this morning, millions of americans starting the month of april under a severe weather threat. powerful storms ripping through texas and oklahoma overnight as a massive rainmaker leaves roads out west under water. our weather team is tracking the danger as it now sweeps east. the first steps toward rebuilding in baltimore.

overnight crews continued removing the mangled wreckage of the francis scott key bridge. we're live with the race to reopen the critical port and why some lawmakers are pushing back against the plan to pay for it. dallas police searching for nfl star rasheed rice after a crash on a busy highway involving a lamborghini and a corvette. why investigators believe the kansas city chiefs receiver could be connected. drivers in new york city fuming over congestion pricing. why the controversial new law charging up to $15 to drive downtown could hit the road for other major cities. and the final four is set, leaving brackets across the country battered and bruised. the huge upsets and a preview of the matchups in the women's tournament tonight. we're not fooling you, it's april 1st and early "today" starts right now.

good morning and thanks for joining us, i'm jessica layton. we begin this monday morning with the weekend washout on the west coast that is now marching east. in southern california nearly 2 inches of rain fell in just over an hour. severe flooding shutting down highway 101 in both directions in santa barbara county. some drivers were stranded and officials say eight people were rescued, one treated for hypothermia. the deluge also washing out part of highway 1 that you just saw there. further north this is debris from a plane crash that left two people dead. the cause not yet determined, but we know it was snowing in the area. the ntsb is investigating that. and check this out, more than 2 feet of snow falling in parts of the sierra nevada, that system now barreling across the country this morning as millions brace for more severe weather. let's bring in nbc meteorologist vi

violet ta who is tracking this for us. >> we have the potential for damaging winds and hail that are actually going to be likely in this corridor from northern texas all the way up into parts of illinois and indiana, also seeing the threat for tornado and in particular nocturnal tornlds along this corridor particularly. strong thunderstorms in parts of oklahoma stretching down into the indianapolis area. today thunderstorms will focus from that corridor oklahoma up into illinois. aside from that threat for damaging storms we also see the potential for rain and river flooding. by tomorrow that threat does start to shift eastward. you can see some of that heavier rain starting to advance into parts of tennessee and the ohio river valley. heavy downpours could lead to flooding as well on top of that risk for damaging thunderstorms. so a very rocky start to the month of april here, jessica, across parts of the middle of the country. sending it back over to you. >> we will check back in with you in a few minutes.

thank you. let's turn now to baltimore and the recovery effort following that deadly prejudice aster. cranes and special equipment arrived to begin the long process of clearing the channel. nbc's brie jackson joining us now live from d.c. brie, good morning. what more do we know about the progress that is being made in baltimore? >> reporter: good morning, jessica. over the weekend we saw the first section of twisted steel pulled from the water. seven floating cranes have arrived, including one that is able to lift 1,000 tons. overnight officials announced that they are preparing to establish a temporary channel near the bridge for what they call commercially-essential vessels to get through. now, the governor also says as soon as the conditions are safe for divers they will continue looking for the four construction workers who are missing. the biden administration announced $60 million in emergency funds to help baltimore rebuild, but they say this is only a down payment. president biden promised that the federal government will

cover the entire cost. some republicans have pushed back, but maryland's governor, wes moore, says this is not a favor for baltimore, it is something that is important for the entire country. >> understand what this means to all the other workers and all the other small businesses all around the country. this is not just impacting maryland. this is impacting the farmworker in kentucky because the largest producer, the largest port for agricultural equipment is the port of baltimore. this is impacting the auto dealer in ohio because the largest port for new cars, for heavy trucks is the port of baltimore. >> reporter: president biden told reporters that he plans to visit baltimore this week. jessica? >> all right. brie, thank you. there is more blood shed in gaza this morning after israeli bombs hit ten sites outside a major hospital.

it killed people and injured a number including journalists. they say they struck an islamic jihad center in that area. the idf says it has ended operations at a different operation in gaza city, arresting hundreds of militants and seizing weapons. meanwhile, two senior officials are telling nbc news that the biden administration is sending more bombs to israel, disregarding an international consensus on a ceasefire and growing dissent within the democratic party. these bombs are part of a weapons package that was approved years ago but is only just now being fulfilled. we're told it includes nearly 2,000 one-ton bombs and 500 quarter-ton bombs. police in indiana this morning investigating a shooting that left several minors injured. on saturday night seven people ages 12 to 17 were shot outside a mall in downtown indianapolis. police say one victim is still in critical condition, the other six are stable. no arrests have been made, but

detectives had gun an aggravated assault investigation. this is that city's third shooting in just three weekends. this morning police are searching for a kansas city wide receiver rasheed rice following a major car crash there dallas. priscilla thompson has the details. >> reporter: there is police are reportedly looking for kansas city chiefs wide receiver rasheed rice in connection with a high speed crash involving a car believed to be registered or leased to rice. law enforcement officials tell "the dallas morning news" the six-week crash sent two people to the hospital with minor injuries saturday police say. new photos obtained by tmz sports appear to show the occupants leaving the cars in question. a preliminary investigation found the crash was caused by two drivers speeding, one in a corvette and the other in a lamborghini. police say the drivers lost control. the lamborghini slamming into the center median, causing a

collision. occupants of the lamborghini and corvette all ran from the scene, police say, without stopping to determine if anyone needed medical help or providing their information. rice has alleged involvement in the crash if any is unclear and police say they are working to identify suspects. the star wide receiver grew up in the dallas area and is one of the chiefs leading receivers helping the reigning super bowl champs secure this win. life off the field in the spotlight as the crash investigation continues. priscilla thompson, nbc news. disgraced south carolina attorney alex murdaugh will face another sentencing today. murdaugh who is already serving two life sentences for the murder of his wife and son is scheduled to be sentenced for federal financial crimes. he pleaded guilty to 22 charges, including bank fraud and money

laundering. he already got a 27-year sentence for similar charges in the state. a deadline with an impact on election day. the state supreme court is set to rule on whether to allow two controversial ballot measures to go forward in november. one would ask floridians to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults over the age of 21, the other would let voters decide on protecting abortion access up until viability which is about 24 weeks. state justices separately are also expected to rule soon on florida's current 15-week ban on abortion. aside from the storms we told you about earlier, the southeast right now is bracing for a blast of heat this week. violetta yas is tracking that for us. good morning. >> good morning. off to a very warm start for the month of april, especially from parts of texas out into the southeast.

you can see 80s will dominate from texas into parts of the carolinas with some triple digits there across parts of southwestern texas especially. we are talking temperatures anywhere from 10 to 15 degrees above average here. you can see plenty of 80s here, corpus christi getting up to 88 degrees for today. by tomorrow that warmth will start to shift into the east. we will see temperatures as high as the mid 80s here from tallahassee all the way up into savannah. you can see even into the low 80s as far north as norfolk. much cooler in the northeast, very warm temperatures here the southeast, cool side for the interior northeast with temperatures stuck into the mid upper 40s. and that's a look at what's happening in your region. jessica, back to you.

>> thank you. the annual white house easter egg roll is today. president biden and the first lady both expected to be there. it follows a series of easter sunday events across the country. st. patrick's cathedral in new york city held a vibrant easter mass, while other people took to the streets of planet for an easter parade and this bonnet festival. for those on the west coast, all that snow we told you about did not stop folks from coming out to an easter egg hunt in california. coming up, big upsets on the road to the final four. we will tell you about that. but first, the fight against gridlock that could leave your wallets running on empty. why new york city's controversial congestion pciring could be heading to a city near you. fore you run. listen to me, the hot dog diet got me shredded. it's time we listen to science. one a day is formulated with key nutrients to support whole body health. one a day. science that matters.

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will help break the gridlock and other cities could soon follow. george solis is here in new york with that story. >> reporter: it seems the only thing some new yorkers hate more than its infamous traffic -- >> it's the worst thing in the world, it will destroy new york. >> reporter: -- is the new plan to ease it. >> it affects so much. >> reporter: new york the first in the nation to green light congestion pricing. >> this or this. >> this. >> that's the attitude? >> that's my attitude. >> reporter: the plan will charge most vehicles $15 to travel into manhattan during peak travel hours. it will encourage some to take public transportation or carpool decreasing traffic by 17%. >> we should give it a chance. >> yeah, i think so. >> reporter: and the city desperately needs it. the average speed in midtown for cars just over 4 miles an hour. for context the average person walks at 3 miles an hour. the plan doesn't start until summer but toll readers are

already in place. coming this summer in new york this is either going to be a pedestrian's best friend or a commuter's worst nightmare. former new york city traffic commissioner sam schwartz has yes. >> every city it has implemented has kept it in because it's been successful. >> reporter: in london traffic congestion has been reduced by 30%. singapore saw a 20% drop immediately after it implemented congestion pricing 50 years ago. >> if new york is successful and i think it will be successful, you will begin to see this tried out all across the united states. >> reporter: boston city council has called for hearings to introduce congestion pricing, the mayor not ruling it out. >> anything should be on the table. >> reporter: in las vegas there is a congestion pricing proposal to reduce traffic and pay for the 2028 summer olympics. san francisco, chicago, seattle have all considered or are considering variations on congestion pricing. back in new york the opposition is strong. governor phil murphy and other

local groups suing. >> i think it is a money grab. >> reporter: susan lee thinks this will hurt everyday people. >> their cost of food is rising, their cost of everything, life, is rising, so it's really not fair to put this burden on the backs of working class new yorkers. >> reporter: but even those for it say each city is different and plans will need to adapt. >> this is a pretty imperfect system. the city will have to make adjustments as time goes on. >> reporter: the road to solve congestion could have more twists and turns ahead, george solis, nbc news, new york. still to come, the mlb season capping off its first week answered and the other hazard duke couldn't overcome on sunday was a dj burning up that rerdwood. mo on nc state's historic elite eight performance coming up. [paparazzi taking pictures] introducing, ned's plaque psoriasis. ned, ned, who are you wearing? he thinks his flaky red patches

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they are 5 of 23 in the second half.

burns left open. nice and easy. burns with the drop. burns -- another for d.j. burns. >> what a drive d.j. burns jr. turning it up on sunday dropping 29 points in 11 seed nc state's elite 8 matchup against the fourth seed duke. the wolf pack scoring the upset against their interstate rivals to make their first final four since 1983. they will be taking on zach edey and top seeded purdue next saturday. the final four will wrap up with alabama taking on the seemingly unstoppable uconn huskies. nothing less than a spot in the national championship game on the line. this is alabama's first trip to the final four in school history. >> i mean, nc state looked really good last night, the little bit that i could watch, but purdue is looking good as well. it will be interesting here. now take a seat, we will talk about some of the final four ticket prices here.

believe it or not it may surprise you that the final four may not break the bank if you are okay with just watching the men. according to resale company vivid seats ticket prices for the women's final four are 47% more expensive than those for the men's tournament. the vendor lists the cheapest tickets for the women's games at $443, the lowest sets for the men diane 2 $223. and, yes, we have baseball news, too. the opening weekend of the mlb season could not have gone any better for the bronx bombers, with the yankees tied up with the astros at the top of the ninth juan soto continued to make his mark. his base hit allowed torres to run in the go ahead score giving the yanks the four-game sweep against houston. max muncy played hero in l.a.

after trailing the cardinals for most of the game. the pinch hitter launched a bomb into right field in the eighth sealing the come from behind victory for the dodgers 5-4. go, yankees. >> seriously. >> right? we are a little biased here in new york. >> it's early, but always nice to get a couple minutes on the astros. when we come back there is nearly a billion reasons to ay. the powerball jackpot keeps growing. stay with us. can't filter out the real you. so go ahead, live unfiltered with the one and only sotyktu, a once-daily pill for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding you're so ready for your close-up. or finding you don't have to hide your skin just your background. once-daily sotyktu was proven better, getting more people clearer skin than the leading pill. don't take if you're allergic to sotyktu; serious reactions can occur. sotyktu can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections, cancers including lymphoma,

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angelica may, a celebration marking the end of grueling chemo treatments for breast cancer. >> you did it. you did it. >> reporter: and then this surprise from her long-time boyfriend. >> i'm proud of you. i love you and i want to know will you marry me? there were these tears of joy, too, following a victory for american distance swimmer ivan huskovich. finding out he qualified for a spot at this summer's olympics. a proud moment for his mom robin, a swimming coach who raised her sons alone, struggling with homelessness and health issues along the way. >> a lot has happened that could have derailed him and knock him down and he has shown that, you

know, with perseverance and determination you can absolutely achieve your goals. in milwaukee a musical dream come through for zach brian super fan megan peterson. her hero walking off stage and giving her his guitar. >> for you. >> will you come back stage. >> we are. >> okay. i will give this to you back there, okay? >> thank you. >> the teen who is battling a rare and painful abdominal disease even got a vip visit back stage. for megan and her mom courtney zach's music and kindness have been a lifeline. >> so, megan, what was going through your mind and through your heart at that moment? >> we were at a point in my life where we didn't know if i would make it another week. i finally had a feeling had happiness and being carefree that i hadn't felt like in so long because i was just so overjoyed in the moment. >> courtney, how special is it

to all of you? >> it's just nice to know that she has a little place to escape. we have never been more supported and felt more loved in our whole lives because of people like zach who just decide to take a moment and spend it with megan and getting to know h her. >> our thanks to jose diaz-balart. thanks for watching "early today." i'm jessica layton. have a great monday and, remember, it's

this morning, tens of millions under a severe weather threat as another storm system makes its way across the country. is the west coast already washed out. nbc meteorologist violeta yas here with what's next. cranes now starting to remove the twisted steel from that c