work? >> toys and chocolate -- hot chocolate and> >> breaking overnight. police in colorado are desperately searching for this woman considered armed ask dangerous and obsessed with the columbinehooting0 years ago. as area schools are suddenly closed today and communiti main on edge. >> millions of people are in the path of a severe weather outbreak. nessa is here with theatest forecast. >> reports many white house insiders are braced for the mueller report over the concern they wilxp be eed as cooperating with the special counsel. >> what was that that flew over the night sky in our nation's capital overnight? >> her in america, television news is king. we're going to give them a

vision of the world the way they want it to be. >> and russell crow roars with our first look at the loudest voice in the odom. "early t" starts right now. good wednesday morning. i'm frances river i >> and phillip mena. severe weather is on the way today for areas still recovering from the last massive storm. let's get right over to nbc meteorologist janessa webb tracking it all for us. good morning, vanessa. >> good morning. we're getting started with the severe weather. it's going to start to happen this afternoon into the evening hours acrosshe plains into the south here. right now sitting out to the southwest from phoenix to albuquerque andill make its way across the midwest. so we have a good chunk of thet na, 32 million under that severe weather risk. potential now is damaging wind gusts, up 60 miles per hour, also large hail possibility of tornadoes. now, this is going to be a multi-day event into your thursday, friday as well. so you can see the areas of low pressure from iowa to dallas,

major cities really going to be impacted throuayout the d dallas, houston, along with oklahoma. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. we'll get to that in just a moment. >> thanks, janessa. >> some breaking news. a number of schools are closed due to a massive hunt for an 18-year-oldoman who poses a credible threat to at least 20 schools in the denver metro area. officials searched the florida home of the suspect who is described as obsessed with the columbine shooting of 20 years ago. she traveled from miami tolo do, armed herself with a shotgun and was last seen near the foothills. >> she has had an infatuation with cumbine and the perpetrators of columbine. she made commentso that effect. but she hasn't identified a specific threat to a specific school. we identified that she departed the airport and went to a store where she did procure a weapon.e

obtained a pump action shotgun and ammunition. >> i know that this opens a wound, especially on an anniversary week for those families who were most deeply impacted by this we want our schools to be a safe place for kids to learn, and where they n be productive. and that's why we take this threat seriously. >> just hours ago, a wave of denver metro area schools announced schools wilbe closed today and all after school activities canceled due to the ongoing safety concerns. all facilities are closed and employs are to report to work. >> the wait is nearly over. in just ovee 24 hours w will have the mueller report in our hands. attorney general william barr is expected to publish the special counsel's fiings. after spending weeks redacting sensitive information. meanwhile, the release is stoking concerns among former and current white house officials who cooperated with the investigation. nbc's tracie potts is joining us from d.c. with the latest on this. tracie, good morning. any sense how the president is

feeling about the pending release? >> reporter: he says the results are already oe, ther no collusion, incclusive on obstruction of justice so he's not worried about it. probably doesn't want to read it. but there are a lot of people who work with him, very closely with him, or have worked with him who are worried about this releas in just over 24 hours from now. a lot of people who work at the whe house had to cooperate, to testify, to speak with the special counsel. what d they say that could be damaging or embarrassing to president trump? despite the outcome of the report, te are now about get the details and more than a dozen of those current and former white house employees tell us they're worried about whether they will be identified in this report. we simply do not know. as for the white house, as for the president and his lawyers, tes legal , they are bracing for what's to come. >> i think that the president's wyers quite rightly are

anticipating that there is going to be new information on obstruction that has not yet been publicly disclosed and they are tryin to identify the ways that they can rebut it.ep >>ter: because, remember, mueller was inconclusive on obstruction of justice, couldn't say one way or the other basedd on the ee on both sides if there suld be prosecution. it was the attorney general who decided based on that same evidence that the president shld not be prosecuted. and as forus those anxio white house staffers and former staffers, we are told thatra sevel of those hitnessese had their lawyers asking theep justice dtment, am i going to be identified this this report? nd they haven't gotten an answer. phillip? >> a lot o sleepless nights, a day away. tracie, thank you. >> scorched, but still standing. president man macron has vowed to resurrect notre dame after the burning of the

steeple. they are in solidarity with france. they are launching an investigation into whathe triggered t inferno. matt bradley joins us from london and bringing us the very latest. tt, good rning. >> reporter: good morning, frances. you know, as you mention, parisians are now taking stock about a day and a half since this fire first started. and what's clear is that the structure, as you can see behind me, is very much intact, even despite all of the threats that this buiing would not be able to be saved while the firemen were still trying to put out the blaze. now it seems that most of what was built 800 years ago is still standing. that 150-year-old roof, all of the wooden beams that really lit up quite quickly during the fire, that is almostir enty destroyed. 60% of that is gone. most of the most valuable relics and pies of art managed to be rescued before the blaze was put out. so the tunic of san louis and what is believed to be the crown

of thorns jesus iso thought t have worn on the cross, those were also saved along with several other priceless pieces of artwork that were actually carried out by a human chain formed by police officers and firemen when the fire was still raging. but as is often theit case, wh these sorts of situations, what's left now is politics and an investigation. some 50 investigators have been trying to interew workers who were on the sce when the fire started, trying to determine what started this fire and how to prevent it in the future. and they're also looking into how to rebuild this roof and thh caral around it. manuel macron addressed the nation last night and called for aiity. he also s he was going to be suspending politics along with other political. parties hard to see how long that is going to last in this fractious political environment. we'll have to look forward to that and rebuilding. frances? >> along with the millions coming in in private donations. hundreds of millions in private

donations to rebuild. matt bradley for us in paris. thank you. >> new word from faa after air disasters involving boeing 737-max jets. those planes are grounded worldwide. nbc's costello covers aviation and joins us with details. tom, what can you tell us? >> reporter: phillip, good morning. the faa says pilots will be required to undergo additional training before they are allowed to fly the max again. buoeing still hatzant formally submitted the software update for faa approve. when that happens, the plane willtill have to be recertified. the faa right now telling airlines pilots will be required to undergo new training on that mcas system blamed for the crashes in ethiopia and indonesia that killed 346 people. th software fix is what they have been working t on. the piloaining can be completed on a computer.

with the max grounded, there will be fewer planes flying for the upcoming summer travel season. so watch your schedules closely to ensure that your fligh is, in fact, taking off when they say it is going to. back to you, phillip. >> tom costello for us, thank you, sir. >> there is a new bombshell in theussie smollett saga. messageseased text from cook county state attorney kim foxx reveal that she called him a, quote, washed up celeb, and that she was concerned he was being overcharged. trina orlando from our nbc wmaq the details. >> reporter: states attorney kim topix told assistant states attorney empire actor jussie smollett was a, quote, washed up celeb who lied to cops m he textessage one of many communications between foxx and her top deputy now being made public. jussie smollett told chicago police he was the victim of a hate crime when he was allegedly attacked by two men who shouted racial a homophobic slurs at

hem. they determined smult was nollet a victim, but staged t attack. charges were dropped later by the states attorney'sffice. communications between fx and begets, foxx believed is he was overcharged and compared the case to r.ll ke pedophile with four victims, 10 counts, washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16. tust because we can charge something doesn' mean we should. the city of chicago is suing smollett to recover expensesd relate to the investigation, meanwhile the fbi continues to investigate a hate letter allegedly sent to smollett where the studio is filmed. when asked for a response to the documents released tuesday night, the state's office said we are not able to comment on specificities on this topic. we look forward to the inspector

general office's review of how we handle this case. >> thanks to wmaq's trina orlando. >> all right, time to see how our wednesday is shaping up. janessa, good morning. >> location is really key here. to the west and northeast we are seeing primetime conditions. we are also tracking just a few showers across the northeast right now, but they are reainy to exit as we step into the rest of the morning. the big weather story is thi large storm system currently going to take over the midwest into the plains as we step into your mid af arnoon. that'sook at the big weather story of the day. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. warmer air pumping in from the south, look a this. we're back in the 70s across columbus and portions of the sout back in the 80s. this will be a multi-day event of severe weather and temperatures really steaming. so the bulk of this system makes its way in this afternoon, and will be thursday, friday afternoon unfortunately. >> all right. two days to look forward to

that. janessa, thanks. >> we don't think it was the mueller report landing, but dozens of people reported seeing an odd white streak of light shooting through the d.c. area sky overnight. it happened around 11: p.m., the driver's dashcam captured the stunning sight of wlit is beeved to be a meteor lighting up the d.c. sky. the video was posted to twitt and hasver 61,000 views. >> i don't know if i could keep the car steady if i saw something like that. just ahead, check your ntry. dee tames on a major cookie recall and why michelle obama's latest jab at president trump has single fathers up in arms. luckily for all your hard-to-wash fabrics... ...there's febreze fabric refresher. febreze doesn't justdoask, it eliminates o you've... ...gone noseblind to. and try febreze unstopables for fabric.p with twice the fresh scent power, you'll want to try it... ...again and again and maybe just one more time. indulge in irresistible freshness. febreze unstopables. breathe happy.

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are urged to throw away the cookies and ca call this number. 844-366- more information. >> leading the news thisor mo11rning, f former first lady michelle obama is raising some eyebrows with her apparent criticism of president trump amthout mentioning his n during a speech in london. she compared the president to a divorced dad that the rest of thountry is forced to live with. the white house has yet to comment, but the metaphor faced some backlash on social media from single parents. nbc's kristen welker has more.ep >> rorter: it was a rare rebuke, breaking precedent. former first lady michelle obama taking aim at the current president. >> it's tough, you know, sometimesndou spend weeke with divorced dad. it feels like it's fun, but then you get sick. that's what america is going through. we're living witdivorced dad. >> reporter: mrs. obama speaking sunday in london, never mentioning president trump by name, saying, it may feel like a dark chapter, but any story has its highs and lows.

it comes as the white house braces for the mueller report. oome current and former officials who crated with mueller tell nbc news they're concerned the report could expose them as the source of damaging information about the president. >> i heard it's g to come out on thursday. that's good. and there can't be anything there because there was no crime. there was no anything. >> reporter: as for michelle obama's comments, weut reached to the white house and so far no response. phillip? >> all right, kristen, thank you. >> still ahead, a hairy situation for bearded men. a study that may have you reaching for the razor. and a television transformation for the ages. our first look at russellw cro as the late fox news roger ailes. that's next here on "early today." that we justhit the me of soft-serve ice cream? i got cones, anybody wantone! oh, yeah! get ya some! no, i can't believe how easy it was to savhundreds of dollars on my car insunce with geico.

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here in america, television news is king. we're going to give them a vision of the world the way they want it to be. >> can you recognize him there? it's so hard to believe that is russell scrowpping into the shoes of late f c.e.o. roger ailes for a new showtime series, the loudest voice will explore his rise at fox news a downfall as a rultd of sexual nduct allegations in 2016. the mini series will premiere on june 30. that reminds me of the movie "vice" that came out, with christian veil with all the makeup to become dick cheney. >> it's not like it's multiple

decades since some of this happened. it's recent history for these cases. some big congratulations are in order for two of our nbc news family who became moms on tuesday. hoda kotb broke into tears to announce she adopted a second baby girl named hope. katy tur and her husband welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named theodore. the baby reportedly arrived 6 pounds 5 ounce and stretching nearly 20 inches long. nice fun baby boom for everybody here. >> we hear his name is tony. >> after dad, yeah. >> we welcome to extended family here at nbc. >> and hope for hoda's mom. >> that's wonderful. all right, from good news to bad news, for hipsters, that is. new study revealing men with beards have more germs than the tzr on a dog. researchers in swierland compared the back dear i can't on 18 bheerded men and 30 furry do.

it turns out the bearded bros had a higr microbial count compared to3 3 of the dogs.n sevemen had so much bacteria it was harmful touman health is how they categorized it. there you go. i guess the beard is dead. >> if w scanehow unknow that, i think we'll all be better off. >> just wash yourself. >> still ahead, how a florida man's dinner at olive garden landed him behind bars. you're watching "early today." ...patients get their day back... ..o be with... ... family... ...or just to sleep in. strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. in a key study... ...neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17%... ...to 1%....a .. 94% decrease. neulasta onpro is designed to deliver... ...neulasta the day after chemo... ...and is used by most patients designedtoday.liver... neulasta is for certain cancer patientsst receiving rong chemotherapy. do not take neulasta if y 're allergic to it or neupogen (filgrastim). an incomplete dose could increase infection risk.

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diners at a florida olive garden witnessed an unappetizi w scenen a drunk and shirtless man was arrested for cursing at customers and shoveling spaghetti into his mouth with his hands. police say they were called after 32-year-old ben padget was causing a disturbance asking patrons for money and yelng at customers. when authorities put him in handcuffs, they say he began smashing his foread on the tal cage in the police car. hahe has beened with disorderly intoxication and resisting without .violen >> they have bread sticks. right on. >> i'm all about those carbs. weather wise we are watching severe weather make its way ou across the, southeast, it makes its way to the northeast. could potentially see 2 to 3 inches. i need to get to l.a. look at all that sunshine. nitemperatures in califorback in the 70s. >> i'll take miami. >> we'll be right back. no matter how much you clean, does your house still smell stuffy? that's because your home is filled

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good morning, everyone. i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrist. developing fovernighour people shot, one personal killed montgomery county. this morning we' taking you back to the scene.g we're tryin to figure out what led up to the violence. lauren? >> we're looking at showers as we head out. severehe weather on way before we getut of o

"news 4 today" starts now. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. we will begin this morning with a check on your forecast and commute. our melissa mollet is standing

by with a cck onour roads in traffic. 4 >> but we will turn things over to now getting into place storm team 4 meteorologist -- >> you're going to call her out like tha i >> of cou'm going to call he out. you look lovely. >> i was rolling through my hair a little bit. hey, listen, i'm here. hi. hello, everybody. we've got partly cloudy skies out there right now.st en, as we continue through the daytoday, maybe a few as weles out there continue through the day. uck will be back next tuesday, thank goodness, all right? 58 degrees is going to be our temperature when you walk out. the door considering our temperature yestreday morning when we we in the 30s and 40s, doing a better today. we tend to dip aittle bit as we go through about the 7, 8:00 hour. not quite as warm as yesterday, but we're going to have some nice, seasonable temperatures out there. maybe a few rain showers as well. take a look right here. this is what we call back door

coldro