on edge. the grand jury investigating the hush money case involving former

president trump meets again today. but law enforcement agencies prepare for the possibility of an indictment. watching the fed. the federal reserve chairman expected to announce another rate hike today, with markets already jittery over the recent banking crisis. school strike. los angeles bracing for a second day of a massive strike by school workers. leaving kids out of the classroom and parents scrambling for childcare again. >> wild weather. the west coast getting slammed again by another round of severe and deadly storms, with more than 200,000 in the dark this morning. we'll bring you the latest. and bad blood. why musician bad bunny's ex-girlfriend is suing him to the tune of $40 million. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. the grand jury in new york that will be responsible for deciding whether to indict former president trump over alleged

hush money payments is set to reconvene today. >> while mr. trump's prediction that he would be arrested on tuesday didn't come to pass, that didn't stop supporters from coming to his defense. garrett hake has more. >> reporter: new york city bracing for a possible indictment of former president trump. all nypd officers ordered to be in uniform and prepared for deployment in case of protests. with the grand jury set to recop convenient, mr. trump's weekend prediction of his own tuesday arrest not coming to pass. the former president now unleash unleashing a new barrage of insults calling michael cohen a serial fake storyteller and liar. >> figure out how you can muddy the water as much as you possibly can, denigrate the person, disparage them. >> reporter: the possible prosecution could center around a $130,000 payment cohen says he

made to stormy daniels on behalf of then-candidate trump tht heat of the 2016 campaign. to buy her silence about climbs claims of an alleged affair earlier. >> they're using a case that by all accounts was, was death dead on arrival, by all accounts was turned down by every other agency that looked at it. >> reporter: top republicans peppered with questions. >> i think in your heart of hearts, you know, too, that you think this is just political. and i think that's what the rest of the country thinks, and we're kind of tired of that. >> our thanks to garrett for

that report. now an update in another legal challenge. a judge ruled on tuesday that key witness also be allowed to testify in the civil rape lawsuit brought against mr. trump by writer e. jean carroll. in 2019, carroll alleges that she was raped by trump in a department store dressing room in the mid '90s. trump has said in a deposition that he never met carroll at the store and didn't know who she was. the trial is set to begin on april 25th. a lawyer for carroll declined to comment when reached for comment by nbc news, while a lawyer for mr. trump did not immediately respond to request for comment. the federal reserve is expected to issue its ninth interest rate hike. it comes over growing concerns of the impact the decisions have had on the banking industry.

we go to brie jackson. what should we expect from chairman powell this afternoon? >> reporter: good morning, frances. as you said, the federal reserve this afternoon is expected to raise interest rates by another quarter point, bringing the target rate range to 5%. this would mark the ninth time the fed has raised interest rates since last march in their efforts to reduce inflation. one of the issues that could complicate the fed's decision is the worldwide banking crisis driven by the recent collapses of silicon valley bank and signature bank. some fear that the rising rates could make it harder for banks to lend, harming small businesses and other borrowers. this has led some to believe that fed chair jerome powell might pause the hikes and resume sometime in the future. in the wake of the recent bank bailouts, chairman powell has come under fire for some of his decisions. senator elizabeth warren said this about powell on "meet the

press" last weekend. >> my views on jay powell are well-known at this point. he has had two jobs, one is to deal with monetary policy, one is to deal with regulation. he has failed at both. i don't think he should be chairman of the federal reserve. i said it as publicly as i know how to say it. >> reporter: we're alo eing the effect of these rate hikes on the u.s. housing market. according to new data released by the national association of realtors, sales of previously-owned homes jumped up 14.5% for the month of february. that's the first monthly gain in a year. the price of an existing home saw a decline. experts say buyers are taking advantage of the mortgage rates. a grand jury in virginia has indicted ten people for second-degree murder for the

death of irvo otieno who tied in police custody as he was being transferred to a mental hospital. >> ten monsters. those ten criminals! i was happy to hear that they were indicted. and that is just the beginning step. >> our catie beck has more on the investigation, but first a warning. some of the images are disturbing. >> reporter: the actions of seven virginia sheriff's deputies and three hospital workers on march 6 captured on camera. images of 28-year-old irvo otieno's last hours alive. >> this story was not supposed to end like this. >> reporter: transported from jail to a mental hospital where prosecutors say he was moth smothered to death during intake. a grand jury meeting about three

hours and came back with ten indictments. what does that say to you? >> it says to me that this nine man and one woman murdered my son. >> reporter: the video released by the prosecution, which doesn't have sound, shows otieno's intake at the hospital at 4:19. deputies walk him into a hospital admissions room. otieno appearing to be handcuffed, his ankles in shackles. at first leaning him against a chair. minutes later, deputies and hospital staff file on top of him until about 4:40. otieno then seen unresponsive, chest compressions again. >> is the patient aggressive in or is he not? >> no, he used to be aggressive, right? so they're trying to put him in restraints. then eventually, he's no longer breathing. >> reporter: the emergency crew arrives at 5:08 and attempts to revive otieno, but by 5:48, it's

too late. one defense attorney disappointed by the released videos saying it could taint a jury and saying his client had limited contact with otieno. >> to suggest that he in any way acted in concert quite frankly is a stretch of the imagination. >> reporter: but otieno's family haunted by unrelenting grief and the question. why? >> i find myself calling his name. >> reporter: federal defense attorneys for defendants in this case are not responding for comment. at last check, the seven deputies were placed on administrative leave, but the sheriff's office is not responding to our request. back to you. >> catie, thank you. we are now entering day two of a planned three-day strike for los angeles public schools. the nation's second-largest school district remains closed, as its workers demand higher pay and better working conditions. here's miguel almaguer.

>> reporter: off the job and on the picket line. these are some of the 30,000 l.a. unified school district support employees demanding higher pay. custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers like lanier boyd peterson, a single mom raising three children, struggling to pay her bills. >> if we can't properly take care of our families, how is it that we can take care of other people's families? >> reporter: with negotiations at a stalemate, the union is demanding a 30% pay raise for all members whose salary is roughly $25,000. >> i can make more money at a fast food chain than i can here. >> reporter: it has shut down the second-largest school district in the nation, locking out students of which 80% live at or below the poverty line. >> i'm not happy with the kids being home, but i do support the strike. >> reporter: offering a cash bonus, better benefits and a 23% raise, the superintendent says

if the district gets any closer to the 30% demand, lausd could go bankrupt. >> the 7%, considering the size of our workforce, has a significant impact on our finances. it would not be prudent or legal to go beyond what we have on the table. >> reporter: still, the district is confident an agreement can be reached. but the union won't budge from what they say is a living wage. the fight for better pay and the cost paid by children locked out of school. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. more wild weather is thrashing california. over 150,000 are without power and millions are under flood watch and wind alerts. the state was hit with its 12th atmospheric river in just a few months. the system dumping up to ten inches of rain throughout the state, which has face add drought for nearly a decade. now let's get to nbc

meteorologist michelle grossmann with what else we can expect on the west coast. >> we're going to see more of the same, more rain, more snow and gusty winds that could contribute to power outages. where you see the brighter colors of red, oranges, and the blue is where the snow is falling. we're seeing the system moving inland. that's going to move to the basin and rockies. it's moving so slowly. and that snow will hit the great basin, the rockies, and we could see feet of snow in some spots. then tomorrow a new system comes onshore, storm after storm after storm. into the pacific northwest tomorrow, it does look like most of the moisture will be further to the north than it was last two days. more rain and snow in northern california as we go throughout this thursday. winter weather alerts throught the sarm and quiet day in portis

of the south. 81 in dallas. all right, guys, we're going to take a look at that wednesday forecast, also looking at warm temperatures in portions of the south. >> michelle, thank you. trtfrom the doghouse to the highest house in the land. the distillery claims the bad spaniel silly squeaker toy which parodies its staple whiskey bottle violates trademark law. while the manufacturer will argue its toy should be protected under the first amendment. "early today" is back in a minute with a chinese boost to russia. plus the u.s. givves ukraai mamassive m militaryry aid to o combat russianan forces.s.

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>> reporter: the police released this footage showing one of its officers getting hit by a car driven by a fleeing suspect monday night. police say he's accused of breaking into a car on bird key earlier in the day. the vehicle was later spotted on long boat key but eventually returned to bird key hours later. at that time, officers blocked the neighborhood's only exit with their patrol cars. as you see from this video from the guard stand, the driver went around the roadblock, striking an officer sending him flying over the top of the car. >> when we watched the video this morning and our command staff meeting, it was, it was horrific. it was terrible. >> reporter: police chief tells us the officer was hospitalized with contusions, soreness and swelling but he's now back home recovering from those injuries. meantime, police are working to track down the man who hit him, seen in this surveillance image. they say the suspect dunked the mercedes in the 2900 block of

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temperatures in the south. 72 in memphis. that is seven degrees above normal for this time of year. alexandria, 81 degrees. warm into the mid atlanic as well. into the 60s in d.c. tomorrow we're looking at temperatures still above normal, even in cincinnati, pittsburgh, we'll deep warm over the next couple days. back to you guys. >> it spring. thank you, michelle. coming up next, bad bunny, baby,y, why that phrase is wor $40 millllion in couourt. febrezeze fabric r refresher. i literarally use ththis every day,y, to m make my hououse smell amazazing. after r i make thehe bed, to m make my hououse smell amazazing. after i i catch my d dog on the cououch. so i i can wear r my jackett or jeaeans one morore time, after i i catch my d dog on the cououch. befofore i wash h them again. it even n makes shoeoes smell fresesh. it doeoesn't t cover up o ods with scecent bubut actuallyly fights thtm and freshehens. overer one thoususand uses..

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used in two of his songs. ellison barber has more. ♪ bad bunny, baby ♪ >> reporter: it's a voice recording that may be worth $40 million. bad bunny's ex-girlfriend now suing the global super star, claiming in a lawsuit that her voice and phrase they came up with together were used in two of his mega popular songs without her permission. ♪ bad bunny, baby ♪ >> reporter: that includes a hit single that has been streamed more than 365 million times on youtube. ♪ bad bunny, baby ♪ >> reporter: and a song from his chart-topping album which became spotify's most-streamed album in 2022. made bad bunny the most-streamed artist in the world. ♪ ♪ and won him a grammy. >> bad bunny!

>> he just made it, this album with love and passion. >> reporter: according to the lawsuit, the pair started dating in 2011. in 2015 she claims the rapper asked her to record a voice note on her phone and then send it him. she alleges in the suit that in 2022, after they broke up, bad bunny's rep asked to buy her recording for $2,000, but she declined. and that in a subsequent negotiation, bad bunny's rep sent over contracts which she did not sign. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: but the next day, that grammy-winning album was released. according to the suit, that voice memo was everywhere, including its use in live performances. >> that helped her case a lot, because it showed they were aware what they were supposed to do, and they didn't actually do it. the law is clear. you must obtain written consent or explicit consent in some form if you are going to use it for commercial purposes.

>> reporter: collectively, the two songs have been streamed more than 1 billion times on line, which the suit claims fans have been yelling the phrase at her in public. >> she is claiming that the profit she lost out on were taken from her, she's claiming she had this injury at a mental level. >> reporter: we reached out to bad bunny for comment but have not heard back. the puerto rican rapper planning the puerto rican rapper planning tor coachella nxte

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