meghan markle's explosive interview with oprah. so what is next the queen and the royal family? it is way too early for this. good morning and welcome to way too early oig, the show that know that when grandma talks, you better listen. the house is expected to vote today on president biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. debate on the bill scheduled to begin just after 9:00 a.m., timing of the final vote is fluid given that republicans may try to slow the process. house democrats aim to get the bill to president biden's desk so he can sign it before key unemployment programs expire this coming sunday. it can take days for congress to formally send a huge bill down the street to the white house. once biden has signed it, the money can start flowing including those $1400 relief payments for eligible americans, $300 a week federal jobless benefits and those additional funds for vaccine distribution. new polling from the pew research center continues to show just how popular all of this relief is with the american public. 70% of u.s. adults say that they favor the legislation compared to 28% who oppose the bill. the majority of the public also said they felt the biden administration made a good faith effort to work with republican leaders on the coronavirus aid package. compare that to 42% who say gop leaders made a good faith effort to work with the white house on the bill. 55% say republicans did not work in good faith. now, despite the popularity, mitch mcconnell criticized the covid relief legislation in a speech on the senate floor yesterday. watch. >> democrats inherited a turning tide, the vaccine trends and economic trends were in place before this bill was ever voted on, before this president was sworn in, but they are determined to push to the front of the parade with an effort to push america to the left. >> joining us now, capitol hill correspondent leigh ann caldwell. good morning, thanks for getting up early with us. it is a big day on the hill. i'm so interested in mcconnell's strategy here. it seems as though republicans are taking the same approach that they did back in 2009 when the obama administration was passing this massive stimulus package in the midst of the 2008 recession. but at this point, this is so popular, people yes are seeing light at the end of the tunnel, we're starting to get our vaccines, we are starting to see more and more people who can safely go out, but also the economy is going to lag on all of those indicators, it is not clear that big things like theme parks or other events that employ so many people will be up and ready through the summer. what is the political calculation for republicans in just blanket on that position to what the biden administration is trying to do here? >> reporter: it is interesting, i was a little surprised that they would be so opposed right off the bat from the beginning of this. looking forward, talking to republican aides, they say remember the vote-a-rama that lasted into the night friday night and into saturday, that they forced democrats to take some really difficult votes regarding payments to undocumented immigrants and people receiving stimulus checks in prison, et cetera. and they say that those votes are what people are going to remember, not the passage and receiving a $1400 stimulus check. i'm a bit skeptical of that spin. but mcconnell is trying to also distracts from what the process is happening within the republican party with the former president. and so he is focusing on opposition, he has said to bide and to democrats repeatedly that is -- policy is what will unify the republican party and that seems to be the strategy that he is taking despite fact that this legislation is extremely popular. >> and how do you think this plays going into the midterm elections? you and i both know that mcconnell makes decisions based on raw power calculations and for him that would mean trying to take back the senate whether or not the house remains in democratic hands is also a critical piece of that calculation here. so what is the thinking in terms of how -- i get what you're saying about the votes and vote-a-rama turning themselves easily into campaign ads in the midterms, but it still seems tough to say we really shouldn't have sent you that check in the mail, that was a bad idea. >> yeah, democrats also set up a couple really key cliffs that are happening around the midterms too which will take into consideration the whole politics of this including that child tax credit where families with children under 17 years old making $150,000 or less are going to receive a check in the mail every month because they have children up to $300. and then there is the entire affordable care act subsidy expansion. a lot of people will get a lot of subsidy support in the affordable care act. that runs out around the midterm elections too. so that is making the affordable care act once again a campaign issue, something that democrats have won on over and over again the past recent elections. and so those aspects of this bill will be good for them because they can remind voters what they did even though, you know, a year and a half seems so far away now. republicans are betting on the fact that the deficit and the debt continues to increase because of this bill, nearly $6 trillion have been spent by congress on covid relief bills over the past year, and they think that long term this is going to have bad repercussions and that is what they are betting on looking forward heading into the midterms. >> i'm so glad you mentioned those other things because there is a lot in this bill that i think we'll sort of -- it will unspool over time as we learn the actual impacts after this crisis pandemic hopefully fingers crossed is behind us and there is a lot of significant policy that is in this bill that will have an impact far after all this is done.igh ann caldweo much. and today the senate is expected to confirm two more of president biden's cabinet picks. marcia fudge and merrick garland, both expected to pass easily. the senate voted 70-29 to limit debate and advance judge garland's nomination after a republican attempt to slow the process. and congresswoman deb haaland's push to become the first native american to head i take a few more days. she already has the backing of republican senators lisa murkowski and susan collins and that all but assures that she will have enough support. still ahead here, the fbi releases new security footage in hopes of capturing the person who planted pipe bombs near the u.s. capitol on the day of the january 6 riot. and later, jason crow will be my guest ahead of today's house vote on coronavirus relief. rus relief so you want to make the best burger ever? 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grand jury indicted him on four additional charges and he could face up to 15 years in prison. turning now to the nba where meyers leonard will be away from his team after a slur. they say the words were wrong and we will not tolerate hateful language from anyone. it comes after leonard issues an apology on instagram writing while i didn't know what the word meant at the time, my ignorance is absolutely not an excuse. and i was just wrong. adding, quote, i promise to do better and know that my future actions will be more powerful than my use of this word. and while the nba investigates the matter, online gaming platform twitch has banned leonard from its service. meanwhile, the basketball hall of fame has announced this year's class of finalists. headlining the list of 14 is bill russell now being considered for the hall as a coach after being long enshrined as a player. chris bosh is on the ballot for a second time after missing the cut last year. and another icon paul pierce is a finalist on his first ballot. and on the college court, gonzaga is all but assured the number one overall seed in the upcoming ncaa tournament. top ranked bulldogs will enter march madness with a perfect 26-0 record capturing the wcc title for the eighth time in nine seasons with an 88-76 win over byu last night. gonzaga will be just the fifth team in more than 40 years to enter the tournament with a perfect record. four other teams punch their tickets to the big dance last night including mount st. mary's and cleveland state earned a bid. oral roberts university is tournament down for the first time since 2008. and drexel university will compete for the first time in a quarter century. i'm very excited we'll get march madness here. real signs of spring. and finally, physics defying knuckle ball pitch is a rarity in major league baseball. according to mlb.com, only 23 thrown last year. but mickey janice is looking to change that with the orioles. the team posted this video yesterday of the pitcher's knuckle ball in slow motion. check it out. it is captioned spin rate, where we're going, we don't need a spin rate. i will always take it back to the future reference on top of my os baseball. so many things in there for me this morning. time now for the weather. let's go to bill karins for a check on the forecast. bill, good morning. >> good knuckle ball is very hard to throw. you have to appreciate if you ever tried throwing one to get like no spin on it is incredible. so yeah, fun to watch. that is about it for the orioles though, i'll leave it at that. so we have two big storms in the west, areas of the east are looking warm and nice, but all of the problems will be in the west. so let's take a look at the next five days because march is known for really big storms and this storm is going to be slow moving and we are going to get nailed in areas like colorado. we're talking feet of snow from this upcoming storm. so look at today's map, enjoy this in the eastern half of the country, beautiful, more record high in the middle of the nature. 70 today responsible from atlanta to d.c. the west coast, we're getting that needed rain, los angeles hasn't had a lot of rain. we'll take what we can get. and then tomorrow, still very warm, southern half of the country all the way through the northeast. and then we'll start to watch the big storm in the west on the move. so as we head toward the weekend, the snow breaks out in northern arizona through utah, it starts to head i colorado. we'll have rain, thunderstorms, maybe severe weather with this system. so this is the classic spring storm. saturday, heavy snow, they are already telling people get to your destinations friday night in colorado because you may not be able to travel because of the heavy snow right through the weekend. you may be stuck friday through sunday wherever you are because this storm is going to be, as i said, denver could see one of its all-time biggest snow falls, potential is there for 2 feet. and then sunday you notice the rain and storms in the middle of the nation. so march sometimes we get big blizzards on the east coast or'r nor'easters, and now this march will be known for this big storm in the middle of the country. and people don't realize march is the snowiest month of yeert in colorado. so not a huge surprise. >> who knew. well, hope everyone stays safe out there. bill, thank you very much. and still ahead here, the latest on the growing calls for new york governor andrew cuomo to resign in the wake of harassment allegations. we'll play you hissest exchange where reporters. lsest exchange where reporters. it all starts with an invitation... ...to experience lexus. the invitation to lexus sales event. lease the 2021 rx 350 for $429 a month for 36 month's, and we'll make you're first month's payment. experience amazing. when our daughter and her kids moved in with us... kids, bedtime! and we'll make you're first month's payment. ...she was worried we wouldn't 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[music: “you're the best” by joe esposito] [music: “you're the best” by joe esposito] [triumphantly yells] [ding] don't get mad. get e*trade and take charge of your finances today. want to brain better? don't get mad. unlike ordinary memory supplements— neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. the sun is incredible. it makes our lipton tea leaves better. which makes the smooth tea taste better, and time together even better. and drinking lipton can help support a healthy heart. lipton is a proud sponsor of the american heart association's life is why campaign. the fbi released new videos yesterday of the person suspected of planting two pipe bombs the night before the tsvangirai january riot at the capitol. it depicts the suspect in four separate clips and the fbi is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information that leads to his arrest. it shows the person walking and then stopping to put down the backpack before moving on. other scenes show the person sitting down on a park bench and walking down an alley outside the capitol hill club. very unsettling to watch these videos. all right. let's go now to the latest on the sexual harassment investigation into andrew cuomo. a source tells nbc news that the independent team of investigators scheduled to interview with one of the female accusers charlotte bennett. the 25-year-old claims the governor asked her about her sex life while at work and meanwhile despite growing calls for his resignation, cuomo refused to answer whether or not he will seek a fourth term in office. >> today is not a day for politics. i'm focusing on my job. you don't know any facts, right? you know allegations. you don't know facts. let's operate on facts and we have an investigation, qualified investigators, picked by the attorney general. let's get the facts and then we can have a discussion on the facts. >> cuomo has denied harassing women and said he was sorry for how his behavior made them feel. this is always my big question even more so than whether he will resign or not, will he run for re-election or not. because whether he can win that race will be determined by things perhaps not just facts but how voters feel about what they have learned about what has happened here. despite recent comments from job condemning migrant family detention, a recent court filing by the administration shows that i.c.e. will keep detaining families after all. a senior i.c.e. official spoke with nbc news on the condition of anonymity saying i.c.e. does maintain and continues a system for family detention and the agency is not closing down the centers. according to the official, more than 100 families are in a detention center near san antonio and over 350 are in the south texas family resident deny residential center. and in the coming days, kevin mccarthy along with roughly a dozen republican members are expected to travel to the southern border to view firsthand the overflow of migrants in custody. some critics say bide's rollback of trump's policy accounts for the recent surge. among them lindsey graham who claims the president's policies could create a national security crisis. >> they are children today, but they could easily be terrorists tomorrow. all i can say, there is a lot of danger coming from this wave of illegal immigration and the numbers will double by the summer if we don't go back to trump policies. as painful as it would be for the biden administration, they need to understand that what trump did on the border worked. >> let's underscore that one of the things that trump did at the border was put a -- have a zero tolerance policy that resulted in children being separated from their families. so if we're arguing about going back to trump administration policies, let's not forget about that. still ahead here, after she voted to impeach former president trump, lawmakers in wyoming consider legislation that would make it harder for congresswoman liz cheney to win re-election. we'll talk about that. but before we go to break, we want to know as always why are you awake? email us your reasons for being up or drop me a tweet. use #waytooearly and we'll read some of our favorite answers later. nswers later. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks? now they can! downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh way longer than detergent alone. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and