r watching this special edition of "top story," goodnight. " goodnight. a critical moment. president biden defending his fitness for office, fielding a range of questions on age, health and policy.

we have reaction amidst more calls for the president to step down. israel's military acknowledging failure where 100 people were killed. we're live with details of that report, plus the fate of a humanitarian aid pier in gaza. police in charlotte, north carolina arrest two people in connection with a shooting spree that killed one and hurt at least two others. the suspects both teenagers. why the rampage could have been worse. it's a big night in sports. the celebration of the best athletes and teams. and remembering shelley du duvall. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm frances rivera. president biden is hoping his performance at a high-stakes

press conference was enough to reassure supporters. the president took questions for nearly an hour, defending his decision to stay in the race, even though more than a dozen democratic lawmakershave asked him to step aside. kelly o'donnell kicks off our coverage. >> reporter: the president facing reporters and defending his decision to stay in the race. >> a honlong way to go in this campaign. so i, i'm just going to keep moving. keep moving. and, because, look, i got more work to do. more work to finish. >> reporter: while he spoke at length on complex foreign policy, a mistake early caught attention, mixing up the vice president's name. >> look, i wouldn't have picked vice president trump to be vice president if i didn't think she was qualified to be president. let's start there. number one. the fact is that the consideration is that i think

i'm the most qualified person to run for president. i beat him once. and i will beat him again. >> reporter: after alarming his own party and stoking worries about his wellness to run at 81, at last month's debate, the president addressing his stamina and schedule. >> i always have an inclination, whether i was playing sport or doing politics, just to keep going. i just got to pace myself a little more. pace myself. >> reporter: several close biden allies, including three involved in the reelection effort tell nbc news they no longer see a path to a biden victory. one campaign official with this stark assessment. he needs to drop out. he will never recover from this. mr. biden's response to the growing number of calls urging him to step aside. >> best way to assure them is the way i assure myself. and that is, am i getting the job done? am i getting the job done?

can you name me somebody who's gotten more major pieces of legislation passed in three and a half years? i created 2,000 jobs this last week. so if i slow down i can't get the job done. that's a sign that i shouldn't be doing it. but there's no indication of that yet. none. >> reporter: facing a range of questions on foreign policy and how he would face adversaries like china and russia and dealing with the war in gaza. >> china has to understand that if they are supplying russia with information and capacity along with working with north korea and others to help russia in armament that they're not going to benefit economically as a consequence of that by getting the kind of investment they're looking for. >> reporter: the dramatic turn in this campaign placing the vice president in a different spotlight. >> the way she's handled the issue of freedom of women's bodies, to have control over

their bodies. secondly, her ability to handle almost any issue on the board. this was a hell of a prosecutors. she was a first-rate person and in the senate she was really good. i wouldn't have picked her unless i thought she was qualified to be president. from the very beginning. i made no bones about that. she's qualified to be president. that's why i picked her. >> reporter: on the campaign trail in north carolina. harris spoke to democrats' doubts. >> one thing we know about our president, joe biden, is that he is a fighter. >> reporter: the nato summit has dominated the president's week, with its series of meetings, pageantry and hosting a wednesday night dinner. at a session on ukraine, president biden vowed to continue support but also had a verbal slip, introducing zelenskyy as putin before catching himself. >> ladies and gentlemen, president putin. [ applause ] president putin! he's going to beat president

putin. president zelenskyy. >> reporter: all before the high-stakes test. >> i'm not doing this for my legacy. i'm in this to complete the job i started. >> and our thanks to kelly o'done ma o'donnell for that report. an investigation in the israeli military has found serious flaws. the idf chief of staff presented the report to the kibbutz leadership before it was made public. for the latest, let's go to claudio lavanga. what does the report say? >> reporter: good morning, frances. the report essentially says that after hundreds of israeli soldiers from several units arrived at the kibbutz beeri as people were still being

sacrificed, they came under fire. they were concentrating on evacuating wounded. soldiers, in some cases they did not help civilians, who managed to escape by themselves. also the investigation suggested that in certain cases soldiers left the kibbutz without informing their commanders first and that it took more than six hours for reenforcements to arrive there. and of course by that time it was too late. the massacre and kidnapping had already occurred. now residents of the kibbutz beeri want to know wihy they didn't enter while people were being massacred there. let me flag another story from there. jake sullivan, the national security security advisor of the white house says the temporary pier to deliver aid is going to be

permanently shut down after the military failed to reanchor it after it broke away. there was drama in the courtroom at the alec baldwin trial. t the gun went off, killing halyna hutchins. the armorer on the fatal film is expected to testify as well. hannah gutierrez reed is also serving a 18-month sentence, and baldwin could face the same if convicted. in charlotte, north carolina a 16-year-old and 8-year-old have been arrested, suspected of a drive-by shooting spree in the city. >> reporter: a pair of stunning arrests in charlotte north carolina. police taking two teens into custody, who they say are

responsible for five random shootings that left the community on edge over a two-day manhunt. >> it's one thing when we have a shooting spree between two, maybe rival gangs. but this is random and just completely unusual. >> reporter: 18-year-old carlos roberto diaz and an unidentified 16-year-old now facing first degree murder among other charges. while their exact roles are unclear, within a half hour span tuesday morning the suspects are accused of shooting at drivers, bicyclists and people on foot and in homes, all from a car, according to charlotte-mecklenburg police. two were injured and a 58-year-old was killed while driving. the 16-year-old suspect had been actively looking to commit more violence, they say. >> there was no doubt that he was going to continue his crime spree. >> reporter: it comes in an

alarming rise of violence in charlotte. shootings are up since 2023. the number of homicides by young people nearly doubled over a decade. >> if we can't break the cycle of violent criminal behavior with our young people then our future is not very bright for the safety of our citizens within our community. >> reporter: police say they found a stolen gun in the 16-year-old's car when he was arrested. they're not looking for anyone else in the shooting. turning to the northeast where the remnants of beryl ripped through this week. at least two people were killed in vermont after torrential downpours brought flash flooding. police identified a 33-year-old man who they say was swept while driving an all-terrain vehicle. and officials tell "the associated press" that a 73-year-old man died when his car was submerged in 10 feet of water. the national guard was called in to help with over 100 water rescues. four tornados were confirmed in new york. this possible twister seen ripping the roof off a home.

in hurricane-ravaged southeast texas more than a million are still without power and houston's heat index climbing up to 102 degrees. the dangerously-hot weather causing a spike in heat-related emergencies as hospitals are relying on generators. and tension continues to grow with centerpoint's response to the outages. they estimate 500,000 customers will still be without power into next week. let's turn to angie lassman. so many of us affected by this. when's relief coming? >> unfortunately, it doesn't look like any time soon. we're going to wrap up the workweek with more of what we've been dealing with all week long. heat alerts for 38 million people across mostly the west. but texas included in that as well with heat confined to the west and parts of the southeast. here's what it will feel like across that region. 104 in new orleans.

97 for birmingham, 100 for dallas, little rock and near 100 for houston. really uncomfortable heat and humidity for folks there. mean whmile, it's the actual temperatures that get your attention out west. denver expected to hit 100. and phoenix 114. by the time we get into the weekend this stays in place, of course, across parts of the midwest. wichita expected to be in the triple digits next week. meanwhile, we've got rain across parts of the east. a stationary front has kind of stalled out, leaving us with unsettled weather and flooding concerns across parts of the mid atlantic r washington, d.c. and

philadelphia. rain in the forecast for new york. boston dealing with showers, too, with a high of just 86 degrees. back to you. a lot of people heading to the beach, but there was a scare along rockaway beach where a pair of sharks were spotted yesterday. a nypd drone captured one of them swimming in the waters just offshore. officials temporarily closed parts of the beach while police monitored the water. "early today" is back in a minute with a slam dunk winner at the espy awards. and on your mark, get set, bet. . you've got a pepto predicament, ace. you overdid it on the loaded fries and now your gut is in the gutter. undo it with pepto fast melts. so you can keep on rolling. [bowling pins knocked down] when you overdo it, undo it with pepto bismol. hey hon. hey dad...(sniffs) that smell could be 8,000,000 odor causing bacteria. good thing adding lysol laundry sanitizer

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nighted. >> serena williams serving up some roasts at the espys on thursday night. patrick mahomes and aja wilson took home respective honors for male and female athlete the of the year. and the gamecocks ended the night with the win for best team. but it was steve gleason who provided the most emotional moments. gleason, who has been battling als since 2010 was honored with the arthur ashe award for contributioning to als awareness. the award represents some encouragement and triumph for the families living with als or any other disabilities. the summer olympic games are almost here and a betting boom is expected this season. companies like fan duel and draftkings expect a big bum. it will mark the first summer

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getting back together, i said listen, one of the things i don't want is a relationship on social media. then i sort of realized, it's not a fair thing to ask. we're just two people with kind of different approaches trying to learn to compromise. >> hmm. wonder where that compromise is going now. ben affleck and jennifer lopez are about to pocket a hefty sum from their latest compromise. the couple's 12-bedroom mansion is on the market for $68 million, less than a year after they bought it. it comes amid continued reports of marital issues between the two, including spending the fourth of july holiday on separate coasts, different

sightings, always, you know, separate. and then it's the ring on, is the ring off? >> yeah. >> we're waiting to see and hear what's going to happen with them. >> there's been a lot of questions about this, but i think you've just got to, when they're ready to tell the world whatever's going on, they will do it. we wish them the best. we'll see what's going on with that, i'm sure, any day now. just in time for christmas, a name synonymous with the holidays is entering. hallmark announced hallmark plus will launch in september for $8 a month. they will be given access to two decades of hallmark movies as well as new content. as well as a new women in the holidays series. we're all just going to have 8 million streaming channels at

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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. here's what's making headlines this morning. the consumer price index dipped in june for the first time in over four years. down 0.1% from may. this put the 12-month inflation rate at 3%. that's the lowest level in more than three years. samsung just became the largest tech company to launch a smart ring. the galaxy ring will work with android phones and include a.i. features. the beastie boys are suing the parent company of chili's without t

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shining". anne thompson has a look back at her legacy. >> reporter: actress shelley duvall was all of us in the horror classic "the shining." >> i'm not going to hurt you. >> reporter: terrified and traumatized by jack nicholson's character, directed by stanley kubrick. >> he demanded realism, so i had to really cry. for nine months i was there to do the film. >> reporter: discovered by robert altmann's crew in a houston art gallery, he would become her mentor, casting her in "popeye." in the '80s, duvall turned to producing, creating children's programming, including the peabody award-winniny award-win.

she avoided the spotlight until 2016 when, in an interview with dr. phil, her apparent physical and mental health shocked fans. she would make one more movie, 2023's "the forest hill." four days after her 75th birthday, duvall died from complications of diabetes. >> you just have to find something you love and make a living at it. >> reporter: and audiences returned that love. afire broke out in the spire of the notre dame cathedral but was quickly extinguished. it brought back memories of the devastating fire at the notre dame cathedral in paris. a beachgoer swept out to sea in japan was miraculously

rescued. she was swimming south of tokyo when a strong current and evening winds pulled her out to sea. she floated for about 37 hours in an inflatable swim ring before a cargo ship spotted her and called for help. two members from a passing tanker jumped in to rescue the woman. she was only slightly dehydrated and in good health. thanks for starting your friday with "early today." i'm frances rivera. have a great friday. have an even better weekend. eve. n

accused of killing family is set to face a judge ahead. a live report on the investigation and the growing memorial for the family. plus, i think i'm the

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