ng a difference-- that i'm remembering this, i'm remembering that. i stopped taking prevagen and i found myself slacking back so i jumped right back on it. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. breaking overnight. explosions heard inside iran. new video showing a strike carried out by israel. a source telling nbc news the

military strike was limited. the damage now being assessed. we have a live report on the latest developments. the middle east crisis continuing to fuel protests on u.s. campuses. more than 100 people arrested at new york's columbia university and demonstrations in support for the people of palestine. also in new york, with a full jury now seated in donald trump's criminal trial, a drama-filled day with two original jurors dismissed. and meet the newest robot in town. boston dynamics releasing the latest edition of the atlas robot. and consider us all tortured poets. fanfare and critical acclaim already rolling for taylor swift's new album and the newest surprise from the mega star in the last hour. it's friday, april 19, "early today" starts right now.

good morning. i'm frances rivera. we begin with breaking news. a new round of escalation in the middle east. israel has carried out a military strike against iran. a source familiar with the situation confirming this to nbc news this morning. nbc is joined with the latest. matt, good morning. what do we know about the scope of this military strike? >> reporter: good morning, frances. in a word, it appears to be as you said, limited. we're still trying to get a good picture of what took place. this all began earlier this morning with reports of explosions in the region of the iranian city south of tehran, an interesting location for a few reasons. i'd say the main one is that several major infrastructure pieces of the iranian nuclear program are housed in the area. but also we see air force manufacturing, air force bases, drone manufacturing. there's a lot of stuff in the area for israel to be interested

in targeting. though we do understand at this time the nuclear facilities were not the target. we have the statement from the international atomic energy association this morning, sort of speaking to that, saying they se see no evidence of nuclear damage. colleagues on the ground have been telling us on iranian state television for example we're seeing images out of isfahan that show life as normal, no damage. so they're trying to present this as everything's calm, everything's normal, down playing any israeli action but not yet leaning into it. >> the white house has made it clear they want to avoid a wider war in the middle east. have we seen any comment from the united states or from israel about the strike? >> reporter: this is still developing. we're still waiting for a lot of reactions internationally.

israel itself has not publicly commented. nbc did hear from an israeli source saying yes this is a limited strike and we're still trying to assess the damage it caused and potentially understand whether or not it was effective. it's clear the united states has been pushing israel towards restraint, towards a limited retaliation. one of those things was not hitting nuclear infrastructure. so i think, you know, the global community and the region in general is trying to avoid this escalating into a much larger regional conflict. there's a bit of a spiral here now. israel's strike today of course coming as a response to that massive iranian strike on israel over the weekend with hundreds of drones and missiles. so you know, it's worth noting that iran did that, their claimed reason for doing that was in response to an israeli strike on a consulate this syria earlier thismonth. it's really in a spiral right now. we're waiting to see when each side is done. >> and also waiting for any

official statement in the hours to come. matt, thank you. here in the united states, protests continue on university campuses. more than 100 people were arrested at columbia university last night after protesters set up an encampment at the school in support of gaza. the school calling nypd for assistance and telling the student body in a memo that the encampments' disruptions presented a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the university. out west at usc, students held a silent march across campus in protest of the school's decision to cancel a speech from this year's pro-palestinian valedictorian. some campus groups raised concerns about the valedictorian's social media activity. the school says the cancellation was about safety and not freedom of speech. let's turn to the historic criminal trial of former president trump. a full jury has been selected in the new york hush money trial. the search will continue for a handful of alternates.

laura jarret is following the drama in the courtroom. a fall jury of 12 now sworn in, in former president trump's hush money criminal trial, after the day began withdrawma surrounding two jurors now dismissed. the new jurors include an investment banker, speech therapist, physical therapist, someone in e-commerce and a project development manager. >> i was supposed to be in a lot of different places campaigning, but i've been here all day on a trial that really is a very unfair trial. the whole world is watching this new york scam. >> reporter: mr. trump arriving with seaven jurors sworn in onl to see that number go down to five after an oncology nurse who had said during questioning no one was above the law, i'm here to hear the facts. but then she told the judge she could not be impartial about mr. trump and worried about her identity becoming public after

loved ones figured out she'd been empaneled. another i.t. consultant who had called the gop nominee fascinating was dismissed after he was found to have been arrested for tearing down ads. an investment banker says he had followed trump's truth social. and a speech therapist saying i tend not to agree with a lot of his politics and his decisions as a president. but said she can be impartial. at one point, a prospective juror even apologizing to the former president for her past criticisms of him on social media. she was dismissed. underscoring the challenges of seating a jury in deep blue manhattan, where 85% of people voted for president biden.

when the pool of 96 prospective jurors was asked if they could be impartial, nearly 50 hands went up saying they could not. and were dismissed. cat was among them. >> i couldn't be impartial. it's a historical case, and, you know, this is going to define so many things. but at the same time, our job as a juror, right, is to be impartial. >> reporter: mr. trump sounding off about the jury selection process, writing, he was given the second-worst venue in the country. he's accused of doctoring his internal business records to hide a reimbursement payment to michael cohen who allegedly paid off stormy daniels ahead of the 2016 election so she couldn't go publd public about an affair. mr. trump denies any sexual relationship with daniels and has pled not guilty. but one of the most remarkable moments happened at the end of the day when the prosecution refused to turn over who the first three witnesses will be to

the defense team. that's something routinely done in criminal trials so everybody can prepare. but in this case the prosecution saying the risk is too great that mr. trump will say something about those witnesses on social media, and the judge saying he can't blame them. back to you. >> laura, thank you. attorneys for university of idaho murder suspect bryan kohberger have filed an updated alibi, saying cell phone tower data says he was out driving when the four students were fatally stabbed. cell phone data, they said showed he had tried to hide his location. his team will rely on analysis from a cell phone data expert. kohberger was indicted on murder charges last may. flights near california's capital delayed for hours after someone cut at&t wiring near sacramento international airport. investigators believe someone

deliberately cut the wires, saying it looked like they knew what they were doing. the outage delayed southwest and ot delta flights. nbc meteorologist angie lassman is tracking rain on the way. >> i like the intro. here's what's going on. we've got some rain to deal with from memphis up into portions of michigan, detroit, columbus, lexington. and it's from this same system we've been watching over the past day or so. that's going to eventually work its way into the we'll see soggy conditions. and then it gets stuck. we see this system hanging out here. it will bring heavy rain across the southern tier of the country. that's where we're going to be watching for the potential of flooding concerns especially across parts of texas, stretching into louisiana, oklahoma city and up into oklahoma, rather and arkansas.

dallas specifically, and that's going to last through sunday that we'll be watching soggy conditions. otherwise, we'll see sunny conditions out west with some s ce, warm for washington, d.c. pittsburgh dealing with the rain. and that's a look at your for example, frances, back to you. >> when you join me later, we'll explain about the double surprise album. the torturous wait is over. we're talking about the hotly-anticipated taylor swift album. how a basketball super star is already making her way in the wnba. lready making her way in te wnba. so if you're frustrated with occasional bloating... ♪♪

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there's no cure for the new fever overtaking women's basketball. caitlin clark's official arrival to the wnba has signaled a new era for the league even before she steps on the court. we have more on her newfound super stardom and her impact on women's hoops. >> the indiana fever select caitlin clark. >> reporter: after going to indiana as the number one draft pick, caitlin clark's popularity is now reaching a fever pitch. >> she's just a great shooter overall. great player. she's a team player. i love that about her. >> reporter: the athletic reporting the 22-year-old basketball star is nearing a lucrative eight-figure endorsement deal with giant nike that would include a signature shoe. which would see her joining the ranks of sports legends like michael jord an, lebron james ad serena williams. in indiana, excited fans lining up to get their hands on number 22 merch. >> i got the tee shirt. then we got the hat for my dad

because he wanted it. >> reporter: she's also shattering sales online. sportswear retailer fanatics says her indiana fever jersey is their top-selling jersey for a first-round draft pick ever, and they're already sold out. >> at times like, it doesn't feel real. the biggest thing i try to remember is how grateful i am to have this opportunity. >> reporter: fans might also have to shell out some big bucks to see the star may. some courtside tickets to the fever home opener now listed for a whopping $3,000 on ticketmaster resale. >> i expect, you know, big numbers this sum mer, and, you know, i think just people couldn't be more excited about where this organization is going. >> reporter: clark expected to dominate on the court and on the air. the wnba announcing 36 of the fever's 40 games will be streamed or broadcast nationally. the most of any team in the league. >> here to comment is caitlin clark. >> reporter: clark already crossing over into mainstream celebrity status with a surprise

appearance on snl. >> i am a fan, caitlin, by the way. >> really, michael? because i heard that little apron joke you did. >> reporter: and magazines writing splashy articles about her life and boyfriend, but through it all, the iowa native clark says she's staying true to her roots. >> people might think i'm crazy for wanting to stay in the midwest, but that's just who i am, where my roots are. i love the people here. >> reporter: all while giving confidence to a new generation of indiana basketball stars. >> caitlin clark's like always been, like, a mentor to me. because she's been really good at pabl. and i want to be like her when i'm older. >> millions of other kids, too. and adults. our thanks to guad for that report. still to come. after a little more than a fortnight it's finally here. taylor swift grants fans admission to the tortured poet's department. right after this. ghafr this. rtnt ging] for nourished, lightweight hair,

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♪ ♪ ♪ i loved you for only a fortnight ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ for a fortnight ♪ ♪ there we were ♪ ♪ >> have you heard it yet? swifties officially entering the tortured poets era. she dropped her 11th album. the tortured poet's department at the stroke of midnight friday. it's m it's featuring post malone, and she met with fans on social media just after midnight,. at this stroke of 2:00, swift floored everyone with this reveal, that it was actually a double album, immediately dropping a new collection of 15

songs. can you just imagine the heads, including ours here at "early today," exploding when this all happened? >> i mean, and the rush to listen to all of it. because you just cannot digest it enough. i have a couple favorites. florida is one of them. and i can do this with a broken heart. >> i love how you already have them checked off. there are people who are sleeping right now who have absolutely no idea. and when they wake up. >> yes. they're going to be thrilled times two. all right, two of the most famous women athletes of this century are taking their talents from the field elsewhere. they are developing a tv adaptation. and it is the first from the soccer and basketball icons. the 2023 book focuses on a queer romance between a soccer player

and her team captain, and all for this, an original idea. i think there's space in the industry for it. and those two put together, they know a lot about sports. i'm sure it's going to be great. >> i love the total. cleat cute. it's perfect. still ahead. after boldly going where no man has gone before, a piece of lore has come home. s meom haco he. sometimes your work shirt needs to be for more than just work. like when it needs to be a big, soft shoulder to cry on. which is why downy does more to make clothes softer, fresher, and better. downy. breathe life into your laundry. breathing claritin clear is like... is he? claritin clear? yeah. fast relief of your worst allergy symptoms, like nasal congestion. live claritin clear® it ain't my dad's razor, dad. ay watch it! it's from gillettelabs. this green bar releases trapped hairs from my face...

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it's from the jaw of the largest marine reptile ever and dates back $202 mill202 million years. the first model of the uss enterprise has boldly gone back home. the exact model was used in the opening credits of the original "star trek" series in the '60s. it wasn't missing in the '70s. after briefly appearing on ebay in 2023, it made its way to the rightful owners last weekend. we'll be right back. last weeken. we'll be right back. ♪ an all-in-one cleaning tool that gives you a mop and bucket clean in half the time ♪♪ our cleaning pad has hundreds of scrubbing strips that absorb and lock dirt away, ♪♪ and it has a 360-degree swivel head that goes places a regular mop just can't. so, you can clean your home, faster than ever. ♪♪ don't mop harder, mop smarter, with the swiffer powermop. pain means pause on the things you love,

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bolts. >> reporter: when the atlas robot first arrived on scene in 2013, its futuristic look wowed tech enthusiasts all over the world. over the years, boston dynamic releasing clip after clip showing the hydraulically-powered bipedal robot running, dancing and doing so much more. including parkour. but, now, as this generation of atlas goes offline, a brand-new fully-electric version is rising to take its place. >> every roboticist that i've spoken to about this, thus far, they've all been incredibly impressed by just that really short video. >> reporter: this atlas has a sleeker design. a new round head and is stronger with a broader range of motion, according to the company. the movement and look immediately drawing comparisons online to the killer cyborgs from the "terminator" movie franchise. but unlike arnold schwarzenegger's iconic

character or this talking robot from uk company engineered arts. >> i'm good. >> reporter: today the atlas models aren't used to simulate human interactions using a.i. but instead are intended for manual labor. they were originally intended for a military research competition to be used in natural disasters, it will be tested in a real-world factory setting, partnering with hyundai to continue its applications. >> historically what's happened here is new technologies come into different industries. they either replace or augment those jobs, and then new jobs are created around them. >> reporter: and this isn't the first boston dynamic robot to get a job. their dog-hlike robot spot is used by police departments. this one getting shot last month, which may have saved a real dog or human from getting a bullet. robotics have been used in

factories for decades, but humanoid robots are a new frontier. agility robotics which has a pilot program with amazon has its digit robot doing hands-on tasks. >> any package you get delivered to you at this point, especially from aim somazon has been touch a robot at some point. >> reporter: boston has not said when atlas would be available to buy, but experts expect the cost to be out of reach. >> if i had to ballpark these types of robots, i'd say we're probably talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. probably a rental fee, but, again, still out of most people's price ranges. >> as long as it doesn't have a face, i feel that would make it kind o

breaking right now at 5:00, the middle east on edge. overnight israel carries out a military strike on iran. a live report with more on the growing fears o