world leaders coming together one more time in d.c.

for the final day of the nato summit, as nato's top officials blast china over its support for russia, while backing ukraine's integration into the alliance. we have the details. biden in the spotlight. the president set for a high-stakes solo press conference, his first after last month's debate flop, as he fends offer doub off doubt from some of his most prominent supporters. and, in another nbc news exclusive, the sole survivor of the baltimore bridge collapse opens up about his fight to stay alive. and the memory of two family members who were killed in the tragedy. done with? whadone? ellen degeneris speaks out. and water polo. what he's saying about team usa's chances for gold.

it's thursday, july 11. "early today" starts right now. good morning, and glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. in washington, nato is rebuking china as being a quite, decisive enabler of the war in ukraine. the declaration endorsed by all 32 member nato states also sounding the alarm and china's nuclear and space programs. jens stoltenberg had this to stay. >> china is propping up russia's war economy. this is not just a declaration of convenience, it is a major strategic shift. >> let's bring in claudio lavanga. why is nato going after china? >> reporter: good morning, frances. essentially, in that final statement, nato members are making the strongest accusation

so far that china is playing a much bigger role in the war in ukraine than it has claimed so far. now china is insisting that it does not provide direct military assistance to russia in the war in ukraine, but nato members are acc accus ac accusing it of supplying ingredients for russia's war machine which increased dramatically the threats that russia poses against its neighbors including ukraine and nato allies. well, now this is, as i mentioned, the strongest accusation that nato's making against china since the start of the invasion in ukraine in 2022 and also the strongest accusation so far that it is involved directly in that war. now, in that final statement, nato leader as a consequence urged china to stop or cease any material and political support

to russiarussia. now champio china said it is fu obvious lies and smears, saying china did not create the problems and the crisis in ukraine and also the difficulties in the country, promoting peace talks. >> claudio, thank you. now to president biden, who's expected to hold a press conference later today. he is facing immense pressure to quiet concerns that have only grown since the debate. the president has made it clear he intends to stay in this race, but now some of his most prominent backers are asking him to bow out. here's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: while hosting dozens of world leaders at the nato summit in washington, president biden is promoting you

know yununity unity and strength. >> today we're stronger than weav we've ever been. >> reporter: george clooney who hos hosted a star-studded fundraiser said we are not going to win in november with this president and urging democrats to coalesce behind a new nominee. the actor making the case that the president he spent time with at the fundraiser had changed from prior elections and that night was the same man we all witnessed at the debate. former house speaker nancy pelosi became the highest-ranking democrat to signal he could still drop out. >> it's up to the president to decide if he's going to run. we're all encouraging him to, to make that decision, because time is running short. >> reporter: a striking statement, considering the president has repeatedly said he

has decided. >> i'm staying in the race! >> reporter: pelosi later clarifying she still supports the president. >> president biden, is nancy pelosi still behind you, sir? >> reporter: still, top house democrat hakeem jeffries has told worried lawmakers that he plans to relay their concerns to president biden four sources confirmed to nbc news. and senior biden advisors are set to brief senators at a s special caucus luncheon. >> donald trump is on track, i think, to win this election and maybe win it by a landslide and take with him the senate and the house. >> reporter: the question now, will the floodgates open on capitol hill? >> i am deeply concerned about joe biden winning this november. we have to reach a conclusion as soon as possible. >> reporter: abc's george stephanopoulos apparently reaching his own conclusion, now

acknowledging he should not have said this in a video posted on tmz just days after interviewing the president. >> what do you think? do you think biden should step down? you've talked to him more than anybody else has lately. >> reporter: the biden campaign is promising more unscripted events to convince lawmakers, donors and voters that the president is all in. and there's also news from capitol hill. the republican-led house oversight committee has just said it subpoenaed three senior white house aides demanding they sit for depositions regarding the president's mental fitness of the white house is calling it a baseless political stunt. back to you. and coming up on monday, lester holt will sit down with president biden in an exclusive one-on-one interview. you can catch a preview on nbc nightly news and watch the full, u unedited interview at 9:00 p.m.

new york's alexandria ocasio-cortez has introduced articles of impeachment against justices samuel alito and clarence thomas over their refusal to recuse themselves from certain cases. >> every day americans, independent of party or ideology can reasonably conclude that justices thomas and alito's years-long pattern of misconduct and failure to recuse in cases bearing their clear personal and financial involvement represents an abuse of power and threat to our democracy, fund pamamentall incompatible with service on our nation's highest court. >> the supreme court has not responded to request for comment. it is unlikely this effort will have enough support in the republican-led house. opening arguments got under way in the alec baldwin r"rust" shooting trial. he is charges charged withd wit

manslaughter. >> you will see him put his trig finger on the trigger. >> even if he intentionally pulled the trigger like the prosecutor just demonstrated, that doesn't make you guilty of homicide. >> baldwin could face up to a year and a half in prison if convicted. the faa investigating another scare on an airport runway this morning. new video showing the tire blowing off an american airlines flight, as it was taking off in tampa. the airline says 174 passengers and six crew members were on board. they all made it off safely. it came a day after a tire fell off another boeing plane during takeoff in l.a. hurricane beryl did not go quietly. its remnants tearing across midwest and northeast, spawning tornados, relentless rain and flooding. at least one twister touched down in upstate new york,

ripping apart trees and damaging properties south of buffalo. in indiana, some homes were completely leveled by a tornado tuesday night. this as scorching temperatures stretch from florida to maine. more than 1.3 million are still without power in southeast texas, creating dangerous conditions for texans. center point energy now under fire for its response as they race to restore power. let's check in with angie lassman for the latest on the stifling heat wave. kind of same-old for the country. >> we've no we've no price. st surprise still got the heat alerts. we've got temperatures into the 90s feeling like mid-90s in some spot. but triple digits is what it will feel like in savannah as we get through the day today.

out west is where it's really impressive. these temperatures have been record breaking day after day. and we're not looking at a whole lot of relief. palm springs expected to hit 121. 116 is the record for this date. and notice this does not change. as i mentioned, not a whole lot in the way of relief. 116 for friday in las vegas. we only really get down to 109 by sunday, that's the only improvement we see there. similar conditions across parts of the rockies as well, out towards phoenix, we're going to see 115 on friday and in for ta

95 in charl son. we're back with an exclusive interview, a sole survivor from the bridge collapse speaks out about how he survived. speaks ou about how he survived. probiot. with a delicious apple and blueberry-flavored fruit center and yogurt coating, each bite is infused with added probiotics, to help promote a healthy digestive system every day. plus, they're packaged in individually-wrapped pouches, for daily digestive support on the go. look for new align yogurt coated probiotic fruit bites online and in the digestive care aisle of your local retailer. brand power, helping you buy better. meet new all sensitive fresh™, it's a game changer for me and my family. now all has a detergent that's gentle on skin and leaves our laundry smelling breezy. all sensitive fresh, with a hypoallergenic scent my family loves. 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 than three months after the baltimore bridge collapse killed six construction workers, the lone survivor is speaking out for the first time. he shared his account with tom llamas. >> there's a ship approaching that just lost their steering. >> reporter: when the cargo ship dali slammed into baltimore's key bridge, causing it to collapse, seven construction workers were hurled into the patapsco river. >> like there is no bridge. like there is no bridge! >> reporter: six of the workers would die, all but julio cervantes suarez. the image is frozen in your head?

>> si. >> reporter: why? [speaking in a global language] >> reporter: it's the ship that destroyed six families, he says. for the first time he's telling his story of survival. just before 1:30 a.m. as the dali was making its way under the key bridge, cervantes and his crew were on a break towards the middle of the brigitting in th their vehicles. though police had been alerted, cerv cervantes said they had no idea the 947-foot-long vessel was about to hit the bridge. he said suddenly everything started to shake. he witnessed his co-workers all slide into the water one by one, and then so did he. do you remember what was going through your led as you're falling into the water? [speaking in a global language] i thought we might never get out, he says. did you pray? did you scream? [speaking in a global language] he says he thanked god, asked him to take care of his wife and family and asked for forgiveness

for everything he'd done. when the frigid water started to fill his truck cabin, he realized he was alive and luckily his car had manual windows. he rolled one down and got out of his truck. but there was another problem. do you know how to swim? [speaking in a global language] cervantes said he floated to a piece of bridge lodged in the river and started to call out for his co-workers. >> alejandro, dorian, miguel. >> reporter: but he heard nothing. among those who died, his brother-in-law and nephew. he wished he could have one last conversation with him and thank him for being a part of his life. [speaking in a global language] lawyers representing five of the victims, including cervantes, plan to file suit in the coming weeks against all companies involved with the ship. the ntsb has reported the ship had power trouble in the days leading to the disaster.

>> they had multiple issues, not just before hitting the bridge but before even getting to this port. >> imagine being on a bridge and watching your friends and family members drop, one by one by one before you. >> and our thanks to tom llamas for sharing that story. still to come. a comedy icon who will no longer just keep swimming, ellen degeneris previews her final act and takes on the long-standing stories about her behavior. ng stories about her behavior. because it stinks. ♪have you tried downy rinse and refresh♪ it helps remove odors 3x better than detergent alone. it worked guys! ♪yeahhhh♪ downy rinse and refresh. this is what joint pain looks like. when you keep moving with aleve. (♪♪) just 1 aleve. 12 hours of uninterrupted joint pain relief. aleve. strength to last 12 hours. finish ultimate. engineered for the toughest conditions.

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and keep on going. i give consent to sever my memories. >> between my personal life and work life. >> i am aware this is comprehensive and irreversible. >> okay, so your memories aren't deceiving you. since it's been a minute. it's timely time for a return to lumen industries. apple released the first teaser

of "severance." you've got them all set to return for the mind-bending drama. the season premieres on apple tv plus on january 17. we're just talking about this, how much we don't remember. >> it's been so long. >> which is fitting for "severance", right? when is it coming out, you said? >> january. not only have we waited all this time, but we still have a long way to go. i'm going to have to re-watch season one. there's no joke here. ellen degeneris is close to taking her final bow. according to variety, during a stop this month on her ellen's last standup tour, the comedy and talk show icon fielded a question about her future in showbiz. her response lived up to her tour's name, saying this is the last time you're going to see me. she also addressed accusations of a toxic workplace culture, levied at her award-winning talk show. she admitted while she can be demanding and impatient and tough, she is not mean.

the tour will include a special for netflix and runs through august 17th. an audience member asked about dori, are you going to be back for that? and she said no, remember, i'm going bye-bye. >> she is just really checking out of this. it is sad. hopefully this will end in a positive way. and you won't wbe able to rent movies from red box much longer. ovies from red box much longer. oh no! with chewy, get flea meds delivered before the itching begins or after. but before is definitely better. good job. save 20% on your first pharmacy order and get it delivered right on time.

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michigan is making a big difference by helping endangered species thrive. erin bowling takes us inside the conservation efforts. >> reporter: if you head to the potter park zoo, you expect to see some pretty cool animals. what you might not expect is the hard work being done behind the scenes to help endangered species. >> we've been able to breed here red pandas, ring-tailed leemurs. they are a conservation view, meaning they're focussed on helping population levels and educating the public. while they've released tens of thousands of critica critically-endangered tadpoles, they help the u.s. >> the majority of species you see at the zoo are endangered at one level or another. but we're always continuing to work on, if you wandered around the zoo today you might have

seen that the rhinos are together. >> reporter: there's been about 15 to 20 endangered animals born at the zoo in the last two years alone. those visiting tuesday surprised the zoo reached such a high number in such a short time. >> that's pretty awesome. >> that's great. that is really great. a small zoo like this can contribute that. >> it's cool that they are, like, helping the animals, like survive. >> reporter: their most recently-announced endangered animal birth is the red panda cub. they hope people feel inspired to help populations like theirs after meeting them in person. >> what that comes down to for red panda specifically is being aware of the forest products we're using, we're using things that are reusable or recycleable. team usa is bringing flavor to the olympics.

flavor flav that is, the hall of fame rapper signed a five-year sponsorship deal to be the official hype man for both women's and men's national water polo teams. f flav even hopping into the pool with the women's team as they go for their fourth straight gold medal. >> girls playing this water polo, they busting they [ bleep ] making tu.s. look goo. i'm giving them a more confident feeling to go out and get that gold medal. >> as part of the deal, flavor flav will make a contribution to the women's team. and you can watch all the action here on july at an

alameda home. a live report