. mr. simpson, i do vote to grant parole when eligible. and that will conclude this hearing. >> thank you. >> the taste of freedom, after nine years behind bars, o.j. simpson is granted parole. a first-hand account from inside his parole hearing. i beg your pardon. the president is looking into how to pardon his aides, his family member and even himself. i'll be back. down but not out john mccain vows to return to the senate as he battled a brain tumor. we remember the life of chester bettington. a royal touch becomes a blunder seen around the world.

the lumberjack world championships get underway. early today starts right now. we made it to friday, good to be with you. o.j. simpson could be months away from freedom. nevada officials granted parole to the former football star, who has spent nearly nine years in prison for a 2008 armed robbery in las vegas. the earliest simpson can be released is october 1st. no specific date has been set. simpson says he would like to live in florida, the state must agree to have him. joe fryer has more on the dramatic parole hearing. >> mr. simpson, i do vote to grant parole when eligible. and that will conclude this hearing. >> thank you. >> reporter: relief washed over o.j. simpson as a nevada parole board voted in dramatic fashion to set him free, a unanimous decision reached after the former football star made his case. >> i've done my time. you know, i've done it as well and as respectfully as i think anybody can.

>> reporter: at times combative. >> it was my property and i will never pull a weapon on anybody. >> reporter: at times contrite. >> nine years away from your family is just not worth it. >> reporter: appearing in front of cameras for the first time in four years, he looked thinner. >> i basically spent a conflict free life. >> reporter: he took classes by alternative to violence. >> they gave me so many tools, how to use it, you know, to try to walk these guys through. not throwing punches at one another. >> reporter: supporters at the hearing included his sister, shirley baker, and daughter, arnelle who testified. >> we want him to come home so we can move forward for us. quietly. but to move forward. >> reporter: simpson is serving time for the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers. one of the victims testified that simpson should be released. >> this is a good man.

he made a mistake. >> reporter: even offering to pick him up from prison. >> juice, i'll be here tomorrow for you. i mean that, buddy. . >> reporter: friend tom scott met with simpson after the hearing. >> came out yelling, i'm coming home. yeah. coming home. hugged us all. we're making plans. >> reporter: it's the latest legal twist for simpson who in the 90s was accused and acquitted of murder. in a civil trial he was found libel for the killings. the parole board says those cases were mentioned in the opposition letters it received from the public. >> these items will not be considered in the case. >> reporter: christopher darden was one of the prosecutors in simpson's murder trial. >> he is the same o.j. i saw in 1994. he's still a narcissist and a manipulative person and still inclined to blame other people for his conduct.

>> reporter: a state assessment deemed simpson a low risk to reoffend paving the way for his release. >> there's nothing normal about o.j. simpson, but this was a normal decision and that's a good thing for the justice system. >> joe fryer reporting. we'll take a look at america's fascination with o.j. simpson coming up. a new report from "the washington post" is shining another light on the trump administration. the paper reports trump and his legal team are looking into his pardoning pouwers. trump has asked his advisors about his power to pardon aides, family members and himself h. observers were quick to point out the appearance of guilt that comes with inquiring. vice chair mark warner released a statement, the possibility that the president is considering pardons is disturbing, adding it would cross a fundamental line. one aide told the post the president has expressed curiosity. telling the paper this is not in

the context of i can't wait to pardon myself. trump's pardon inquiry comes as "the new york times" reports his team is investigating the very people carrying out the russia probe. looking for ways to quash special counsel robert mueller's investigation by scouring the backgrounds of the investigators. looking for conflicts of interest. here is former chief of staff jeremy bash's take on it. >> i think this looked like walking up to the line of obstruction of justice. we it's an effort to undermine, intimidate, to get the investigators to stand back. i don't think they're going to do it. >> an attorney for president trump called the stories nonsense saying the president's lawyers are cooperating with the special counsel. still, multiple u.s. officials tell nbc news mueller is gathering documents involving the financial records and business dealings of those close to the trump campaign.

something trump referred to as a red line, just yesterday. a point backed up by his deputy press secretary. >> i think that the president, the point he's trying to make is that the clear purpose of the russia investigation is to review russia's meddling in the election. >> overnight we learned the president's personal lawyer is taking a significantly reduced role in his russia defense. just as the spokesperson for trump's legal team abruptly resigns. i'll be back, that's the message, senator john mccain is delivering this morning as he fights an aggressive brain tumor back home. the six term senator seemed to be in good spirits as he called his colleagues while making sure the world knows he intends to be back at work. unfortunately for my sparring partners in congress i'll be back soon, so stand by.

here is senators jeff flake and lindsey graham on how important mccain is to them and the entire senate. >> i came here as an intern in the senate in 1987 and john mccain was here then. that's all i know. >> i can't think of anything i've done since 1999 politically in many ways personally that was worth doing without john. >> the music industry is mourning the sudden death of chester bennington. the singer was found dead in his los angeles home of an apparent suicide. police say they responded to a call from his home thursday morning. the incident is under investigation and no other details were released. shocked and heartbroken but it's true. the news caused an outpouring of brief on twitter. band one republic said this breaks our heart. jimmy kimmel said chester was one of the kindest men i've had on my show.

chester bennington, dead at the age of 41. the massive wildfire in central california continues to rage. the fire near yosemite has scorched over 70,000 acres and destroyed at least 50 homes and dozens of other structures. hot and dry conditions fueled the fire's growth forcing residents in two more towns to join thousands of others who evacuated the area. nearly 4,000 firefighters are battling the blaze. so far it is only 10% contained. the cause of the fire remains under investigation. so how does getting from new york to d.c. in under 30 minutes sound? tech billionaire elon musk says he's gotten the go ahead to make it happen. he tweeted just received government approval to build an underground new york to washington, d.c. hyperloop. he estimates it trip would take 29 minutes. that's nearly three hours faster than amtrak. he didn't say which agency gave him verbal approval. he later clarified saying still

a lot of work needed to receive formal approval, but am optimistic. that will occur rapidly. residents of mcgregory iowa are cleaning up after a powerful ef-1 tornado tore through that town. several buildings downtown sustained serious damage. the big story this weekend is that heat wave. here is an update. >> good morning. probably going to be a little bit of both. we have the epic heat wave and we have to deal with severe storms. 78 million people under heat headlines, advisories or warnings. a small patch of northern california is expecting more heat. today's forecast, 101, oklahoma city, st. louis, 103. it's not like we've cooled off that much in salt lake city. 95. some of the best weather found in seattle. as we head through the weekend, salt lake city jumps up, seattle, 82. sunday, notice the red showing up as the heat continues in the west but clsoo oastal sections

california is cool around the water. inland it gets warm in a hurry. here's a fun one, the lumberjack world championships are underway in wisconsin. one of those places you want to be to watch and have some great scenery. some of the 21 events include log rolling. the standing chop is another big favorite one. over 130 competitors from around the world will see if they have what it takes to be the best lumberjack or lumber jill. approximately 12,000 spectators are expected to attend. these games have been held since 1960. how do you practice for these things? >> i guarantee you those people are full on athletes. they got to be in great shape. thank you. ahead, new fallout from president trump 's stinging

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chaos broke out in the mediterranean after an earthquake struck off of turkey. the quake hit the greek island of kos hard. now with power outages and buildings damages, many have been forced toi camp outside. several white house aides were stunned after attorney general jeff sessions announced he would stay on at the doj. >> we love this job, we love this department and i plan to continue to do so as long as that's appropriate. i'm totally confident we can continue to run this office in an effective way. >> sessions' decision to stay on comes after the president made a rare public rebuke of his

attorney general. mr. trump told "the new york times" he regrets hiring sessions. now to an alert about a growing cyber scam tactic. the fbi says americans lost $1.3 billion to cybercrime last year alone. criminals now know that we have grown suspicious of e-mails so they're targeting victims with scams that go straight to your text messages. jolene kent explains what you should look out for. >> reporter: as americans get smarter about robo call fraud and phony e-mails, cybercriminals are stepping up their game to get your personal information. instead of phishing e-mails they're sending sms texts to your mobile phone in a scam called smushing. >> you say oh, no and you respond to it and then they've got you. >> the better business bureau says consumers report thousands of dollars lost from one text. these messages try to grab your attention. alleging your bank account has been compromised like this one,

claiming to show a suspicious withdrawal from an atm. these messages usually include a link orphone number urging you to click or call. if you do, hackers could steal your personal information or infect your phone with malware. >> you as a consumer are looking at the website on a very tiny screen as well as the notification. that makes it harder to notice the cues we usually use to tell apart a fraudulent site. >> reporter: there's no full way to block these messages, security specialists recommend do not replay or click on the link. always delete suspicious texts and never share your phone number on social media. protecting yourself as hackers deploy new tactics to win your trust. nbc news, los angeles. just ahead, a look into the public's decades long fascination with o.j. simpson. plus, what amazon chief jeff bezos has up his sleeve for his

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the energy conscious whopeople among usle? say small actions can add up to something... humongous. a little thing here. a little thing there. starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. who are all these caretakers, advocates too? turns out, it's californians it's me and it's you. don't stop now, it's easy to add to the routine. join energy upgrade california and do your thing. breaking into the box office this weekend, the sci-fi thriller valerian and the city of a thousand planets. christopher nolan's war drama dunkirk and girls trip.

a surprise announcement from sears and amazon had a domino effect on u.s. stocks. we have details about that and more on this friday morning. good morning. >> good friday morning. wall street looks to end the week on a positive mote note. sears is going to sell kenmore appliances on amazon. the nasdaq extended its winning streak to ten days. that's the longest stretch since february of 2015. do you want to visit the seven kingdoms? a travel comparison site has put together an schedule for game of thrones. you'll visit locations in spain,

morocco, malta, croatia scotland and iceland. the cost under $2,200. that does not include hotels. instagram has a new member, amazon ceo jeff bezos published his first post yesterday, a flyover video of a new factories he's building for his rocket company. a drone flies in and stopped above bezos with a sign that says rocket factory coming soon. they will build reusable rockets that could deliver cargo and passengers to space by the end of the decade. >> #goodtobejeffbezzose. just ahead the new dating app that helps you find your favorite celebrity look alike. when is it okay to touch the queen? the breach in royal protocol that has people talking. your trending stories are next. as moms, we send our kids out into the world, full of hope. and we don't want something like meningitis b getting in their way. meningococcal group b disease,

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besides the heat, thunderstorms will be a big story, maybe even flash flooding. already thunderstorms erupting early across the ohio valley and central plains. later today we're at a risk of severe storms from north dakota all the way down through the great lakes. possible airport delays, too, rippling out of chicago. saturday, severe weather risk, this number is a little high because you're including d.c., philadelphia, baltimore and new york city. best weather the next couple of days continues to be the northwest. they've been having a great stretch. >> nice. thank you. all across the country thursday many americans stopped whatever they were doing to get to the nearest screens and witness the latest chapter in the saga of o.j. simpson. for decades he's captivated and confounded.

first as a football star, then as a murder suspect, and now an inmate on the verge of freedom. ann thompson has more with america's obsession with o.j. >> reporter: o.j. simpson has always been must see tv. for a half century the world has watched him run. a combination of power, speed and footwork in college and professional football. pitching us rental cars on tv. >> you've got no time to waste. >> go o.j., go! >> reporter: and jokes in movies. possessing such incredible charisma, simpson seemed to transcend race. until he became a defendant. accused of the savage murders of his glamorous exwife nicole and her friend ron goldman. the case had everything. simpson's attempt to elude arrest in the white bronco split the screen with the broadcast of the nba finals.

for 16 months we watched every hearing. >> 100% not guilty. >> reporter: witnessed legal sleight of hand. >> if it doesn't fit you must acquit. >> reporter: 115 million americans, 57% of the country stopped to watch the verdict. >> not guilty of the crime of murder. >> reporter: reactions illustrating the nation's racial divide. >> my heart, i can hardly talk about it. >> i think the jury made an excellent decision. we find no evidence. >> reporter: grayer and slower, simpson still captivates. his face everywhere from sports to entertainment channels. with at least one more episode to go. anne thompson, nbc news new york. >> we can almost bet when he is released -- >> a circus. he has to work as part of the parole. where is he going to work? >> we thank you for being with

us on this friday for early today. have a great weekend, see u on mondayyo. it )s finally friday..

a live look outside at oakland this morning.. 4:30 on a friday, live look outside right now. this is 8:80 in oakland as those roads look plenty light for the time being. maybe we'll get life in there. mike is going to let nus on that. i'm sam brock. >> and i'm laura garcia, let's get to that forecast right nought. vianey is in for carry. >> i am. it looks like we're off to a great start, a lot of people are planning and the weather aries going to be perfect. a little bit hot but sunny. right now we skbri good start in the south bay, 58 degrees. 54 for the peninsula, tri-valley at 57 degrees and san francisco a nice 54 degrees. 50s all across