breaking overnight. southeast texas braces for beryl. the powerful storm pounding the lone star state as a category 1 hurricane. angie lassman is tracking the storm for us. boeing complete completing guilty to a pair of charges over a pair of 737 max crashes. why the families of the victims say the punishment doesn't go far enough. president biden still defiant despite a growing chorus of democrats calling for him to step aside. we're live with his message to voters. flying the unfriendly skies. air travel complaints soar even as cancellation rates hit lows. passengers sound off after one of the busiest travel weeks of all times. and a cancer survivor proves you can overcome any obstacle. how she is helping others find their inner athlete. it's monday, july 8th. "early today" starts right now.

welcome to monday. good morning. i'm frances rivera. we begin with a life-threatening storm bearing down on the texas coast right now. hurricane beryl lashing southern texas with strong winds and bringing the threat of storm surge that could reach as high as 7 feet. rainfall up to 15 inches is possible in some areas, and disaster has been declared for more than 100 counties. beryl regains strength and intensifies back into a category 1 storm before it reached texas with maximum winds reaching up to 80 miles per hour. schools in the houston area will be closed as the storm may cause flash flooding throughout the day. and this is the same storm that left behind a path of destruction in the caribbean where at least nine deaths have been linked to the hurricane. let's get an update on beryl's path now with nbc meteorologist angie lassman who is tracking it all for us. good morning, angie. >> good morning, frances. we're hours away from the

landfall likely for hurricane beryl. the hurricane conditions already overspreading parts of the texas coast. we do have the winds up to 80 miles per hour. as you mentioned, this happened overnight, back to the category 1 after spending plenty of time over the warm gulf waters, but battling a little bit of dry air. as far as wind gusts, we've seen 75 plus-mile-per-hour winds in east matagorda, port o'connor coming in with 74 miles per hour. the hurricane conditions are starting to overspread the immediate coastal area of texas. we're going to likely see conditions deteriorating as the morning goes on. we're really concerned about the flooding over the next 24 hours through your monday essentially. we've seen from 3 to 5 inches of reports of rain in some of these spots, especially closer to the coast, and more on the way. 5 to 10 inches is what we're expecting. but isolated amounts could be potentially upwards of 10 to 15. that likely, if some of these intense tropical bands set up over the same areas we do see the houston metro area. we know how vulnerable that location is to any amount of rain essentially.

we've got the flood alerts up. notice the flash flood warning that's in effect closer to the coast. but 12 million people included on that. on top of, that the wind damage will likely be minor to moderate. but we'll see the potential for some downed power lines, some downed trees, rather. the power outages will be likely through the day today. bay city expecting wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour. houston expecting wind gusts over 70 miles per hour. the storm surge also a concern for the immediate coast. we're going to see 4 to 7 feet of storm surge, frances, along that area. back over to you. >> we'll keep watching it. angie, thank you so much. breaking overnight, boeing accepted a plea deal to avoid facing a criminal trial. the justice department says bow willing plead guilty to a fraud charge. the government determined the company violated the terms of the settlement related to the two 737 max crashes that killed 346 passengers. the plea deal calls for boeing to pay an additional fine of over $240 million. families of the crash victims

were briefed about this potential agreement. they indicated that they would ask the judge to reject the deal. let's turn now to the race for the white house. president biden continues to face fallout after his poor debate performance. four more democratic lawmakers are calling on the president to step aside and let someone else run. that's according to multiple people familiar with a call that happened yesterday. for more on this, we're joined by nbc's brie jackson in d.c. good morning, brie. what do we know about this phone call? >> good morning, frances. so this was a call organized by house minority leader hakeem jeffries. our sources say president biden's future as the leader of the party was a major focus of this conversation, and that even lawmakers who did not directly call on the president to drop out expressed concerns that he may not be the strongest candidate to beat donald trump in november. but lawmakers and biden campaign did not immediately provide comments on this call.

president biden continues to insist that he's not giving up this fight. he had this message for campaign staffers in pennsylvania sunday. >> this election is going to be about block and tackle in simple, basic politics. simple. it's going to be a matter of how many signs we get out, how many doors we knock on, how many calls we make, and how many requests we answer. i tell you what, dark brandon is coming back. and guess what? the next 120 some days or so, they're going get a real good look at who donald trump is. >> president biden faces another test. he'll be hosting world leaders for a summit in d.c. president biden is expected to kick things off honoring nato's 75th anniversary. >> brie jackson for us, brie,

thank you. israelis took to the streets this weekend as the country marked nine months since the hamas attack on october 7th. protesters blocked highways and called on the government to reach a ceasefire deal with hamas to free remaining israeli captives held in gaza. international mediators will meet this week to try and broker a final agreement. this follows reports in the israeli immediate that hamas has dropped their demand for a complete ceasefire right away instead agreeing to a conditional truce that would be renewed in stages. another week, another shock election result in france, where the leftest alliance defeating the far right national rally party defying expectations and polling. this was the second and final round of legislative snap elections called by president macron. national rally had won the previous vote facing fears france would get its first far right government since the nazi occupation. good morning, claudio. what explains this result?

good morning, claudio. well, it does look like it went from to the left. on sunday there was a surprise win by the new mop popp lar elected alliance. the national rally arriving third after president macron's ensemble coalition. how did that happen? probably due to what they called some sort of firewall, a political firewall that was raised by the center and left which they agreed to pull their candidate that received the least votes and endorse the candidate from the other parties that kind of worked obviously in the way that president macron's

gamble after the disastrous performance in the european elections and the good performance by the national rally paid off because in the end, this firewall did contain the national rally. but in the end, it will also plunge french politics into a bit of chaos because the fact that now the government is split between the -- the parliament is split between center right and left almost evenly. it means the prime minister first of all already resigned. and it means it will probably lead a hung parliament and an uncertain political future at least in the near future. frances? >> okay, claudio, thank you. two people were killed and 19 injured in a shooting at a block party on the east side of detroit. it happened early sunday morning. no arrests have been made yet. it capped off a long holiday weekend of violence at block parties in the city. detroit's mayor and police chief will hold a joint press conference today to present what they are calling a comprehensive new strategy for safety around these events.

the month of june marked 13 straight months of a record heat around the globe. in addition, europe's climate service says global temperatures have now been 1.5 degrees celsius warmer than preindustrial times for a year straight. this is a long-running heatwave continues to shatter records in the u.s. the national weather service says some 36 million people, or 10% of the population are under an excessive heat warning, and it's having deadly consequences. officials in death valley national park say a motorcyclist died of suspected heat exposure this weekend, and another person was hospitalized. and the oppressive heat is not letting up. let's check back in with meteorologist angie lassman who is tracking the high temperatures. angie, good morning. how much longer can we expect it to last? >> good morning, frances. unfortunately, we are far from done with this. we'll still be dealing with triple-digit temperatures through at least the next couple days. 103 million people under these heat alerts. there are some across parts of the east.

we've really been focused across parts of the west where there has been impressive heat, record after record falling over the past few days. and we've got a high pressure that maintains control over this region. so we're going to continue to see that sit over parts of the desert southwest. that means more records potentially being broken here in the days to come. we've already seen plenty of the records in places like las vegas over the past few days, and notice where we go over the next few days. las vegas, for example, 115 today. but 118 tuesday and wednesday. 118 in palm springs by the time we get through the middle of the week. fresno will be over 110 today. we've got redding set to hit 114. so you see this stays with us at least for the next few days. and we're running from 10 to 15 degrees above normal in places like redding. spokane expected to be more than 20 degrees above normal by the time we ge s new orleans.

rain of course for houston, shreveport and dallas today. and that's a look at your forecast, frances. back to you. >> a lot to watch the start of the week. angie, thank you. it was minion domination at the multiplex over the holiday weekend. "despicable me 4" stole the top spot watt the box office with a $75 million debut. the total for the animated sequel from our sister companies universal and illumination now stands at 122 million over the long weekend. gru and the minions dethroned reigning champ "inside out 2" which took in another 30 million in its fourth week in theaters. john cena smackdowns wrestling. and hey travel complaints soar to new heights even as cancellations plummet. ala reduces nerve discomfort in as little as seven days.

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for some airline passengers, and the government is now revealing the travel headaches are becoming more common, and flyers are fed up. here is george solis. >> reporter: with nthousands of delays across the country, many flying home after the july 4th weekend thinks it's worse than years. >> do you think it's gotten better or worse? >> it's not better. i don't know if it's worse. >> late times, delays. and just being able to exchange your ticket when you feel like it. it has gotten worse. >> reporter: a new report reveal thanksgiving were so knee-deep in complaints filed by air travelers last year that it took them through this month to sort three them all. in total, the agency saying it received some 97,000 submissions, the highest number on record since the pandemic, up from 86,000 in 2022. complaints rose sharply against the airlines themselves.

ticket agents, tour operators, and even discrimination. why are there so many more complaints do you think? >> consumer complaints for air travel are higher than years due largely to the fact that more people are traveling than ever before. we are seeing numbers that we've never seen. >> boarding group 2. >> reporter: another reason critiques are soaring, more flyers now know their rights and how to file these complaints. even as the u.s. hit a record low cancellation record in more than a decade, more than a quarter of flights last year were still subject to the frustrating delays. two-thirds of all complaints last year were about airlines here in the u.s. the transportation department says they will streamline how they take complaints from flyers to quickly address more issues and hold the airlines accountable. >> good boy, that's a good boy! >> reporter: proving the odds against the chaos and turbulent travel. george solis, nbc news. now some dramatic images this weekend from europe's

active volcano. mount etna erupted again as volcanic activity intensified over the last week. clouds of smoke spewed lava and ash into the sky, forcing a nearby airport to temporarily close. prior to this weekend, mount etna had been dormant for about four years. but it does have a long history of eruptions dating back to 450 b.c. the iconic red windmill is back atop paris' moulin rouge. it collapsed unexpectedly after a show in april. lungely, no one was hurt. the famed cabaret celebrated its restoration with a ceremony featuring can-can dancers. the moulin rouge scrambled to get the repairs done before next monday when the olympic torch and accompanying big crowds are expected to pass through. still to come, lebron gets one step closer to making nba history. and a familiar face hopped into the ring over the weekend, and his name? john cena. find out what the superstar revealed to his fans. zevo traps.

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tonight, i officially announce my retirement from the wwe. i hear a mixed opinion out there. >> you can see john cena in the ring, but only for one more year. on saturday, the wwe star told an emotional toronto crowd that he would be retiring from wrestling in 2025. cena, who has been part of the wwe for over two decades said it will include final appearances at wrestlemania before adding it all up attend of the year. but it is not goodbye. he said basically while he is not going to be competing with wwe, you'll still see him in some capacity. and of course he's got his acting career. >> i was going to say. i didn't even know he was still doing. this i just thought he was acting. number 23 is officially

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training to become a world class athlete in obstacle course racing. kathy park has her inspiring story. ♪ >> reporter: obstacle course racing is a gritty, physically demanding sport, with competitors enduring challenges at every turn. you won't see it this month at the paris olympics, but will debut in 2028 at the next summer games in los angeles. as part of the modern pentathlon, inspiring a new group of elite athletes. wendy bounds won't be competing, but cheering on team usa as they go for gold. at 52 years old, this journalist and cancer survivor believes she already won, crediting the sport for changing her life. >> i typed in what are the hardest things you can do? and the google algorithm pick is back out obstacle course racing. >> so when you decided to do this in your mid-40s? what was the feedback?

what did people tell you. >> are you insane? >> reporter: but it's a breakthrough that got her moving in ways she never thought possible, swinging, climbing, and tackling obstacles even after her skin cancer diagnosis. >> i was super lucky. they caught it very, very early. but suddenly, mortality is right there in your face. and if i hadn't had this to give me back some sense of control over my body, i don't know, honestly, what would have happened. >> reporter: charging ahead, wendy is now the epitome of health, training hours each day with the help of two coach, and often a top finisher in her age group at competitions across the country. >> i was a skinny kid, last picked for sports teams, you know. i sat on the bench. i handed my friends water. i always wanted to be an athlete. >> reporter: wendy's transformation didn't happen overnight. her first race humbled her. >> i was terrified. i fell off the 17-foot rope, and i almost quit at that point. but i didn't.

so that was race number one. >> reporter: fast forward to race number 51 in new york. where i got to join her as she coached, encouraged, and pushed me to keep going. proving it's not too late even for me. she's carried this theme into a book, writing a road map for rediscovery and resilience at any age. >> and just like that, i climb up the rest of the wall. this success is so shocking to me that i literally yelled to nobody, since i don't know anybody, oh my god, i'm going to do this. >> reporter: by flipping the script on aging, she has unleashed a fierce competitor, now inspiring others to find their inner athlete. kathy park, nbc news, new york. >> now that's your monday

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