makes my day. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. more tornado outbreaks. this time in the midwest. multiple twisters touching down in michigan. overnight, the governor declaring a state of emergency. michelle grossman istracking where the severe storms are headed next. stormy daniels takes the

stand in donald trump's hush money trial. the adult film actress describing her alleged sexual encounter with trump. what she had that had the defense calling for a mistrial. israel seizes a critical crossing in southern gaza, cutting off a crucial entry point for aid, this as it sends a delegation to continue negotiating a cease-fire deal. our team has the latest on where the talks stand. it is the latest battle in the culture wars. the growing movement to get fluoride out of drinking water. the impact it could have on the health of children's teeth. and could you start seeing fewer self-checkout stations in the grocery store? the new proposal that could place limits on them. it's wednesday, may 8. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm frances rivera. we begin with breaking news, as a severe weather outbreak plaguing the central u.s. continues, this time taking aim

at michigan. several tornados tormented the state tuesday leaving a trail of destruction. officials say there are multiple injuries, but so far, no reports of fatalities. the governor declaring a state of emergency for kalamazoo, st. joseph and branch county. a twister tore the side off a fedex facility, trapping about 50 workers, as first responders worked to clear electrical wires blocking their exit. all workers are now accounted for and there are no serious injuries. and nearby, a mobile home community sustained serious damage. for more on where that threat is headed next, let's bring in michelle grossman, who's tracking the dangerous weather. >> the dangerous weather continues this morning. will continue throughout the day. and we're looking at thursday as well. this is what radar looks like this morning. where you see the pink boxes are tornado watches. also we have severe thunderstorm warnings in the orange boxes.

also heavy, heavy rain along this front where you see the darker colors. probably sighing hail where you see the purple. that's going to continue throughout the day. the threat, 56 million americans under the threat of severe storms today. we're looking at damaging hail, two inches or greater. strong tornados possible throughout the day. winds gusting over 60 miles per hour. the likeliest chance for seeing really strong storms are from nashville to paducah, to springfield. also the orange shading and yellow shading. indianapolis all the way down to dallas. so really from the southern plains into the mississippi valley, the tennessee valley into the ohio valley. we're looking at the chance for severe storms today. also looking at training storms, rain dropping one to two inches per hour. it's dropping on saturated grounds, memphis looking at the chance for flash flooding. that's a look at the stormy weather. we'll look at the preview in a few minutes. a federal judge in florida

has handed donald trump the gift of time, indefinitely postponing his classified documents trial. the judge allowing more time for pre-trial motions to be considered. with this latest delay, the hush money case in new york could be the only criminal trial mr. trump faces before the election. star witness stormy daniels took the stand tuesday delivering sometimes graphic testimony. here's vaughn hilliard with the latest. >> reporter: a tense day inside this lower manhattan courthouse as stormy daniels herself testified with donald trump mere feet away from her, testifying about the sexual encounter she says took place in lake tahoe in 2006, following a celebrity golf tournament between her and donald trump. and also the fact that she said they talked on the phone repeatedly in those months that followed. she also saw him at an event in january of 2007 in hollywood. she said she was then invited by him and met with him at trump tower as he dangled the potential of her appearing on

the "apprentice." her testimony included the weeks before the 2016 election, in which she testified that she was paid $130,000 to keep her story silent. this before the prosecution was a key part of their case as they made the case to the jury that donald trump, it was in his interest to keep her story silent from the american electorate before the 2016 election. she also faced questions under cross examination from donald trump's defense team. we expect those questions to continue when she returns to the courthouse on thursday. back to you. >> okay, vaughn, thank you. overseas, israel tightens its grip on gaza, cutting off aid in the south and blocking the only way out into egypt. the israelis have signaled to the u.s. that this is a limited operation and not the large-scale invasion the white house has warned against. the u.s. says that an american mercenary company will ultimately secure the rafah border crossing to facilitate operations. what are the israelis trying to

achieve? >> reporter: frances, good morning. to put simply, the israelis are looking to raise the pressure on hamas as cease-fire talks continue in cairo. the talks would potentially see the release of the remaining hostages they have in captivity. now israeli officials are saying this is not the large-scale ground assault that israel has been planning. the united states has been vocal in its opposition. citing the many who have fled to the area for shelter. cease-fire negotiations, meanwhile, in cairo, are ongoing, and cia director burns is there taking part in the effort. it calls for a phased release of all the hostages in exchange for palestinian prisoners chosen by hamas. it also calls for the full israeli withdrawal from gaza. now prime minister netanyahu has signaled that this proposal does not suit israel's security needs, but the defense minister

has said the latest attacks on rafah are meant to increase pressure on hamas to free the hostages and that israel was prepared to make concessions to secure that result. meanwhile, we are learning more about a u.s. decision last week to halt certain types of weapons deliveries to israel. amongthose weapons are bombs of various sizes, with particular focus on very large 2,000-pound bombs. the official said given the effect the ordinance has on dense population centers like rafah, the white house is particularly focussed on ending their use. >> matt bodner, thank you. at an annual holocaust remembrance ceremony, president biden forcefully condemned anti-semitism amid a reported strike in anti-jewish animus in the u.s. >> the jewish community, i want you to know i see your fear, your hurt and your pain. let me reassure you. as your president, you're not

alone. you belong. you always have, and you always will. >> the bipartisan ceremony honored the 6 million jews murdered in world war ii by nazis than collaborates. tiktok is pushing back on a potential ban in the u.s., saying this would violate the first amendment. nbc's savannah sellers has this report. >> reporter: calling a ban so obviously unconstitutional, tiktok sued the u.s. government, trying to undo the legislation signed into law last month that would force its chinese parent company to sell within a year or see it banned. tiktok and bytedance arguing the law disregards less-extreme alternatives and is simply not possible, not commercially, not technologically, not legally. adding the law will force shutdown of tiktok by january 19th, 2025, silencing the 170 million americans who use the platform. do you think there's a chance here that tiktok successfully

challenges this? >> i think tiktok has a chance, and, if they can articulate that this first amendment rights are being denied, then the government may have to show that the legislation was necessary to achieve a compelling interest. >> reporter: the department of justice declined to comment on the lawsuit, but, in a recent interview, fbi director christopher wray telling lester, tiktok is a national security concern, because it is beholden to the chinese government. >> it has to do with the recommendation algorithm. it has to deal with the software. we're talking about the ability to control or collect data on millions and millions of users. >> reporter: tiktok arguing unspe unspecified national security concerns are not enough of a reason to restrict free speech and has previously denied it provides american user data to china. some of the app's users celebrating the lawsuit. >> they feel like they have a case. >> reporter: a case in which tiktok says it is being unfairly singled out and is ready to

prove as much in court. savannah sellers, nbc news. now to baltimore, where crews are planning to use precision explosives to free the container ship from under the wreckage of the francis scott key bridge. the announcement comes a day after salvage teams recovered the sixth and final victim killed in the bridge collapse. crews are expected to reopen a limited channel into the port in the coming days. now let's check back in with nbc meteorologist michelle grossman who's tracking the spring heat wave. >> a little summer preview. short, short sleeves because temperatures are into the 80s and 90s in many spot. we're looking at new york city today, 82 degrees, 14 degrees above what is typical this time of year. near 90 in d.c. and we're warm, too, in pittsburgh, detroit, cincinnati into the 80s. nashville, 83. charlotte, 91 degrees. the jet stream still letting the warm air in.

we're looking at temperatures into the upper 80s, low 90s for many spots. baton rouge, 93. montgomery looking at temperatures near 90. and into the mid-90s in jacksonville, 11 degrees above t. could break records as well. temperatures into the mid-90s in corpus christi and brownsville. that's your wednesday forecast. coming up, panera ditches its controversial charged lemonade. and we're back in a minute with a fight over fluoride. why more towns are fighting to wash their hands of the water additive. heir hands of the wate additive. thing huge. the bare minimum. anti-dandruff shampoo made with only nine ingredients -

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it has been around for nearly 80 years. fluoride added to drinking water to prevent tooth decay. the cdc calls it one of the most important advances of the 20th century, but as erin mclaughlin reports, it's the latest front in the culture wars. >> reporter: abby smith is extra careful about brushing her son's teeth. now that her local tap water no longer contains fluoride. after community members in union county north carolina came forward to express concerns, the county commission voted 3-2, to remove it. >> i didn't even know that there was a fight against fluoride. >> reporter: she's now scrambling to figure out what to do next for her two small children. >> we're going to have to talk about possibly supplementing. >> reporter: the dentist is alarmed. she says fluoride, a naturally-occurring mineral, should be added to public water to help develop strong teeth, especially for small children and those without access to a dentist. toothpaste with fluoride, she says, is not enough, because the

fluoride needs to be ingested. >> we know that fluoride works. all the journal articles have shown that. there's a 25% reduction in children and adults' decay. >> reporter: despite being the norm for decades and local debates, the nationwide fight over fluoride in water is reaching new heights in the wake of covid and the anti-vax movement. pitting her against activists. >> how long can our society bear the cost of knowingly lowering our population's iq. >> reporter: in union county, the debate erupted when officials prepared to open a new water treatment plant. a local chair of moms for liberty pointed to a controversial 2019 canadian study that showed slightly-lower iq scores in children whose mothers had higher levels of fluoride exposure during pregnancy. though the study's author acknowledges more research needed. >> fluoride is actually the one substance that we add to our water that's not meant to

address the quality of the water. >> reporter: county commissioner brian ho brian holmes voted to remove fluoride. >> for putting it into the water as a medical benefit, it brings up a significant question. >> reporter: major health organizations, including the cdc, the american dental association and american academy of pediatrics support fluoride in drinking water, but it's been rejected by dozens of communities throughout the u.s. in recent years. with activists determined to press further. >> the public is starting to become more aware and less blindly trusting of authorities. >> reporter: so your goal to remove fluoride from public water-sources nationwide. >> absolutely. yes. >> reporter: leaving parents like abby smith increasingly worried about the long-term impact of her tap water. >> it definitely will mean more avid teeth brushing and just keeping up on dentist appointments. >> reporter: erin mclaughlin, union county, north carolina.

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catherine zeta jones and fred armisen and revealed new additions to the main cast, like andy newton and christopher lloyd to round this all out. so more reason to be excited. i'm wondering if this season is going to have like a signature viral dance. >> that was so good. my kids loved this show. they were so excited to see it come back. it's one thing to make an impression at the met gala, it's another to do it if you weren't even there. over the last day, many on social media got duped by what appears to be an a.i.-generated pic of katy perry walking down the green carpet. perry was actually in the recording studio and posted the pic on her instagram. along with a text from her mother who believed she was in attendance. similar pics of no-shows made the rounds. you feel like this is getting

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m4. nintendo's president says it will announce the successor next year. and starbucks launched the summer menu, including a strawberry refresher, and there's a new orange cream cake pop and pineapple cloud cake. we'll be right back. we'll be ri. did you know... 80% of women are struggling with hair damage? just like i was. dryness and frizz could be damaged hair that can't retain moisture. new pantene miracle rescue deep conditioner, with first-of-its-kind melting pro-v pearls... locks in moisture to repair 6 months of damage in one wash, without weigh down. guaranteed or your money back! for resilient, healthy-looking hair... if you know, you know it's pantene. wanna know a secret? more than just my armpits stink. facts. that's why i use secret whole body deodorant

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kri kristine romans checked out the plan for us. >> reporter: this morning, california lawmakers considering a new bill forcing retailers to limit self-checkout lanes in an effort to curb theft and protect jobs. >> when worker safety is at risk and people lose their jobs, we in the state legislature must act, and we must act now. >> reporter: according to the bill, grocery and retail stores would be required to provide at least one cashier-run station. self-checkouts would be limited to ten items or less, and a human worker would be required to monitor, no more than two lanes each. stores using a.i. at checkout would need a full assessment before deploying that technology. lawmakers at retailers say curbing theft is a priority, with one recent survey estimating more than 20 million americans have stolen from a self-checkout kiosk, and more than 8 million planning to do it again. 69% of consumers also say it's easier to steal from a

self-checkout kiosk than a cashier. this come as major retailers have already been rethinking how to use self-checkout in stores. most recently, target is limiting self-checkout to ten item or less. >> the line goes quicker, but also i feel like it's not very convenient for some people that are buying a lot of stuff. >> reporter: while other major retailers like walmart and costco, experimenting with limited self-checkout and dollar general removing it from its stores. >> the question is forcing people to a certain kind of checkout, whether that resolves the issue, and i don't think it's going to be a global solution. >> reporter: retail theft aside, many shoppers are taking notice of the changes. >> can we just talk about the self-checkout epidemic? >> we are officially entering the downfall of self-checkout. >> reporter: as for inflation-weary shoppers in california, experts also say buyer beware over a potential down side to the bill. >> i'm very worried that this will raise the cost for the

businesses, which will then have to really try to resolve that issue, either through raising prices or exiting the market. and consumers, we know, are already fed up with high prices. now to a california family, a wildcat, a wild one that took over a back yard pool. a mama bear and her cubs visited this home. the mom took a refreshing swim in the pool. but her cubs were not ready to dive in. the bears played in the yard and climbed a tree before wandering away. thanks for kicking off your morning with "early today." i'm frances rivera. have a great wednesday. a great. w

thus we have freed hostages already and will not rest until we bring themom