the nation still reeling this morning after an apparent assassination attempt against former president donald trump. what we're learning about the alleged shooter and the victim caught in the crossfire. trump is in milwaukee this morning as he is set to officially become the gop nominee at this week's rnc convention. we have team coverage. all this while conflict continues overseas. in gaza, at least 90 were killed in an israeli strike, targeting two hamas officials. palestinian health officials calling the strike a massacre. new developments in the "rust" movie shooting case. the film's armorer now seeking to get her case dismissed after the judge tossed the case against alec baldwin over prosecutor misconduct. and the heartwarming moment when a father meets his daughter he didn't know he had 25 years later. it's monday, july 15th. "early today" starts right now.

good morning. glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. the republican national convention will begin today. questions are growing about the shooter responsible for the assassination attempt against former president trump and what security gaps may have allowed this attack to happen. nbc's jay gray has the latest from pennsylvania. >> get down, get down, get down! >> reporter: his face bloody, fist raised, former president trump rushed from the stage after an assassination attempt. chaos and panic. now a full day later, giving way to prayers and calls for unity. mr. trump writing on social media "in this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united and show our true character as americans" a message echoed by president biden. >> you know, the political record in this country has gotten very heated. it's time to cool it down. we all have a responsibility to do that. >> reporter: the

former president traveling to milwaukee ahead of the republican national convention as dual investigations intensify. the fbi focused on the alleged shooter, 20-year-old thomas matthew crooks. agents saying he was armed with a semiautomatic rifle registered to his father, and that explosive materials have been identified inside his car and home. while homeland security agents tried to determine how it could have happened, how a rooftop less than 150 yards from the rally was left open and accessible. >> coverage of this building and the roof was built in to the overall security plan and coverage fell through the cracks, which means nobody ensured that coverage was actually in place, or it wasn't built into the overall plan at all. >> reporter: we're also learning more about a firefighter in the crowd, corey comperatore, killed in the crossfire. a husband and father of two girls. >> corey died a hero.

corey dove on his family to protect them last night. >> reporter: two others in the crowd were wounded and remain in the hospital, their conditions upgraded from critical to stable. jay gray, nbc news, butler, pennsylvania. and let's turn now to nbc's vaughn hillyard, who is in milwaukee where the republican national convention is about to get under way. vaughn, good morning. >> good morning, frances. in a matter of hours, the republican national convention will gavel in. we expect this afternoon the roll call to take place. that is when donald trump will formally be nominated by the more than 2,000 delegates inside of this arena to be the gop's nominee. for donald trump, of course, the concerning part coming from this weekend is the attempted assassination of him in pennsylvania. he arrived on sunday night into milwaukee along with his campaign team. he has not anticipated

to speak until thursday night when he is expected to dress the arena for his nomination acceptance speech. but we still anticipate that his vice presidential running mate will be announced as soon as today, ahead of that roll call vote. so there are still a lot of unknowns here heading into this convention. donald trump suggested to "the washington examiner" on sunday that he has rewritten his speech for thursday night, focused on unifying america. of course, security of foremost concern here as well. the secret service on sunday saying that they are well prepared for this moment, that they have been planning with state and local law enforcement for 18 months to ensure the proper security is in place. there is a hard perimeter immediately around this arena here that is meant for only folks that are delegates or campaign staff or credentialed press or members that are invited in. and then there is the broader area where the

public is welcomed in. so there is a lot coming into this day. we expect four days for this convention, and for donald trump much riding on this with just 113 days left until the election. >> shifting perspective. vaughn, thank you. the attempted killing of a former u.s. president while giving a speech has raised urgent concerns about the secret service's routines and capabilities. the shooter had a clear shot from a rooftop that was not secured. nbc justice and intelligence reporter ken dilanian has that story. >> reporter: the alarming assassination attempt on former president trump, growing questions on what many in law enforcement are calling an enormous security failure. >> that bullet was two inches to the right, it would have penetrated former president's forehead. and we would have a great american tragedy on our hands.

>> reporter: facing an independent review of how this happened. this video shows the alleged shooter on the roof just outside the rally perimeter security firing shots before he was taken out bay secret service counter sniper team. that quick response has been praised as life-saving. but former law enforcement officials say the entire incident never should have happened. >> the secret service, it's their plan. you're responsible. so you can't deflect blame on anybody else. and you have to make sure all the layers are put into place. >> reporter: former president trump was speaking from a stage in a field. the shooter was only 148 yards away on top of a roof, one of only a few rooftops in the rural area. a question, why was that rooftop not secured? >> so if you look at an aerial shot of that area, maybe there is half a dozen roofs, but there is not thousands of roofs. it could have been covered for a couple of hours, and should it have been. >> reporter: also, witnesses say they saw the gunmen and tried to warn police. the question now, were those witnesses ignored. >> we're pointing at him.

the police are down there running around on the ground and we're, like, hey, man. there's a guy on the roof with the rifle and the police are, like, huh? what? they didn't know what was going on. >> reporter: the secret service did not respond to questions from nbc news, but is denying allegations it rebuffed requests from the trump campaign for more resources. as for those witness counts, authorities say they'll investigate, and house republicans have announced an investigation too, including call onning on the secret service director to testify. back to you. >> ken, thank you. it was bloody weekend in gaza with scores of palestinians killed by israeli strikes, according to local health authorities. the largest attack happened saturday with more than 90 killed in a possible failed attempt to assassinate a top hamas commander. mohammed daif is regarded as one of the main architects of the october 7th invasion of israel, which killed more than a thousand. for the latest, let's go to matt bodner. good morning, matt.

what more do we know about mohammed daif? >> the chief of staff, the military wing of hamas. this is a role he's had since 2002, but he has been on israel's radar a lot longer than that. back in the 90s, he was placed on the israeli most wanted list after orchestrating a series of suicide bombings in israel. you can see daif here. he is the one on the left. to his right is rafa sa salaamem. according to the idf, salahme was killed in the strike. the idf has long been after daif. he has survived a half a dozen or so assassination attempts on his life. his brother, wife and children have been killed in the attempts instead. killing daif would be a major blow to hamas' military morale as he would be the highest ranking member to be killed in 20 years. they were focused on the area to the west

of khan younis, and palestinian health officials are saying 90 people were killed calling it a massacre. it's unclear how it will affect the ceasefire talks. just days ago biden said the two sides had agreed on a framework for a potential ceasefire. hamas has a statement on its network saying this latest attack shows israel is not serious about a deal. israel for its part says it's not interested from a deal that prevents it from eliminating hamas. police in indianapolis investigating a shooting that appears to have started at a dispute at a basketball court. the initial call came in around 8:15. when officers arrived, they found four adults and one minor shot. one of them is in critical condition. the others in serious condition. one person has been detained, but police are not sure if they are the shooter. there is no known threat to the community, police say. officials have stopped searching for two missing people in

hawaii after a helicopter crash. the missing are 69-year-old pilot guy croix den and 69-year-old passenger. a third person was found unresponsive by lifeguards. rescue crews searched for about 60 hours over 830 square miles but found no trace of croyden an and earl seller back in 60 seconds with new details on a deadly shooting at an alabama nightclub, and the latest fallout after alec baldwin's manslaughter case fell apart. auntie, in that dishwasher? watch me platinum plus gives you

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leading the news, alec baldwin's manslaughter case was dismissed friday, the lawyer for hannah gutierrez-reed is seeking to have his client freed. gutierrez-reed was the armor for the movie "rust" where a prop gun handled by baldwin went off and killed cinematographer halyna hutchins. she is currently serving an 18-month sentence for involuntary manslaughter. and her lawyer told nbc news, quote we are going to be filing on the same discovery violations that have occurred throughout her case and continue to occur. baldwin's case was thrown out after the judge found that the prosecution had withheld evidence. police in alabama are investigating a nightclub shooting that left four people dead and at least ten others injured. police say a gunman drove by an event center late saturday night where the party was being held and then opened fire. the authorities also say there was some kind of altercation inside the club, but it's not clear yet is that it's connected to the shooting. so far there have been

no arrests and police ask the public for any information. hollywood mourning the loss of actress shannen doherty this morning. her publicist confirming that doherty died saturday after a years' long battle with cancer. she began her career as a child star, but was best known for her roles in beverly hills 90210 and charmed. she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and went into remission two years later. but in 2020, she revealed her cancer had come back, and announced last year it had spread to her brain. shannen doherty was 53 years old. all right. still to come here, we've got fans mourning another beloved entertainer. fitness guru richard simmons dies this weekend at the age of 76. simmons was found unresponsive at his hollywood hills home on saturday, and the exact cause of his death is pending. erin mclaughlin has more on his life and legacy. >> reporter: he was america's favorite fitness fanatic. >> you're doing

fantastic! >> reporter: richard simmons, known and loved for his zany approach to high-energy health. >> hi, guys! >> reporter: inspired millions of people with his own story of weight loss. at 5'7" and 268 pounds, the obese teen became an easy target for bullies. >> i used to turn to food when friends weren't there. >> reporter: tireless teasing spurred simmons on a dangerous dieting binge that nearly cost him his life. >> and a nurse asked me a question that changed my life, and that question was do you want to live or do you want to die? and i just chose to live. >> reporter: he moved to los angeles in the early 1970s and opened an exercise studio. >> they could come in and feel good about themselves. >> reporter: his health club slimmons was the start, producing over 50 workout videos, selling millions of copies. >> welcome to the mall! you're going to have a ball. >> reporter: after 40 years in the spotlight, simmons' very public persona suddenly vanished, and for several years he was unseen until

calling in to "today" show in 2016 to set the record straight. >> no one is holding me in my house as a hostage, you know. i do what i want to do, as i've always done. >> reporter: then after a documentary about his absence from public life, weighing in again, saying he is living the life he has chosen. fans missing him, but continuing to embrace his mission. >> let's dream a bit and cool down. >> reporter: and his vibrance and candor. simmons once said "i'm supposed to make you laugh, give you self-worth, and help others." >> you have to enjoy each and every day. >> reporter: the mantra now missed by millions. erin mclaughlin, nbc news. still to come on "early today," a double dose of international soccer action. two powerhouse football countries clinched their tournaments with last-minute goals. we have the full recap, right after this. dr. c?! ♪♪ not all toothpastes whiten the same. crest 3d white removes 100% more stains for a noticeably whiter smile.

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think maybe oyarzabal, and there it is! spain a winner. it's oyarzabal! >> spain extended england's decades' long title drought at the final match of the 2024 european championship on sunday. mikel oyarzabal broke the tie in the 86th minute of play. it gives spain the victory putting them one ahead of germany for the most in history. and argentina had to overcome more than the colombian juggernaut at the copa final in miami. superstar lionel messi left the game 64 minutes in after suffering an apparent right ankle injury. the scoreless stalemate between the two south american powerhouses continued into extra time until a late prayer from argentin argentina's lautaro martinez was answered. >> lautaro martinez, lautaro martinez!

>> the defending world cup champs take home their record 16th america copa title while defending colombia's 28-game international win streak. when we come back here on "early today," kate middletonepts ror an emotional winner at wimbledon. and the emotional reunion between a father and daughter 25 years in the making. ♪) (♪♪) [cheerful screams] (♪♪) (♪♪) [giggling] (♪♪) (♪♪) [baby crying] this is not just a pharmacist. you could try this. yeah? this is another woman who gets it. (♪♪) dad i got a huge barbeque wing stain. this bottle says i need to pretreat. that stuff has way more water. a little bit of tide goes a long way, so you can save your shirt

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we're back with the story of a california man and his emotional reunion after discovering that he has a 25-year-old daughter that he never knew existed. nbc's kate snow reports on their moving first encounter. >> it's in the back over here. >> reporter: this was the surprise moment. >> hi! oh my god. >> reporter: joseph flowers meeting his daughter, gabriela howard for the very first time. >> you look so surprised! >> reporter: after 25 years, the hugs came easy. holding on what they never wanted to let go. joyful tears. 25 years ago, gabriela was adopted by loving parents, but she'd always wondered about her birth dad. >> who is he? where is he from? what is he like? >> reporter: joseph never knew a woman he briefly dated had gotten pregnant.

but when gabriela took an ancestry dna test, she connected with cousin who sent a photo. >> i called my cousin up the next day and told my wife hey, this is crazy, but i might have a daughter. >> reporter: when he got a picture of gabriela, he knew. >> it was like having a child for first time. it was really exciting. oh, wow, she looks like me. >> hi! >> oh my god. >> reporter: one week before joseph thought gabriela was coming to visit, his wife orchestrated the surprise. >> i could tell. like i could feel like i was, you know, loved being able to hug and everything. i think we both kind of held on to each other for a second. >> reporter: for joseph, things make more sense now. >> a piece in me i always felt something was off. her coming back, it kind of solidified that missing piece. i feel whole now. >> my gosh, you look just like me. >> reporter: they realize how much they have in common. >> favorite color is blue. we both love burgers.

outdoors. i'm a huge outdoors fan. >> her favorite snack is popcorn, like mine. >> yes. and red vine, like your. >> the licorice? >> that's obscure. >> joseph lives in california, gabriela in idaho with the parents and three brothers she's always known. they want everyone to meet, including joseph's wife, daughter and two step children. >> i want to share everything with her, grandkids and get married and all that stuff. i want to be part of that. she'll have two dads walking her down the aisle. that's just fine with me. >> what an ending to that story. i'm sure that story will continue. very similar to my husband's, who found five biological sibling sisters under similar circumstances too. thank you so much for watching "early today." i'm frances rivera. have great monday. see you back here early tuesday morning.