awesome and all three of us together, perfect. breaking wide open overnight, two broers who claimed actor jussie smollett hired them to stage an assault seen buyingatials they claim smollett told them to purchase. a smollett is charged with felony for allegedly making up the attack. new details this morning on a self-identified white nationalist who was focused on violence claimed to want to kill every person on earth. today the coast guard off er faces a judge over a thwarted terror plot. jam-packed arena, the nation's highest profile college basketba player sends shock waves through the sports world when his nike snelyer virtu explodes off of his foot. the fallout and the injury. plus, would you risk life and limb to travel at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour on a

snow shovel all for the thrill of victory? "early today" starts right now. great to be with y on this thursday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm marlie hall. the tables have turned in the jussie smollett saga with the actor quickly going from victim to suspect.ow he's facing a felony charge for filing a false report about the alleged he crime. meanwhile, variety reports that fox is considering removing the actor the hit show "empire" after producers learned of the charges. here with the latest is miguel almaguer.us >> reporter: jsie smollett is suspect.ly a chicago police say the actor filed a false police report, a felony. the bombshell comes after he claimed to be a victim of a hate crime. law enforcement offials tell nbc news chicago police h issued roughly a dozen srch warrants, scouring financial and phone records, looking to link smollett to the men he claimedh attacked >> they called me a [ bleep ]. they called me [ bleep ]. there's no which way youut it.

>> reporter: police say ola and abel osundairo told officols lett hired them to stage the sault. this surveillance video shows both men buying a red hat and ski masks they say smollett told them to get. the brothers reportedly entered a grand jury room to testify. the fbi is also looking into smollett's claims he received this death threat by mail. if he lied, the actor could face federal charges. local mediaeteport smo cooked up the schemes for attention. detectives have presented evidence before a grand jury. >> lying to the police, filing false police report, fraud by mail, terroristic threats by mail. all of these things are up in the air. >> reporter: for weeks, a dozen officers have been working carefully around the clock to piece together their case. investigators now rewriting the actor's story, saying smollett's lies are now exposed. jussieecmollett is ed in court later on today for his

first court appearance in aond hearing. marlie, back to you. developing overnight, a shocking arrest. a u.s. coast guard lieutenant accused of plotting a terror attack. prosecutors say it was on a scale rarely seen in this country. christopher paul hasson was arrested on gun and drug charges. the 49-year-old had an arsenal of weapons including 15 firearms andds a thousand rof ammunition, prosecutors say. nbc'ss tracie potts joins with the latest. we're hearing hhad a list of gh profile targets. >> reporter: absolutely. lots of a democrats tv hosts and e-mail in the media were on this list of people he said he wanted to kill. in draft e-mail authorities found, he said he'd been dreaming of killing nearly every person on earth. and that arsenal of weapons of ammunition, a thousand rounds, certainly seemed to back that up. now, hasn was actually arrested february 15th. this is just coming to light

because of court papers tha were filed regarding his detention. authorities obviouslyant to keep him behind bars as this case progresses. he had worked at the coast guard headquartersince 2016, and it was his internet searches at rk that actually flagged the coast guard that something may be wrong here. he is facing illegal weapons and drug charges. prosecutors have called him in courer p a domestic terrorist although there were no clear actl attack plans. but certainly the intentg accordo prosecutors to do so. the question now is will he remain behind bars as authorities get more details on this case? frances. >> tracie, thank you. after more than two years of work, robert mueller is reportedly nearing the end of his investigation into russian election meddling and possible campaignween the trump and the kremlin. the justice department is expecting the special counsel's

long-awaited report as early a next week. mueller will present his findings to the new attorney geral, who will then decide just how much will be made public. nbc's pete williams has the latest. >> reporter: rare words of praise from president trump for the new man in charge of the justice department, saying the decision of wha to make public from robert mueller's report will be up to attorney gene l williarr. >> he's a tremendous man, a tremendous person who really respects this country and respects the jnttice departme. o that will be totally up to him. >> reporter: severaler gent officials say mueller's work is nearly done, and he'll likely present his report to barr in the next week or so. federal rules say that report is confidential. they say nothing about sending it to congress or making it cblic. at hisfirmation hearing, barr said he's committed to releasing as much as possible, but heuggested it could be his summary, not mueller's document. >>elhe special cou report is confidential. the report that goes public would be a report by the

attorney general. >> reporter: but members of congress demanded more, includingomerepublicans. >> the only way i know for the taxpayerso hold anybody that spends the taxpayers' moneysp resibly is through transparency because that brings accountability. >> reporter: even , it's clear it won't be something like thea report, publicly released in 1998 on the clinton scandal. but many legal experts say just because mueller is about done, thenvestigating doesn't stop. >> pieces of this investigation will continue in federal prosecutors' offices around the country, including in manhattan. l sentorter: the mater to congress weighed 11 pounds in three volumes. public expectation for the mueller report is high, but he's working under entirely different rules, and his report will bee nothing lthis. marlie? >> pete, thank you. cold war tensions heating back up this morning. the war of words between the u.s. and russia took a dramatic turn with a stunning new threat from vladimir putin. during his state of the nation

address, the kremlin leader vowed to target the u.s. with its high-tech new weapons if yserica dep missiles in europe. nbc's chief foreign acoairs espondent andrea mitchell has the details. >> reporter: vladimir putin threatening to point new hypersonic missiles at the u.s., a weapon that can evade u.s. missile defense and fly at nine times the speeof soundf the united states deploys new missiles in ueurope. and russian tv showing offwe another newon, a submarine that can launch a nuclear powered underwaterdr e. the kremlin's toughest saber rattling since the u.s. withdrew from a treaty blaming russian treating. ot been ide has adhering to it. we have, but one side hasn't. so unless they're going to adhere, we shouldn't be the only one. >> reporter: but critics say president trump has given president trump a huge propaganda advantage. >> i think puts trying to stop the united states from deploying new missiles now that dwe have pul out of the inf treaty.

he's trying to make itr costly us, and especially he's trying to exacerbate a between the united states and our european allies. >> thanks to andrea mitchell for that report. new developments in a story we've been following. president trump said wednesday he directedectary of state mike pompeo not to allow a woman who fled alabama ton become isis bride back into the u.s. hoda muthana pleaded to return four years after going to syria. pompeo says muthana i not a u.s. citizen, but her family says she was born in new jers in newark, new jersey, a school bus driver transporting special needs students got into an accident because police believe she may have been high on heroin. authorities say lisa bird was driving the students, ages 5 to 3, on a bus when she collided with atree. first responders found bird unconscious and used narcan to eat her for a heroin overdose. the children were not hurt but taken to the hpital a a precaution.

bird faces 12 counts of child endanger dnt andg charges. stunning new details in the wake of trial of drug kingpin joaqu joaquin el chep poe guzman. one injure claims there were violations not to watch news coverage of the trial. vice claims to have a video interview with one anonymous member of the jury whoit ad they constantly watched news reports and checked their twitter feeds for updates on the story. the vice report claims theys jur he media didn't have an effect on the jury's decision, even revealing they took no joy in convicting the drug kingpin. guzman is serving life in prison team has vowed to appeal. a duke freshman standout was force the out of the game against north carolina after he suffered a bizarre injury in the first seconds of the game. zion wson had the ball and planted his left foot on an offensive move. at's when he slipped and ripped his left nike sneaker,

sending him to the floor in pain. he then limped off the court to the locker room and in front of a star-studded cro that included former president barack obama, spike lee, and others. duke's coach k. said williamson had a mild knee sprain and that he doesn't know how much time he'll miss.me while, barack obama showed his support for the young player by wishing him a speedy recover on twitter. nba great lebron james also weighed in on the injury, tweeting, hope young fella is okay. 8 northnd, number carolina upset number 1 duke, mu-72. crs across the country are facing dangerous conditions. a car engulfed in flames was spotted in downtown pittsburgh yesterday where traffic was stalled on snow covered roads. it's unclear how the ire started, but no injuries were reported. and an ohio traffic camera captured a rare event known as thundersnow. you can see the moment lightning flashes through the heavy snowfall. areas around columbus reported over four inches of snow

wednesday. >> a lot of us having with that mess i.yesterday. how about a cleanup today? re's janessa webb. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. we're finally going to welcome the warmer air, but this stormt system brewing across the northeast. so some delays, cancellations this afternoon as we still have winter weatheres adviso also winter storm warnings for 29 million. so the bulkf these advisories for northern new england really don't go into place until early this morning, until your early afternoon. so could still see significant snow. but the warm-up slowly but surely is going to make its way in. look at west virginia right no temperatures are currently in the lower 50s, so that warmer air is going to start toift to the north. that's a look at the big weather story for today. here's a closer look atour day ahead. some advisorie still in place across the northeast, but look at the 60s. they're back across portions of the mid-atlantic. our next storm system going into

the weekend out towards the south, flooding rain. so it's a welcoming sight. people are still going to see cancellational today, but f some warmer air. >> we will take every bit of it. thank you, jan essa. s.w.a.t. officers are normally tough on the job, but on officer in chica showed his tender side during a tense s.w.a.t. officers say they were rescuing a woman and baby from a man who allegedly took them hostag one t baby was rescued, the officer was sn rocking the infant. the woman and baby are okay. as fars their abductor, he's said to be in police custody. google searching for answers in a new privacy scandal. and as the vatican begins his summit on sex abuse, why some victims say the church isn't going far enough. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair's derm-proven retinol

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>> never forget that brian lived to protect all new yorkers,nd s legacy protects us still. this morning, that legacy expands as i promote brian simonson to detective first grade. >> brian simonson, a 19 year veteran of the force, was killed while responding to reports of a robbery int queens l week. an historic summit on sex abuse begins today at the vatican. survivors and advocates have gathered demanding transparency andta accolity. pope francis called for this meeting to address the scandal that has rked the catholic church. for more, we go to nbc's anne >> it's been 30 years of this. >> reporter: milwaukee's peter eisley flew all the way to rome o join other survivors in delivering an ultimatum. >> time is up. it's time to do something. >> reporter: theatholic church facing a cascade of damning revelations of sexual abuse by priests. ust this week, the vatican

acknowledging secret guidelines for priests who father children, urging them to leave the priesthood. >> zero tolerance. >> reporter: survivors not g their inside, mak case outside. >> we have secret archived files here i this institution. release them. >> reporter: the latest statistics show more than 6,800 priests have been credibly the ed of sexual abuse in u.s. since 1950. the number of victims, 19d00. >> we n to act. >> reporter: cardinal daniel dinardo isth president o u.s. bishops, under fire himself for how he's handled abusive priests. why in the world should anyone believe that those who are sueiected of part of the problem can solve this problem? >> i think one reason is first ofasll that the pope called us together and has put the line out about whate a to do. >> thanks to anne thompson for that report. just ahead, why big names like mcdonald's are pulling off youtube. and a party fit for a duchess.in de meghan markle star-studded baby shower, next.

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mueller and his prosecutors are still reporting to work as frequently as ever, with some even comg in on presidents' day. well, of course. of cose. that's their presidents' day blowout. everyone in t go!al office must

>>ow to gwyneth paltrow who is fighting back against a man who accused her of crashing into him at a utah ski resort. the actress says he was actually the culprit in the collision and is trying to, quote, e celebrity and wealth. the accident allegedly took place in 2016 at dealley resort. paltrow's counterclaim filed wednesday says sanderson knocked her down delivering a full body blow. saerson's lawsuit claims the opposite and that he suffered multiple injuries. he is seeking or $3 million in damages. gwyneth is seeking symbolic damages of $1 plus lawyers'fe . we're learning the exclusive details behind the secret bshy er of meghan markle. the star-studded event featured celebs like gayle king, amal clooney, and serena williams. e! news reports that amal and arena rented the penthouse of hotel in new york for a whopping $75,000, and it was a baby show fit for a royal. the room was decorated with

peonies and had a harpist as their entencainment. notding gifts, the shower was rumored to cost about $83,000 and of course her gal pals footed the bill. must be nice to have rich and famousgirlfriends. >> no kidding. can you imagine what's in the gift bag, the veaway bags when they go home for all the guests? real good stuff in there. still ahead, why a growing list of companies are pulling s from youtube. plus google in damage control mode after revealing a hidden mic in its nest secure home security systems. [birds chirping] [brakes squealing] accidents can happen anytime that's why geico is here 24 hours a day everyday. geico, fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

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good morning, everyone f who's ready a taste of spring? if you're out towards the east here, you'reoing to see abnormal temperatures. we're above normal here, about 9 degrees above normal out towards new york city. i haven't forgot about you. if you are across west, it's a cooler weather pattern currently in place. salt lake only going to see daytime highs tomorrow afternoon of 32 degrees. that bitter cold for the upper midwest here. rns wo different pat happening. as we head into the weekk,d, little righs in the 70s. man, that's like shorts and t-shirt weather for me. >> even with those warm temperatures, who says that shoveling can't be fun? up next, we' introduce you to a unique winter sport. ok i'll admit. i didn't keep my place as clean as i would like 'cuz i'm way too busy. who's got the time to chase around down dirt, dust and hair? so now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters.

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the latest doubt with winter

came and went. but what was left behind is still t leading closures this morning. good morning to you. >> it is 4:00th.m. temperatures are set to rise. until the sun comes up, things may be slick. school districts have issued some closures and delays. the federal governments open but workers have the option for unscheduled leave or telework. f virginia now, arngton, manassas, manassas park and stafford county schools will open two hours late, fred lisburg, king george, loudon and fairfax county schools. >> now, to the closings in virginia. warr, clark, winchester, happrob happe rappahannock. >> in west virginia, morgan, berkeley,