michelle and barack obama back in chicago. firing up the crowd at the dnc for kamala harris. but they weren't the only ones playing hype man. a full recap of night two is a few moments away. and, as democrats put their full support behind harris, will young voters follow suit? our team heads back to battleground wisconsin to talk to young people who are hess t hesitant about biden. the heat risk to workers across the u.s. the neweffort to protect them. in italy, the desperate search continues. what's hampering rescue efforts? and bennifer calls it quits again. jennifer lopez officially files for divorce from ben affleck. it's wednesday, august 21st. "early today" starts right now.

good morning, glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. a newly-energized democratic party packed two arenas last night. vice president kamala harris rallied more than 15,000 supporters in millwaukee. she posted this photo during her return to chicago where her husband spoke at the democratic convention. night two at the dnc included personal stories from doug emhoff, and barak and michelle obama. >> who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs? >> there's the childish nicknames. the crazy conspiracy theories. this weird obsession with crowd

sizes. >> nbc's brie jackson is in chicago with more of the night's biggest moments. >> all of our votes for kamala d. harris for the office of president of the united states. >> reporter: a celebratory and ceremonial roll call. democrats making history by nominating vice president kamala harris as the first woman of color to lead a major party's presidential ticket. >> this is a people-powered campaign, and together, we will chart a new way forward! >> reporter: our nation's first black president, barack obama, marking the historic occasion. >> kamala harris is ready for the job. this is a person who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion. >> reporter: mr. obama laying out what's at stake in the 2024

election as the reenergized democratic ticket seeks to defeat former president donald trump. >> the truth is donald trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his end. he wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him and his rich friends. >> reporter: former first lady michelle obama adding that harris is ready to lead the country into a new chapter, turning the page on fear and division. >> kamala harris is more than ready for this moment. >> reporter: second gentleman doug emhoff painting his wife as a loving and joyful warrior to rises to the occasion. >> kamala is a joyful warrior. it's doing for her country what she has always done for the people that she loves. her passion will benefit all of us when she's our president. >> reporter: supporters laying out a bold vision of how they

believe the country would benefit from a harris-walz administration. in chicago, brie jackson, nbc news. and while democrats celebrate in chicago, the republican nominee was meeting with police in michigan. donald trump criticized vice president harris, focussing on the border and claiming that harris' policies put americans in danger. the former president also reacting to night one of the dnc. >> i watched last night in amazement as they tried to pretend that everything was great. the crime was great, the border was great. it wasn't a problem at all. no inflation, no nothing. >> the trump campaign has launched a new effort against kamala harris' record as california's attorney general. it paints the vice president as weak on crime. robert f. kennedy jr. is considering dropping out of the presidential race to help elect donald trump. that's according to his running mate, nicole shanahan.

she said that continuing their independent campaign could run the risk of a harris-walz presidency, because, quote, we draw votes from donald trump. she went on to say, they could, quote, join forces with donald trump. a dnc spokeswoman condemned shanahan's remarks. police have arrested some protesters outside the dnc in chicago. the war in gaza has been a key issue for voters leading up to the election. and shakquille brewster spoke t voters. >> reporter: president biden out. >> pass the torch to a new generation. >> reporter: vice president harris in. >>we are joyful warriors. >> reporter: in trying to rebuild support from a key part of the democratic coalition. >> president biden is getting big warning signs.

>> reporter: back in december, as polls showed biden's support from young voters crashing, we travelled to dane county in battle battleground, wisconsin and learned the war in gaza is a big part of the reason why. >> he is allowing the war to happen and is funding this war. >> i think after october 7, a question became the matter of human rights. >> reporter: do you plan on voting for him this time around? >> no, not anymore. >> reporter: since then, a lot has changed. with biden off the ticket, we asked the same voters where they stand now. >> right now, i'm leaning towards voting for kamala harris. but there's many months to go. >> i want to vote for kamala, but that depends on her policy changes. >> reporter: they're part of a big shift. back in june, biden led trump with voters under 30. by late july, harris' lead had grown to 18 points. you told me you were considering

voting third party. >> i'm kind of up in the air. i'm really a bit torn. i also want to vote for kamala here, because i live in a swing state and would really like to avoid another trump presidency. >> reporter: what harris says about gaza, these voters say, will be key. >> talking about an issue in a more empathetic way, for example, makes a big difference for lot of people. >> reporter: you feel like harris is doing that in a way that -- >> biden has literally not been able to. >> i'm much more excited about the candidate now than i was about biden. >> reporter: an opportunity with young voters that comes with a warning. >> that can change really quickly. it's a two-way street. >> reporter: shaquille brewster, nbc news, madison, wisconsin. prospects of a cease-fire in gaza appear to be growing dimmer by the day. negotiations resume tomorrow in cairo, but hamas will not be attending. the group has rejected the latest proposal, saying it doesn't guarantee a permanent end to the war or a full israeli withdrawal. in another whirlwind tour of the

region, secretary of state blinken said there is an urgent need to secure a deal. it comes as the israelis recover the bodies of six hostages in gaza. the remains were found in a hamas tunnel. and hamas claims at least some of them were killed accidently in airstrikes. the search continues off the coast of sicily for six people still missing after a luxury yacht went down. >in a violent storm. the ship's cook has already been found. missing is mike lynch, who was celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges when tragedy struck. divers have still not been automobil able to access the below-deck cabins the faa is investigating a plane crash in west texas in odessa, causing homes and buildings to erupt in flames.

witnesses say it struggled to gain altitude after faketakeoff. we could see record-breaking temperatures today with the summer heat spreading across the south. let's get over to nbc meteorologist angie lassman. summer doesn't seem to be winding down just yet in those parts. >> it sure isn't. we've got 21 million people still under heat alerts. same spots that we saw it affect yesterday. and we're likely to see this through the rest of the workweek. notice what's going on for parts of the northeast and great lakes. temperatures well below normal. low 70s for new york. it's a different story, though, where all those heat alerts are. across the south, lubbock at 105. dallas, 100 degrees. so the heat's going to remain in place for folks there, not just for the next couple days but late week and the weekend. dallas is in the triple digits

or near the triple digits all the way through the weekend. across the state of florida, we have yo have unsettled weather. we're going to stay unstable here. and plenty of that rain is going to be on tap not just the next day or s nver with mostly cloudy skies. rain in the forecast for colorado springs. plenty of sunshine in green bay today. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. >> okay, thank you, angie. a woman believed to be the world's oldest person has died. the family of 117-year-old maria branez was born in 1907 and

moved to spain with her family when she was young. she had been living in a nursing home in the region of catalonia when she died. she became the world's oldest person last year after the death of a french woman lucille randone. why disney is reversing course on its plan to fight a wrongful death lawsuit for a streaming agreement. ovin'. you could use some metamucil. metamucil's psyllium fiber helps keep your digestive system moving so you can feel lighter and more energetic. metamucil keeps you movin'. and try fizzing fiber plus vitamins. [♪♪] metamucil keeps you movin'. did you know, there's a detergent that gets your dishes up to 100% clean, even in an older dishwasher? try cascade platinum plus. for sparkling clean dishes even on the toughest jobs. just scrape, load and you're done. switch to cascade platinum plus. wanna know a secret? more than just my armpits stink. facts. that's why i use secret whole body deodorant

for clinically proven odor protection everywhere. so i smell great all day, all hike, and all night. secret whole body deodorant. a mystery! jessie loves playing detective. but the real mystery was her irritated skin. so, we switched to tide free & gentle. it cleans better, and doesn't leave behind irritating residues. and it's gentle on her skin. tide free and gentle liquid is epa safer choice certified. it's gotta be tide. tens of millions of people are under heat alerts across the south this morning. conditions are dangerous for anyone who works outside. nbc's jesse kirsch looks at the new efforts to protect workers using a.i. >> reporter: less than three hours into the work day, he is already soaking through his shirt. it's almost 90 degrees before 9:00 a.m. >> feels like you're in a big

oven. >> reporter: that's what it feels like? >> yeah, you're really just praying to go home. >> reporter: north of orlando, it doesn't even take that long for the heat to become dangerous. some research shows on an average work day, almost half of these workers will see their core body temperature climb to dangerously-high levels before noon. is there any way they are replacing enough of the fluids in their body with how much they're sweating? >> no. and, in fact, what we have found in our studies is that by the end of the work day, 81% of them dehydrated. >> reporter: emery university researcher, roxanna chika says for especially vulnerable farm workers, it can cause chronic kidney issues and kidney failure. when heatstroke happens, body temperatures can rise to 106 degrees in just minutes. >> for these workers who have limited access to health care. many do not have health insurance, it's a death

sentence. >> reporter: to save lives, emery and georgia tech developed these experimental biopatches. they are developing an artificial intelligence model that will predict heat illness. >> the idea that you can prevent someone from getting sick. can you prevent people from becoming patients. this is what this technology offers. >> reporter: with climate change and rising temperatures, heat-related deaths are spiking. more than 2300 in the u.s. last year alone. >> participant 145. >> reporter: chikas is focussed on farm workers. >> she says that physically, it's really hard to work out in the field because sometimes you just want to sit down. but then you remember, you have debt. you have children. so you just have to keep going and going. >> reporter: their work, exhausting and dangerous, with researchers hoping a.i. can soon be life saving. jesse kirsch.

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football season already and not a satellite dish in sight! i hardly recognize the roofs i grew up on. enough squawkin'! oh great... coach prime! y'all are whining while everyone else is watching nonstop football on directv! tell me! whose house is this? their house? i think they're renting. listen, listen— i know they get easy access to all this football... but you know what you got? what, coach? a crumb bum attitude! now drop and give me twenty! twenty what? i think right now, it just sucks. >> no, it doesn't suck.

that's wrong. that's just inexperience, that you haven't done this process before. >> i'm sorry. >> the greatest love story never told has appeared to have reached its end. on tuesday, just over two years after saying their vows, jennifer lopez filed for divorce from ben affleck. the filing lists their official separation date as april 26. it comes after months of speculation surrounding the stars' relationship. the two rekindled their high-profile romance in 2021, 17 years after their initial split. so, remember, they had two weddings. like a first one, a legal one, and then the big grand one. and at his georgia estate. that marks the two-year anniversary of the georgia estate wedding when she filed. >> it all happened to fast. so many people were rooting for them. it's unfortunate to see this happen. >> the signs were there. >> third time's the charm, maybe? >> i don't know about that, wow. turning now to one half of

our modern-day bennifer. travis kelce is in talks to star in the action comedy "loose cannons", filming isn't expected to begin for a while as kelce will be booked for at least 18 weeks. he is set to star in a series next month in addition to hosting "are you smarter than a celebrity." this man has as many jobs as his girlfriend. he can do it all. he's clearly still do ing the football thing, but maybe getting ready to transition to whatever the career would be after that. >> all the opportunities and options for him. will there be a bidding war over paramount? and a fast fashion fight is brewing. greatness hurts. but with care... ...you can keep chasing it. that's tylenol. that's care without limits.

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$4.3 billion bid from a former warner music exec. that's what sources familiar with the offer tells the "new york times." they signed a deal with sky dance which had a 45-day go-shop provision which ends today. shein is suing temu. one of temu's employees, they said, stole confidential trade secrets. temu has not responded to request for comment from cnbc. and beyonce is launching a new whiskey line f $or89 a bottle. and it changed everything. (♪♪) (silence) (♪♪) (♪♪) hey dave, don't knock it till you smell it. try the new luxurious scent of gain relax flings.

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bringing some very cuddly backup on patrol. from our philadelphia station, tim furlong reports on the bear facts. >> reporter: police have a new tool, teddy bears made from officers' used uniform shirts. the lieutenant who came up with the idea knew just the person to call. >> i needily think, oh, god, what did i do. >> robin was making teddy bears and giving them to orphanage in the ukraine and organizing efforts for that. when i saw that she was doing that, i realized the bears could work. there was no way i was going to be able to figure out how to sew one of these things. >> reporter: after some prototypes, robin's been at work. all the used shirts are cleaned before they come to her. no b.o. detected so far. >> she is a one-person show. she's doing it all on her own. they take time. they're labor intensive. each one of these bears is made

with a lot of materials and a lot of care. >> this is one of the thirds that is left over. >> reporter: and the bears have a very specific mission, comforting kids. police officers sometimes go to scenes where they're dealing at the lowest moment possible. these little bears can become a perfectly-timed best friend for a kid in a bad spot. >> even as adults, we have an immediate, tense reaction. and, if we can help small children get over that tension at any point and just soothe and comfort them, that's what it's all about. >> i have two kids myself. and i keep thinking about what my kids would want in a situation like that. and them being 7 years old and 9 years old. this is exactly what i would want a police officer to be doing if they were in that situation. >> reporter: community police something a big issue in this

community. >> as long as they keep bringing me shirts, i can keep making the bears. >> reporter: tim furlong, nbc news, newark, delaware. before we go, here's sheinelle jones with a preview of what's coming up on "today". this morning on the third hour of "today", al celebrates turning 70 by sitting down with another living legend, dennis quaid, plus jessica alba is live, and a live performance from the script. all this morning on the third hour of "today." and thanks so much for waking up with "early today." i'm frances rivera, have a great wednesday. for now, your news continues right here on nbc and your nbc stations. hope to see you back here tomorrow.