>> everything! this is what i was waiting for. >> yeah. this is one of the highlight everyone canec de for themselves. there's an election in 18 months. that's a very democratic process. but we're out of it. e' >> i think h going to have to answer for apparently testifying untruthfully in both the senate and the house.t i think thas the reason he's not coming. he's terrifiedf having to face a skilledattorney. >> don't expect to see attorney general barr today. he is skipping the house onaring, but could that lead to a cmpt of congress charge? hailed as a hero for fighting the suspected shooter, thisetorning new dails on one of the victims from the unc charlotte tragedy.r ove $6 million for stanford. who paid the largest bribe yet in the college

admissions scandal? las vegas was rocking the night away at the billboard music awards. we've got your highlights including a surprise jonas brothers wedding. oh, my goodness. oh, my goodness. >> and just like that, soccer superstar lee nell messi gets his 600th goal with barcelona. buckle up. "early today" starts rightnow. good thursday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. the hot seat gone cold on capitol hill today. attorney general william bar was due to testify over his handling of the mueller report for a second day in a row. but he's now refusinr to appea before the house judiciary because he doesn't like the idea of answering questionsrom the committee's lawyers. the defiant move is further gniving calls from democrats for barr's resiion. president trump called the idea ridiculous, but his 2016 rival says otherwise. t i think t the democrats on the committee did a good job

today in exposing that, that he is t president's defense lawyer. he is not the attorney general of the united states in the way that he has conducted himself. now, calling for his resignation makes perfect sense. >> it's so ridiculous. he's an outstanding n. he's an outstanding legal mind, and i heardea he was rlly -- he performed incredibly well today. >> meanwhile, barr's dramatic testimony in front of the senate judiciary committee is just the latest chapter in what's turned into a real-lifeolitical thriller. he's captured the attention of all of america. if you needed any further proof here, the print edition of the mueller report debuted at number one on "the new york times"r best-sellist. for more on the senate showdown and what comes next, let's get to nbc'spo tracis. tracie, the story of the day is not about robert mueller becoming a "new york times" best-seller. it is abo theemocratspo ssibly holding william barr in contempt of congress. t reporter: and it's abouat empty chair. we saw and heard plenty from

barr yesterday even though some peopleay argue their questions were not fullybuanswered. you are not going to seell him at a today. the justice department says hts no there to answer questions from staff attorneys. he is willing to answer questions from lawmakbus. t democrats say barr and the justice department, the trump administration, don't call the shots here. >> the attorney general has a nerve to try to dictate -- and the admistration has a nerve to dictate our procedures. it's simply part of the administration's complete stonewalling of congress. he is trying to blackmail the committee into not following what we think is the most effective means of eliciting the information we need. >> reporter: so today is the judiciary hearing that democrats control. yesterday it was republicans in charge on the senate side where a lot of the discussion, a lot of the questioning focused on the letter that robert mueller, the special counsel, sent to barr that was just revealed the

night before this hearing. in this letter, mueller raised some concerns about how barr was presenting his work to congss. and democrats say that letter is important, that there's a particular reason why robert mueller decided to write down those concerns. >> a career prosecutor rebuking the attorney general of the united states, memorializing it in writing, right? i know of no oth instance of that happening. do you? >> i don't a consider bob this stage a career prosecutor. you know, the letter is a bit snitty, and i think it was probably written by one of his staff people. >> reporter: so barr a no-show today. look out for either a contempt of congress or, as the committee has said, a subpoena to try to compel him to testify. >> the attorney general of the united states versus congress,

wow. tracie potts, thank you. millions of americans have already been hit hard by spring storms. morehan 25 tornadoes have ripped through the heartland, lefing paths o destruction like this one inrs rogelle, missouri. that's where one home was completely destroyed and several others damaged. the storms have also brought heavy rain and major flooding is expected to continue through the week. for more, we go to nbc's gabe gabe. >> reporter: another round of severe storms is on the move. this tornado tearing through north texas. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: after torrential rain pummeled parts of the midwest and south. emergency crews went door to door using boats to evacuate people. >> this is crazy. >> reporter: near detroit, three inches ofain trapped some residents in their homes. >> it's all the way up to my steps, and it's coming in. reporter: the mayor of dearborn heights, michigan,

asking for an emergency declaration. this lake in arkansas overflowing. flood warnings in effect for counities across nine states up and down the mississippi river. hr least 25 possible tornadoes also toregh five states from texas -- >> all of a sudden the winds picked up and the trees starting swooshing, and it was hitting. you couldee the wind coming from every direction. >> reporter: -- to oklahoma, where drone video tracked a tornado as it sliced across a n field, the hit a small pond, spinning water wildly into the air. leother tornado toppled trees and k at least one person in bryant county. another person was swept away by the rising waters in tulsa while in ozark, missouri, a family of three was injured. witnesses say the powerful winds hit so fast, they didn't have time to take shelter. >> our thanks to gabe gutierrez for that report. thousands of grieving students along with families and loved ones gathered for a vigil honoring the victims of the univarsity of north cina charlotte shooting. hearts still reeling after a former student fatally shot two

people and wnded four others. nbc's morgan chesky has the latest on the tragedy. >> reporter: phillip, frances, good morning. it has been a tough 48 hours for the student body here at unc ut charlotte, bhe first bit of healing began last night at a vigil attended by thousands. everyone paying tribute to those two students lost, one of whom now being called a hero. at unc charlotte, a somber silence. barely 24 hours after a gunman sparked chaos on campus. >> active shooter with several neople injured. >> reporter: withiminutes, a campus-wide lockdown. the university sending an emergency message to all students,run,hide, fight. secure yourself immediately. >> i was just scared. i just couldn't believe that it actually happened. >> reporter: with helicopters above, students rushed to safety as police ran toward the shooter, guns drawn. >> i heard shoutin and everything. i was like, i was scared for my life. >> if you're here on mpus, stay away from kennedy. >> reporter: inside that building, police say a formerud

stent opened fire, kling 19-year-old ellis parlier and 21-year-old riley howell, who witnesses say tackled the gunman, sacrificing his own life. , >> absolutelyr. howell saved lives. >> reporter: riley's family describing him as everyone's protector, always the guy you could count on, and he delivered. police arrived to find four others wounded. officers disarming the alleged gunman, trystan terrell. >> we do have the shooter in custody. eporter: who dropped out of the university this semester. she 22-year-old now charged with two count of murder and four of attempted murder. his motive, still unknown. >> i don't think anyone deserves to get shot when they're at school, when they're not supposed to be in y.harm's wa >> reporter: a last day of classes now known as the worst day in the school's history. and we've t learned suspect in this shooting will be facing a judge for the first time today at 1:30 p.m. t in meantime, everything on campus remains closed as administrators figure out a plan of what comes next. back to you.

there are several newts developmenn that massive college admissions cheating scandal. prosecutors appear to be targeting a new wave of families. nbc's steve patterson has the details. >> reporter: fresh fears rippling through some of the country's most elite families, worried about this. shame.nwide walk of >> are you going to fight these charges? >> reporter: now, new indictments are looming as prosecutors expand what is already thege largest colle admissions inquiry of all time. multiple people familiar with the case tell nbc news federal prosecutors have already sent letters to af number parents saying they're under investigation. and a new bombshelloverseas. nbc news also confirming a chinese family allegedly paid the largest bribe by far, $6.5 million to get their daughter admitted into stanford. the family has not been charged. more admissions of guilt. c prominentalifornia couple isaacson pleading guilty t paying $600,000 is bri to get

both their daughters into top universities. the couple saying in a statement, o duty as parents was to set a good example for our children, and instead we have harmed and embarrassed ther by o misguided decisions. so far, of the 33 parents caught agreedscandal, 14 have to plead guilty, including actress felicity huffman, whibr cey lori loughlin pleaded not guilty, promising to fight the charges in court. some white clarefendants simply can't stomach the idea of going to prison, and for them, it's all or nothing. and adding to the anxiety, sources close to the investigation say new indictments could be handed down within a matter of weeks. >> that's steve patterson. thanks for the report. now we turn to venezuela where political unrest continues. government troopsea used t gas to disperse protesters opposed to president nicolas maduro during the second day of dueling demonstrations. opposition leader juan guaido, who has the support of the united states, has called on members of the military to defect.

but so far, only a few troops appear to have joined hi national security adviser john bolton says the u.s. wants a peaceful transfer of power, but all options are open, andtr president p is following the events closely. millions of people out there, i think, 32, are at risk for flooding. let's check in with bill karins. >> good morning. another dangerous morning. right now we only have one area we're dealing with flash flooding from the overnight storms. that's in areas of southeast texas. as far as the flash flood watch goes, about 31 million people, go million now and including areas from chicall the way down to dallas. we're not done with this yet. here's the additional rainfall forecast through friday. heaviest rains from san antonio to shreveport and right through the heart of arkansas, back through southern missouri. if that's not bad enough, we still have to worry about thunderstorms. 12 million people at risk including san antonio andur friends from nashville to louisville. here's a closer look at your day ahead. at on and off shower and thunderstorm threat will be with us today from kansas city to st. louis, over to indianapolis.

the heavy rainhreat will be moving south this morning towards san antonio. they'll be dodging those storms toda in louisiana too. and we look ahead towards that weekend forecast. we have the kentucky derby too. we don't want a sloppy, muddy >> i think we had one last year too. it really affects, and all those people with those nice hats, all muddy. >> don't forget cinco de mayo too. a line arive straightt independent yarns pitcher corey kluber leads to a broken arm. hisou 91-mile-per-hr fastball came back off the hitter's bat at 102 miles an hour. the two-time cy young award winner tried to defend himself but he only had a fraction of a second to react. he's now on the shelf with a fractured forearm. ouch. still ahead, a major milestone for soccer legend onel messi. a shocking omountf cell phones on earth right now. we'll dial up the total next. ♪ rub-a-dub ducky...en and th...there's national car rental.

at national, i'm in total control. i can just skip the counter and choose any car in the aisle i like. so i can rent fast without getting a hair out of place. heeeeey. hey! ah, control. (vo) go tional. go like a pro. you won't find relief here. congestion and press go to the pharmacy counter for powerful claritin-d. while the leading allergy spray only relieves 6 symptoms, claritin-d relieves 8, including sinus congtion and pressure. claritin-d relieves more. we are all going r something more. and new special k protein s more, with 15 ams of protein plus extra nutrients to hel ecial k. powering you.

to hel i'm truly amazed at the effect thathank you, bob!ple. 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 aroundown dirt, dust and hair? so now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters. for hard-to-reach places, duster makes it easy to clean. it captures dust in one swipe. ha! gotcha! and sweeper heavy duty cloths lock away twice as much dirt and dust. ha! gotcha! it gets stuff deep in the grooves other tools can miss. y'know what? my place... is a lot cleaner now. stop cleaning. start swiffering. in today's news by the numbers, a major milestone for

soccer great lionel messy. he scored his 600th career club goaldan wednesy. it comes 14 years to the dayte af messi scored his first gorc for baona. and this may just blow your mind. there are now more cell phones on this earthhan there are people. according to data compiled by the u.n. and world bank, the number of cell phone subscriptions topped 8.1 billion in 2018, surpassing t world population of 7.6 billion. leading the news, one of hollywood's biggest stars making an impassioned plea on capitol hill. ben stiller testified before the senate foreign relations committee to advocate for syrian refugees driven out of their homes by eight years of bloodshed. >> in many parts of the world, the term refugee has unfortunately become politicized despite the fact that refugees are real people with real stors. >> stiller shared stories from his time as a good will ambassador for the united nations refugee agency. we have anupdate about a 9-year-old girl hit by a car. the video shows the moment a

driver flew into this yard in georgia and slammed into her. after being hospitalized with a fractured skull and a broken pelvis, she's now home. >> i'm doing good, just a few days ago i was walking, but noww i can'talk because it's going to like damage my pelvic bone even mo >> with a long road to recovery ahead, laderihanna sayshe is thankful for everyone who has prayed for her. a 28-year-old man authorities say was behind the wheel of a car is facing a long list of charges. >> great to see her back home. the kentucky derby gets a major shake-upef days be the race, the favorite, omaha beach, was scratched after developing a cough. it turns out the horse needs surger to correct a breathing problem. but there's still a shot he could compete in the preakness and belmont stakes. the remaining horses will compete for the largest ever purse of $3 million. just ahead, the fixer uppers assemble. chip gaines hill area aus avengers themed post. plus he's just a good boy. everyone loves him.

we'll introduce you to buddy rcury, next. b justecause i felt like it was so oily and greasy and that it was going to clog my pores. ol but what i love about regenerist whip with spf 25 is that it's lightweight, it's barely there. and then i can put makeup on over it if i want or if i'm not working, you know, just roll. it's perfect for me. i' busy philipps, and i'm fearless to face anything. ooohhhh ♪

♪ [ howling ] well, that is buddy mercury. the piano playing pooch that's been stealing hearts across the internet. buddy is a rescue dog from long island. his performances have gone viral across social media. has his own album on itunes

with half of the proceeds going to shelters that help save animals. i'm sure a lot of those performances are in the, you kn, queen, "bohemian rhapsody" genre too based on his name. >> it's truly charity, ough. that's nice that they're raising money. all right. watch out, thanos, a new marvel villain in town. this one is a little smaller and a whole lot cuter. chip gaines shared a photo of his adorable 10-month-old crew sleeping peacefully while sporting multiple colored balls on the top of his hand similar to that infinity gauntlet. the photo was taken after a family viewing of the box office hit "avengers: endgame." gaines wrote jokingly on his instagram, quote, not sure ifhee left t theater with crew or thanos jr. >> either way adorable. the sleeping baby, anything like that, it's all good. teacher a all overbama are pulling together their sick days to help out their fellow colleague. green's 1-year-old daughter, kinsley, who was diagnosed with leukemia last

october. when david ran out of sick days, s wife took to facebook asking teachers to donate their time. after her post, david got over 100 donated sick days. thanks to all those generous tehers, david will be able to spend more time with his daughter as she fights her cancer diagnosis. teachers, ody, those i'm sure the entire community, we are all rooting for her. >> they're all teachers of the year this year. just ahead, tornado overseas, and it's caught on camera. you're watching "early today." wow. uh-oh, looks like someone's still nervouusabout buying a new ho is it that obvious? yes it is. you know, maybe you'd worry less if you got geico to help with your homeowners insurance. i didn't know geico could helps with homeowners insurance. yep, they've been doing it for years. what are you doing? big steve? thanks, man. there he is. get to know geico and see how much you could save on homeowners and renters insurance.

man: one, ere we go! ♪ i'm alive, i'm alive ♪ ♪ i'm alive, i'm alive, i'm alive... ♪ alive! gives you more vitamins and minerals than leading brands. because when you start with more, you own the morning. alive! you own the morning. i'm truly amazed at one effect thathank you, bob!e. here's another cleaning tip from mr. cl tn. cleaninggh bathroom and kitchen messes with sprays and wipes can be a struggle. there's an easier way. try mr. clean magic eraser. just wet, squeeze and erase tough messes like bathtub soap scum and caked-on grease from ovend.

now mr. clean magic eraser comes in disposable sheets. they're perfect for icky messes on stovetops microwaves and all over the house. tfor an amazing clean, try mr.s oclean magic eraser, and now, new mr. clean magic eraser sheets. i honestly feel way about isn'jimmy dean sausage.hin'?h get yourself a large chunk of that good morning feeling. boy, that smells good. mmm. and relief from symptoms caused feel the clarity of non-drowsy claritin by over 20indoor and outdoor allergens. like those from buddy. because stuffed animals are clearly no substitute for real ones. feel the clarity. and live claritin clear.

a giant tornado funnel cloud was captured on video in southern romania on tuesday. the dash cam footage shows the tornado swirling through a field, sendiust flying everywhere. according to local media, several people were injured when the whirlwind forced a bus off the road, causing it to overturn. the speed of the tornado was a estimatedt 56 miles per hour. wow, look at that thing. >> not too many people get that close to a tornado and live to tell about it. >> just an amazing view. so flat, you can see it well. it's sucking up the dirt so you can see the base really well too. let's get into the weekday forecast. soggy is the bottom line. on saturday, remember we've got the derby going on. the greenhows you the rain. what a map this is. the rain almost everywhere. it should be very wet for the derby right during the day saturday and then how about sunday in the northeast? 50s and rainy. k we'll be right bachere with more on "early today."

we are all going for something more. and new special k protein has more, with 15 grams of protein plus extra nutrients to help that protein do more. special k. powering you. geto help that protein do more. unwanted odors linng too long in your car? try febreze car vent clips! just snap the clip and insert in the vent to eliminate lingering odors for up to days. try febreze car vent clips, available in a range of light to bold scents.

happening now on "news4 today," a capitol grilling. the attorney general defends his leandling of the muel report, and late last night rejects not one but two demands from house democrats. we'll tell youwhy.

retrieve his father's gun and come back to school and shoot my grandson. >> after a local first grader faces racist langge and a violent threat at school, his nd grather, a well-known scholar and professor, demands action. a what may seem like a simple post on social media might be all a crook needs to make you a victim. the information you're heknowingly giving away sharing photos on line. and thats, breaking new a deadly overcrash on a major road. good morninn everyone, i'm yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrest. it's 4:00 a.m.s torm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell has a look at the forecast. let's start with melissa mollet. tell us about the crash. good morning, guys. news4 traffic, a big problem, briantown 5 inbound. all northbound lanes shut down because of