victim just moments before he was shot in the head at poinlt blank range. the gunman got away, but police say a drive-by shooting that happened later that day was in

an 18-year-old man was killed in the second shooting. another person who was injured is expected to recover. connecticut police arrested a 19-year-old man on saturday who allegedly threatened to bomb a donald trump rally on twitter, writing, quote, is someone going to bomb the trump rally, or am i going to have to? well, he even tweeted to friends they should tell his family members to leave the rally to avoid being hurt. officials later determined he was not an imminent threat, but he was still charged and processed. he has since been released on a $25,000 bond. in a race that was literally out of this world, check it out. british astronaut tim pete completed the london marathon on sunday from outer space. he joined 37,000 fellow runners in realtime. he was strapped to his treadmill oard the international space station. the best part, he smashed the guinness world record for the fastest maratho in space, completing the race in just 3 hours and 35 minutes.

let's get down to business. while in germany, president obama addressed the world's largest industrial technology trade fair. his main objective, pushing for the transatlantic trade and partnership deal between the u.s. and european union. >> tpip will eliminate tariffs, simplify rocedures, bridge differences in regulations, and cut red tape, all of which will make it easier to invest and trade, including for our small businesses who create so many of our jobs. back here at home, gasoline prices at the pump continue to rise, up 8 cents a gallon over the last three weeks. the national average is now $2.8 for regular. gas prices have risen 41 cents over the past nine weeks. just ahead, steph curry cannot seem to catch a break. the latest concern for the reigning nba mvp. sports is next. hi dad. uh huh.

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in sports today, an ailing steph urry returned to the hard court for game four of the warriors/rockets playoff. he says his injured ankle is feeling better. things were looking better for houston. >> a nice play off the beautiful feed. final seconds of the first. harden at the buzzer. oh, he knocks it down! >> that's right, harden at the

half, curry slipped on the court and goes down. he appeared to hurt his knee as he's helped up. curryto did not return to action in the second half and will have an mri on that leg later today. in the second half, the warriors managed to put away the rockets 121-94. they win game four and take a 3-1 lead. as the cavaliers landed a knockout punch against the detroit pistons, look at that three pointer right there. it was a neck-and-neck game with the cavs defeating detroit 100-98. they join the san antonio spurs as the first team to advance to the second round. meanwhile, the nba has signed oklahoma city's russell westbrook and kevin durant for violations during game four of their playoff series. duhtrant was hit with a $15,000 fine fem a flagrant foul during the game while westbrook was fined $25,000 for infppropriate language at a fan. just ahead, which movie earned box office gold this weekend?

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"barbershop" came in third. "zoo "zootopia" has earned over $900 million worldwide since released. beyonce surprise launched an album. the visual album shocked fans with the lyrics addressing rumors of extramarital affairs. thk e songs move through the stages of grief and acceptance. many drawing conclusions about the lyrics and artist's own life. "lemonade" is expected to go on sale today on itunes, amazon, and google play. it likely will not be on spotify or apple music. billboard magazine reports thai dal has the streaming rights in perpetuity. and mrs. jones >> philly r&b singer billy paul, best known for his h "me and mrs. jones" passed away sunday. the 81-year-old had been

a cancer diagnosis. a statement on his website says, quote, the world grieves the loss of another musical icon that helped pioneer today's r&b music. billy will be truly missed. "top gear" co-host matt leblanc already found an issue with a car he'll be driving. >> a door would have been nice. >> the series returns to bbc america in may. puerto rico's debt crisis was the focus of last week's "tonight" latest installment. and john oliver got some founding father help. >> it's nonpartisan. the hard part is in convincing congress what matters. the fight it for relief, not a bailout, just relief. a belief you can pass

paul ryan, hamilton at your house. i'll wear my hamilton blouse. your citizens are suffering. stop the bleeding, stop the loss. help puerto rico, it' just a hundred miles across. thank you. >> this is "early today." what are you doing right now? making a cake! ayla reminds me of like master chef and emiana reminds me of like a monster chef. uh oh. i don' t see cake, i just see mess. it' s likewful. it feels like i am not actually cleaning it up what' r s that make mommy do? (doorbell) what' s that? swiffer wetjet. so much stuff coming up. this is amazing woah. wow. now i feel more like making a mess is part of growing up. stop cleaning. start swiffering.

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 . leading the news in "the wall street journal," former senator presses for release of 9/11 papers that would impugn saudis. former senator bob graham appeared on "meet the press" on g sunday. he says the classified documents would show the saudis showed a great deal of support for al qaeda in 2001. the obama administration will

declassify the 28 pages by june. on nbcnews.com, obama doesn't take north korea's omisu to halt the nuke program seriously. this comes after the ultimatum, saying it would stop its nuclear test if the u.s. suspends military exercises in south korea. the president did add he would agree to have serious talks with the country if it is indeed serious in discussing it. some other stories we are following for you today. florida's bubble man, remember him? he was voluntarily rescued at sea by the coast guard i yesterday. he was attempting to travel from florida to bermuda via hydropod. he continued with his journey despite officials warning against it. and the boat of the two missing teens from jupiter, florida, was discovered on saturday. the 14-year-old boys went missing last july. an iphone and tackle box was found aboard. authorities are hoping it will help in the investigation. former pennsylvania senator

sunday's "new york times" he is marrying a man 50 years his junior. woffor was previously married to claire wofford, who died after her battle with leukemia 25 years ago. in the article, wofford says, i had a half century of marriage with a wonderful woman, and now am lucay for a second time to have found happiness. all right. so dragsters, they laced up their high heels for a race around the track this weekend. p, it was key west great republic drag race. contestanted navigated through automobile tires, walked a balance beam, and steered souped-up shopping carts with a minimum of three-inch heels required, nothing shorter. >> he got up quick. you can't take the wig off. >> you need some knee pads and elbow pads. >> that's just a thursday afternoon in key west. that's not even a big deal. >> now here's a look ahead. more protests are expected in north carolina against the

that requires transgender people to use the restroom equivalent to the gender on that birth certificate. the general assembly is back in session today. want to say happy birthday to renee zellweger. she's 47. hank azaria is 52. and al pacino turns 76. keep it here for more news, weather, and sports. i'm betty nguyen.

right now dozens are homeless as firefighters work overnight to make sure a fire doesn't flair up and cause more danger. hail the side of golf balls. tornadoes as well. where people are bracing for another bout of severe weather. and it's everybody versus donald trump. how his gophallengers are coming togethe mir to take him down. "today in new york" starts now. good morning, it's monday morning, april 25th, i'm darlene rodriguez. >> it's nice to have you back. 4:30 right now. i'm kerry barrett, i'm in for michael today. >> chris cimino, i missed you. >> nice to see you and kelly as d well. talking about temperatures in the upper 40s and low 50s around the city right now. you go north a west of town, not the big dropoff we've seen, but still cooler.