80 years ago today, allied troops landed on the beaches of normandy, and against staggering odds turned the tide in world war ii.

we're live in norld mandy with world leaders, including president biden are commemorating d-day. back here at home, another morning of deadly storms. rare tornados ravaging michigan and maryland, leaving a toddler dead and five people injured. the damage, plus meteorologist angie lassman is tracking a dangerous heat wave. could the suspected gilgo beach serial killer face more murder charges? a big development expected in the case today. at long last, the stars align for the starliner. boeing finally launches its spacecraft with two astronauts on board and blasts off into a new space race. at the tipping point. why more americans are thinking twice before tipping, and where people are pulling back. it's thursday, june 6. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm frances rivera. we begin in normandy, france, where in just a few hours, president biden will honor

veterans from the greatest generation. he'll deliver a speech marking 80 years since d-day and commemorate the soldiers who helped turn the tide of world war ii. nbc's jay gray joins us from normandy. and jay, this is a very emotional day for the surviving heroes who made the journey to france. >> yeah, frances, crowds beginning to gather at the american cemetery. dignitaries and leaders, including president biden will gather here today. but clearly it's the heroes that they've come to honor who are the most important guests on these grounds. the men who stormed the beaches, the fighter pilots, those on board the ships just off the shoreline. the veterans who've returned and those marked by the headstone just behind us here, the ones who never left. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: they line up in formation, though most can't march or stand at attention anymore. still, they move through this battlefield turned graveyard memorial, a visit that brings

with it memories of their first trip here. 80 years ago. >> i'm reliving walking in on d-day. >> reporter: staff sergeant jake larsson landed on omaha beach with the first wave of soldiers, his unit peppered with machine gunfire as they scrambled to positions, larsson somehow making it across the sand without taking a hit. >> how do you explain something like that? and these, my buddies are buried here. i'm 101 years old. it won't be long and i'll be joining them. >> reporter: one of the reasons for many it's so important to be here. a chance to say one final good-bye and to honor those who never left. >> we lost so many men, it's unbelievable. and young people should know

about this. and they really don't. so i just, i had to say something. >> reporter: so they share their stories, take pictures. though most will tell you they don't care much for the attention, and even though they are, many refuse the label of hero. >> i'm not a hero at all. those guys that sacrificed their life are a hero. i'm the result of the, their being heroes. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: truth is, they're all heroes, remembered for their service, courage and sacrifice. yeah, what an amazing week it's been, and what a gift it's been to be able to spend some time with some of these men. i was struck by something one of the d-day survivors told me as he pointed out to the white crosses here with tears in his eyes. he said most of these guys were

17, 18, 19 years old. they never had families. he said, but they made it possible for me to have a family, to live a long life because of their sacrifice. amazing to hear what they have to say and to see how much they respect and honor those who didn't make it off of this battlefield. >> so wonderful for them to be able to share their stories. jay, thank you. let's turn now to the latest battle on capitol hill where senate republicans have blocked a bill that would have protected access to contraception at the federal level. nbc's alice barr joins us from d.c. democrats seem to know this bill didn't stand a chance. so why did they bring it up for a vote? >> reporter: good morning, frances. democrats have been transparent about the fact that they see reproductive rights as a winning issue heading into the november election, and they want to draw a sharp contrast between the two political parties. so this vote puts republicans on the record when it comes to safeguarding birth control.

but many in the gop dismiss this all as a political stunt, saying it was unnecessary, because contraception is legal across the country. >> who wants to ban contraception? like what, where would that pass? not mine. my state's a very pro-life state. no way. no way. >> democrats think they can win this case, this election based on reproductive rights, and somehow they're suggesting that contraception is in jeopardy, which is just blatantly false. >> reporter: democrats are arguing that it is absolutely necessary to put a spotlight on reproductive rights ahead of this election. senate majority leader chuck schumer saying there are already states where birth control access has been put at risk. >> go ask the people of arizona or florida or idaho or iowa, or missouri. each of these states, in each of these states, republican

governors, republican legislatures are on record of blocking access in one form or another. >> reporter: the right to contraception act is not completely dead. senate majority leader chuck schumer left the door open to possibly bringing it up for a vote again at a later date. frances? >> alice, thanks. the suspected gilgo beach serial killer is due in court today. a source with direct knowledge telling nbc news rex heuermann will face new charges linked to other victims. heuermann is a new york architect already charged with murdering four women on long island. the hearing was hastily called after police conducted new searches on his property and a nearby wooded area. he was arrested last july and has been in custody ever since. he has pleaded not guilty, and there no date set for his trial. in italy, amanda knox lost her bid to clear her name as she was charged with slander.

she was sentenced to three years in prison, but that's time she's already served. and she will not go to jail. for the latest, let's go live to rome and claudio lavanga. why was amanda knox back on chi trial in italy? >> reporter: back in 2011, i was one of those reporters outside the prison when she was released after her murder conviction was overturned. to this day, she seas's still g of slander after accusing the owner of a bar with the murder of meredith kercher. he spent two weeks in prison before he was found completely innocent, and amanda knox was sentenced to a three-year prison term for slander. amanda knox always claimed she made the false accusation because she was under police duress and had no legal representation or interpreter. and in 2019, the european court

of human rights agreed with her, that her defense rights were violated. and that's why the italian top court ordered a retrial of the slap slander conviction. that's why amanda knox was here, she wanted to clear her name of anything to do with the murder of meredith kercher. in the end, that court in florence reconvicted her again. as you mentioned, she's not going to spend a day in prison, because she's already served that time when she was initially convicted of murder. certainly, it will come as a major disappointment to amanda knox, she was hoping to return to the united states with a clean slate. frances? >> claudio, thank you. an appeals court in georgia has delayed the trump election interference case until at least october. it's a massive blow to prosecutors. judges agree to hear an appeal on whether fani willis should be dismissed from the case over a

romantic relationship with her lead prosecutor. she denies any conflict of interest. but this means the case will not go to trial before the presidential election in november. and in a twist of the law, former president trump's gun license for new york city has been suspended. it follows his felony convictions in the hush money trial. the extent of mr. trump's gun ownership is unclear. he has been under secret service protection for nine years, but records show he was registered as owning a firearm at the time he was indicted. testimony will continue today in the federal gun trial of hunter biden. the president's son is accused of using illegal drugs while purchasing a gun. yesterday, some of biden's former romantic partners were asked about his history of addiction. hunter's ex-wife, kathleen buell testified that he was angry while on drugs but could function. and an ex-girlfriend said he was using drugs every 20 minutes or so and he was an active user

around the time he filled out the background check for the gun. the defense says he did not knowingly lie on the form. turning to michigan where a tornado developed so quickly that residents in the detroit area had no warning before it roared through there. a massive tree was torn from the ground and sent crashing through the roof of a home onto a bed. meanwhile, in maryland, multiple tornados terrorized the state, including one in montgomery county that trapped five people. officials say they were all hurt, including one person who was hospitalized with serious injuries. let's turn to meteorologist angie lassman now. good morning, angie. >> good morning, frances. we've got steamy temperatures out west. we turn our attention to folk under these heat alerts. you can see there's plenty of them. 27 million people, including cities of las vegas and phoenix. temperatures get a surge into the triple digits. by the way, the record for this date is 110.

similar story in phoenix. 114 is the forecasted high for today. the current record sits at 111. not much relief for tomorrow. more triple digits across many of these same locations. even albuquerque not into the triple digits but sure warm with a high of 98 degrees. we keep this heat going at least into the beginning part of our weekend, but notice, a little bit of relief starts to work its way into this region by the time we get into our knnext workweek. you'll see some of these showers impacting folks through the morning commute and into this afternoon. we'll see stronger storms from new york to north carolina. we'll be watching that for later today. and by tomorrow, most of that system's out of the picture. but we've got to wat forch h 90s

antonio. thunderstorms in the forecast for montgomery and atlanta. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. >> angie, thank you. "early today" is back in a minute with happy news for the happiest place on earth. and a sea of change when it comes to keeping the change. why more americans are skipping out on tipping. ns are skipping out on tipping. say hello to your fairy godmother alice, and long-lasting gain scent beads. part of the irresistible scent collection from gain. feeling ughh from a backed up gut? ughh. miralax works naturally with the water in your body to help you go. free your gut and your mood will follow. for 8 grams of fiber, try mirafiber gummies. this isn't charmin! no wonder i don't feel as clean. here's charmin ultra strong. ahhh! my bottom's been saved! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort.

enjoy the go with charmin. pain means pause on the things you love, but... green... means... go! ♪♪ cool the pain with biofreeze. and keep on going. biofreeze. green means go. more americans are tapping out when it comes to tipping. but first, a new reason to smile for the happiest place on earth. disney is spending big bucks in florida to expand its parks. steve sedgwick is here with the full details, good morning. >> yeah, very good morning to you. the park's getting bigger as well. and of course ron desantis and his dispute with disney has ended. so we could see more parks, bigger parks. there could be a fifth major theme park to disney world. two minor parks, such as water parks, always happy to see more.

lazy river, that's my favorite. hotel rooms up to 53,000 fro fr 20,000. elsewhere, how many times have we seen the headline in the u.s., tipping culture is out of control. when apparently consumers are fighting back and actually spending a little bit less on tipping than they had done a couple years ago. for instance, in 2021, the percentage who always tipped was around about three quarters. that's gone down to just two-thirds as well. certain industries always get the tips, not surprisingly. restaurant servers top the list with 67% always tip. hair yes hairdressers, 55%. 51% for food delivery. frances, more disney, less tipping. >> when it comes to the fast food places where they have it on their monitors to tip and you

feel guilty when you don't, right? steve, thanks so much. still to come on "early today," a decade after taylor swift learned to shake off her own haters, she gives the same advice to another pop star. and the latest on some rumors that are so high school for swift and lady gaga. swift a. you are bountiful. your bones can support two times your weight. it's in your nature to stand strong. your cells renew every 27 days. it's in your nature to glow. your digestion can improve by laughing with friends. it's in your nature to thrive. your body is brilliant. from your head to your heels. we're just here to supplement you. nature's bounty. it's in your nature. try killing bugs the worry-free way. not the other way. 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.

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license during the chiefs' last white house visit. he did go up to the podium and said i've been waiting for this. but patrick mahomes scooted him away. >> you know what i love about the pod kcast, we see things pl out. then we get the inside scoop from the podcast. we find out all the little things we may never have known otherwise. >> they're so popular, these guys. >> speaking of travis, while he's meeting world leaders, his girlfriend is coming to the defense of fellow pop icons. lady gaga took to tiktok reminding people to vote and shut down recent pregnancy rumors. she made reference to taylor swift's song. and taylor commented on those who remarked about gaga's appearance. this all came after some pictures surfaced from a

wedding. people were assuming that she was pregnant. i mean, she says she's not. but of course taylor swift comes to her defense. a girl's girl. >> the first thing that happens when women's bodies change when they're in the public eye, they automatically say, is she pregnant? what's going on? >> lady gaga lives. >> exactly. when we come back, flavor flav says he tries to save red lobster one cheddar bay biscuit at a time. e cheddar bay biscuit at a time. lison's plaque psoriasis. she thinks her flaky gray patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. allison! over here! otezla can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. with no routine blood tests required. doctors have been prescribing otezla for over a decade. otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen.

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rapper flavor flav is ordering the entire menu in red lobster. the chain filed chapter 11 relief in may in florida. "early today" will be right back. e right back. pain means pause on the things you love, but... green... means... go! ♪♪ cool the pain with biofreeze. and keep on going. biofreeze. green means go. 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. ( ♪ ♪ )

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south texas at 8:00 a.m. eastern. it's designed to one day fly to the moon, mars and beyond. it comes a day after a much-needed win for boeing. the aerospace giant starliner capsule finally took off after weeks of delays, carrying two astronauts to the international space station. as marissa para tells us, they have been playing catchup. >> put some fire in this rocket. push it to the heavens. >> reporter: all eyes on boeing star liner, the space capsule perched at cape canaveral. >> carrying two american heroes. >> reporter: plaziblazing into sky with two astronauts for the first time. on a mission to the international space station, celebration as the starliner and its crew reached orbit. >> when we expand our fleet of

spacecraft, what we're doing is expanding our reach to the stars. >> reporter: after nasa's decision to partner with private companies to take crews to the international space station, this milestone moment coming after years of delays. boeing starliner behind schedule and over budget. a failed uncrewed test flight in 2019, plagued with software glitches. more recently, delays after a parachute wouldn't hold the weight of the capsule upon re-entry. and set backs including a helium leak in may. and last week's attempt stopped with less than four minutes before launch, due to a software problem. >> the vehicle's trajectory continues to look good. >> reporter: no room for error as boeing has been at the center of controversy for the infamous door plug blowout earlier this year, costing delays and reputation. a congratulations from elon

musk, founder and ceo of rival spacex, which has been nasa's main way to send astronauts to the iss for the last four years. starliner paving the way for a new chapter in space travel. >> our thanks to marissa for that report. now to this family trip to a texas wildlife center that took a terrifying turn. ae a toddler was riding in the back of a pickup with her father and a giraffe pulled the child out of the truck bed. they're not mad at the giraffe or angry at the park, and they will visit aga e way.

a solemn anniversary. 80 years since d-day, when the allied forces stormed the beaches of normandy during world war ii. president biden will be there this morning, meeting with veterans and givin