breaking overnight the border battle turns into a courtroom clash. a controversial texas immigration law back on hold,

just hours after the supreme court said it could go into effect we're live in d.c., with why the case is now going before federal appeal judges this morning the deepening mystery of a missing college student from missouri the new plea from his parents, as the desperate search continues in nashville the feds fight against inflation takes center stage today. could we finally see an interest rate cut we'll hear from cnbc about what to expect. win for coach dan. a historic run for a high school basketball team takes on a new meaning, after the beloved coach suffered a heart attack just a day before the championship game and nobody hit the mega millions jackpot last night, so it looks like we'll all have to work another day but there are a billion reasons now to keep your hopes up for friday's drawing it's wednesday, march 20th "early today" starts right now good morning i'm frances rivera we begin with breaking news.

a controversial law at the texas border has been put on hold again. it was blocked by an appeals court overnight, not long after the supreme court gave its approval for the law to go into effect nbc's brie jackson is following this for us from d.c what is this law and where does it stand now >> reporter: good morning, frances. this law would give texas law enforcement more power over the border it would allow local and state police to arrest migrants suspected of crossing into the state illegally. and state judges would be able to deport them the biden administration has tried to block the law, arguing that immigration enforcement is handled by the federal government the white house said this law will make communities in texas less safe and burden law enforcement. but texas officials say the white house has not done enough to address the border. here's what governor greg abbott said when he signed the bill >> the authors of the united states constitution foresaw a

situation when the federal government would be inattentive to states that faced challenges at their borders and in response they inserted article one, section ten to the united states constitution, to empower states to take action to defend themselves. and that is exactly what texas is doing >> reporter: now the supreme court yesterday did not rule on whether or not this law is constitutional instead, sending it back to the lower courts however, the six conservative justices did decide the supreme court should not stop the law from taking effecteffect, while three hibliberal justices dissented. overnight, a court of appeals quickly ordered a pause. they will begin hearing arguments on this issue within just a few hours frances? >> a lot at stake. we'll be watching. let's turn now to the primary results in ohio.

bernie moreno has won the republican nomination for senate he said he wears his endorsement from former president trump as a badge of honor and will challenge senator sherrod brown in november. >> i wonder whether sherrod brown is going to wear with honor his 99% voting record with joe biden. >> senator brown reacted to moreno's primary win last night on msnbc >> bernie moreno always looks out for himself. i mean, he is, he has said in this campaign that he won't work with democrats he just is going to go to washington and do his own thing. >> meanwhile, donald and melania trump cast their ballots in florida's primary. mr. trump easily won, but nearly 20% of republican voters chose someone else former president donald trump has asked the supreme court to afford him complete immunity for all and any crimes he might have committed in office

his legal team filed a brief yesterday writing that if the court we rejects their claim, i would quote, incapacitate every future president jack smith is expected to file his brief on april 8th with oral argument set for april 25th. the just physicices could decidn and if the trial goes ahead. this comes as the former president faces harsh criticism for comments he made about jewish americans >> reporter: former president trump casting his ballot in florida, doubling down on comments he is accused of being ai anti-semitic after top senate democrat schumer blasted mr. trump. >> the former president's comments were utterly disgusting and a textbook example of the type of appoint nti-semitism fa

jews >> reporter: the firestorm began when mr. trump was asked about schumer's recent rebuke of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu whom schumer said should be replaced >> why do the democrats hate bibi netanyahu >> i actually think they hate israel >> reporter: mr. trump saying democrats are being swayed by protests on president biden's policy on gaza >> i'm amazed at how many people are in those marches i think it's votes more than anything else. any jewish person that votes for democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about israel and they should be ashamed of themselves because israel will be destroyed. >> reporter: the remarks quickly condemned by the anti-defamation league whose ceo called t defamatory and patently false, saying the only person who should be ashamed here is trump.

he touts his record, helping the country forge peace deals with some of its neighbors. president biden has -- >> i think you have to get back to the world of peace. >> reporter: two u.s. officials tell nbc news, the monday conversation between president biden and prime minister netanyahu was intense, constructive and very candid netanyahu brought up that criticism from senator schumer, and the president, who has publicly praised schumer's speech told netanyahu the white house is not looking to oust him from power >> garrett, thank you. two former mississippi deputies be part of a group known as the goon squad are now headed to prison for the beating and torture of two black men last year. hunter elward and jeffrey middleton were sentenced to 20

years and 17 and half years respectively they were part of a group of six officers who broke into a home without a warrant, shouted slurs at the victims and physically and sexually assaulted them. the victims' lawyer saying tue tuesday's sentencing should serve as a warning that justice will be coming their way the parents of riley strain has asked the cajun navy to help find their son kathy park is following the story. >> reporter: in nashville, a desperate plea from family searching for their missing son riley strain >> he's my best friend he's everything. >> reporter: the 22-year-old college student disappeared the night of march 8 after visiting music city with his fraternity officials say he seemingly vanished after being escorted out of luke bryan's bar around 9:30 moments later, this new video

from police shows riley walking past an officer, not appearing distressed even exchange aging a few words. other security videos show him stumbling through downtown nashville. ten days later, they say there's still no evidence of a crime or foul play. >> there's no indication he was running from anything or in fear >> reporter: the focus of the search efforts has centered around the banks of the cumberland river on sunday, two volunteers went searching and came across a huge clue they found riley's bank card >> i don't really know how we found it i would love to say it was dumb luck it was just sitting there. >> reporter: riley's family and friends remain hopeful he'll be found alive. >> we're looking for you we want to take you homet to tar

graduation new this morning, jonathan majors' ex-girlfriend is suing the actor in court for defamation and assault he has already been found guilty of harassing grace jabari. his attorney tells nbc news they have anticipated the suit and are preparing counter claims jabari's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment south korean police are stepping up security around the site of the mlb world tour games after a bomb threat was made ahead of the dodgers-padres opener in seoul. it reportedl reportedly stargta otani. there's snow in the rockies and showers in the south angie lassman is here. the two storms are set to merge, and what's that going to bring

>> good morning, frances we have two areas of low pressure we are going to watch impact us today. parts of the northern plains are going to see that low bring snow to folks in that region, and rain that we're expecting across parts of the south this system eventually going to ramp up as we get into the weekend and bring a whole lot of rain notice the rain again as we get into tomorrow, even friday across portions of the southeast. a whole lot of it that we're expecting. we've also got the great lakes and midwest dealing with more of that snow and northern portions of new england get into heavy wet snow as we get into saturday and there's all that rain i promised hugging the east coast. the highest amounts across portions of the south, southeast and even along the east coast, going to be upward of an inch to two inches we could see isolated amounts a little higher than that, and notice, yeah, it may be spring, but we're still dealing with the snow across the northern tier of the country. where you see brighter purple spots,cheyenne this

afternoon. chicago into the 30s with full sunshine and minneapolis hovers above freezing and that's a look at your forecast back to you, frances >> thank you, angie. "early today" is back in a minute with whether we could see the fed slash interest rates today. and from the gridiron to a game show. the surprising next play rumored for chiefs super star travis kelce. r chiefs super star travi kelce. [thinking] why always the couch? does he need to go to puppy school? get his little puppy diploma? how much have i been spending on this little guy? when your questions about life turn into questions about money... there's erica. the virtual financial assistant to help you spend, save, and plan smarter. only from bank of america.

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>> investors have been eagerly waiting to hear from the fed today after its two-day meeting. so while the fed is very much expected to hold on its interest rates, all eyes will be on the economic forecast and how many rate cuts to expect. it estimates for this year the market will be looking at whether to have some clues on whether the fed is still looking to cut potentially in june as the market expects, and this comes of course after we've seen some hotter than expected readings on inflation, putting in doubt when and how the fed will start cutting rates now on to unilever, the consumer goods giant will separate its ice cream unit which includes magnum and it has been underperforming and it hawill d better as a stand-alone business it comes with job cuts and is

expected to be completed by the end of 2025. unilever said the restructuring had will help them be a simpler company. it has been under scrutiny because of poor performance recently mackenzie scott is donating a whopping 640$640 million to nonprofits across the country. the ex-wife of jeff bezos and co-founder of amazon announced that her organization will award 361 nonprofits the organizations were chosen from a pool ofover 6,000 applicants and covers a wide array of causes from the arts to affordable housing still to come, return to a great l galaxy far, far away and cowboy carter is strapping on her boots as she gets ready to drop a new album

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someone is killing jedi. it doesn't make sense. >> what happened >> i sensed darkness >> we are get our first glimpse at a galaxy far, far away. a long time before the skywalker showed up. the first trailer for the new "star wars" series was unveiled tuesday. it showcases a world filled with jedi a century before the events of "star wars" episode one it hits disney+ with a two-episode premier on june 4. and if that's not enough for you. there's another "star wars" series hitting disney+ skeleton crew with judd law. a lot for "star wars" kingdom to be able to eat up. >> and come up in the summer, which we know is a lull time for

tv travis kelce may be taking his know how from the film room to the classroom variety reporting that the chiefs' tight end is in talks to host a new version of "are you smarter than a fifth grader" for amazon it would be the latest for the super bowl champ after his stint as snl host and "catching kelce. the last collaboration had john cina cena as the host i can't wait to see him step into a new role. >> i love the fact that he and his girlfriend have a little built of chill time right now before everything gears up and they're both back at it. all right, with less than ten days left before her album drops, cowboy carter is laying her cards down, down, down on tuesday, beyonce posted a new look at the cover for her eighth studio album on instagram. the super star included a lengthy message, breaking down

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oh >> the first four kicked off tuesday with wagner holding offer a late rally from howard they'll face top-seeded north carolina later, colorado state dominate virginia a high school basketball team with a years-long winning streak fighting for their coach, who suffered a medical emergency the night before the state championship game. our ellison barber looks at how they rallied back. >> reporter: in st. louis, missouri, a basketball dynasty so great no current player knows what a loss feels like >> it will be fun to tell my kids, you know, brag to them a little bit >> reporter: incarnate word academy's 131-game-winning streak not just a state record but the longest current run in the nation >> i think we have so much more potential to be great. >> reporter: behind it all, head

coach dan rothis he's guided the red knights to 12 state titles. >> i think they're used to the pressure we walk into gyms, everyone wants to see us lose it's been that way for a long time >> reporter: but for a team that's never felt a loss on the scoreboard, a loss of a different kind, this championship weekend coach dan rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack the night before the state title game >> it's not the same without rothis sorry. we didn't know the last game was going to be our last game with him. so it's really rewarding, but it's not the same. >> reporter: the team and their whole community rallying around their beloved coach, who remained in critical condition as the team tipped off >> we were more motivated than ever, especially going into this game we have a lot to play for. each other, coach. our whole program.

>> reporter: the red knights leaving it all on the court for coach dan. >> we did it yeah >> reporter: and winning another state championship >> what has never been more clear in the last 72 hours is that winning in the game of life is all about faith, family and friends. >> reporter: a winning team, learning to battle through adversity. now praying their beloved coach can return >> this game, just being a senior and knowing that we kept this streak going, it's a great feeling. >> hope that feeling keeps going. we want to thank ellison barber for that report. thanks to you for waking u

breaking overnight whiplash at the texas border an appeals court blocking th