good friday morning, everyone. coming up on early today, evacuations ordered. massive rains and strong winds hit california today prompting fierce of flooding, landslides and other damage to the drought ridden state. tensions rising. reports of russian military aircraft flyingver ukraine while the ousted president surfaces. oscar fever. plus a masked lebron james returns to the hard court. >> nascar jeff gordon's latest prank maybe his best yet. >> and the statue commemorating a tech icon has many people scratching their heads.

it's friday, february 28th. "early today" starts right now. hello, everybody. happy friday. we finally made it here. thanks for joining us today. i'm betty nguyen. right now, drought stricken california is getting hit with a 1-2 punch. two storms in two days and that's too much rain in too little time. now officials have closed a ten mile stretch of the pacific coast highway and evacuate 1,000 homes near l.a. here's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: on ridgeview drive, the order to evacuate before the next big storm rolls in. 65-year-old ed highline has been working around the clock but now he's out of time. >> the water will come over first and it rains this thing

will be full of mud. >> he knows it won't take much for this mountain to slide into his backyard. >> we're going to deal with it. we want the rain but we don't want the mess. you can't have both. we'll take the rain and clean up the mess. >> reporter: a storm buried a nearby neighborhood in mud. all of los angeles is on high alert. >> we have storm watch live team coverage. >> reporter: it took only an inch to make freeways a mess. in southern california, nearly 200 accidents. hazmat teams shutdown this highway for a fuel spill. on social media, tweets like this, nobody owns an umbrella and nobody knows how to drive in rain. from police, buckle up, put down your cell phone and drive safe. the silver lining, california desperately needs water. they measured the snowpack, 75% below normal. ed highline knows more rain.

the main event is coming friday into saturday. his family has packed up and moved to safer ground. >> and that same winter storm is heading all the way to new england. bill karins will have more on that in a few minutes. ukraine's ousted president will go public today. he is expected to hold a press conference in neighboring russia. now, overnight, dozens of armed men were seen patrolling the airport in the capitol city. it's at the southern tip of ukraine and boarders russia. they're blocking another airport near the russian naval base and that's according to the new interior minister who described it on facebook as a military invasion and occupation. but russia says it's military exercises on the ukrainian border are not a prelude to intervention. now secretary of state john kerry said russia told the u.s. it will respect ukraine's

sovereignty but tensions are heightened with russia scrambling fighter jets thursday to patrol boarders. meanwhile, vice president joe biden called ukraine's new prime minister pledging u.s. support after a new government was formed yesterday. new help for u.s. military veterans is on hold today after it was blocked by republicans in the senate. the $21 billion bill failed to reach the 60 votes needed to advance. 41 republicans voted against it saying it was just too expensive. the bill would have expanded medical education and job training benefits for veterans and their families. it would have created 27 new medical facilities for iraq war veterans. the legislation had the backing of most veterans organizations. president obama opening up like never before. at a candid and emotional kick off event at the white house. he launched a program aimed at giving young men of color a shot at success. it's called my brother's keeper. the president says he could have

been a negative statistic. >> i didn't have a dad in the house. and i was angry about it even though i didn't necessarily realize it at the time. i made bad choices. i got high without always thinking about the harm that it could do. >> the program brings together businesses, foundations and community groups. and the goal is to support programs that keep young men out of the criminal justice system and improve their access to higher education. mr. obama says the focus is progress even if we don't all agree on something. >> if i can persuade, you know, sharpton and o'reilly to be in the same meeting then it means that -- then it means that there's people of good faith that want to get some stuff done. >> a new painkiller expected on

pharmacy shelves by saturday is sparking a huge controversy. in a rare move, drug and addiction experts are urging the fda to keep zohydro off the market. they say it's up to 10 times more powerful than other painkillers. it provides pain management but it's a schedule two drug meaning it has a high potential for abuse since it can be crushed or snorted or injected. a statement says the fda concluded that the benefits of zohydro out weigh the risk. >> the northern light versus been putting on quite a show over part of the united kingdom. take a look at this. the lights are commonly seen at the north and south poles. they're caused by atoms colliding with particles from the sun. they have even been visible just outside of london. bill is here with your friday

forecast. we start out with something so beautiful but what you're going to tell us may not be so nice. >> i'll show you the satellite picture of the storm coming on to california. it's what they needed. it's just a massive storm system coming on shore. look at the swirl in the bottom center of your screen there. that's the center of the storm. almost looks like a hurricane or something trying to wrap itself up. that's coming into california. it's already feeling it's effects. all the green in this map is rain. this is what we needed. from san francisco to san diego, a heavy band of rain coming on shore here in the middle of the night. it's not even during the morning rush hour. that's also good. the bad news for the eastern 2-thirds of the country is its still bitterly cold. cold this morning we'll probably see until next winter in many areas but that storm has moved through this cold air mass and it's going to lead to a big snow and ice storm. sunday i think areas from oklahoma, arkansas, southern missouri you could be dealing with an ice storm. snowstorm to the north of that.

kansas city, just north of the st. louis area and we're talking to monday that storm will push into areas of the northeast and new england and mid-atlantic. we're talking about a significant winter storm and those areas that stay all snow has a chance of getting up to 8 or 12 inches of snow. that's your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. >> so areas today in the northeast, it's a very cold morning. that same air mass of the midwest and great lakes were dealing with yesterday. so it is just as cold as it gets for this time of the year. record cold in some cases. luckily it warms up over the weekend. so once again, sunday and monday, bad travel days. hopefully that will be the last winter storm. i want this one to be it. >> i'm so tired of being so critical of it but it seems like we have had so much this year. >> a bad winter. >> 50% of lawmakers come through on a big promise. also new car buyers be ware. plus out of 10,000 proposals, this was the winning bid.

details, next. [ woman ] gorgeous grains at your service. eat right. not less. [ woman hi, this looks interesting! what's going on here? would you like to try some hot cereal? [ female announcer ] special k nourish hot cereal. special k? wow! wow! [ female announcer ] made with superfoods... superfoods sound good to me. there's quinoa, barley. i can definitely taste the quinoa. good! i can't believe that's less than 200 calories. [ female announcer ] ...to help you truly shine. this is a way to be good to me. [ female announcer ] nurturing yourself. what will you gain when you lose? it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing™. ♪ zzzquil. the non-habit forming sleep aid from the makers of nyquil®. try zyrtec-d® to powerfully clear your blocked nose and relieve your other allergy symptoms... so you can breathe easier all day.

zyrtec-d®. find it at the pharmacy counter. because an empty pan is a blank canvas. [ woman #2 ] to share a moment. [ woman #3 ] to travel the world without leaving home. [ male announcer ] whatever the reason. whatever the dish. make it delicious with swanson. was quick and easy? makeup. nails. now advanced teeth whitening is simple with the new colgate® optic white™ toothbrush plus whitening pen. just brush. use the built in whitening pen, then go. no waiting, no rinsing. its stay on formula penetrates to deeply whiten for whiter teeth in two days. looking great with a dazzling, white smile is now quick and easy every day with the new colgate® optic white™ toothbrush

plus whitening pen. brush. whiten. go.™ welcome back, everybody. a big win for gay marriage proponents thursday. a federal judge ordered kentucky officials to legally recognize marriages of same sex couples performed out of state. the judge said any laws that argue otherwise would violate the 14th amendment. governor chris christie has just about had it with questions related to the lane closures on the george washington bridge. when asked recently about the activities of his staff, christie responded what do you do? grab them by the ankles and shake them upside down until e-mails fall out of their pockets? on a related note, the 911 calls are set to be released this morning. so how many poll situations who pledge to donate their salary to charity during the government shutdown actually kept their word? at least 116 of the 244

lawmakers who pledged donated almost $500,000 to charity and government accounts so i guess 47% ain't too bad for a bunch of politicians. and out of 10,000 submissions to apple for a statue honoring steve jobs, this is what apple has deemed the winner? created by a famed sculptor, it features his head. he calls it a magnet pulling in different items. bill says it looks like a coat crack but a 16 foot tall version will grace apple headquaters nonetheless. carmax is planning to hire more than 1200 new full and part time employees. they are 125 dealership with 18,000 employees. speaking of cars, buyer be ware because a third of all new cars sold today do not come with a spare tire. did you know that?

some manufacturers eliminated it to make room, improve weight and fuel efficiency. >> they have launched a cutting edge satellite that will measure rain and snowfall around the globe. the weather satellite will orbit the planet about 16 times a day while delivering real time data on extreme weather events. >> get me out of here. that might be the most popular phrase heard by travel agents today. hotel bookings and warm weather climates are up 7% in january from people traveling from illinois, new york, massachusetts, and washington d.c. hey, book me a flight, please. just ahead, jason collins and his touching tribute to matthew sheppard. plus jeff gordon is back with more heart pounding pranks, next. or more on car insurance. yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know the ancient pyramids were actually a mistake?

uh-oh. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. and better is so easy withrning you cabenefiber.o something better for yourself. fiber that's taste-free, grit-free and dissolves completely. so you can feel free to add it to anything. and feel better about doing it. better it with benefiber.

[ coughing ] [ crying ] sorry. [ male announcer ] new robitussin dm max nighttime. fast, powerful cough relief that helps you sleep like a baby. robitussin nighttime. don't suffer the coughequences.

you're raising two teenage girls in the spotlight. i speak from experience. now how do you talk to them about eating healthy but also give them the confidence to have a good, you know, self-confidence about their body and body imagine? yeah. we don't talk about weight. we don't talk about physical appearance. we talk about health. we talk about what's on the inside. we spend so much more time talking to our girls about being kind and treating others well and being compassionate and

respectful. >> and be sure to check out the rest of jenna bush-hager's exclusive interview with first lady michelle obama this morning on today. in sports, let's get started with upsets in college hoops. first up, number 17 kentucky against unranked arkansas tied with seconds left. arkansas goes for the three at the buzzer right there and it is no good. overtime arkansas wins 71-67. number 22 ohio state and unranked penn state with two minutes left, he nails a three to keep them on top. penn state wins 65-63. >> in women's basketball, number two notre dame played lights out against number 14 north carolina after winning 100-75 winning their 28th straight game. there was a power outage throughout the campus. power was restored over an hour later. >> the brooklyn nets pummeled

the nuggets 112-89. collins the first openly gay athlete in the nba was set to meet after the game with the parents of slain college student matthew sheppard. he was murdered in 1998 for being gay. collins wears number 98 to honor sheppard. >> one week after breaking his nose against oklahoma city, lebron james debuted this face mask against the knicks. it didn't district from his game. he recorded 31 points as he won 108-82. >> a play on performance enhancing drugs right before ryan brawn hit a 2-run homer in his first at-bat. he had a 65 game suspension last season as you recall for violating the mlb's antidrug agreement.

in texas, a $60 million high school studio, yes, high school stadium. football is king in texas. it's going to be shutdown, though, after being open for only 18 months, eagle stadium will be closed until at least june for an examination of cracks in the concrete that vary from a quarter inch to three quarters of an inch wide. american soccer star attempted the happy gilmore swing at the driving range. better leave that to adam sandler. and here's part two of the pepsi max add starring jeff gordon. he posed as an exconvict cab driver that's fleeing from the police. the passenger's response is priceless. >> i can't go back man. i can't go back. >> stop, stop. please, no. stop. >> unlock the door and let me out. >> come on out, buddy.

i'm jeff gordon. >> i think he was pretty composing. i would have been freaking out. the jury gets kerry kennedy's drunk driving case. plus oscar's take center stage this weekend. transferred money from his before larry instantly bank of america savings account to his merrill edge retirement account. before he opened his first hot chocolate stand calling winter an "underserved season". and before he quit his friend's leaf-raking business for "not offering a 401k." larry knew the importance of preparing for retirement. that's why when the time came he counted on merrill edge to streamline his investing and help him plan for the road ahead. that's the power of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america.

i cthis year aloneore places offi hit new york...ist. and texas! see, hotwire checks the competition's rates every day... so they can guarantee their low hotel prices. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com turn to roc® retinol correxion®. one week, fine lines appear to fade. one month, deep wrinkles look smoother. after one year, skin looks ageless. high performance skincare™ only from roc®. but we're not staying in the kitchen. just start the slow cooker, add meat and pour in campbell's slow cooker sauce. by the time you get home, dinner is practically done. and absolutely delicious. everyone is cooking with new campbell's slow cooker sauces. it's not for colds,

it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing™. ♪ zzzquil. the non-habit forming sleep aid from the makers of nyquil®. welcome back to "early today." let me take you through the weekend forecast. there's a lot of concern today, especially in california with the mud slides and gusty winds.

the cold is still the story through the great lakes. we have a shot of cold air on saturday that sets up the scene for the ice and snowstorm and then warm air across the country and on saturday snowstorm from montana to wyoming. look at the temperatures, san antonio 82. kansas city 11. that's the recipe for bad icing and snow. >> book me a flight to miami. the 86th academy awards are on sunday. while betting on the academy awards is illegal in vegas one odd's maker decided to put his expertise to good use. cate blanchett has an 85% chance of winning. with a 74% chance is matthew mcconaughey thanks to his role in "dallas fires club" and the big award has a chance of going

to 12 years a slave. they'll be flooded with beautiful diamonds and jewels. jennifer lawrence borrowed over $2 million worth of jewels for the 2014 golden globes. if the oscars aren't your thing, liam neeson's nonstop goes head to head with son of god for first place. listen to this, ashton kutcher and mila kuniz are set to tie the knot. that means jackie and kelso are getting married. >> is it april 1st already. >> it's not april fools. this is legit. it's happening. they've been dating for awhile. >> okay. i'm skeptical. >> i think it's a real deal. i'm betty nguyen and this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc. ♪ ♪ [ girl ] roses are red.

violets are blue. splenda® is sweet. and so are you. [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. ♪ splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar without all the calories. it's a very good reason to enjoy something sweet with the ones you love. think sugar, say splenda™ chose prego traditional over ragu tritional. prego?! but i buy ragu. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made. [ pop muzak plays ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego.

right now, concerns about violence in the district after a pair of homicides in a matter of hours. what we're learning about each attack. we are also tracking developments out of ukraine this hour. the fighting underway this morning as we waited for that country's ousted president to speak out on the uprising there. good morning, everyone, i'm aaron gilchrest. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this friday, february 28th, 2014. the start of march may be just a day away, but you are not going to find any sign of spring when you step out the door. we thought it was cold yesterday, we are seeing windchills around zero here in the district this morning. >> that's always fun.

meteorologist tom kierein is here with the impact this cold will have on us today. good morning. you have a weird idea of fun. we are starting off very cold this morning. your weather headlines -- a frigid friday on the way. a milder weekend. and then a snow chance on monday. temperatures right now with the winds settling down are down to near 10 degrees our northern and western suburbs including montgomery county and into frederick county. much of fauquier county and loudoun, fairfax, prince william now in the low to mid teens. only near ten shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia. hagerstown down to seven above. prince george's county's in the low to mid teens. in washington in the mid teens right now. danella, good morning. do we have any early delays? no early delays, but i am tracking a few things to warn you about. first we'll start with a dramatic interpretation of an accident on 395. so to you it looks like a blurry light. to me, it's an accident to the

right shoulder lane. this is 395 northbound at edsall. so not blocking the road for you. travel lanes open northbound and southbound. we'll shoot to the beltway now. taking the beltway in montgomery county, inner loop and outer loop, nice and clear. and for folks taking the beltway in virginia this morning. as you get closer to van dorn, i am tracking a disabled truck there. when i return at 4:31, i'll give you a live look. aaron and eun? >> see you then. thank you. 4:28 the time. new this morning, d.c. police trying to sort out two new homicides that happened within hours of each other. someone shot an 18-year-old on hallier it rasin southeast -- ta hallier it rasin southeast. then there was a shooting at 8:30 last night. the woman arrived when officers arrived, she died at the hospital. this morning no word on arrests.

to the teen shot and killed in southeast. police say the 18-year-old was standing on hally terrace near danbury street when someone shot him in the neck. this was before 6:00 yesterday. he also died at the hospital. many people told news4 they are tired of the gun violence in their community. >> things could be better. it could be built up more. instead of just building homes here now because i came from this neighborhood, build up the youth because they are our future. >> police told us they'd wait to release the victim's name until they notified his family. the latest shootings mark 21 homicides in d.c. this year, and it's only february. at this point last year, d.c. had 12 homicides on the books. 2013 ended with 104 homicides in the district. new this morning, we're working to get more details about an apartment fire in the springfield area. that fire broke out late last night on backlick road. the "washington post" is reporting two people have been sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation. another 45 people have been displaced from their homes this

morning because of the damage there. this fire reportedly broke out on the first floor of that building. and later today, police officers and metro officials will examine a metro bus' dash cam footage looking for suspects who threw a rock at the bus. last night, the windshield of a metro bus was shattered when someone threw rooks at it. the w2 bus was at a stop when the rocks came flying in. the driver was hurt by the glass, had to be taken to the hospital. no word on the driver's condition now. 4:31 just about. time for weather & traffic on the 1s. and this morning is just ugly cold. >> had to break out the furry hat again. pull the flaps down. >> it's warranted. it's insane. let's check in with tom kierein. doesn't feel like spring's anywhere close. >> no. and march is coming in tomorrow. you said it, ugly cold. starting off, look at the windchills. near zero in washington. even though the winds have settled, only gusting 10 to 15