ass vice presidential candidate and ohio senator, j.d. vance formally accepting his nomination at the rnc, introducing himself to millions of americans and setting the stage for donald trump as 's pr time speech tonight. new jersey senator bob menendez plans to step down af after facing mounting threats from democrats to expel him after his sweeping conviction in a crunch trial. why terrell davis is demanding answers. countdown to the emmys. "the bear" is making award-show history with double digit nominations. plus going for the gold. the highlights from team usa's face-off last night against serbia, as the two nations prepare to go head to head once again at the olympics.

it's thursday, july 18. "early today" starts right now. good morning, thanks for being up early with me. i'm frances reivera. we again in milwaukee where j.d. vance made it clear he hopes to help the trump campaign boost turnout in the midwest by appealing to working class americans >> in small towns like mine in ohio or next door in pennsylvania or michigan, in states all across our country, jobs were sent overseas, and our children were sent to war. we need a leader who's not in the pocket of big business but answers to the working man, union and non-union alike. [cheers and applause] >> now, as we wait to hear from donald trump himself later tonight, alice barr has more of the highlights from night three of the convention.

>> reporter: former president trump greeting his supporters before ceding the spotlight to hisrunning mate. >> i officially accept your nomination to be vice president of the united states of america. >> reporter: the one-time trump critic now a fierce america-first ally. >> we celebrate, he is our once and future president of the united states. >> reporter: the first-term ohio is that thor backs hard-line policies on issues from immigration to abortion and opposing additional aid for ukraine. a marine veteran who served in iraq, senator vance laying out his personal story, growing up in rural poverty, detailed in a best-selling best selling memoir, "hillbilly elegy." >> i will be a vice president who never forgets where he came

from. >> reporter: vance is the first millennial on a major party ticket in a race rocked by the horrific assassination attempt against former president trump. >> my father came under literal fire, as an incredible patriotic rally turned into a tragedy. >> reporter: several convention speakers questioned president biden's strength on a night themed make america strong again. that saw gold star families who lost loved ones in the afghanistan withdrawal take the stage. >> there has been a deafening silence from the biden and harris administration. >> reporter: a somber and powerful moment amid a night of celebration for the republican party ticket. in milwaukee, alice barr, nbc news. president biden arrived at his home in delaware overnight where the white house says he will isolate and carry out all of his duties after testing positive for covid. the president's doctor says mr. biden does not have a fever and

that he is already taking a dose of paxlovid. kelly o'donnell has more from the white house. >> reporter: a white house official tells nbc news, president biden has tested positive for covid. the symptoms have are said to b mild, and he has not been hospitalized. that follows a new and prominent call for president biden to exit the 2024 race. from california democrat senate candidate, adam schiff who writes, i believe it is time for him to pass the torch. schiff told donors last weekend, i think if he is our nominee, i think we lose. schiff is the 19th democratic lawmaker to urge the president to step aside. those calls had grown quiet after the trump snassassination attempt. chuck schumer and hakeem jeffries together urged the

di dnc to delay the roll call vote that would finalize joe biden as the nominee. party officials considered holding that roll call as early as next week but now say they will act by august 7. the president saying what would le make him leave the race. >> if i had some medical condition that emerged. >> reporter: after pausing television ads after the assassination attempt, they went back on the air through a young woman's personal story. the ad names mr. trump's new running mate who supports the trump position that states decide. battleground michigan, vice president harris called out vance's views. >> this is a fellow who in the united states senate participated in blocking ivf. >> reporter: kelly o'donnell.

democratic senator bob menendez is planning to resign from congress after being convicted on all 16 counts in his federal construction trial. menendez is calling his allies in the senate to notify them of his intention to step down after he faced growing threats of expulsion. the senator's resignation would mark the end of his three-decade career in congress and would cause the governor to appoint someone to fill out his term. menendez did not respond to request for comment. turning overseas, detained "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich is currently in another court hearing in russia. he is charged with espionage. he, the journal and the cia deny this. for the latest, let's go to daniele hamamdjian. what's this hearing about?

>> reporter: well, good morning, frances. the hearing was actually scheduled for next month in mid august. but, according to the russian court hearing his case it was gershkovich's defense team that requested that the date be brought forward. the press was briefly allowed to film gershkovich last month during the start of the trial. today, though, the hearing is closed to the media, and the court said the next time journalists would have access to home would him would be when the verdict is announced. prosecutors allege that he gathered secret information on the orders of the cia about a company that manufactures tanks for russia's war in ukraine. u.s. officials, as you say, frances, have repeatedly said that the charges of espionage against him are a sham. that russian courts, as you know, have a high conviction rate. in fact, it's over 99%. at a news conference yesterday, sergey lavrov claimed that there is, quote, irrefutable etched

that evan gershkovich is guilty of espionage. if found guilty, he could be sentenced to 20 years in prison, though russia has indicated it's open to a prisoner swap after the verdict. lavrov also said yesterday, american journalists were to blame for delaying talks with his u.s. counterparts about that possible prisoner swap. frances? >> danielle, thank you. new details in the international investigation into the six people including two americans found dead in a luxury hotel room in bangkok. thai authorities saying the victims were poisoned. a preliminary autopsy revealed traces of cyanide in their blood and in used teacups in the room. four of the six victims invested money together to help build a hospital in japan, and there may have been a dispute over debt relating to the investment. storms rumbled up the east coast wednesday evening bringing

heavy rain after tearing across the south and midwest. an elderly couple died in illinois on tuesday after their car got stuck in floodwaters. in the arkansas ozarks, a flash flooding emergency forced more tha than 80 seniors to evacuate from an assisted living facility. some were forced to hold onto mattresses as the waters rose. meanwhile, residents are reeling in upstate new york after a system tore through, leaving widespread destruction there. there was at least one confirmed tornado in rome and one man died after being swept away by floodwatering. let's bring in violeta yas for what's next across the united states. hopefully, we can get relief whether when it comes to heat and storms. >> yes, we're getting a break from the storms and the heat. we've got more comfortable air settling in here across the great lakes and northeast. new york for example, 86. it's actually not a huge cool

down with temperatures typically in the low 90s, but that bringing the temperatures back to normal, plus the lower humidity making it feel much more comfortable across the area. this weekend, notice temperatures do partictick up ae bit. we'll be approaching 90 yet again. but i think without the sweltering humidity it will feel better across the board. a much more noticeable cool down across the midwest. anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees cooler. highs near 80 degrees. here we have very nasty storms from last night, from new york state extending down in through the mid atlantic. the threat for this afternoon and evening is going to shift into the carolinas from just right around the norfolk area down through cape hatteras, extending into raleigh. damaging winds and hail will be poss , extending west into

the great lakes and the midwest. and that's a look at your regional weather, frances, back to you. >> violeta, thank you. she may not be competing for olympic gold, but caitlin clark is keeping busy smashing records. she logged 19 assists in wednesday's game against the dallas wings, setting a new single-game record for the league. she edged out the previous assist record of 18 set by c8 st a courtney van der sloot. "early today" is back in a minute with a former nfl star who is breaking his silence. hall-of-famer, terrell davis speaks out after being handcuffed and removed from a flight in front of his family. a flight in front of his family. yn your tracks...

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nfl hall-of-famer, terrell davis, is speaking out after being removed from a united sta united airlines flight in handcuffs. >> reporter: nfl hall-of-famer, terrell davis, demanding accountability, after he says he was handcuffed and removed from a united airlines flight. >> my son politely asked, excuse me, may i please have a cup of ice. so i put my hand up like this and said excuse me. and he didn't see it, so i reached and tapped him on his shoulder. that's when he swung back and said "don't hit me." i'm looking confused, and said i didn't hit you. >> reporter: traveling to california with his wife tamikko and his kids. the pilot asked all passengers to remain seated. then according to davis, six fbi and law enforcement officers boarded the plane. >> they come right towards me.

at that point, my mind is like, what the heck is going on? i'm in shock that this guy is actually putting handcuffs on me. >> reporter: his three children were looking on. >> i was powerless, i couldn't do anything. >> and our kids, they were helpless. it was the absolute most horrifying experience of my life. >> reporter: davis said he was questioned for what felt like 45 minutes. >> they apologized, talked about how this was not what they had gotten reported. >> reporter: the fbi telling nbc news their agents were responding to a report of a violent assault. did you feel as if you were racially profiled on that flight? >> yeah, i felt like that played a role. >> reporter: united airlines said in a statement it has removed the flight attendant from duty while it investigates. this is clearly not the type of travel experience we strife to provide, and we have reached out to mr. davis' team to apologize. but terrell and tamikko davis now are trying to process what

happened to their dad. >> unfortunately, because of the beautiful color of your skin, your experiences in this world are going to be different. and, unfortunately, at 1311 and nine, you've had an experience. >> reporter: if the flight attendant was sitting in the seat i am, what would you say? >> i want to know why, why would you ruin a life like that? and i want him to look my kids in the eyes and tell them why they tried to harm, destroy their dad. >> reporter: nbc news, new york. still to come, it could be an emmys for the ages for fx and the russo brothers might be headed home to take on earth's mightiest heroes once again. 's mightiest heroes once again. num, i have upped my dish game auntie, in that dishwasher? watch me platinum plus gives you the highest standard of clean, even in your machine. clean enough for you? yeah! scrape. load. done.

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risk your life. >> shogun showed its force and dominance for the emmy awards. the first season of fx's feudal epic scored 21 nominations, including multiple acting nods. on the comedy side "the bear" is looking to take home a full plate of awards. they cooked up 23 nominations, a record for a comedy series, including first-time nods for the actors. the emmys take place in september. here we are again. another round. it's funny that the "bear" is considered a comedy because it is so intense. >> a lot of chatter about that. marvel might be assembling familiar faces.

on wednesday, the hollywood reporter broke the news that directors anthony and joe russo are in early talks with the studio to helm the next two avengers movies. the duo have been behind four other films, including avengers end game, the second-highest grossing movie in history. avengers five and six are set for release in may 2026 and 2027. >> after that, people are like, i want to know more. i want to know more. maybe they can find more at comic-con. when we come back. the mirage will soon vanish from the las vegas strip, and it's not just of the heat. and why something is being confiscated at the airport. confiscated at the airport. (♪♪) [cheerful screams] (♪♪) (♪♪) [giggling] (♪♪) (♪♪) [baby crying]

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ingredients, is considered a narcotic in korea, making the product illegal there for the last two years. according to a small study, cbd cream may help protect skin against sundhage. th sun damage. the mirage has closed its doors after 34 years. it will be renovated into a hard rock international resort, plans include building a guitar-shaped hotel where the famous volcano now stands. "early today" will be right back. e right back. we're in a limestone cave, letting extreme residue build up to put finish jet dry to the test. dishwashers are designed to use jet dry

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we are back with a look ahead to the paris games, just over a week away. and questions have been swirling over whether the seine river will be clean enough for swimmers. but the mayor of the city of light took the plunge to prove the water is fit. here's rehema ellis. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: it's the dive into the seine river that paris' mayor has been dreaming about, to show the water is clean. >> it's amazing. we work a lot and very hard for that very happy day. >> reporter: happy, because the seine will be the center piece of the paris olympics. in less than two weeks from now, opening ceremonies will be hosted on the river for the first time. but there had been concerns about athletes competing in the water. the water so polluted, swimming in the seine was banned for more than a century, with only a few exceptions. determined to make it safe again for the olympics, cleanup

efforts began over nine years ago, costing $1.5 billion. it included a giant underground water storage basin, renovating sewer lines and treatment plants. even with all that, water quality tests last month indicated more needed to be done. it's not the first time a city has pushed preparations for olympic games right up to the brink. in rio, the water quality was also in doubt for boating events. but the issues were resolved just in time. back in paris. >> we did it. we did it. >> reporter: officials say the latest water quality tests show welcomed improvements. and paris is ready to let the games again. rehema ellis, nbc news. one nba mvp couldn't hold a candle to a squad filled with them. >> curry went down after the make. so it was like four and a half. >> and a foul. >> oh, my goodness. >> no way.

steph curry going down -- >> on wednesday, team usa logged a dominant 26-point win over certain serbia in their third exhibition game. they kept nikola jokic to 13 points while steph curry dropped 24 in a trademark performance. a. coming up, a look at the summer baseball league known for attracting mlb scouts, not to mention aaron judge and more. what makes the league so unique is the opportunity to stay with local host families in some of the nation's most coveted summer towns. and this morning "today" talks with some of those host families. families. ha flex alevert! flex alert! a power outage is looming. that's just alert, he's always getting worked up about something. flex alerts notify us of preventable power outages.

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