our janet shamlian has more on that weather threat. >> reporter: it looks like misshapen ice cubes and sounds like popcorn, a lot of it. from the deep south, mississippi and alabama, to oklahoma and arkansas, hail is pounding the country yesterday, lighting up social media today. and the inevitable comparison, as big as a quarter, golf ball size. oklahoma lay claim to as big as a baseball. some the size of apples. others, apple products. across eight states there are more than 130 reports of hail ranging from at least one inch to three inches in diameter. creating a major headache for some, windows shattered and lanterns broken. so what the hail is hail? >> initially the hailstones begin as tiny water droplets. the air rises, cools into tiny droplets and then gets to an altitude in the mid-levels of the storm where it's below freezing. at that point you have a little ice ball that then becomes the nucleus for the formation of growing hailstones. >> reporter: unlike hail doesn't claim to any particular season. these russian beach goers suffered last july when they went running for cover

janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. >>> there's a lot more to tell you about tonight, that erupting volcanoloding nine miles high over two countries, now disrupting air traffic. flights grounded and streets covered in ash like snow. incredible new images coming in. then, prepare your heart to soar. later the little boy proving the sky's the limit. a terrific story of a kid learning to fly with a little help from his dad. >>> there are new evacuation orders for thousands living near that evupting volcano in chile now spewing ash and ash nine miles into the air, covering streets and seeping into nearby rivers. nbc's miguel almaguer reports >> reporter: mighty blast causing most of the damage and chaos in southern chile are spewing a steady plume of ash and toxic gas nine miles into the air now for three straight days. a tourist at a national park captured the initial eruption. >> whoa! >> reporter: encinada ten miles from the calbuco volcano is now a no-man's-land, a tiny town choking in ash. 1,500 people here forced to flee the dangerous air. no word on when they can come home. chile's direc

janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. >>> the chief of the drug enforcement administration is retiring amid scandal. michele leonhart has led the dea since 2007. but she has faced mounting criticism, especially since an inspector general report last month found that agents had sex parties in colombia with prostitutes paid for by cartels. >>> turning overseas where u.s. warships are shadowing an iranian convoy off the coast of yemen. the fear is that those ships are carrying weapons, and if they cross from international waters into yemeni waters, that could put the u.s. in a position where it would have to take action. chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski has more for us. >> reporter: the u.s. aircraft carrier "theodore roosevelt" in the north arabian sea today stalking iranian warships but at a distance. just over the horizon two guided-missile frigates and two freighters. u.s. intelligence indicates that cargo ships are loaded with weapons for iranian-backed houthi rebels locked in a bloody civil war in yemen. but the iranian convoy is under constant surveillance by u.s. navy war

here's janet shamlian. >> reporter: snow flooding across the country today. after a pileup involving two semis, a motor home and two buses caused a highway to be shut down. as snow and dense fog blanket the area. heavy wet snow collapsed carports damaging cars. another pileup caused chaos on i-80. in texas, it was tornados at least ten, including these in pampa. at sam houston university flooding brought down a glass wall but no one was hurt. tonight the threat of severe weather is high across the south. janet shamlian houston. >>> meanwhile, in california the severe drought is causing towns to sink as much as a foot a year in places as farmers drain ground water aquifers. we visited one town that's losing in more ways than one. >> reporter: for the first time in 50 years, there are no cantelopes on tony's farm. >> this would have been cantelopes. >> reporter: the crops he is growing get groundwater which is getting more precious the longer this drought lasts. like his neighbors he's strategic about what he pumps. >> we have many straws in the ground and one

janet shamlian reports. >> r one of e nation's most popula ice creams blue bell pulled from store shelves today. the company recalled 8 million gallons of ice cream, every flavor and every product it makes. frozen yogurt, snacks and sherbet. >> the last thing we want is someone consuming our products with doubt or the chance they'd get sick. >> repor sold in states the recall came after two samples tested positive for listeria. three deaths in kansas are linked to the oklahoma facility. the cdc investigation shows facilities may have been contaminated as far back as 2010. in stores across the country the recalled ice cream is now filling warehouse freezers waiting for blue bell to come pick it up. listeria is an inif he can -- infectious bacteria carried by animals and it can live and grow in freezers. most serious in people with weak immune systems, the elderly, newborns and pregnant women. inc muscle aches, nausea and fever. one in five infected can die. >> if you're healthy and exposed you will likely not experience any major symptoms other than a mild gastro intestinal illness. >> rep

janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. >>> wow. we're back in just a moment with the latest on the condition of an american music legend, joni mitchell, found unconscious in her home. people with type 2 diabetes come from all walks of life. if you have high blood sugar ask your doctor about farxiga. it's a different kind of medicine that works by removing some sugar from your body. along with diet and exercise farxiga helps lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. with one pill a day, farxiga helps lower your a1c. and, although it's not a weight-loss or blood-pressure drug farxiga may help you lose weight and may even lower blood pressure when used with certain diabetes medicines. do not take if allergic to farxiga or its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction include rash, swelling, or difficulty breathing or swallowing. if you have any of these symptoms stop taking farxiga and seek medical help right away. do not take farxiga if you have severe kidney problems, are on dialysis, or have bladder cancer. tell

for "today," janet shamlian nbc news houston. >> viral videos are some often recorded rant.s gone viral is awesome. one teacher's great idea is shared across the country. >> it is a great idea. you said this this is a way to celebrate teachers. doing a wonderful thing and picked up by other people. >> good group of kids. >>> still to come on "today," how sweat pants becomes trendy. a look at the fashion statement after thag excellent looking below the surface, researching a hunch... and making a decision you are type e*. time for a change of menu. research and invest from any website. with e*trade's browser trading. e*trade. opportunity is everywhere. ♪♪ ask sherwin-williams during the four-day super sale. save 40% on paints and stains, april 17th through the 20th. visit sherwinwilliams.com/save to find the store nearest you. body pain? motrin helps you be an unstoppable, i-can-totally-do-this- all-in-one-trip kind of woman. when pain tries to stop you, there's motrin. motrin works fast to stop pain where it starts. make it happen with new motrin liquid gels. things made wit

for nbc news, janet shamlian austin, texas. >> i g they don't want to smell it all day long. >> i liket that says smoked brisket, not people. >> clever. >> and sheinelle's point, i'm hungry. >>> up next prom is getting pricey. how you can save hundreds when it comes to your daughter or son's big day this spring. that's after these messages meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil. because hydraulic fracturing technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. supporting millions of new jobs. billions in tax revenue... and a new century of american energy security. the new energy superpower? it's red, white and blue. log on to learn more. ( music throughout ) mcdonald's new artisan grilled chicken. no preservatives. no artificial flavors. no kidding. just 100% chicken breast filet. tasting is lovin'. buying a used car can be a scary proposition. you walk onto that lot and immediately you are surrounded like a guppy in a shark tank. it just feels like

in joplin, missouri, nbc's janet shamlian was there when sirens went off. >> i'm in a hotel where all the guests have been evacuated. >> reporter: a town hit hard by that devastating tornado in 2011 was spared this time. here in nashville tornado warnings sirens fired off multiple times, however, there are no reports of any tornadoes touching down. now as temperatures drop forecasters say it's less likely a tornado will form. lester? >> kerry sanders, thanks. meteorologist dylan dreyer is here. dylan, i see a lot of red in your map. what are we looking at? >> it's in that area, lester, where we could see some of our strongest storms tonight with wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour. hail 2 inches in diameter. also our best chance of tornadoes across tennessee and up into kentucky where around where kerry sanders is there has been some tornado warnings in that area. now, we also have the threat of flash flooding especially across northern kentucky with those heavier downpours that we're seeing with those thunderstorms. this cold front will move east and the storms will weaken as we go in

janet shamlian nbc news houston. >>> we're learning new details tonight about what may have caused that massive explosion in central california yester authorities say a work crew may have accidentally struck a gas line triggering the blast at the fresno county sheriff's gun range. more than a dozen people were injured, many of them county jail inmates who were working nearby. some late images from massachusetts where a bus carrying students from the university of connecticut became engulfed in flames this afternoon. the students were headed to boston. police say the driver noticed heavy smoke coming from the engine while on interstate 90 about an hour west of boston. the students were able to get off safely before the bus -- excuse me the fire destroyed that bus. >>> overseas now to afghanistan and the worst suicide attack that country has seen all year. afghanistan's president is blaming isis for the bombing that claimed the lives of dozens of people. this happened in jalalabad, about 100 miles east of kabul. >> reporter: in a crlalabad neighborhood a devastating scene. government work

janet shamlian nbc news. >> this is the age of google.d there's the name and it's an instinct to google them. >> it opened up this box of questions for sure. >>> now to a controversial decision facing a federal judge this week. should john hinckley jr., the man who shot president reagan be granted more time away from the mental hospital where he's been treated for more than 30 years? nbc's kristen welker has that story. good morning. >> reporter: matt good morning to you. john hinckley jr. was 25 when he tried to assassinate president ronald reagan and he's now nearing 60. over the years a federal judge has gradually granted him longer visits to his mother's house in virginia and away from a mental institution here in washington, d.c. now his doctors say he deserves even more time outside, but the federal government this exclusive gated community in williamsburg virginia overlooks a golf course and resort where presidents have stayed. and it's now a part-time home for the man who 34 years ago shot and nearly killed president ronald reagan