the debate over the debate. the trump and harris campaigns clash over when the two could face off on stage. we're live in d.c. with that and a key endorsement on the horizon for harris. breaking overnight, top leaders for a violent mexican cartel taken into custody in texas. including the son of the infamous el chapo. california's ordered to clean up homeless camps. why the governor issued a new executive action overnight. open seating now up in the air. southwest airlines changing course on its famous policy after 50 years. what the future holds for flyers. after 150 shows, he is moving out. inside billy joel's show-stopping final performance at madison square garden. and breaking news in france. where arson attacks have caused chaos, hours away from the official start of the paris

olympics. we have the first details. it's friday, july 26. "early today" starts right now. good morning. glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. excitement is building for the official start of the paris olympics. for the first time ever, the start of the summer games won't be in a stadium. instead, on the river seine. athletes will float down the four miles of the historic water way. and we do have breaking news ahead of that ceremony. france's national rail company says its high speed lines were hit by malicious acts that have disrupted traffic. there is no immediate sign of a link to the games, and they are investigating. security measures in paris are incredibly tight. the games are protected by 45,000 police officers, alongside 10,000 solders and 22,000 private security contractors. first lady jill biden is there cheering on team usa. yesterday she spoke with some of the family members of the

athletes. >> you love some pretty incredible people. thank you for sharing them all with us. >> and while the games haven't officially kicked off, we have already seen some action. the women's soccer team scoring their first win with a 3-0 win over zambia. and simone biles seems to be in perfect form, stunning everyone in training by nailing one of her most difficult vaults with very little warmup. coming up, jay gray will join us live from paris, and you can catch all the opening ceremonies tonight here on nbc. back lear here at home, the for the white house is heating up. the harris and trump campaigns taunting each other, not over policy but over whether the candidates will face each other in a debate. brie jackson joins us now. the vice president says she is all in for a debate. >> reporter: good morning, frances. that's right. the vice president says she's willing to stick to the plan the

biden campaign had already agreed to. here's what she told reporters on thursday. >> i'm ready to debate donald trump. i have agreed to the previous previously-agreed-upon september 10th debate. now it appears he's back-pedaling, but i'm ready, and i think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on a debate stage, so i'm ready. let's go. >> reporter: late last night, the trump campaign issued a new statement, saying the debate details cannot be finalized until the democrats formally choose a nominee. a campaign spokesperson says there is chaos within the democratic party and that democrats could still change their minds. former president trump did recently tell reporters he was open to debating harris multiple times. harris responded overnight by saying what happened to anytime anyplace. the race is effectively a tossup

right now. new polling shows the vice president has essentially erased mr. trump's advantage, and she is expected to get a big political boost soon. an endorsement from former president barack obama. multiple people familiar with the discussions say the two have been in close touch ever since she announced she was running. three sources tell nbc news that there have also been discussions about having the two appear together on the campaign trail. vice president harris is planning to visit georgia early next week. frances? >> brie jackson for us, thank you. now to breaking news. the son of sinaloa cartel boss el chapo and a cartel co-founder have been arrested in el paso, texas. attorney general merrick garland says both men face charges for deadly fentanyl manufacturing. joaquin guzman lopez is the son of the drug kingpin, arrested alongside el mayo.

el chapo is serving life in prison in the united states. this is his second son to be indie ind indicted in the country. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu met with both president biden and vice president harris in d.c., one day after a polarizing speech before congress. on the agenda, the deadly war in gaza. later today, netanyahu travels to florida to meet with republican presidential nominee, donald trump, at mar-a-lago. for the latest, let's turn to claudio lavanga, who's following this for us. good morning, claudio, how candidatdid the meetings go? >> reporter: good morning, frances. let's start with kamala harris. she said she had a frank and constructive meeting with the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu, in which she emphasized the need to finalize those cease-fire and hostage deals that were put on the table by, on the table by president

biden in the first fphase of tht deal. she said the israeli military had have to withdraw from populated areas in gaza, the second phase, it would have to withdraw entirely, leading to a permanent cease to hostilities. but she also expressed concerns about the humanitarian situation in gaza and remains committed to a two-state solution. take a listen. >> it is time for this war to end. and end in a way where israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of palestinians in gaza ends, and the palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination. >> reporter: later this morning, netanyahu travels to mar-a-lago to meet with donald trump. he's expected to arrive at 11:00 go the morning amid high security. because law enforcement in south florida said they want to avoid

scenes we've seen on wednesday involving protesters taking to the streets to protest against netanyahu ahead of his address to congress. >> claudio, thank you. new this morning, the democratic governor of california, gavin newsom, has ordered state agencies to remove homeless encampments from public property. it follows the supreme court decision allowing tent bans. homeless advocates condemned the order saying it does nothing to address the housing crisis. newsom says the encampments pose a health and safety hazard. one arson suspect is currently under arrest for allegedly sparking the golden state's park fire. morgan chesky has more. >> reporter: a west coast furnace turned inferno. california's park fire exploding, forcing residents to evacuate in chico, north of

sacramento. >> the heat is insane. spot fires everywhere. >> reporter: in less than 24 hours, the wind-driven inferno scorched more than 70,000 acres. entire homes and buildings engulfed in flames that authorities are now calling an act of arson, arresting a 42-year-old man from chico for pushing a flaming car into a ravine which they say started the fire. just outside this town, smoldering debris is all that remains where homes once stood. in butte county, crews have already made their way back to remote areas, trying to cut fire line wherever they can to slow the spread. from california to canada, months without rain and record highs has turned much of the west into a tinderbox. the durkee fire in oregon is now the nation's largest, charring nearly a quarter million acres since igniting from a lightning strike last week. the blaze so big it's creating its own weather, with extreme heat forming a fire-fueled thunderstorm, carrying smoke and

ash even farther. as crews from 22 states fight 24/7 to contain it, a similar struggle in alberta, canada. the picturesque town of jasper facing near-apocalyptic scenes. the fire smoke so thick it's impacted air quality as far south as colorado, with a gray haze hanging heavy. back near chico, with flames far from contained, evacuation orders remain ongoing. >> the quicker you get out the safer you will be. >> our thanks to morgan for that report. it's going to be a soggy start to the weekend, but unfortunately, not where those fires are burning. michelle grossman is tracking it all. good morning, michelle. >> good morning, frances, happy friday. we're looking at a soggy end to the week. we've seen showers and storms all week long, and that's going to continue for a few more days. we have a front that's settled own the air, triggering showers and heavy downpours, leading to the chance for flash flooding.

this is what it looks like on radar. you can see red, orange, yellow. that's where the heavy rain is falling, particularly in louisiana, texas, the carolina coast also seeing heavy rain. and that will be the story as we go throughout today and into the weekend. another day of storms developing in the southeast. the severe risk is low, that's good news, but we could see flooding. and unfortunately starting out the weekend with more scattered showers along the gulf coast and areas of rain into the midwest. erood al south we're looking at showers and storms. 84 in houston. that's your friday forecast. >> appreciate that. thank you, michelle. up next, why sports fans might be betting bigger than ever on the paris olympics.

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there is an opportunity in the slow summer months while you have the nba and nfl off season. the voice actors and motion capture performers are going on strike. this comes after talks with a major video game studio, including activision and warner bros. after artificial intelligence concerns there. s sag-aftra says they made some gains. there are worries that voices could be reproduced, for example. the strike goes into effect today. and the last strike by sag-aftra against gaming companies took place in 2016 and lasted 183 days. we'll have to wait to see if this one finds a quicker resolution. change is in the air for southwest airlines, and it might be, you know, a little controversial for most loyal

flyers. the company is changing its open seat boarding policy for the first time in over half a century. emilie ikeda tell us why. >> reporter: a major change of course for southwest airlines, announcing it will soon start assigning seats and selling some with extra legroom, ending more than 50 years of its famous, or for some, infamous model of open seating where boarding can build into a mad dash. >> you got people running in front of you. >> reporter: and while some southwest super fans are disappointed. >> i love open seating. that's why i fly southwest. >> reporter: the discount carrier ceo says it is a bid t boost revenue. >> when a customer defects from southwest to another competitor, it's the number one reason. so it's the right thing at the rate time. >> reporter: despite the summer's record travel, many airlines are grappling with

overcapacity. southwest reported a 46% drop from last year, facing growing rivalries with other budget options. what are the headwinds facing the airlines right now? >> they have added too many seats when it comes to basic comply seats, in other words, the seats people are buying at the lowest possible fare. it's put a lid on fares. >> reporter: southwest says booking for assigned and premium seats will become available at some point next year. the change still requires updating cabin layout and faa approval. back to you. >> emily, thank you. coming up, we'll go live to paris for the final bash ahead of tonight's opening ceremony. and billy joel is no stranger to madison square gardens, but he is moving out after 150 shows. (♪♪) [baby crying] (♪♪) (♪♪) [cheerful screams] (♪♪)

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♪ ♪ ♪ sing us the song of the piano man ♪ ♪ sing us the song tonight ♪ ♪ we're all in the mood for a melody ♪ ♪ he's got us feelin' all right ♪ >> it was the final curtain call for the piano man. billy joel played the last show of his residency in new york. the show marking his 150th performance at the iconic venue. "tonight show's" jimmy fallon was there with a banner marking joel's record. it will fly in the rafters of the garden. deadpool and wolverine are already slashing their way to box office history. >> i don't know anything about saving the world, but you do. ♪ i hear you call my name ♪ >> trust me kid. you are an x man. >> you are "the" x man.

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we are back now with a growing anticipation for the olympic games to begin. within just hours, the world will witness an opening ceremony unlike any we've seen before. jay gray joins us from paris. what can we expect as the olympic games officially get started? >> reporter: what an amazing extravaganza this is going to be. and this is what team usa will be wearing as they step on the boats and begin the games. the games officially beginning today. but like in every olympics, the race for gold actually starts a bit early. just ahead of what is going to be quite a party here today. the tournament for the women's national team begins with a solid match against zambia, the americans unleashing the power that makes them a strong favorite for a medal here, beating zambia, 3-0. while the men's rugby squad will

not be taking home any hardware, bumped from the round by australia. >> i take so much pride in the country i get to compete for and so much pride in being american. >> reporter: the team fitted for the uniform. >> you have the honor of wearing this jacket during the opening ceremony. >> i truly am in shock, and i don't take it for granted. i'm going to try to take it all in, and this will be a memory i'll remember for the rest of my life. >> reporter: a memory that will take place outside an olympic stadium. more than 10,000 athletes boarding boats for a floating parade of nations, an armada that will shut down the center of the city and the airspace above the spectacle. >> i've never seen as many police men in paris since ever. >> reporter: 45,000 police officers and multiple army units

staked out along the route with more than 300,000 fans watching from the river banks and bridges and more than a billion worldwide expected to tune in on tv and online. a celebration organizers call the biggest open air show on earth. and a little of what to expect today, 3,000 dancers, actors, pop stars. you're going to have acrobats, dare devils, all along the nearly four-mile route. and there will be floating pianos, helicopters. it all ends with a massive laser show, and it's all beamed from the eiffel tower right here. and it should be amazing. >> so cool. and in the last five seconds, do you get to keep the merch? can you take that jacket he? >> reporter: iom t