president trump has arrived in paris for a busy day. also a rare press conference, but back at home pressure continues to build on the russia investigation. >> if hillary had won, our military would be decimated. our energy would be much more expensive. that's what putin doesn't like about . that's why i say why would he want me? >> to breaking news overnight, a major update in the search for four missing pennsylvania men. president trump's choice for fbi director facing fire and many questions to loyalty to his new boss. incredible images out of china of a massive car-crushing mud slide caught on cap camera. and the cringe worthy moment

of the espys. "early today" starts now. good to be with you. president trump has just arrive in paris for a major meeting, but first a new development over donald trump jr.'s meeting with a russian lawyer. >> if hillary had won our military would be decimated. our energy would be much more expensive. so when i keep hearing he would have rather had trump, i think probably not. >> peter alexander has more on the latest twist in the russian controversy. >> reporter: this video shot exclusively by nbc shows donald trump in 2013 attending a birthday party in moscow for his former business partner tied to vladimir putin.

also there his son emmit, who asked a trusted associate to set up a meeting with donald trump jr. and a russian government attorney. >> you like russians? >> i like russians. >> reporter: with the white house under siege, the president is asking as defender in chief. he tells reuters that he thinks many people would have held that meeting, arguing he does not fault his son declaring hymn -- him innocent. calling the russia investigation the greatest witch hunt in political history. even as the younger trump acknowledges regrets. >> i probably would have done things a little differently. hindsight is always 20/20. >> no meaningful information was exchanged adding he never told his father about the meeting. >> it was such a nothing, there was nothing to tell. >> reporter: the president's lawyer fending off accusations. >> there's no law that's been violated here. the meeting that took place is

not illegal. >> reporter: also asked if putin's denial of meddling, something happened and we have to find out what it is. while touting america's improving relationship with putin. >> there are many other cases where getting along can be a positive thing. but always putin is going to want russia and trump is going to want united states and that's the way it is. >> the meeting was an ideal outcome not for president trump and america's interests, but for putin and russia's interests. >> thanks so pet s to peter aler that report. >> and now president trump is in paris for a meeting with the french president later today. the two leaders will be commemorating the entry into world war i which happened 100 years ago. american soldiers and french servicemen will be marching side by side as the two presidents come to the -- together despite their clashing world views.

kelly cobiella is in paris this morning. what can we expect from this presidential meeting today? >> reporter: frances, there w l be a fair amount of pomp and ceremony throughout the day today and into tomorrow. the official welcoming ceremony happens in a couple hours from now at the site of napoleon's tomb. that's where the president will officially welcome president trump with a very elaborate ceremony in a private tour of napoleon's tomb. then a meeting between these two leaders. what are they expected to discuss in that meeting, a variety of things. their common interests according to staffs on both sides. the global fight against terrorism, the fight against isis, what's next for syria once raqqah, the so-called capital of the islamic state is defeated and recovered. climate change could also come up.

it will also be the very first time reporters get the chance to ask the president directly about that meeting between his son, donald trump jr., and the russian lawyer. >> kelly, thank you. breaking overnight, human remains have been found in pennsylvania where authorities have been searching for four missing teens. cadaver dogs led police to a common grave where the remains were found. the body of one of the missing teens was positively identified. the bucks county d.a. says this is a clear case of homicide. he and three others disappeared last friday. the d.a. promises he will not rest until all the young men are found. >> we're strong and we're going to remain strong and we're going to see this investigation to the end. we're going to bring each and every one of these lost boys

home to their families. >> nbc's drew smith is near the scene. what else have we learned? >> reporter: the district attorney promised major developments in the case and he came out to tell us that a 19-year-old's human remains were discovered in a 12-foot grave. people have been working out on this rural farmland outside of philadelphia since earlier this week. it was late last week when four young men were reported missing. now the person they have identified was a 19-year-old from this area and the three others they think are in that grave as well. they have not made that positive identification. they are finding those human remains thanks to cadaver dogs that led them to that site. police have made an arrest in the case, but they have not directly charged the young man with homicide. he's a 20-year-old. his parents own the property where this gruesome discoveries was made. now back to you. >> thank you. now to the good samaritans in california who came to rescue of a family trapped after a car crash.

bystanders rushed to the van after it ran into a fire hydrant. you can hear children crying from inside the car. an infant is rescued. six people were pulled out and taken to the hospital. their injuries are unknown. police say the crash happened when an suv driver lost control and slammed into the mini van. that driver was arrested on suspicion of dui. president trump's nominee for fbi director appears to be heading for confirmation this hearing morning. he pledged he would resign if the president asked him to do something illegal. christopher wray is widely regarded as well qualified to lead the fbi. after the messy firing of james comey, wray faced unusual pointed questions. pete williams has details. >> christopher wray entered the hearing with one overriding mission -- demonstrate his independence from the president who nominated him after firing

fbi director james comey. >> i will never allow the fbi's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice. period. full stop. >> he said no one, including donald trump, asked him to it pledge loyalty, something comey said the president asked of him. >> it got then awkward and i then said you will always have honesty from me. >> to one asked me for a loyalty oath at any point during this process and i didn't offer one. >> if the president asks you to do something unlawful or unethical, what do you say? >> first, i would try to talk him out of it. if that failed, i would resign. >> wray is a former federal prosecutor in atlanta and a senior official in the george w. bush justice department at a

time when comey was deputy attorney general and his boss. he was careful to defend comey's character discounting the president's description. >> you don't think dr. comey is a nut job. >> that's never been my experience with him. >> he said he was wrong to publicly criticize hillary clinton's handling of class 32ed e-mails announcing she should snz not be. -- should not be charged with a crime. >> he says he would have everything needed to examine the russian meddling, despite the president's dim view of that investigation. >> i'm asking you as the future fbi director you consider this endeavor a witch hunt? >> i do not consider director mueller to be on a witch hunt. >> he has no reason to doubt russia was cyber hacking the election. >> now pete williams reports it appears that he will be confirmed with bipartisan support. now the midwest flooding, a powerful wave of storms left chicago's northern suburbs under water and thousands without power. and wisconsin's fox river swelled to over 3 1/2 feet above flood stage.

homes and businesses are impacted, knocking out electricity to 20,000 customers. let's turn to meteorologist bonnie schneider with what's ahead for us. >> all of that rain that hit chicago is pushing to the east. it's impacting michigan at this house. lansing getting powerful thunderstorms. temperatures will climb into the mid-90s, but it's going to feel even hotter than that. expect temperatures to feel like 100 degrees. now here's a closer look at the day ahead. it's hot as well into the plains. 92 in rapid city. highs in wyoming in the 90s. storms for cleveland with highs in the upper 80s and 90 to new york city with a hotter heat index.

storms are impacting michigan right now. now to footage from china. a mud slide swept across a busy road. the wave of mud suddenly washes over several cars pushing them right off the road. eight vehicles were buried trapping 16 people. three of them were hurt. one person had to be rescued by firefighters, but otherwise everyone managed to escape. it may have been the most awkward moment of the espy awards. and an iceberg break was causing a titanic shift on a planet's landscape. you're watching "early today." t. plus, the snacks and drinks are gone, people. and one of us used up all the sunscreen! i wonder who... . we're gonna need some reinforcements...quick. copy that. walgreens makes it easy when summer needs a little help. your summer base camp is just around the corner so you can get in, out and back to those summer shenanigans. walgreens. at the corner of happy & healthy®. now with card, one-liter smartwater

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>> at last night's espy awards, peyton manning making jabs but you saw his face, certainly not amused by the whole thing. the senate gop preparing a revised health care bill trying to capture republicans support. this comes as president trump holds their feet to the fire. >> i am sitting in the oval office with a pen in hand waiting for our senators to give it to me. it has to get passed. they have to do it. they have to get together is and get it done. >> what will happen if they don't? >> i don't even want to talk about it, because it would be very bad. i would be very angry about it. >> the president insisted the senator majority leader mitch mcconnell has to pull it off. a massive iceberg is floating into the ocean after breaking off of antarctica.

the ice block broke away from an ice shelf. it is one of the largest in recorded history. it is 120 miles long with an area of 2,200 square smiles. scientists say this type of separation is not unusual and hard to say for sure whether this scientific break is due to climate change. up next, the treatment being called a breakthrough in the battle against cancer. first, the dallas cowboys top the list of the world's most valuable sports teams with an estimated value of over $4 billion. the new york yankees at number two with $3.7 billion. rounding out the top five were manchester united, barcelona and real madrid. do you really use head & shoulders?

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in today's quick hits, c is for cookie, but in this case it's for cocaine. authorities in the florida keys found 314 grams hidden in that cookie monster doll. they discovered it during a traffic stop search when the doll felt heavy. the 39-year-old driver is charged with trafficking. nasa's unmanned spacecraft has sent back stopping new images of the red spot after flying directly over the massive storm for the first time ever. and this morning the nominations for the emmy awards will be announced in hollywood. it is being called a breakthrough in the battle against cancer. an fda panel recommended the approval of america's first gene therapy treatment that changes a

patient's dna to fight the disease better. we have been following the story. >> reporter: a young pioneer now literally the textbook example of this ground breaking therapy. >> look at this face. this says i'm happy. >> couldn't be more proud. >> reporter: we met emily a year and a half ago at age 10. still cancer free after being diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia when she was 5. >> at one point the doctor came in and said you need to call your family in because emily is not going to be here tomorrow. >> reporter: but doctors at the university of pennsylvania and children's hospital of philadelphia developed the cell treatment. emily was the first child in the world to receive it. >> she's cancer free. and i couldn't believe it. i just thought it was a dream. >> reporter: here's how it works. from a blood sample, a patient's own immune cells are separated out and then genetically reprogrammed turning them into superfighters that hunt out and

destroy cancer cells. at the fda hearing fighting back tears, tom whitehead testified next to emily. >> if you want to see what a cure looks like, she's standing right beside me. >> reporter: this fall the full fda is expected to approve this treatment for relapsing leukemia in children and young adults. it's grueling, but 83% of patients went into remission. the ultimate goal, try it on other cancers. >> it's hard for me to even articulate how exciting this is. i mean, everybody has been working toward this for so long. >> it's kind of exciting because it will get the treatment to a lot more kids. >> reporter: an historic step in science thanks to a brave young girl. rehema ellis, nbc news. >> hope for so many families. still to come, how much time and money we're wasting searching for a parking spot. the stories i could tell you. the numbers might surprise you.

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there's a new report that says drivers are spending 17 hours a year searching for a parking space. that adds up to $345 per driver in wasted time, fuel and emissions. if you're saying stick it it it in a garage, here in new york it could be up to $60 to park in a garage and if you park illegally, it's over a $100. >> you always hope you'll get lucky and find something. grab the ketchup because today is national french fry day. whether it's classic curly, waffle or chilly cheese, the average american eats about 30 pounds of french fries each year. retailers and fast food chains are ready to reel in the shoppers with discounts and giveaways. snz so there will be plenty of starchy goodness to go around. >> what's your favorite? >> pretty much all of them. >> all of the above. crispy is the way i like it. this is "early today." noo

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no, this isn't old faithful. a 100-foot geyser erupted in downtown l.a. on wednesday had a fire hydrant got sheared. no word on what caused the mishap. that's a lot of water out there. we're also watching for water in the tropics to develop. we're seeing the remnants of a tropical depression. this is going to be a rainmaker for south florida, especially the southwest corner of the state. 39 million people at risk for extreme heat today from the midwest to the mid atlantic. make sure you stay cool. >> thank you.

donald and melania trump visited children in the hospital today. how does the name senator kid rock sound to you? rumors started swirling after the worker's name was -- he tweeted i've had a ton of e-mails asking if this is real. he answered absolutely yes, stay tuned for an announcement in the future. >> and at wimbledon sam querrey

is the first american to reach the finals since 2009. >> venus williams is set to take on konta this morning at 10 a.m. >> bank customers using an atm got a little more than they bargained for. they found a note that said "please help, i'm stuck in here and i don't have my phone." many thought it was a joke until finally called police and it turned out a contractor working on the machine was trapped inside. >> he's slipping notes through the atm where you can get your receipt. sure enough, we're hearing a little voice coming from the machine so we're thinking it's got to be a jock temperature. >> i'm frances rivera.

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overnight destroy several breaking news, downtown damage, massive flames in the east bay overnight. destroyed several buildings in downtown laugh yet. we're live with a closer look at the aftermath. good morning to you and thanks for joining us on this busy thursday morning. >> we are going to get to that in just one second, but let's start right now with a check of your forecast, and kari hall good morning. >> good morning. as we get a look at what's happening out there around the bay area, mostly clear skies to start as you get ready to head out the door. we're seeing the mist and drizzle roll across the dpolden gate bridge right now. low vieblts in spots with our high temperatures inland today reaching into the mid to upper 80s for the south bay, low 90s for the tri-valley and