a dramatic twist in the jussie smollett case. looking into whether the actor staged the alleged assault himself. declaring war on the president's emergency declaration. the latest from the fierce fight over theorder wall in both congress and the courts. a reality check for students. the new program teaching high schoolers how to spot fake. terror on the track at daytona. a fiery crash wipes outf half o the drivers in the fin minut of the race. who emerged from the wreckage a winner. can music strike ath chord alzheimer's patients? the unique therapy offering hope to those fighting the disease. "early today" starts right now. good monday morning. i'm philip mena. >> i'm marlie >hall. he investigation into an

alleged racist and homophobic attack against "empire" star jussie smollett has taken another strange turn. this time with chicago police saying that they no longer consider smollett a ctim, but can't say he is a suspect himself. a police source familia with the investigation told nbc news that the new focus is now whether smollett staged the assault. nbc's steve patterson has been following this story for us. steve, what's the latest?r: >> reporarlie, this is yet another stunning turn in what has been an incredible series of events in this story. now sources close to the inveigation are saying that smollett is no longer considered a victim, nor is he yet considered a suspect. and at this point they just want him to come in so he can clarify his story. police are now investigating if the acr famous for his role in the hit series "empire" paid two men to stage an alleged attack against him. in january jussie smollett filed a police report stating two masked men assaulted him while hurling racist and homophobic

slurs before pouring bleach on him andieing a rope around his neck. he identified the attackers in this blurry surveillance picture. >> i don't have any doubt in my mind that that's them. >> reporter: friday night policd they questioned and s released two men i.d.' cin the pictonfirmed by nbc news as two brothers, both followed by smollett onnstagram, no nger suspects. investigators say they searched the brothers' home and found a rope, bleach, anblack masks. >> y do such a disservice wh you lie about things like this. >> reporter: police issued a statement sang new information gleaned from their interview with the brothers shifted the aj tory of the investigation. law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation tell nbc news smollett is no longer considered a victim in the case, nor is he considered a suspect. and at this point police just want him to come in and clarify his story. attorneys for smollett categorically denied the notion

that he staged the assault.ee he has nowfurther victimized by claims attributed to these alleged pertrators that jussie played a role in his own attack. nothing is fther from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying. t and this morni actor remaining steadfast, standing by his story, despite the growing scrutiny. marlie? >> all right, steve patterson, thank you. president trump's national emergency declaration is under siege from all sides this morning. a growing chorus of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle art voicinir concerns over the president's last-ditch effort to fund his border .wall and now several states are getting ready to sue to block mr. trump's move. the efforts setting t stage for another major showdown over immigration in the next presidential elnbtion. s tracie potts joining us now from d.c. with the very latest on this so after all of this, the president is not backing down now? >> reporter: no, he's not backing down. the white house confirmed that over the weekend. but here on capitol hill, this

is a border battle with many facets. there are democrats who think you just simply don't need to, as the president puts it here, finish the wall. on the other side, you've also got republicans supporting t president and republicans against the president because they're looking at this from a larger angle, thinking this is a power pgrab,sident trump's national emergency, to take budget authority away and fiscal authory away from congress. some republicans don't like that. so the question ts morning, will president trump use a veto if congress decides to vote against him in a resolution? here's what we heard from the white house over the weekend. >> if they pass a resolution of disapproval, will the president veto wthat,ch would be the first veto of his presidency? >> obviously the president is going torotect hisational emergency declaration, chris. i know we're out of time, but i again want to this point. there's no threat -- >> yes, he will veto? >> he's going to h protect

national emergency declaration guaranteed. >> lawmakers, critics, opponents, supporters, all trying to game out how this may play out in court, because that mae in fact, the next stop, moving its way up through lower courts to the u.s. supreme court. that is now a little bit more conservativeith trump appointees than it used to be. ie question is, declaring a national emergen one thing, proving it in court could be quite another. philip? >> entirely another thing. all right, tcy pottsexplosive'ss against president trump from the former acting fbi director. during an interview wit "60 minutes," andrew mccabe suggested the president may have broken thehi law trying to undermine the bureau's investigation into his campaign ades with russia. >> the presidentone to jim comey and specifically asked him to discontinue the investigation of mike flynn, which was a part of our russia case. the president then fired the director.in

he firing of the director, the president specifically asked rod rosenstein to write a memo justifying the firing and told d to include russia in t memo. rod, of course, did not do that. put together, these circuance circumstances were articulatable facts that indicate a crime may have been committed. the president may have been gained in obstruction of justice in the firing of jim comey. deputy e also claim attorney general rod rosenstein discussed using the 25th amendment to remove mr. trump from office. senate chairman lindsey graham accused rosenstein of trying to stage an administrative coup and vowid his pane investigate the matter. mccabe is currently promoting his memoir "the threat" which rt paints a dire it of the oval office. hundreds gathered yesterday to honor the victims ofhe shooting in aurora, illinois. five white crosses were carried

four miles through the snow representing each of the henry pratcompany employees who were killed during a meeting on friday. the procession led to the aurora police station whereers were thanked for their service. police say gary martin, the man who opened fire on his it-workers, had his gun pe revoked in 2014. but it's waunclear what done to make sure he handed over his firearm. orveral police officers were injured by gunfiree martin was shot and killed. as of sunday one officer was still recovering in the hospital recovering. the new york police departesnt is igating one of its own after a new york daily news report following a alleged threat involving rappersy fwnt. deputy gonzales allegedly told his officers to sho 50 cent quote on sight during a rolt callhe station. the threat was made after the rapper was set to attend anypd charity boxing match. according to the srces gonzales and fitty had an ongoing feud stemming from

threats made against the officer last year. a spokesperson said the incident is under internal review. officer gonzales remains on active duty. fitty cent says he is consulting with legal counsel. chaos on thesp dway. number 21, paul menard, triggered a massive wreck that wiped out 21 cars in this fiery crash shortly after a restart with 10 ls to go in the race. thankfullyll therivers were able to get out without being injured. it brought out a red flag that stopped the race so it could all get cleaned up. the great american race had five crashes and two red flags over the final 20laps. in the end denny hamlin raced to his second victory in four years. the the win he honor memory of the late j.d. gibbs. gibbs cofounded the race team along with his father joe. he passed away last month rter battlinge neurological disease. a lot of people aresc off ol and work, but those who have to commute, we have icy spots from madisono lwaukee.

a little bit of snow this morning and anyone cleaving from cleveland torie and buffalo, a lot of people in southern portions of new england. we've had a little bit of ice in areas outside of new ylyk city. rehe snow is further to the north in the hudson valley and areas into central connecticu by 7:00 a.m. the blue shows where the snow is, primarily northernew england and areas of eastern new england, should be snowing pretty good from ovidence southwards down to the cape. by the mide of the day it starts to break up a little bit. by this evening we're completely done. we're only going to say another inch or two possible in areas, especially connecticut maybe up to 3 inches more south of boston. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. here's a closer look at your day ahead. those temperatures will warm up significantly, especially areas of southern new england. slippery roads thisil morning dramatically improve this afternoon. if you want warmth, head to florida. what a february, temperatures today mid-80s. take a look at the week ahead up.cast comin we'll talk a lot about rain. >> oh, man.

all right, we'll look forward to that, bill, thank you. this presidents' day weekend was a slow one at the box office. the sci-fi fantasy "alita: battle angel" topped the charts leading one of the slowest presidents' day weekends at the box office in years and has a way to g to make up its $170 million production project. "the lego movie 2"d follo by "isn't it romaic." coming up, your last chance to s super moon for seven oears. you don't want miss that. plus the power of music. alzheimer's patients singing the praises of a new treatment. aid ♪ ♪ girl, you take care of me ♪ ♪ you are my thera♪y ♪ the better half of me ♪ say it again ♪ ♪ if you love me, love me, love me ♪ like you say ♪ ♪ darling tell me all the ways ♪ tell me all the ways ♪ now, we're bringing you all the ways

to get what you need. target run and done. everyone wants to be (cthe cadbury bunny because only he brings delicious cadbury creme eggs. while others may keep trying, nobunny knows easter better than cadbury!® before she puts them in the dishwasher. so what does the dishwasher do? (vo) cascade platinum does the work for you. prewashing and removing stuck-on foods, the first time.

(mom) wow! that's clean! (vo) cascade platinum. georgand a busy day ahead. george has entresto, a heart failure pill that helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. ♪ the beat goes on ♪ the beat goes on that was great! sky gazers will want to get up early with us tomorrow morning. before dawn on tuesday will be the best time in america to view this month's full super moon when the moon will reach its llosest approach to the earth and its surface e completely illuminates, a chance to see it at its biggest and

brightest. ere won't be another ilportunity to see a super moon like this u 2026. anthony weiner has been released from prison. the disgraced ex-congressman is now in a federal re-entry program. he pleaded guilty in 2017 to transferring obscene material to a 15-year-ol girl. he served 15 of his 21-month sentence at a massachusetts prison tt house sex offenders who volunteer for a high-intensityng programmi to prevent reoffending. as part of his plea agreement the 54-year-old former polician will be under three years of supervised release in new york. he must register as a sex offender and also pay a $10,000 fine.in will either be held in a halfway house in brooklyn or under home confinement until his official release on may 14th. now toin an de look at a unique therapy for alzheimer's disease. one growing movement says mic may be the answer to help delay memory loss for the more than 5 million america coping with alzheimer's every day. here's nbc's ron mott.

>> where's my journal? >> i think it was in the back room >> reporter: when ann hunt was diagnosed with alzheimer's disease a few years ago, the 82-year-old retired magazine itor and her husband, bruce, feared a fas decline. so they jumped at the chance to challenge her brain in a new way. ♪ my name's ann >> reporter: by starting to sing. >> how did you guys find out about this choir? >> i was really looking for c something ild find that woulbe a place where i could participate and understand what feelappening to me and like i could do something about it. >> reporter: the hunts are part of a growing movemen in alzheimer's treatment, m ing music to exercise the brain, reducenxiety, and socialize. nationwide, at least 30 choirs have been formed for people like ann. the choirs can help calm caregivers too. >> learning new stuff and knowing that there's life beyond

the initial diagnosis. ink it's an important message for folks. >> reporter: dr. mary littleman is an alzheimer's researcher at new york university and founded a chorus called the un rrgettables. earch suggests that music activates more parts of the brain than most other activities and also the parts of the brain that areffected by alzheimer's disease may not be affected as early. >> reporter: long-time chicago choral conductor jonathan miller and wife sandy segal-miller launched the good memors choir here in september. >> when everybody knows you're all suffering with the same thing, there's a natural mpassion and opening up that happens. walls come down. >> reporter: the sound of music, the power of song, more patof music can be an important ally in the fight against alzheimer's. ron mott, nbcnews, chicago. >> amazing how sleething so siould have such an impact. >> yeah, music, very tapeuti

therapeutic. up next, live from new york, it's a fight for the first amendment. the veoutrage or president trump's latest attack on "saturday night live." but we also know that half of americans don't take their daily medications as prescribed. that's why we're introducing a new way... ...to refill, pre-pay and skip the line... ...or have your prescriptions delivered. so you never miss a day. walgreens. trusted since 1901. text joinrx to 21525 to stay on track. i had this chest cold, but my medicine kept wearing off. (coughs) ah! i missed you! then i discovered mucinex. one pill lasts 12 hours, and i'm good. mucinex releases fast and lasts 12 hours, not 4. let's end this. makeup now optional. new aveeno® maxglow™ infusion drops with kiwi to lock moisture. and soy to even skin tone.

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i'm going to sign these papers for emergency, then i'll immediately be su, then it will really not go in my favor, then i'll be in the supreme court, then i'll call my buddy kavanaugh, and i'll say it's time to repay the donnie, and he'll say, new phone, who dis?

and the mueller report will be -- >> president trump's long-standg rivalry with "snl" reignited over the weekend after that scathing skit of the commander in chief during the show's cold open, the president slamming the show for mhiking national emergency declaration tweeting, very unfair, and should be looked into. this is the real collusion. that triggered a numbef critics who then called him out on twitter. representative ted lieu wrote, one thing that makes america great is peoplet can laughu without retribution. ene aclu tweeted, it's called the first ent. alec baldwin who portrays trump weigd in, suggesting trump's tweet could be a threat to his safety. another example of his thin skin. can dish it out all day long but doesn't seem to be able to take it all. baby on board usually refers to a baby in a car. it took on a dferent meaning

on a jet blue flight from san juan, puerto rico, to ft. lauderdale. cell phones were recording as a woman gave birth to a boy assisted by members of the crew and medical professionals on board. both the baby and the mother are just fine. way to make an entrance. >> wow, goodness. so many things that could have wrong there and didn't. what a great story. a soldier's homecoming. it's always a special moment, right? take a look at this here. it is a viral video of army staff sergeant skyler cooper surprising his wifen a hospital in kansas after she had twin girls. she had no idea this was in happ because he wasn't expected home from kuwait until spring. skyler says his batta commander pulled a few strings for him to make this touching reunion happen after his wife went into premature labor with the flu and ended up having to have an emergency c-seion. love these videos. the worldy to ent in a very beautiful way. >> those reunions get me every time. much more ahead, stay with us.

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e're only a few hours into monday but bill is looking ahead to the weekend. >> let's get through thisweek, right? we'll be watching heavy snow in the four corner region. morning tnow exiting northeast. as we go through the middle of the week tuesday, wednesday looking like a b day for heavy rain, flash flood threat in areas from nashville, northern ndssissippi, northern alabama, maybe even tstorms along with that flash flood threat. wednesday's a messyday. 're going to see snow, a couple of inches likely. then a wintry mess. ev areas like d.c. could get into this and baltimore, philly, new york eventuallyid the backof this, a decent snowstorm for areas like withonsin. then bend of the week it kind of quiets down a little bit. ther slug of rain comes up into the southeast. that will be the story to see how much flooding. >> it's already soggy, they're going to get a lot more rai this week. just ahead, the newrogram taking the fight against fake news straight to the classroom. . george has entresto, a heart failure pill that helped keep people alive and out of the hospital.

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