tammy leitner, nbc news, monticello. we'll be back in a moment for an amazing run. >>> after getting a break today, seattle and other parts of the pacific northwest will get hit by a second winter storm tonight with almost eight inches of snow on the ground, seattle could see additional eight inches making its the snowiest february on record. this fast moving storm will reach the east coast by tuesday. speaking of snow, it was an end of an era today. lindsey vonn competed in her final race of her career. vonn found enough strength and speed to win the bronze medal in the world alpine championships. afterwards vonn admitted she was the most nervous she had ever been as she ended her phenomenon career. congrats to her. when we come back, i will take you to the university that becomes a real pipeline to the grammy awards. >>> tonight is music's biggest event, the grammy awards. you may be surprised that seven of the nominees have roots in a state school you may never heard of. outside nashville had been teaching young produ

tammy leitner, nbc news, oklahoma city. >>> we're back in a moment with a shocking scene on a missouriighway. >>> wild scenes in central missouri. a pile-up of almost 50 vehicles on an icy, snow-covered highway. cell phone video capturing moments of impact, as the cars and trucks had nowhere to go. one person was killed, and at least seven were injured. crews spent most of the day yesterday clearing the crash site. >>> the younger system of the late jacqueline kennedy has died. a new york socialite, interior designer and executive was a fashion icon. she was royalty when she married a polish prince, the second of aparances as an actress in stage and film roles. she 85 we'll v with the famed new orleans cook, still serving up creole fdge 9 >>> finally tonight, in the heart of new orleans, there is a restaurant that's been thriving since the 1940s, back when it was often difficult for black people to own businesses. it's a landmark that has also served as an institution for social just behind the success. >> reporter: in the kitchen in new orleans, leah chase has been a hands of -on owne

we get the latest from nbc's tammy leitner. >> reporter: richard merritt once ran his own law firm, a business he showcased in this tv testimonial. >> the response i've gotten has been great so far. >> reporter: tonight he's the subject of a nationwide manhunt, suspected of murdering his own mother at her georgia home. >> my biggest concern is he could hurt someone else. >> reporter: last month he was disbarred and pled guilty to theft, forgery and elderly exploitation. accusing him of taking more than $420,000 from 17 different clients. a judge sentenced merritt to 15 years in prison but approved his request tor time to get his affairs in order. instead of turning himself in last week, authorities believe merritt cut off his ankle monitor in cobb county and drove to dekalb county where he allegedly murdered his mother shirley merritt and stole her 2009 silver lexus. >> the whole family is concerned -- >> reporter: robert merritt has no idea why his brother would kill their 77-year-old mother. >> had they taken him into custody immediately, she would be alive today and he wouldn't be

tammy leitner, nbc news. >> let's start digging through the pockets of the old jeans.ee what we come up with. >>> coming up next, the last-minute scramble to find that perfect something for your sweetheart. the south bay.. a police chase involving a ups truck. it )s now stopped and turned ino a standoff on north first street in san jose. we )ll have a live update. next. >>> it's valentine's day. we celebrate and procrastinate, often feeling the pressure to find that perfect gift for those we love. our kevin tibbles is in pursuit. ♪ >> reporter: from a proposal on the ice at 30 rock, to "i dos" in the sky at the empire state building. l-o-v-e is in the air. heart-shaped treats had them lined out the door at doughnut den. 35% will say it with flowers. 44% will buy a card. 52% of us will buy candy for our valentine. and like every year, procrastinators are a-plenty. >> it's kind of last minute, isn't it? >> it's a little bit. >> what happens if you don't show up with something? >> it will be a quiet night. >> reporter: for nearly a century fannie mae chocolates has seen t

tammy leitner, nbc news,miami. >>> hostilities threatening the future of the european union itself. one expected fight is playi out between italy and france, two countries that share a border but have vy different rward.of the way sarahpo harmon s now from rome a >> reporter: continent in turmoil. europe now grappling over everything from brexit and finances to immigration and art. neighbors, italy and france who, together, helped lay the foundation for the eu more than 60 years ago symbolized the divide. after a top italian politician met with french yellow vest protesters, making headlines, france made the historic decision to recall its ambassador for the first time since 1945. h heas since returned, but the battle has spread beyond politics. italy's populous government is refusing to let france borrow paintings from leonardoa vinci for an exhibit at the louvre. >> we have to stop, to rethink everything and to restart. otherwise, it will collapse. >> reporter: but french president emmael macron is a staunch supporter of the eu. there's a lot in flu with elections in may and brita

nbc's tammy leitner has a closer look. >> it was a flash panic of what does one do? of mud ravaged montecito last year, killing 23, wiping out 470 homes and businesses. come. >> when it rains this year, i think people do immediatel flash back. >> reporter: residents already evacuated six times this the year are taking action. they believe these steel mesh nets from switzerland are the key to stopping the next deadly mudslide where it starts. these canyons are beautiful but can be dangerous. >> they can be very dangerous. especially under conditions post-fire or with intense rainfall. >> reporter: a small team raised more than $4 million from residents. six nets will be installed in this canyon, and two others. >> water, soils, mud, can go through the rain nets. but the rock stays behind so it's basically a shock absorber. >> reporter: these excavators have been working around the clock to clear out debris from rains that happened just last weekend. and the concern is, without these nets, these giant boulders will continue to flow downstream. >> we are absolutely at r

nbc's tammy leitner has the latest in this shocking story. >> how could you do this to us? we trusted you. >> my name is rich merritt -- >> reporter: as police hunt for richard merritt, his family is paralyzed by fear. >> we're terrified because of what we know he's capable of. >> reporter: according to police, merritt killed his mother in cold blood. his ex-wife, dr. janine merritt, says he threatened them the day before. >> i can't describe the magnitudof how he hurt us. >> reporter: she says for years he was deceiving them. d >> he stopying our mortgage. he pawned my daughter's handicapped van that we needed for eelchair. >> reporter: merritt was accused of stealing more than $420,000 from clients. merritt was disbarred after pleading guilty to theft, forgery, and elder exploitation. last mon a judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison. geanting him two weeks to his affairs in order. c authorities saut off his ankle monitor before murdering his mother, shirley, who according to merritt's attorney posted her son's bail last march, and in a xt said, i know richard is not v

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tammy leitner, nbc news. >>> vice president mike pence will travel to colombia on monday to call forp down and to recognize the opposition leader as president. >>> the people versus r. kelly. a new sordid allegations. msnbc is live every saturday and sunday at 6:00 eastern. we hope you can join us. we're back in a moment. a mentro. ♪ one plus one equals too little too late ♪ ♪ a sock-a-bam-boom ♪ who's in the room? ♪ love is dangerous ♪ but driving safe means you pay less ♪ ♪ switch and save ♪ yes, ma'am excuse me, miss. ♪ does this heart belong to you? ♪ ♪ would you like it anyway? [ scatting ] with expedia, i saved when i added a hotel to our flight. so even when she grows up, she'll never outgrow the memory of our adventure. unlock savings when you add select hotels to your existing trip. only with expedia. select hotels to your existing trip. if old sphow will theyense helps know i worked hard?, i've gotta make stuff harder. ♪ there, that's hard. ♪ feeling unsure? what if you had some help? introducing the new 2019 ford edge with the confidence of ford co-pilot360™ technology. th

nbc's tammy leitner has the very latest. >> reporter: some of the most violent clashes yet, as angryesident nicolas maduro's decision to block desperately needed food and other aid from colombia and neighboring brazil. bullets and bloodshed. bridges into the region still blocked. telemundo's reporter is in the middle of the battle. >> reporter: i'm here at the ridge in colombia, at the border, where four trucks with humanitarian aid close to the other side, two of them were burned down, and the situation here gets worse by the minute. >> reporter: reports of several protesters dead, killed by maduro's security forces. tensions have reached a boiling point. things so volatile, some of those soldiers switching sides. now pledging allegiance to interim president juan guaido, who is in colombia spearheading efforts to get aid across, much of it from the united states. this is the third trip the u.s. military has made with life-saving medical supplies. this c-17 is carrying enough medicine to help 40,000 people for three months. and there's enough rice on this flight alone to feed 2,000 p

tammy leitner has late details. >> some of theost violent clashes yet as angry venezuelans protested maduro's decisions to block aid from neighboring brazil. bridges into the region still blocked. telemundo i in the middle of the battle. >> i'm here in columbia on the border with venezuela where four trucks c the other side and two were burned down and the situation here gets worse by the minute. >> since just yesterday, reports of severalte proers dead, killed by maduro's security forces. tensioned reached a boiling point. somef those soldiers are switching sides. now pledging he allegiance to interim president who is in columbia spearheading efforts to get aid across, .much from the united stat >> this is the third trip they made with life-saving medical supplies. arrying-17 is enough inside to help 40,000 people for three months. >> there is enougri on this flight alone to feed 2,000 people for a month. none of it has made its way int the country where they are starving. >> sometimes we don't have food, she said. sometimes it's m difficult f to eat. during a rally in caracas, madu

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. >> reporter: tammy leitner, nbc news, maynardsville, tennessee. >> wow, she not only opened doors,ion after generation. it's good to see stories like this changing that access there to the navy and armed services. fantastic stuff. >>> let's talk about this. the super bowl, or the super bowl, was not the only big event held last night. the wind games indoor skydiving championships were held in spain, a flight competition that involves flying in a wind tunnel. participants showed off acrobatic skills in categories like solo speed, freestyle, relay races, and more. a 14-year-old american came out on top, taking home first place in the freestyle open category. >> that looks like fun. >> aahhh! sometimes i feel like we're in a wind tunnel. >> uh-huh, there you go, less choreography. >> yes, at this time of the morning on top of that. thanks for watching "early today." i'm richard lui. >> i'm mare hall. thlie >>> the dynasty reigns on. the patriots run off the rams in super bowl liii and rack up a whole lot of records while they're at it. highlights from the lowest-scoring title game in

. >> tammie leitner has>> more. eporter: we're talking about scooters like these.em with an app on your phon and you don't need special training to ride one. ome are warning, they can be dangerous. now, a florida woman who rode one is fighting f her life. >> i love you. >> reporter: this morning, a florida mother holding out hope her daughter will wake up after an accident on an electricsc ter. >> she has bleeding in her brain. respiratory issues. she's on a vent. she's ormatose. >> rr: 27-year-old ashanti jordon normally got a ride home from co-workers after her sft broward medical center. one day in december, she hopped on a lime electric scoot instead. and collided with a car. >> do you blame lime for what happened to your daughter center. >> i do. >> reporter: her mother filed a limeit again >> ashanti has offered a horribly devastating injury as a result of this company telling her to do something in violation of the law. >> reporter: the app instructed ashanti to ride on the street, which is against the law in florida. according tolime, the safety of riders a

. >> nbc's tammy leitner has more. >> reporter: jack cable looks like any other freshman on the stanford by hacking into companies. how much money have you made hacking? >> i'd rather not talk about that. >> reporter: it's a lot? enough to pay for four years at stanford. >> yeah. so, yeah. >> reporter: it started by accident when he was just 15. >> i was looking at an online cryptocurrency website and noticed that you could send a negative amount of money to someone else that would effectively take the money from your account -- from their account and give it to you. >> reporter: you could have taken hundreds of thousands and put that in your account. >> yeah, for me, it was always just the easiest route to work with companies instead of stealing it. >> reporter: now, jack is considered one of the elite, an ethical hacker who's worked with companies like google, facebook, uber, and yahoo to find their tech vulnerabilities. you're the youngest person to have security clearance at the department of defense. >> yes, so this past summer, i worked at the defense digital service. it's called b

nbc )s tammy leitner has her story.30. >>> nbc has her story. >> the navy hornets streak through the tennessee skies in the missing man formation for the first time piloted by an all female crew. a single jet soars to the heavens. an ariel send off for a ground breaking aviator. >> she is a true pioneer in our profession. she was the first female jet pilot and today to have 8 female combat veterans representing her on her last and final flight was really powerful. >> the fly over followed yesterday's funeral. she died last month after a battle with ovarian cancer. rosy, as her friends called her, was the first woman to earn her navy wings in 1973. the first woman to fly a tactical fighter yet. the first squadron commanding officer. >> she was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. >> those pilots that followed in her footsteps say she was born to fly. >> rosy from day one, from the day she hit school had her sights set on flying jets and nobody was going to tell her no. >> when she entered her wings, she also earned