i wouldn't wish this on anybody. you know, i've seen eaowhquakes, you - like i said, we had a fire last year, me and my fami j. but thisust came on so quick and changed so many lives. >> dozens killed and many still unaccounted for as tornados ripped through the south. first responders and residents searching for loved ones overnight. we'll have the latest. in other parts of th nation, torrential rains and heavy flooding. plus blizzard conditions with many schoolclosings, delayed openings, even an ominous avalanche caught onst camera. ock markets seeing signs a u.s./china trade deal may be near. >>s uber eats the wave of the future?

l restaurant where everything is rydelivenly. ahead of tuesday, carnaval celebrations shift into gear around the world as k kic off a busy week. "early today" starts right now. good mondaymorning. i'm frances rivera. >> i. >> we start within bre news. deadly devastation across the south. tornados tore through eastern alliama, k at least 23 people and injuring dozens more. the worst of the destruction is near the town of beowregard. theful winds ripped buildings down to their foundation and knock theut power for thousands. the state's governor has declared a statewide emergency amid fears that as the sun rises, so will the death toll. >> i knew we'd have bad weather but i didn't realize theva ation we would have. my heart goes out to those people. words can'tescribe the loss that we've suffered. and we're all praying for those people. >> the lake county sheriff smos people are still unaccounted for and that the earch will ramp up this morning. nbc's dan scheneman has more.

>> reporter: powerful storms in the south. >> it's amazing the amount ofn devastathat winter storms can do. >> reporter: a tornado touched down in etern alaba sunday. trees were knocked down, buildings left in ruin, playgrounds mangled. the owner of this gas station says nothing can be salvaged. >> houses completely destroyed. homes just -- basically just slabs where once stood a home. >> repor operations have been launched. residents left shaken. >> this just came on so quick and changed so many lives that, i mean -- it's really sickening to watch. but i'm grateful that my family's okay and there's a lot of people out here that their families are not and my heart goes out to them. >> reporter: near macon, georgia, anotherwister touched down, devastation left in its wake. also in the southeast, heavy downpours led to flooding.

in birmingham,alabama, a woman had to be rescued when her car was surrounded by water. in mississippi roads were closed azoo county and residents had to leave their homes and find higher greend. and of violent weather leaving destruction behind. dan scheman, nbc ws. there are winter storms wreaking havoc from the midwest to mainor in co drivers were nearly buried by an avalanche along i-70. >> it's not going to come down here, is it. >> no, that is. >> is it? it's slowing down. holy [ bleep ]. >> it's over that car right now. >> oh my god. itomin't going to this way, is it? >> amazing how they captured that. thorities say nobody was hurt in the avalanche. a winter blast also hit st. louis. snow buried the gateway to the west then creptnortheast, blankets millions across the region. in pennsylvania overnight a crash killed two teens andrd injured a along a

snow-covered road just north of philadelphia. police believe weather played a role in that accident. let's turn to meteorologist michelle grossman who's tracking .he storm syst michelle, good morning. >> good morning. that's my hometown. i was just looking at that.ng we're loot a tricky commute this morning. we're looking at snowy weather, sl there's sleet on the ground depending on where you are. 45 million at risk. that's going to decrease after the 7:00 hour we'll improve after that. still, left over with slush and sleet on the roadways. as we head throughout the day we'r going to see mostly sunny skies in philadelphia, also new york. new england the leftover of this storm. then it becomes all about the cold air.eh so backd this we have a frigid air mass in place. we're lking at windchill warnings, windchill advisories in place, especially in the center of the county.ch wils 20 to 40 below zero. cold withing to be that wind blowing. that's what it feels like on your body. you want to protect yourself as you head out today. so that cold air doesreturn. lots of cold air even down to

the south. we're looking at temperatures wellhielow normal for time of year. 9 degrees below zero in minneapolis. winter weather still in full force. 're going to be pretty dry, most of the country, after today. >> that's going to be helpful. michelle, thank you. breaking news out of kenya overnight where police say a helicopter crash killed four americans alongith a pilot. the chopper came down at central island national park in the northern part of the country. all five people on board were killed. in a facebook post kenya authorities said investigators are on scene and working to identify the cause of the crash. president trump is starting the week on a high note. a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows his approval rating at46%. that's up 3 points from january. ett that can soon change as house democrats ready to ramp up their investigations into the president. nbc's tracie potts joinsrom us d.c. with what to expect this week good morning >> hi there, frances, good morning. xpect a lot of talk from

democrats about president trump. there are six house committees investigatinghe president, three of them expected to take action this week. let's start with the judiciary committee because if there were to ever be an impeachment, this is where it would 'rstart. th a long way from that but they are requesting documents, subpoenas going out tod to 60 people, including officials at the justice department, t chief financial officer of the trump organization, trump jr. jerry nadler is the chair of that >> this investigation goes far beyond wecollusion. e seen all the democratic snowstorms that we depend on for democratic government attacked by the administration. >> do you think the president ob jukt instructed justice? >> yes, i do. >> there's nothing the president did about wrong -- >> nothing? >> in tess pr to be impeached? show me where the president did anything to be impetehed. >> rep the oversight committee is also pushing a deadline today. they have asked the white house for documents related to security clearances after reports that the white house and

possibly theel president hi according to "the new york times," ovrode a suggestion from staff concerning jared kushner'cl security rance. they had concerns after his background check. plus the intellince committee is hearing more testimony, private this timefrom former trump lawyer michael cohen. it's going to be a busy week, frances. >> certainly is. tracie potts, thank you so mure. wall watching closely this morning amid new signs of a trade deal between the united states and china. according to the "wall street journal," the two economic powerhouses are i the final stages of an agreement. but beijing offering to lower tariffs and washington considering removing sanctions levied against chineseod ts. however, both sides warn there are still several hurdles to clear. the or"journal" r a formal agreement could be reached at a summit between president trump and china's xi jinping later this month. this morning tributes are flooding in from stars in the music industry to honor former contestant of "the voice,"

janice freeman. the celebrated songstress died in california at age 33. her family says the cause of dead is extreme pneumonia and a blood clot that traveled to h the singer competed on season 13 of nbc's "the voice" in 2017 and wasy coached mylie cyrus. she previously battled lupus, meningitis, and cervical cancer that she had beaten. according to freeman's family,i ther complained saturday she couldn't breathe. her husband performed cpr until paramedics arrived. freeman died at the hospital. yrformer coach mylieus and singer jennifer hudson are among the celebrities offering their support to freeman's family. inselma, alabama, over this weekend, civil rights activists and prominent leaders from around the nation re-enacted ao hi moment. the first sunday of the month of march marked the 54thni rsary of what's known as bloody sunday. this was a peaceful civil rights demonstration originally held on march 7th, 1965, but during the march state troopers violently

beat protesters who tried tos cr the bridge. history credits the descent wito gathering eugh support for the voting right act that passed later that year. another landmark in thee sp exploration this weekend as the spacex dragon capsule made to it the international spacestation. nbc's kathy park reports on sunday's high achievement. >> crew no longer sending commands, dragon doing everything on its own. >> reporter: 250 miles above earth the first commercial spacecraft designed to carry humans hitting its. ma >> we have confirmation of a soft capture of the dragonft spacec of the international space station -- >> reporter: another dramatic moment. astronauts on the iss makeheheir way intonmanned vessel. >>here he is. human beings inside the dragon inacecraft. >> reporter: flo inside they met a mannequin passenger sittg in the corner, giving everyone back home a look at the spacecraft of the future.

>> welcome to therew dragon. >> reporter: it all followed a spectacular launch from the kennedy space centerust 27 hours before. >> a live view of the falcon 9 ldcket as it sa through the atmosphere. >> reporter: there's a lot riding on the six-day demo before the dragon capsule heads home friday. if all goes well the next test will launch two astronauts as early as july. >> we may pushn a butto or two to demonstrate that we have the capability to intervene if we need to, but the vehicle's pretty much going to do the work autonomously, just like it did today. >> reporter: boeing isn't far behind with its own unlanned launched for next month. as a new space race setsoff. kathy park, nbc news, new york.> >>e're going to add this next story to t "don't see this every day" column. it's from madison square garden where the tied rangers a caps were in a shoot-out situation. washington's alex ovechkin, who approaches t net, alexander gorgeyev throws his stick at

puck. the refs rule nod goal then overturned the goal because the goalie threw his gear atck the o the caps awarded this one 3-2. let's check back in meteorologist michelle grossman with the cold temperatures a lot of us are going to be feel so cold, we're going to need country,hroughout the at least from the middle of the country to the east. we're looking at temperatures 8 degrees in minneapolis. 27 in oklahoma city. look at llas. shivering there, 35 degrees, just above freezing. to the northeast, we're coldwell below normal. cold air will stick around in the middle of the country t on tuesday. minneapolis just 15 degrees. that's a look at the bth w story of the day. here's a closer look at your day ahead. all right, it's all about the cold ai we had the snow, the severe weather overnight, also into thismorning. shivering, looking at temperatures well below normal for this time of year and cold air is going to stay in place for many of us throughout t week, temperatures just in the 30s in the northeast. don'tawut those coats quite

yet. do you have vacation plans? >> i would likeo to somewhere nice and warm and tropical. that's not the case. all right, thank u. now to a tropical destination, you've got mother nature putting on a dazzling fireworks dilay as this volcano lit up the night sky over mexicoenhis we it unleashed a powerful explosion in a single spectacular flash. the force of the blast sent gases, ash, and debris high into the air and down the mountainside. at nearly 18,000 feet it's the second-highest mountn mexico and the fifth-highest in north america. next,nd drago angels balling it out at the box office. will the buck start here? dollar stores and the rising concern. ♪ ♪

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train your dragon: the hidden world" remained at the top. it is the trd installment in the series bringing in $30 million just this weekend. "madea family funeral" opened in second place. its huge female audience drove ticket sales to a $27 million debut. sliding down to third, sci-fi fantasy "alita: battle angel" raked in$7 million. leading the news, if it seems like there's a dollar stor on every corner, it's not your imagination. in oklahoma, one officialtr is ng to slow down their growth. nbc's ron mott explains why. >> reporter: in north tulsa, dollar stores are easy to find. drive or walk a short distance in just about any direction and you'rey to run into one. >> dollar general wanted to go in where? >> right behind, rig over here. it will be a stone's throw away. >> reporter: what's harder to spot, especially in city councilor vanessa hall harper's district, are places selling fresh food and meat, healthier

fare than typically found at dollar stores. lari shop at discount d stores when they need something they provide. what i am concerned about is the proliferation of them and the ultimate effects they have on communities. >> reporter: still, dollar store park lots are often busy. it's cheap, it's convenient. it saves me going to epwalmart. >>ter: the two largest chains, dollar general and family dollar, which also erates dollar tree, declined our request for an on-camera interview. in separe statements both companies told nbc news they help customers save time and money. general saying it has added fresh fruits and vegetables to one oftsorth tulsa locations. there are ten dollar stores in hall harper's district, more than any other part of town. when dollar general wanted to open a few hundredards from this family dollar, she protes d, winning enough support for a six-month delay with restrictions on how far apart they must be. around the country, similar concentrations, particularly in urban areas. dollar stores often serving as the only option in america's

food deserts. >> eezer's good -- >> reporter: katie has been driving that point home with a bile grocery stor >> we gave away over 45,000 worth of free fruits and vegetables last year. so that tells me that people do want to eat healthy. >> reporter: the work is payg off. a new brick and mor r groce store now on the way. ron mott, nbc news, tulsa. still ahead, southwest saves the day at one destination and don't be that co-worker. a new study reveals the most annoying habits at the office. u? that's because your home is filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room. so, try febreze fabric refresher. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics and cleans them away as it dries. use febreze every time you tidy up to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. make febreze part of your clean routine

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fly, dumbo, fly. >> this is going to be a good one. disney released a new sneak peek of its upcoming live action movie "dumb poe." it features a new version by oar died fire. original version of the song from the 1941 animated version of "dumbo" went on to win the oscar for best original song. the movie is set to hit theaters march 29th. i'm sure your kids are going to love seeing that too. i know mine will be. listen to this, when a texas woman forgot her bridesmaids dress, that's bad. for her sister's costa rica wedding. southwest airlines saved the day. a friend tweeted at the airling asf the dress could go on their next flight to costa rica and they said heyes. an friend dropped the white dress at the houston airport the next day and it was safely

delivered to therismaid in costa rica that afternoon. southwest tweeted the whole journey and shared this final image of the right dress. >> i hope she didn't tell her sister that she forgot the dress. there's no way a bride deal with that kind of drama. >> terrible. she n doesnd that added stress. but they look great. we all have themhat one co-worker. >> is it me? >> yournlg i love you. that does something that drives you crazy. it happens to a lot of us. apolled 2 thousand american workers and 100% said, yeah, they have been annoyed by a co-worker. 50% says the most annoying habit is talking loudly and complaining. eis is followed by gossiping, bullying, pooring or bathroom habits, poor communication. i eat funky stuff in the like orange chicken or curry. maybe that's the annoying thing. >> i love it.

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it is i'58. aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. this is what we're workingn for this morning. a twist in the murder of a maryland woman. sh was allegedly killed by a panhandler. now, her husband is in custody at the mexican border. details ahead at 4:00. g d morning,everybody. your monday is off to a cold

news 4s beg with a storm team 4 weather alert. >> yep. we are still in weather alert mode this morning. working for you on this monday. it is just about 4:00 a.m., and a warning as you head out. the roads, sidewalks and your

drivew may be icy. the snow and rain from last night is moving on. butemhe tratures in some parts of the area are cold ez enough to f everything that is left. >> winter does not want to let go.ld g on, right? >> west virginia, berkeley, hampshiha shire, hardy and mineral schools are closed. >> invi inia, shenandoah county schools are closed today. in maryland, walk county schools are on a two-ur delay.ll >> we update you on the closings. we have you o covered the roads this morning, checking out the conditions, plus, a big that on a local highw could slow down your commute. hopefully everybo