>> good lord t s is a public health crisis. we must do everything in our power to end this outbreak. >> measles outbreak. as of midnight, just a few houra ago, state of emergency prohibits unvaccinated childrenm under 18 fr going to public places in yorockland, new . but that's not all. i've been truthful and consistent on every single level nce day one. >> if you want to say you're innocent of a situation, then you take your day in court. i would never, if someone falsely accused me, i would never hide behind a brokered deal in secrecy, period. >> 16 chges against "empire" actor jussie smollett all t dropped by prosecutor. he was not exonerated by received a virtual slap on the

wrist instead as the fbihe continues t investigation. a brand-new way this morning to help you combat those annoying robocalls. plus a new globetrotters trick shot to share with you as we kick off a wednesday. "early today" starts rightnow. hey there. good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> great to be with you. i'm frances rivera. we are now seeing an unprecedented response to the growing measl outbreaks. health officials are pleading with parents to get the children vaccinated as outbreaks are now being felt across 15 states. a very hard-hit county north of york city has even declared an emergency and is banning at unvaccined kids from public places. nbc's rehema ellis has more. >> this is a public health crisis. >> reporter: officia are now taking drastic action after a record 153 measles cases in new york's rockland county since last october. >> we must do everything in our power to end this outbreak. >> reporter: as of midnight, a state of emergency will prohibit

unvaccinated children under 18 from going to public places such as stores, restaurants, and schools. this woman has worried her toddr is vulnerable. do you think this is appropriate, or is it too drastic? >> when other people aren't t vaccinatinir children, it's putting my children at risk. >> reporter: measles are so contagious, the virus can linger up to two hoursven after an infected person leaves the area. officials say they won't be checking vaccination cards, but instead hope the mere threat of tiiminal pen will make more parents vaccinate their children. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. there has been a major development tn a caset has captivated the country. chicago prosecutors have dropped all 16 charges agait "empire" actor jussie smollett weeks after he was indicted for allegedly stagingtt ank on himself. the decision has left both chicago's mayor and police superintendent bewildered and angry. nbc's muel almaguer has this

report. >> i've been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. >> reporter: jussie smollett breaking his silence minutes after cook county prosecutorsdr opped all criminal charges in exchange for two days ofit comm service and $10,000 in court costs. >> this has been an incredibly difficult estime,tly one of the worst of my entire life. >> reporter: in a stunning move, the "empire" actor, who was arrested for orchestrating a fake hate crime, will now have his criminal case wiped clean. but thecu lead proser says dropping the charges does not mean he did nothing wrong. >> he is not a victim of a hate crime. >> reporter: in a statement, the prosecutor added, we stand hind the chicago police department's investigation and our decision to approve charges in this case. we did not exorate . smollett. but chicago's top 'scop, w outraged, says he was blindsided by the news. >> if you want to say you're innocent of a situation, tun ake your day in court. i would never, if someone

falsely accused me, i would never hide behind brokered deal in secrecy, period. >> reporter: the mayor also blasting the prosecutor's office for fumbling what he saw as a trial headed for conviction. >> this is without a doubt a whi whitewash of justice and sends a clear message'rhat if y in a position of influence and power, you'll get treated one way.il other people be treated another way. >> reporter: it was just three weeks ago smollett was indicteb a grand jury on 16 felony counts forying to police. >> the grand jury heard a slincr of the evi and they came to a conclusion. >> reporter: with the case now sealed by the court, the public may never see the evidence gathered by police. >> we have nothing to say to the police department except to investigate charges and not try their cases in the press.te >> rep on january 29th, smollett told police he was beaten on this chicagotreet by two masked men who yelled "this

is maga country," poured a chemical on him,nd left a noose around his neck. police say the hoax was carried out for publicity to boost his profile. but their case and the 16-count felony indictment is now gone. >> now i'd like nothing more than to just get back to work and move on with my life. his s there no decency in man? this is a person now who has been let off scot-ee with no sense of accountability of the moral and ethical wrong of his actions. >> reporter: the legal trouble for jussie smollett may not be over. the actor still faces federal charges for allegedly mailing himself a fake death threat. but this is a stunning twist in this case no matter which way you look at it. >> got that right. miguel almaguer, thank you. just shortly after conor mcgregor announced his retirement from mixed marti arts. "the new york times" reports irish police are investigating t.m over sexual assa according to their sources, the

fighter is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in december at the beacon hotel in dublin, a known hot spot for ireland's best kno f sportsures and multi-millionaires. joining us now with the latest details ispman bell. what more do we know? >> reporter: good morning, frances. what we have to say now is "the new york times" is reporti that ufc star conor mcgregor is under investigation in ireland after a woman accused him of sexual assault in december,r citing feople familiar with the investigation. it's important, though, to point out that mcgregorn has not b charged with a crime. the story says he was arrested in january and questioned by law enforcement authorities and released pending furster ination. as you pointed out, this news comes just after he appeared to announce his retirement fromn fightingtwitter, saying, hey, guys, quick announcement. i've decided to retire from the sport. wish my colleagues going forward in competition. mcgrekor's spokeswoman has

released a statement, sayi this story has been circulating for some time and it's unclear why it b isng reported now. the assumption that conner's retirement todays relatedo this rumor is absolutely false. should connor fight in the future -- irish police have told nbc news thatot they do comment on named individuals and at this time investigations aren ongoing relation to this case. a file has not been forwarded to he director of public prosecutions. frances. >> chap the battle over the mueller report is raging on capitol hill as democrats fight to see thell findings from the special counsel. and this morning a time line is starting toe.ake sh senate judiciary chairman lindsey graham met with attorney general williamigarr last and says he expects the public to see the mueller report within weeks, not months. senator graham also confirmed the white house will not get a copy in advance. >> he decided that the white house is okay with releasing it

without looking at it. >> the president? >> yeah, i talked to him just a few minutes o, the esident. and he said let it out. >> tonight lester holt will sit down with former fbi director firstcomey for his interview since the conclusion of the mueller report. meanwhile, president trump scored another victory tuesday as the house failed to override his veto, kping the national emergency order over the border wall in place. and on theer side of the building, the senate failed to advance the green new deal proposed by congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez. top democrats decried it as a sham vote, but several moderates in the party joined republicans to vote against t ambitious proposal to combat climate change.n and republi senator mike lee took it one step further by going prehistoric. >> this image has as much to do with overcoming communism in the 20th century as the green new deal has to do with overcoming climate change in the 21st.

>> ocasio-cortez clapped back on uy can , saying if this be senator, you can do anything. this morning, the trump administration is gearing up for its next big fight, i whi a lot like an old one. in a newly released letter, the justice department says obamacare should be thrown out in its entihity. if t latest legal challenge is succesnul, more tha 20 million people will lose their health care. but president trump did hit at a potential replacement to the affordable care act. >> let me just tell you exactly what my messageis. the republican party will soon be known as the party of health care. youwatch. >> that's what he said. ou did not give any further details, . the top democrats sense an opening from the move. health care helped propel the party to big gains in the house during the 2018 midterms. a boein 737 max 8 jet without passengers aboard made an emergency landing in orlando tuesday. it's the sam plane that's been grounded fwing two deadly air disasters. this comes as hundreds of pilots

and executives are converging on seattleo hear firsthand from boeing about an urgent fix for those 737 max planes. nbc's tom costello is there. >> reporter: an emergency landing involving a 737 max, a plane without passengers being ferried to california had to return to orlando after an engine problem. >> we just lost our right engine. > reporter: everyone onboard safe. under faa rules, a grounded max can be ferried across country if it's flying without passengers. meanwhile in seattle, boeing has been putting 737 max pilots througmu sitors, recreating the mcas software failure suspected of forcing down the nose of lion air flight 610. "the new york times" reports the pilot tsz in the simulators had just 40 seconds to override the malfunioning system to avert disaster and they knew what to expect. the lion air pilots did not. now boeing is prepared to show0 20airline executives and

pilots the urgent software fix not yet appr >> i don't see that the airplane will probably be returned to service for atev leastal weeks. >> reporter: the faa and boeing now say tha on january 21st, boeing submitted a preliminaryw so upgrade package to the faa for approval, but that was not yet approved by the time of the ethiopian airliner crash nearly two months later. and they say they do expect a final software alication upgrade to be coming out sometime this week. meanwhile, we can tell you that members of the house and senate will today putoth the transportation secretary and the fae chief on the hot seat as they find out me about the faa approval process. >> still a lot of questions out u.ere. tom, thank yo a major shake-up in the nfl. team owners have approved a new rule allowing coaches to call for reviews for pass interference nalties. at includenon-calls like hat ne, that famous call likely cost the saints a trip to the super bowl. meanwhile, leaguene commissio roger goodell also del

decision on patriots owner robert kraft, who is accused of soliciting pro aitutes at spa in florida. >> the persona conduct policy applies to everybody, commissioners, owners, executives, players, coaches.il and it be applied to everybody. but it will be done after we get l the facts. >> kraft pleaded not guilty yesterday. let's see how we're doing weather-wise midweek. here's nbc meteorologist janessa webb. good morning. >> you see all this yellow. prat's good news here. that's going tod to the east. we're still off to a cool start mid-atlantic tohe rtheast. daytime highs are only in the mid-40s here. hold on. ou can see it makes its way across the midwest and northeast as we go into the weekend. alaska, yes, i seeyou. you're seeing record-high temperatures once again. look at anchorage, a high of 46. y.at's a look at the big weather story for to here's a closer look at your day ahead. still very cool for the west, but that warmer air going to

spread in from denver to the plains as well. but we're off to a nice sunny and clear start for the northeast and mid-atlantic. seeing record highs in alaska. i promise you they are in shorts and t-shirts right now. >> that's home for you. you know how they're going to roll. thu, janessa. take a look now at our shot of the day. ♪ harlem globetrotters zeus shooting a trick shot t from moving roller coaster at the mall of america minneapolis. this is the first time the shot has been made in the globetrotters' 93-year history. >> banked it in. nice shot there. just ahead, the 750 million reasons to pick up a powerball ticket today. and why your facebook friend list might be a little thinner this morning. but there's one... that blows them all out of the water.

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in today's news by the numbers, authoritiesn romania say they've seized about 2,300 pounds of cocaine worth $339 million from a capsized boat off the coast of the black sea last week. two suspects are in custody. in the latest fakerofile crackdown, facebook announced it has removedro 2,632 pages,s and accounts that, quote, engaged in codinated, inauthentic behavior from both facebook and instagram. nefigures from new york state reveal wall street bonuses dropped 17% in 2018 to an avera average. still, that is double the income of the average american thousehold. >>e to make some money. tonight's powerball jackpot is worth a t staggerinee quarters of a billion dollars. look at that cash value there. almost aalf a billion. >> it just keeps on growing. still t come, snl has something special in store for you. we've got a preview. and becoming a best-seller. the milestone for former first

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sandra oh from killing eve. i'm kind of stuck o the killing eve mid season. i need to get on it. i need to get past that. >> i haven't even started it. >> it's huge. it's making her. >> can't wait to see what they're going to do that's been happening in the news lately. >> there's so much, right? from first lady to be-selling thor. michelle obama's memoir, "becoming" is on its way to becoming one of the most successful memoirs in pastory. the c announced tuesday that the book has sold nearly 10 million copies globally since being released in november. it's the number one hard cover nonfiction best-seller on "the new york times" list and is currently number five onamazon. a research company said it is the second highest selling biography sold in the u.s. behind eat, pray, love. i can believe it. you're on planes, trains, wherever you're at, you see it everywhere. >> and you see herverywhere on that book tour, showing up on

the grammys too. she is on it, on fire. now to a reveal that has rocked the k-pop community. toy maker mattel took inspiration from the looks in this music video from south korea's super group bts and they created a line of dolls that will reportedly be released in september. rmthe boy band's of fans flooded social media with mixed reaction. many bsupportive there's been a lot of criticism about the hairstyles. what do you think? s is currently on a world tour and recently announced that their next album is coming out on april 12th. >> i think they look like the caaracters from team ame world police. remember that? >> appellayou made it when you e dolls. still ahead " onrly today," are you fed up with those robocalls that are constantly flooding your cell phones? this morning a new way t fight back, and we'll tell you about it when we come back here on "early today."

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good morning. i'maron gilchrist. >> i'm molette green. right now three high school seniors are recovering from serious injuries following a chain reaction crash in prince george's county. this morning we'reki l at what caused that crash and the warning county leaders have for us all. chuck? >> it's off to a freezing cold start this morning, but i think you'll like how today

good morning. just about 4:00 a.m. no i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'molette green in for eun yang. we want to start with a check of

the forast and the commute. >> let's start with storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell and a look at those numbers.be >> those n are below freezing for most of the area. 26 in dulles. 21 in manassas. 31 in clinton, maryland. 38 in washington. 43 in annapolis. guess what the bay water temperature is? mid 4s. if you're away from the city in the water, it's a freezing cold start. and much like yesterday, we'll have plenty of sunshine for today. unlike yesterday, we won't be wind.ng a stiff north so lighter winds and plenty of sunshine. today's high temperature, degrees. not a bad day to be outside. milder weather for tomorrow on opening day. tracking also mor in the way of cloud cover. we'll let you know if that means chance. let's go to melissa. >> brandywine r