with "early today," especially if you were with us all week long, dark and early. i'm frances rivera. have a great weekend. i'll be here labor day monday. becoming the democratic nominee, while donald trum ks one on one with nbc. we're live with the big

a tale of two interviews in the race for the white house. kamala harris sits down for her first major interview since becoming the democratic nominee, while donald trump talks one on one with nbc. we're live with the big take aways. plus new polls overnight show what's driving vice president harris' drive in the poll. a crackdown on crime tourism. at least six people arrested in a scheme to steal millions. how they operated like a concierge service for criminals visiting america from abroad. holiday headaches. strong storms set to throw a wrench in labor day travel. our meteorologist michelle grossmann is tracking the trouble spots before you hit the road. and, when it comes to beavers, giving a dam could be a key to a better future. how artificial intelligence can

help nature's engineers fight disasters like floods and wildfires. it's friday august 30th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. happy friday. i'm frances rivera. we begin with the state of the 2024 race for the white house. new polling out overnight from reuters shows vice president harris leading among registered voters. and 73% of registered democratic voters say they are more excited about voting in november since kamala harris entered the race. nbc's alice barr joins us now from d.c. the vice president and her running mate just sat down for their first tv interview. so what did we learn from them? >> reporter: good morning, frances. this had a lot of significance, because the vice president been facing growing pressure to detail her policy positions. she was asked about why some of those positions on key issues have shifted. >> my value around what we need

to do to securure bore our bord. i spent two terms as the california attorney general, prosecuting violations of american laws regarding the passage, illegal passage, of guns, drugs and human beings across our border. my values did not change. >> reporter: vice president harris also spoke about how she's open to appointing a republican to her cabinet if she's elected. you had a lot of republican speakers at the convention. will you appoint a republican to your cabinet? >> yes, i would. yes, i would. no one in particular in mind. i got 68 days to go with this election, so i'm not putting the cart before the horse, but i would. i think it's really important, i, i have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. i think it's important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made. >> reporter: last night the republican nominee, former president trump, spoke one on

one with nbc's dasha burns. the former president announcing a new policy proposal on fertility treatments. >> under the trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment. so we are paying for that treatment. or we're going -- >> reporter: for all who want it? >> all americans that get it, all americans that need it. so we're going to be paying for that treatment or mandating that the insurance company pay. >> reporter: in a statement, harris campaign says donald trump's own platform could effectively ban ivf and abortion nationwide. former president trump did not give any specifics on how he would pay for this plan, based on data from 2022. it could cost nearly $8 billion annually, frances? >> alice barr for us, thank you. new this morning. donald trump has asked a federal court to intervene in his new york hush money case. the former president is hoping to overturn his felony conviction or delay his sentencing, which is scheduled for next month. the case was tried in a state

court. trump's lawyers now arguing that the supreme court ruling on presidential immunity means the case did not belong there. on may 30th, mr. trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payment to porn actress stormy daniels. turning overseas, ukrainian military morale suffered a major blow after one of the country's top fighter pilots was killed. erin mclaughlin has the latest. >> reporter: the mediteukrainia force announced a newly-arrived f-16 fighter jet crashed on monday, killing a top ukrainian pilot. known by his call sign "moon fish". he spoke to nbc months into the war. >> it was the most intense the first couple of days. >> reporter: the cause of the crash is under investigation as the deadly game of who blink

ukrainian citys first continues, with russia gaining ground in ukraine's east, while ukraine takes more land in the russian region of kursk. the russian border is a straight shot that way. this week we visited the ukrainian city of sumi. p putin has said russia has no borders, this officer says. now we have shown we can enterm russian territory. we spoke with a commander inside russia. nbc news is withholding his name at their request for security purposes. are you gaining ground? yes, little by little, he says. they've been givensumi, strict instructions on how to react with civilians.

we've been told to interact with them as much as we can. they say they want normore help from the west. >> they're going to kill you tomorrow. >> reporter: erin mclaughlin, nbc news, sumi, craukraine. dr. mark chavez has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. he allegedly prescribed it to a second doctor who sold it to matthew perry's assistant. the beloved actor died in late october. a total of five people have been indicted over his death. rough weather may complicate a busy travel rush. domestic travel is estimated to be up nearly 10% from last year. and the tsa plans to screen about 17 million flyers. but, as priscilla thompson reports, severe storms may get in the way. >> reporter: massive tornados tearing through the dakotas. dozens of freight cars flung offeoff

the tracks in north dakota. the treacherous weather moving in, just as millions are eager to get out. you're leaving today, why? >> definitely because fridays already are chaotic. and then a three day weekend. >> reporter: but harrowing moments in the sky wednesday after this united airlines nate hit severe turbulence. >> wasn't sure if we were going down, honestly. it was, it was very scary. >> reporter: one person hospitalized and six others injured, officials say, after that chicago-bound plane was forced to land in memphis. >> it was pretty intense, actually. i saw one of the ladies that hit the roof and then landed on top of me and the other passengers. >> reporter: the long weekend also off to a bumpy start in denver. a packed terminal after a mechanical issue shut down trains between concourses for hours. >> you couldn't get on and you couldn't get off once you did get on. >> reporter: millions are under threat of severe storms through the weekend, which could impact

airport hubs in several major cities, as tsa plans it screen more than 17 million passengers. there's good news for those hitting the road, though. gas prices are down 50 cent s from a year ago. >> priscilla, thanks. let's get to michelle grossman for a look at your labor day forecast. good morning, michelle. >> reporter: we are looking at the chance for showers and storms. it's all due to a long-stretching cold front that will be moving across the country. today we could see strong storms in the state of michigan. but notice the eastern half of the nation could see dots of showers and storms, especially where you see the darker colors. that's where we could see heavy rain as well. it's going to lead to a chance for flash flooding. we do have the threat for wind, hail and also flash flooding. likely delays in the air in detroit. st. louis could see possible delays. delays possible for dallas, charlotte, tampa, miami, a lot

of the major hubs could see delays on this friday. if you're driving today, we'll see slowdowns especially across i-10 where we're going n in plac carolinas, could see localized flash flooding in portions of the south. here's a closer look at your day ahead. all right, we're looking at temperatures in the 90s in the south. could see showers and storms as well. we're looking at san antonio, 94. 90s in southern texas. and it's going to be a cool day

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data to new highs. and the suspects accused of playing concierge to a crime ring. ew record high. here to break down the numbers is cnbc's good news for anyone on the hunt for a new home. but first, wall street is looking to head into the holiday weekend on a high note. the dow jumped, hitting a new record high. here to break down the numbers is cnbc's arabile gumede. good morning. >> that uptick has actually been very phenomenal. at the beginning of august, we saw a big draw-down across the major stocks across the world. why? because we had job numbers out of the united states that pointed to what seemed like a slightly more bleak picture for the month and the anticipation was that the federal reserve would have to cut interest rates quite significantly, as much as 50 basis points this one go. maybe even have an emergency meeting, but that wasn't the case. the rhyest of the month saw calmness restored and an uptick come into play.

so much so that actually the market reversed its losses then for the month of august. so the dow jones industrial managing to move up 500 points in the month of august, so much so that it gained and hit a record high. unfortunately, on the other side, though, you did see the nasdaq which has a lot of tech companies. that saw a low for about half a percent. on the other side, though, the 30-year bond yield has drawn down to 6.35%. that had been very expensive, then, for consumers, as you tried to renegotiate some of your loan phases. consumers having struggled with high interest rates and a high-inflation environment. one would wonder if you see more weakness for consumer spending, but things look to be getting better for the consumer. >> that's a way it start the

friday and end the workweek. arabile, thank you. now that the crackdown on crime tourism. federal authorities have charged a group, employing thieves whose come from south america on short-term visas. steve patterson has the story. >> reporter: the alleged master minds behind a multi-million dollar crime tourism ring that targeted cities across the city, charged by federal authorities. this group essentially acted as a lynch pin for south american crime tourists who wanted to come to our country, take advantage of our liberties to steal from the american people. officials say juan carlos and his girlfriend anna maria operated a sort of criminal concierge service out of their los angeles rental car business. >> tola has been running in essence the hertz rental car business for theres.

>> reporter: the couple and all alleged conspirators allowed thieves to blend in as they targeted high-end homes and businesses, stealing victims' bank cards, which officials say they would max out at nearby super stores. they purchased gift cards, electronics and luxury goods to sell back at a fraction of the value to a man who resold the goods for profit, bringing in $5 million over six years. >> the defendants acted essentially as quarterbacks for a massive team of eager thieves. >> reporter: this is this home, according to the indictment. . one neighbor recalls the search of the property. >> i drove up to a lot of commotion and vehicles, and vehicles on trailers. that's really scary. really scary. no wonder there was so much activity. >> reporter: the stolen funds secured from at least 120 burglaries and thefts in 80 different cities according to

the indictment, would go toward buying real estate and even horses. >> we've arrested over 130 suspects responsible for perpetrating these crimes, with a vast majority using vehicles from this network. >> reporter: crime tourism has proven to be a serious issue, especially in california. last year, authorities sounding the alarm over chilean gangs who entered the country with no criminal battleground check. those gangs connected to a string of burglaries across southern california. >> those coming to our country, thinking they can take advantage of our liberties and steal from of our liberties and steal from the american a once-daily, extended-release td treatment for adults. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ austedo xr significantly reduced dan's td movements. some people saw a response as early as 2 weeks. people should with austedo xr, dan can stay on his mental health meds—

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e thanksgiving and christmas movies. it's been a long time since we returned to a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. we got the latest look at the entry in the jurassic series. the first one has scarlett johan jo johansson. i'm embarrassed to say this. i've never seen any of the "jurassic park"s. >> you need to jump on this. especially with scarlett johansson. she's been pushing for a role in anything jurassic. she loves it so much. she said when she was 7, she had a little pup tent she put in her sister's room and slept in it for about a year. all right, it is backed by the same force behind, actually, that was the other one we were talking about. still to come here on "early still to come here on "early today," anothe

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w th he research is using the tech on beavers to fight natural disasters. gainst florida's new book ban. they claim the law is overly broad, resulting in the removal of classics without considering their educational value here's what's making headlines this morning. major publishers have filed a lawsuit against florida's new book ban. they claim the law is overly they claim the law is overly broad, dawn powerwash has 3 cleaning boosters not found in traditional dish soaps that remove food and grease 5x times faster. you can replace multiple cleaning products for counters, stoves, and even laundry stains. try dawn powerwash dish spray. brand power, helping you buy better. we all need fiber for our digestive health, but less than 10% of us get enough each day. as 2 cups of broccoli.

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nature's most industrious it might sound like mad libs, but beavers, firefighting and a.i. how one researcher is tackling one of the biggest threats in california. we show you the hunt for nature's most industrious engineers. >> reporter: we're in the colorado mountains. >> this is one of their waterways. >> reporter: a beaver habitat that was surrounded by the biggest wub biggest wildfire in the state's history. >> it's been about four years. >> reporter: the hillsides are still charred, but the beaver habitat is still lush, green and thriving. >> we struggle to protect structures of our own, but the beavers here are protecting their house, and the entire wet land ecosystem, just through their normal engineering

behaviors. >> reporter: by following the lead of beavers and building on what they've built, scientists believe we can improve our own resilience to wildfires. >> it's very recently that we've serious th se seriously thought about the fact that beavers are preserving thousands of miles. >> reporter: they need to know where the beavers are, which has meant mapping them it manually. >> it can be thousands and thousands of beaver dams in a massive watershed. this was massively time consuming. we need to be normore nimble th that. what we are interested in is using artificial intelligence it fin find out, where are these beaver dams? the model's getting smarter and smarter and better at finding the beavers. >> reporter: now what used to take a month can take minutes. and with wildfires becoming more frequent, there is no time to

waste. >> beavers are their own kind of fire managers. but we do fire mitigation work, too. it's really important it know where the beaver ponds are, so we can build off what they've already done. we can't do that if we don't know where the beavers are. >> on top of that, they're cute, too. we might not ever know why the chicken crossed the road, but what about an ostrich? this 7-foot-tall bird stopped traffic in sioux falls, south dakota after he escaped from a trailer. the ostrich was not hurt and was eventually returned to his owner. thanks so much for kicking off rc

kamah anarris exciting thought. >> now that is a comeback. a reminder