hf . the fight for foreign aid rages on. the stage is set for israel and

ukraine funding. we're live with how a possible tiktok ban is getting pulled into the debate. donald trump back in court. the pivotal day ahead as jury selection ramps back up for the former president's historic hush money trial. dubai inundated with rain after its worst storm in nearly a century. the deadly flood sweeping the region. and back leehere at home, storm pushing east. a nba bombshell. what tipped off the lead. and neighborhood heroics. the dramatic footage of a man who raced inside a burning home to rescue his two neighbors trapped by the flames. it's thursday, april 18. "early today" starts right now. good morning. glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. donald trump will be back inside a manhattan courtroom today for day three of his new york

criminal hush money trial. jury selection will resume in just a few hours. seven jurors have been selected. a total of 18 are needed for the case. the former president has said he is willing to take the witness stand. in a new court filing, the manhattan d.a. says they plan to ask mr. trump about other verdicts he's faced, including the large judgment in his new york civil fraud case, and in the e. jean carroll defamation case. the judge will decide soon what the jury will be allowed to hear. it appears congress will be working through the weekend. the house speaker has released the separate bills that include aid for israel and ukraine. and he told members they can expect a saturday evening vote on this after an amendment process. brie jackson joins us now from d.c. hi, brie. the house speaker is leading a very divided party when it comes to these bills. >> reporter: that's right. the bill causing the most division is the bill that provides aid to ukraine.

the move is similar to the bill passed in the senate, but it breaks the aid into separate bills, including one that clues $60 billion to ukraine. but in johnson's plan, nearly $10 billion of ukraine aid would be through loans, which is what former president trump called for. some republicans insist that any foreign aid must be tied to security measures for our southern border. johnson said he is not concerned about the threats to remove him as speaker. >> i think providing lethal aid to ukraine is critically important. and i'm willing to take personal risk for that. history will judge us. ido not spend time walking around worrying about the motion to vacate. >> reporter: the new package also includes a fourth bill that tackles republican national security goals. and that includes the possibility of banning tiktok here in the u.s. the bill calls on tiktok to divest from its chinese parent company. one change is that it allows the

deadline for a sale to be extended to nine months. overnight, tiktok responded, accusing the lawmakers of using the cover of important foreign aid to jam through a bill that they say would trample the free speech rights of 170 million americans. speaker johnson is giving members 72 hours to review these bills, meaning the earliest we could see any votes is saturday night. frances? >> all right, brie jackson for us, thank you. house republicans have faced defeat in the senate over another issue. democrats quickly rejected the articles of impeachment against dhs secretary alejandro mayorkas. republicans had accused him of failing to enforce border policies. democrats say this is a policy dispute, not a crime. they also called the impeachment baseless. arizona republicans are once again blocking efforts to repeal a near-total abortion ban from the civil war era. earlier this month, the state

supreme court giving the green light to revive the ban from 160 years ago. the court's decision has received criticism by democrats and even some republicans, including former president trump. it's set to take effect in less than two weeks. sources say the justice department is in settlement talks to pay around $100 million to the victims of dr. larry nassar. this, over the fbi's failure to act on reports of abuse of star athletes. here's anne thompson. >> how much is a little girl worth? >> reporter: a potential answer to simone biles' question at a senate hearing on the fbi's failure to take seriously, gymnast complaints of sexual abuse by dr. larry nassar. two sources familiar with the negotiations tell nbc news the justice department is far along in settledmment talks with the victims. the amount is said to be close to $100 million.

in 2021, biles and her fellow gymnasts described how the bureau ignored them. >> the agent diminished the significance of my abuse and made me feel my criminal case wasn't worth pursuing. >> reporter: michela maroney says she told the fbi of her abuse before she told her mom. >> they allowed a child molester to go free for more than a year. and this inaction directly allowed nasser's abuse to continue. >> reporter: by one estimate, nasser abused at least 70 more gymnasts after the fbi was first told. the justice department inspector general? a scathing report found multiple failures and policy violations by the indianapolis field office. which first handled the nassar allegations. nassar is serving what amounts to a life sentence in prison while his victims may be now near some kind of justice. anne thompson, nbc news. a new round of hearings on

college anti-semitism on capitol hill wednesday. top officials from columbia university appearing before a house committee, responding to some of the most appalling examples of anti-semitism. >> does calling for the genocide of jews violate columbia's code of conduct, mr. groenewald? >> yes, it does. >> ms. shipman? >> yes, it does. >> dr. shiphi? >> yes, it does. >> those leaders appearing more prepared after a hearing last year whetn the presidents of th universities of pennsylvaniaand harvard stumbled over the same line of questioning. they each ultimately resigned. in wednesday's hearing, some democrats criticized their gop colleagues, noting they have now led three-such hearings on anti-semitism but none on actual legislation that could combat the problem. an investigation under way in stockton, california after a fire truck collided with two vehicles and slam flood a house yesterday. the accident sent one person to the hospital with serious

injuries. the home was heavily damaged with part of the roof dangling on top of the fire engine. no word yet on what caused that crash. turning to deadly weather on the arabian peninsula. record rainfall soaked dubai with parts of the country seeing ten inches of rain in 24 hours. here's some perspective. that's more rain than the desert city usually gets in two years. for the latest on this unprecedented storm, let's bring in ens nbc's claudio lavanga. how has this impacted the region? >> reporter: good morning, frances, well, obviously, dubai was not built for heavy rain, and that record downpour proffered it cpr proved it cannot deal with it. all schools were canceled and workers were advised to work remotely if they can. experts are pointing the finger

at climate change for that kind of freak weather, but at the same time, one meteorologist, at least in dubai, says it may have something to do with rain seeding, which is a method, rain enhancement method that is quite commonly used in dry countries like the united arab emirates. now the severe weather has affected neighboring countries, including oman, where authorities say at least 18 people died there. frances? >> the stunning images. claudio, thank you. millions of americans on alert this morning as severe weather we've been watching sweeps into a new day. dozens of tornados tore through the midwest this week. in michigan, members evacuated from the house chamber as sirens went off. more than 20 million on alert as this multi-day threat stretches into this morning. nbc meteorologist angie lassman has her eye on it. what a week it has been. >> we had the secondary system we are watching that has ramped

things up for the mid section of the country. we've got a thunderstorm watch until 6:00 a.m. central time for kansas and missouri. likely into the afternoon hours we'll potentially be seeing more where that came from. st. louis, paducah in the bull's eye, but from waco to indianapolis, we've got the chance to see all hazards on the table with more than 20 million people included in that. by the time we get into tomorrow, we'll watch for a new storm system to develop along a stalled front. that's going to ramp up the rain chances, not just for your friday but into your saturday and the early part of your week with the potential for really heavy rain on the table through the next couple days. specifically, dallas to san antonio is where we're watching for the greatest chance of flash

tap for san antonio. even warmer, nearing 100 in san angelo today. low 90s for phoenix and tucson. and that's a look at your forecast, frances. back to you. >> angie, thank you. caitlin clark is smashing yet another record after her historic run with the hawkeyes. her new indiana fever jersey is the top-earning jersey ever for any sport. the jersey is sold out and new-stocked jerseys won't arrive until august. she went first to the wnba draft on monday. we're back in a minute with a gambling scandal hitting the hardwood. and the nba player hit with a permanent ban. the ninth inning homer that sent the yankees soaring past the blue jays. ankees soaring pa the blue jays.

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drilled deep to left field. fath there it goes! see ya. a monster blast by giancarlo stanton. >> when all looked lost for the yankees, stan ton came to the rescue. a 437-foot blast to the toronto grandstands fueled an epic last-inning comeback by the bombers. a 6-4 victory against the blue jays. now to the scandal rocking the nba this morning. the league is issuing a lifetime ban against toronto raptors player, jontay porter, accusing him of violating gambling rules. sam brock has the latest. >> reporter: the nba's doling out a lifetime ban to raptors' forward jontay porter after an

investigation uncovered blatant violations of gambling rules. he's accused of tipping off bettors. >> it's a cardinal sin, what he's accused of in the nba. >> reporter: porter is the first active player or coach expelled from the league for gambling in 70 years. >> adam silver had no choice but to drop the hammer. >> reporter: porter placed at least 13 bets on nba games, netting about $22,000. shared confidential information about his own health status to a known nba bettor and limited his own game participant to influence the outcome of bets tied to his performance. >> he then gets into a game against the sacramento kings, and within three minutes takes himself out saying that he's sick. he only played three minutes. he didn't get shots or rebounds, he underperforms, they win the bet. >> reporter: nbc news was unable to reach porter for comment. it's coincided with the same

leagues going into business with the gambling companies. >> how are we going to integrate gambling into professional sports while making sure players aren't gambling? >> it's why it's such a bad idea to have leagues partner with gambling companies. >> reporter: a new terrain that leagues like the nba must now navigate. sam brock, nbc news. still to come, "crazy rich asians" lands a familiar face for its broadway debut. the icons, titans and pioneers who made this year's time 100 list. s year's time 100 list. ly when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. tiny troy: he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair.

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ask them if they want to report officially. >> 517, do you want to report an ufo, over? 517, do you want to report an ufo, over. >> negative. we don't want to report.

>> from one of our greatest creative minds here, it's returning to a genre that made him famous. variety reported wednesday that steven spielburg will direct a new film about ufos. the oscar winner has helmed some of the most famous flicks about aliens, including , includingt" "close encounters." you got "jurassic park," and others. so of course when it comes to all things foreign and ufo out there, that's got to be so cool. >> expert opinion from him. i haven't seen "et" in entirely too long. singapore's high rollers are coming to the great white way. the director will helm the broadway adaptation of the film "crazy rich asians." the film is still set in development, but it's to be based on the film and

best-selling books. he has brought the film to the screen with "in the heights" and is expected to release the adaptation of "wicked." i can't wait to see it. >> any kind of interpretation is so fun. and now a musical on broadway. so fun to see movies, musicals and back to movies and musicals as well. vice versa. athletes, political leaders, they are all right here. dua lipa, patrick mahomes, taraji p. henson are featured on the covers of the list of time's 100. each has someone writing on them, like president biden on shawn fain.

a lot to celebrate. >> the covers are just dwogorge. look at dua lipa. when we come back, the ingenuity mars helicopter will not fly again. and the hundreds of ballerinas keeping the competition on their toes as the new world record in the books. stay with us. cord in the books. stay with us. this is not just a stop for allergy meds. ♪♪ this is a great price on what you need... to survive the season. ♪♪ quick question. backed by an expert. okay. this is value. right in your neighborhood. thanks so much. walgreens. ♪♪ sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand. and wakes up feeling like himself. get the rest to be your best with non-habit forming zzzquil. ♪ ♪

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he doesn't know with his risk factors his ldl-c (bad cholesterol) is still too high - the recommended level is below 55. are you living in the red? get in the know. learn how to get a free ldl-c test at attackheartdisease.com. we're back now with what you need to know "early today." colorado governor jared polis signed into law the first measure passed in the u.s. to aims to protect the data found in a person's brain waves. the goal is to keep people's personal data from being used without their consent while still allowing new technologies to develop. it's the world's first a.i. beauty pageant,dedicated to recognizing the achievements of a.i. creators around the world. the prize package is worth over $20,000. nasa's history-making

ingenuity helicopter flew its last flight on mars in january, sending one final transmission to earth which engineers only just received tuesday. the last chat included all the names of the people who worked on the project. hundreds of ballerinas tiptoed their way into the guinness world book of records for the most ballet dancers on point continuously. over 300 of them stood on point for 60 seconds. on point for 60 seconds. zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. they work continuously, so you don't have to. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. ahh. it's a good day to cough. oh no. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing at the movies!? hashtag still not coughing?!

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neighbors. plumes of thick smoke surrounding them just before the house is overtaken in flames. everyone is expected to be okay. here's ellison barber. >> get out! come on! >> reporter: a life-saving act of bravery caught on camera. >> come on! >> reporter: a pennsylvania man hailed a hero by officials after rescuing two of his neighbors who were stuck inside of a burning home. >> oh, my god, get him! >> reporter: the man identified as oscar rivera, speaking with wfmz tv. >> i was in the back yard with my kids playing, and all of a sudden we hear a boom. and i look at the guy who was on top of the roof, like on the w d sti window, sticking up, and he said

help me, help me. that's when the adrink lenaline. >> reporter: onlookers screaming in horror. >> grab his pants! grab his pants! >> reporter: after some struggle, rivera is eventually able to get the man to safety. >> the smoke blew, so i have to move out the way. and then that's when i grabbed him, and he was burned, and i just pulled him out. [ applause ] >> reporter: his community applauding his courageous act before firefighters climbed to the roof to help. two people pulled from the home were hospitalized. but the town's mayor says rivera is the reason they're expect the to survive. ellison barber, nbc news. >> what a hero. what if i told you she's a mastermind? swifties once again in their sleuthing era after a mysterious qr mural popped up in chicago filled with the letters, ttpd and the number 13. some say those are an invisible string tied to taylor swift's album the tortured poet's

department. a message on her page reads error, 321. the tortured poet's department drops soon. the surge in popularity for weight loss drugs could mean shortages that stretch for months. and here's al roker with a look ahead. >> this morning on the third hour of "today", sandra oh, on the new spy series. and we've got our shop today travel awards. and we're going to talk about how to take some of the stress out of our daily lives. all that and more coming up on the third hour of "today". >> i want to hear that. hi, i'm todd. i'm a veteran of 23 years. i served three overseas tours. i love to give back to the community. i offer what i can when i can. i started noticing my memory was slipping. i saw a prevagen commercial and i did some research on it.

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